We ended up in the main lobby of the hospital again, and it sounded as though all hell had broken loose. Deathly shrieks and twisting monstrosities filled the street. Without thinking, the two of us just ran wherever we could. It was so hard to try to figure out how much time had passed… maybe forty seconds?
All we did was sprint straight down the street, not daring to look back. We entered a part of the city that was only vaguely familiar, like a dream that you’re certain you had once, but couldn’t remember when. Just as I noticed the architecture of the surrounding buildings downsizing and the faint smell of burning rubber in the air, Danni and I were stopped as a steel spear lodged itself into a car nearby, piercing the roof and goring the floor, pinning the vehicle to the pavement beneath it.
We looked towards the source of the missile, and found a very familiar guerilla standing on top of a dilapidated brick apartment.
“That’s far enough.” Ortiz lightly chuckled. He jumped down to meet us, making the city quake. The screen of his mech was down, showing his tired face with an expectant expression.
“Your man’s dead. We found him—” I began before I was cut off.
“I know already. We could hear the creatures from all over the city. That poor soul we lost…” Ortiz brooded, letting out a heavy sigh.
“The city’s safe now, though.” Danni added in. Perhaps she thought it would convince him that his comrade’s death wasn’t in vain. He looked back up and made eye contact with her.
“You’re sure?”
“For thirty miles.”
He seemed impressed. His eyes scanned the ground as if he was looking for something in the broken concrete, and he nonchalantly waved his hand.
“You’re free to go. Your machine is sitting at the end of this road. Don’t even think about going anywhere else, simply head straight there. Once you two manage to pull the spear out, he’ll be perfectly fine again.” Ortiz explained before heading down one of the roads he told us not to follow.
Just like that, we were through another nightmare. Of course we were grateful, but Danni’s expression told me that she was just as astonished as I was that he held his end of the bargain, even though logic would’ve dictated that a tribe so bound by honor would do so no matter what. Not being ones to take this freedom for granted, we were on our way.
“By the way… I was right. See? We ended up fine.” Danni mentioned as we walked. Behind the dirt she was caked with, the dozens of cuts that lined her arms, face and neck, and the oil that was splattered all over her clothes, she somehow found a way to smile.
“Yeah…” was all I could really respond with. I was just a little too tired to give more than that, and as usual, she picked up on that. She playfully pulled me close to her, and held me for a brief moment before we continued.
The pale sun was starting to wind down for the day; it was going to be dusk in an hour or two. Even though it had nearly cost us our lives, now that we were sure that the city was free from those nightmares, and the guerrillas at least understood that we performed such an important service to them, our home was safe again, inhabitable.
Just at the outskirt of the city, where the town line met a wasteland, Tank was lying in wait, just as we were told he would be. We ran up to him, looking over his entire hull. Disregarding the lance in his neck, he was perfectly fine. As Danni and I both grasped the metal javelin and heaved, it started to slide out with the occasional spark. It was a bit discomforting to realize that he was no longer the invincible titan we thought he was before, but worrying about that too much would only hold us back.
The next few feet of the rod came out all at once, making the two of us stumble. Tank’s eyes lit up and he rose to life. His iron heart beat louder than ever as every mechanism inside of him seemed to fail for a split second. His drill spun without restraint, and his other limbs trembled uncontrollably. A siren howled, and a deafening blast that sounded like a bomb going off erupted from within his steel body. Danni and I quickly backed up to a safe distance, but by the time we were a few feet away, it was no longer necessary. The spasm that momentarily took control of his wired muscles had passed. He gurgled a message drenched with static. We got a little closer to hear the message once we recognized Eddy’s voice somewhere in there…
“AM I FINALLY GETTING THROUGH TO YOU TWO?” was the very first phrase we understood through all the static.
“Yeah! We’ve been to hell and back, we—”
“NO TIME! JUST FOLLOW TANK, YOU CAN’T COME BACK TO HQ, YOU HAVE TO HEAD TO THE RENDEZ—” his voice cut into more static.
“Eddy?!” I shouted into the communicator. An emergency was the very last thing I wanted to hear about at that moment.
“HQ’S UNDER ATTACK, FOLLOW TANK! I’LL MEET UP W—” was the very last thing we heard him shouting before he and the static cut to silence.
We exchanged nervous glances. Tank immediately shifted his position. He marched onward on a predetermined path, and we followed him instead of it being the other way around this time.
