Hive II

by Griffin Hayes

  There’s a loud boom as the door slams shut and Ret and the others stare at me in mute horror. My eyes are glowing, that much I know, but when I look down I see the reason for their horrified expressions. I’m hovering nearly a foot off the ground.

  -27-

  I hit the ground hard and it feels like every ounce of energy’s been sucked right out of me. The Zees are banging on the door something fierce. Sounds like wet rags slapping against metal and it takes me a second before I realize it’s the sound of bloody stumps knocking out a dreadful beat. I also know the Hive leader’s probably heading down on the next elevator and I’ll bet 50 to 1 Dhal didn’t wipe that code before we all ran through. Made it real simple for him. All that red prick’ll need to do is turn the handle and push. I glance over and find Dhal crouched down beside me. His pants reek of piss and I know better than to even bother asking him.

  Krantz is eyeing me like I’m some kind of alien. “What is she?” he asks Oleg. He’s not even trying to be discreet. I feel like a patient, laid out before a group of young Keeper med students.

  “She was bitten,” Oleg replies. “Days ago, but didn’t turn; not fully, at least.”

  “Not only once,” Ret adds undoing the bandages on my arm. “But twice.” The bandages fall away and he shakes his head. “Just as I thought.”

  I glance down at my brown, almost mummified arm. It’s ugly as hell but, more importantly, it doesn’t have a single scratch.

  “We need to keep moving,” I croak.

  Ret helps me to my feet. I’m little more than a newborn baby on a pair of rubbery legs, learning to walk anew.

  Now Oleg’s talking to me directly. “You don’t only hear them do you, Azina? You can communicate, make them obey you.”

  The fear on Bron’s face is hard to miss. “I saw you floating in the air, defying almighty Newton himself. Please tell me you won’t snap and attack us when we’re not looking?”

  “Course I won’t,” I spit in mock anger at the suggestion, “don’t be silly.” But the truth is I have no idea what I’m capable of, especially if Skuld’s machine manages to turn him into some kind of Hive emperor. If that should happen, I hope they kill me quickly before anyone gets hurt.

  We gather our things and head out. Sneak in the lead, maybe ten yards up. The rest of us follow behind. With every step, the act of planting one foot in front of the other becomes easier and easier.

  Tiny rooms are on either side of us. We’ve entered some kind of research area. Large windows, set twenty feet apart, reveal operating theatres and tables filled with strange glass containers. There’s no sign of life, even though the faint echoes of recent human habitation are all around us. Up ahead, Sneak comes to a T intersection, stops and peeks in both directions. Her hand stabs the air behind her and she begins to signal frantically.

  I translate what she’s seeing. “Left clear. Right, twenty yards. Three Wardens in full battle gear.”

  We move up behind her, just as she walks into view of the soldiers. I reach out to yank her back, but my arm’s too sluggish to respond in time. Besides, any second now, that door to the elevator room at our backs is going to burst open and spew out hundreds of Zees. If these wardens raise the alarm, then everything we’ve done will be for nothing.

  Around the corner I hear Sneak crying and whimpering and it’s the first time I’ve ever heard her make a noise.

  Rifles snap to attention.

  “Halt! How did you get down here?”

  She doesn’t answer.

  A new voice. “Easy boys, she’s just a little girl.”

  Then a third. “I coulda swore we swept the science sector clean as a whistle. I don’t see how we could have missed–”

  The first voice again, trying to whisper. “She must be a Grinder. How did you get down here, sweety?”

  Pause. Sneak is sniffling.

  They repeat the question, but still no response.

  “Maybe she’s deaf.”

  Laughter, then three sets of heavy boots approach her and stop.

  “What’s wrong little girl, cat got your ton–”

  Scuffling and blades, two of them, slicing through flesh. Gurgling and garbled speech. The sound of something heavy hitting the ground, then another. We rush around the corner and find Sneak standing over three dead Wardens.

  Her fingers zip through the air. “They called me deaf!” She looks more hurt than angry.

  I’m about to ask her which one said it when I see she’s sliced the ears off the fat one.

  Dhal tries to wipe the awe off his face, but he isn’t quite fast enough. “I coulda done that you know,” he says.

