by SD Tanner
As if only just realizing how insensitive her comment had been, she cried, “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Her anxious reply made him smile. He knew Lexie didn’t see him as being disabled, and there was never any spite in anything she said. When she was under stress she didn’t watch her words, and he didn’t take it personally. Sharing a barracks with her most nights, he’d grown fond of her clumsy ways. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in her, but his wounds were fresh, and he didn’t have the bandwidth for a woman as demanding as Lexie. For as much as he liked her, he needed to take care of himself, and that didn’t leave much time for having a girlfriend.
“I got it,” Tank said, as he dragged the angry, complaining critter towards the door.
“Bring it to the hangar.”
CaliTech also had a small hospital facility, and thanks to Dunk’s considerable budget, it had only the most advanced medical equipment and operating theater. A doctor called Dayton had arrived with Jonesy’s group and was eager to dismantle one of the critters. He’d practically genuflected when he’d seen the hospital had the most up-to-date MRI and CT scanners, surgical imaging, ECT and EEG monitors, and 3D printers.
Appearing at his side, Dayton asked enthusiastically, “What type did we get?”
He was right to ask about the type of critter. After studying the footage from their recon in the desert and the hospital, he’d found at least four types. One version could fly, another was shaped like an enormous spider, there was a tall, thick-limbed creature that spat what he assumed was the goo, and a squat, fat variety with feet like shovels.
The sound of screeching static filled the hangar, and he turned his chair to watch Tank dragging the annoying creature into the middle of the room. With its twenty skinny limbs clawing at the floor, it was trying to pull itself away from Tank, while he dragged it along by the chains tied around its body.
“Ugly little fuckers, aren’t they?” Trigger remarked dourly.
When he’d arrived in the hangar, Leon, Tuck and Trigger had been training to use their hydraulics. After explaining he was getting a critter from the spider shed, they’d cleared the training floor and were now sitting on a bench still wearing their Navigator gear. With their shared military background, they’d quickly formed an easy camaraderie and he felt like he was back in the army. Being unable to join them in combat, his role with this squad was very different from his last, but he’d noticed they followed his orders without question. Where Lexie had once been his only concern, he now found himself directing the entire squad during battle.
“I once dated a woman who sounded like that in the sack,” Tuck commented.
“Could be the same woman,” Leon replied. “They evolved from humans.”
Nodding sagely, Tuck said thoughtfully, “Could be.”
Rolling his chair over to where Tank was standing, he studied the chained critter dispassionately. In real life, their skin resembled a blackened car tire with deep creases around their joints. The ends of each leg had three lethally sharp claws, and if it got a grip on anything then it would be difficult to dislodge. The hard and curved body was smooth, about three feet wide and almost two feet thick. The head was tiny by comparison, no bigger than an orange, and he detected the remnants of its ancestry in the molded eyes, nose and mouth.
“Strap it down.”
Tank began to feed the chains through thick metal loops in the floor, securing it tightly. The creature’s twenty legs scrabbled uselessly, and its claws scraped loudly against the concrete as it tried to gain traction.
“What are you gonna do to it first?” Leon asked.
“Weapons testing. Starting with the most basic to advanced,” he replied. Flicking his thumb at Dayton, he added, “Then Doctor Ghoul can tear it apart.” Lexie was still wearing her helmet and he said through his earpiece, “Lexie, try the machete.”
“That won’t work,” she complained.
“No, he’s right,” Dayton said. “We need to observe the effect.” Turning to him, he asked, “You’re filming this, right?”
He nodded while Lexie picked up a machete. Grabbing a single skinny leg she slashed at the limb, but the blade didn’t make any impact on its tough skin.
“That’s interesting. It’s not even leaving a mark,” he remarked.
“Do you think a surgical laser would work?” Dayton asked.
Giving him a look of disbelief, Leon replied, “Do you have a laser gun?”
“Tank, shoot it with a twenty-two,” he ordered.
The gun looked like a toy in Tank’s armored hand, and its bullet pinged uselessly from the torso of the critter. Trigger snorted. “Didn’t even leave a dent.”
Lexie was clearly becoming bored and she grabbed a skinny leg, ripping it from the torso. Holding it high, she declared triumphantly, “This works.”
“Can I have that?” Dayton asked hopefully.
While both he and Dayton studied the limb, Bill and a man called Jenkins walked across the hangar carrying a military locker between them. Jenkins was the Head of Weapons Design and he wondered what he was doing with Bill.
“I heard you were testing weapons on a critter and I wanna run a test of my own.”
Shrugging, he flicked his thumb at the agitated critter. “Be my guest.”
Jenkins pulled three square boxes each about a foot wide from the locker, and positioned them in a triangular formation around the critter. Standing back, he began to fiddle with a device in his hand.
“What are you doing?” He asked.
“I’m using triangulated sound waves to see if I can disrupt its molecular structure.”
“What does that mean?”
“Synchronized sound waves amplify and, at the right frequency, it can cause the molecules to separate.”
Leon grinned at Jenkins. “That’s cool. You’re gonna blow it up using sound.”
