I can see it… every detail. I remember this. Edgemont then Mission Grove then turn left down Trautwein Road then… Van Buren Boulevard through Woodcrest then Mockingbird Canyon Road… then cut across to El Sobrante Road… to Lake Mathews—
Mercy shook her head.
Insane. This is crazy. My memory is crazy. This biotech is getting stronger. It’ll push our bodies over the edge, you can’t get this level of performance without a cost. What’ll it be? Premature ageing? Madness? Insomnia? Heart attack? Stroke?
Mercy’s eyes hardened.
Stop over analysing. Use it… for now. If you die what does it matter? You’ll have died trying—
The next two and a half hours passed in a blur. The road surface was riddled with weeds. Long grass reached out of the cracked asphalt brushing against Mercy’s legs. She kept up a steady pace, her eyes darting left and right. Long abandoned vehicles sat like husks in the street. Smiling people with perfect teeth stared down from huge billboards. She passed sports grounds, schools and parks, their open spaces overgrown and long forgotten. Grime coated shop windows lined the central district. Human skeletons, the flesh picked clean by scavengers, lay scattered along the desolate streets.
Every so often movement caught Mercy’s eye and she slowed to assess the risk. She stopped five times and took an alternative route to avoid clusters of tropes. The streets and alleyways of Mission Grove were infested with the undead. Familiar screeches echoed from Mission Grove Shopping Center making her double back.
Something’s riled them. Maybe Flynn and the others escaped… and came this way. So long as no alphas got them—
Woodcrest came and went. Van Buren Boulevard came and went. Mockingbird Canyon Road came and went. The stars shone hard overhead, the night sky infinite. Mercy watched the houses on either side as she passed.
Maybe I should stop and rest, find something to eat?
She slowed twice but at the last minute changed her mind. The properties unsettled her when she got close. Animals were out, hunting under the stars. Twice, feral cats crossed her path and a fox ran alongside her for a few minutes, its eyes gleaming in the moonlight. A fence post startled her when it seemed to move. She turned to see a large owl on top of the post, stretching its wings.
Snatches of old songs echoed around Mercy’s mind as she ran. She was aware of her surroundings but also aware of her body and what it was doing. What it was performing.
If I’m able to do this, the others must be experiencing more enhancements too. Makes me wonder how long we’ve all really got—
Mercy passed a meditation center and some fields. Then she came across a farm house with scores of containers stacked in an open yard.
The old life. Everywhere, the old life—
A few minutes later she joined a better road. The breeze shifted and the temperature dropped. She shivered and breathed in through her nose.
Water. I’m near water. Could it be? Keep going—
She passed weed infested land on the right. A life sized model of a deer stood at the gate to the property. A faded poster on the side of the road advertised a sale in the plant nursery. Mercy’s eyes returned to the road.
I remember this from the map. This is El Sobrante Road. I’m on the home straight—
She continued for another two kilometres. Shimmering light caught her eye on the left. She stopped in her tracks and stared at a moonlit expanse of water. A warm glow seeped through her body. Heat radiated from her skin. Her arms tingled in anticipation.
That’s it. That’s it… Lake Mathews. I don’t believe it. I’m here—
Mercy took a deep breath and used her binoculars to examine the reservoir’s shoreline.
Can’t see much, but if I were them I’d go to the front of the reservoir. There’ll be a pump station there, it’d be good for shelter and defence—
A sour odour wafted up from the long grass on Mercy’s left. Her nose wrinkled. The long grass rustled in the breeze. She frowned, and peered down the embankment. A hand reached out from the undergrowth, a decayed face appeared. Mercy’s eyes darted right and left. Dozens of shambling shapes were emerging from the sighing grass.
Tropes—
Mercy brought her pistol up and aimed at the nearest trope.
Are they just roaming… are they alphas? If I shoot it’ll wake them up—
A trope on the right flank snapped its head up and looked directly at Mercy. It snarled, bared its teeth, and lurched up the slope towards her.
Alpha—
Mercy aimed and fired. Her round ripped through the alpha’s forehead and it dropped to the ground. The others turned their heads as one and staggered towards her.
