The Foliage (The Foliage Series Book 1)

by Nathan Ward

  “KILL THEM!” ordered Houghton in a mechanical voice

  The two soldiers opened fire upon the figures who narrowly avoided being gunned down by making a hasty retreat against the corner wall they had quickly turned. They watched as bullets penetrated the wall in front of them causing chunks of debris to fall, erupting into dust clouds.

  The two figures were Josh and Gary, set in their stride waiting for the right opportunity to strike. The gun fire had now stopped, so he decided to make the most of the situation, and Josh turned the corner followed by Gary at his side. They both unleashed a hail of bullets at direction of Houghton, ripping through the UNA soldiers as if they were paper dolls.

  Houghton cowered from the bullets, raising her arm in front of her face as the two soldier's blood covered her, spattering artificial flesh. Then she took an upright stance, making eye contact with Josh, and the blood that did not belong to her, the very human blood that had spattered her, began to drip down her face, finding its way in to all the mechanical gears and covering her glowing eye, acting as a filter now projecting a powerful red hellish light.

  “You cannot stop the inevitable, Josh,” she stated, “Your race was never destined to rule this planet.”

  Josh did not break eye contact, and replied with courage and all the strength he could muster.

  “We have never wanted to be rulers of Earth, we just want to share it.

  Together the human race will defend what is rightfully ours, now we have come together in a way never seen before in mankind's history to rid our world of the virus you dirty hacks planted! This is nothing like the wars this planet has seen before, man fighting man over quarrels that were caused through religious beliefs! This, this is a war where the human race fights to exterminate the motive inside your inhuman rig of a skull!”

  Houghton mockingly clapped.

  “Bravo, but sadly there is still nothing you can do now. You were just simply too late, perhaps you spent too much time feeling sorry for yourself when the havoc began. Here you are, at the eve of the Earth's destruction and still you manage to let everything slip through your fingers!”

  Then Houghton made a dive for the control room doorway, but as she landed Josh managed to fire a burst of bullets towards her legs, the bullets ripped through artificial flesh, buckling against her mechanical skeletal body until a leg was ripped free from her body and flung down the corridor, sparks emitting from the torn wires. Houghton dragged her body inwards and then slammed her fist on the door switch, and the doorway sealed, leaving Josh and Gary stuck outside.

  “DAMN!” yelled Josh as he thumped a fist on the sealed door.

  “Don’t worry, I nabbed a few of these inside the hangar,” Gary told him, and then he pulled two magnetic explosives from the pocket of his worn jacket.

  Inside the control room, Houghton pulled herself up on to her single leg, holding on to the central console as her android gaze fixed through the glass of the window, where she watched her soldiers and Austin's fighters facing off, preparing to engage.

  “LAUNCH THE NUCLEAR DEVICE!” Commander Houghton yelled in desperation.

  “As you command,” said the computer system.

  Back outside in the courtyard, the tension is was high as both sides waited for the other to make a move. At the back of the UNA guard a soldier began to march forward, pushing his way through his brothers in arms. He was armed with a with a pump action shot gun, and wearing the all white uniform and sealed by a glass visor helmet. He reached the front of the pack, stood right beside the group commander, and for a moment he stopped to stare at all of the freedom fighters, all the different races come together to put a stop to their leaders wrong doings.

  But deluded by his success handed to him by his superiors, he did not see the wrongs that Austin and his people had come to put right. The soldier raised his weapon and aimed it towards Austin, who had been caught completely off guard.

  The fighters grasped at their weapons and raised them towards the opposition – but any attempt to diffuse the situation had come far too late as a shot was fired.

  Austin’s jacket began to soak up a shade of deep red, his face paled to chalk and he collapsed to the mud. Sasha ran over to his body screaming in shock and pain and anger and all the other terrible emotions that came with loss, then she fell to her knees, clutching at him and holding his head up. The other soldiers had started to fire back, trading bullets with one another, and now more bodies were falling to the ground as if the bullets that flew through the air to cut down the fighters were some kind of relentless rain of death.

