Side Stories - The Linsey Ashguard Books: A Dystopian Sci-Fi Fantasy (War of the Tarot Extended Universe Book 1)

by Tackett, Brandon

  A loud wail filled the silent night air and the entire complex exploded in bright flashing red lights.

  Time to go. I wrapped my arms around myself and the child for warmth, and headed toward the street. My hope was to blend into the crowd and make it to the Outer Zone. Sadly there isn’t much room for hope where fate is concerned.

  As I rounded the corner onto the Central Highway, (the busiest street in the Queendom), a blinding spotlight fell upon me. People exited their vehicles and ran for cover; they were no strangers to the sight before them. Hovering about ten feet in the air was a Rebellion, a lightweight unmanned highly mobile riot control vehicle. Since the rebel uprising began a little over five years ago, they’d become a common sight in the skies of the Queendom, and the populace had learned that when one got that low, it meant rebels were around.

  Me… a rebel… go figure.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Linsellya K’rease Ashguard, cease and desist immediately,” the command sounded robotic, but I knew the voice belonged to a real person. Rebellions were designed for a crew compliment of three, a pilot, a gunner, and an engineer, all of the highest pay grade.

  Four on one… great. Yes, I considered the Rebellion itself an opponent. I’d seen the news broadcasts where the damn things had brought down entire buildings on top of Rebel battalions while in drone mode. I remained still and considered my options. The slightest move would egg them into action, so I had to make sure my first move was a smart one. I have to protect the child. What will they try first? Nets? Gas? Guns? Or will they jump straight to sonic weaponry? Do they have orders to capture me, or am I already marked for death? I watched the black demon hover before me. They ordered me to cease and desist… capture; they’re thinking capture, but why? They want the child dead. Wouldn’t killing us both during our escape be the best course of action? My hands curled into tight fists and my nails bit into my palms. Sticky blood left my body and lined the creases in my hands. Sometimes, a little pain is all I need to bring me back to reality. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is escape. So, capture it is then. Nets or gas? Left or right? Left. I tucked the child tight against my breast and zigged to the left.

  A wide barreled gun descended from the Rebellion’s belly and deployed a steel net.

  They’d taken the bait. I zagged to the right as the net slammed into the wall beside me. Razor sharp claws dug into the brick and locked the net in place. Had I not predicted their tactic I’d have been screwed. Even though star stone would slice through steel like butter, the net was so tight I’d have never been able to draw my sword.

  A loud clack echoed through the empty street followed by the quiet whir of an engine.

  “Hold on kid!” I rolled around the corner of the building and dashed down the street. 10. The clack meant they’d changed tactics. 9. The whir was the sound the gun made when it rotated to a new set up. 8. From all I knew about Rebellions, I had roughly 10 seconds to figure out my next move. 7.

  The Rebellion floated around the corner and kept me in its sights.

  6. I slammed into a car and jerked the handle but it was locked. 5. My hand grasped the hilt of my sword. 4. No! That’s not mobile enough; you’d be a sitting duck! 3. I released my sword and frantically searched the street for something better. 2.

  The Rebellion’s thrusters fired up and their roar filled the pale blue moonlit sky.

  1. Fuck!

  A motorcycle lay abandoned on the street several car lengths away.

  I propelled myself over the hood of the car and slid to the street on the other side. The baby squirmed against me and his tiny hands grasped the loose fabric of my tunic. There wasn’t any strength in his tiny hands, but the slight tug was noticeable. My feet were moving the moment they hit the pavement.

  Hollow thuds preceded the clank and clatter of thin metal canisters as they bounced off cars, and street posts, and the ground itself. Their harsh hiss filled my ears and silenced every other noise. Gas erupted into the air around me.

