by Jake Bible
“Crap! I can’t get a mercy shot through his helmet!” Grendetti called over the com.
The deaders hammered at Nguyen’s body, unable to get through the armor. Within seconds the Specialist hemorrhaged to death as his body was beat into pulp.
***
Sol rolled two grenades towards Nguyen’s corpse and the pile of deaders still attacking it. He dropped to the ground, as the explosions made sure his fallen teammate wouldn’t return as an enemy.
“One down, sir!” he shouted to Murphy over the com.
“Who?” the Lieutenant responded.
“Nguyen, sir,” Sol answered. “I cleared the corpse.”
The 2nd in command got to his feet and took the few seconds he had to survey the scene. All about him, raging zombies swarmed, many coming for him. He watched the other Special Ops members struggle and grapple.
“Grenades people! Let’s end this quick!”
***
Shiner/Mathew sensed the grenade explosions about it as the Special Ops team tried to fend off their attackers, but the mech was never distracted as it laid down a steady stream of fire from its flame thrower, roasting a hundred zombies at once.
Its 50mms cool enough now to keep from seizing, the mech opened fire once again, ripping undead bodies into shreds.
Shiner/Mathew kept at it until the guns clicked empty and whirled to a stop, smoke curling from the ends of the rotating barrels.
The mech stood, looking upon a dead sea of broken, dismembered and scorched zombies.
***
Maniacal laughter erupted from the stronghold’s loudspeakers. “Such ferocity! How I would love to take you as mine! Send you out into the wasteland and destroy all that defy me!”
Shiner/Mathew turned slowly, the two consciousnesses splitting back into their less integrated forms. “It’ll never happen,” Mathew growled.
“Oh, yes, I am quite aware of that,” Johnson said. “For that was only a taste of what is in store. Almost a diversion, an amusement!”
“I didn’t find it very funny,” Mathew stated.
“Then you certainly aren’t going to laugh at the next course!”
“Mathew,” Shiner said. “They are all here.”
***
“Sound off!” Lieutenant Murphy ordered as she pulverized the skull of her last zombie with the heel of her boot.
“Specialist Sol, all fingers, all toes!”
“Specialist Austin, all fingers, all toes, cracked rib!”
“Specialist Kafar, all fingers, all toes, hyper-extended knee!”
“Specialist Grendetti, all fingers, all toes!”
Murphy sighed. “Godspeed Nguyen.”
“Godspeed,” the rest of team said in unison.
There was a brief moment of silence then the Lieutenant was back to business. “Full inventory now! I want to know what we have left for when the next army gets here!”
“Yes, sir!” the team shouted, again in unison.
***
“How many am I looking at?” Mathew asked.
“The numbers are so great it is impossible to get a full count,” Shiner responded.
“Estimate dammit! We’re not setting the fucking table for dinner!”
“I do not understand the reference. I am unsure what table settings have to do with-“
“SHINER!” Mathew roared, interrupting the AI.
“You have access to this information, but my estimation is close to three hundred thousand, give or take ten or twenty thousand.”
Mathew gulped. “Transports?”
“Those I have an exact count: 57,” Shiner said.
“How much time?” Mathew asked, knowing the answer.
“None,” Shiner replied.
***
Each member of the Special Ops team made his way to the Lieutenant, putting down deaders as they could, knowing many were going to rise again soon unless they could torch all the bodies.
Once re-grouped, they removed their helmets, savoring the fresh air on their sweaty faces.
“What are we looking at?” Murphy asked as Sol sat next to her.
“Not good,” the 2nd in command said. “Nearly all of the grenades are gone and we each have enough ammo to last maybe five minutes.”
“At least we have a bullet each,” Austin said.
“Last resort only,” Murphy snarled.
***
Mathew could feel the ground vibrate all the way up in the cockpit from hundreds of thousands of deader feet. The rumble of the transports could be heard also, making the air hum as the colossal army of the dead moved towards them.
“Hey folks?” Mathew shouted. “You’re gonna want to get behind me!”
