The Savage Dawn

by P. T. Hylton

  Six swung the backpack containing the explosives off his back and began rifling through it. As One watched, Six fumbled with the explosives, clearly rattled. Finally, he brought out five high-powered grenades. “These oughta do the trick.”

  He pulled the pins and tossed them into the darkness in quick succession.

  One stared at the hole in the building. He hadn’t received the explosives training Six had. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure exactly what explosives training his demolitions “expert” had received. He’d never even met the man until that morning. The faceless GMT had been prepared individually so as to protect their identities.

  Still, tossing six high-powered grenades so close to the team seemed perhaps a bit foolish—

  The first grenade exploded, tearing into the group of vampires closest to the hole. Vampiric screams filled the air, as did the clangs of the other, unexploded grenades knocking around in the building. Three vampires were blown out the hole in the wall by the explosion. They instantly burst into flames as the sunlight touched their skin. Pieces of other vampires shot out the hole, too. An arm whizzed by One, catching fire as it flew.

  Then the rest of the grenades exploded, and chaos erupted with it. A powerful, concussive wave slammed into One’s chest, knocking him onto his ass.

  For a moment, he just lay there, struggling to catch the wind that had been knocked out of him. Then he sat up and looked around, and he nearly lost his breath again.

  Six had been the closest to the building, and he was clearly dead, the blast and the shrapnel having left him in a mangled heap.

  Three was near Six and was equally dead. Half his right arm was missing, and the strange angles of his remaining limbs suggested his bones weren’t holding him together in the way they should be.

  A scream to his left made One turn. He saw another team member—Two, he thought, though it was so hard to tell for sure with these damn masks—clutching her leg where a piece of rebar was sticking through both sides, having pierced clean through the thigh.

  But at least Two was alive. One wasn’t so sure about the remaining teammates, Five and Four. He struggled to his feet and stumbled toward where they lay. Pulling off his glove, he felt their necks, first Five and then Four, but found neither had a pulse.

  The weight of the moment almost crushed him. His first mission, and four of his five teammates were dead.

  Then another thought struck him: Four was their pilot.

  After a moment, he remembered the bit of pilot training he’d received. He was meant to be the backup pilot. It was up to him to get them back to New Haven.

  As he struggled to his feet, something in the shadows of what remained of the building caught his eye. He slowly crept forward, his still-engaged headlamp illuminating the shadows in the rubble. He saw a crowd of vampires huddled together in the darkness, their flesh shredded from the shrapnel. But as he silently watched, they began to heal. Their hideous skin mended itself before his eyes.

  A shudder passed through One, and he realized the rest of his life would be dedicated to forgetting this moment.

  “Get that hangar door open,” Sarah growled to the tech sitting at the console.

  He jammed the button, and the outer airlock door opened. Sarah turned and marched into the hangar, waiting for the ship.

  They already knew it was bad. One had radioed in and told them to have medical staff ready. Beyond that, he hadn’t been coherent. She just hoped he could dock the ship safely so that she’d be able to appraise the situation fully before Fleming arrived.

  She watched through the reinforced glass of the inner airlock door as the away ship approached. It was coming at New Haven at an odd angle, and it was tilted about twenty degrees toward starboard. The pilot over-corrected, and the ship approached tilting ten degrees port.

  Sarah clenched her fists, not even daring to breathe as the ship entered the hangar. It set down with a thud, and Sarah flinched. Thank God Owl wasn’t here to see this shameful display.

  As soon as the outer airlock doors closed, the inner doors opened and technicians raced toward the ship.

  The cargo door opened, and One shambled down the ramp. He was carrying something in his arms. It took Sarah a moment to realize it was one of his teammates. The woman’s mask had been removed, and her face was pale. A long piece of rebar protruded from both sides of her thigh.

  Sarah marched up the ramp, meeting One halfway as the medical staff took the injured teammate from his arms. “What happened?” she shouted.

  “They’re dead,” he said absently. “They’re all dead.”

