by A W Wang
Not wanting to answer, I take a deep breath and wipe dirt from my face.
“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you were hoping that something would have happened. We knew this was coming.”
“It was a possibility.”
“Now, it’s a certainty.”
I nod, accepting the judgment. “Maybe we keep up the teamwork after we reach the volcano, in case anyone’s beaten us there.”
“No, that doesn’t work. I’d rather not worry about one of my teammates shooting me in the back. And you’ve got us outnumbered.”
“So then what?”
“Hypervelocity rifles at a hundred paces?”
I shake my head. “Don’t be so flippant. If we don’t do this right, we’re going to massacre each other. Let’s at least make sure someone gets out of this.”
Cat purses her lips and stares out the window as the tram curves toward the setting sun. A moment later, the ground disappears and we glide over a wide, meandering canyon.
I sigh with melancholy while I watch the long shadows and orange hues from the sunset play over the sheer drops of the twisting walls.
It’s the most beautiful sight I’ve encountered in this crappy universe.
As I look to the side of the slim rail, I imagine myself floating and without a care in the world.
The freeing experience lasts for a minute before I end the enjoyment.
“Let’s make sure everybody is healed and well-fed. Then you take your team into the back car, and I’ll keep my team in the front. We’ll each have a rocket launcher. It’ll ensure that if anyone breaks the truce, we all die.”
“Mutually assured destruction. I like it,” Cat says with a resigned expression. Then she stands and squeezes my shoulder before heading into the rear.
As my eyes flutter, the first rays of dawn seep through the front window. I force myself awake and straighten, feeling refreshed from a few hours of broken sleep. Outside, the tram floats over a wide gorge. I blow out a breath, appreciating the streaks of orange brightening the river carving between the boulders below.
“Morning,” Jill says from the next seat, cradling a rocket launcher.
Glad to see her well, I let out a genuine smile. The soft glow of sunrise brushing across her matted hair and grime speckled face catches my attention. Somehow, despite the blemishes left from the long days of combat, she’s cuter than I remember—in fact, closer to beautiful. I arch an eyebrow, puzzled by the observation.
She tilts her head and returns a questioning expression.
“I think we’ve been through more than two scenarios together,” I say to end the awkward moment.
“What?”
“When I was in trouble and my teammates were dying left and right, I had a rule that I couldn’t be friends with anyone unless we survived two scenarios together.” I shake my head. “Sorry, it’s just the rambling of a stupid, silly man.”
She chews on a nail with a dubious stare, trying to make sense of the convoluted logic.
I wait her out, and after several moments, she shrugs. “Yeah, being in a few hundred fights is probably worth a little more than two scenarios. I guess we can be friends. Whatever that means.”
A sheepish grin comes over my face. “An avatar explained to me that certain bonds that aren’t part of the assimilation process form if people are together for a longer time.”
She nods in understanding and twists to stare at the remaining members of the team in the plush seats behind us. Mouse sleeps scrunched into a cute ball, while Ty drools down his beard. Closer to the rear, Talon, the surviving Jim, and flaming-haired Tom snore against the side windows. “I’ve noticed that. It’s been so long, and part of me is happy to have these feelings back, but—”
“Having your humanity is never a bad thing.”
“But, part of me isn’t…” Her gaze rises to the second car.
Layla stands just behind the rubber enclosure, holding a rocket launcher
I fall back into the reality of the situation and purse my lips. There is still the issue of getting both teams off the tram without bloodshed, so we can fight our battle to the death.
My eyes roll at the stupidity of the notion.
Minutes later, the emptiness under the single rail surrenders to level ground, and the way station comes into view.
“Jill, let’s get the rest of the team up.”
As the yellow structure expands in the strengthening sunlight, I stare in disbelief.
“Wow, this changes things,” Jill says.
I turn around, yelling, “Cat, get up here.”
A few seconds later, Cat treads warily into our midst.
When I point out the front window, she laughs and slaps my back. “Looks like we’re still partners for a little longer.”
As she returns to her team, Ty steps next to me. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
My answer spills out as a long sigh.
Neither was I.
Our overnight travel has gone sideways, and the red-eye of the way station sits snugly within the confines of the beige and brown canyon circle.
The fiery reds and sinister blacks of the volcano are at least a battle away.
Fifty-Six
Ty gives Mouse a hand as she wrestles an overstuffed knapsack of munitions and power packs onto her back.
After the team steps from the tram, Layla holds up a rocket tube and calls out, “Everyone got one?”
After each of us murmurs or nods assent, Ty says, “Still pissed there aren’t any threads for them.”
“Just aim and shoot,” Jill replies. “We don’t need threads for that.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” Cat says to me.
“What?”
“You can’t have threads for everything that’ll be developed in the future. At a certain point, you have to rely on yourself.”
“That just makes the killing way too easy,” I reply with a shrug.
“Give me two then!” Mouse says, hefting another one of the long tubes over her small body.
I adjust my thermal cloak and end the levity by grabbing my bulky pack and marching to the steps.
Cat follows, and soon, both teams tromp down the curved staircase. As with every other circle, the doors slide open when we punch the control panel next to the exit.
