Floor 21- Dark Angel

by Jason Luthor

  “Sure.”

  “I’ve felt like this, on and off, since I was 13 years old. Like I’m not really connected to anyone around me. No matter how much I love them, doesn’t matter if I’d die for them . . . I feel disconnected. Like, at the end of it all, I’ll be alone again. There was a second when I didn’t feel like that, when I was leading the team down the Tower.”

  “And what happened?”

  I smile as I look back at her. “I died. And then I tried trusting people again, but I made some bad choices and a lot of people I cared for died. This whole past year’s been me trying to learn how to open up. Again. You know how much it kills me to see how much your team appreciates you, and at the same time wish I connected with the people around me like that?”

  There’s a long second where she looks at me and nods before suddenly pushing me in the shoulder. “You’re full of shit, but I like you. Everyone around you likes you and appreciates you. You think I haven’t seen the video of people standing around you and cheering for you as you fly away like a superhero? And remember that friend of yours, Cynthia, from the med depot incident at the Green Zone?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “She talked about you like everyone loved you. Said you’d fight for everyone you cared about.”

  I feel my cheeks flush. “She didn’t have to say that.”

  “The point’s that obviously you’ve made a big impression on people.” She points down the street, at the lines of fires heading down the street to the Panzer looming in the distance, and all the lights glowing in the windows of the surrounding buildings. “They’re here because of you. Maybe that should tell you something?”

  “Yeah, maybe,” I tell her as I look at the ground for a second. “ What it tells me is that I’m a huge idiot, aren’t I?”

  Kali smiles as she looks away, her chest rising and falling as she breathes in hard. “Okay, I’m going to tell you something you need to hear, and I don’t want you laughing at me or making this awkward. Can we agree on that?”

  “Of course. Did I say something?”

  “No, I’m just making a confession so I can make a point about you.”

  “A confession?”

  She pushes long strands of hair behind her ear as she rolls her eyes, even if she never stops smiling. “Yes, a confession. I’ve basically crushed on you since the day I first saw video of you doing all those amazing things you do out in the Deadlands.”

  “Crushed?” I stare at her for a second, feeling confused until what she means until it suddenly clicks in my head. “Oh. Oh. Kali, I—”

  “Shut up. I’m not that old, but I’m old enough to know what’s what. I didn’t tell you that because I expected some grand romantic moment here. Not that I’d mind it, but it wasn’t my point.” She takes in another deep breath as she smiles at me. “People care about you, so shut your brain down once in a while and just take that. Okay? People like Jackie Coleman. Amazing, I know, but it’s the truth.”

  “Kalie, that’s . . .” I laugh as I look away, the back of my hand wiping at my eyes. “It sucks that I still need people to tell me that.”

  “How old are you?”

  “19.”

  “Oh my god!” she says with a laugh into the dark clouds overhead. “I crushed on a 19-year-old. I am officially a horrible person.”

  “It’s not that bad. You’re in your twenties, right?”

  “I’m younger than Yousef.”

  “And I kissed Yousef, so it’s not terrible.”

  “You kissed that man?” Her face twists up as she tries to process the information. “Your judgement is worse than mine.”

  I chuckle as I nod. “Yeah. It’s true.”

  “Well, just to end this awkwardness a little, let me just say that it’s completely normal to be insecure at 19. I still get insecure and I’m a few years older than you. It’s not some strange personality flaw that makes you a terrible person. You’re a special case, since you just happen to be an insecure 19-year-old who can single handedly destroy armies, so the decisions you make because you’re insecure have a little more impact.” She reaches out to me, and there’s a second where she hesitates before she finally squeezes my shoulder. “Enjoy your life, Jackie. You only get one.”

  “You’re pretty amazing, Kali. I’m really glad I met you.”

  “Yeah, that’s what they all tell me before they say they like me as a friend,” she laughs as she nods back the way we came. “Come on. Let’s go enjoy our last night.”