  She looked past him and saw two bodies lying in the cargo hold, their features still covered by their black attire. “Holy hell, tell me you didn’t bring back your dead.”

  The medical staff had already started the emergency protocol for GMT members who may have been compromised. Rather than taking them back to the locker room, they tore off One’s clothes right there so they could check for bites immediately. Two others had the injured woman on a gurney and were stripping off her clothes as well.

  The rest of the medical staff surged into the cargo hold and went to work checking the bodies. Just because these team members were dead didn’t mean they’d necessarily stay that way. The techs needed to be sure the corpses hadn’t been bitten.

  Just then, at the worst possible moment, Fleming arrived.

  He ran to the ship, his eyes fixed on One.

  “Sir,” Sarah said, trying to intercept him, “I was just about to determine—”

  But Fleming blew past her and ran to One, grabbing him by his bare shoulders. “What the hell happened?”

  “They’re all dead,” One repeated.

  Fleming squeezed his shoulders and shook him hard. “What is the status of Fort Stearns?”

  One looked up slowly, as if just realizing who was speaking to him. “I just told you. They’re all dead. The Resettlers are dead. My team is dead. Fort Stearns is destroyed, and there are hundreds of vampires living in the ruins.” His head tilted a little, his eyes invisible behind that eerie mask. “Did you know, sir? Did you know you were killing all those people?”

  “Killing? What are you—”

  “No one could have survived a night with those monsters. Did you know what would happen?”

  Fleming turned to the nearest medical person, a young woman named Brook. “This man is delusional. Sedate him.”

  “Sir,” Sarah tried, but that was as far as she got before he whirled toward her.

  “He has clearly lost his mind.” The usual control in Fleming’s demeanor was gone, and there was a wildness in his eyes. “The GMT didn’t do their jobs. There’s no way they searched the entire settlement already. They just got spooked when they saw some vampires and decided to come home.”

  Sarah glanced at the mangled bodies in the cargo hold. Spooked wasn't the word she would have used to describe them.

  Fleming’s eyes filled with anger and he looked up suddenly. “We were sabotaged. That’s the only explanation. CB wasn’t the only traitor. Maybe Firefly was in on it. Maybe he let the vampires in.”

  Sarah was so surprised that she didn’t know how to respond. It seemed rather unlikely to her that Firefly would have willingly let vampires in to kill him and his Resettlers.

  Fleming was losing his grip, Sarah realized. He’d believed in Resettlement so completely that he was unable to accept its failure.

  “Firefly might have had accomplices among the Resettlers. There could be others.” He paused a moment. “No one is to leave the GMT facility until further notice. We need to make sure these people aren’t carrying a contaminant that could spread to the rest of the ship.”

  It wasn’t clear if the containment he was referring to was vampirism or betrayal.

  “Sarah, come with me to CB’s office.” With that, he stormed off, leaving the GMT support and medical staff staring at Sarah in confusion.

  She clenched her fists, hoping it would stop her hands fro
m shaking before anyone noticed. If Fleming lost it now, the entire city was in serious trouble. She had to calm him down and help him see reality, however terrible that reality might be. He’d done so much for her. Now it was time for her to repay the favor.

  “Do as he says,” she told everyone. “No one leaves the facility until further notice.”

  She hurried out of the hangar and to CB’s office.

  When she arrived, she found Kurtz and Fleming both there, waiting.

  “We need to call up the next six members of the GMT,” Fleming was saying. “Have them suit up and get ready for action.”

  Kurtz nodded. “Smart move staffing the new GMT with thirty-six members. That way, when something like this happens, sad as it is, we’re not out of commission. We can slide the next group of soldiers in with no waiting. What’s the mission? Back down to Fort Stearns?”

  Fleming shook his head. “We need them to track down CB, Brian, and Jessica. As long as they’re out there sowing discontent, we’re all in danger. While the GMT’s hunting them down, I’ll do a broadcast.”

  Sarah looked at him, surprised. “Are you sure you’re up for that?”