While Tank’s heavy gait making the earth rumble was comforting enough to fill the void of silence, the city wasn’t there anymore to provide company. I never realized that dead buildings that became specters to us could make us feel secure in isolation, and Danni must have been affected by it much more than I was. She was quiet the entire time, looking at the ravaged grassland that we treaded then. It was such a wide-open space, so plain, so uniform… unlike the city that we could lock ourselves and our memories in forever.
The daylight had been neatly tucked away, and the stars and moon popped up by the time we arrived. The landscape changed during our journey from a flat and beaten grassland to a cornfield that now encompassed us. We were in a massive clearing in the field, and there was a large, raging fire about twenty feet away. In front of us was a tall, thin building of a deep-ocean blue with doors labeled “U.S.P.L.”.
Just moments after we arrived, a worn-down truck the same color as the building stopped close by. Eddy was in the driver’s seat! He threw the door open and slammed it so hard that he shattered the rear-view mirror. He was out of breath, and looked at us with confusion.
“I just… I just… The HQ was under attack! There were mutants, hundreds of ‘em! Like the ones in Europe! I just barely got out, an—”
“HEY! MILLER’S PET IS STILL OUT THERE, GET INSIDE! QUICK!” a voice called from inside the building. Considering the situation, we were willing to listen to anybody who offered shelter. All three of us ran inside, and Tank stayed outside and apparently kept watch; he seemed to understand that something wasn’t quite right. We hurried inside, and found a sterile, white hallway. There were about three rooms on the left, and a sullen elevator to the right.
“Eddy, what happened?! I’ve been here since last night!” the owner of the voice shook Eddy. It was Beich!
“I dunno! They showed up all of a sudden! Like a friggin’ pack! It’s worse than I thought. I think Miller’s movin’ out a lot faster than I hoped.” Beich’s face transitioned from panic to despair. He looked around at the rest of us, and cleared his thoughts.
“Well… for those of you who don’t know, we’ve decided to codename the disease ‘buala’. It’s nearly global now. Speaking of the planet… this isn’t just Earth’s problem. I’m left with no choice but to show you, you must have seen a bit already.” he sighed.
“You must… we’ll form a fortification line around you, just to be safe. If we tell you to come inside, you come inside.” he popped his head into a room nearby, called a few men from inside, and commanded a line of rugged U.S.P.L. soldiers to go outside. They were told to form a circle around the facility and around the burning patch in the cornfield. “Ragtag” really was the best word to describe them; no uniformity in any way, not even by their weapons, Some were armed to the teeth, and others looked as though they could be a one-man army with their bare hands.
“Go and see it if you must. Don’t touch ANYTHING. You may be scared at first, so
come right back when you’re done. I’ll be able to try and explain.” We all began to walk towards the flames cautiously.
“Wait! Only one at a time. To be safe.” he commanded. Eddy, Danni, and I all exchanged nervous glances.
“…I’ll go first.” I loudly proclaimed. Danni, Eddy, and Beich looked impressed, but at this point, I was just curious to find out what it was. I walked cautiously toward the fierce and fiery spot, and they were no calmer when I was within a few feet than when I was a few dozen yards away. The flames reached up and swallowed up the night, about fifteen feet up. Only after I got close enough to feel my face heat up was I able to see exactly WHAT was burning… and I still didn’t completely comprehend it. It was about as tall as I was, and seemed to be a nuclear reactor. It was in the shape of one, anyway. Around it, in its shadow, were thousands of minuscule buildings, each one no bigger than my fist. This “town” stretched out for about fifteen feet. And then, I nearly ran away. Not out of fear, but shock. Shock quickly turned to wonder, childish wonder. Near my feet, and clustered into a group, were several diminutive creatures. Each one was about the size of one of my toes. They were mouse-like in appearance, with large ears and shining black eyes. They stood on their back legs, and stared up at me longingly. They wore ceremonial robes of white, green, and red. I crouched down, and they didn’t seem to react. Some held infants, others held children, and the rest clasped their own hands together. Each one had fur of a light-brown color. I smiled, thinking of how strange it was to find such precious little creatures in a world that was battered by disease and warfare. I was about to stretch out a friendly pinkie finger until I was called back by Beich.
“Leo, get back here! I told you not to touch!”
“I didn’t!” I called back as I walked from these fascinating beings.
“You were about to… Sci’Lyk are very fragile!” he snapped. He sighed, and started to explain.