  “It sounds great,” I tell her as we start heading down the street. “So, you’re into girls, huh? We didn’t have that in the Tower. I just found out it was a thing about a month ago.”

  She laughs out loud into the night as she claps me across the back. “I really do make the worse decisions when it comes to love.”

  Erin’s Recording 04

  I’m thinking it’s around sundown when I see Ned heading toward me along with the Angel, his body blanketed by that thick fur coat that he wears every winter. I won’t lie, I’m bundled up pretty tight myself, while the Angel dressed in her officer’s uniform, noticeably looking cold outside of her armor. She notices him heading our way, and he holds up a hand as he comes in close.

  “One night ago, it was warm, and now this? It’s a cold night to fight a battle,” he says as they stands there. “Ashanti has coordinated everything with the Sha’b that will be moving from the north, while Marco coordinates movement in the south.”

  She nods. “After I stop giving orders, everything’s going to be going through Erin. He’s the second in command for the whole thing.”

  “Of course.”

  “And you’ll be ready to follow the Vanguard to the gates?”

  “Yes, though I’ll be far from the heat of the worst combat. Coordinating a war effort means having to take a step back from the whole picture. It’s almost sad that I won’t likely see much of direct combat.”

  “I know you like to fight. I remember how good you were at it.”

  “I do enjoy the thrill of it, when it comes to defeating those who should be defeated,” he adds. “Speaking of, after this is over, you said you would settle down and tend a garden.”

  “Those are my words.”

  “What about everything left to do out here? One thing you said that was true, there’s a difference between common raiders and the Sha’b. There are still plenty of people out here willing to sell each other out, kill, raid. They’ll need to be dealt with.”

  “They will be, by you and the Sha’b. This will be your land, and Central’s, to protect. There are other threats I’m going to have to worry about when this is all over.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “Other threats?”

  “We’ll talk about it when this is all over, but General Suliman’s not the only person we need to be worried about. There will be more we have to do if we want to protect humanity once this fight’s done.”

  “I don’t think I’m looking forward to that conversation.”

  I interrupt the two of them. “Jackie, if you wanted to give that pep talk, now’s the time. We’re nearly ready to move.”

  “Thank you,” she says as she looks my way. “You have the camera?”

  I fetch a Baby Boy out of my bag and start tuning it remotely with my tablet before tossing it into the air. It stops on the way down and hovers just a second before starting to look around the area. “I’ve set you to broadcast to everyone on our general channel.”

  It takes her a second as she’s staring into the machine before she finally nods. “Turn on the broadcast.” I nod as I tap onto my tablet. There’s just a moment there when she hesitates as she’s looking into the Baby Boy before I see . . . Well, let’s just call it resolve . . . Before I see something that looks like resolve wash over her face. Then he starts speaking.

  “People of the Deadlands, the Sha’b. My name is Jackie Coleman. You all know me as the Dark Angel. Your clan leaders have committed themselves to this fight, but the almost
hundred thousand of you who’ve come . . . you don’t know me. At least, you don’t know me as anything else but the person you’ve fought against for almost two years. Some of you learned about me through rumors, and others saw me fighting as a member of Central Freedom and Fort Silence.

  “So, you may be asking yourself, why are we fighting for her? Why are we putting our lives on the line for someone who was the enemy? And the answer . . .” Her brow tightens just a little as that old shyness threatens to come through, but it’s matched by that same resolve she’s found. “The answers is that you’re not. You’re fighting for your brothers and your sisters, your mothers and your fathers. You’re fighting for your sons and daughters. You’re fighting for the friend next to you in the middle of that fight. I know we can all stand here blaming each other for what’s happened in the past, but that won’t get us any closer to making this world a safe place to live. Because whether we could have imagined a year ago or not, the Creep isn’t the biggest threat to our lives. Not right now. Right now, our greatest threat is Supreme General Yousef Suliman.

