Matos set about charging forty round clips of 10mm lightweight caseless ammunition. His repetitive slick action told of years of training. He even managed to look up at her without stopping.
“What are you taking?” she asked.
“M10, five clips, Glock and five clips.”
He glanced at a Remington and lifted it, testing the weight. Shaking his head, he threw it down, clattering on the floor.
Before leaving, Avery filled her backpack with loose rounds that filled the empty space between cans and bottles. She locked the door and pocketed the key.
Armed with food, water and weapons, she shifted the pack, adjusted the straps and stepped outside. Matos stopped in front of her and held up his arm.
Almost imperceptible but for the silence of the town, there was a gentle hum. She strained to hear the sound then locked eyes with Matos.
They edged back into the building and crept towards the armory.
“How many?” Avery whispered.
Matos shrugged his shoulders as he peered round the door. “We’re well armed now.”
An explosion shook the building and dust belched into the corridor.
Chapter 24
Logan woke before dawn, shivering inside his thin sleeping bag. Tree roots and stones pushed uncomfortably up into his back. A light wind blew through the trees making a soothing rustle sound. It was a pleasant and familiar sound that warmed him despite the cold. An animal connection to the natural world that he’d missed in the dusty mine. He lay listening until his bladder forced him up and away from the camp.
Sunlight peaked over lake water in the distance. He leant against a tree and drank in the sight. He realized shamefully that he’d never watched a sunrise before.
“I’ve missed it,” Ortiz said.
Logan turned to see the Sergeant standing behind him, looking across at the lake.
“It’s beautiful,” Logan replied.
They were joined by others, until the whole camp stood silently in a line. Sunlight gradually colored the sky in reds and yellows, surrounded by expanding blue. Light sparkled on blue water, and bathed their faces. Aromas of water, trees and flowers drifted around them.
“It’s paradise,” a voice behind him said.
They all wore sunglasses and stared in awe, rediscovering the world.
Logan ate a breakfast of porridge with cocoa, washed down with two steaming cups of black tea. Once finished, he packed his bag then lay back on a grassy bank looking up at the morning sky. Through his sunglasses the sky was green. Low level clouds spitefully blocked his view of the sun. A gentle wind blew the clouds and Logan had an urge to reach up and wipe them away from his view. As if answering him, the clouds floated away and formed a perfect corridor as far as he could see.
#
They arrived at the edge of Geneva in the early afternoon. The soldiers patrolled in a ragged line, stretched out along the street with Logan and Sean in the centre, swaying their rifle butts left and right, copying the soldier’s actions.
Scouts broke away in two’s to conduct house to house searches. Logan plodded along with his eyes downcast, concentrating on walking. He was light headed and struggling to focus.
“You really should have given me ammo,” Sean said. “If a horde of zombies come walking down that street. The first thing I’ll do is eat you.”
Ortiz spun round and slashed his hand across his throat.
“Honestly dude, there’s no one here.”
“Sean,” Logan said. “Shut up.”
Sean pulled out a silver cell phone and turned it on, holding it up in pointless gesture. The screen sparked into life and he waited for a signal. Ortiz shouted a curse as he ran over, craning his head towards the screen. The device kicked into life and home screen appeared. They waited in anticipation but there was no signal. He checked for wireless connections but there were none.
Ortiz laid a small black cell card in his hand, pushing the centre with his index finger.
“You brought yours too?” Sean asked.
“I think everyone did,” Ortiz said, indicating towards the soldiers.
All soldiers were copying the action, holding their sticks and cards out before them. Logan could almost see the devices attempt to reach a signal in the air. Thin hazy lines connected their devices with the sky. He waved a hand through one. His sluggish mind realizing they were giving their position away.
“Stop,” he said, head throbbing and bile rising.
He wanted to sit down and rest. Flop on the floor in a starfish shape and stay there forever. Thirteen sets of eyes swung towards him. “Put them away till we know what’s happening.”
The hazy lines of connection winked out as the devices were turned off. Wisps of blue current remained, connecting each cell to the sky. Logan reached out to touch one, his finger tracing the air then plunging into the stream. He gasped at a nibble of static. The blue light remained fixed on his finger then winked out.
They continued through the silent town. Soldiers operated their routine clearance procedures. Moving forward and backwards, covering arcs of fire. Logan trudged in the centre of the line, head down and concentrating on moving forward.
“It’s so quiet,” Sean said.
He peered around then shouted. “Is anybody here?”
They crossed towards the highway over a snake of cars. They were covered in thin green grass, like big hairy bugs.
Logan wiped a window and peered inside. He staggered back at the sight of a dead body. “We can’t stay here tonight.”
“There’s a warehouse about two clicks away,” Ortiz said.
They didn’t need Ponchos inside the facility, but the concrete floor was a hard place to get comfortable for sleep. Sean moaned about aches and pains. Cursing as he massaged his legs.
Into the night they stayed up talking, a group of men having a sleepover in a warehouse. Eventually, the talking subsided and Logan settled down to sleep.
It breathed in and out evenly. Inhaled air sucked into fleshy sacs that sent oxygen into the bloodstream, pushed round by the heartbeat. It was a complex code, millions of neurons firing to maintain operation.