  A fighter drew his hand made axe and gave it a swing, the UNA soldiers jumped out of its way narrowly avoiding contact. The man noticed a soldier fallen beside him so he hastily made another swing, pulling down the axe into the soldier's chest. A burst of blood blurred his vision red but he went on, turning away and hoisting his axe out of the man's corpse and throwing it into the back of a retreating UNA guard.

  Further back, a UNA soldier was disarmed by Thomas, but the soldier rose to his feet and drew a baton from his belt holster, Thomas grasped at a pointed pole which he had spent hours sharpening during his travels. The two made swings at each other with their weapons, but every attempt to cause damage was cancelled by swift blocking stances. The soldier raised his baton and began to beat down on the weapon, pushing Thomas deep in to the mud. As the soldier withdrew to make another swing, Thomas swept the pole across the soldier's feet, knocking him to the ground, then he jumped back up plunged the sharp end of the pole towards the soldiers head, but then Thomas was thrown across the courtyard by another UNA soldier. He landed painfully, twisting his ankle. The UNA soldier was pulled to his feet and then stood side by side with another, and then together they marched towards Thomas with their batons held above their heads, ready to beat the young lad to death.

  Thomas struggled to back away from the oncoming enemies, slowly and painfully shuffling until his back came in to contact with the perimeter wall. He frantically looked around at the battle that still raged, then he reached out, desperately searching for a way to pull himself to his feet, but the soldiers continued to close in on him just a few feet away, preparing to swing their batons.

  The first UNA soldier was now in reaching distance, so with an almighty swing he smashed the baton down on to an arm Thomas had raised in defence. He gave a cry of pain that went unnoticed above the cries and wails of other wounded fighters, then the second soldier took his turn, yanking his baton down towards his head - but before it could make contact his swing was foiled, as Thomas was coated in a thick layer of the enemy's blood as a sniper bullet penetrated the UNA soldier’s skull, it travelled through, came out the other side and embedded into a wall.

  The second soldier made a rapid turn and tried to identify the shooter, he looked from left to right, witnessing his allies killing and being killed by the freedom fighters. when he noticed crouched beside Austin’s body, Sasha had the barrel of her rifle aimed right at his head. In a moment of desperation knowing his life could be taken as any moment, he raised his hand as a natural reflex, as a sharp pointed wooden stake was charged through his back. emerging out of his chest and impaling his risen hand, leaving him unable to fall, unable to catch a last breath. Thomas rose to his feet holding tight to the stake, he slowly pulled the soldier in closer. His mouth and nose were now running with blood, his heart beating a hundred times a second with moments to spare before giving in. It was then Thomas whispered in to the soldier’s ear:

  “You took the wrong side, mother fucker.”

  He reached into his boot and pulled out a butterfly knife, flicked out the blade and shoved it into the soldier’s neck before ripping it out and watching the blood waterfall down his body, staining the white uniform. Then Thomas let go of the stake and kicked the soldier in to the mud.

  Chapter 12 – The Pit

  Inside the main control room, Houghton balanced on her intact leg awaiting the launch of the nuclear missile, her tinted r
ed eye barely broke contact with the sky, staring in to the nothingness while crippled mechanical limbs sparked and leaked artificial body fluids.

  Then the door behind her was blown in and flew across the room, colliding with the thick glass window, leaving a deep crack.

  Houghton turned her head, followed by what remained of her body, to witness Josh and Gary gaining entry to the control room, both were armed with UNA rifles aimed directly at her. Houghton didn't make another move - instead she gave one final command:

  “Activate self destruct sequence, this order cannot be…”

  The bullet fired by Josh sliced through her pulsating eye, destroying her android mind before the final command could be completed. Her metallic skull began to pulsate as green fluids pumped out of her wiry arteries. Her body collapsed heavily to the ground as internal fluids continued to leak out, and the two coloured fluids began to react and dissolve part of her artificial skin.