  “The last thing that your own leader, the Tank, told me before she died was to finish what she started. So, I will lead this fight and I will put my life on the line for every single one of you out there. But I’m not doing it for the dead. They’re not the ones who I need to worry about keeping safe. I’m doing it for the friends of mine who are living under martial law, and a little girl who’s been kidnapped by the general. I’m doing it for almost a million people living across Central and out here in the Deadlands who are tired of all the fighting and just want to live in peace. That’s why I’m not asking you to fight for me or even for the Tank. I’m asking you to fight for the living. Fight for the people you need to protect, because this is our one, best chance of earning our freedom from a man who wants to rule from the end of a rifle. This man will tell us he knows what’s best for us even as he’s threatening us with a bullet to the skulls. All of you who’ve volunteered to fight with me . . . I can only promise you a chance at freedom and safety for the people that you love. I’ll see you when the fighting is done.”

  I catch her eyes flick over to me, and I turn off the signal and snatch my Baby Boy out of the air. “Fine bit of wordsmithing.”

  “You really think so?”

  “Take it from someone who served under a lady who spent her every free moment writing speeches about freedom and liberty. Nothing compares against Ishara’s writing, but your speech wasn’t half bad.”

  “I hate public speaking.”

  “You keep saying how much you hate fighting too, but you’re strangely good at both.” I tap her on the shoulder and nod to her and Neddy. “Guess this is it then. Time to die. Or live, if we’re lucky.”

  Personal Recording of Devleena Kumar 11

  Torres looks at me with a smile, her helmet tucked under her arm. “Look behind us,” she says with a thumb back. I follow her gesture, looking back between one building after another, for city block after city block. There’s row after row of people in power armor, forming one massive column of soldiers on the ground. Further back, bringing up the rear, I can see armored personnel transports for the non-armored troops, tanks, and rocket artillery. Then, towering above anyone else and standing multiple block back, there’s the Panzer, its gruesome robotic skull staring out on our forces. “This is going to be one hell of a show.”

  “Yeah, it is,” I tell her as I look back at her. “Thank you, Torres. You’re probably the best friend I’ve had in all these years as part of the troopers. You followed me out here with no questions asked. I couldn’t have asked for a more faithful friend than you.”

  “You’re worth my loyalty. You’ve always had our backs. Like I said, actions speak louder than words. You walk the walk, sarge.”

  “Torres. Belinda.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Call me Kali when we’re not fighting, alright? Now I know how the Dark Angel feels.”

  She laughs as she slaps her huge, armored palm against my pauldron. “Alright, Kali. Ready to roll?”

  “I am. Drinks on me, when we get back.”

  “One more reason for us to come home alive.”

  We pause a second as the air suddenly swarms with Baby Boys, this cloud of them flying above us and zipping along through the streets. Half a second later, a voice fills our helmets. “Dark Angel to Kali. Lead the Vanguard out.”

  Belinda nods at me as she adjusts her helmet on her head. “Never say die.”

  I locked my own helmet into place, the light beams in my lenses flaring to life and illuminating the dark. “Never say die.”

  Tommy’s Recording 38

  I couldn’t tell you the time, but I know it’s late. Yousef has me sitting in his war room. It’s a hell of a lot more advanced than the one in Central, with a half dozen men seated at stations around the central table alone. Floating in midair is a holographic projection of Fort Silence, plus dozens of floating numbers and code names I don’t recognize. There are more guys at computers along the wall, and a few officers sitting at nearby chairs. Yousef’s taken the big command chair at the rear of the room, and he’s got me seated next to him with Doctor Watson on the opposite side. I’d try and make a break for it if not for the fact that I still don’t know where Mandy is. Not to mention the guards stationed around the room.

  “Is this how you foresaw your military career ending, Tommy?” he asks without even turning to look at me. “A prisoner of war in your enemy’s camp, unable to do or say anything as I tighten my grip on Central Freedom.”

  “You haven’t won anything yet.”