Jesus—
Mercy backed away and fired again, dropping two more alphas. More tropes appeared from the long grass, their eyes lit with hunger.
What is this? A fucking convention?
Mercy lowered her pistol and moved along El Sobrante Road. This time her legs did not respond as before, her muscles were stiff and painful. She swore.
What a time to run out of juice—
She walked as fast as she could, each step taking its toll. Six alphas had reached the road and were gaining on her, their anguished cries filling her ears. Mercy forced herself on with gritted teeth.
Stay on the road, keep away from the fields. There’s more of them down there. Christ, and I was so close. So near but so far—
Mercy turned, narrowly avoiding a swipe from a maggot ridden alpha. Fragments of blue cloth hung from its arms, the rest of its body was badly decayed but still it was able to walk. The alpha bared its teeth and leered at her, a bubbling hiss rose up from its chest. Rotten lung tissue protruded from a gaping cavity in its ribcage. Mercy shot it between the eyes.
Three more alphas threw themselves at her, she shot again and again, bringing two down. The third reached her and grappled with her gun arm, making her drop the pistol. Its rotten teeth narrowly missed her flesh, clamping down on her hair instead. Mercy yelled and head butted the creature. It reeled, momentarily staggered from the blow. More tropes reached for her, their hands pawing at her back and arms.
Oh—
A thundering sound from behind. Huge looming shapes. The flash of steel. Gunfire. Mercy sank to her knees under a rain of trope blows.
They get you to the ground… then they feed—
Shouting. More gunfire. Horses. Mercy put her hands over her head and curled into a ball.
Block it out. Shut it down—
Silence.
Keep still. Shut it out. Maybe they’re fighting each other. Wait… horses?
Mercy opened her eyes. She counted three horses, their riders battling the alphas with pistols and swords. She looked up, understanding rushed through her. One of the riders turned towards her and reached down.
Jade—?
Jade’s mouth was moving but Mercy couldn’t hear a word. She reached up and grabbed Jade’s hand. Jade pulled her up and shouted again. This time her words cut through.
“Climb up. Come on Mercy, snap out of it. Climb up for Christ’s sake—” Jade shouted, her voice desperate.
With a supreme effort Mercy jumped up, pulling on Jade’s saddle. She managed to throw herself across the back of the horse. She lashed out at the pawing trope hands behind her with her feet.
Jesus, this is insane. We’re not going to make it—
Jade turned the mare around and moved down the road, away from the tight knot of tropes. Mercy hung on, her eyes focusing on Jade’s legs.
She’s got… what? Towels duct taped to her legs? OK, so they’ve met some of these alphas before—
Jade shouted something at the others and retreated further along the road. She stopped after fifty yards and reached back to help Mercy into a sitting position.
“You OK Mercy? We were holding out for you. Rose figured you’d head here if you could. I thought you were a goner back there but I guess you proved me wrong huh?” Jade said. Her skin was glowing with perspiration, her e
yes gleaming with excitement.
Mercy grunted, “Yeah, I’ve just ran a marathon. This biotech kicks ass. But it’s like being owned by the dark side. It’s not right—” She looked at the two riders breaking free from the fight, “Flynn… and Rose.” Relief flooded through her. “Did everyone else make it?”
“Yeah, we made it. Lost Annalise for a few hours after you went missing but she found her way back to the road. Your horse didn’t make it though. She spooked real bad, the tropes pulled her down. But we’ve got the spare horse we took from Tin Man, so you’ve still got a ride.”
Mercy closed her eyes, “That’s good.” She swayed and put her arms around Jade’s waist, “I hope you’ve got some place to crash. I’m totally wasted.”
“Yeah, the others are at a place a bit away from here. It’s where we found these swords. Me, Rose, and Flynn were scouting around here hoping you’d show up. And you did—”
“I did,” Mercy replied, “although, this could still be just a dream.”
Jade spat on the ground, “Oh, it ain’t no dream, girl. Believe me, it ain’t no dream.”
Mercy closed her eyes. Exhaustion washed over her in a great wave. “I could sure use some sleep.”
No nightmares please—
“Coming up,” Jade answered. She kicked her horse and started moving west.
