“Where are you? You must tell me everything. I will send somebody to pick you up.”
“No, not quite yet. I have to finish something first. I will make this right… on my honor.” She proceeded to tell her brother and employer what had transpired over the past two years. At first the words came slowly, but then they came out in a rush as if the release would somehow cleanse her of the shame and dishonor she had been carrying these past couple years.
***
Marcus jerked awake from the smell of something burning. He realized he had nodded off during the flight back to the Thorne Industries bunker. He was used to traveling by hypersonic cruiser and reaching his destination in a matter of minutes. The drop ships, on the other hand, were used for troop or cargo transport and thus only flew at subsonic speeds, which meant a trip of an hour or two. The steady thrum of the jet thrusters and the light motion of the ship buffeting in the unsettled atmosphere had served to rock him to sleep.
Looking around, he noticed that Liu was asleep in the jump seat next to him. In the cockpit, Bethany lounged in the copilot’s seat, feet propped up on the console, and chatted idly with the pilot. The two grunts sat in the rear of the cargo hold near the hatch, one of them smoking a cigar.
“Hey, would you mind putting that thing out or else opening a vent?” Marcus asked the skin, waving his hand at the gathering smoke.
The man grunted an apology and flipped open a vent. The smoke immediately siphoned out. Marcus no longer wore the uncomfortable bio-rad suit in the ship. The creature didn’t emit harmful levels of radiation itself, and he didn’t plan on getting close enough to come in physical contact with the beast.
Marcus’s eyes drifted down to the mutated canine where it lay like a giant sack of potatoes in the cargo hold in front of him. Its eyes were open but unfocused. As he studied the beast, it twitched from a muscle spasm and then lay still again. He was excited about the prospect of getting to study one of the creatures up close. This was the first mutated mammal they would be able to examine.
Everyone knew about the Burned Ones, as they were called—people that occasionally wandered out of the exclusion zone. They were individuals that had become horribly burned and disfigured from high levels of radiation exposure. The radiation apparently reduced their higher-level brain functions as they were unable to communicate anymore. These sorry creatures were usually non-violent—they were reduced to animal-level intelligence that allowed them to survive but not much else.
Rumors had reached Section 7 about other mutated creatures and generated great interest. These creatures were violent and could be very dangerous. There were even whispers of fear about humanoid mutants that were intelligent and preyed on wastelanders, but Marcus thought they were probably bullshit stories told to frighten children into not straying from their settlements.
“So what are we gonna do when we get back?” Liu asked.
“Dump this thing off at the lab and catch some sleep,” Marcus said with a yawn.
“Oh come on, man. We can catch a ride down into the District and hit one of the clubs or something. It should only be like two o’clock or so when we get back.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
Liu shrugged. “I just caught a nap. We still have another forty minutes or so until we get back. Catch some Zs, man.”
Marcus glanced back at the beast, and his breath caught for a moment because its eye was focused and staring balefully at him.
“Whoa, that thing doesn’t look asleep to me,” Liu whispered, having evidently caught Marcus’s expression.
Marcus leaned sideways, and the eye tracked his movement. Another muscle spasm went through the creature, and then its tail twitched on the deck. He opened his mouth to say something to the skins when its tail seemed to split apart near the tip. What looked like a serrated blade sprouted from it. The two of them could only watch in horror as it lashed its tail and cut through the bindings around its legs.
“This thing is awake!” Liu screeched, his voice going up an octave in fear.
The creature shook itself, and the tail lashed out again, this time slicing through the band around its muzzle. It shuffled its weight and got its feet beneath itself. Marcus was dimly aware of the stunned looks of the grunts as they rose to their feet. The cigar fell forgotten to the floor of the ship.
The beast’s jaws peeled back, and it growled. Then it lunged, and Marcus could only sit there in shock as the massive jaws shot toward his face.
