Guard’s bought it, head wound. That’s Jay beside him and… that looks like Amber. Where are the others?
Mercy strained to see out the windscreen.
Looks like we’re in a ditch—
“Hey, Jay? Jay? Are you OK? Jay? Answer me. Jay?” Mercy shouted at the slumped figure beside the dead guard. Her eyes fell on a set of keys at the guard’s waist.
Amber stirred beside Mercy.
Jay groaned and shook his head, “Yeah, I’m here. Mercy?”
A familiar voice spoke up from behind the central partition.
“Hey, Mercy… I’m here.”
Rose—?
“Rose… Rose you’re alive,” relief washed over Mercy.
“And kicking, well not quite. My feet are chained to the floor. There’s a hell of a stink in here and it ain’t me, in case you’re wondering—”
“Tori here,” Tori’s voice joined Rose’s.
Something banged the partition on the other side. It was followed by a gurgling sound and more bangs.
“Hey. It’s me. Willow… I’m here,” Willow’s voice, piped up from behind the partition. “There’s something bad in here with us—”
“Everyone keep their shit together,” Mercy shouted. “Jay, get your hood off. The guard on your right, he’s dead. There’s keys on his belt, you’ve got to get them. Can you… dislocate your thumb? You might be able to slip your hand out of the cuffs—”
Jay stirred and used his handcuffs to pull himself up. He removed his hood and sat down again. He shook his head then spat some blood on the floor. “Think I bit my tongue—”
His speech is slurred. Shit, concussion maybe—
“OK Jay, keep focused. Can you slip the handcuffs over your wrist? Dislocate your thumb if you have to—” Mercy repeated.
Jay shook his head, “Can’t hear you too good. My ears… they’re ringing real bad—”
Mercy nodded and shouted the instructions again.
Jay grunted and yelled back, “Yeah, I see them. Hold on, I did this once before. Hurts like a bitch.” He took a deep breath and wrenched his left thumb with his right hand.” He cried out and swore.
His hand slipped free of the handcuffs and his arms fell from the overhead railing. After recovering for a few moments he grabbed the keys from the guard’s belt and undid his ankle chains. He removed Amber’s hood and gave the keys to her. She freed herself and Mercy. Mercy clambered forwards to the driver’s cab. She winced; shrapnel had top-sliced the driver’s skull.
Oh Jesus, looks like an open hard-boiled egg—
Mercy turned to the gap in the partition behind the driver’s seat. She spotted a torch attached to the panel above and grabbed it. She shone it into the dark recess behind the partition. Six hooded figures lay trussed up along the side of the truck.
Christ, there’s three alphas in there—
Mercy paused, “I’m coming to get you out, hold on.”
She clambered through the narrow gap and freed her three friends. The alphas pulled against their restraints but were held fast. Rose, Tori and Willow climbed through to the driver’s cab and took two HK45 pistols, an M16 rifle and an Ithaca 37 shotgun from the two dead NSA soldiers up front. Rose handed a combat knife back to Mercy.
“You’ll want to do the honours,” Rose said.
Mercy took the knife and dispatched the three chained alphas.
NSA tattoos on all of them. These are the weaponised alphas. Are the NSA planting them out here? Are they meant to fight Constantine’s ground forces? Or… are they doing some kind of recon work?
Mercy clambered into the driver’s cab. She glanced out the side window and froze. Six feral-looking alphas were slipping through the trees led by a familiar figure.
It’s that alpha queen from the Naval Academy. The bitch is still alive. She must’ve escaped from the watchers and their flamethrowers in that basement car park. Christ, this is no coincidence—
The alphas disappeared from view. Mercy sunk back against the driver’s seat.
Rose popped her head through from the rear. “We’ve got another pistol, rifle and two frags from the guard back here—” her words were interrupted by banging and scraping on the truck’s rear doors.
“What the hell next?” Mercy swung around and looked in the side mirror.
A large group of tropes had climbed into the ditch from the road. They were gathering around the back of the truck.
