by Jake Bible
“Holy fucking shit!” Rachel yelled as she took in the scene.
Themopolous, bloody and half naked was crawling towards the door while Harlow emptied her pistol into the zombies lunging for them.
***
Bisby sat in his mech, stewing. “Fucking base watch. UDC troops inside and I get fucking base watch.”
He lazily stared at his sensors as they picked up nothing but an empty wasteland.
“I should be out kicking deader ass not outside babysitting,” he muttered to himself. “This is royal fucking bullshit.”
An alarm sounded in his cockpit, one that Bisby hadn’t heard in a very long time. “Contamination breach? Seriously?”
He double checked his readings and confirmed that the base’s virus sensors had been activated.
“Hey! What the hell is going on in there?” Bisby yelled over his com.
***
Mathew had been watching the reading on his sensors for the better part of an hour. Or more importantly, the lack of a reading. Something was trying to hide, to trick his mech’s sensors into thinking there was nothing there. But, Mathew had been in the waste at night too many times not to notice the absence of information.
During the day he may never have caught the anomaly, but night navigation was by sensor and feel, making every little bit of data stand out.
Friend or foe? Was he heading into a trap? Mathew couldn’t answer those questions yet.
***
Six of the eleven zombies came straight at Harlow, the others fell on the still living UDC troops and began to feed.
“Aww, Goddammit!” Harlow yelled as Steve’s corpse leapt a gurney and sprang at her. She put two bullets in the former cook’s forehead splattering blood and brains onto to the other zombie’s directly behind him. No time for grief, Harlow emptied her pistol, dropping four more.
“I’m empty!” Harlow screamed. Rachel shoved her aside.
“Get the Doc out of here! I’ve got the rest!” Rachel ordered.
Harlow and the Commander didn’t hesitate, quickly helping Themopolous out the door.
***
“What do you want, Chunks?” Olivia asked.
“Boss said he needs the extra room and Rachel here is to bunk with you tonight,” Chunks said, between mouthfuls of flesh. Chunks leaned in close to June, drops of grease running down his chin. “He also said that if you try anything he’s giving you to me. And I ain’t as sweet and tender as the Boss.”
June’s empty stomach convulsed and she dry heaved over and over. Chunks snorted and started to walk away. “Oh, yeah, looks like we may have a storm brewin’. Probably hit sometime tonight. Better get prepared.”
***
“Shut up and listen!” the Rookie shouted.
Masters rolled his eyes and started to speak. “Shhhh!” Jay hushed.
A far off clanging echoed into the room. Jay and the Rookie spread out, following the sound. They soon converged on the same spot, a large reinforced door at the back of the room.
“Where the fuck does that go?” Masters asked, joining the two.
“The holding cells,” the Rookie answered. “Where the fighters are kept.”
“Oh, you got to be fucking kidding me?!?” Masters said. “Are they secure?”
A wrenching crash from the other side of the door answered Masters’ question.
***
“Get me to Jethro now!” Themopolous cried out, pain wracking her body as the Commander and Harlow carried her down the hallway. Gun shots echoed from the infirmary and Capreze winced.
“No, we need to stabilize you first,” Harlow said.
“Bullshit!” Themopolous protested. “We need to get Jethro’s chip out before it activates again!”
More shots cracked and Capreze focused his gaze on Harlow. The pilot nodded and carefully helped Themopolous into the Commander’s arms.
“Got her?” Harlow asked.
“Yes, just go help Rachel! I’ll get the Doc to Jethro.”
Harlow took Capreze’s pistol and turned back to the infirmary.
***
“Okay, we need to go!” Masters yelled, sprinting for his duffel. “Let’s get the mechs and get the fuck out of this shithole!”
The Rookie and Jay followed suit, each grabbing what they could. Masters made it to the front door, stopped, pulled an auto-pistol and began firing.
“Fuuuuuuuuuck!!” Masters roared. He kicked out with his right leg, connected with something and slammed the front door closed, the code pad turning from green to red as it locked securely. “We aren’t going out that way!”
