by Adam Matlow
It wouldn’t hold the soldiers back indefinitely, but it would buy them some time. Loud cracks of automatic gunfire filled the air, along with the sharp metallic pings of bullets hitting the metal door.
“Is there any other way out of this bunker?” shouted Marcus.
Doc was being helped to a chair by Amara. Out of breath he shook his head. “Not from in here - that door is the only way out.”
A flurry of activity from the machine in the centre of the room caught Marcus’s attention. Vana circled the device, removing lumps of ceiling plaster from it as she went.
“Is it okay?” asked Marcus.
“Some of the connections have been knocked out. I’ll have to reset them.”
Vana’s hands were a blur as she got to work, reconnecting severed wires with impressive speed.
“Do you have to do that now?” yelled Kali.”
“We need to be ready to go as soon as the calculations are complete,” she replied.
“I don’t think we can hold this position for long Vana,” said Marcus. “We need another plan.”
A high-pitched whine filled the air, followed by a low hum of electricity building up. The hairs on the back of Marcus’s neck stood on end and a faint sensation of static crawled over his skin.
“Vana-- what’s going on,” said Marcus, his voice wavering.
She ran over to a computer hooked up to the portal and started tapping away on the keyboard furiously. She reached into her pocket and produced Jax, who she slapped onto the front of her jacket, where he remained steadfast.
“I estimate eight minutes until I have completed the calculations required to activate the portal,” said Jax.
Marcus shook his head. “I thought this was going to take days?”
“I’ve established a network link to several of the sentry satellites Davon has in orbit, and are using their computing power to supplement my own. I refrained from doing this until now as I didn’t want to give away our presence. But since that is no longer a factor—"
“Eight minutes? If we can hold them off for that long,” said Kali, levelling her weapon at the barricaded door.
“Everyone listen up,” shouted Marcus. “When Vana and Jax get this thing working, we’re all going to have to use it.”
“You mean you want us all to go through that thing?” said Amara looking concerned.
“It’s the only choice,” said Marcus. “As soon as those guys get through the door they are going to kill everyone, and even if they didn’t there’s a massive asteroid on its way which will wipe out every living thing on the surface of the Earth. If we can’t stop it, then at least we may have a chance to escape it.”
“I suppose we don’t have much of a choice,” replied Amara. She turned to Vana, “Will it-- hurt?”
Vana stepped away from the console she was monitoring, “Not as such. It’s more disorientating than anything else. You may feel lightheaded or dizzy. However, I’ve never travelled through a portal in this way before, so I’m not sure how much different it would be. Our ships shield us from many of the negative effects. It may not be the most pleasant of journeys, but it should be safe.”
“What’s to stop those guys from following us through this thing?” said Kali.
The reply came from Jax.
“When we are through to the other side, I can destabilise the portal, it will cause it to collapse at the point of origin. It will however cause a large explosion. I’m afraid this bunker, nor the warehouse above us will survive.”
Doc gave a weak smile. “At least they will think we’re dead,” he said. “It should buy us some time.”
“Er, guys…” said Kali, “It’s all gone quiet out there.” She pointed at the door. Marcus shushed everyone and listened.
“I don’t like it,” he said. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“If it was me, I’d be rigging the doors to blow right about now.”
“Everyone, take cover,” Marcus yelled before diving behind a large metallic desk tipped over to form a barricade. Others followed suit, concealing themselves behind anything that offered any cover at all.
The room fell silent, save for the noise of the portal powering up. They all strained, listening for any movement or noise from the other side of the door that would betray the enemies plans, but there was nothing.
“Or… they could be doing something else? Maybe they went to lunch,” whispered Kali.
“I don’t think we’re that lucky,” Marcus replied quietly. He looked at the machine, which now crackled with electricity. “How long until that thing is ready to go?”
“I will display current progress on the monitor,” said Jax. A console on the portal flickered to life and displayed various statistics. In the centre, in large white text the value of ‘38%’ was displayed.
