The Survival Chronicles (Book 7): Hard Mercy

by Nally, Fergal F.

  Outdoors at last—

  She wrinkled her nose.

  Undead—

  Mercy shrunk back and waited.

  Shit, they’re out there—

  Mercy turned and signalled to the others to stay put. She pointed at Annalise and pointed up. They ascended the last five steps and looked out over the silo compound. Six figures wearing stained Hazmat suits were standing in the weed infested compound.

  Shit, six of the bastards, probably triggered by the security system. They could be regular tropes or alphas—

  Mercy stared at the figures in the dying light.

  Think. They’ve got oxygen tanks strapped on their backs. If a round hits one them it could explode, that’ll send shrapnel everywhere, not good for us. We could crawl out the way we crawled in, but they’re too close… they’d be on us in a flash if they saw us. A frag? We could throw a frag away from here, the sound would draw them… no, the frag could hit their oxygen tanks—

  Annalise tapped Mercy’s shoulder. She pulled a road flare from her webbing and handed it to Mercy.

  Perfect—

  Mercy dropped down the shaft and explained her plan to the others. Once they were ready she got in position and ignited the road flare. She threw it out, over the swaying figures, away from the hatch. The flare landed beside the radio mast, burning bright red. The six figures lurched towards the flare, turning their backs on the hatch.

  Right… now—

  Mercy gave the signal to the others then climbed out of the hatch. She led the way in a half crouch, to the hole in the fence and pushed her way through. The others followed her. Mercy held the chain link flap open. Two minutes later Barnes was the last to climb through.

  We made it—

  Mercy lowered the chain link and looked at the six Hazmat-suited figures in the distance, still gathered around the bright flare.

  I don’t want them getting out—

  Mercy turned to the others, “Anyone got rope? Wire? Anything to seal the fence?”

  Barnes pulled a few cable ties from his webbing, stepped up to the fence and secured the hole. They turned away from the silo compound and began hiking up the hillside. Twenty minutes later they found their stashed back packs.

  Mercy sat down, her back against a tree. Barnes rummaged in his pack and pulled out some tins and MREs. He handed them to the others. Mercy took a swig of water and looked at the faces of the people around her. The light was fading fast.

  They’re wasted, they’ve nothing left. I’m wasted, I’ve got nothing left. This is where mistakes are made. This is my call—

  Mercy raised a hand, “OK everyone, listen up. Skyline Drive and the horses are just over a kilometre away. We could make it tonight but it’d be risky in the dark and this is ankle breaking territory. I suggest we stay here for the night and move out at first light. I know that’s not ideal but does it work for you guys?”

  Exhausted, blank faces stared back at Mercy.

  “No objections then,” Mercy said. “I’ll take that as a yes. We’ll stay here for the night. Eat and rest. I’ll take first watch—”

  Mercy caught Barnes’s eye. He nodded and returned to his MRE.

  Flynn scrambled up the slope to sit with Mercy, he handed her a tin. “Ham and beans, it just don’t get any better,” he said.

  “You sure know how to treat a girl,” Mercy replied.

  “Living the dream… we’re all living the dream, this is the stuff memories are made from,” Flynn said, he smiled but his eyes were dead.

  Mercy stared at the others’ faces as they ate their cold food in silence.

  They’re empty, used up, this is not the kind of memory anyone of us wants. They look… dazed, that’s the thousand-yard stare right there. PTSD city—

  Mercy opened her tin and scooped out some beans with her fingers. She chewed her food, staring into the darkness between the trees. When she had finished she turned to Flynn. He was on his back, his eyes closed, his breathing deep and regular.

  She touched his hair, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

  We’re still alive, we’re still here… against all the odds—

  Somewhere deep in the forest an owl hooted.

  Mercy shivered and lay down beside Flynn. She closed her eyes.

  “Wake up, it’s that time again—” Tawny said.

  Mercy’s eyes snapped open. She stared up at Tawny’s drawn face.

  “OK… just give me a few minutes,” Mercy replied. She looked at the others readying themselves around her. She checked her watch; 5:37 am.

