Every detail that the sims hadn’t been able to duplicate etched in his nearly perfect memory: the smell of the blood and sweat, the sound of gurgling blood, the lights going out in a man’s eyes. All the kills in the sims had not prepared him for what it would really be like to take a life. He would never forget it. The guilt and confusion would have to be dealt with later. Only survival mattered now. He sliced off the dead Aegis’ middle finger and gave it and the gun to Kobe, who accepted them hesitantly.
“Use it sparingly,” he told Kobe. After yanking the bloody slivers from the dead man’s throat and chest, he and Kobe sprinted on.
A horrific animal-like shriek came out in bursts behind them. Vocal communications. They don’t want their enemies to understand them at all.
Bullets tore into the machinery and floor sending a shower of metal and debris that landed around them like hail on a tin roof. Sammy held out one of his hands behind him as a blast shield, listening carefully to the gunfire to know what weapons they had. Having no way to escape, he went to the best location in the room to mount a defensive stand. It was a section away from most of the machines so the enemy couldn’t shoot down on them.
He could see all of them now: six Thirteens, two more Aegis. Their movements confirmed his predictions. They’d spaced themselves out to try to encompass Sammy and Kobe. Once they were successful, they would tighten the noose.
The tall female Thirteen with no hair made a complicated gesture with her head and hand. It might have been comical in any other situation. Gunfire erupted from three sides. Sammy shielded defensively during the first round of volleys. Always, in his mind, he was counting shots. The sims had taught him it was a key to survival. Then, when two of them had to reload, Sammy wielded his slivers like daggers and ran furiously at the Thirteens who opened fire on him. Behind him, he heard Kobe screaming in anger as he rushed his own targets.
Again and again the Thirteens and Aegis communicated in their bizarre spasms, gestures, and garbled shrieks, coordinating their efforts to surround or separate Sammy and Kobe. But the two Betas were always one step ahead. Every time the Thirteens tried to move behind them, Sammy and Kobe responded by dropping back with shields. This tactic stretched out the Thirteens’ offensive, allowing Sammy and Kobe to attack the nearest enemies.
One time the Thirteens nearly did cut them off, but Sammy shielded both himself and Kobe while Kobe used his gun to open up a new hole for them to move through. It was a game of chess being played in one of the deepest dungeons of hell, except that Sammy and Kobe were queen-less because, unlike the Thirteens, their ammo would run out much much sooner.
Sammy focused on trying to damage the Thirteens’ blast suits. His slivers, though sharp and deadly, were too short to make good weapons unless he used them as throwing knives. But how was he supposed to get them back once he’d thrown them? He settled with slashing and stabbing at the Thirteens when he got close enough, but they were too fast and dodged his attacks.
The Thirteens, it seemed, had figured out that Kobe was the less skilled of the two Betas, and pressed harder on his side. Eventually, it became too difficult to shield himself and Kobe with the slivers in his hands, so Sammy put his weapons away. As he did this, he realized that his fear had all but vanished for now. His mind had reverted back to the cold, calculating methods he had so often practiced in his simulations. They were, in essence, his survival instincts. Kill or be killed. Til death do us part. He did not allow any doubt into his mind. Somehow he would survive this, and he preferred to have Kobe leave with him.
Kobe ripped shots at the Thirteens until he ran out of ammo. They moved so quickly, he hadn’t been able to hit any of them. Seizing their advantage, the eight mounted a strong offensive, trying to form a tighter circle. Sammy cried out in frustration, blocking another round of fire from three Thirteens. He blast-flipped himself into the air, extending his foot out and connecting hard with the chin of one of the Thirteens. It was the lean man with blond hair. The Thirteen fell back with a dull thud. The toe-spike had split his skin like rare steak, exposing his white jawbone. Blood spilled onto his neck. The man grinned devilishly, wiped the blood off his chin, and licked it off of his hand.
Sammy grimaced as he fell back to help Kobe. Several shots came close to hitting them, but so far they were unscathed, and so were the eight trying to kill them. The noose began to tighten again, and this time it appeared the Thirteens might do it.