Jesus H. Well that sucks… there must be thirty of them. The explosions will have drawn them, there’ll be more on the way, shit—
Mercy turned to Rose, “We’ve got company. Hand me a frag—”
Rose passed a fragmentation grenade through to Mercy. The radio in the driver’s cab burst to life making Mercy jump.
“Base to Red 6, base to Red 6. Bird on its way, repeat bird on its way. ETA your position 20 minutes. Prepare for extraction—”
Goddammit NSA, give us a fucking break—
Mercy checked the left wing mirror.
Shit, they’re moving down the side of the vehicle—
Mercy turned to the others in the back, “OK, listen up. Tropes are gonna surround us if we’re not quick. I’m going to throw a frag out of the gun turret as far as I can… into the trees. The explosion should draw most of them away. We can climb out the turret and get away. Everyone understand?”
Willow had to repeat the plan to Jay. When they were ready Mercy climbed into the gun turret and opened the hatch. She checked for tropes then pulled the pin and threw the grenade far into the trees. Seconds later a loud explosion filled the air. Mercy withdrew into the vehicle and watched through the windscreen and driver’s window. Tropes were moving away from the truck towards the trees.
“Right, everyone out. Rose… you first, everyone follow Rose. Don’t make any noise—” Mercy pressed her index finger to her lips and pointed at Jay. He nodded and gave a thumbs up signal.
They clambered out through the gun turret and picked their way through the forest away from the tropes. Mercy checked the watch she had taken from the dead driver.
3:10 pm—
The dull thump of rotors broke the silence.
NSA—
Rose sped up, forcing the others to run across the forest floor.
They’ll have thermal imaging. Christ, if we could get to a river it might shield us—
Rose took a hard left and disappeared from view.
Rose, what the fuck—?
The rotors grew louder. Mercy stumbled down the hidden dip after the others. Rose was standing beside a huge oak tree.
It’s been hit by lightning—
The tree was blackened, dead. A large fissure split through the upper trunk. The inside of the tree was hollow. Rose stepped through the fissure and vanished, the others followed her, disappearing from view.
Nice one Rose, you’re a star—
Mercy reached the tree and clambered into its dim interior. There was plenty of room inside. Jay and Amber sat down beside each other. Mercy held a finger to her lips and pointed upwards. They listened. The rotors came close and echoed through the forest. The roar of the helicopter surged for a few minutes then lessened as it banked away.
“They’ll be doing a sweep, for survivors, for us,” Mercy said.
“We need to see what they’re doing,” Rose answered.
Mercy looked up at the dark interior of the tree. A narrow shaft of light penetrated the darkness above.
“Give me a leg up. I’ll try and get up there, I might be able to see something,” Mercy said.
Rose gave Mercy a boost. Mercy reached and found a handhold, she pulled herself up.
“Stand on my shoulders,” Rose said.
Mercy stepped onto Rose’s shoulders and found another, higher handhold. She climbed up and emerged from the upper part of the fissure. She steadied herself, her feet finding purchase below. She scanned the sky and the surrounding forest. Tall buildings caught her eye in the distance.
That’s gotta be D
C—
She followed the helicopter noise and caught a glimpse of the Bell UH-1Y Venom through the trees. She counted five NSA soldiers fast roping from the helicopter.
Shit, shit, shit. We’ve gotta bug out—
The helicopter pulled away, its engine noise receding.
Good, we can move out, away from that recon unit—
Mercy lowered herself through the fissure and dropped to the ground. “The helo’s gone, they’ve dropped a sweep team about a quarter mile away. They’ll check the crash site and do a search of the area. Hopefully those tropes will keep them busy. I saw a city skyline, it must be DC. Follow me, we need to push hard to get away from here.”