Murphy and her team stood and watched in awe as the approach to the stronghold was covered by row after row of deaders. Not a single member of the team waited for Murphy’s order as they each grabbed up their gear and sprinted towards the mech.
***
“Submit and I’ll spare you,” Johnson said.
“Ain’t happenin’ freak!” Mathew shouted. “I’m thinking death is a better option.”
“Death? No, I don’t plan on killing you. I plan on overpowering you, so your uniqueness may be studied,” Johnson laughed. “The Lieutenant’s team however, will be slowly ripped apart, their innards eaten while they watch.”
“Yeah, not thinking that’s part of the plan, either,” Mathew replied. “Tell your army to halt or I set the self-destruct and you’ll have nothing to study.”
Johnson’s cackle once again filled the air. “Then self-destruct! Your dissection was only to be an amusement anyway.”
***
“Whoa! Did he just say we’re going to have to watch while they eat our guts?” Austin asked. “I vote for self-destruct right now, please.”
“No, no one’s self-destructing!” Lieutenant Murphy shouted.
“Excuse me?” Mathew said. “I make the self-destruct call here.”
“Shut it mech!” Murphy ordered.
“Um, okay,” Mathew said. “You’ve got the floor.”
Murphy turned to the stronghold. “Johnson, listen, you’ve got to stop. If you kill everyone then you will be alone. Alone inside with nothing but deaders left out here.”
“Oh, no, Lieutenant, there are pockets of humanity still out there. Pockets uncorrupted by UDC lies!”
***
“That guy’s fucking nuts,” Specialist Austin mumbled.
“Insanity is relative,” Johnson responded. “Mainly relative to the one that holds the power.”
“Which would be me since I just set the self-destruct,” Mathew said. “I don’t know if it’ll penetrate the stronghold, but I sure hope it fucks up your day.”
“I cancelled the self-destruct,” Shiner said.
“What? You don’t get to make that call. I’m the pilot,” Mathew said angrily.
“But, my consciousness will cease to exist as well. I have as much an interest in surviving as you do,” Shiner insisted.
“But, we can’t beat those numbers!” Mathew yelled.
***
“Are those numbers accurate?” Timson asked staring at the scanner readings.
“Yeah, they are,” Jenny responded. “There has to be at least 300,000 deaders waiting at our destination. We are going to tear right through them in less than an hour.”
“Jay? Can your disc handle that many?” Timson asked.
“As long as those fucks are within the wave radius, yes, it can handle that many, but I don’t know how long they’ll stay down,” Jay responded over the com.
“It’ll buy us some time,” Capreze joined in. “We’ll destroy as many as we can before they get back up.”
***
The Special Ops team waited while Shiner and Mathew had their internal argument.
“What’s going on?” Specialist Sol asked, glancing warily as the deader army moved closer. “Are we gonna blow up or what? Those things are getting a little close.”
&nb
sp; “Just keep your sidearm handy in case you need to take care of yourselves,” Lieutenant Murphy told her team. “I don’t know what the mech is doing.”
“Hey, do you feel that?” Grendetti asked. “Is the ground shaking?”
“Um, the ground has been shaking for a while! There are a couple hundred thousand deaders marching towards us!” Sol yelled.
***
“What is that?” Timson asked, pointing at the scope. “It’s huge.”
“It’s Masters,” Marin answered. “He’s just arrived at the stronghold, looks like.”
“Good, maybe he can thin the numbers for us before we get there,” Jenny said.
“I doubt it,” Jay said. “Masters has revenge on his mind. The only thing that hot head is going to care about is getting inside the stronghold so he can kill the Outsider.”
“Is that possible? Can he get in the stronghold? I mean, isn’t impenetrable kinda part of the whole stronghold thing?” Jenny asked.
“Oh, he’ll get in,” Jay said confidently.
***
“Don’t stop for anything!” Masters ordered Stomper.
“Please quit yelling at me,” Stomper said. “Your anger is painful.”
“Toughen the fuck up! I don’t need no whiny bitch mech crying over hurt feelings!”