The barricaded door exploded inwards, blasting shards of wood and metal across the room. Smoke and dust rose into the air, debris fell from the ceilings and the whole room shifted underfoot.
The noise stunned Marcus, every sound muffled and distant. He clasped his hands to his ears. He felt something wet and pulled his hand away to look. Blood trickled from his ear. He wiped it away with his sleeve.
He crawled around, looking for the others. Two of Hudson’s men staggered across the room, searching for cover. They were cut down in a hail of gunfire emanating from the corridor beyond. They fell, their bodies lay motionless in the swirling dust. Amara screamed, and crawled through the carnage to where her father was; half-buried under a file of rubble. She rushed to dig Doc out as he struggled for breath.
More gunfire, but this time from within the room. Kali and the remaining guards were shooting into the corridor through the hole where the door used to be. There was no sign of any movement out there, and no indication they were hitting anyone. Why hadn’t they stormed the place?
“Hold fire!” shouted Marcus. They either couldn’t hear him or chose to ignore him, as they continued their assault on the doorway. Marcus crawled towards Kali and grabbed her by the shoulder. She looked around, stunned as Marcus looked her directly in the eyes. “Hold fire,” he mouthed. She stopped shooting, as did the other two. “You’re wasting ammo,” said Marcus, “We only need to hold out for another couple of minutes, then we’re out of here.”
Marcus looked over at the portal, which thankfully seemed to have been undamaged by the explosion.
‘67 %’
Come on! Thought Marcus, they were so close to getting the portal working, and to have it all thrown into jeopardy at the last second was almost too much to bear.
There was a clang and the patter of a metallic object bobbling across a concrete floor. Kali saw it in the nick of time. “Grenade!” she bellowed diving to the ground, pulling Marcus down with her.
A split second later it exploded, scattering yet more debris across the room and sending fresh waves of pain thumping through Marcus’s head.
There was more gunfire, this time from Hudson who was propped up behind a pillar. He aimed his pistol in the direction of the doorway and fired until his weapon was depleted. He ejected the clip and searched his pockets for another one. The intruders streamed through the doorway, firing as they advanced. Everyone left who was holding a weapon now used it on the charging men. The first three were cut down quickly and the ones behind them dived for cover, returning fire as they did. Bullets pinged off the ground around Marcus, who kept his head down. He’d been shot enough this last few days. He raised his weapon above the metal table he was crouched behind and blind fired. He wasn’t likely to hit anyone, he only needed to keep them busy for a minute longer.
88 %’
“Marcus,” called Hudson. “Here,” he beckoned him over, he looked weak. Marcus fired a few more shots and crawled over to where Hudson was taking shelter. Hudson clutched his shoulder, his face twisted with pain. He bled heavily from another wound in his torso. A bad one.
“I’m afraid I can’t come with you,” he coughed, spitting out a m
outhful of blood onto the floor. “Looks like this is the end of the line for me.”
“Just hold it together for a few more seconds,” replied Marcus, trying to find something to pad his wound with. “We’ll be out of here before you know it.”
“I can barely move - and you’ll never be able to drag me through that thing,” he grunted, “Give me a clip, I’ll cover you when you go for the portal.”
“I can’t let--” started Marcus.
“This isn’t up for discussion.” He coughed again and spat out a mouthful of blood.
“I’m sorry Hudson,” said Marcus. He held out his hand, and Hudson shook it. He felt something in his hand and looked down. It was a small envelope. He went to open it, but a barrage of gunfire caused him to dive out of the line of fire. He tucked it into his jacket and raised his weapon above the makeshift barricade.
‘100%’
All the hair on the back of Marcus’s neck stood on end, and there was a strange prickling sensation in the air that made his skin crawl. He looked over at the portal. A shimmering blue ball of energy at least two meters in diameter hovered at its centre.
“Go,” said Hudson pushing himself to his feet. “Go now,” he roared. He staggered into the middle of the room, raised his pistol and opened fire on the Legion soldiers.
