The Culling ttk-1

by Steven dos Santos

  The Recruit’s breathing shifts to a slower tempo. His whimpers become a sigh, then a purr. He looks away. “I get by.”

  I edge in closer to him. “Don’t worry. We’re gonna get you out of here. Take you home.”

  The unknown Recruit springs up. His eyes boomerang between Digory and me.

  “It’s too late,” he rasps. He’s trembling all over. He leans into my ear. “The Fleshers will get you too,” he whispers.

  Fleshers. I’m not sure what he’s talking about, but something about the word and the way it quavers in his throat causes my skin to break out into thousands of tiny bumps, swelling to burst free like hungry larvae feeding off fear.

  The man’s eyes flood. “They … they ambushed us … there were too many of ’em … they just kept coming … and coming … but I got away … ” He buries his face in his hands. “Never saw the others again.” He looks up. “I looked for so long, but I never found ’em.” His eyes cloud over in a swirling haze of memory. “There was a little girl … I forget her name now. So pretty … such nice hair … ” Tears stream down his cheeks. “Why can’t I remember her name?” His head snaps to the left and he looks up, as if he’s heard something we can’t. He clamps his hands over his ears.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “That sound … that terrible sound. It’s them! The Fleshers. They’re all around us! Make it stop! Make it stop!”

  Digory stoops and pries the Recruit’s hands from his ears. “What are … the Fleshers?”

  The man smiles for the first time, revealing a full set of grimy teeth, all intact except for the jagged center tooth. “The Establishment wasn’t the only thing that survived the Ash Wars. There are others … things that prefer the dark … ” His snorts become cackles until his entire body is convulsing with laughter, despite the stark terror in his eyes.

  I rub my arms, trying in vain to warm my body. “We’re looking for a missing recon patrol from that wrecked troop carrier,” I tell him. “Do you know where they are?”

  Drool seeps from the corner of his lips. “They’re right here,” he whispers. “All around us … listening to everything we say … ”

  Digory and I crane our necks in every direction.

  “There’s no one else here,” Digory says.

  “There sure as hell is!” the man snaps. He digs into the mound he was hiding behind and pulls something out, thrusting it in front of our faces.

  A severed arm.

  I stare in revulsion at the pale flesh, which seems to be relatively intact. Fresh. At least in appearance if not in odor. The fingers are curled inward, clutching something gold-a pin, from the looks of it. Clamping a hand over my nose and mouth, I lean in and yank the object free.

  It’s an Imposer badge. I can’t read the first name because it’s coated in something dark and sticky. But the last name hits me like a sonic pulse.

  “Cordoba. The commander of the missing recon patrol.” I force the words through clenched teeth and look up as I hand the badge to Digory.

  “Looks like we have our proof.” His eyes are somber as he tucks the badge into his pocket. “Whoever or whatever did this has Slade and the others running scared.”

  “It isn’t a Sim,” I whisper. “It isn’t a Sim…”

  Just above the grisly wrist the Recruit is still holding out to me, there’s a semicircle of indentations separated by small spaces. The pattern is almost perfect, except for a jagged slash at its center.

  Bite marks.

  I look back up. The fallen Recruit’s staring at me, licking his lips, mouth once again upturned in a foam-coated grin … proudly displaying his chipped front tooth.

  The crackle of my walkie nearly gives me a heart attack.

  “There’s something coming!” I hear Gideon shriek through the speaker. “We gotta go. Now!”

  “The Fleshers,” I whisper.

  A tremor rocks the basin.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Digory grabs my hand and pulls me away from the mound.

  In the distance, dark shadows flit among the hives of bone like marauding insects, nibbling their way toward our position as we scramble toward the carrier.

  Another powerful rumble rocks the ground, the deep bass of a siren that vibrates through the canyon like the cry of some prehistoric beast, followed by a series of clanks and grinds from some poorly oiled machine, mixed with sickening wet squishes and a clatter … like snapping teeth.

  We run nearly smack into Gideon and Ophelia.

  “Where’s Cypress?” I gasp out.