  Shit, I feel like twenty kilos of shit in a ten kilo bag. Nothing good ever happens at 5:37 am—

  Flynn reached down, offering a hand, “You ought to see your face. It’s a picture. You look like you’ve just smelt something rank—”

  “Nothing a good coffee and bacon bagel wouldn’t fix,” Mercy responded.

  “Yeah, with extra ketchup and scrambled eggs on the side,” Flynn said, helping Mercy to her feet.

  Mercy hugged him, burying her face in his neck. She smelled Flynn’s stale sweat.

  Jesus, I bet I stink as much as he does. Normally this would be gross, but right now? I’ll take it—

  “You smell of fresh lavender and cinnamon, babe,” Mercy released Flynn.

  Flynn smiled, mock surprise on his face, “I slept on wild garlic and damp moss so actually that’s pretty amazing feedback, thanks—”

  Nearby Annalise pulled the charging handle on her M4 carbine, chambering a round.

  Mercy stiffened at the sound, “OK, let’s move out.” Her muscles protested and her back ached from sleeping on the uneven ground.

  Suck it up. Plenty of time for rest when you die—

  They moved uphill, Barnes leading the way. It took forty minutes to cover the kilometre back to the road. They were relieved to find Sledge waiting with the horses at the Oaks Overlook. Jade brought him up to speed with what had happened. He listened in silence, nodding at intervals.

  When Jade had finished Sledge turned to Rose, “You must be one special lady for these folks to put out this much for you.” He held out his hand.

  Rose pulled a face, “I ain’t nobody’s special lady but I am glad these people put out for me. I’ll remember it well. Rose never forgets. You’re part of this crew, so thanks for helping get me outta there.” She looked at his hand, then, remembering the old custom, she shook it.

  Mercy raised an eyebrow and suppressed a smile.

  Old generation meets new generation. My, how things have changed—

  They mounted their horses, Rose doubled up with Annalise. They set off along Skyline Drive and made good progress to Baldface Mountain Overlook. Without warning a bright light flashed across the sky, lighting up the trees and hillside ahead.

  What the—?

  The horses reared their heads, their nostrils flaring. Sledge calmed his horse and swung around in his saddle, staring northeast. A tall, thin plume of smoke rose high into the sky, flattening out at the top into a mushroom shape.

  Fuck—

  “Jesus—” Rose said.

  “That’s—” Jade whispered.

  “Oh my god—” Annalise exclaimed.

  “That’s DC,” Sledge declared. “Someone’s nuked DC—”

  Chapter 28

  Rubicon

  “That’s a tactical nuclear weapon,” Barnes said, his voice steady. “A low-yield, 5 kiloton nuclear warhead, probably a W76-2… about a third of the size of the Hiroshima bomb. They were deployed on US submarines before the Fall. I heard Constantine had access to some… that one probably came from the aircraft carrier. That’ll take care of Capitol Hill, the National Mall… basically DC central—”

  “But why would they want to pull out the nukes again after what happened in Atlantic City?” Tawny said.

  “You saw what was going down in DC, on those screens in the Smithsonian. The NSA released tens of thousands of weaponized alphas onto the streets. They released those mechs we saw, god knows ho
w many of them there were. If Constantine’s forces had encountered that lot they would’ve been wiped out. The Resistance would’ve had eyes on the city, it was a calculated decision… a tactical nuclear strike was their only option against that much threat—” Mercy said, her voice loud in the shocked silence.

  “Yeah, but a nuke? That whole area’s off limits now—” Annalise said.

  “Well it ain’t our problem, it’s just as well DC’s a hundred miles away from here. We’ve stopped Mitchell’s AI launching a much bigger nuke, so let’s hold on to that—” Mercy said.

  “It’s a pity we don’t have a sat phone to communicate with Constantine, she probably thinks we’re dead,” Barnes said.

  Flynn pointed at the distant mushroom cloud, “Yeah, she’ll think we’ve been vaporized. We’re totally off grid out here—”

  Cut off. That might not be such a bad thing—

  They sat in silence for a minute longer then Sledge turned his horse and started moving away from the vantage point. Soon they were heading south on Skyline Drive, back towards the campground. They arrived five hours later, tired and hungry. Brody met them at the lodge and listened to their account of events over a hot meal of beef stew. The room fell silent once the food was finished. The fire crackled in the grate sending sparks up the chimney.