  “After Jessica’s broadcast earlier? How can I not respond?” His expression softened a little. “Look, I’m sorry about before in the hangar. I know I lost my cool. But I’m good now. I need to remind the people that CB is a terrorist. I’ll tell them about how he sabotaged Resettlement. What Jessica showed them was real, but there was a very good reason behind it. That’s what they need to hear.”

  “Okay,” Sarah said. “I’ll call down and have them start preparing for the broadcast.”

  “And I’ll get the new GMT geared up,” Kurtz said. “Anything else they need to know?”

  “Yes,” Fleming said. “Tell them I expect them to find CB, Jessica, and Brian before the day is out. And tell them I don’t expect the fugitives to be brought in alive.”

  6

  It was late afternoon before Alex convinced George to allow her and the team outside Agartha. It was far too late in the day for the trip to Denver, and they had promised Jaden they would leave that journey to him and his vampires. But they hadn’t made any such promises about heading out to salvage what they could of the rover that had been destroyed in the previous night’s battle.

  So it was that Alex, Chuck, Ed, Patrick, Owl and Wesley passed through the doors of Agartha and out into the cold, driving a borrowed truck.

  It wasn’t so much that they needed the rover parts immediately. Jaden and his team could easily grab them on their way back from Agartha. But Alex needed to be doing something. Being cooped up in a strange city while New Haven needed her was driving her absolutely crazy. She knew some of her team felt the same way.

  Others were content to explore their new surroundings.

  “I’m telling you, man,” Ed said, “from what I saw, Agartha women have New Haven women beat hands down.” He glanced nervously at Owl and Alex. “Present company excluded, of course. You ladies are super hot.”

  “Thank you for making this conversation even more uncomfortable,” Owl said.

  “All I’m saying is we ate lunch in that cafeteria, and the women were gorgeous.”

  Patrick nodded. “Can you believe it? A whole city of women and they don’t even know us. It’s like starting over.”

  Alex tried to ignore the Barton brothers’ conversation and stayed alert to their surroundings. Although there were probably Ferals hidden in the snow drifts around them, they were keeping to the center of the road that had been packed down by the Agartha transport the previous night. As long as they drove away from the snow banks, a Feral wouldn’t be able to get to them without lunging well into the sunlight.

  Ed was moving around well for a man who’d had his leg sliced open the previous night. There was a slight hitch in his step, and he grimaced occasionally, but he never once complained.

  It took them about three minutes to drive the mile to where the rover had been destroyed.

  Owl let out an anguished moan when she saw the ruined rover. “First the away ship. Then the backup ship. Now this. How much can one person handle?”

  Wesley chuckled. “If it’s any consolation, I’m pretty sure the rover didn’t suffer.”

  Signs of the battle were strewn around them. Pieces ripped from the walls of the Agartha transport vehicle. Body parts of Ferals who’d fallen in the fight. Bits of the rover.

  Thankfully, the remains of the rover were lying at the edge of the road, the heat from its motors having melted the snow around it. They were able to get to the rover without risking being within grabbing range of any vampires.

  Owl knelt next to the rover while the rest of them waited anxiously. After a few minutes of poking around the wreckage, she looked up. “Well, it’s not great, but it certainly could be worse. The batteries appear to be undamaged, and that’s the most important part.”

  “That means we can get the ship working again?” Chuck asked hopefully.

  “It means we have a chance,” Owl answered. “We still have the parts Fleming’s crew sabotaged to deal with, but assuming George can repair those, at least we’ll have the power we need.”

  “Crap,” Patrick muttered. “So you’re telling me we have to count on Jaden and his team to recover the away ship. And then we have to count on his engineering team to fix it?”

  “Putting our lives in the hands of a bunch of vampires does seem a little odd for the GMT,” Ed agreed.

  “That it does,” Alex said, “but that’s where we’re at. It goes against instincts, but so does overthrowing the head of New Haven, and that’s next on our to-do list.”