  “I haven’t? Your militia is mine, your councils are dead, and it’s been a month since anyone’s heard from the Dark Angel. Even taking the girl didn’t rile Jackie up enough for her to come for you. Maybe there’s some sort of secret plan I overlooked. Did you have something up your sleeve that I missed?”

  I spit out my reply. “No, there’s no backup plan. You didn’t exactly get the Panzer back though.”

  “A minor setback. So the raiders were able to hold it. We’ll deploy again soon, this time with a larger force, and retake it. Once I have it, I’ll have all the power I need to set the world straight. If history tells any truths, it’s that the one with power has made the rules.”

  “I don’t know anything about that, general. What I know is that you’ve made a lot of enemies to get where you are. Killing off the people who trusted you? Killing your own sister? And you don’t think karma’s going to come around at some point?”

  “My mother was religious.” He takes a deep breath. “But God didn’t save my mother from dying in the Creep. Karma, like God, is just a superstition. Even if there were some grand justice in the universe, then why would it turn against me? What have I ever done that wasn’t for the good of humanity? I am not the villain in all of this.”

  “You’re dumber than I thought if you think that’s the truth.”

  “Really? Because I could have sworn that I’m the only person fighting for humanity’s future here. While the rest of you open your homes to monsters and abominations, while you’re trying to make peace with murderers and thieves, I’m trying to restore humanity to what it once was. I’m the one who’s had to make the hard decisions. Do you think it was easy killing something with the face of my sister? I even struggled, that last night with Jackie, to do my duty. Looking at her, looking at a thing that was so close to human, I almost lost my resolve. But I made the hard call to do what had to be done to preserve our people. If you want to villainize me for making the difficult choices, then be my guest.”

  I’m about to shoot off some smart remark when a beeping comes from one of the terminals. Yousef’s looking at me when it happens, waiting to see if I’m going to say anything. Finally, I just shoot off a quick look to the terminal and then back to him. “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

  He scowls, his eyes slowly turning toward the terminal while his fingers clamp down on the arm of his chair. �
�Situation report.”

  “Sir,” the young guy at the terminal calls back, “We’re getting inbound signals from out west. They’ve just triggered the exterior perimeter sensors.”

  Yousef’s eyes narrow to slits as his yes burn into the junior officer. “So, they chose to come tonight. A little earlier than I’d hoped. I want a visual.”

  “Yes, sir.” A second later, the holographic projection of the fort is wiped from above the terminal and replaced with a rectangular projection. The city stretches off into the distance, the street beneath running to the horizon until it disappears. In the middle of the street though, everyone’s eyes following the road, we see a massive figure walking between the buildings. We’re not there to feel it, but I can just imagine the vibration of the streets as the giant’s feet hit the pavement.

  Maybe Yousef can imagine it too. The robotic fingers in his right hand are clamped down so hard, they’re bending the metal in the arm of his chair. “The Panzer.” His voice is full of venom, like he could kill someone with just his words. “How are they operating it? That machine can’t just be operated by . . .” He pauses a second before repeating his words. “That machine can’t just be operated by anyone.”

  “Sir, we’re getting a message from the Panzer.” There’s a long pause before he follows up. “There’s a woman asking to speak to you.”

  Yousef’s fingers dig further into the chair, the metal groaning underneath the pressure of his hands. “Who?”

  There’s another long delay between when Yousef asks and when the officer finally says, “The Dark Angel. Sir.”

  Yousef’s eyes flare wide for a second before he composes himself, his body leaning back in his chair as he takes a breath. “Put it on the viewscreen.” From the time he finishes to the time the screen flares to life, there can’t be more than a split second. The moment the screen switches views, I can’t stop just a little curl in my lips. It’s her with no helmet, just her thick wavy hair tied back behind her head and her body framed in an officer’s uniform of the Central Freedom militia. Jackie. It only happens for a split second, but I can see Yousef’s eye twitch when he sees her. “Jackie Coleman. Although, by the uniform you’re wearing, you’ve decided to play officer today. Well, what should I call you? General Coleman? Admiral Coleman? What title would you prefer?”