  Josh issued a countermand and the system accepted without delay.

  “It’s usually more difficult than that in the movies…” he said as the system confirmed cancellation.

  “This isn’t no movie, this is the real fucking thing!” Gray replied, sounding shaken as he thought about what would have happened if the cancellation had not been accepted... this had been too close to the wire.

  The fight was still going strong in the courtyard underneath the control deck. All of the men and women were now beginning to slow, now battle weary and many wounded as they continued to fight where bodies littered a ground made slippery with the blood of the fallen.

  One UNA soldier grabbed a female fighter by the hair and yanked it back, she fell in to the mud heavily, this move attracted a nearby UNA team mate who ran straight over and began to beat the woman with his bare hands, before find an axe lodged suddenly in his thigh. The soldier was swiftly beheaded by a freedom fighter, who pulled the axe from the fallen soldier’s leg and reburied it in the other soldier’s forehead. The soldier fell face first to the ground, and the fighter pulled the woman to her feet and asked if she was okay, and all she could do was nod.

  Sasha climbed to her feet, pulling the weight of her rifle with her. As she made a firing stance she was met with a Colt Python aimed against her cheek. The captain of the UNA soldiers had made his final move, he pulled off his helmet with one hand revealing a young, yet matured face. He had a trimmed beard and straight brown hair, he gazed at Sasha with deep dark brown eyes as he toyed with the temptation of shooting her, but then instead, he did something else:

  “It’s over,” he said.

  Sasha could still feel the weight of the gun to her cheek and shot him a nervous, sideways glance.

  “It’s over for all of us,” she replied.

  The Captain raised his hand and the UNA soldiers caught in conflict grabbed their opponents and held them down, not making another move, simply waiting, despite the losing soldiers who were unable to follow the command, the fallen, were still being beaten to death by the freedom fighters.

  But then, as silence began to descend, the freedom fighters stopped their assault and stepped back, their hands and faces bloody from battle as they watched and waited, wondering what this cease fire would mean as all eyes turned to the UNA Captain. The battle had momentarily come to a halt - but Sasha was still held at gun point.

  “Was all of this death worth it?” said the Captain as he indicated to Austin's body, “Was this man's demise necessary? Have any of these deaths been necessary? Could all of this have been avoided if you had all given yourselves up months ago?”

  Sasha glared at him.

  “You have no idea, do you? The people at work here, you’ve been puppets to them since all of this began! Are you that stupid, how have you not seen it?”

  The Captain looked at Sasha, and his eyes clouded with confusion as he thought back and considered everything.

  “You ask me, was it worth it?” he said, “My answer to your question is yes. If we have to now give all of our lives for you to see the wrong doing, then we shall - because we stand together. Which is what the human race should have been doing so many years ago! But we have been here to help, to help rebuild. We took the children off the streets, fed them and gave them all a roof over their head while the virus spread through the cities claiming lives, we are not the enemy, we are the good guys!”

  “You were,“ Sasha replied, “But your good deeds were only going to be used against you! Your commander has a Nuclear missile aimed at your head and guess what? I’m confident that she is the only one expected to survive it! She is more than what this world has ever anticipated… this was always what it seemed. This is the extermination of the human race, today!”

  Sasha looked into the Captain's eyes, as the gun that he held began to lower. Silence fell across the courtyard, and all that could be heard was the wind as it shifted through trees in the distance.

  Then Sasha spoke again.

  “If we are to fight, then today is our last hope. Our lives are on the front line because, believe it or not, we have no time to waste!”

  Then Thomas looks down at the bloody ground as he felt a vibration beneath his feet.

  “Are you all feeling that?” he said.

  Then the ground started to shake noticeably, as suddenly the soil began to crack, the damp ground started to rip itself apart, and a circular pit slowly materialized as segments mechanically drew back. A UNA soldier on the edge lost his balance and fell,it was many seconds later when the crash sounded, indicating this pit was very deep...

