by Jake Bible
Bisby watched the Commander’s face contort and frown. “You sure we shouldn’t wake him? He doesn’t look like he’s having much fun in there.”
“He’s been like that my whole life,” Rachel said, standing and placing a kiss on her father’s forehead. “I don’t think he knows how to sleep peacefully.”
***
Jimmy swerved around two cars that had collided, their drivers screaming at each other. He cut off three other cars attempting to do the same and their horns blared.
“Jeezus, Jimmy, be careful!” Michelle cried. “You’re going… to get… us…” She trailed off, looking past him and out the window.
“I’m a fucking mech pilot, Michelle! I think…” he stopped, seeing her face, and turned to look out his window. His jaw dropped as he watched the dead mech stomp down a side street right at them, crushing cars and people as if they were paper.
“Oh, god…” he whispered.
***
Rachel, Bisby and Harlow stood shoulder to shoulder, frowning at the Skinners before them.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, Mastelo, but that’s only forty men by my count,” Rachel said.
“I apologize, Pilot Capreze, but, unfortunately, that is all that will accompany me,” Mastelo replied. “Again, my apologies.”
“Great,” Bisby huffed. “Inexperienced and short handed.”
A soft thunk sounded and Bisby glanced down to see a knife sticking from the ground between his feet. “Who fucking threw that?!?”
“No offense, Pilot Bisby,” Mastelo said. “But, we are only inexperienced with your firearms. Some weapons we are quite good with.”
***
“Get out of the car! Now!” Jimmy screamed. “I’ve got Rachel! GO!”
Michelle threw open the car door and got out, but was immediately knocked to the ground by several people rushing by.
“Michelle!” Jimmy called.
“I’m fine, just get Rachel!”
Jimmy reached back and unlatched the secure seat, pulling the entire unit out. He grabbed the diaper bag and slung it over his shoulder, shoving his car door open into the rushing crowd. He dashed to the other side of the car, but Michelle was gone.
“Jimmy!” he heard her call and spotted her trapped in the panicked throng.
***
Bisby shouldered his auto-carbine, took aim and fired, the report echoing in the early morning darkness of the wasteland. A can, thirty yards off flew into the air and Bisby hit it three more times before it touched ground. He turned and pushed the carbine into Mastelo’s hands. “All weapons, I’m good with.”
Rachel rolled her eyes and shoved Bisby out of the way. “Let me take over.” She showed Mastelo the basics of the carbine’s features then stood behind him, guiding his arms and helping him aim. He slowly pulled the trigger and the can jumped.
“Nice,” she said.
***
The dead mech slammed its fist into the pavement, crushing dozens of screaming citizens.
“Jimmy!” Michelle cried, being carried away with the crowd. “Jimmy!”
“Michelle!” Capreze cried back. “Just hold on! I’ll-” But he never finished as a massive shadow flew over him. He risked a glance up and saw the dead mech leaping over his and the other cars. His stomach jolted and his blood ran cold as he watched the rampaging machine land in the middle of the escaping masses. Landing right on top of Michelle.
Jimmy heard a hundred choked off screams, thinking every one was Michelle’s.
***
Capreze sat bolt upright, the sounds of screams echoing in his head and the sounds of carbine fire echoing in his ears.
Themopolous sat across from him in the transport, her eyes red with fatigue. “Well, at least you got a few more minutes than I did,” she yawned, setting a cup of coffee in front of the Commander. She stood and walked to the transport door. “But, I’m pretty sure my sleep was a little more restful.”
Capreze ran his hand down his face and picked up the coffee. “I’m fine, Doc.”
Themopolous pursed her lips. “Sure you are.”
***
Mathew’s eyes shot open, instantly awake, and he immediately checked his control panel for malfunctions. “Why are we stopped?” he asked Shiner.
“We needed to hard line with One,” Shiner responded and Mathew looked out of the cockpit to the cable running from Shiner to the mini-mech.
