Destiny: Quantic Dreams Book 3

by Elizabeth McLaughlin

  Standing at the bottom of the hill was at least a hundred androids, every single one of them armed.

  We were cut off.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The android army before us was massive. In addition to the infantry there were at least a dozen vehicles and drones protected the formation on either side. It didn’t take a genius to see that we were well and truly screwed. I signalled for the march to stop. We didn’t have the guns for this. Even the use of one truck was going to be laughable. “Get the wounded and sick off the truck. Now. Put them in the center of the gathering.” Eliza jogged up beside me, sweating and out of breath from catching up to us. “Get everyone back. Any kind of barricades we have, get them in place. As quickly as you can. Children with the sick and wounded.”

  “Shit.” Eliza caught a glance of the androids waiting for us and sped off.

  My mind raced. If the entire android force raced us at once, we might be able to take down a tenth—maybe a fifth—of them before they reached the unarmed. These androids were different than the intelligent beings we witnessed inside the machine city. They were armed and armored. Thick plates covered the machine’s weak spots and their weapons were military-grade. Clearly the androids had done some manufacturing since our initial encounter. Projectile weapons weren’t going to scratch those beasts. The drones weren’t nearly as protected and didn’t appear to carry weapons. They were eyes and ears for the machines. Taking them out first would be advantageous.

  We were going to run out of bullets before we made a dent in the android forces. We needed a weapon of mass destruction. The truck could work. Overcharging the fuel source could produce an explosion big enough to put a dent in the android forces. We had some limited power sources in the form of huge batteries. Rip out the wiring from the battery and connect it to the truck’s ignition. Then puncture the battery and let the resulting thermal event cause the explosion. There was one big issue with the plan. In order to puncture the battery, someone had to be in the truck. Leaving it to the chance of a bullet wasn’t going to work. The good news, if there could be any had from this plan, would be that the poor soul responsible for puncturing the battery would have a few seconds to get away. Equip them with a shield and they might even have a chance of surviving.

  I called for the truck and hefted two batteries off a sled. “What are you doing?” I shut my eyes. How could Eliza have warned Marcus that I was going to do something crazy? Surely it couldn’t be my extensive history of risking my life for the sake of scientific experiments…

  “Do you really want to know?” I stuck the point of my knife in the seam of the battery’s casing and pried it open. A large lithium cell sat inside, wired to the plugs and ports through a simple logic board. I repeated the same procedure with the other battery.

  “Generally, I don’t, but it looks like you’re trying to rig a bomb to the truck so yes, I think I do.” I risked a glance at him. Marcus stood over me with his arms crossed.

  “Marcus, I love you, but you need to trust me right now. You go do your job. I’ll do mine. We’ll see each other again.” He started to protest but shut up when he heard the pitch of the android drones change. Time to move.

  “I love you, Mom.”

  “I love you too, son. Let’s send these bastards to hell.” A brief handshake and exchanged grins. Like mother, like son.

  In the precious minutes since the android army was spotted, the group had done exactly as instructed. The most vulnerable were huddled at the middle of the pack with crates barricaded around them. Those who could hold a weapon were offered tools, pipe, or anything else hard enough to crack an android’s casing. People had tipped a few sleds on their ends and placed them over the gathering like arbor. It wasn’t much, but it would keep stray bullets from landing on those people. I snapped a piece of metal plating off one of the sleds and tied a length of cord around it so that when I twisted my wrist in the slack, the plating made a halfway usable shield.

  The androids had tired of waiting. Perhaps they were expecting us to rush down the hill into a kill box. The leader of the pack, an android with eyes that looked eerily similar to Gabriel’s stepped forward and opened its mouth. The noise that came out of it made me drop my shield and clap my hands to my ears. This was no ordinary robot language. The sound was like two trains mating at full volume. Martin Jones rushed up to show me his tablet. He must have completed his initial translation. It was rough, but the message was clear.

  It was a battle cry.

  The android army rushed us in a roar. The humans took their first shots at the most vulnerable targets: the drones. They put up one hell of a fight, whizzing one way and that. As a drone whisked past my field of vision I noticed an appendage underneath the chassis. It looked like a mechanical scorpion tail. The reason for the attachment became clear seconds later when one unfolded and let blast a burst of energy in my direction. I dropped and held my shield as high as I could. The beam hit the metal and melted straight through it, skimming inches over my head. The heat from it caused my hair to light on fire and I frantically patted it out with my free hand.

  The android soldiers were met with a strong resistance. Human bodies clashed against machine, the humans taking advantage of being smaller and faster. Those who weren’t occupied with downing the drones took the occasional shot at the androids. Their bullets pinged against the android armour but the gunshots were enough to distract the machines. I saw a huge man plow his body into his android attacker. He knocked the machine to the ground and took out his utility knife. He plunged the blade into the side of the android’s neck; their armour didn’t protect the machines all the way around. Sparks and synthetic blood flew from the machine and it bucked a few times before going still. The man stood and shouted, holding his knife above his head in triumph. Others took notice and started to execute the manuever.