A chance appeared when three of them had to reload at once. Sammy’s bullet counting had paid off. “Cover my back and follow me!” he told Kobe. He charged at the Thirteens, Kobe shielding from behind, and ran to the back of the room. Nothing was working. They had nowhere to go. Sammy checked his com. That little battle had not even lasted ten minutes. What’s Al doing!?!?
They hid once more among the machinery. The Thirteens gave wild chase, making awful high-pitched sounds but barely moving their mouths. Sammy desperately looked for anything he could use as a more effective weapon.
“Sammy! Kobe! You guys still alright?”
Kobe quietly informed Al of their situation.
“We’ve found an exit for you. The largest robotic arm has its own power feed that runs through a square column right beneath it. That column runs all the way up from the basement to the top floor. There should be small access panel near the floor. Climb down to the ground floor, and we can get you out of here. Do you know which robotic arm I’m talking about?”
“Yeah,” they both said.
“Can you make it?”
“Do we have a choice?” Kobe whispered.
“Good luck,” Al said. “We’re doing all we can . . . and praying for you.”
Al sounded like he might break down any moment. Keep it together, Al. We need you.
The robotic arm Al referred to was in the outer room near one of the hot fields. Sammy guessed they were about sixty meters away from it. Moving as fast as they dared, they darted in and out of cover, jogging over to the arm. The Thirteens had spread out to look for them, and their angry shrieks echoed from every direction. The robotic arm was close, a beacon of hope just meters away.
But when they rounded a corner, they saw a problem. A Thirteen and an Aegis stood between them and the arm. There was no other choice. The screams of some of the Thirteens behind them were getting louder. Sammy became aware of the warm air radiating from the hot field. It was surprisingly palpable, causing beads of sweat to race down his forehead onto his nose. He blew them off and signaled to Kobe what to do.
Shields ready, they rounded the corner. The two attackers immediately opened fire. Sammy held them at bay while Kobe forced opened the panel with a crushing blow from his spiked shoe. Dozens of wires cramped the working space inside the column, but left enough room for them to access the thin ladder. Kobe went in feet first and waited on the ladder. Sammy shielded until the Thirteen was forced to reload his jigger. The Aegis, out of bullets, dove forward to prevent Sammy from dropping his shield. Sammy blasted him back as he crawled into the space. The Aegis tried to grab Sammy’s legs, but Sammy responded instinctively, blasting the Aegis in the chest with his feet. The Aegis flew backward and let out a high-pitched scream that gave Sammy goosebumps.
He could not help but look back as he climbed down the ladder. His eyes confirmed what he already expected to see. The Aegis had landed in the hot field, suffering the wrath of the flesh-searing beams. His body lay in pieces.
At least it was quick. I may not get that luxury.
He climbed even faster, Kobe urging him onward. From above, he heard the Thirteen shouting out to the others scattered about the floor. Kobe spoke to Al via the com, informing him of everything that had happened. When they reached the ground floor and found the exit to the column, it took a solid minute of pounding and kicking to pop open the door.
They were back in the receiving area. This raised Sammy’s hopes marginally, but they still weren’t outside yet. Somewhere along the line this factory had come to feel more like a giant prison cell. The
area was brighter now than before, with thin shafts of light streaming inside around the rolling doors along the south wall. Sammy had expected to see Al and the others waiting for them, but they were nowhere to be found. Yells and shouts leaked from under the door of the nearest stairwell.
“Where are you!?” Kobe yelled into his com.
“On our way!” Al answered.
At that same moment, the stairwell door burst open, and two Thirteens charged out, their blast suits covered in dust and rubble from the fallen staircase. Sammy and Kobe shielded themselves, but the Thirteens ignored them and ran to the large delivery doors.
“What are they doing?” Kobe asked.
They watched the Thirteens stop every ten meters and then continue running. Sammy looked back and saw red lights blinking on each of the doors.
“Al, stay back from the dock!” he shouted. “They’re putting proximity mines all along the south wall. You can’t get near it without blowing yourself up! We’ll use our blasts to set them off and come through the wreckage.”