  “Probably already at the ship, getting ready to take off without us.” Gideon jabs a finger past us. “What the hell are those things?”

  Ophelia’s eyes bulge. “The Five.”

  I shake my head. “Sounds more like five thousand.”

  Digory pushes us forward. “We’re not sticking around long enough to find out!”

  That siren blasts louder than ever and a big blur of creepy bursts through the hives just ahead, cutting us off from the carrier.

  “Take cover!” Digory shouts.

  I dive to the ground and roll behind the nearest mound, pressing close to it so whoever or whatever it is can’t spot me. Jagged bones pierce the skin on my back. My heart punches the walls of my chest. A drought hits my mouth. I try to slow my breathing so I won’t pass out.

  The mechanical noise putters throughout the canyon. Rusty gears clink together, screeching in protest. At first it seems further away; then it gets closer and closer. I hug my almost bare torso against the chill. The thing must be making a sweep. What is it about that sound that gnaws at my memory?

  Then it hits me. Back at the Parish. Walking home from school past the Borough’s processing plants-

  It’s the sound the meat grinders make during a particularly sparse season.

  The sound creeps nearer. It’s just on the other side of the mound I’m curled behind. My eyes squeeze shut.

  Whirrrrrrrrrrr …

  Clackclackclackclackclack …

  My body’s clenched so tight it feels like my own bones are about to pop from their sockets.

  Why won’t it go away?

  It knows I’m here …

  The grinding noise clacks off, replaced by a nauseating sloshing.

  Slopslopslop …

  A light flicks on, bathing my peripheral vision in a sickly yellow glow.

  Another loud click adds a new sound to the assault on my senses.

  Buzz!

  The vibration is so strong, it hurts my teeth and I have to gnash them tight to prevent a telltale chatter. Not daring to breathe, I slink further around the mound, before the thing can reach me. I’m not sure how big it is, but if I can keep moving out of sight I just might be able to-

  My belt loop snags on a piece of bone.

  The yellow beam creeps around the bend. Silhouetted in the shadow of its glow are twisted shapes that look like they’ve been ripped free of a nightmare.

  I claw at the loop, trying to jerk it free, but it won’t budge.

  The amber light burns a path toward me, just inches from my boots …

  I twist my body out of its path, curling my legs beneath me just as the glow sweeps the spot my feet occupied moments ago. My fingers grope the jagged bone holding me hostage, scraping against it and drawing blood, which just makes it slick and harder to grip.

  Snapsnapsnapsnapsnap …

  I tug as hard as I can-

  Pop!

  The loop rips away. I’m free! I scuttle further around the bend on hands and knees, ignoring sharp rocks digging into my skin. In my panic, my boot kicks out behind me and crashes through the mound.

  A loud rattle of bone rains down all around me.

  A very loud rattle.

  A mechanized shriek pierces my eardrums. The grotesque confirmation that the Fleshers are on to me. I clamp my hands to my ears.

  Whir …

  Clacketyclacketyclacketyclacketyclackety …

  The rhythm of
the sounds is much quicker now, and loud enough to penetrate the ringing in my ears.

  Something grabs me-

  “Run!” Digory hauls me to my feet and then we’re racing after Gideon and Ophelia.

  We tear through the canyon, careening past the rest of the mounds, zigzagging over rocks, leaping over fissures. Swirls of blinding yellow and twisting black haunt the corners of my vision. They’re all around us, swarming over the mounds like locusts, but I’m too afraid to turn and get a better look, too afraid to see what kind of monsters would be responsible for this hell, would make a fallen Recruit crave flesh …

  Too afraid to find out if what happened to the lost Recruits could happen to me.

  I stumble down a slope after Digory and Ophelia, rolling, my flesh scraping against rock and bone. But I’m running on pure adrenaline now, impervious to pain.

  I skirt the next mound-

  Just in time to see the troop carrier taking off without us.

  “The bitch is leaving us behind!” Gideon cries.

  The dark shadows close in on us from all sides.

  It’s over.

  Then the carrier banks, swinging in a wide arc until it’s hovering just overhead. The hatchway springs open and a familiar silhouette stares down at us, long raven hair whipping in the wind.