The first glimmer of dawn appeared in the eastern sky.
Another day, closer to… what?
Chapter 34
Bad Penny
The rest of the journey passed in a blur. Mercy could hardly keep her eyes open. Jade rode downwind, north of Lake Mathews. They passed through a housing estate, and stopped outside a fire station. Mercy opened her eyes and read the sign above the station doors: RIVERSIDE COUNTY, LAKE HILLS FIRE STATION.
“Is this our stop?” Mercy asked.
Jade nodded and moved towards the gate, “Sure is, it’s good. Someone went to a lot of trouble to fortify this place. There was no one at home when we found it, so I guess the finders keepers rule applies—”
“I’m not arguing,” Mercy replied.
Tawny and Travis emerged from the building and strode down to meet them. Tawny unlocked the gate and let them in. Barnes and Annalise hailed them from the roof, smiles on their faces.
“Oh my god, she made it,” Annalise said.
Mercy waved up at Annalise, “Yeah, the bad penny’s back.”
Jade and Mercy dismounted and hugged each other. Travis and Tawny secured the gate then led the horses away. Flynn and Rose embraced Mercy and checked her over.
“Thought you were finished under that lot,” Rose said.
“We’d just completed our sweep around that side of the reservoir and drawn a blank. Then we heard your shot,” Flynn added. “Looks like you’ll need some new clothes but you’ve no bites which is a miracle.”
Mercy pointed at the towels duck taped to Flynn’s legs, “Nice look. Suits you. You and Rose, real style icons.” She smiled then looked at the fire station, “Hope you’ve got some food in there, I’m starving.”
And dizzy—
Mercy closed her eyes and held on to Jade. A wave of exhaustion overwhelmed Mercy, her legs buckled, and she sank to the ground.
My legs—
“Oh no you don’t,” Flynn said, he picked Mercy up and carried her through to the fire crew’s sleeping quarters. He lay her down gently on a bunk and covered her with a blanket. He sat in a chair beside her and watched her as her breathing settled.
“It’s OK Mercy. I won’t leave you. I’m here, we’re all here. You’re safe now. Sleep. We can catch up when you’re ready,” Flynn whispered, leaning forwards in his chair. He brushed a strand of hair away from Mercy’s face and kissed her on the cheek. “Sweet dreams babe.”
Mercy woke eight hours later. Hunger pangs gripped her stomach. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, daylight streamed in through the half closed blinds. Flynn was asleep in the chair beside her bunk. She stood up, her legs shaky, and went out into the corridor. She heard voices from the room at the end and went to explore.
Heads looked up as she entered the room.
“Hey, there,” Annalise said, standing up, a smile on her face.
“How are you feeling? You fell asleep when we were heating up your meal. Here, I’ll reheat it for you,” Jade said, reaching for the stove.
Mercy sat down at the table, “No, just give it to me. I’ll eat it cold. I need it now, my stomach’s about to implode.”
Jade handed the MRE to Mercy. Mercy ripped it open and came up for air a few minutes later. “More, I need more,” she said, pointing at a pile of MREs at the end of the table.
“Wow, you demolished that pretty quick,” Annalise said. She handed Mercy two more MREs, “Careful, go slow. You’ll throw up if you eat fast.”
Mercy did not listen to Annalise. She opened the second MRE and tore into the food. Her hunger pangs abated only after she had finished the third MRE. She put down the empty packet and slumped back in her chair. Annalise passed Mercy a jug of water and a glass. Mercy drank her fill. She could feel the energy returning to her body, her thoughts cleared. She managed a smile.
“Thanks, I needed that. The biotech drains me of… everything. I think I was cruising on fumes when you found me. It was touch and go back there,” Mercy said.
“Yeah, luckily mostly go,” Jade said.
“So, what happened to you?” Annalise asked.
Mercy told them about her ordeal at the meat processing plant and the fun fair, and her marathon sprint through the night. Annalise and Jade listened without interrupting, their eyes wide. When Mercy had finished they filled her in on their ride across Moreno Valley.