  “Really?” Bron replies and taps one of his metal fingers on the top of Dhal’s head.

  “Ouch,” he squeals, clutching the top of his skull.

  Bron’s heavy frame gyrates with laughter. “You’ll be better off sticking to your gadgets and your toys, pipsqueak. And if the shit hits the fan, then get behind lil Sneak over there, she’ll protect you.”

  Dhal gives Sneak a crooked smile. She smiles back and wipes a smear of blood off her cheek.

  -28-

  After passing through a set of double doors, we come to a cavernous chamber. It’s circular with a high arched ceiling and even Oleg looks impressed. “Do you realize these marble floors predate the fall?”

  Maybe so, but frankly none of us are in the mood for one of Oleg’s history lessons. Built into the walls of the room are stone pillars that reach up to the domed roof. They’re purely decorative, and not load bearing, even I can see that, but what does catch my eye is the source of light wedged between two of these pillars at the opposite end of the room. It appears to be a large window, with figures moving about on the other side. Ret and Bron see it too.

  We approach and my heart begins to race, but that’s good, because it means I’m almost back to normal. That cloudy feeling in my head is almost cleared away and my muscles are becoming tight and responsive once again.

  I’m finally able to see what’s going on behind that glass wall and the sight of it nearly freezes the blood in my veins. It’s Skuld, dressed in his Keeper’s best; robes of deep violet, trimmed with snow leopard fur and some sort of tall white ceremonial headdress.

  The word ‘pharaoh’ comes spilling out of Oleg’s mouth, but I haven’t the faintest idea what he’s talking about.

  Men in white Keeper lab coats scurry all around him. Some are fiddling with buttons and knobs on the wall. Others seem to be making last minute adjustments to a machine in the center of the room. They begin to strap him into it. It’s bulky at one end, filled with blinking lights and levers. On the other is a ring of thick metal, taller than a man and housing four restraints. It almost looks like a torture device.

  The scientists are binding Skuld’s ankles and wrists with leather straps when he sees us. The glare from his black, dead eyes is piercing and somehow humiliating, all at the same time. We must look like a bunch of poor Grinders with nothing to eat, gawking at him from outside. His lips move, but not a sound makes it through the thick observation glass that’s protecting him. The room he’s in must be sealed as tight as a drum. Two Keeper scientists look at him and then at us. The alarm in their faces is immediate and suddenly they’re shouting to one another. A short pudgy man with a large nose and bad skin goes to mash a large red button on the wall and then stops. I follow the direction of his gaze and it leads me to Dhal. The boy’s wearing the same expression of surprise and sadness mirrored. Suddenly it becomes clear. The short man with the big nose is Master Lund. Now Skuld’s entire demeanor changes and he seems to be shouting at Lund, ordering him to push the button, but Lund isn’t listening. One of Skuld’s deputies raises a pistol and fires, dropping Lund to the floor. The deputy crosses the room in three great strides and hits the button. Dhal lets out a desperate cry just as the room we’re in erupts with bursts of yellow light. Now a siren begins to wail and I can’t tell if we’re about to be incinerated or if he’s just summoned a battali
on of Wardens.

  Beside the observation window is a stout metal door with a keypad lock and I tell Dhal to snap out of it and crack that code. He isn’t listening and I grab him by the collar of his tunic and shake him vigorously. His eyes look dull with shock and I slap him twice across the face. Yellow light splashes across his narrow features. The siren is blaring in my ears. He finally comes around and I see his eyes are filled with terror.

  “We’ve got to get out of here,” he stammers, “right now.”

  “What are you talking about? Skuld’s in there,” I shout, pointing in the other direction.

  “You don’t understand. They hit the button. They activated the Goliath. We won’t stand a chance.”

  -29-

  Yellow emergency lights still pulse in my eyes. The siren echoes off the walls and assaults my eardrums. The feeling of acute nausea comes on fast and I suddenly feel the urge to retch all over the floor. Behind us, Skuld, still flanked by Keeper scientists, preps the machine that’s about to end all life on Earth for good.

  I hear the sound of a gate clanging shut. It’s just come down over the entrance to this giant round death trap of a room and suddenly I know we’re in serious trouble. Ret is fumbling shells into the barrel of his shotgun when I hear boots charging down the hallway outside. Then the voice of a commander barking orders.