  Despite having a way to take out the machines, it wasn’t a fair fight. For every android a human managed to down, they had already taken five with them. The battle’s initial burst of energy was fading, fast. Human screams and shouts filled the air. I tried to concentrate on defending myself. I was fairly tall but light compared to the androids. Every blow that struck against my makeshift shield hit hard. If I lived through this I was going to have one hell of a time in the morning. The androids weight worked against them in some respects; they were literally fighting an uphill battle. If one managed to knock them backwards, they sank into the springtime mud underneath the grass. Left alone they would right themselves with time but a quick moving human could sever their lifeblood while the machine struggled to get up. I almost lost my own head when I watched an android crush the skull of the person next to me like it was nothing. This couldn’t continue. We were losing too many people, too fast. The androids herded us into a tighter and tighter circle. Since we hadn’t come to their original kill zone, they were making their own.

  The truck wasn’t far from me. It was time to get going. I put all my energy into my legs as I barrelled past android soldiers. My shield felt twice as heavy as it had originally and the fingers in my hand were numb. Two android soldiers stood between me and my goal. I skidded to a halt in the grass, taking care to keep the shield in front of me. I dimly heard Marcus bellow a call for retreat; they were going to protect the vulnerable until the last. The android soldiers shifted their weight back and forth, raising their weapons.

  This was going to hurt, so, so much.

  I tightened my grip on the shield and lifted it horizontally. The machines fired but my body was mostly shielded by the metal. I screamed and rushed forward, holding my shield like a battering ram. One of the androids must have changed his firing pattern; a searing pain tore through me as a bullet went through my side. The shield hit the machines just as intended and I jumped into the truck with it attached to me. Letting my arm fall formed a kind of drivers-side shield. At least they’d have one less angle to shoot at me from.

  Ducking down in the front seat I used my knife to pry the
wires from the portable battery. My arm clenched with the current that ran through it and I wrenched my weapon out of where it was stuck with my other hand. Keeping as low as I could I ripped a panel off the dashboard where I thought the ignition switch would be. A tangle of wires sat in front of me. No time to figure out the right one. I would have to wing it when the time came. As I boosted myself up to start the engine another bullet struck me, this time tearing the tissue of my ear off my head. I gasped, huge gulps of air that tried to compensate for the immeasurable pain I was in. I felt wetness slide down my neck and chest. Had they hit more than my ear? Was I going to be able to move this thing before I bled out?

  Oh, please. Miraculously I could hear my father’s voice in my mind. Stop being such a baby, daughter of mine. Ear later. Kill these fuckers now.

  “Fuck you, Dad.” I laughed. The blood from the cavity where my ear used to be dribbled into my mouth and I spat droplets every time I breathed. I must have looked like a demon with a red grin and shining eyes. The truck’s ignition fired up and I drove the vehicle directly at the remaining colonists. That got the androids attention.

  “Listen here motherfuckers!” There was no way for me to tell if I was actually speaking out loud. The deafness from the gunshot was replaced with a nauseating ringing. “My name is Fiona Alvaro! My father was Jacob Alvaro!” The soldiers stopped fighting and faced me. “We are the first to kill your kind, and god damn it,” I barked a laugh and a cloud of red erupted from my lips. “God damn it, I fucking loved it. You want to kill a bunch of random humans? Or would you rather kill me?”

  “God DAMN it Fiona!” Eliza was running toward me at breakneck speed. “Stay right where you are!”

  I’m sorry, love. I thought and slammed my foot down on the accelerator. The truck’s tires whipped up a fountain of mud underneath them and the vehicle shot away from the remaining colonists faster than I could believe. The android commander shouted another command and most of its force ran after me. I’m sure the commander had commanded they retrieve my head. No doubt it was going on a pike, just as Eleanor’s and Zohei’s had. When I thought I was far enough from the rest of the colonists, I jerked the wheel hard to the left and brought the truck to a stop. Dropping behind my shield, I wrapped wires from the battery around the ignition switch and waited. The soldiers’ feet pounded the earth so heavily it sounded like a herd of animals was bearing down on me. The seconds ticked by as I waited for the force to get close enough. I felt a strange sense of peace in those moments. The pain from my wounds was fading and my breathing slow and deep. I was going to die saving the lives of my wife and son. There was no better way to go.

  The time had come. The soldiers formed a circle around me and I heard a voice speak.

  “Hands where I can see them, Ms. Alvaro.” It was the android commander, its hand held up to hold fire. “You and your family will be accompanying us back to the city where you can better answer for your crimes.”

  I took one last deep breath in and out. The knife in my hand was light. The blade glinted at me in the sunlight like an encouraging friend. One little swing. Easy as pie, Fiona.

  “Okay, okay! Hold your fire, I’ll come peacefully.” I stood as slowly as I could, keeping one hand raised. It was like looking into the eyes of a ghost. The android’s face was twisted with such hatred and triumph it could easily have been Gabriel returned from the dead.

  “Both hands, Ms. Alvaro. Quickly now or I’ll change my mind.”

  I pulled the knife back.

  I’m sorry, Eliza.