Black smoke, accompanied by the stench of burnt metal and cordite, rolls past.
People drop equipment and scramble against the walls for cover.
I unsling my rifle and edge to the door frame, ready for anything. Cat does the same from the other side of the opening.
Backed by Jill and Ty holding rocket launchers, I step outside.
Aside from the oily haze and crackling of fires coming from beyond the rounded wall, the gorgeous landscape is silent, even peaceful.
“Anyone see anything?”
Jill says, “The left is clear.”
Cat runs to the right and past my line of sight. “The mechas,” she calls.
I hustle to her, alert for trouble. A few steps later, I stop amid a blackened area littered with scraps of charred metal, torched wiring, and melted plexiglass.
Waves of heat bathe my face from a row of mechas burning in their holding cages. The formerly beautiful, sleek machines, our ticket to getting to the volcano, lie as scorched piles of twisted joints and shattered cockpits.
Jill steps next to me and kicks away a burnt servo. “Some joke of the overlords?”
I shrug, fighting knots forming in the pit of my stomach. Although it’s always good to assume the worst in the Ten Sigma Program, this feels altogether different.
Cat points. “We have to get over there.”
The next way station sits tiny in the distance.
“Damn, that’s gotta be at least twenty kilometers,” Ty says.
Cat says, “We’re ten sigmas. Everything is an obstacle to overcome.”
When only silence greets her remark, I pull myself from my worries. “She’s right. There’s no use feeling sorry for
ourselves. We’ve got what we need, so let’s grab the equipment and get moving before the obstacles start coming.”
Mouse says from my side, “At least we won’t have to fight over who’s driving.”
In spite of the dour circumstances, I chuckle.
A few minutes later, with everyone weighed down by high-tech weaponry, we step from the red circle and onto the parched ground of the high desert.
Little banter accompanies the march as everyone stays alert for the next threat. By unspoken agreement, nobody mentions that this battle will likely be the last one we fight together as a unit. A gnawing part of me hopes my final confrontation with Cat will be resolved before anyone has to take action.
Just before we reach the halfway point, I slow and set down my load.
Faint trails of gray rise past a ridge in front of us.
“Anyone see anything?”
Nobody replies as they stop and drop their bundles.
Cat turns to me. “It’s a little too quiet.”
I nod. “Layla, Ty. Set up a perimeter. I’ll scout ahead with Cat.”
After they place guards with rockets and set up the laser weapon, Cat and I jog toward the low rise and crawl up the shallow slope. When the terrain beyond the crest comes into view, we flatten.
Wrecked mecha and gray-clad bodies litter the landscape.
“Another team did this,” I say as Cat brings up her rocket launcher.
Facing the heavily armed machines was tough enough when they were piloted by obstacles and we had our own. Now, this mystery team has smartly shot out the competing weapons and is hunting for other teams to kill.
A total shit-show.
We edge back and retreat.
When we reach the others, Ty asks, “What’s wrong?”
“Another team and they have mechas,” Cat says hoarsely.
While curses litter the air, she turns to me. “How do we want to play this?”
I pinch my nose between my fingers, unwilling to pretend I know what to do. “The threads don’t really cover this situation.”
“Well, at least that’s honest,” Jill says.
Mouse pats one of her rocket launchers. “What’s the big deal? We see’em. We kill’em.”
After nobody offers a better solution, I glance at Cat.
She arches an eyebrow and gives a lopsided smirk.
Decision made.
I face the group and say, “We’ll curve toward the canyon on the left and use it to protect our flank. Jill and Layla with the laser in the center. Rockets paired with rifles on the flanks. I’ll take the lead with Cat.”
Without waiting for everyone to return some form of assent, I grab my gear. “Let’s move out.”
As we march toward the looming maw of the canyon, I hope the line of advance doesn’t become a death trap. However, the logic is correct. Only having to protect the front and right is a sound idea, and if anything goes wrong, we won’t be able to outrun a mecha or missile anyway.
At fifty meters from the steep drop, Cat grabs my arm. “That’s close enough. We need some room to maneuver, and I don’t want an explosion to knock any of us over the edge.”
After I nod, we alter our path to follow the curve of the canyon.
More terrain features appear when we cross the midway point. Although not much to look at, the shallow depressions and jagged rises break up the flat land enough to provide ample cover.
Feeling emboldened, I almost welcome an attack.
As if my thoughts have power, a faint thump cuts across the landscape.
“Contact,” Layla shouts from the right. After scanning with her binoculars, she adds, “Two of them, twelve kilometers and coming hard.”
Fifty meters ahead lies a horseshoe-shaped ring of mounds with the closed end facing our enemy.
I point. “There. Let’s center our defense there.”
As I sprint into position with my heavy load, my heart thumps from the impending contact. However, the tension strangely oozes from my body.
“It’s because you know what you’re up against, and it’s not Cat.”
Nodding, I jump over the shallow edge of the horseshoe. As I toss my gear against the protecting rocks, the two mecha diverge, widening the axis of attack. Thankfully, no infantry follow them.