The Hill Stomper didn’t slow when it reached the rear of the deader army. The 12-story machine bore down and destroyed everything in its path, grinding zombies into the wasteland dirt, crushing transports like cans, cutting a swath of chaos as it closed in on the stronghold entrance.
“That is Shiner/Mathew ahead,” Stomper stated.
Masters activated his loudspeaker. “Better get the fuck out of my way Matty!”
***
“Holy shit! Move Goddammit!” Mathew screamed.
The Special Ops team didn’t wait to be told twice as the sight of the Hill Stomper charging towards them was motivation enough.
Shiner/Mathew piloted out of the way just in time before Masters kicked through the entrance gate which only came up past the mech’s ankle. It reached the stronghold’s main entry in two strides and stopped.
“What’s it doing?” Austin asked. “Why’s it just standing there?”
In answer, the gigantic mech punched both fists right into the rock on each side of the main entry, burying its arms up to the elbows.
***
Masters could hear metal strain and groan as the mech shifted its entire weight back and began to rip the stronghold’s massive iron and steel entrance door right out of the mountainside.
“Are we going to hold?” Mathew asked Stomper.
“Yes, this is what I am built for,” Stomper responded. “Even with years of disuse, my arms can take much more than this.”
“Good, because I may bring this whole fucking mountain down!”
Like the sound of the earth being split apart, the entrance door tore away from its stone moorings. Masters spun about, tossing the 1,000 ton chunk away.
***
The Special Ops team stood in awe as they watched the stronghold’s entrance door cut a hundred foot wide swath right down the middle of the deader army.
“There’s a few thousand less deaders to deal with,” Sol said.
“What the hell is he doing?” Austin asked pointing at Masters as he repelled down Stomper. “He doesn’t plan on going in alone?”
Lieutenant Muprhy looked at her team and they all nodded at once, grabbed up their gear and sprinted towards the wide open stronghold.
“If he kills Johnson all UDC data will be lost!” Mathew shouted after the team.
***
“Kill anything that tries to get past you!” Masters ordered Stomper as he dropped the last few feet to the ground.
“Even the human soldiers running this way?” Stomper asked.
Masters glanced over his shoulder at the approaching Special Ops team. “I don’t know who the fuck they are, so yeah, kill ‘em.”
“And what about Shiner/Mathew?”
“If they are planning on stopping me, then, yes, kill them too.”
Masters turned on his halogen but the beam was swallowed by the gloom. The grief mad mech pilot pulled his side arm and stepped into the oppressive darkness of the stronghold.
Part Two- Masters & Johnson
“Masters would like me to kill you, but I prefer not to,” Stomper said.
“We’d prefer you not kill us either,” Mathew responded, standing before the giant mech as it blocked the entrance to the stronghold. “We’d prefer it even more if you let us all pass. Masters has no idea what he’s up against in there.”
“The Harlow is dead,” Stomper stated flatly.
Mathew’s gut turned and he struggled not to be sick. “What? Dead? Are you sure?”
“Yes, we saw her mech at the bottom of a canyon, destroyed,” Stomper replied. “Masters is not right anymore. He’s changed.”
***
Masters pointed the halogen down the UDC stronghold’s long concrete entrance tunnel, side arm ready.
“Hello, Pilot Masters,” Johnson’s voice echoed through the tunnel. “Come to kill me?”
“If you’re the Outsider then yes,” Masters replied calmly. “Wanna tell me where you’re at so we can get this over with?”
“You don’t want to savor your revenge?” Johnson laughed. “I’m disappointed. I figured a big, bad mech pilot like yourself would want to draw out the violence.”
“Nope, just want you dead.”
“Well, then, let me light your way.”
A green line illuminated in the concrete floor below Masters’ feet.
***
“You’re coming in too?” Lieutenant Murphy asked Shiner/Mathew.
“Yeah. The main entrance staging area is large enough for us. If we find a jack point Shiner can get direct access to the mainframe,” Mathew answered. “We might be able to re-route the data and save most of it if Masters succeeds.”