  My nostrils burned and the back of my throat felt as though it were made of coarse sandpaper. A series of ragged coughs shook my body and screwed with my balance, but I kept going. I ducked my head and buried my nose and mouth in the crook of my right elbow. What I wouldn’t give for a gas mask right now. I could only hope and pray that the thick cloth of the Queen’s Guard tunic I’d wrapped the child in would be enough to protect him from the harsh fumes. For once I was thankful to hear his crying, as long as he cried, he was alive.

  The shadow of the Rebellion fell over us as it rose above the yellowish gas and searched for me.

  I ran so fast I had no choice but to slide to a stop at the motorcycle. The gas robbed me of my vision through tears of irritation and my strength through lack of fresh air, but I threw my back into it and hauled the motorcycle off the ground.

  The shadow settled above us and another clack drowned out the rest of the world.

  Here they come.

  Spiders landed around us but only their shadowy forms shone through the haze of gas. They had long cylindrical bodies as wide as an average human being and eight long legs that ended with cuff like pincers. When the rebels began to outnumber us, Mercella Trent, developed the spiders to serve as both search and apprehend bots, or search and destroy bots, all in the name of taking our people out of the line of fire.

  Four Spiders, I counted in one quick glance, and then I straddled the motorcycle, and turned the ignition. It roared to life beneath me. It’s been a long time since I took combative vehicular maneuvers.

  Every last spider snapped their attention toward the sound of the engine.

  I popped it in gear and gunned it. The loud squeal sounded like music to my ears as I rode out of the gas cloud on the back wheel. Fresh air not only filled my lungs but whipped against my face and threw my hair out behind me. If only the air wasn’t so damned cold.

  The spiders launched themselves out of the cloud and their shiny metallic bodies shimmered in the pale moonlight. They slammed into the ground and the pavement crumbled beneath their weight.

  I dared a glance over my shoulder at the monstrosities that pursued us and it felt as though someone was ringing my stomach as if it were a wet rag.

  Slithering steel legs bent and twisted as they curled around lamp posts and skittered over abandoned cars. They glided over the terrain as though nothing stood in their way and I envied the ease in which they closed the distance between us. The sound of their heavy feet ripping up the concrete and crushing abandoned cars beneath their way as they barreled toward us sent chills down my spine. Even at full speed they’d be on top of me in a matter of moments, and top speed was a dream due to the thick mass of abandoned vehicles littering the road. Yet still, I had to try.

  Dammit, dammit, dammit! I cranked the throttle and pushed every last ounce of power I could muster into the bike. The long legs and fluid movements of the Spiders gave them a distinct advantage over me on a cluttered street. Even if all the cars on the busiest street in the Queendom weren’t moving, they still took up a hell of a lot of space. The baby kicked his arms and legs against the wall of fabric that shielded him from the nightmare outside, and I knew he was crying, but the loud roar of the bike concealed the heart rending sounds. Alright, fuck defensive maneuvers; it’s time for some offensive maneuvers.

  The foremost Spider landed, squatted to the ground, and used all the strength in its formidable legs to propel itself through the air.

  Luckily, I caught a glimpse of the attack in the side mirror. As I came around a large truck I whipped the bike in a wide arc. The tires squealed and smoke peeled up from the street. I’d stopped myself just short of the Spider’s launch path.

  It sailed over me and even as it overshot its target, its legs curled and struck.

  I executed a perfect samurai’s slash, my sword left its sheath, hit its mark, and slipped back inside with one fluid motion. The Spider’s legs fell to the ground around us and then its body
slammed into a car ahead. The large cylindrical body burst open on impact and revealed the cage inside. The empty recess designed to imprison offenders in the field loomed in my mind and a cold shiver crawled up my spine.

  The Rebellion’s spotlight enveloped me before I could even sigh in relief and two more spiders landed mere inches away. After seeing the fate that had befallen their companion the Spider’s AI adapted to fit their opponent. They struck at me simultaneously with one eerily long leg each.

  I bent to the side to avoid the one on the right and whipped my sword out and through the other leg with one clean effortless swipe. My ears perked up as I detected the whir of the Rebellion’s gun over the roar of my bike. Distraction!