“Communication efforts have been somewhat successful. They’re taking very long though. We’re not linguists, there’s only so much we can do in terms of communicating with them. They came a few months before the disease came here. From what we’ve been able to translate with them, it seems that that they call themselves ‘Sci’Lyk’, and a shuttle from Earth landed on a toxic planet near them. The shuttle kicked off the poisonous gases and dust that the planet usually held firmly, and it eventually landed on their home planet. That just goes to show how delicate the balance is in the universe… anyway, these few had to immigrate quickly in order to survive… the same things that are happening here were happening to them. We found that they had landed a small shuttle of theirs here one morning, and we were initially very frightened, of course! We let them be for a few days to determine what to do; we didn’t tell anyone outside of this facility. The next day, they had about a quarter of that city you see there done; they are extraordinary in their ability to gather resources and build. Unfortunately, it was only by poor luck that they landed here… they had no idea that not only did WE send the shuttle that kicked off the disease, but we now have to deal with said disease as well.” he took a long, deep breath.
“So what’s with the fire? And all the security?” Eddy asked. Beich sighed once more.
“We were attacked by one of Miller’s new weapons. It was a monster of sorts; I couldn’t describe it if I tried to. We couldn’t see it very well, it acted in a very hit-and-run manner. We did everything we could to defend the Sci’Lyk, but we were overwhelmed. All that I could figure out is that it must use echolocation, due to the way it moves and reacts. That’s all I can really say.” Beich rubbed his temples before looking behind himself.
“Everybody in, everybody in…” he muttered, motioning us inside the building. Once we were inside, he wasted no time.
“You, the kids. It’s late. Get in bed. We’ll talk tomorrow…” he demanded in an annoyed tone. He guided us to the elevator, and sent us to the fifth floor. Here was the same pristine white hallway, only to our left was a large window that let us see that the corn field went on for miles. There was a single door on this floor. We entered it, and inside was a single king-sized bed, a small bathroom, and a few boxes in an otherwise unimpressive room. In the crates, we found a clean set of clothes for both of us to change into. After throwing our oily, shredded, and bloodied old clothes in the trash, we had a chance to take a shower so we could finally feel decent once more. Danni was the first to jump right into the bed afterwards.
“I snore. Hope you didn’t forget that.” she yawned and stretched her arms. I laid down right beside her, and looked around the room. There was a light on the ceiling, a few boxes in the corner, more boxes, and… a few more boxes…?
“God… we’ve been through so much the past few days, how am I supposed to just sleep?” I sighed.
“We never know what’s gonna come next, better sleep while you can…” Danni also sighed. We both turned away for about thirty seconds.
“…Hey Danni?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you awake?”
“…No.”
“I just wanted to say that I’m glad I spent the past few days with you, and um… that I got to see you again after everything that happened to me when this all started.”
“Go on…” I could just envision the satisfaction rolling off of her lips. I just sighed once more.
“There’s nobody else I would’ve rather spent it with. I could die at any minute now, and I’m kinda glad it’s with you.”
“Whoaaaa, lover boy.” she laughed.
“What can I say? I’ve known you forever. I know almost everything about you, I don’t have a better friend than you.” She stretched out her arms once more and turned over to look at me.
“You know just what to say to warm up to a girl, huh?” she smugly remarked.
“Nah, I’m pretty bad at being a ladies’ man. Honestly, I just wanted to get that off my chest in case anything else happens.”
“I appreciate that, I really do. I know it’s tough, but… things are okay for the moment. Tomorrow could be a bloodbath for all we know, so just worry about right now. Is anything else on your mind?” she softly grinned.
“Well, I mean… I know I have something else to say, but I just don’t really know a good way to say it…” I whispered to her, making sure that this conversation was staying just between the two of us. My heart was beating faster and faster, and I had to lock my fingers together to keep them from trembling.
“Shush.” She laid one finger on my lips to silence me. She removed it a moment later, and I stayed silent.
“Did you really mean everything you just said?” she asked. I nodded.
“That’s all I needed to know.” Danni closed her eyes, and I closed my own. I cursed myself for only watching old monster movies instead of romantic indie films, but that was all swept away with a soft kiss. Our breathing slowed in this perfect reality, and our motions and emotions were one. With a final pucker, she separated her lips from mine with a quiet “mwah”. Our eyes opened again. Danni inhaled slowly, then grinned.