It would have bitten his head off had two small hands not appeared and seized those massive jaws, halting its lunge just inches from Marcus’s face. He was transfixed by the sight of the slender fingers wrapped between its wicked teeth. The beast roared in fury, and saliva dripped from its four-inch fangs.
“Help me with this!” Bethany shouted to the frozen grunts. She grunted as she strained to hold the creature. “Marcus, get clear.”
The beast twisted its head, and Bethany slid on the floor, her feet unable to gain purchase on the smooth deck. Her lean arm muscles were corded from the strain.
The tail lashed out and sent the first grunt flying back hard against the hull. The second man lunged to grab onto the lashing tail but missed. The beast whipped the tail forward, and Bethany just managed to duck. The barbed end sliced through the sheet-metal bulkhead separating the cargo hold from the cockpit. The creature lowered its head, flexing its muscles, and Bethany slid backward as it pushed forward.
“Marcus, move!” she commanded. Her face twisted in concentration as she fought to hold the beast, which was ten times her weight.
He fought a moment of panic as he realized he couldn’t move. A cold fist of fear clamped his gut. Am I injured? Did that thing hit me with its tail?
The tail lashed out near his head. A wet bursting sound followed by a loud cry came from the cockpit. The drop ship shuddered and pitched forward. An alarm went off somewhere in the cockpit. “No! Bethany!” he cried out. He fought to move and felt tightness across his shoulders. Fuck, it’s the damn harness!
He managed to fumble the clasp open and shot out of his seat just as the two grunts grabbed the beast’s tail and hauled backward. Muscles bulged in their arms as they pulled the beast back into the cargo hold again.
Liu grabbed Marcus’s arm and pulled him away to the rear of the cargo bay as the skins wrestled with the beast, but not before Marcus saw a gory scene in the cockpit. Marcus could see the glow of the ship’s HUD through the large bloody hole in the back of the pilot’s chair. The pilot lay sprawled over the controls. A thin column of smoke rose from the instrument panel, and lights blinked in alarm.
Marcus was about to start forward to try to help the skins when the ship bucked violently. The alarms intensified. As if that weren’t bad enough, he could see flames licking at the corner of the cargo hold. Oh shit—that idiot’s cigar must have rolled under our gear, he thought.
Something highly flammable must have been in the gear bags, for there was a sudden whoosh, and a small fireball burst out. Marcus looked around for a fire extinguisher. He saw it on the wall, grabbed it, and fired a stream of flame retardant onto the fire. Just as he was getting the upper hand on the flames, the ship bucked and pitched forward into a dive, causing him to lose his feet. He heard cries around him but could only watch helplessly as he began sliding right into the fire.
An iron grip suddenly latched onto his arm, and he was hauled backward. Bethany was there for him again and easily pulled him to his feet. He saw one of the grunts was on the beast’s back and was trying to force its head back while the other man grappled with its tail and tried to take its legs out from under it. Shit, if three skins are having that much trouble wrestling that thing into submission…
“We need to get you two out of here, right now!” Bethany yelled in his ear. “Don’t argue, Marcus. We’re going down.” She marched him toward the hatch of the ship. “Each of you take a parachute.” She grabbed the petrified Liu’s arm as well and pulled him over. They held onto the
metal ribs of the fuselage to keep their footing in the bucking ship.
She shoved packs into their arms. “Quick, strap these on your backs! As soon as you clear the hatch, pull the cord. No fucking around.” As they fumbled to comply, she looked intensely into Marcus’s face. “Stick together and go to Outpost Echo—you should have the coordinates. Tell them there was an emergency and I sent you there. I’ll catch up with you later.” She pulled the emergency release handle, and the wind began blasting inside as soon as the hatch seal was broken. Bethany pulled an electroshock weapon free from the rack and gave him a grim smile. She put her hand on his cheek for a moment before shoving him hard in the chest. Marcus tumbled out into darkness.
He had to fight his vertigo for a few moments before he was able to pull out of his wild tumble and flatten himself out into a stable free-fall position. He couldn’t see the ground but feared it would smack him into pulp any second now. He pulled the cord, and the chute deployed.
