by CC Bridges
The overgrowth did seep out onto the road, but Jeff could make out the remnants of a sign, broken and leaning against a tree but clearly welcoming. Well, it probably was welcoming two centuries ago. The words were so faded and worn Jeff could barely make out “college” in streaks of white.
He decided to follow the road for now, since it seemed passable. Jeff guided the truck through the archway of trees and then had the option to turn left or right.
“It circles the campus. The science complex is to the right.” Gabe’s voice sounded so small.
Jeff gave him a quick glance before turning as instructed. He thought Gabe looked even paler than usual. The road didn’t continue on for very long before a pool of standing water blocked the path. It didn’t look like there would be any place worth searching up ahead.
“There were two lakes,” Gabe said.
“Looks like they turned this area into swamp.” Jeff made the decision to turn off the road and into the wilderness to his left. He’d caught sight of what must be buildings peeking out over the trees, and he wanted to get closer.
They emerged from the canopy of trees into an open plain, surrounded by half-crumbled buildings standing guard over the silence. Jeff found some relatively sturdy land to put the truck back on its wheels and parked. “Well. This is it.”
“Yes,” Gabe said. “It is.”
GABE’S HEART thumped too loud, and he covered it with his palm. Was this his second heart? Or his third? He didn’t recall. The images in his mind superimposed themselves on this barren place that used to be home. That building with the caved-in roof was once the library. He kissed Rocky for the first time on those steps, steps you could hardly see for the vines covering them.
In the distance he could make out only one of the two towers that had housed the freshmen. One must have crumbled to the ground long ago. Few of the closer buildings seemed to have survived as anything but shells, brick walls with nothing to guard. Most were covered by the vegetation, trees that were twisted and dark, nothing like the vibrant green he remembered.
For a moment he saw it as it had been, students walking across solid concrete paths, laughter bubbling up from the crowd, someone playing guitar on the theater steps while others chalked messages on the ground, listing the latest frat event. Gabe shook his head, letting the memories settle back, as they should.
“That’s the science complex.” He pointed. It was the only set of buildings that looked nearly whole. He chuckled under his breath. “When they first built it, they got slammed in inspections for using crappy material. So they had to knock it all down and start again. I guess that’s why it survived.”
Jeff turned from the truck bed. He’d slung an empty bag over his shoulders, with two rifles in his hands. He offered one to Gabe. “Lucky us, then. Might be able to find something inside.”
Gabe took the weapon, checking the chamber as he had been taught. “You honestly think we need these? Expecting to find deer in there?”
Kayla came around from the other side, Trixie trotting at her feet. She too had a bag over one shoulder and her own smaller gun. “We don’t know what we’re gonna find.” Like her father, she seemed thrilled to be here, a bounce in her step and a flush on her cheeks.
Gabe wished he could share her enthusiasm, but he couldn’t stop the past from invading his thoughts. He’d had too many good memories here, but the ruins left behind only reminded him of how long he’d outlived his closest friends and family.
They walked to what used to be the front door of the complex. Beneath their feet the ground gave slightly, perpetually wet as if it had just rained. Gabe guessed the lack of upkeep had turned the campus back into marshland. That didn’t bode well for the building they were about to enter. The glass of the front entrance must have been broken long ago. Nothing barred their entry.
Jeff walked in front with a light attached to the end of his rifle. “Now we don’t know how stable this place is. We go in for a quick survey. Grab anything useful you can carry. Anything too big that looks valuable, we’ll come back with the hovercart.”
It seemed Jeff had thought of everything. Gabe only nodded and rubbed his palms against his pants leg. Then he grabbed the strap of the rifle slung over his chest. He still wasn’t as easy with the weapon as Jeff was, hell, as Kayla was. If they did encounter something worth shooting at, Gabe wasn’t sure he’d be able to do it.
Inside was exactly as he expected. Paint had chipped off the walls in patches, leaving strange streaks and rust patterns behind. Chairs, desks, and other debris littered the hallway, some on their sides, one even hanging from the rafters in the ceiling. It smelled strongly of dampness and mold.