  Cypress tosses down a rope ladder, which wriggles down like a long snake, grazing my skin as it sways against my nose. I recoil.

  “Don’t just stand there like idiots!” Cypress shrieks. “Get your butts up here now!”

  “Ophelia!” Gideon cries.

  But Digory’s already scampering up the rope and towing him along. “She’s in good hands with Spark.” He pauses and shoots me a desperate look. “Lucian! Move! Now!” Then the two of them disappear inside the carrier’s open hatch.

  Just as I grab the lower rung, a heavy weight slams into me, knocking me to the ground, smothering me.

  My eyes snap open.

  But it’s not a Flesher.

  It’s the fallen Recruit.

  There’s something different about him. I search his eyes but don’t find madness. Only fear, and sadness.

  The monstrous chorus of the Fleshers approaches all around us …

  The Recruit looks behind, then back at me. Liquid fills his eyes. “My name’s Orestes … ” he whispers. “Please take me … home … ”

  His words are a vise to my throat. My heart crumples. No matter what he’s done, he’s still a human being, broken by the Establishment like so many others before him.

  “Yes. Come with us,” I say, barely squeezing the words past a sob. “You’ll be safe. We’ll take care of you.”

  He smiles-

  His throat bursts open. Dark crimson sprays onto my face, into my eyes, and runs down my cheeks in hot rivulets.

  Metallic gore fills my mouth. I spit it out. Every nerve-ending sizzles with shock.

  The young man stares at me. He doesn’t look like he’s in pain. More like he’s confused. Soft gurgling noises purr from his lips. He convulses, choking on his own blood, still staring as it fountains from the ragged hole in his neck, dousing me in its warmth. His eyes flutter and roll back into his head. Then he pitches forward onto me, each shudder pumping more blood over me until he’s still at last.

  The chain of his ID tag snaps off his neck as I clench it in my fist.

  Then I push him off me and he rolls onto his back with a thud. I wipe the mixture of tears and blood from my eyes. A blurry figure comes into focus.

  It’s Ophelia, standing over me, still clutching a sharpened bone fragment in her hand. The white bone is coated in red. Its sharp end still drips chunks of the Recruit’s throat onto the ground, plop, plop, plop. Her face is spattered with red flecks that stream from her eyes down her cheeks like bloody tears.

  She grins, chilling the blood flowing both inside and outside my body.

  “I wasn’t going to let him hurt you,” she giggles. Her voice sounds muffled, as if I’m listening to it underwater, slow, warped. The dark fires of dusk blazes in her eyes.

  “Lucian, come on!” Digory’s muffled voice shouts down from the carrier’s hatchway as it hovers above.

  The next few seconds feel like a dream as I somehow haul my numb body up the ladder, after Ophelia and into the aircraft.

  The hatch seals.

  “There’s just enough juice to make it back to base,” Cypress grunts from the pilot’s chair.

  “Punch it!” Gideon yells.

  Then Cypress is gunning the ship toward Infiernos. Below us, the Fleshers are a vague blur of nightmares carving a dusty path right toward our base.

  Digory grabs me by the shoulders, his eyes wide as he stares at my blood-soaked body. “Where are you hurt?”

  “It’s not mine,” I hear myself say.

  The cockpit speakers crackle to life.

  “Attention! Red alert! All troops return to base STAT. The perimeter fences will be activated in T-minus one minute,” a computerized voice blares through the encroaching night.

  On the cabin monitors, we see the pillars of the closest fence blinking yellow, signaling that they’re preparing to power up and seal off the base.

  If we don’t make it to the fences in time, we’ll be trapped outside in the open … with them.

  The only sounds in the cabin are the thrum of the engines mingled with our breathing and the blaring of the alarms.

  The emergency lights blink faster and faster until they’re a solid yellow. There’s not much time left and we’re still about a mile away …

  I clench my fist, feeling the Recruit’s ID tag digging into my skin as Cypress banks the carrier in between two of the sonic pylons, just as the lights go from amber to bright red-

  “Perimeter fences activated. The base has been sealed.”