  Bron’s smirking and I can’t tell if he’s nervous for the first time in his life or if he knows something I don’t. “This is about to get interesting,” he says.

  Any second now I’m expecting to see red Warden cloaks through the bars that are blocking our exit. Then their assault rifles, poking through and firing indiscriminately. Rats caught in the granary. That’s exactly how I feel right about now.

  “Skuld’s only minutes from activating the machine,” Oleg shouts. “We need to get in there.”

  I glance over to find Dhal’s already at the panel, working on the code.

  Bron lifts his arms and prepares to fire at the glass.

  “Don’t bother,” Dhal snaps. “Master Lund and I designed that glass to withstand a direct hit from an RPG.”

  From outside, just as I’m expecting those Wardens to start pokin’ their guns through the bars I catch sight of something I never thought I’d be so happy to see.

  Zees, hundreds, maybe thousands of them, tearing past, hissing, some snarling, one even crawling on its belly, probably split in two by one of Bron’s shells. Over the sound of the blaring siren I make out screams of panicked men as the horde of Zees crashes into the Wardens. The sounds are horrifying, frantic gun fire, blood curdling cries for help.

  Behind us, Dhal seems to be making headway on the lock, and for a moment I allow myself to feel a pinch of optimism, but then I see Skuld’s expression. They’re nearly done prepping him and he’s got a smug smile plastered all over that pock-marked face of his. The scarring is the remnants of a disease that nearly killed him in childhood. Even natural order tried to kill him and failed.

  I hear a slab off stone sliding away and see a hidden doorway opening up in the far wall. Then comes the sound of grinding gears, squeaking metal and thunderous footfalls. I swing my repeater around just in time to see it emerge from the opening. It’s the color of polished brass and must be nearly ten feet tall. Almost looks like a man, too, except for the color and the plumes of thick black smoke chugging out from a pipe behind its neck. All of us watch in amazement. Three thoughts fire through my brain at nearly the same time. The first is that this metallic monster reminds me of old pictures I once saw of a train, black smoke and all. On the heels of that is the dim realization that we’ve just met Goliath. The third is that we’re all about to die.

  -30-

  Goliath scans the room and its cold, metallic gaze settles on Dhal as he works frantically on the lock. It turns in his direction and Krantz levels his assault rifle and unloads an entire magazine. Sparks fly off of Goliath’s metal belly and head. I see dents appear, parts where the brass finish is chipped off, but even from here I can tell that every shot ricocheted and didn’t do anything more than make it angry. In four crushing strides it closes the distance between it and Krantz, a trail of black smoke belching out behind it. I send half a dozen shots squarely at its head, knowing they won’t do a damn thing to stop it, but hoping somehow to draw its attention. Even Ret is firing, being careful not to catch any of us in the wide spray from his shotgun. Between Krantz and Goliath is Oleg and he falls to the ground; for a moment I’m sure it’s about to squash the life out of him, but its focus stays on Krantz.

  Inside the lab, Skuld has a gleeful look on his face, like he’s got front row seats to a bare knuckle boxing match in the entertainment district. In a flash I remember the terrible things Skuld did to Krantz’ parents and I’m scared he’s about to finish what he started.

  Goliath is faster than any of us could have imagined and as Krantz drops the empty magazine from his rifle, he turns to run, to give himself a chance to reload. But Goliath sweeps out and snatches the back of Krantz’ cloak with one of its powerful hands. Without the slightest discernible effort it whips him off his feet and into the air, looking like a child twirling a sack of food from the market.

  Bron grunts in anger and opens fire. Three shots ring out before his guns click empty. One grazes the back of Goliath’s head, cuts through the swirl of black smoke rising above him, and explodes against the far wall, creating a gaping hole. The other two hit Goliath in the side of the chest, just below the shoulder, and detonate – nearly knocking it over. Krantz is being spun through the air as though he were a human sling shot, shouting for help. There’s nothing we can do and the feeling of powerlessness is devastating. I see a hole in the machine’s side and thick, black oil trailing down its left leg. Goliath rocks back on its feet, staggers, but doesn’t fall. Instead it swings the terrified Krantz higher into the air and then whips him down violently against the ground. I turn my head even though the sound of Krantz’ skull being crushed by the impact is enough to tell me he’s dead.