Jeff touched a line on one of the walls. “Flood.”
“The labs were upstairs,” Gabe said, keeping his voice as low as Jeff’s. “Anything helpful would be there.” He gestured toward the closed door that still had an exit sign attached. Perhaps the fire door had prevented much of the destruction from reaching beyond the first floor.
Jeff tapped the first step with his foot before continuing up—probably a good idea to make sure they were stable. The metal railing had rusted and warped, and more paint had come loose from the concrete block walls. Someone had spray-painted “set the demon free” on the wall of the first landing, sending chills up Gabe’s spine.
Kayla touched the faded words, frowning at them. Gabe doubted they’d find anyone squatting up here. They hadn’t seen any signs of life so far.
At the top of the stairs, Jeff held the door open and let Trixie sniff the ground for a moment. She sat, her tail thumping hard against the floor. He nodded back at them before continuing. Gabe guessed they could trust the dog’s sense for danger.
Jeff’s light gave some warmth to the long corridor. Debris covered the floor here too, but not nearly as haphazard as downstairs. Gabe didn’t recognize the hall he’d walked down with Rocky at his side, complaining how he hated biology. Oh, the irony of that, if his younger self had only known.
The first door on the left was the chem lab, if he remembered right. Gabe tugged on the doorknob, surprised that it opened without a squeal. He stepped on the broken glass that covered the floor of the lab. Someone had some fun smashing all the test tubes and beakers. Even the windows had been bashed in, leaving the room open to the elements. They wouldn’t find anything decent in here.
“Stay,” Jeff told Trixie before venturing in. The dog waited at the door, looking almost annoyed that she couldn’t follow.
“It’s all trashed,” Gabe said.
“Not all of it.” Kayla tugged on one of the cabinets along the side of the room. It was locked. She crouched before it, careful of the glass, and within seconds had it open.
Gabe moved to her side as she revealed the row of Bunsen burners, safe from the vandalism and the weather. “Should be microscopes like this in the Biology labs, then, too. Those could be worth something.”
Kayla dropped one of the burners in her bag. That reminded Gabe of the gas lines that ran into this lab. He sniffed the air, instinctively trying to access angel senses that could tell him if he breathed something toxic. But those senses had gone with his halo. Gabe stood and rubbed his forehead. He hadn’t tried to do that in a while, and it made his head hurt.
“Jeff?”
“In here.” Jeff’s voice came from a doorway in the back of the room. It had been closed when they’d come in. “Found a storage closet with chemicals. Neatly labeled too.”
Kayla left the cabinets and joined her dad. “Anything we can use?”
Gabe ducked his head in long enough to watch Jeff sort through the containers that were still intact. Some glass bottles were broken; others appeared empty even though they were still stoppered up. Kayla grabbed some paper from a pile in the corner, and they carefully wrapped their choices before putting them in the storage bags.
Gabe grinned. At least the trip hadn’t been a total waste. “Should be some scales and meters in here too.” They might even find
a computer intact, as long as it had been placed inside a closet first.
Trixie began to growl, a low noise that sounded almost like an engine starting up. When he looked over at her, Trixie seemed on the verge of stepping onto the glass, her gaze directed toward the empty windows. “Easy, girl.” He tried to see what had caught her attention.
The thing waited below. Gabe gripped the sill in reaction. The creature moved like an insect, six limbs in coordination as it scuttled along the ground. But those limbs were metal, a mismatched set of arms and legs. The torso looked like it might have been human once, and Gabe was glad he wasn’t close enough to smell if that was flesh that seeped red ooze. The head swiveled up, turning in the direction of the science complex, and where there should have been eyes, two long stalks with giant balls on the ends extended.
Gabe stepped back, unsure if the thing had seen him. “Jeff,” he rasped, his voice rough.
Kayla came out of the storage closet first. “Gabe, your hand!”
He looked down at his hand, seeing blood welling in his palm. He must have sliced it open on the windowsill. Gabe clenched it shut. “I heal fast.” It would be fine by tomorrow. They had bigger problems to worry about.