  A wide black gun descended from the Rebellion’s belly. It resembled a massive sub woofer.

  Sonic! Though the spiders kept striking to judge their distance, they displayed an unusual amount of hesitation for a machine, (I guess they’d never encountered a star stone blade before), I ignored them, gunned the bike’s engine and peeled out in the direction we’d come. My heart pounded against my breastbone and the blood flowing through my veins burned. On instinct entirely, (because I sure as hell wasn’t thinking about it) I cleaved one of the two spiders as I blew past them.

  The Rebellion course corrected with minimal effort and its thrusters blew the glass out of every vehicle in the vicinity as it rushed to pursue me. The small throng of citizens who hadn’t managed to find a safe hiding place before the speed of our pursuit overtook them ducked to the ground like a group of synchronized swimmers. Their terrified screams hardly registered in my mind.

  I leaned to the right and left as we zoomed past empty vehicles at a speed no sane person would ever attempt on the Central Highway.

  A barely audible high pitched hum tickled my ear drum and then a wave of sonic force whooshed past us. The ground beside us imploded.

  I swerved around it.

  The next blast hit even closer.

  I couldn’t swerve around it, so I whipped the bike in another wide arc and barely came to a stop before falling into the crater. They’re adjusting their aim… Move! I peeled out just in time to avoid the blast that fell right where we were. My ears rung and I could feel the warm drops of blood fall from my earlobes. Sonic technology makes for a physically devastating weapon, but the real advantage was how it messed with your head, not to mention the whole bit about turning internal organs into jelly... I had to do something quick or our heads would explode. I had no idea how long a baby could handle it, but I was glad that I could still feel him kicking his arms and legs inside the tight cloth.

  A vacant parking garage waited in the distance.

  Tight quarters… perfect. I swerved and dodged sonic blast after sonic blast as we made a beeline for the garage. The frequency of the shots increased as we grew closer and closer. They were well aware they’d be unable to venture into such a constrained space and continued with a sonic assault. They’d bring the whole structure down on top of themselves. Another thing Ella taught me. You can always depend on a person’s survival instincts to trump every other impulse. Unless they’re a psychopath.

  The Rebellion veered off as we rode into the garage.

  I didn’t care, I kept going. I wanted to get as deep into the dark structure as possible and buy myself some time to think about my next move. Sadly, I’d been so wrapped up in evading sonic tech I’d totally forgot about the remaining spider, and its dogged persistence to capture me.

  Out of the shadows (and far more silently than a machine of their size and weight should be capable of) a Spider attacked. The pincers on the end of its long legs caught me by the ankles and one wrist before I realized what was going on. We went to the ground hard and the bike continued without us until it fell on its side and skidded to a halt. The Spider desperately attempted to capture my free hand as its other four legs dug into the cloth that hung around my chest.

  “No!” I couldn’t move my legs at all and my left arm was equally restrained. I used my right hand to bat the leg attempting to render me useless away and watched in horror as the other legs dug for the child. My sword was on my back, which meant it was as trapped as my left arm and legs.

  The heavy leg struck at my right wrist.

  I pulled my arm in and the cement beneath us took the brunt of the hit. Had it connected it would have shattered every bone in my lower arm. Luckily, the only injury I sustained was a sharp piece of cement that buried itself in my right shoulder.

  The Spider’s free legs whipped around us and with little effort managed to uncover the child.

  “You piece of shit! Goddess forsaken hunk of metal!” My own survival instinct flew away. I grabbed the sonic pistol on my right hip and quickly fired off shots at the Spider’s legs that held my own legs down. The recoil of the gun was far too intense to use from the back of a motorcycle, but pinned to the solid ground, it was a perfect weapon. The impact was enough to jar the legs free but they were also holding tight to my ankles, so the impact effectively pulled my own legs an inch farther than they were meant to go. An intense pain radiated from my lower back and in that moment I was positive I’d just blown both of my legs out of socket. Adrenaline don’t fail me now.