  CB, Brian, and Jessica made their way down the tunnel, deeper into the bowels of the ship. Fleming’s voice came from Brian’s tablet, reverberating off the metal walls and floor.

  “Is that really necessary?” CB asked, the annoyance clear in his voice.

  “Fleming’s addressing the whole city,” Brian pointed out, “and he’s talking about us. Don’t you want to hear what he’s saying?”

  “We know what he’s saying. It’s the first play in his playbook.”

  Jessica spoke in a low voice, doing a surprisingly passable Fleming impression. “CB, Brian, and Jessica are enemies of this city. Every bad thing that has ever happened is their fault, and definitely not mine. If we don’t catch them soon, your wives and husbands won’t sleep with you and your kids will turn ugly.”

  Brian chuckled. “Fine, I’ll put it away.” He slid the tablet into his pack. “It’s going to be tough getting the people on our side after a message like that. And I certainly don’t see how we’re going to do it while hiding out down here.”

  “It’ll be tough, but not impossible,” CB countered. “Even though Kurtz betrayed me, I believe there are plenty of badges who will side with us when the time comes. I fought with a lot of those guys and gals back in the day. Some of them have GMT in their blood. Fathers. Mothers. Cousins. There’s hardly a badge family that doesn’t have someone who served in the GMT at some point.”

  “Engineering’s the same way,” Jessica said. “We have a lot of supporters there. I say our first step is contacting them. Once we have the few I know are loyal, we can—”

  CB held up a hand, cutting her off. He tilted his head, listening. He hadn’t been sure of the noise the first time, but now it came again. The scuffle of a group of people moving through the tunnels. Trying to be quiet, but not fully succeeding.

  If they were close enough for CB to hear their footsteps, they were also close enough to have heard Jessica’s voice.

  “Run,” CB said flatly. Then he turned and sprinted down the tunnel, hoping his friends would follow.

  As soon as they started running, their pursuers gave up any pretense of stealth and chased after them, their shouts and heavy footfalls echoing loudly through the metal corridors.

  “Stop!” a voice behind them called.

  CB ignored the voice and pushed hard, and Jessica and Brian
did their best to keep up, but within a few minutes it became clear their pursuers were closing the gap. Brian wasn’t exactly a frequent attendee at the gym, and his gasps could be heard over the other noises as he ran. Jessica was in slightly better shape, but she wasn’t a runner either.

  Looking over his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of them racing down the long corridor: six headlamps illuminating the darkness.

  “Jessica, we need a way out of here,” CB called.

  Jessica thought a moment. “I have an idea. Think you can hold them off for a minute or so?”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “Good enough.” With that, she led them down a smaller tunnel to their left.

  The ceiling in the tunnel was only ten feet high, and CB could touch the walls with both hands if he stretched his arms out.

  “Brian, you’re with me,” Jessica said. “CB, you buy us a minute or two. When I yell, you jump as high as you can.”

  “Jump?” CB asked. “Why should I jump? What are you planning?”

  But Jessica and Brian had already taken off running down the corridor.

  A moment later, six figures entered the tunnel. They were dressed head to toe in black, with masks covering their faces. Each of them held a baton. That made sense. You couldn’t use a gun in these tunnels without risking damage to an essential system.

  CB looked around and spotted a fire extinguisher on the wall of the tunnel. Not exactly the ideal weapon, but it would pack a wallop. He grabbed it and held it in front of him like a shield.

  “Colonel Brickman,” one of the masked men said, “stand down. By the authority of Director Fleming and the GMT, I’m placing you under arrest.”

  CB raised an eyebrow, suddenly understanding. “The GMT? Is that what you think you are?”

  “Sir, let’s not make this any harder than it has to be.”

  CB took a step forward. “I have to admit the new uniforms are intimidating. Won’t help against the vampires, though.” He scanned their faces, wishing he could see their eyes. “Look, you boys must have been badges before getting this new gig. That means you know me. You know General Craig. There’s no way you believe the stories Fleming’s telling about us.”