-18-
Skuld
Slowly the air clears and a room begins to take shape, a room human eyes would find too dark to see, but seeing without light is one of many benefits to being a Zee. We’re in a wing of the old prison. A battered sign on the wall in the old language advises: ‘No warning shots fired.’
A signal from Krall informs me that a handful of mercenaries, accompanied by one of Goliath’s predecessors, have breached the main city gate. I direct him to pull together all surrounding forces to annihilate them. But the truth is I can’t be bothered to care. Not when I’m so close.
The walls are dripping with a strange viscosity. I run my fingers along a section ringing the doorway and see a flash of the Queen’s face burst before my eyes. Her features are grotesque, without a shred of the person she once was. The mix of her unique human personality and even rarer genetics merged to produce Zee royalty, no accelerators required. But in the process, her body had morphed into something unspeakable, never meant to be seen. And that’s the point running through the nerve endings throughout my body as we make our way into her chamber. If that viscosity confirms anything, it’s that she’s in here, somewhere. The fibre of her being is woven into these very walls and the closer we draw, the more intensely I can feel her presence. Plak and the other councillors feel it too, but the thought of meeting her isn’t nearly as exciting for them.
This was the place where the ancient Keeper documents describe her last stand. The place she was finally cornered and sealed away. Solitary confinement was what they called this wing. How fitting. The air inside is humid and thick. If I still had pores on my body, they’d be open and producing buckets of sweat.
But why hadn’t she been killed? I’ve often wondered the same thing myself and the truth is beginning to reveal itself. Perhaps they didn’t think they could defeat her. Perhaps her ability to tap into Zee central itself had begun a mutation of sorts. One that allowed her a foothold into the human brain. An explanation that seemed to make sense, given that every squad sent in to finish her seemed to suddenly turn on each other. Not unlike the way Azina was made to turn on her fellow mercenaries. A small mountain of dusty bones, piled in the corner, offer silent evidence that the reports were correct. That is all that remains of those brave troopers who never returned. And when they sealed her in, they assumed it would be forever. This was a prison, after all, and she was precisely where she belonged.
A pair of invisible hands are running through the stringy remains of my hair and the feeling sends shivers down my spine. A feeling charged with equal parts sexual energy and menace. She can’t possibly know I’ve come here to kill her, to absorb her power and assume her place at the top of the pecking order. But how can a hand or a foot keep a secret? We’re all connected, in more than just the vague way human beings are connected. I double my efforts to shield my intentions. She must be convinced I’ve come to liberate her.
Rotting cell block doors on either side of us, all coated with that same dark crust. The realization sinks in almost at once. This is not dirt, it’s her skin, shed in tiny particles over the centuries, wafting through subtle currents of stale air until they came to rest on… everything.
The rows of cell doors come to an end and I know she isn’t in any of them. There is only a wall before me, caked black, like the rest of her inky prison, but I can feel her now, crawling through every inch of my body. The Zees are behind me, many of them twitching. One walks into a cell door and keeps trying to move forward, oblivious to the impediment blocking his way.
The wall at the end of the cell block is the darkest of them all and, even with my ability to see through the darkness, it’s hard to draw any shape from the blackness. Then I see it. A pair of rubies, embedded in the wall, a sea of white surrounding blood red pupils. A cracking sound follows and bits of the wall begin to crumble and fall to the floor. The first to break free is an arm, then a leg. Finally, the Queen tears the rest of herself from the chitinous cocoon, where she’s slumbered for decades and, catching sight of her now for the first time, I see how hideous she really is. The flesh over her face and body is webbed has hardened into some kind of armor. A honeycomb of curved bones protrude from her shoulder blades. She’s also taller than I imagined and my head tilts back to take in a full view of her. She lifts a hand to her lips, draws in a full breath and blows a vile wind into my face. Suddenly, all thought of killing her begins to fade, like a distant ship slipping over the horizon. In fact, she doesn’t appear nearly as ghastly looking as she did a moment ago. A small voice in my head keeps trying to tell me I’m being fooled by what those doddering Keeper scientists call pheromones. A powerful scent so common in the animal and insect kingdoms.