  The Spider stumbled away and lost its balance. The impact demolished the two legs but even on six legs it’d recover fast.

  I sat up and wrapped my arms around the child.

  He kicked and wailed. His chubby wrinkled face was wet and red.

  “It’s okay… it’s okay,” I wrapped him back into the cloth and tucked him in close to my chest. The position seemed to instantly calm him.

  The Spider lunged at us again.

  I was prepared. I rolled to the side drew my sword and unleashed a furious scream as I cut through every leg it attacked with and its body. A dull pain throbbed in my lower back as I stood at the end of my strike and watched the pieces of metal rain to the ground. Good… nothing broken… nothing out of place, but I’ll be stiff in the morning.

  The Rebellion circled the garage and its spotlight created harsh shadows around us.

  “Okay, let’s finish this,” I looked down and pulled the cloth aside to look at the baby’s face. He smiled up at me and though his face was red and wet he smiled and made noises that could have been the start of a laugh. How could anyone want to kill you?

  * * * * *

  The motorcycle was badly damaged, but it would serve its purpose before it gave out. The ride to the top of the garage was uneventful. Who knew even machines could have a survival instinct? The babe at my breast was once again sleeping soundly and while it made me feel good to know he was at peace, part of me hated him for it.

  As we pulled onto the roof the Rebellion rose to a level position and the harsh spotlight once again fell over us.

  “Linsellya K’rease Ashguard, cease and desist immediately. Or we will reduce you to ash and cinder.”

  Oh, humpty dumpty is personalizing their threats now huh? I hammered the throttle and the bike left it’s sputtering behind as it roared to life one final time. Smoke rose behind us.

  The Rebellion opened fire. Sonic shocks devastated the structure around me.

  I held my course. The fact they hadn’t opened fire on my exact location from the get go, told me they still wanted to catch me if they could. That was their final mistake. At the edge of the building i popped a wheelie and soared into the air. The bike was aimed right at the Rebellion’s cockpit.

  The Rebellion, being the highly mobile assault weapon it was easily pulled up to avoid the bike.

  That was exactly what I wanted. I planted my feet on the seat and pushed myself into the air. The bike fell below the Rebellion as it rose into my feet. As soon as I landed I drew my sword and buried it hilt deep in the metal monster’s head.

  Someone inside screamed.

  Good. I twisted the star stone blade and jerked it up. Red sparks and blue sparks, and hell, sparks of all colors exploded around m
e and the Rebellion spun out of control. Before it could fall past the garage roof I leapt off and landed safely on the edge. There I stood as I watched my pursuer go down in a blur of smoke and flame. I wrapped my arms around the child and hugged him tight, “We’re almost there. Soon we’ll be safe…”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The Outer Zone… a harsh frozen world compared to the climate controlled dome I’d lived under my entire life. A world full of hard people and hard living, but a world free of the Queen… free of… Ella…

  We walked the rest of the way and took as many winding back alley shortcuts as I could recall, but there were no further incidents. I don’t know if the destruction of the Rebellion had put off their search or if I’d actually managed to give them the slip. I somehow doubted they’d give up when they perceived so much to be at stake, but for all intents and purposes the drama had died down. Sadly, that gave me time to think… the very thing I didn’t want to do.

  Ella… why wouldn’t you just come with me? The closer we came to the Outer Zone the denser the snow fell. Before long I could hear the hard packed drift crunch beneath my feet.

  Did I do the right thing? The child felt warm against my chest. He was asleep again. I never realized how much babies actually slept. My arms were wrapped around him even though the cloth held him firmly to me.

  Ella… did I do the right thing? Images of our lives kept playing through my mind. When I’d first met her I was a snot nosed little brat who never took anything seriously. In a way that brat had never died but she’d been buried under something else, something undefinable. Love? Perhaps.