  Finally, after packing and lighting a pipe, Brody spoke up, “You’ve all had enough for today. You look about done. Get some rest, there’s hot water from the fire for washing, no showers though… those days are long gone up here. We’ll meet in the morning, we’ve got things to discuss, plans to make. I’m just glad you all made it out of that place alive.” Brody stood up and went to the door, “Sleep well, I’ll see you all tomorrow.” He left the room.

  Annalise turned to Mercy, “I can tell from his tone; we’re not going to get much of a break. I’ll bet the attack on the prison is coming soon. We’ll see what he’s put together, we tried once before but the prison’s too big, its garrison is too strong… and they’ve got hundreds of tropes chained to the outer fence as an extra deterrent. We lost some good people the last time… there’s only sixty or so of us left now. I didn’t think he’d have the heart to try again—”

  Mercy stretched and stifled a yawn, “We’ll see what he has up his sleeve tomorrow morning then.” She glanced at Jade then back at Annalise, “I want to thank you two for coming with us, we couldn’t have done it without you guys—”

  Rose turned her head and held up her mug of coffee in salute, “Yeah, I really second that. I owe you and, as far as I’m concerned, I’m in on this prison assault to bust your people out. You can count on me one hundred percent—”

  Annalise nodded, “Yes, we need your help, all of you… with your biotech, that should give us some advantage… maybe.” She leant forwards and gripped Mercy’s shoulder, “For now though, I’m dead… my head and body ache, I need my bed. I’ll catch you in the morning.” Annalise stood up to leave and turned to face the table, “Just one thing though, you guys need to work on your riding skills, your technique was… grim. If you need some painkillers I think there’s some aspirin in the storeroom. Ask for Maggie, tell her I sent you.” Annalise gave a faint smile and left the lodge.

  Mercy stood up and winced, “Christ, my legs, my back—”

  Tawny grimaced as she swung her legs over the bench, “Forget legs and back, my tailbone and hips are burning—”

  Flynn took a few steps towards the door and let out a groan, “Right now, this moment, I wish I was dead. I’m walking like a pissed penguin, this is not OK—”

  “Bunch of wimps,” Barnes grunted and stood up, he frowned, a flicker of doubt crossed his face. “On second thoughts if there’s aspirin on offer count me in—”

  They left the lodge in search of Maggie and the aspirin, the offer of hot water forgotten.

  The next day dawned cold and grey. Fresh coffee thawed Mercy’s mood. She sat at the table in the lodge picking at a scab on her hand. Her hair was wet from the bucket bath she had just endured. At least the water had been hot. She sighed, the bunk beds were comfortable but could only accommodate one. Her mind wandered, she drank her coffee and thought about better days.

  The door opened and Flynn walked in. He came over to Mercy and kissed her, “That bed, that sleep… was awesome.”

  “I was thinking the same. Jesus, we sound like… old people,” Mercy said, recoiling in mock horror.

  “Yeah, ain’t that so?” Flynn said. He poured himself a coffee, “I wonder what the old man’s gonna say this morning—”

  “It’ll be about the attack on the prison,” Mercy replied. “I’m good with that, we’d never have got Rose back without these people.”

  “Yeah, they’ve got a good set up here. Away from the tropes, a hideout in the mountains, fresh water, long horn cattle… and a community. I saw vegetable plots out there, they grow some of their own food—” Flynn said.

  Mercy shook her head, “Can’t be much fun in winter. It’ll get pretty cold up here that time of year, but then there’s enough wood to use as fuel. Yeah… and they do their own preserving so maybe… maybe it’s a way of life for the long term. Who knows?”

  Flynn sat down, “Do you ever think of, you know… the future? You, me, us?”

  Mercy stared at the glowing embers in the grate, “No, no, I don’t let myself think of the future. It’s never there, it’s always just now, you know, living from minute to minute, day to day. There’s just too much bad shit around to plan for… a future. What even is that? The word itself no longer makes any sense—”

  It has no meaning—

  The door opened, Tawny and Rose appeared, their hair wet and faces pink.