While Jenkins continued to fidget with the device, the critter became even louder and it screeched sharply as if it were panicking.
Shouting over the increasing racket, he asked, “Is that possible? Do we have sound-based weapons now?”
Jenkins shouted in reply, “It always been possible, that’s just physics. It’s a question of whether we can package it in a way that’s easy to use.”
Whatever Jenkins was doing, it was causing the critter a degree of distress. It began straining even harder against the chains and its shrieking was reaching a fever pitch. With its legs flailing wildly, he even wondered if it might explode. Bits of the critter began to bubble and heave on its torso and he rolled his chair back slightly.
“What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” Jenkins shouted.
The critter was vibrating madly against the floor, pulling the chains tight as it lifted its body into the air. Suddenly something popped from the center its body, and landed with a plop onto the floor between him and the critter. Like a popcorn machine, more pieces of the critter burst into the air, landing up to six feet from its body. The piece of the critter closest to him was the size of an apple and it too began to vibrate. Half a dozen legs sprung from the rounded blob and it began to scuttle towards him. Before the newly born critter could reach him, Leon leapt forward in his Navigator gear and stomped on it. Within seconds, the critter had birthed thirty miniature versions of itself, and they began to race around the hangar, latching onto anything they could find. All that was left of the original critter was a hollow body with legs still attached, and it was clearly dead.
“Stop what you’re doing!” He shouted at Jenkins.
Leon, Tuck and Trigger chased after the newly born critters, frequently falling, but still managing to crush them with their armored gloves and under their feet. One of the tiny critters ran up the side of his chair and he grabbed it with one hand. Holding it by its apple shaped torso, he lifted it to eye height and stared into its molded black eyes. It was a replica of its parent, only smaller. Without warning, it spat something at him and he jerke
d his head away sharply. Whatever it was missed him, but it was enough to convince him that, even in miniature form, they were dangerous as all hell.
Lexie protectively snatched the tiny critter from his hand. “Don’t play with it, Ark, it’s not a pet.” She squeezed her armored hand into a tight fist, and his new friend squeaked almost pitifully as it died.
While the Navigators continued to chase the little critters, he turned to Jenkins. “Did you make that happen?”
“I don’t know.”
There didn’t seem to be any end to what these creatures were capable of, and they’d just confirmed that they would continue to evolve. A year ago, he might have been alarmed, but since he’d been wounded, nothing much surprised him anymore. He’d been in an ominous mood ever since he’d woken up to find his life was wrecked. The army psychologist had kept asking him how he felt, and the only reply he could give was to say he was pissed. If anything, the critters would become a home for his unexpressed rage at having his life literally cut short. He’d gone from being a man in his prime, physically fit with a good future, to living the life of an invalid. Pissed was an understatement to describe how he felt, and he finally had something to take it out on.
Bill was still standing next to Jenkins watching the Navigators chasing the critters into corners. Shaking his head, he said, “I think the sound weapon was hurting it and it was trying to defend itself.” Turning to Jenkins, he added, “We need weapons superiority, so you need to keep working on that tech. It could be exactly what we need.”
Grinning at him, he said cheerfully, “I’m likin’ the way you think, Bill.”
CHAPTER FOUR: Stepping out (Jo)
“Are you sure about this?”
Jonesy didn’t turn around, but continued to pack ammo into a carry bag. On another bed in the long barracks, Jas was stacking MRE’s and water into several backpacks.
“Miranda lives in Vegas Heights in Vegas.” Finally turning to face her, he said grimly, “CaliTech is the only safe place there is, and I can’t stay here while she’s out there. It’s not right. I’m her father and it’s my job to protect her.”
Having always put her career before any man, she’d never even thought about having children. The needs of the city and her officers absorbed all of her nurturing energy, leaving her little time for an actual baby. Feeling a deep need to go back to the city to help those trapped, she understood why Jonesy would be willing to die for his daughter. She was equally as prepared to die to free her city of the critters.
Touching his arm, she said sincerely, “I hear you, but even if you find her, can you really bring her back here on your own?”
“Who’s gonna come with me? The army squad are still training to use the nav gear, and they’re the only people with the skills to help me.” Looking at her pointedly, he said bluntly, “You haven’t offered to come with me.”
Although CaliTech was safe, she couldn’t sleep for worrying about the people she’d left behind. So many were still trapped in the buildings, some were being held captive, while others were hiding from the critters. Lying awake in her bunk at night, she couldn’t deny her overwhelming need to go back there. She’d lived in Albuquerque her whole life and she’d never imagined leaving it. With the arrival of the critters, it felt like they’d forced her out of her home and she was angry. Always known for keeping a tight lid on her emotions, she usually dealt with her anger through action. She didn’t want to die, but she couldn’t live thinking she was a coward either. Sitting safe inside CaliTech while everyone suffered around her felt wrong, and she understood why Jonesy was leaving.
Her face flushed with shame. “I know, but it’s not because I don’t care. I’ve gotta go back to the city.”
To her surprise, Jonesy chuckled. “Then your mission is as suicidal as mine.”