“If that doesn’t work, your only other choice is to head for the exit in the basement,” Al said. “Which one’s easier?”
The infamous basement exit. The one Kaden always forgot about in their scenarios. “We’ll try this first.” They ran for the proximity mines as more Thirteens emerged from the bombed-out stairwells.
Like ants coming out of the woodwork, Thirteens and Aegis appeared from everywhere, cutting Sammy and Kobe off from the mines. They arranged their positions perfectly, keeping far enough away from the proximity mines not to trigger them, but close enough to prevent the Betas from using their blasts to set any off. Two more Thirteens blocked off any retreat to the basement.
Sammy counted them: eight— ten—twelve. They moved close to the tall column for better cover.
“What do you want from us?!” Kobe’s face twisted in rage and spit flew from his mouth as he screamed. The panic in his eyes frightened Sammy. “How many of you do we have to kill before you leave us alone?”
The Thirteens didn’t answer in words, but in a storm of bullets which Sammy and Kobe again shielded. At the first opportunity, Kobe went into the air and bounced off the tall column. The two Thirteens blocking their way raised their guns high, faces focused upward like hunters trying to take down a bird. They were getting too anxious, and Kobe had somehow noticed that. Or he was just being very stupid. Either way, one of the Thirteens paid dearly.
With their focus on Kobe, Sammy only needed one hand to shield. He gripped the hilt of his sliver and in one fluid movement sent it flying through the air into the stomach of the bald female. He’d aimed for her chest, but knife throwing wasn’t something he’d ever gotten very good at in practice. The fatal intrusion of the sliver into the Thirteen’s abdomen didn’t even make her blink. Blood and other stuff poured from her wound, but she continued shooting with an intensity bordering on psychotic, perhaps pushed to a more frenzied state knowing her death was imminent. Kobe landed behind her and the other Thirteen blocking their path.
Sammy took advantage of the moment again. His second sliver went straight into the other Thirteen’s back, piercing his heart. He fell immediately. Out of the corner of his eye, Sammy saw one of the Thirteens take aim at him with a hand cannon. Just as the trigger-finger pulled taut, he blast-jumped into the air, leaving the bleeding female Thirteen exposed. Her body was riddled with shrapnel.
The path to the basement was clear.
Kobe ran ahead, yelling into his com; Sammy raced to the steps in the back of the receiving area that led downstairs. Behind them, the Thirteen who’d shot the female, roared and screamed unintelligible things at the others.
Sammy slammed the steel door shut behind them, throwing down a locking bar securely across the doors. He felt no sense of relief when the lock clicked. They jumped down the stairs and blast-landed safely at the bottom. They entered an enormous stock room filled with row after row of towering empty shelves that formed a labyrinth of zig-zagging halls. The air smelled dirty and stale, but it was much cooler down here. A gritty dust covered the floor, and Sammy could see Kaden and Marie’s footprints in the filth.
Pounding echoed in the distance. “The bar won’t hold them for long,” he called out to Kobe.
The two Betas leaped through the shelves rather than navigating around them. Cobwebs stuck to Sammy’s face, but he moved on, faster and faster as though the devil rode his tail.
The stock room took up over half the basement. The other half was devoted to three hallways lined with administrative offices. The paint on the walls, probably once pristine and white, peeled yellow and brown like someone’s business left in the toilet. The floor’s threadbare green carpet looked like the surface of an algae-infested pond.
This is it, he thought in jubilation as he ran through the halls, We’ve made it! We’re going to live! But as he got nearer to the exit he noticed something was wrong.
Something was very, very wrong.
The entire wall—the wall where the exit was supposed to be—was sealed off in fresh red brick.
“No!” Kobe yelled. “NO. NO. NO.”
“This can’t be right!” Sammy shouted both to Al and Kobe.
“What’s the matter?” Al asked. “Are you at the exit yet?”
“It’s bricked off!” Kobe screamed and pounded and blasted furiously at the bricks, but did no damage. “What are these bricks doing here, Al? You were supposed to have good intel.”
“What are you talking about?” Al asked again.