And those thoughts no sooner form than I feel Zee hands grasping my arms and legs. I glance down in disbelief, only to see that not a single one of them is twitching anymore. They’re in sync with the Zee signal, only it isn’t the one coming from me. I try to shrug them off, but their grip is like iron.
Plak is beginning to hyperventilate and turns to flee but the Zees descend on him and the other councillors without mercy. His shrieks of terror and agony go on until they’re muffled by the sheer number of Zees crowding his body, tearing it apart.
The Zee hands pull my struggling body to the ground, splaying my arms and legs as though in preparation for some bizarre ritual.
Or a sacrifice.
More hands, tearing at my robe. She means to gut me and I struggle all the more, but it isn’t any use. I’m nude from the waist down and here she comes, her hardened skin and red glowing eyes. It’s only when she straddles me and lowers her pelvis onto mine that I have a solid inkling what’s about to happen. She’s using me to mate and suddenly it’s all so clear. No sooner had I mutated and joined Zee central, she became aware of who I was and how useful I could be. Despite appearances, there isn’t an ounce of pleasure in what she’s doing and I try in vain to buck her off. It isn’t long before she has exactly what she wanted all along. The Zees are still holding me tight when her scaly hands cup my face.
“Together,” I say pleadingly, “we could rule the ten territories for the rest of time.”
Her head tilts to one side. She’s trying to make sense of the comment, but there isn’t an ounce of humanity left in her. The sound of snapping bone and tearing flesh comes a second later. I catch sight of my headless body, lying below me, robes that were once white, now torn and stained with dark blood. The pain is excruciating, but a Zee can lose his head and still live, I know that much. She props what’s left of me above the crowd of Zees and already there’s a bulge in her belly and movement there. But maybe she’s had it in her all along, only waiting for the appropriate fertilizer to come along. The Zees before us are slowly rocking back and forth. She isn’t just their leader, she’s their creator, their God. I watch as the glow from their eyes begins to fill the room. Then, with shocking speed, she crushes my skull between her hands and blackness descends.
-19-
Azina
Our feet scrape along the dirty passageway floor. Sneak is in the lead, blades drawn, her arms pumping furiously. Behind her is Klaus, robe flowing behind him, bleeding off enough fear the hissing Zees charging after us can almost certainly smell it in the air. And mostly that’s all we hear behind us, hissing; the light from their eyes bouncing off the passage walls. The messenger’s body kept the door from closing and I could already see the first group of Zees cresting the hill and beginning to reach for us when I gave up trying to shut the door and broke into a full run. There’s so many of them there isn’t any use laying down a barrage of fire behind us. Especially not with my puny repeater. If we had Bron’s heavy guns it might be another matter altogether, but the last time we were face to face, he tried to burn mine off with his flame thrower.
Dim light up ahead and my heart begins to swell. Even though I’m technically a Zee, I know they wouldn’t hesitate to tear me to shreds. Sure, they might not normally attack their own kind, but when o
rders from headquarters demand it, Zees will follow the top dog every time. In a way, it’s their greatest strength though it might also be their greatest weakness.
A signal barrels through over Zee central that nearly stops me in my tracks. It’s so shocking I can hardly believe.
Skuld is dead.
That’s when I realize the Queen isn’t nearly as weakened as we thought. Playing possum, was what the Dusters used to call it. The details are still rather fuzzy, but I’m sure Skuld’s incredible arrogance probably played some part in his demise.