Pounding shook both doors and each began to buckle inward.
“Mother fucker,” the Rookie mumbled.
***
Olivia helped June to her feet, steadying her as she swayed a bit. June, not wanting to see the feed pen, kept her eyes tightly shut as Olivia led her away from the water trough.
“You can look now,” Olivia said, slightly annoyed. “You won’t be able to ignore it forever though.”
“I don’t plan on being here forever,” June responded, opening her eyes and keeping them averted.
Olivia didn’t respond, just continued to help June navigate the rough ground.
A loud bell clanged from behind them and June turned quickly, painfully, to find its source.
“Storm warning,” Olivia said.
***
“Get me the emergency med kit from the hall,” Themopolous commanded as Capreze set her in the chair next to Jethro.
“Give me a second,” Capreze responded, his chest heaving with exertion. “I’m not as young as I used to be.”
“No time for rest, Commander. You can pass out once I get the chip out of Jethro’s head.”
“What the fuck?!? Chip out?!? No one’s cutting my head open!” Jethro exclaimed, spinning his chair about, a look of terror on his face. “I don’t do blades.”
“You do if you want to live through another com breach,” Themopolous stated.
***
“Looked like the whole fucking city/state was coming down those stairs!” Masters yelled, slinging a loaded auto-shotgun over his shoulder as he began to load a second one. “We’re fucked if that door gives way and from the looks of it it’s just a matter of minutes.”
“How many fighters you think are on the other side of the back door?” Jay asked the Rookie.
“Couple dozen, maybe more,” the Rookie answered. “Why not just call the mechs here by remote?”
Jay and Masters looked at each other then to the Rookie apologetically.
“That was a bluff, kid,” Jay said.
***
“Hold him still while I cut,” Themopolous told the Commander.
“Hold me still?!? Aren’t you going to use anesthetic?!?” Jethro cried.
“No time, Jethro. Sorry,” the Commander said, grasping both sides of Jethro’s head firmly.
Themopolous swabbed antiseptic, tossed that aside and picked up a scalpel, her hand visibly shaking.
“You sure you can do this?” Capreze asked the doctor, seeing the tremor.
“Sure she can do this?!? What am I missing here?!?” Jethro cried again.
“Oh, shut up you big baby,” Themopolous barked as she placed the scalpel to the base of Jethro’s skull and sliced.
Jethro started screaming.
***
Rachel pulled the trigger, blasting the back of the zombie’s head across the infirmary’s wall. “That’s the last one.” Rachel looked up, watching Harlow check the UDC troops that hadn’t turned right away. “Any of those guys still alive?”
“The Sergeant Major is still breathing, but he’s pretty shredded,” Harlow answered.
Rachel crossed to the infirmary beds and systematically put a bullet into each of the newly dead troopers’ heads before stepping to Harlow’s side.
“Wheel that surgical cart over,” Harlow said.
“Why? He’s a goner.”
“We may be able to
keep him alive long enough to get some answers.”
***
“What the fuck are we going to do?!?” yelled Masters.
“Well we aren’t going to fall apart like some UDC pansy ass! You’re a mech pilot dammit, act like one!” Jay yelled back.
The Rookie eyed the fight cage. “In there.”
“What?” Jay and Masters asked at the same time.
“Load all the weapons and ammo into the cage, shut the door and start blasting once the doors give.” The Rookie started scooping up weapons and ammo and tossing them onto the mat.
“We’ll be trapped!” Masters shouted.
“We already are!” the Rookie shouted back. “Stop whining and start helping!”
***
Bisby stepped around the corner, auto-carbine at the ready. He approached the infirmary cautiously.
“If you aren’t dead you better speak up now, ‘cause I’m coming in firing otherwise!” He yelled.
“Hold your fire asshole!” Rachel yelled back. “We’ve got blood and shit everywhere, so stay out unless you want to go through decontamination with us!”