Liu shot past him and fell out of sight, still tumbling wildly. “Liu, pull the chute!” he yelled. All was silent except for the cool wind buffeting him. Eventually, he could make out the pale shape of his friend’s parachute, but it was far below. Marcus hoped Liu wasn’t too close to the ground or else it would be a rough landing.
Glancing around, he saw the glow of the ship’s engines as it plunged toward the ground several miles away. He lost sight of it behind the looming black shadows of hills as the ground rushed up to meet him. He felt a shock travel through his legs and spine, and then he was tumbling on rocky ground. He rolled over several times and then saw stars followed by blackness.
Chapter 3
Reznik lay against his pack and played around with the tablet computer Myrna Kane had given him. He had volunteered to take first watch since he didn’t think he would be able to fall asleep, even as tired as he was from the long day on the hoverbike.
Rin had returned from wherever she had gone a short time ago. She hadn’t said a word when she got back but had agreed when he volunteered to take watch. The woman had a pretty good poker face, but Reznik thought she was distressed about something. She lay on her side, curled up in a long coat; whether or not she slept, he couldn’t tell.
He started searching the files on the tablet, looking for some type of map so he would have an idea about his whereabouts. After nearly giving up after sifting through a bunch of promotional documentation about the Extensis Vitae colonies, he finally found an interactive map. “RESTRICTED INFORMATION—DO NOT DISSEMINATE OUTSIDE OF OFFICIAL CHANNELS” was the label above the map. When he opened it, the colonies were displayed in a circular pattern connected by the large tunnel that circled them like a wheel. The colonies spread out around the intersection of what had once been the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The area was labeled “Unaffiliated.” That’s a start, he thought. So we’ve been traveling southeast. We must be in what used to be Nebraska or Kansas now.
Colonies 12 and 13 were the southernmost colonies, while Colony 1 was the northernmost. He clicked on the different colonies and noted from the 3-D animation that they were all saucer shaped. He didn’t see anything more of interest until he highlighted Colony 1. An amber schematic image grew larger and began rotating as it filled up the screen. “Colony 1: Command and Control” read a small description. “In cases of emergency or when multi-colony operations are required (such as Resettlement Protocol), Colony 1 will preempt the semi-independent functioning of the other Colonies and exert command and control.”
Reznik was about to close the map when he noticed what looked like a portal facing inward from the connecting tunnel toward the empty center of the wheel. He clicked on the portal, and a red tunnel schematic displayed, connecting to what appeared to be another bunker located in the center of the wheel. “ACCESS DENIED” flashed on the screen when he clicked on the red bunker. According to the schematic, that bunker was only accessible from Colony 1. That’s interesting… wonder what that is for.
A sound outside the warehouse drew his attention. He quickly set the tablet aside and rose to his feet, AK-47 in hand. Creeping up to the entrance of the warehouse, he peered outside.
The half moon cast its silvery light on the rubble of the city. Reznik focused his sight and hearing until the moonlight brightened in intensity from his light amplification feature. The dripping of water after the storm became a percussion to his ears. Then another sound was audible, this one closer.
A figure wrapped up in a cloak of some sort was clambering over a heap of rubble, exiting the remains of a building about a hundred yards down the street. The clatter of a loose chunk of concrete was loud in his ears as the figure stumbled and muttered a curse. The person looked around nervously and Reznik caught a gaunt, bearded face. The man tried to muffle a cough and scurried down the street while sticking to the shadows. Must be a scavenger that took shelter from the storm like us.
He returned to his gear and saw Rin had sat up and was watching him. She was still wrapped in her coat, but her eyes shone brightly in the gloom. “Everything okay?” she asked quietly.
Reznik nodded. “Think it was just a scavenger that took shelter in one of those buildings. He’s gone now.”
Rin unwrapped her coat and stretched. “I can take over watch if you want—it’s close enough to the halfway point.”