“The exit is bricked off.” Sammy shot off several blasts of his own at the wall, but it held strong. “There is no exit.”
“How can that be?” Al asked.
“What do we do now?” Kobe asked.
“Stall them!” Al ordered. “Stall them until we get there. We’re going to get in one way or another.”
“And how do we do that?” Kobe yelled.
“I have an idea,” Sammy said. “Follow me.”
He led Kobe back through the halls to the stock room. As they ran, his mind turned wheels about the brick wall.
They knew we were coming. Somehow they knew. This whole mission’s a trap. The brick wall must have been added after Command took surveillance of the factory. The Thirteens forced us this way knowing we were running into a dead end. Trapped. Just prey now.
The panic spread through him like a malignant disease, quick and lethal. I have to slow them down, he told himself. Prolong the moment when they come to kill us. It was with great caution that they opened the door to the stock room. Sammy heard sounds in the far distance. The Thirteens were in the stock room, but nowhere close by.
“We need to push over these shelves,” he told Kobe.
Together they shoved and pushed against the closest giant shelf, but could not get enough leverage to topple it. The voices were getting closer, but still out of sight. After resting for a moment to regain their wind, they tried a new tactic. Climbing to the top, they put their backs against the wall and their feet on the edge of the metal and pushed as hard as they could.
“Use a blast,” Kobe grunted through his teeth.
Sammy strained until he felt the shelf give.
The massive wood and metal shelf tipped over onto the next row, upsetting two more shelves. When the combined force and weight of three shelves fell over onto the third row, the effect began to spread like dominos. Shelves toppled everywhere. Thirteens shrieked warnings in the distance, and the two Betas ran back into the office hallway. The offices were locked. Rather than trying to force their way inside, Sammy and Kobe took refuge in a bathroom.
The bathroom reflected the same neglect as the rest of the basement. It reeked of human filth. One light above the sinks still worked, and when they flipped it on the squalor of the room came into view. The floors were filthy, the toilets full of mildew and excrement. A long mirror that graced the wall of sinks bore so much dust that it barely reflected anything. All of this felt fitting to Sammy. It r
esonated with the way he felt. No sooner had the door closed than the panic inside overtook him. He sank to the floor, covering his face with his hands.
The dam of emotion broke. The terror, the exhaustion, the killing, and the madness raging as a malevolent storm all erupted at once. The emotion flowed down his cheeks in hot tears, wetting his hands. He didn’t know what to do, and he couldn’t figure a way out of this. Especially not with so little time and so much at stake.
We’re backed into a corner. We’re the king in the corner surrounded by ten queens. “Checkmate,” he whispered so Kobe could not hear him.
The Thirteens had ten, maybe more of them, in blast suits. He and Kobe had no space to fight. No weapons. No hope of winning. He was going to die in a stinking hellhole of a bathroom and be buried underneath the rubble of the walls and ceiling.
“What are you doing?” Kobe pulled at Sammy to get him to his feet. “Get off the floor and figure out a way to save us!”
“I can’t, Kobe. I can’t do it anymore.” Sammy brushed Kobe’s hands away. He knew he was on the verge of hysteria. It was like standing on the edge of a sheer cliff, toes hanging over the side, and a strong gust of wind blowing at his back.
“You have to!” Kobe grabbed Sammy’s shoulders and got into his face. “You’re the one with the brains! You’re the one who is supposed to be able to do anything!”
“They’re going to kill us in here. It’s checkmate.”
“Then we’re both going to die!”
“I DON’T WANT TO DIE!” Sammy screamed back, leaning over the abyss of insanity now.
“NEITHER DO I!” Kobe answered him. Sammy hid his face back into his hands, but was instantly jerked again. Kobe had grabbed his collar and shook him hard. “So get it together so we can give it our best shot. That’s all we have left.”
The shaking calmed Sammy down. Kobe was right. There was still one last choice. The very last choice. Go down fighting, or go down without honor. Like a coward.
I’m not a coward. I am a servant of the people. My life is not my own.
Psion Beta (Psion series #1) Page 28