“Is everyone okay?” Bisby asked, just outside the doorway.
“No. Steve had to be put down and all but one of the UDC troopers are dead,” Harlow answered. “Go see if Themopolous and the Commander need you in the control room.”
“Control room?”
“Yeah.”
***
“Almost have it… Almost… Shit!” Themopolous yelled as Jethro began to convulse. “The signal must have gotten through! Hold him down dammit!”
Capreze used his whole weight to try to keep Jethro stable, but the mechanic’s body thrashed violently against the Commander’s grip. “I can’t hold on!”
“Got it!” Themopolous tossed the Reaper chip onto the control console and immediately set to work on closing the incision. “Jethro? Can you hear me?”
“Ugggh…,” Jethro grunted.
“Good. There is still going to be some pain while I suture you up, but you should be fine in a few minutes.”
“Fucking ugggh…”
***
Masters wiped more gore from his uniform. “We make it out of here alive we’re going to need some serious decontamination.”
The Rookie laughed. “I’ve swam through worse! We’ll be fine.”
“Swam? Who are you?” Jay grunted, hefting a flame thrower.
“If we get out of here in one piece, I’ll tell you both,” the Rookie said.
“I’ll hold you to that, Rookie,” Masters said. Masters quickly pulled the fight cage door shut, locking it tightly. “That’s all of it.”
The three men waited for the doors to give way, hoping they had enough ammo to out last the onslaught.
***
Capreze tossed Themopolous a long jacket. “You’re, um, a little exposed in the back. This should cover things up. How’s your head?”
“I’m fine. Harlow is pretty good with a needle and thread,” Themopolous put on the jacket, feeling behind to make sure it covered everything. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Capreze responded. “Jethro, can we activate the com?”
“I don’t see why not,” Jethro said through labored breathing. “Signal already got through. Might as well be fully operational while we figure out what the fuck is going on.”
“Good. What do I do?”
“Third button from the left, center tablet.”
***
The moment the Sergeant Major stopped convulsing Harlow took aim and put three bullets in his brain, putting him out of his soon to be undead misery. “Fuck! There goes our shot at intel!”
“Jethro!” Rachel cried, activating her com. “Papa Bear! We just had to put the Sergeant Major down. Is Jethro…?”
“He’s fine,” Capeze responded. “Well as fine as can be expected. You and Harlow okay?”
“Yeah. We’ll need a decon hose down, but we weren’t exposed as far as we can tell.”
“Good. Bisby just walked in. I’ll have him suit up and get you cleaned up.”
***
Olivia helped June through the door into her shack. An older woman was busy packing belongings into sealed shipping containers. June couldn’t help but notice the UDC stamp on the containers.
“We salvage what we can,” Olivia offered, following June’s gaze. “This is my partner, Rebecca. Rebecca, this is Rachel. She’ll be staying with us for the evening.”
Rebecca sorted out a couple of garments from the pile she was holding and tossed them to June. “You’ll need a little more than just that blanket, dear.”
June dropped the blanket and, with Olivia’s assistance, began carefully to dress herself. “Thanks.”
***
Bisby, in full decontamination suit, aimed the water hose at Rachel and Harlow. “Drop drawers, ladies. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go back to being fucked and confused.”
Both mech pilots peeled their gore stained uniforms off and tossed them in a bin marked “Incineration”. They removed their boxers and bras, tossing them in the same bin.
“You’re lovin’ this, huh?” Harlow joked, preparing herself for the blast of cold water.
“Yep,” Bisby smirked turning the hose on the two women.
“Fucking fuck shit!” Rachel screamed.
Harlow and Rachel braced themselves, enduring the pain.
***
“Alright. Let’s get you up and out of here. Can you stand?” Themopolous asked. Jethro tried to adjust his position in order to sit up. He gave it several attempts and slumped back to the ground.
“We’ve got a problem, Doc,” Jethro grunted.
“Weakness is to be expected, Jethro. I couldn’t stand very well either.”