“Not bad for a tough bitch, huh?” she boasted. I grinned back, too tired to think of a response. I wrapped my arms around her, and let out one last heavenly sigh before drifting off into the recesses of my mind again…
I felt a deep rumbling beneath me. All sorts of uncomfortable sounds muddily traveled through my head, as though they were on a plane far from where I was. In such an exhausted state, I couldn’t quite connect where I had heard them before, nor did I care much to put in the effort to do so. I rolled myself over, just waiting for the surreal hallucinations to pass.
Without any warning, light began to bleed through my eyelids. I felt a familiar pair of hands on me.
“GET UP LEO! UP, UP!” Danni was shaking me awake. I shot out of bed, my slumber leaving me instantly. The source of the noises was clear: the chatter of gunfire and shouts rang through my head.
“C’mon, C’mon, let’s MOVE!” Danni was out of breath.
“Where are we going? What’s happening?!” I begged her to answer me. She grunted in frustration, and pointed out the window. There were more fires than ever, burning whatever wreckage fell in their path. The smoke became the sky. I headed for the elevator with Danni, and Eddy came tumbling out the second we reached it.
“We gotta go, we gotta go!” he hurried us into the elevator, panting as he arrived.
“We’re takin’ a back exit. Tank’s gonna be in the front, don’t panic if you don’t see ‘im, he’s there.” The elevator doors opened again promptly when we arrived at the first floor. Danni clasped her hand over her mouth when she got a better look at the corpses burning outside, but we were quickly turned away. We opened the door at the opposite end of the hallway in this once-pristine place. Behind the door we were led through was a gray garage, but we didn’t have time to enjoy the scenery. We went through a door that led outside, and the scarlet storms burnt our faces. We hurried alongside the building in the orange-red light, and found the front. The detour was seemingly pointless; Eddy was clearly trying to avoid something. Looking back at the miniature city that was burning, I realized that the very same thing that Eddy was fearful of being hunted by could easily hunt the Sci’Lyk!
“I’LL BE QUICK!” I tried to dash to where I found them before, but Eddy grabbed my collar.
“GOD DAMMIT LEO, THEY’LL BE FINE! WE GOTTA GO!” he shouted at me as loudly as he could. He tried to hurry us into the truck, but a new, terrifying obstacle presented itself…
The body of a soldier was tossed in our direction. He was screaming through the air until we heard a loud crack when he hit the dirt. His body slid by us, and other soldiers were firing in the direction he was tossed. Then, the monstrosity burst through the flames.
God help us.
It was a black devoid of any light, and its charcoal skin was moist, like an amphibian. Its body was divided into segments, and it had the appearance of being a snake-worm hybrid. The tail was a lethal pincer (which had an unfortunate soldier’s arm stuck on the end). Its head was pointed and blood-stained, sharp as a butcher’s knife. It was about ten feet tall, but around twenty feet in length. Its head and tail were able to rotate in place, like an owl’s neck. It let out a deafening shriek-hiss. Its head focused on Danni, Eddy and I, and I took a deep gulp. I looked down, then closed my eyes, ready for a brutal death. The very moment that I felt the earth shift under me as it leapt forward, another force made the ground rumble. Tank! My eyes were wide open again, but I was still rooted to the same spot. Tank had tackled the creature from afar, sending both of them rolling. They tumbled through the flames and carnage a few times, clung together, before both threw the other away, the two of them then standing about twenty feet apart in a deadly face-off. They both growled their menace; Tank released a deep warning siren and the beast let out another high-pitched hiss. They stared at each other through their own mode of vision: Tank in every wavelength known to man and the monstrosity with echolocation. The two leapt at each other at the same time! They grappled with each other again, desperately struggling to find the other’s weakness. Tank tried drilling into the monster’s thick hide with little success, and the monster pecked at Tank’s metal armor. Tank grappled with the head of it and tried to twist it around, but it squirmed free. The beast wrapped its body around Tank’s legs and tripped him. It tried to take a lethal stab at his neck, but Tank sprayed his fire extinguisher into its face. It cried out, and Tank drilled straight into its mouth. The monstrosity wailed out even louder, black blood exploding from its face. It quickly used its tail to burrow under the earth, and popped out underneath Tank! He tripped once more, and the beast tried to stick its bloody and battered broadsword-face in between Tank’s plating. It must have hit a vital wire, because Tank wailed out and drilled straight into the monster’s face again. It cried out again; it couldn’t take any more of the abuse. The monster quickly burrowed underground again, but didn’t return. After we were sure it was gone, Eddy ran up to Tank and surveyed him.
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