Bill walked down the long corridor between the double bunk beds on each side and looked at Jonesy. “Where are you going?”
“Vegas.”
Turning to Bill, she added, “His pregnant daughter is there, but he shouldn’t go without a nav.”
“We don’t have any navs to spare. Ark wants them to go back to the nest and so do I. We need more information. After that we’ve gotta go to NORAD and get them to stop bombing the cities.”
“Are they still doing that?” She asked.
“Ark’s team are monitoring the satellite images, and they’ve seen damage in Seattle, Minneapolis, Nashville and Philadelphia, but we don’t know when they were bombed.”
“I want to go back to the city. Is there any way the squad can head there after they check the nest?”
Bill sat on the bunk bed next to her. “They could, but what do you hope to gain?”
Sitting opposite him, she replied, “Albuquerque is an ideal city to monitor. It’s small enough to get in and out of quickly, plus it’s my city. I need to know what’s going on there, and I want to help the survivors.”
“You’re right inasmuch as whatever’s happening there is probably happening in every city. If we can work out how to fix it there, then we can apply the same tactics everywhere else.”
“How’s the squad training going?”
“They’ve only had a few weeks with the gear, but they’re getting much better with the hydraulics. The visor is gonna take a bit longer, but as long as they have Lexie with them then she can handle the advanced vision. Unfortunately, Lexie is the only fully functioning nav. The other nav with the orbs can’t use the rest of the gear. We do have one of the heavily armored tanks, but this is only a research and development facility and not a military base, so building an operational squad wasn’t their objective.”
“What about the tank?”
“The tanks don’t really use the visors. They see what we see, but their screens provide them additional information as an overlay, but without the orbs, it’s not a direct feed to the brain. The mid-level navs are the ones who can use the gear, plus they see what a fully functioning nav sees, except it’s not a direct feed to the brain through the optical nerve. It means they can’t process and interpret all the data fast enough. They don’t have any mid-level navs at CaliTech, so to get them they’re gonna have to train the army squad.”
“If the tanks are more about physical ability, then we just need fit people. If the mid-level navs are about speed of processing, then they need to be fit and smart.” Sighing, she added, “But I doubt there’s too many people who’d be willing to be blinded to become fully functioning navs.”
Bill shook his head. “No, I can’t imagine anyone will agree to that, but I think we’ll find more people able to train as tanks and mids.”
“Are you in command of the squad?”
He shook his head. “No, if anything they listen to Ark more than they do me. He’s effectively acting as their battle commander as he works with them when they’re on missions. That’s given him a lot more credibility with them than all my brass.”
There was no army command left, and she knew Bill couldn’t enforce his rank over the squad. She would have expected the situation to frustrate and anger him, but he appeared to be resigned to his less powerful position in this new world.
“So, what’s your plan?”
Bill leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “This isn’t about who’s the boss, but more about who can do what best. Ark is an excellent battle commander and he should keep doing that. Dunk is a good weapons designer and we need more of what he can do. The squad are experienced fighters and they need to learn how to use the gear. Dayton wants to analyze the critters. I’m a strategist, so I want to pull together whatever information we can get and solve the bigger problem. I figure, as long as we all have the same objectives, then we’ll be pulling together to go in the right direction.”
“And what am I good at?”
Giving her a tight smile, he replied, “You’ve got heart, Jo. You won’t let us forget about the people. It’s because of you that I’m trying to work out where we can send people to be safe.”
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“And what have you concluded?”
He shrugged. “I think survivors need to form cells, possibly living in underground survival shelters, but unless there’s a nav to detect anyone who’s turning into a critter, large groups of people aren’t safe. We’ll need them to be armed, and they’ll need radios so we can talk to them. At some point, we’ll need to pull them together to fight as an army. Our ongoing existence is going to depend on it.”
“Do we even know where these survival shelters are? Most of them were private builds.”
“If we can find a list of sales made by the companies that built them, there’s a good chance we’ll have a list of houses with shelters. There are plenty of weapons in the military bases across the country, and we can tell people where the shelters are, but we can’t hold their hands, we just don’t have the resources. People are gonna need to step up and learn how to secure and protect themselves.”
Bill’s plan was better than giving the people in the city nothing at all, and she nodded. “Okay, so we’ll head to the nest and then go to the city. I’ll see if I can find out where the companies building the shelters were based. If we’re lucky we’ll find something at their offices.”
Looking across at Jonesy who was still packing, Bill said, “Can’t going to Vegas wait? We could do with more people who can shoot.”
Jonesy shook his head decisively. “No, but if I make it back, I’ll be able to give you an update on the condition of Vegas.”
She wished Jonesy would reconsider, but she was tired of arguing with him. He might have worked for her at Northwestern Command, but it had been a big force and she hadn’t really known him. Bill might think they could just pull in the same direction, but what they really needed was a leader and that meant someone had to take control. In a world where everything had collapsed, the only reason people would follow anyone was if they demonstrated they were worthy of their trust. Eyeing Bill curiously, she wondered if he was the right man for the job.
CHAPTER FIVE: Food for goo (Ben)