“Um, yeah, standing isn’t the problem.” He looked from the Doctor to Commander Capreze. “The fact I can’t feel my legs at all, is.”
“We’re going to need a wheelchair from storage. I assume everything in the infirmary is contaminated?”
Capreze nodded. “I’m on it.”
***
“Everything is secure. We should get below,” Rebecca said.
“Below?” June asked.
Olivia and Rebecca each took hold of their bed and pushed, revealing a small trap door underneath.
“Each shack has a small storm cellar. It’ll be cramped with the three of us, but it’s better than up here with sand and grit coming through every crack.”
June’s eyes went wide. “We have to go down there?”
“You’ve never been caught in a waste storm, have you?” Rebecca asked.
“Not without 50 tons of metal around me.”
“With what?” Olivia asked.
“Never mind,” June answered. “So who goes first?”
***
“Let’s hope the rear door gives first,” the Rookie said. “Smaller numbers. If we can take them out, we may be able to clear a path that way.”
“I thought Legit said there wasn’t a back way out,” Masters said.
“Not officially, no,” the Rookie smiled.
Jay’s shoulders slumped. “I guess there is one way out.”
“What the hell are the two of you talking…? Oh. We’re going to have to crawl out the shitter, aren’t we?”
“If we live long enough, yes,” the Rookie answered.
“Great! Nothing like the reward of crawling through shit to keep a person motivated.”
***
“Bisby? What’s your location?” Capreze asked over the com.
“Just about done hosing down the ladies,” Bisby responded, grinning.
“You don’t have to be so fucking happy about it!” Harlow butted in. “When this is over, I swear…!”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatcha need Commander?”
“Jethro’s hurt and I don’t know when he’ll be able to focus on getting our tech secured. Until then we need to consider evacuation. I want you to get all the mechs prepped and ready
in case we have to bug out ASAP.”
“Will do.”
“That goes for all of you.”
“Yes, sir,” Rachel responded, teeth chattering.
***
“Shit! Front door is going to give out!” Jay yelled, readying the flame thrower.
“Figures. I get a chance to escape through the sewage system and a city/state full of deaders has to go and ruin it,” Masters quipped.
Jay and the Rookie both busted out laughing and Master joined right in. All three doubled over, holding their stomachs, tears falling from their cheeks. The front door groaned and began to fall from its hinges and instantly the three men were at the ready, armaments leveled and set to destroy anything and everything that came through.
And everything came through.
***
Bisby passed a wand around Rachel’s dripping body. It turned green and beeped shrilly. “You’re clean. Get dressed and meet in the hangar ASAP.”
Rachel hurried to the barracks as Harlow stepped up. Bisby passed the wand around her also, smiling.
“Keep your eyes on the wand, Pilot,” Harlow warned.
“Oh, give it up tough girl. I’ve seen your tits flopping around this base a hundred times.”
“Flopping? My tits don’t flop, asshole.”
The wand turned green and beeped for Harlow also.
“Clean. Go get…”
“Dressed and meet you in the hangar. Yeah, my tits heard you the first time.”
***
Mathew yawned and stretched, glancing at his display. “Okay, it’s time to call it a night.”
He focused his sensors, looking for a spot he could hole up in and get a couple hours of sleep. It took him a few minutes, but he was able to find a crack in a cliff face he could fit his mech into, keeping it semi-hidden if anyone passed by while he tried to rest.
He glanced at his sensors again, trying to find the blank space anomaly, but it seemed to have gone.
“I have a feeling you’ll be back,” Mathew muttered.
***
Capreze rolled the wheelchair into the control room. “How’s he doing, Doctor?”
“He’ll be fine,” Themopolous answered, but the look on her face said otherwise. “He just needs some rest and time.”
“Well, I can’t guarantee either,” Capreze said. “I have Bisby readying all mechs for immediate evac if needed. I can take you two in one of the transports. Can we move him quickly if we have to?”