“Oh, he will,” Johnson’s voice boomed. “Masters’ drive for revenge has shown me that it will be much sweeter to die and let all of humanity’s recorded history be wiped clean. Not to mention the chaos created when the 300,000 zombies in my control are set free! What fun!”
***
“So this fucker spent most of the day trying to kill us and keep us out and now he’s inviting us in?” Austin asked. “See, what’d I tell you? He’s fucking nuts!”
Johnson laughed harder. “You misunderstand. I have let Masters in. You Special Ops people and the mech are not allowed in. You’ll just try to stop him and I don’t want that anymore. No, no, no, I don’t want that at all.”
“Well, we’re coming in anyway!” Murphy shouted.
Previously motionless turret guns stationed along the mountainside whirred to life, targeting Mathew/Shiner and the team. “I believe not.”
***
“So I just follow the line, huh?” Masters asked. “Do you really think I’m that stupid?”
“You’re stupidity is beside the point,” Johnson quipped.
Masters stood there unmoving.
“No longer in a hurry?” Johnson asked. “Lose your nerve?”
Masters snorted. “What’s your fucking angle, man? Why the death wish? You spend however long hatching your fucking plan to take over the wasteland and now you’re just going to give up? Let me find you and blow your brains right out the back of your fucking head?”
“Something like that,” Johnson sighed. “There are other, well, circumstances. You’ll see soon enough.”
***
“You really are insane,” Mathew said. “First you want me to submit, now you’re throwing in the towel.”
“I’ll admit the thought of absorbing the consciousness of a seamlessly integrated mech and its pilot was too thrilling to pass up, but since you’ve decided you’d rather have death then, really, it is just boredom from here on out for me,” Johnson responded matter-of-factly.
Specialist Austin had sl
owly moved to the side, hoping the Outsider was distracted. A burst of gunfire from one of the turrets into his mid-section proved him wrong.
“I will miss the killing though. It’s a rush.”
***
“Austin!” Murphy shouted, rushing to the downed Specialist’s bloody body. The Special Ops team all raised their weapons, forming a protective circle around their fallen teammate.
“Is he dead?” Grendetti asked.
Lieutenant Murphy knelt by Austin’s still corpse, the body armor not strong enough to withstand the large caliber rounds. She carefully lifted his visor and closed his glassy eyes. “Yeah.”
Grendetti whipped around and fired three well placed shots at the turret. “Mother fucker!”
Sol reached out and slapped Grendetti’s rifle barrel down. “Knock it off! You’re just wasting ammo!”
Johnson cackled hysterically. “Oh, the look on your faces!”
***
The sound of gunfire echoed weakly down the concrete tunnel. Masters slowed and glanced behind him.
“Is there a problem, Pilot?” Johnson asked. “Having second thoughts?”
Masters grunted and kept walking.
“Don’t you want to know which one of your friends is dead?” Johnson taunted.
“They aren’t my friends,” Masters responded sourly. “I don’t know any of them.”
“What about Pilot Jespers?”
Masters refused to answer.
“Oh, so cold. Man made of steel.” Johnson chuckled. “Before the world burned and the dead walked, society looked to a Man Of Steel. A hero. Is that you pilot? Are you society’s hero?”
***
The deader army halted as one.
“What are they waiting for?” Specialist Kafar asked. “Why don’t they attack?”
“He doesn’t want them to,” Mathew answered. “He’s playing with us. Playing with all of us like the wasteland and all its inhabitants are his game pieces to move about as he wants. Is that right, Johnson? This all a game to you?”
“I prefer to think of it as an elaborate stage play,” Johnson responded. “I’m just the Director and the performance is up to the players.”
“Let me guess, this is a tragedy?”
“One man’s tragedy is another’s comedy, pilot.”
***
“I’m not sure I like the new Pilot Masters,” Johnson said casually. “I preferred the joking, easy going Masters. The fighter always ready with a one-liner or sarcastic comeback. Where’d that Masters go?”