“Yeah, Flynn and Rose actually went back to look for you,” Annalise said. “Flynn had quite a heated argument with Travis. Travis wanted to get the horses away from the fire, they were really spooked. In the end they agreed to disagree. Travis told them to catch up, we stayed on Route 60 to keep things simple. Anyhow, Flynn and Rose showed up a few hours later, covered in ash, coughing their lungs out from the smoke. They couldn’t find you, so we stuck to the plan to get to Lake Mathews. Barnes was hoping you’d keep to the objective… he kept calling it the objective. And you did. You showed up—”
Mercy nodded, “That’s one night I never want to repeat again. It was seriously fucked up.” She shuddered.
“Hey, do you want to hear the good news?” Jade asked.
“What?” Mercy replied.
Jade smiled, “We’re only sixty miles from the Pacific Ocean. Long Beach to be precise. We can get there by Route 91, which is five klicks away. It’ll take us through the hills into LA. Barnes says we should get to the coast by the most direct route possible and figure out a way to the naval base from there.”
Mercy nodded, her mind racing. She looked over her shoulder then back at Annalise and Jade, “So, what about Tawny and Travis? Is Tawny going to come with us to the naval base or not?”
Annalise looked at Jade.
Jade shrugged, “Well, earlier on, when you were asleep, Travis and Tawny announced that they would come with us to the coast and see what’s what. It seems Travis isn’t too keen to backtrack into those forest fires anytime soon. I think Tawny would’ve gone with him if he’d wanted to head back east.”
“Yeah, Travis said it’s an opportunity for him to see what’s going on at the naval base. He mentioned opening up links between his people and the coast. So, yeah, it looks like they’re both on board for the next leg of the journey.”
Mercy sighed, “So, we’ll still have the horses. That’s good. What about feeding them?”
“Well, they’re quite happy eating the grass out back at the moment. It’s all fenced off so they’re safe and there’s rain water troughs too. Looks as if whoever was using this place tried to grow their own food at one time. But yeah, once we leave here we’ll have to source feed for the horses or give them grazing time,” Jade replied.
“That works,” Mercy said,
nodding. She turned her head, “Those alphas that were chasing me back at Lake Mathews, are they—?”
“Don’t worry, Rose and Flynn led them away. They rode east, threw them off then double backed here,” Jade answered. “We’re good here—”
Mercy sat back and ran her fingers through her hair, “Great. I just need time to come down. Time to think, clear my mind. It’s been a hell of a journey so far. We can’t afford to make a mistake now.”
“Oh, and do you want to hear the other piece of news?” Annalise said, leaning forwards in her chair.
Mercy looked up, “What?”
“Barnes found an intact radio here. Him and Tawny are trying to power it up with a battery they found. Came from one of those fire trucks in there, looks like our predecessors were using its engine to generate power. They must’ve had diesel. There’s no diesel left but there’s still some juice in the battery,” Annalise said.
Mercy raised her eyebrows, “Nice. Let’s see what they come up with. Maybe we could hail the naval base.” She paused, “Maps. Are there any maps in here? One of the things that got me through the last twenty four hours was my memory. I was able to remember details from the maps we had back in North Palm Springs.”
Annalise grunted, “That’s your biotech, right?”
Mercy nodded, “Yeah. It’s like a photographic memory or something.”
Jade pointed out the door, “Yes, there’s a bunch of maps in the operations room across the corridor. Covers the whole area, including the hills to the west, and LA too.”
Mercy rubbed her face, “Good, I’ll get to work.” She looked at her watch; 9:37 am.
Jade stood up, “Me and Annalise are on horse duty now. There’s a thunderbox out back and a couple of buckets of rain water if you want a wash.”
Mercy brightened, “Luxury. So far, I’d give this place five stars.” She looked back to the sleeping quarters, “Flynn’s not woken up yet. I’ll leave him to get some rest.”
Annalise and Jade left Mercy to her own devices. After her ablutions she found the operations room and spent time pouring over the various maps. She paid particular attention to the Los Angeles metropolitan area and its neighbouring coastline, including the approaches to the naval base at Point Mugu.
The Survival Chronicles | Book 8 | Final Mercy Page 23