Jill and Layla arrive and dump the laser with a heavy thud. As they adjust their thermal cloaks to cover the weapon, I wave for Ty to move beyond the horseshoe to widen the left of our defense.
Mouse and Talon set up on the right. Tom comes a few steps closer and readies a rocket. More than a hundred meters separate the ends of the line—enough to ensure a single strike won’t destroy us.
I take a deep breath, trying to figure out what I’ve missed. As it stands, the coming fight will be a tough one, but one we should be able to weather in our current positions.
Jill and Layla signal the laser is ready. Jim kneels to the far side of them, sighting his rifle.
The ground quakes, and a chain gun rattles.
Jim explodes into a gory mist.
As people scatter, I dive, wildly swiveling my head, trying to locate the attacker.
More shots plaster the area as Cat screams from a shallow depression, “It popped out of the canyon.”
I glance over my shoulder with disbelief.
A hundred meters away, a mecha stands tall in the sunlight.
I react as any trained person would and fire my worthless rifle into its armored hide.
Oh, crap.
The ground rumbles as the machine stomps toward me.
I slide into a crater, followed by a wash of loose dirt and pebbles.
“Vic!” a familiar voice roars through the speakers.
Shocked, I roll away. “Jinn?”
“You’re unworthy, Vic. I’ve come to stop you from meeting the goddess!”
While shells tear through rocky features, I jump over a shallow ridge and tumble past the next mound, winding up next to a dust-covered Jill.
She sends an incredulous stare. “Another person you know? How fucked up was your last team?”
I roll my eyes, picturing Jet and Block. “You have no idea.”
More shots arrive from the other two mecha.
“In about a minute, this crossfire is going to wipe us out,” I say.
Jill peeks above the mound. “The laser’s still intact. There’s just no way to get to it.”
“I’ll distract this one. Then you get to the laser and take out the others.”
Without any other choice, she crouches and dashes away to find Layla.
After I move a few steps in the opposite direction, I poke my head up, screaming, “Jinn, I am worthy. I’ll see you in hell.”
Pebbles tumble past my feet as his mecha charges at me.
I sling my rifle and run along the shallow channel, heading toward the sheer drop of the canyon.
A stream of fire from the cannon follows like a buzz saw, carving chunks off the protecting rise.
Coughing from dust, I somehow move faster while ducking lower. The canyon appears too quickly, and I have to adjust my panicked run to skirt its rim. Frantically, I peek over the edge, seeking a foothold wide enough to hold my body as 20mm rounds nip at my heels.
A ledge juts from below, and I slide over the lip, using my hands to stall my momentum. My feet hit a long, narrow protrusion as cannon fire slices over my head. I turn and jam my back against the uneven wall.
Strong and broad enough to hold a mecha, a flat-topped outcropping rests a hundred meters from my position.
Where Jinn was hiding.
The audacity of the maneuver causes me to begrudgingly raise my opinion of the man.
“Vic!” the mecha calls, thumping close to the edge.
Happy to have his attention focused on me instead of annihilating the team in a crossfire, I shout, “Jinn, the goddess is mine. I’m getting to her first!”
His reply is a burst from the cannon. The projectiles slam into the rim, jetting broken stone an
d pebbles over my head and into the almost bottomless space below.
I hunch my shoulders as my mind powers into overdrive, trying to find a solution.
Even though I’m pinned, I’m shielded from Jinn’s chain gun. On the other hand, it’s only a matter of time before he uses missiles…
I kneel and crawl to the opposite side of the ledge, looking for a way to get back into the fight. A climbable path of handholds sits past the stone lip, but I’ll be vulnerable getting over the top and into cover.
While I debate my limited options because my rockets are with my pack in the horseshoe, the vastness between the rock faces of the canyon fills with the echoes of battle. Cannons rattle while rifles answer with higher-pitched cracks. Shrieks of missiles cut through dull roars of detonations.
I listen in vain, trying to pick out the whine of the laser or explosion of a mecha.
The ledge trembles as Jinn moves along the rim. “Vic! Why are you hiding?”
I return to my more immediate problem, hoping my teammates resolve the other issues. Although I despise the only plan that comes to mind, I charge in the opposite direction and put it into action. “Jinn, I’ll stay down here. You’ll never catch me!”
The heavy pads stomp with fury. Even though I can’t see him, I know Jinn is fuming through his smugness.
I pull myself up and unsling the rifle.
About ten meters from the edge, the mecha angles downward, searching for me.
With one arm, I raise the weapon over my head and let off scattered shots. Several pellets hit the side window, and in an instant, Jinn thunders at me.
As shells shred the area, I holster the rifle and dash across the length of the protrusion. Then as he searches where I was, I use the handholds and, pushing hard with my legs, hurriedly climb and flop over the rim. Just as the machine backs from the edge, I roll into cover.
An ominous detonation thunders.
About a kilometer away, a mecha flops into a mound of rocks, burning against the beige ground. A second later, secondary explosions erupt from the missile racks, shattering the cockpit and engulfing the pilot in flames.
Sunlight glints as Jinn turns, heading toward the fight.