The light in the distance is drawing closer, but so too are the Zees. My attempts to seep into their minds still isn’t working and surely won’t, as long as her grip on them continues to grow stronger. But that isn’t the only bit of Zee news I manage to pluck from the airwaves. The Queen is pregnant and suddenly the pieces begin to fall into place. His drive to reach the Queen wasn’t only Skuld’s idea. No doubt his resolve was solidified the minute he mutated himself into what he thought was the biggest, baddest Hive leader on the block. But there’s always a bigger fish and it’s beginning to look like the Queen played him from the start. Played him in order to break her free but, more importantly, used him to mate. And when she was done, she ended the relationship in the way insects have a tendency to end things: by killing and eating the unsuspecting partner. But as bits of code trickle in, it’s becoming clear the Queen isn’t just pregnant, she’s about to give birth, and I’m afraid to think of what monstrosity is about to emerge.
-20-
At last we reach the light. It’s a doorway, but the Zees are nearly on top of us and Klaus is alternating between cursing his gods for abandoning him and begging them for forgiveness and deliverance. I swing my repeater around and empty the entire magazine. I’m not trying to kill them, just slow them down and hope the ones who fall will trip up the others. Sneak tries the handle, without any luck, and then begins pounding on the door with the heel of her boot. Klaus brings his Keeper rifle around and doesn’t take his finger off the trigger until it clicks empty. There isn’t enough time to swap magazines, but it doesn’t matter. A final blow by Sneak and the narrow corridor floods with light. We charge onto an open-ceilinged catwalk. Below us, the streets are packed with Zees pushing forward. They’re heading toward the front gate. The sound of gunfire roars just beyond view. A few remaining Keepers in a last stand? Then my ears perk up with the thundering boom of Bron’s 20mm cannons and I see Sneak’s expression register the familiar sound too. But the Zees are still behind us. At the other end of the catwalk is another door. The lip of the roof lies a paltry three feet above that and I’m sure if we can get up there, the Zees won’t be able to follow. Sneak glances back and I sign, telling her the plan.
She hops as she reaches the door, one foot on the handle, the other along the frame and in a second she’s up. She makes it look so easy Klaus takes a leap and smashes his face against the wall, landing in a heap. I don’t have a choice but to pop in another magazine and lay down some fire. I’m aiming for their legs now, since gimps don’t run nearly as fast. Sneak’s got her hand hanging over the top edge and she’s waving it emphatically to say, ‘all you gotta do is reach out and hold on.’
The Zees are fifteen feet away. Bullets to the legs hobbled the first few, but they are simply knocked over and trampled by the ones behind them. So much for brotherly love. When I turn around, Klaus is nearly up, his feet struggling to find purchase on the slippery wall. Sneak’s face is red, but it isn’t just from the effort. She’s worried this buffoon’s lack of coordination might have sealed my fate. A second later he’s up and I break into a full run, repeater and Katana slung over my back. I’ll have one shot, otherwise I’ll have to turn and fight, or jump down and take my chances in the sea of Zee flesh below.
The leap I take isn’t nearly as solid as I hoped it would be. My footing is all wrong and the horde hissing behind me isn’t making things easier. Sneak reaches out a hand and our fingers barely connect. The Zees are right below me, reaching for my feet and legs and I’m kicking back at them with enough force to send a few tumbling to the ground. One of those bastards grabs a hold of my pants and starts yanking with everything he’s got. Poor Sneak jerks forward and nearly comes tumbling over the edge. Now Klaus’ got her by the waist and they’re playing tug of war, with me as the rope. More hands reach out and it’s obvious that if I don’t break free, these leathery pricks are gonna do to me what they did to the Hive leader. I free my right hand, draw my Katana and bring it down in an arc behind me. Five severed arms and hands tumble to the ground. The sixth doesn’t fall ‘cause the muscles in the stubborn bastard’s fist are still clenched tight. I toss the Katana onto the roof and swing up with Sneak’s help. Klaus is staring at that hand like it means to go for his throat. Sneak signs me with one hand: “Doesn’t get much closer than that.” She pries the fingers open and tosses the hand over the edge. Klaus is white as a cotton tunic and his own hands have started shaking. I keep forgetting how new all of this is for him. Although it hasn’t been more than a handful of days since we came upon that underground complex, it feels like years have passed.