It flexed a hand, fingers wriggling and brushing a palm. Skin prickled on its vessel, sending a tingling up its back and around its shoulders. It exposed eyeballs by pulling up fleshy covers. A narrow spectrum of color photons decoded on its eyes.
It rose to stand. Its body clicked and strained. A warning of pain in a leg, another in the back then neurons fired so many warnings it almost fell.
It moved haphazardly towards the light outside. Another body like its own made noises on the floor. It scanned the dim shapes of other bodies. They lay still. Breathing sounds coming from their faces but also other sounds, louder bodily functions.
It navigated between the bodies to stare at the sky.
“Haarp,” It said.”
“What the fuck was that?” Sean screamed.
Logan fell, unaware he was standing. Muscles taking too long to realize they were needed. He lay in a heap by the window at the front entrance. His view through the window gave him a vague recollection of looking at the sky.
“We’re under attack,” Ortiz shouted.
His words sparked the room into a frenzy of movement. Ortiz ordered the rapid breaking of camp and packing of backpacks. Logan groggily checked Sean’s pack for loose straps and pockets. As Sean patted him down, he was talking incessantly but Logan couldn’t focus on the words. He was watching a soldier who stood by the entrance door peeking out.
Before he could shout a warning, the entrance exploded in a fireball. It blasted debris towards them, hurling parts of the soldier through the air. A searing heat wave of pressure passed through the room, shattering windows as it escaped.
“Contact,” Ortiz shouted.
Military training took over and the soldiers moved into firing positions around the area.
Empty night sky gaped at them through the new puncture in the entrance wall. There wa
s a vibration noise then light from a hovering object glided into view. Soldiers opened fire, sending a volley of bullets towards the object. It exploded, lighting up the sky outside.
“It’s a spaceship” Sean said.”
“Drone,” shouted Ortiz. “There’ll be more.”
Two soldiers ran forward, laying prone and covering the opening. Two others followed, covering arcs outside the doorway.
Logan watched the whole scene with detachment. It all seemed so pointless to struggle and fight. A dawning realization came over him that this mission wouldn’t be a case of wandering into the city and finding help.
“Move back into the complex, follow me.” Ortiz shouted.
He could feel the drones outside. Sense the positions of four more machines hovering around the entrances. Their weapons pointed towards the men inside with orders to kill on sight.
The soldiers covering the entrance made a controlled retreat back towards them. Around Logan, others covered their retreat by firing controlled bursts. Slowly, they all moved back into a rear storeroom, away from the exposed breach.
Logan’s brain was finally beginning to catch up with their situation. He shook his head in an attempt to gain full clarity.
“Is there another way out of here,” Sean said.
“They track thermal signatures. If we move, they’ll follow.” Ortiz said.
“Shit,” Sean shouted.
Ortiz led the way through the store towards a fire escape at the rear of the building. Logan caught up to the main group and put a hand on Sean’s shoulder. He could feel it shaking.
Ortiz hit the lever and kicked the door. Outside there was a thirty yard dark expanse of concrete before a road with trees on the other side.
“Too risky,” Ortiz said.
“There’s no other way out of here,” Sean said.
There was a vibrating noise then light appeared suddenly above the trees. The drone moved agilely towards them and banked sharply. It hovered, and then a light burst from it towards the exit door.
“Fall back,” Ortiz shouted.
Logan flattened against the wall. The explosion threw Sean backwards, fire burning his hair and face.
There was another explosion as Logan ran in a zig zag away from the exit door. He dived and landed on an uneven concrete floor. Hands grabbed his arms and pulled him through an opening.
“We’re surrounded,” Ortiz said.
Sean lay on the floor, a hand hovering over his face. Parts of his hair singed away leaving stubby red tufts. He smelt of burning hair, sweat and fear.
“I don’t want to fucking die in here,” Sean said, then winced in pain.
Logan shook his head as sunlight penetrated his vision. He leant against a wall forcing open his eyes. The deep blue water of his stronghold and golden sandy beach. The image shimmered and behind it Sean was curled up against the wall.
“Get us out of here,” Sean said, hissing with pain.
Logan blinked and the stronghold image disappeared. Sean was staring at him, a bandage now on his face and eyes pleading. He lifted the bandage and exposed a vivid red stain. It stood out like splash of paint across his white skin.
Ortiz positioned the soldiers and directed lines of sight to form an all round defense. Satisfied with their organization, he walked to Logan and leaned in close. “We need to get out of here before anything else arrives.”
Logan stared at Ortiz then looked around at the soldiers. They were all looking to him for an answer. He focused on the whistling in his ear and breathed, concentrating on its pitch. He followed the sound with his mind, outside towards a hovering drone. It floated in the air, facing the building and ready to fire at any live target.
Without thinking further, he walked to the exit.
His name was called and a hand pulled on his shoulder. Logan turned and gave Ortiz a look that stopped him in his tracks.
He walked through the blackened corridor and over two doors that lay splintered and smashed on the floor. Maintaining focus on the vibrating sounds of the drones. His footsteps crunched on splinters of wood, cubes of glass and lumps of masonry.