“What are you doing?” Mathew asked, but didn’t wait for an answer as he mentally checked the process being performed. “Whistle commands? Well that’s old school.”
“Yes, it was the way many working animals were trained hundreds of years ago, with great results,” Shiner responded. “It allows us to guide One without detection.”
***
Olivia nudged June as gently as possible, but the mech pilot still awoke with a start, arm pulled back and fist clenched.
“Hold on! It’s just me!” Olivia whispered harshly. “Calm down.”
June lowered her fist and rubbed at her eyes. “Sorry. Combat reflexes.”
“We call it survivor instinct,” Olivia said. “Either way, the sun’s almost up and we should get moving.”
June stepped from the cramped ATV and stretched, walking a few steps away before dropping her trousers to pee. As she squatted she caught site of movement and light out of the corner of her eye.
Another ATV.
***
Shiner/Mathew ran One through several communication drills before they were satisfied.
“Outstanding,” Mathew said.
Shiner/Mathew whistled one more quick command, sending One to the top of a close by ridge then whistled another command to bring the mini-mech back. But, One didn’t budge, it remained at the top of the ridge, facing away from Shiner/Mathew.
“Did we break him?” Mathew asked.
“No,” Shiner responded. “Its systems appear normal.”
The mech crested the ridge and came to rest beside One. Below them, in the twilight dawn, they could see tens of thousands of walking undead with dozens of transports flanking them.
***
“Did they see us?” Olivia whispered.
“I don’t know,” June responded quietly, watching the headlights of the other ATV in the distance. The ATV came to a stop and June held her breath. They watched and waited, praying the ATV would pass them by. Then the ATV’s lights went out and June sprang to her feet.
“Shit! Strap in! We’ve got to move!” June cried.
“Why?” Olivia asked. “They turned their lights off. Doesn’t that mean they aren’t coming after us?”
“No!” June said. “It means they are coming after us, they just don’t want us to see them coming!”
***
“Man, it’s a good thing you thought to bring my mech,” Jay said sitting down next to Masters, handing him a cup of coffee. “I couldn’t have built the sonic disc without those parts Legit got for us.”
“At least he was worth something,” Masters responded taking a sip of the coffee and immediately spitting it out. “What the fuck is this?!? It tastes like a zombie shit in mouth then fucked my mouth and shot its undead load in my already shit filled mouth!”
Jay burst out laughing. “Not quite Rachel’s brew, is it?’
“It sure as fuck isn’t!”
***
“How far behind us are our reinforcements?” Bishop Wyble asked.
“18 hours, Your Grace,” Deacon Montoya responded. “Shall we postpone the assault until they have joined us?”
Bishop Wyble waved dismissively. “Of course not, Deacon. We are perfectly capable of handling this engagement ourselves.”
The Bishop stretched and stood. “Open the hatch, Montoya. I need some fresh air.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
A hatch in the top of the transport cockpit opened and the Bishop grabbed a hold of the service ladder, pulling himself halfway out into the open air. He surveyed the ten additional transports in their c
onvoy and grinned.
***
“Hey Jethro?” Mathew called over the com.
The mechanic snored loudly in his wheelchair, head lolled back and mouth agape.
“Jethro? You there?”
“Huh? Wha?” Jethro snorted, shaking his head and looking about the transport, dazed.
“Jethro! It’s Mathew!”
“What? Shit! Sorry, Matty. Whatcha need?”
“Let the Commander know we have spotted another deader army.”
“Shit! Where’s it headed?” Jethro asked.
“Looks like the UDC, the same as the rest,” Mathew answered.
“Crap. How many other armies you think are out there?”
“Calculations say six, at least.”
“Fuck. I’m gonna get the commander.”
“That’s a great idea,” Mathew responded sarcastically.
***
“Capreze here. Whatcha got for me, Jespers?”
“Deader army on its way to the UDC stronghold,” Mathew answered over the com. “Thousands of them and at least three dozen transports.”