Jeff frowned at him from the doorway. “What is it?”
Gabe jerked his head toward the window. “I don’t know if it’s seen us.”
“Dammit.” Jeff pulled Kayla away from the window and killed his light source.
“What the hell is that thing?” Gabe grasped the rifle strapped to his chest, glad that Jeff had made them come armed.
“It’s a moddie,” Kayla told him.
“Nobody knows if they were human once,” Jeff filled in. “Some say they are made of what was left over in the vats. Spare parts making a go at living.”
Gabe shuddered at the thought. He didn’t know which was worse—human beings experimented on to the point of monstrous deformity, or inanimate machinery bonded to extra flesh.
“And it’s between us and the truck.” Kayla had gone back into the hallway, kneeling near Trixie to calm her down.
Jeff nodded, as if to himself. “This is what we do. I’ll hold the moddie off while you two run for the truck. You can swing around and pick me up.”
“Dad,” Kayla protested, twisting around to glare at him.
“Kayla.” Jeff gave her a stern look, which softened as tears began to fill Kayla’s eyes. “I’ll be fine. Get ready.”
They moved. Gabe gripped his weapon firmly, unable to keep himself from checking and double-checking it. He didn’t know if he could even get a shot off, but it felt good to have it in his hands.
Jeff stopped them right before he opened the door at the bottom of the stairwell. “Kayla, keep Trixie with you. Once I shoot the thing, you move and don’t look back. Got it?”
Gabe nodded along with Kayla. His fingers tightened around the rifle. If he’d had his spear, if he’d had both wings, if he was still a full angel, he could take on all the risk himself. The moddie wouldn’t stand a chance. But Gabe was broken. Even so, he wouldn’t let Kayla run alone.
“Good. Behind me.” Jeff cocked his gun and opened the door.
The moddie must have heard the sound. It began to come closer, moving away from the truck but toward the building. Gabe swallowed at how damn fast the thing was.
Jeff didn’t waste any time. He made for the wide-open doorway and fired, sending the thing onto its back, limbs waving in the air. The reprieve didn’t last long before the moddie rolled over.
Gabe didn’t wait to see if the moddie would get up again. He followed Kayla as she ran for the truck, Trixie galloping beside them both. If he didn’t think the kickback would land him on his ass, Gabe would have tried to get a shot off himself.
Jeff sent another shot out, and they ran faster. What the hell did it take to kill one of those things?
Kayla made it to the truck first and ran to the other side. Gabe reached out to open the door when he heard her scream.
There was another moddie hiding behind the truck.
Gabe moved, instinct taking over faster than he could think. He dove toward Kayla, who scrambled on the ground for her dropped weapon. The moddie reared up, front limbs poised to strike. Gabe’s right wing extended to its full length, ripping apart his shirt and jacket. It covered Kayla like a shield, and the moddie’s blow hit the wing square on.
Pain flooded Gabe’s senses, but the metal held, made of sterner stuff than whatever had gone into the moddie’s creation. He gasped, feeling the vibration all the way to his shoulder blades, even the one with nothing more than a port and wires.
Kayla grabbed her weapon and stood. Gabe pulled his wing away, letting her fire on the stunned moddie. It fell backward but still writhed like its twin.
“Move!” Jeff screamed behind them.
JEFF SAW the second moddie as it was rising from behind the truck. He knew he’d never get there in time, and he was too far away to shoot it. Angry, he fired at the first one, taking off its head, which exploded into a series of sparks and wires, before making for the truck at a dead run.
He got there in time to see Gabe use his wing to protect Kayla. Jeff’s lungs burned, and he screamed as Kayla shot the damn thing. They had to get out of there. Where there were two moddies, there would be more.
As soon as Gabe fell into the front seat, Jeff gunned the systems and took off. The moddie leaped toward the truck. Jeff pushed the engines as far as they could go and rose into the air.
They banked around one of the tall trees, and Jeff saw the moddie on the branch before it jumped for them. “Fuck,” he shouted, diving just in time to avoid it. “How many of these things are there?”