Through the blackened smoky doorway, he emerged into the night air. The hovering drone faced him and wobbled slightly but didn’t fire. Logan moved towards it and held out a hand, a shiver ran along his arms and legs. There was a visible line of connection between the drone and sky. He sensed its operation in his mind.
It fell with a sudden clank onto the concrete.
Logan turned at a gasp from Ortiz who stood with a group of soldiers watching from the opening. The drones light winked out and it lay unmoving.
Two more drones soared over the roof and banked towards him. He could feel them adjusting position before firing. Logan threw out both of his arms to mentally touch the drones. He balled hands into fists and the drones instantly dropped. They bounced from the roof and smashed against the concrete floor.
“Fire,” Ortiz shouted.
The night lit with muzzle flashes from ten rifles and another drone lost control. It spun in the air then veered off to the right diagonally towards the ground.
“Perimeter sweep now,” Ortiz said.
Two men ran in each direction, weapons up and covering arcs of fire.
Logan turned to see Ortiz looking at him with a strange look on his face. He couldn’t interpret the expression and panicked at the loss of understanding. He blinked repeatedly and fought for control but he staggered and collapsed.
“Let’s roll. We need to put some distance between us and this place,” Ortiz said.
“Back to the mine?” a soldier said.
“No, we can’t lead anything back there,” Ortiz replied. “Two men on Logan.”
He was lifted between two bodies and they began to move. They bounded along a road then across a field. Beside them, breathing hard, Sean ran with the red side of his face angled towards the cool night air. He glanced constantly across at Logan.
As they ran Logan began to get his rhythm and eventually jogged unaided. The two soldiers still flanked him like guard dogs, lurching forward every time he made anything resembling a stumble.
Ortiz led them under a bridge and stopped to take a breath. Early dawn light illuminated the concrete structure. It was covered with a furry green film. Sean pushed a bottle of water towards Logan. He took it and gulped down slugs of water then handed it back.
They walked out of the other side of the bridge and Logan spotted a service station. Its car park full of abandoned vehicles and a blackened mess of fire damage by the fuel pumps.
Ortiz led the group in a trot across to the brick building. He sent four soldiers out to scout the area. Another two kicked open the door and pushed their way inside. They returned moments later beaming and holding up cans of coke.
“Can you get a vehicle started?” Ortiz said.
Sean surveyed the wreckage with a critical eye. On the other side of the brick store, the vehicles were shielded from the explosions. “I’ll get one working if it kills me.”
A swishing noise in the distance grew louder and Logan turned to see an aircraft powered by four wing fans swoop over the trees.
Logan backed away but kept himself in line of sight of the aircraft. “Get inside,” he whispered.
The aircraft hovered then landed on a grassy mound between the road and buildings. It’s blacked out windows returning Logan’s reflection. A side door opened and soldiers ran out, taking up firing positions opposite the building.
Logan raised his hands and waited.
A tall man stepped out of the aircraft and adjusted his uniform. He moved forward with an athletic bounce, arms swinging gently. Closing on Logan, he looked down and leant back at the same time, accentuating his already impressive height.
“Here you are,” he said,
“I need you to listen,” Logan replied.
The man delivered an open handed slap to Logan’s face. “Oh I will.”
Logan winced at the pain, stepping backwards to s
pit blood onto the floor. The man had a quizzical expression on his face, eyes narrowed.
“They told me you were dangerous.”
“I’m not going to fight you,” Logan said.
Nostrils flaring, the tall man pushed Logan in the chest. “Come on Matos. Show me what you’ve got.”
He stopped pushing Logan, and stood in a fighting position with fists raised. The man paused then laughed loudly at the confusion on Logan’s face.
“You’re not from the bunker?” he asked.
“What bunker?”
His laughter turned to a sneer as he swung a punch at Logan. Unprepared, he had no time to react and the fist smashed into his jaw. He flew backwards trying to gain his footing and straight through an open door. As he landed the mine soldiers opened fire. Logan scrambled away from the body of his attacker. It fell forward and lay bloodied on the floor, eyes staring vacantly.
“They have us pinned,” Ortiz said.
“Any other way out of here?” Logan asked.
“Doors front and back,” he replied.
Logan signaled to three men to lead the way towards the rear. He followed them through the building and scanned the car park. It was too exposed.
“Where are the scouts?” Logan asked.
A soldier pointed towards figures snaking their way through the vehicles towards them.
Logan ran back through the building, dropping onto his stomach to crawl towards the sound of gunfire. The windows were shattered and door hanging by one hinge. Controlled bursts of rounds were pinging against the internal wall.
“We’re trapped,” Ortiz said.
“Again,” Sean added.
Chapter 25
Avery lay listening to rhythmic sounds coming from the room where Matos slept. She rolled from her makeshift bed and finger combed her hair.
He was lying on his back, feet under a bench and pushing out sit ups.
“Wasn’t tired,” he said, without looking at her.
She pulled out the last two plastic bottles from her pack. “Water?”
Matos caught one with a flourish. “Good sleep?”
Avery took the seat opposite and drained half of her bottle. “I’m getting used to sleeping with one eye open.”
Eximus Page 25