Capreze sighed. “How far are you from the stronghold?”
“I don’t know, maybe a day.”
“And from us?” Capreze asked.
“Probably the same, sir.”
Capreze took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “My daughter is going to hate me for this, but I need you to get past that army and beat them to the stronghold. Can you do that?”
“You bet, sir,” Mathew answered.
“Excellent. Be careful.”
***
“Okay, so, how the fuck do we get past all those UDC transports and a few thousand zombies?” Mathew asked.
“We will need to halt their progress and divert their attention,” Shiner said.
“Yeah, but how…? Oh…” Mathew said as Shiner instantly shared his plan. “Damn, we just got him trained.”
“It is unfortunate, but we will be spotted and pursued if we do not distract them.”
Mathew sighed and looked down at the mini-mech.
“Well, no time like the present,” Mathew said.
Shiner extended a cable to One, knowing the mini-mech would need more instruction than just whistle commands.
***
June slammed the ATV’s accelerator down and the tires spit sand and gravel as they sped from their cover. Instantly ATV lights flashed behind them, this time much closer than they had been before.
“See!” June said. “If we hadn’t been awake they’d be on us already!”
Olivia started to respond but cried out instead and pointed off to their left at a new pair of headlights.
“Yeah, I see them! Hold on!” June shouted, yanking the wheel and sending the ATV down a steep grade to the bottom of a dry ravine. “They can’t cut us off down here.”
***
Olivia watched the dark walls of the ravine speed by. “Do you know where we are going?”
“Yeah, there’s a cave around this turn!” June shouted. “See!” June slammed on the brakes and yanked the wheel, just missing the ravine wall as the ATV swerved into the cave mouth. “Hold on! This is going to be rough!”
Olivia glanced back to make sure the children were strapped in securely. They were, but they’re eyes were terrified and from the smell at least one of them voided their bladder and bowels. Olivia reached her hand back and both children grasped it.
***
Shiner/Mathew watched One descend towards the zombie army.
“We must leave before we are detected,” Shiner said.
“Then let’s get the fuck out of here. I guess our next stop is the stronghold. You think that’s where the Outsider is?”
“I am certain of it,” Shiner responded.
“Is it human or AI?” Mathew asked.
“From its processing power, I’d have to infer it to be both. Similar to us.”
“But, not us. That thing is fucking huge compared to us.”
“Yes, it is. But it does appear to have a disadvantage.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s stationary. It can’t run from us.”
***
“It’s done!” Marin called to Jay. The Chief Mechanic turned from watching the welding team put the finishing touches on Stomper’s new armor plating.
“Seriously? Fucking Hell you folks are good!” Jay exclaimed.
“Yeah, well we’re used to working on a train moving at full throttle. This motionless stuff is a piece of cake!” she answered.
“Great! Hey Masters!” Jay called.
“Yeah? We ready?” Masters called back.
“Yep, better get loaded up.”
“Gotcha.”
Jay turned to find the Rookie and saw him a few yards away in a heated discussion with Jenny.
“Looks like the Razor has met his match.”
***
“Why are you still so pissed? I told you I had never piloted a mech before!” the Rookie insisted.
“But, if you hadn’t have taken the mech in the first place we’d still have one!” Jenny rebutted.
“Yeah, but… really? If it wasn’t for me there’d be even more people dead!” the Rookie argued.
“Looked more like your pilot buddy, Masters was the one that saved the day!”
“For fuck’s sake! Come on!”
“Everything alright over here?” Timson asked, approaching the two.
“Fine, your daughter’s just busting my balls,” the Rookie answered.
“Please! You’d have to have balls,” Jenny snorted.
***
“Powered up, all systems ready,” Masters said over the com.
“Great,” Jay responded as he, Marin and a few other Railers double checked that each train car was coupled and stable on the tracks. “You wanna take point?’
“Sure. You think you can keep up? My legs are long and gorgeous and man do they have a stride.”