Marcus saw Vana dive for the portal, vanishing as soon as she entered it. Amara and Doc were not far behind, followed by Kali who was beating a hasty retreat while firing over her shoulder.
He charged towards the device. Kali reached it before him, stooped to grab a backpack lying on the ground next to the portal and tossed it in. She followed immediately after and vanished with a crackle.
Marcus turned just as he reached the portal. Hudson was charging at the Legion, roaring at them as he fired. His gun clicked empty, and he tossed it to the ground. With all his remaining strength he dove at the nearest man. Marcus scrambled towards the ball of energy, and just before he stumbled though he saw Hudson fall to the ground, an expression of agony etched forever on his lifeless face.
He took a deep breath and jumped.
Chapter Fifteen
Tendrils of energy danced across Marcus’s vision. Veins of blue and white, snaked and forked, dividing and recombining in a turbulent mass of colour, and in ways defying comprehension. A thunderous roar came from every direction, as if every wave on every beach all crashed at once. It ebbed in time with the energy patterns, becoming fainter as the patterns diminished in complexity, and louder as they formed geometric shapes so complex they were unfathomable.
His stomach dropped, as the patterns rushed past him. He was falling, or perhaps, being pulled towards something. The patterns around him became elongated as he fell away from them. He looked down - if there was such a thing as down here - a patch of darkness rushed towards him. Instinctively he reached out to try and arrest his fall, but there was nothing here for him to grab hold to.
The darkness swallowed him, and his descent was brought to an abrupt halt. His perspective shifted, and he found himself laying on a cold metallic floor, staring into the face of Vana. She reached out a hand, and he took it, pulling himself into a sitting position. This triggered a wave of dizziness and his vision doubled. He waved Vana off, who was trying to help him up, and he slumped back to the ground.
He rolled his head over, his eyes blurry. Kali was packing a backpack. Amara sat a few meters away, helping Doc take a few sips of water from a bottle. Two other men, both of whom came with Hudson, sat nearby. One of them checking his rifle, the other sat with his head between his legs, huffing loudly. A pool of vomit lay on the ground next to him.
Marcus took a few deep breaths. “Jax needs to close that thing before they follow us.”
“Hey, hey!” yelled the man cleaning his rifle. “What about Hudson?”
“He-- didn’t make it,” said Marcus softly. “I’m sorry.”
Jax appeared as a projection in the air, Vana holding his physical form out in her hand.
“Initiating overload,” he said. The portal flickered and crackled, before collapsing in on itself with a soft pop.
“Well that was-- underwhelming,” said Marcus. He was expecting something a little more impressive.
“I can assure you the consequences back in New Hope were considerably more energetic. The lab will most certainly be gone, along with a large portion of the settlement.
“At least the place was deserted. Enough people have been hurt.”
Hudson’s last few seconds ran through Marcus’s mind. He’d thrown himself at the Legion. He’d sacrificed his life to give him and everyone else a shot at getting here. Suddenly he remembered the note Hudson had passed him. He pulled it from his pocket and opened it up. It was a photograph of a young woman, alongside a little girl. Marcus recognised the picture. It was the one he previously saw sat on Hudson’s desk when they had first met.
Kali appeared in his vision, looking down at him with some concern. “What’s that you have there?” she asked, peering at the picture. Marcus turned it around so she could get a proper look at it.
“Hudson gave it to me, before-- well, before the end. I think he gave me this because he wanted me to look for his family. That’s why he sacrificed himself, so we could find them and bring them home.”
“Marcus--” Kali stopped, looked away and wiped the corner of her eye with a sleeve. “His family-- they died, nearly ten years ago. That picture was all he had left of them.”
Marcus’s hands trembled as he held the photograph.
“How did it happen?” he asked gently.
“When the Legion first came to New Hope they met resistance. From the underground; from us. There was a battle, and-- they were caught in the crossfire. I bear some of the responsibility for what happened to them, and ever since then I’ve stayed close. Helped him where I could. We didn’t always see eye to eye, but he wasn’t all bad. He didn’t want to see what happened to him, happen to anyone else.”