  “I scraped and scrubbed a ton of crap from my skin,” Tawny said.

  “The water was black after I’d finished,” Rose seconded. “What’s to eat?”

  “There’s bread, cheese, and some beef over there,” Mercy indicated the table on the side.

  “Great, I’m starving,” Rose said. She marched over to the table and grabbed a plate.

  “Brody’s outside, mustering the troops. They’re coming in here for a meeting, you ready for this?” Tawny asked.

  “Yeah, absolutely. We promised to help out. They were true to their word, they helped us, took us in, we’ve got Rose back. I’m in—” Mercy eyed Tawny, “What about you?”

  “Sure thing, Annalise and Jade put their necks on the line for us so I’m in—” Tawny replied.

  “What do you think’s going through Barnes’s head? Reckon he’s on board?” Flynn asked.

  “He was pretty silent after we saw that nuke go off in DC. I’m not sure what’s going through his mind, who knows? Maybe he was thinking about returning to Constantine’s forces? Maybe he’s got other plans, we’ve not had much time to decompress, to talk to each other—” Mercy said.

  “To do normal stuff, to chew the fat,” Rose said, putting a plate piled high with food on the table. She sat down beside Mercy and started to eat.

  The door opened and Brody, Jade and Annalise walked in, accompanied by six others. Mercy nodded at them and raised a hand in acknowledgement. Brody sat down at the head of the table and gestured at the others to do the same. He poured himself a coffee and looked around the table.

  “Good morning everyone. I hope you’re all rested and ready for the day ahead,” Brody took a sip of his coffee and continued, “As you know the NSA militia have our people held in Charlottesville prison.” He looked around the room. “Our families, our wives, husbands and children, every one of you here will know who I’m talking about. My own wife Jessica, and my son Luke… they’ve been in there for six weeks now,” Brody paused and rubbed his chin.

  “I know we tried before… and failed. But that’s all about to change, we have new people amongst us, new blood, new talent. We’ve had Annalise for some time with her gift, as many of you know she’s able to walk through tropes unmolested. Well, now we have these good people,” Brody turned to indicate Merc
y, Rose, Tawny and Flynn, “and they can do the same—”

  The door opened and Barnes walked in, he raised a hand in greeting and nodded at Brody.

  “Not to mention this fine gentleman here,” Brody said, pointing at Barnes. “He works for the Resistance, which I must admit I thought was a rumour until I met our newcomers. And we all saw what happened to DC yesterday—” Brody paused, letting his words sink in. “There’s a power struggle going on in the world right now, there’s big players and small players and others. Well, I don’t care about the big players, all I care about is getting our people out of that stink hole and bringing them back home. It’ll be risky and no doubt some will die… but we have a better chance now than before.”

  Brody turned to a ruddy faced, bearded man on his left, “Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Dimitri Remner. Dimitri is a pilot, he’s worked up in the Yukon Territory and also worked dusting crops out west. As you know one of the reasons we failed to bust into the prison before was the fortified main gate inside the perimeter fence—”

  A voice piped up from the back of the room, “Yeah, we lost some good people last time, learnt the hard way—”

  Mercy turned and caught a glimpse of a tall man with striking tattoos on his arms. Her eyes narrowed for a second.

  He’s hurting bad… and he’s angry—

  Brody nodded, “Yes we did Seth, yes we did. And we know about the militia’s farms around the city… they are using slave labour to bring their crops in. We know they use the captives in the prison as leverage to force the rest of their families work in the fields. It’s medieval and brutal and it’s got to stop—”

  Dimitri lifted a satchel from the floor and rummaged inside, he brought out a handful of maps and papers. He spread them out on the table.

  Brody cleared his voice, “Anyhow, we now have a way to blast the inner and outer gates open. We plan to raid the militia airfield north of Charlottesville, steal one of their biplanes, fly it to the prison and hand-drop their own ordnance on them. They’ve used the same technique on us before, it’s a blunt but effective tool.” Brody turned to Remner, “Over to you Dimitri.”