That’s when Sneak taps my arm and points. The Zees on the causeway below us aren’t giving up as easily as I’d hoped they would. The edge of the roof is only five or six feet above their heads and those pricks are crawling on top of one another, like ants, to get at us.
-21-
More firing and I remember now why I was in such a hurry to get up here in the first place. Ret, Bron, Oleg, and maybe even Dhal. They aren’t far away and, judging by the swarm down below and the frantic sound of the gunfire, they’re in trouble. A cable runs from our building to the next one over. The kinda thing residents use to send messages back and forth.
“This way,” I shout and we grab hold and begin shimmying across, hanging upside down like one of those sacrificial deer paraded through the streets before the Summer Solstice. We’re dangling in mid air between the two buildings, certain death swarming below us, when the Zees scurry onto the roof and come straight for us. The first actually makes it two full strides onto the cable before losing his footing and toppling to the ground below. Wave after wave follow and the result is almost the same every time. Mostly ‘cause the average Zee is as dumb as a pile of rocks. They spot a target and, more often than not, charge at it in a straight line. It’s only when there’s a Hive leader directing them do they begin to act with a moderate amount of intelligence. That’s the reason there isn’t a chance in hell of them catching us. They’re too stupid to mimic what we’re doing. But that isn’t what’s making me worried. Each of those twits that goes tumbling off the cable is making it bounce and vibrate just a little bit more and, as we draw closer to the center, it’s becoming harder to hold on. And yet on they come, in a relentless stream, salivating for a chance to sink their bacteria-soaked teeth into our flesh. That’s when I notice the spot where the cable is anchored to the building. Bits of concrete are being chipped away with every bounce. This sucker isn’t going to hold much longer. I tilt my head back and catch sight of Klaus, holding onto the cable with everything he’s got, a terrified and determined grimace on his face. You toss a hungry pack of Zees a juicy morsel like that and you’ll be lucky to find anything left. They’ll even eat the bones, when they’re hungry enough.
I’m about to tell them to keep moving when I hear a loud twang and it doesn’t take a Keeper’s smarts to tell the cable’s just snapped off the building. Wind buffets my ears as we glide through the air. One of the few books to survive the fall was about a half-man half-monkey, who would swing from tree to tree using vines and this is exactly the thought going through my head as the edge of the building quickly approaches. I’m in the middle of a rather graphic curse word when we hit. Sneak manages to swing her legs out front to absorb most of the impact. So have I, but the sound of the wind being knocked out of Klaus’ lungs tells me he wasn’t so lucky. His body falls past me a second later and I swing out to grab hold of
him, but don’t manage to snag more than the tail end of his Keeper robe. The mass of Zees below aren’t more than a few feet away; their heads tilting up, along with their reaching hands, as though the gods decided to dangle some delicious treat before them. I can hear Klaus coughing and I’m not sure how much longer I can hold him.
“Try and grab the cable, will you?”
Slowly, his hands close around it as he rights himself. I keep hold of his Keeper robe until the burning in my forearm becomes unbearable. I’m trying to give him time to catch his breath because we’re heading for the roof as soon as he can move. Sneak’s nearly there already, waving us on. She races to the other side to survey the situation and reappears a moment later, fingers signing so fast I can barely keep up. The others are there, Bron, Ret, Oleg and a giant Goliath machine, and the Zees are closing in from all sides. But it’s worse than that. A bad ass Hive leader’s directing the troops and he’s called back part of the chunk that had originally peeled away to chase us through the passageway. They’re about to head through the main gates and when they do, our friends will be overrun for sure.
-22-
We struggle to the roof and I pull myself over, my arms burning something fierce. This new Zee body of mine might have tremendous new strength, but it doesn’t have a whole lot of endurance. With Skuld gone, I might have a chance of tapping into Zee central, even if only momentarily, to help even the battle, but none of that’ll be possible unless we can take out this Hive leader.
Klaus is perched over a water tower coughing up blood.
Hive III Page 7