  For a moment, the mechanical giant studies Krantz’ shattered body, before turning toward Bron.

  Bron balls his gleaming hands into fists and nods. “This will be a good death,” he says and charges Goliath before I can try to stop him. For a moment, even the machine looks surprised before it too breaks into a charge.

  Goliath raises its arms to crush Bron, but he sidesteps the blow as the machine’s two giant arms strike the marble floor, kicking up clouds of powdery dust and bits of pulverized rock. Now Goliath is open and I see Bron eject a blade from the palm of his hand and drive it into the wound in the machine’s side. Goliath brings its fists up from the ground in a sweeping arc toward Bron, who tries to block the blow. The clang of metal on metal is almost deafening as Bron is sent tumbling across the floor. His blade has snapped off and is lodged in Goliath’s side. I see that trail of black smoke billowing out from the pipe behind its neck sputter, which gives me an idea.

  Goliath is closing in on Bron when I signal Sneak. She’s with Dhal, by the door, watching over him as he works the lock. She nods when she gets the message and snatches the cap off Dhal’s head and bolts in my direction. I look past them and gasp. One of the attendants is injecting something into Skuld’s neck and he begins to writhe violently, struggling against his constraints, thick yellow foam frothing from his lips. They’ve injected him with the Zee chemical.

  -31-

  Bron staggers to his feet as Goliath barrels down on him. There’s a metallic clang as Bron rocks back on his heels after blocking a sideways blow from the machine. Bron’s already looking tired and I can see his arms are badly dented. Goliath’s next shot sends him to the ground again. This time the machine steps on Bron’s right arm and pins him in place. There’s a sound like metal being flattened in a press. When Goliath’s foot comes away, Bron’s arm is a twisted mess. Goliath lifts him into the air. It’s trying to tear him apart, rip his arms right off his body and I race toward them, just as Sneak tosses me t
he cap. Bron is screaming in pain now, something I’ve never heard in all the time I’ve known him. I run up from behind and jump on Goliath’s back. It notices me at once and releases Bron, who tumbles to the floor.

  It’s reaching for me now, its dented metal hands cutting through the thick black smoke chugging out the top of it and I do all I can to stay on. Soon it’s spinning in circles and I feel my feet in midair. Dhal’s cap is in my free hand and I jam it down that exhaust pipe, as far as it’ll go, trying to ignore the searing pain as the flesh on my arm begins to melt. Finally, I pull free and let go, hitting the floor hard. I skid into the wall with a painful thud and a cloud of starbursts blurs my vision. Goliath is still trying to reach behind it, as though a knife were stuck between its shoulder blades, but Dhal’s hat is deep inside the exhaust pipe and I know he’ll need to rip himself apart to get it out. A wheezing escapes Goliath, as if the machine is suffocating; it probably is, because the black smoke is now a mere thin thread, trailing from the wound in its side. Goliath lets out a deep, bellowing moan, and falls forward, its head cratering the marble floor.

  The rest of us run to Bron’s side and the lights begin to dim. They’ve turned on Skuld’s genetic accelerator machine and the room behind the window swirls with bright blue light. I can see Skuld inside, chained to that contraption, his body whipping back and forth. His new dark and leathery Zee skin is changing again. It’s slowly turning red, but something tells me it won’t stop there. He even looks taller now, his headdress split open at the crown and protruding above the ring holding him in place. Slowly his skin goes from red to black and the blast from Zee central is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I’ve heard The Keepers talk of how Dusters used to explode bombs capable of destroying entire cities and now I understand what they meant. My hands rise to my temples. Blood trickles from my ears and eyes. Feels like my brain is being scrambled. A million messages flooding in all at once. Can’t block them out. Skuld’s done it. Activated all the Hives. I crumple to my knees, bending to his will, the others watching me without a clue as to what’s going on. Only Sneak knows. Knows exactly what’s about to happen. Then, mercifully, Skuld’s body goes limp, the lights in the chamber go out, and like a switch, that pain in my head – like my brain is about to implode – suddenly fades.