  Turbulence rocks the cabin and, for a split second I brace myself to be torn apart. But then we’re gliding down and landing on the roof of our barracks, roughly, but all in one piece.

  Once the hatch is opened, we limp down the gangway. The faces around me are a mixture of tears and relief. We cling to each other, hugging, squeezing. We did it. We made it through. Staring at the bloodied ID tag still clutched in my hand, I find it hard to feel anything.

  I’m not sure how long we stand like that, but when we finally pull apart, we’re ringed by Slade and a dozen other Imps.

  Her eyes look anxious. “Did you find anything?”

  Digory pulls out Cordoba’s blood-stained badge and thrust it into her hand. “He didn’t make it. None of them did. But we’re fine, thank you, Sir.”

  The Sergeant swallows hard and hands the badge off to one of her subordinates. “Congratulations, Recruits.” Her usual disdain is replaced by a cross between disappointment and surprise.

  She never expected to see us again.

  Alive.

  Slade’s smile is devoid of mirth, malice, or any emotion whatsoever. “You’ve successfully completed your orientation period and survived Basic Pre-Trial Prep. Tomorrow you graduate-and, as a reward, you will have the opportunity to visit with your Incentives one last time before the Trials begin.”

  Twenty

  Graduation Day. On this last day before the Trials, the Establishment has moved us from our cramped and sparse barracks to the Officer’s Lodge. Each of us has been provided with a private luxury suite-in honor of our accomplishment.

  I barely recognize myself in the floor-length mirror. I’m not used to seeing such a crisp reflection, especially one that’s decked out in fancy clothes I’d never expect to wear in a million years. My dress uniform is made up of a stark-white, long-sleeved shirt; cobalt-blue pants with a complementing vest; and a long-tailed coat that’s embroidered with silver brocade the same color as the buckle on my leather belt. A white silk scarf is neatly coiled around my neck, matching the gloves on my hands. I shift my weight in a pair of gleaming black boots.

  The garments feel strange, constricting yet cushy against my skin. I sigh. When I first arr
ived at Infiernos, I wouldn’t have had any idea how to put this stuff on. I turn my head from side to side. Whatever was in those cleansers in that biometric voice-activated shower I just took has left my hair a shiny, wavy black. My skin seems healthy and tanned, not burned. I actually look … well … not too shabby. A wide grin spreads across my face.

  After what’s seemed like forever, the moment I’ve been longing for these past few months is here.

  I’m finally going to see Cole and Mrs. Bledsoe again!

  I let loose a chuckle. They probably won’t even recognize me.

  Neither will Digory.

  My elation evaporates, along with my saliva.

  This isn’t just a graduation ceremony. It could very well be the last moment I share with the people I love most in this entire world.

  By the time the bullet-shaped Trans-Cab shuttles me over to the steel-domed Academy Pavilion, there’s already a procession filing into the building in full military regalia, complete with marching band. But despite the legion of soldiers, the only sound I can hear is my heart thudding in my ears.

  My eyes scan the troops as I pass them. They’ve stopped marching and are frozen like statues. Hundreds of eyes creep over me, like a swarm of cockroaches devouring a piece of bread, as I make my way up the steps and through the front doors of the Pavilion. Even the trumpeters have stopped playing their procession march, the last notes trapped by the atrium’s vaulted ceiling and bouncing back in discordant echoes.

  Even though I’ve completed Orientation and successfully made it all the way to graduation, these soldiers still see me, Lucian Spark, as a traitor to the Establishment. They’d never accept me into their ranks. The contempt they feel for me now is just as potent as it was on the day I stepped off the freighter ten weeks ago. If not more so.

  I want to shout at them at the top of my lungs, tell them I don’t give a damn, that the last thing on earth I want is to be one of them. But I can’t make a scene. Not with so much at stake. And they know that.

  The only thing I care about is seeing Cole at last.

  Inhaling deeply, I raise my head high and match their stares until they start to fidget and look away. Then I dash up marble steps two at a time to the balcony, my eyes searching the crowd for the others.