“Get over yourself and let’s get a move on,” the Rookie interrupted. “We’ve got a lot of wasteland to cover before meeting up with everyone else.”
“Okay, keep your killer panties on. Sheesh,” Masters joked as he and Stomper stepped up front.
***
June’s ATV burst from the other end of the cave into the brightening morning light. “Do you see them?” she shouted to Olivia.
The older woman scanned the wasteland behind them and to the side. “No, I think we lost them.”
“Thank God,” June said. “We’re only a few miles from the base. We’re almost safe!”
Olivia gave the children’s hands a reassuring squeeze. “Hear that? We’ll be safe soon. No more worries.” The children beamed up at her with hope. Then the child without a nose shuddered and looked down as a bright red stain spread across his chest.
***
Olivia screamed a high pitched scream of anguish and fear, nearly causing June to lose control of the ATV.
“What?!? What is it?!?” June asked, but there wouldn’t be an answer as Olivia’s head rocked back and the scream stopped. June glanced over and saw the blood pouring from the hole between Olivia’s eyes. “NOOOOOO!!!!”
June risked a glance back and saw one child slumped over, presumably dead and the other child curled into a ball, his head tucked close to his knees. June reached back and pushed the child to the floor of the ATV. “Stay down!” she yelled.
***
“Shoot the tires,” the Boss ordered, sipping from a tin cup.
Turk brought the rifle to his shoulder and squeezed off two shots. The Boss stood on the ridge edge and looked below as the ATV swerved violently, lost control and rolled side over side until stopping upside down.
“Good job, Turk,” the Boss praised then walked back to his ATV, pulling the driver’s head back and placing his tin cup to the young woman’s open throat, filling the cup to the rim. He took a long drink and wiped his mouth, revealing blood red teeth as he grinned, satisfied.
***
June wheezed, knowing she had cracked a rib, and hung upside down, still harnessed into the ATV. She reached up to undo the harness and the pain made her call out. There was certainly more than one rib broken. She watched small hands reach past her and release the straps, and June put her hands out to stop from falling.
The boy, a nasty lump on his forehead, put his hand out and June took it, painfully getting to her feet. She took a couple of agonizing breaths to make sure she hadn’t punctured a lung then hugged the boy.
***
“You got a clear shot?” the Boss asked Turk.
“Not without hitting the mechie bitch,” Turk responded.
“Send a couple of warning shots. Take the kid out when they make a run for it.”
Turk brought the rifle to his shoulder again and the Boss watched the sharpshooter, admiring the man’s calm. By the time he noticed the red dot bobbing on the back of Turk’s head, it was too late.
One rifle shot rang out and Turk’s head exploded in a mass of bone and brains.
The Boss whirled and came face to face with a half dozen Ranchers.
***
The boy pulled away from June, hearing the ATV a split second before it rounded the mesa, headed straight for them.
June pushed the child ahead of her, scanning the surroundings for some type of cover. “GO! Run to those boulders!” she yelled, but the boy stayed still. “What are you waiting for?!? RUN!” She shoved the kid hard and he almost fell to the ground, but he still stayed by her. He stared at the ATV and cocked his head. June followed his gaze and saw the markings and shine, realizing it wasn’t a Boiler ATV.
It was Ranchers.
***
One obeyed.
It was told to give Shiner/Mathew time to slip away, to get ahead of the undead army.
So the mini-mech dove into the center of the zombie horde, guns blazing. Row upon row of deaders fell as the large caliber bullets tore through their rotting corpses. But, soon the thousands of zombies converged on the mini-mech, swarming it, overpowering it.
It was what Shiner/Mathew expected. The numbers were just too great. And as One fired its last bullet, an internal timer hit zero and the wasteland plain was lit up in a burst of white light.
One died.
***
Mathew cringed as he heard the explosion and felt the ground tremble. “That was a shitty thing to do,” he said.