  All of the fighters and UNA soldiers gathered cautiously around the edge looking down into a dark abyss, a place where smoke and steam rose up and outwards, filling the courtyard with mist.

  From the control deck, Josh and Gary went to the large glass window to witness the opening and all of their people staring down into the pit.

  Sasha looked over at the UNA Captain once more.

  “I wasn’t lying, we’ve always had our sources but this one wasn’t hard to work out. The only possible thing designed to survive a nuclear blast would be something beyond our current existence, something encased in cold emotionless steel.”

  The Captain's gaze was still fixed on the sight of the partly emerged nuclear missile.

  “What do we do?” he replied.

  Sasha paused, feeling the sheer weight of the question and knowing her answer could carry much significance.

  Then she looked back at the Captain.

  “I don’t know,” she said honestly.

  Chapter 13 - Descent

  Back on the control deck, Gary was growing more and more concerned. He grabbed at his shoulder, forcing Josh to look at him.

  “What are you thinking? ”

  Josh met his gaze.

  “I’m not,” he replied, “ I have the plan set.”

  Josh looked back out at the window, but this time he noticed that something was amiss as he realised steam continued to rise from the nuclear pit that was acting as a barrier. But Gary's eyes were wide with shock as he then realised the nuclear countdown timer was still counting down.

  Josh continued to pace the window, trying to get a better look past the steam, and when he did, and he saw what it was, he moved fast, grabbing his UNA rifle and unloading a burst of ammunition at the window - but it has no effect, because the thick glass was bullet proof. Josh then ran over to the section that the door had damaged during the explosion, he aimed for the weak spot ion the cracked glass and unleashed another burst which took out a chunk of glass, it shattered loudly, alerting everyone in the courtyard. Their heads turned to look up at the control deck platform.

  Josh simply shouted down two words:

  “HOWLERS INBOUND!”

  Sasha turns away and draws her sniper scope to her eye, aiming towards the tree line in which they had travelled through to arrive at the UNA command facility.

  Enrique, the freedom fighter who had swung the axe many times in battle, approached Sasha and the Captain w
ho stood behind her.

  “How many?” he asked.

  Sasha slowly lowered her rifle, turning her head as she looked at Enrique.

  “Thousands.” she said in a hushed voice.

  Hundreds upon hundreds of infected corpses began to rampage out of the surrounding forest, hurtling their way towards the defenceless UNA entrance. It sounded like a stampede of animals, howling, hungry for flesh, and the sound filled the air.

  Josh gave one last command to his people and those who had decided to join them from the UNA squad:

  “If you want to live, if you want to have just a glimmer of hope to see the sun rise again, we have to move right now! Get your asses up here now!”

  The Captain, Sasha, Enrique, Thomas and the few remaining freedom fighters swiftly turned to head towards the steel doors directly underneath the command deck. The Captain pulled out his key card and swiped it on the side panel and the steel door slid open.

  “Everyone inside, “ he said, “Take the stairwell on the left, it will lead you directly to command where you will meet with your leader.”

  The group entered and began to head up the stairwell, but Sasha hung back, looking to the Captain.

  “You’re coming with us, right?”

  The Captain paused, then shot her a look of regret as he wished he could explain.

  By now the hordes of infected had reached the torn down gates and were about to enter the courtyard, it was then the Captain pushed Sasha inside and was about to join her, but was pulled away by a UNA soldier behind him.

  The soldier pushed his helmet against the Captain’s face.

  “There is no place for traitors!” he said sharply.

  The captain swiftly drew his sword from a back sheath and swung it around, slicing off the soldier's arm. Then he ran through the doorway and swiped his card, activating the door to seal. As it closed his last sight was his his former unit being covered by the swarm of monsters. From then on, there was only the sound of countless beats against the steel door as the creatures tried to gain access.