“Sure. It’s been quiet besides that.” He noticed the tablet had powered off, so he slipped it back in his pack. He folded up his coat for a pillow and lay down with his hands resting on the stock of the AK-47, which he held across his chest. He was fast asleep in seconds.
***
Marcus came to sometime later. He felt groggy, and his head ached from where he had struck a rock. Smaller stones dug into his skin painfully underneath him. It was still dark out and eerily silent. He started as a loud fluttering sound came from nearby, but he realized it was just the breeze stirring his parachute. He unclasped it and sat up slowly. Glancing at his HUD, he saw the time was 02:02. I must have been out a half hour or so, he thought.
He got to his feet and looked around. He was standing on a rocky slope and could make out the deeper shadows of nearby hills against the starry sky. Without thinking about it, he tried to contact Liu by Datalink but quickly realized there was no network. Of course… this is the wasteland. We are in dangerous territory—I have to find Liu so we can get out of here.
“Liu,” he called in a stage whisper. He waited a moment and, hearing nothing, called louder.
This time he got a response. “Marcus! Where are you? I broke my damn ankle, man.” Liu’s voice was raw with pain.
“Hang on, I’m coming,” Marcus replied. “Say something so I can follow your voice.”
Liu started complaining, and soon Marcus saw the pale shape of his parachute billowing in the breeze. He could see right away that Liu’s ankle was twisted at an awkward angle.
“Can you straighten it out?” He knelt down next to Liu.
“I tried. Hurts like hell if I do that.”
Marcus could tell it was swollen up even with just the moonlight. He gently moved Liu’s foot, but he could feel the bone grind, and Liu cursed in pain. “Oops, sorry. Definitely looks broken.”
“Thanks, Doctor Obvious,” Liu shot back sarcastically.
Marcus looked around and saw nothing other than the rocky slope and the darker shapes of the hills in the distance. He pulled up his HUD and saw that they were approximately forty-seven miles from the Outpost Echo that Bethany had told them to go to.
He realized their situation wasn’t looking good. His friend had a broken ankle, there was no Datalink network, and they were on foot in the wasteland without any weapons or gear. I could have grabbed our packs if that fucking idiot’s cigar hadn’t lit everything on fire. He cursed silently.
“I think we’re screwed, man.” Liu paraphrased Marcus’s sentiments exactly.
***
Rin sat and watched her companion sleep. She wondered if he dreamed and, if so, what he dream
ed about. Perhaps it was about simpler, happier times a century or more ago when he was a young man. He still looked young, of course, but she knew he was older than his skin looked. She thought that they were the same in many ways. Does he carry a heavy burden such as I do?
She felt very tired—years of pain and struggle had led to the tarnish of her honor, compounded by the humiliation and violation suffered at the hands of Haze and his gang. All she wanted was to be able to lay her heavy burden aside. She had countless long, painful miles to travel before that was the case, she knew. Is there anything else for me out there but pain, tears, and death?
The conversation with her brother had gone better than expected, but she knew the situation was dire, and it was her responsibility to make things right. She would pay whatever price was necessary, even the ultimate one if she had to. If nothing else, she owed it to Ryu and Ayane.
Rin reached into her pack and slipped out the slim flask she kept there. She popped the cap off and took a swig of the brandy. It tasted good on her dry palate. She couldn’t get drunk since the nanobots in her body would break down the alcohol molecules before they could reach, and potentially harm, her liver. Old habits died hard, however, and the familiar sharp taste was a comfort at times like this.
Reznik muttered something and shifted in his sleep, but his hands stayed on the gun. She knew he would snap awake at the first sign of trouble, ready to deal with it. He didn’t ask a lot of questions and seemed to trust her more than she knew she warranted. He was a good, honorable man, she sensed—perhaps a bit naive, but she rather liked that quality about him. I just don’t know if there is a place left for good men in this world anymore, she thought. The good seem to die young while the tyrants endure.
Extensis Vitae: The Shattered Land Page 3