“Guess we know why nobody’s scavenged this place before,” Gabe said, though his voice was hoarse.
Jeff spared a glance his way. “You hurt?” Gabe had retracted his wing, seemingly without any problems, so it couldn’t have been damaged that badly. He swallowed, grateful that Gabe had been there when he couldn’t. If Jeff had sent Kayla on alone….
He didn’t want to finish that thought.
“I’ll be fine,” Gabe said, which wasn’t an answer at all.
“Kayla?” Jeff asked.
“It didn’t touch me,” she said. “Because of Gabe.”
Jeff focused on finding their route for a moment, glad when nothing else sprung out of the wilds to attack them. “Thank you,” he told Gabe, reaching out to squeeze the angel’s thigh. Kayla didn’t know about them, but he didn’t think she’d see the gesture for anything but one of thanks.
Gabe smiled, though his eyes still looked worn. “I guess being an angel was good for something down here.”
Jeff wanted to tell Gabe he was worth more than only his parts, or the secrets of the angels locked up in his brain. But he couldn’t, not without explaining everything, and Jeff couldn’t come clean yet.
“Just gotta make sure we work on some target practice. Don’t want you hurting that wing right when I got the other one done.”
Gabe laughed softly. Jeff shook his head, keeping his attention on their surroundings as he looked for the road home. There was only one gift he could give Gabe in return for saving his daughter—finishing the wing and giving Gabe the ability to fly. Fly away from Jeff if he had to.
Chapter Fourteen
TODAY JEFF would find out if all his work had been in vain. After weeks of working on the wing, Jeff had finally figured out the damn battery problem. Granted those weeks had been filled with sneaking up to Gabe’s room after Kayla had fallen asleep to exchange careful touches and deep kisses until the junkyard floodlights faded into the dim sunlight that made it through the window. Just thinking about it now had Jeff’s dick swelling and taking notice, and he shouldn’t be thinking like that, not when Gabe stood before him, shirtless, with both of his wings extended.
“How does it feel?” Jeff stood back, gesturing to Kayla to keep Trixie back.
Gabe tilted his head to one side, as if considering. The second
wing matched in general shape, but Jeff couldn’t find metal the same gleaming gold. It looked like patchwork, gold and bronze and silver all swirling together to create something fantastic. Jeff hadn’t found any signs of damage in the original wing after Gabe’s fight with the moddie, and he was grateful he didn’t have to make two new wings.
“Almost right.” Gabe frowned, rolling his shoulder. “At least the ache is gone.” He flexed his wings. “Only one way to find out.”
He took a running start before Jeff could even blink. The wings caught the air, and with one, two, three flaps, Gabe had taken to the sky. He didn’t go very high, just angled to circle the junkyard.
Jeff’s heart leaped into his throat. Part of him was elated that it had worked. The other part couldn’t deny the fear in what he had done. Nowhere in Luca’s instructions had there been “make the angel another wing.” In fact, making Gabe more mobile was probably the last thing they had in mind. But it had made Gabe happy, and more and more Jeff found himself wanting to do whatever he could to make that happen.
The demons had been silent for the last couple of weeks. If Jeff was a praying man, if he believed God was anything more than an AI wrapped up in a server box, he’d pray that they’d gotten what they wanted from the damn halo, enough to leave Gabe alone to live his own life.
But Jeff knew better than that.
“Dad, he’s flying!” Kayla jumped up and down, going so high on her augmented legs that Jeff thought she could almost join Gabe if she wanted to. Trixie barked and followed her mistress, tail wagging as she too leaped and jumped.
“Yeah, sweetheart, it works.” He grinned but decided against joining in the dance.
Kayla ran over and threw her arms around his waist. Jeff held her tight, closing his eyes to savor the moment. Someday she’d be too big for this, too old for Daddy to pick up and spin around.
The crunch of feet on gravel had Jeff looking up. Gabe had landed, those large wings still spread out, a magnificent sight in the dim light. He could only imagine how beautiful they would be in pure sunlight.