“My hearing’s coming back,” Jay said, standing up. “I heard what you said.” He pulled a face and looked at Tori and Willow, then turned to Mercy. “Look, we’re done here. We never signed up to go to DC. We’ve nailed the Beast. Job done, we’re grateful to you for getting us out of that shithole, but we need to move on. We’ve no business in DC. I can’t speak for Amber… but me, Tori and Willow are gonna bail.” Jay turned to Amber, “You’re welcome to come with us if you want. We’ll go inland, find a place to rest up and figure things out from there—”
Amber looked at Mercy, her brow furrowed, “Yeah, no, I mean, I don’t want to go to DC… that’s where the NSA are—”
I knew this was coming—
Mercy held up a hand, “It’s OK Amber, I get it. I’d do the same if I were you.”
Mercy hugged Amber, Jay, Tori and Willow.
“You keep the shotgun and one of the rifles. Good luck and stay safe. Me and Rose will head towards the city. I’ll point out where the recon unit landed—”
They climbed out of the tree and parted company. Jay and the others went north. Mercy and Rose headed west, weaving through the trees and undergrowth, pushing the pace. Two minutes later Mercy stopped before a clearing. She dropped to her stomach, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. Rose lay down beside Mercy, her breathing laboured.
A low rumble came from the far side of the clearing. Mercy lowered her head keeping her eyes on the opposite treeline. Twenty yards away a squat, tracked vehicle emerged from the undergrowth. It stopped for a few seconds before moving across the clearing. Mercy scanned the trees for troops.
Seems to be on its own. Looks like it’s carrying a machine gun. Autonomous or remote operator controlled. Shit, it’s stopped again—
The tracked vehicle paused, the housing supporting the machine gun turned towards Mercy’s position.
Oh—
To the north gunfire erupted, followed by an explosion.
Shit, Jay and the others—?
The tracked vehicle took off across the clearing and headed north, through the trees. The distant gunfire persisted for a few more seconds then stopped.
“Fuck,” Rose whispered.
“Roger that,” Mercy replied.
Uber fuck—
The sky rumbled and heavy drops of rain fell from the sky. The heavens opened.
Right on cue—
Chapter 27
City Limits
An hour later Mercy and Rose emerged from the trees. The rain was unrelenting. Broken houses stretched out across broken streets littered with broken cars and trucks. They spent three hours picking their way across the dead suburban wasteland. The further they went the more congested the roads became.
“Shit, this is old stuff. All the streets are blocked, its gridlock. I’ve not seen anything like this since we left New York City,” Rose said. Water dripped from her hair and nose. They were both soaked to the skin.
“Look over there, down that street,” Mercy tilted her head, reading a battered street sign. “Benning Road… you can see the river.”
“The Anacostia; the NSA’s eastern barrier to DC—” Rose added.
“We’re close, I can almost feel it,” Mercy gripped her pistol.
“What about the subway station? Blue Line, Capitol Heights to Station Armory wasn’t it? That guy back in the FEMA camp, Rick… he said that’s how he got his family out. It’ll get us under the river… if we can find it—” Rose ran her hand through her hair. She shivered, evening was approaching.
Mercy looked at the frozen chaos of the street.
We’re walking through a fucking time capsule. This is ancient history, all of it… archaeology. The great fossil fuel empire has died and left its trash all over the place. Who knew there was such a fine line between the twenty-first century and the Stone Age——?
Mercy looked at her watch; 6:03 pm. “We need to find shelter and food. We’ve got to dry out. I’m starving, you must be too. Let’s check out the riverbank. I’m not convinced about the subway, I had enough of that shit back in New York—”
Rose spat on the ground, “I hear you on that—”
They moved down the street. A gas station caught Mercy’s attention. Rusting cars choked the forecourt. She stopped.
“Looks looted, but we might find something useful,” Mercy said.
“OK, let’s check it out,” Rose answered. “I can at least ogle the ice cream pictures.”
Mercy stopped, the ghost of a smile playing across her lips, “Ogle, ice cream, now there’s two words I’ve not heard recently. They sound… good. Yeah, I’d like to ogle some ice cream pictures too.”
“Food porn, it’s a thing… correction, it was a thing—” Rose said, deadpan.
“Yeah, well let’s hope it’s all good in this hood,” Mercy replied.