  Every one of the android soldiers collapsed.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  When I opened my eyes I was convinced I was dead. My body was huddled to the floor of the truck, the shield long forgotten. The flooring in front of my nose was smooth and cool, the knife discarded a few inches away. I flexed my fingers and found that they worked. If this was being dead, there were worse things.

  Then the pain came rushing back. It whipped through me like an electric charge, forcing me to stand upright. I was distantly aware of collapsing again and felt the edge of the shield bite into my back before I tumbled backwards. I landed in the mud arms first and my knees slammed into hard ground. I coughed hard and retched, the little that remained in my stomach before the battle making itself visible underneath me. The heaves kept coming and I gasped, trying to take in enough air before another bout started. Finally I couldn’t hold myself up anymore and rolled to my side, then onto my back. The sky was so beautiful. Clouds like cotton drifted by under a bright blue blanket. The grass was cool against my skin. As my vision started to fade, I had one last thought.

  What a wonderful place to die.

  A sharp slap brought be back to consciousness. The same sky was above me but between me and the beautiful blue was a face. The face of my very enraged wife.

  “Are you fucking kidding me, Fiona?!” All right, my hearing was back. Good to know. I tried to speak but my mouth was as dry as sand. “You’re going to wish the machines had taken you out because I am going to kill you.” Yup. Remaining ear definitely worked. Ow. “You’re lucky you aren’t dead. You scared the shit out of me.” Her eyes blazed with fury.

  “Water. Please.” Talking hurt, a lot. My throat felt like I swallowed a hot coal. Eliza uncapped her canteen and held it to my lips. She let me have the barest sip before taking it away again, but not before she purposely splashed some water on my face.

  “Oops. Look, we’ve got you patched up but—“ She stopped talking abruptly as sirens sounded behind her. “Stay here.” Where was I supposed to go? On a stroll? While I waited for her to return, I took stock of my body. I could wiggle all of my toes, but only one hand returned any sensation when I tried to move my fingers. My left hand was swollen to almost twice its size. My wedding band was set so deeply into my ring finger that the tip of it was turning a dark shade of blue. My heart sped up when I realized that I could actually lose the finger if we didn’t cut it off quickly.

  I heard footsteps-at least two, no, three sets of feet were coming my way. The first to arrive was a stranger. A woman in fatigues poked her head into my field of vision. I scrambled for my gun and swung into the woman’s torso.

  “Whoa, whoa, take it easy! I’m not here to hurt you.” The woman backpedaled and reached for her own sidearm.

  “This is Olivia Spencer, Fiona.” Eliza knelt beside me and held my head off the ground so I could see the woman better. “I promise I’ll explain more later, but right now Olivia has a stretcher with your name on it. Rest, sweetheart. We’ve got it handled.”

  No sooner had she finished her sentence when my eyelids got too heavy to hold up anymore. I felt a prick at the side of my neck and fought, but Spencer had already injected me with some kind of sedative.

  Not fair.

  I came to in a brightly lit infirmary. Too brightly lit, in fact. I groaned and screwed my eyes shut to keep the blinding lights above out of my vision. To my right there was the clatter of a tablet falling to the floor and a warm hand pressed to my cheek.

  “Hey, darling.” Eliza smoothed back what remained of my hair gently and squeezed my unbroken hand. “How are you feeling?” All things considered, I was feeling pretty darn good.

  “Better.” I grimaced and sat up a little. I realized I was in a hospital bed when the surface underneath me moved up without my bidding. “I’m sorry I almost committed suicide to try and save everyone.” Eliza laughed.

  “Apology received. But I’m going to be pretty angry about that for a long time.”

  “That’s fair. Why am I not dead?”

  “Mom!” Marcus jogged to meet us. “Thank god, you’re awake.” He reached forward to hug me but stopped at a look from Eliza and settled for a squeeze on the shoulder. “Has Momma told you yet?”

  “Told me what?”

  “Marcus, leave your mother alone. She and I need to talk.” He nodded and smiled at me before departing. “Long story short-we found the other human colony. Long story long, you’
re not the great killer of robots you thought you were. Before you could go through with your insane plan, our friends here detonated an EMP. It short circuited every machine in a couple of miles, including the androids. The people here came out to get us. They’ve graciously offered to let us stay here and are assigning people to quarters now. They seem to be made up of people from a few different shelters. Over the years, they migrated here and got the facility up and running.”

  “They got a military base up and running.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t buy it at first either.” Eliza smiled gently. “But they’re clearly human. I even saw one of them prick himself on a piece of metal. They bleed red just like us. These people have been monitoring the android city longer than we knew it existed. They do regular flybys with UAVs-unmanned aerial vehicles-and when they saw us they haven’t let us out of their sight since then. There’s a kind of military discipline here. Everyone has to contribute to the everyday workings of the shelter. After our people are debriefed they’ll be put to work according to their skills.”

  “Sounds fair.”

  “As for you, my dear wife. You’ve done quite a number on yourself. The surgeons stitched you up just fine, but you needed a transfusion. Unfortunately for your beautiful ears, you’re one down. They can 3D print a replacement for you but you’re going to have some deafness no matter what happens.”

  “Hey-hey.” I poked her in the side. “Guess what.”

  Eliza rolled her eyes. “Yes, dear?”