Whatever Marcus felt about Hudson prior to now, was washed away. In his final moments, he’d shown Marcus what sort of man he was. A courageous one. One who would give his life, so others may live. Maybe he’d forgotten that for a while, but in the end, when it mattered the most, he’d acted without hesitation. Hudson had set an example. One Marcus knew he might never be able to live up to.
He gently folded the picture back up and tucked it into his breast pocket. He smiled at Kali, who simply nodded and walked away.
For the first time, Marcus looked properly at his surroundings. They were sat in the middle of an enormous chamber, the walls and ceiling so distant he could barely make out their outline in the gloom. All around them, large columns towered into the darkness and were covered in threads of light, that ran from the floor and coiled around them in irregular patterns. They glowed a soft white colour and were the only source of light in the room.
Marcus got to his feet with a slight stumble, and walked slowly towards the nearest column, his hand outstretched. A hand appeared on his shoulder and he stopped.
“I wouldn't get too close,” said Vana. “There appears to be a substantial amount of energy flowing through those conduits. I don’t know what would happen if you were to touch it.”
Marcus lowered his arm and backed away. “Thanks for the warning. Where are we anyway?”
Vana took a deep breath and looked around. “It looks like we’re in some sort of power distribution area for the Sentinel - we should probably get out of here.”
When everyone had recovered, they packed their gear and headed out. Hudson’s men introduced themselves as Mendez and Vickers. Mendez was short and stocky and didn’t say much except to grunt the occasional word. Vickers sported a short scruffy beard and carried a rifle. He was the more talkative of the pair.
They appeared to be roughly in the centre of the giant chamber, so they picked a random direction to head out in. As they made their way across the chamber the columns became less numerous and the light from them lessened
- plunging them into near darkness. Kali had a torch, but it was barely adequate given the size of the room. By the time they reached the outer wall they were in almost complete darkness.
Kali swept the torch beam over the surface of the wall. It was deep black and completely smooth. Almost no light reflected from it, seeming instead to swallow it.
“Now what?” asked Kali.
Marcus reached out his hand and ran it along the wall. “Now we walk,” he said setting off. “There has to be some way out of here. So, let’s trace the perimeter and find it.”
Everyone else followed his lead, and put their hands on the wall. Kali leap-frogged Marcus to go ahead, so she could use her flashlight to help ensure they didn’t walk blindly into something unexpected.
They walked for over an hour before Vickers stopped and called to the others. “Hey guys, I think I’ve got something here.” Everyone stopped. Kali and Marcus made their way over to Vickers, who still had his hand on the wall.
“What’ve you found?” asked Kali, shining the light on the wall.
“Here,” he said. “On the wall - there’s an indentation. It’s pretty small, I almost missed it.”
Marcus reached out and ran his hands over the area Vickers had indicated. There were three small indentations, each about the width of a finger and spaced evenly apart so he could comfortably reach all three with one hand. On the otherwise perfectly smooth surface of the wall, they stood out prominently.
Marcus dug his fingers into each of the indentations and there was a click. A square outline of light, about a meter in width appeared and then grew. Silently a section of the wall slid upwards, revealing a well-lit corridor beyond. He shielded his eyes, from the sudden brightness and stepped through.
When his eyes had adjusted to the light and he was confident the way was safe, he called through to the others to follow. They did so one by one, each squinting in the brightness until they were all through. The doorway closed behind them, leaving a section of wall like all the others, with no indication there was ever a door there at all. The corridor was more normally proportioned than the cavernous area before, at about three meters wide and about twice Marcus’s height. Big enough that he didn’t feel enclosed. The walls were silvery in colour and had conduits of red and gold running along them. The light didn’t seem to be coming from any particular point, instead, the whole ceiling glowed with a pale white light and didn’t cast any shadows.