They crossed the forecourt. The rain lessened then stopped. Mercy reached the shop and peered inside. She banged the door with the flat of her hand and waited. A rusty street sign squeaked in the light breeze, a crow called in the distance.
Nothing—
Mercy opened the door and entered the trashed shop. The shelves were empty, the stained floor was strewn with garbage and old newspapers. She scanned the scene, processing every detail. Rose stood by the door, facing outwards. Mercy stepped towards the magazine shelves, she reached down and picked up a metropolitan map of Washington DC. She opened it and scanned the eastern side of the Anacostia River.
Rose approached and looked over Mercy’s shoulder, “There’s Benning Road and… there’s Capitol Heights… we’d have to retrace our steps but we could find the subway station—”
Mercy chewed her lip, “I don’t know—” her eyes strayed to the Anacostia River. She traced it with her finger. “Look Rose… here, there’s an island: Kingman Island. Looks mostly wooded, like a nature reserve, no houses. It’s connected by a footbridge to a smaller island to the west… Heritage Island, and that’s got a footbridge to the city side of the river—”
“I know what you’re thinking,” Rose murmured. “But it’s a big river, wouldn’t the current drag us beyond the island and under that bridge? Look, there’s the RFK stadium there. They’ll have eyes on the bridge, we could be busted… or we could end up in the Potomac. Neither option healthy—”
Mercy pulled a face, “We survived the Hudson, remember?”
“Yeah, and we know how that worked out,” Rose fired back.
“True, we didn’t actually cross it, but, no… I don’t want to go underground if I can help it. If I’m gonna die, I want to die with sky above me. The subway brings back… bad memories, not just Woodmore mine but from back home too—”
Rose patted Mercy’s shoulder, “I get it. OK, so I guess we’re looking for a way to cross the river. We might find a boat or something, an inner tube even?”
“A boat would be better, there’ll be all kinds of crap floating down the river; trees, branches, logs… bodies.”
“Tropes,” Rose said. “The underwater ones are the worst, you can’t see what you’re fighting—”
“OK then, quick scout around the back for anything useful, then we’ll check out the river before the light goes—”
They drew a blank with the rest of the shop, apart from a pair of pliers which Rose pocketed. They moved west toward
s the river, passing under the Anacostia Freeway and leaving Benning Road. A bridge loomed in the distance. They entered a residential area. Mercy’s habit of checking street names kicked in as they neared the river.
Eads Street… Dix Street—
Mercy stopped as they turned the corner into Dix Street.
Shit—
The wreck of a wide-body airliner lay embedded in the street, its wings had been torn off.
“How come it’s not burnt out?” Rose asked, her voice hollow.
“I don’t know, most of the ones I’ve seen before were torched. Maybe they just kept circling until they ran out of fuel. Who knows?”
“Yeah, who knows? The pilots could’ve been flying a planeload of tropes—”
“Let’s not go there Rose,” Mercy replied. “Wait. It’s huge, so it’ll have life jackets and… probably life rafts. What do you think?”
“Stands to reason. Yeah, if it was travelling over water it’d have life rafts, it’d have to,” Rose’s voice became animated. “Let’s check out that sucker—”
Mercy and Rose approached the crash site. They managed to scramble up the left wing stump to an open door. Mercy poked her head inside the aircraft and listened.
Nothing—
Rows of seats extended up the aisle on her right. She stepped inside and scanned the rows. Decayed bodies, mostly husks, occupied the seats as far as she could see.
Jesus, they’re still strapped in… most of them—
“Husks. Skinnies. This is fucked up,” Rose whispered over her shoulder.
“Yeah, ditto that,” Mercy whispered. “Come on, focus, life jackets, a life raft and anything else useful—”
They searched the nearest seats and found six life jackets. Rose went forward to the aircraft galley. She pulled out a food cart and opened its drawers. All the food was spoiled apart from a section containing crackers and biscuits. “Result,” she muttered, filling her pockets.
Mercy returned to the aircraft door. Rose helped her carry the lifejackets out onto the wing stump. They sat down and ate some crackers.
The Survival Chronicles (Book 6): Dark Mercy Page 19
