by J. G. Martin
“Right. Who knows how many more of them could be on their way here or if they called the cyborg to let him know they had us.”
Derek started to get up before he noticed she was wearing body armor and had an M-16 slung over her shoulder. He paused and cocked his head examining her. Then he noticed he was expertly bandaged and his knife wound sewn up. He checked her work and locked eyes with her.
“This is expert work, I’ve seen field medics do worse. Where did you learn to do field medicine?”
“I don’t know. I guess I saw my dad do it?” She suggested.
“Your dad was a science doctor not a medical doctor. This is something a trauma surgeon or combat doctor would do. There is no way you would have seen that before, much less practiced.” He pressed.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Can we get going? I don’t want to be here any longer.”
“What’s with the armor and rifle?” Derek asked as he climbed to his feet.
“I got them off them.” She said pointing to the corpses. “I also collected their ammo and grenades. Rules #18 and #9.”
“How long have I been out?” Derek joked. “Where’s the girl I rescued a week ago?”
Rora laughed. “I guess she is growing up.”
“She sure is.” Derek said with pride in his voice.
Rora blushed slightly and turned so he wouldn’t see her reaction. She needn’t have bothered because he was too busy collapsing on a table. Still weak from the blood loss Derek looked like he needed help even walking. She rushed over to help him stay on his feet. At first he seemed like he would reject her help, but then he put an arm across her shoulders for support. Together they gathered the packs and gear and slowly made their way out of the prison. She thought she heard a pop as they exited but there was no sign of other members of the redneck clan outside.
They exited into a small parking lot in front of the prison and inside the main gates. Two small guard towers bracketed the gate and there were two more at the corners of the property connected by chain link fences topped with razor wire. One of the towers had holes in the bulletproof glass and blood on the glass facing the yard. It was odd that the bounty hunters hadn’t cleaned that up. The gates were chained shut with large padlocks. The parking lot held the hillbilly armored vehicles but there was still no sign of anyone still chasing them.
The bounty hunter’s vehicles were parked haphazardly in front of the main building entrance. The car’s hood was up and it was obvious someone had been working on repairing it. Rora considered the options and decided against the pickup with the machine gun. It was too threatening and Derek wasn’t in any shape to man it anyway. The SUV with the dog cage smelled horrendous and the car didn’t run, so she helped Derek to the SUV with the plow on the front and eased him inside.
She stowed all the gear in the back with their extra weapons. Then she got into the driver’s seat. Derek was slumped over, almost passed out. The exertion of walking to the vehicle was almost too much for him. Fortunately the rednecks had left the keys in the ignition. Who was going to steal it parked inside the prison yard? The engine purred to life and she backed up the SUV and spun it around. Flooring the gas she rammed the SUV through the gates and out into freedom. She felt exhilarated as they blasted through the gates.
“Hey Derek, I’ve got a rule to add.” Rora said excitedly.
But there was no response. Derek had succumbed to exhaustion and was fast asleep. She sighed and buckled his seat belt across him. He never moved. Not knowing where to go, she pulled his phone out and looked for the GPS directions to Jacksonville. The phone was locked but she remembered his password from watching him move his finger on the screen. The route took them south and then east, so she started following the route. The phone was very cool, she would have to examine it further once they got somewhere safe. It seemed like it might do more than just make calls and give directions.
Chapter 33
June 14, 2029
Outside Craighead County Prison
He had followed the hillbilly clan as they raced off across the wasteland, staying at a discreet distance. Sometimes just following the dust clouds created by their vehicles. They were too busy hunting their prey to notice Mark following them. Even when they suddenly stopped to inexplicably kill some dogs, they never noticed the small bike screech to a halt behind them and topple over as he sought cover. When they took the dogs he assumed they used them for meat. Disgusting, but you did what you had to do to survive in the wastes.
He then followed them to the Express Station where he listened in with the laser mike as they met with the owner. It turned out he was a cousin of theirs and was more than willing to help for a small cut of the bounties. Mark was actually impressed as they laid out the plan. Fairly clever for a bunch of inbreds.
They would leave a man on the roof to scout for the bounties and kill them if he had a shot, otherwise he would hide. If he failed to kill them the station owner, Otis, would suggest they leave the county via an abandoned railroad crossing. Where of course, most of the bounty hunters would be waiting in ambush. The rest would be hiding nearby to cut off any escape. The route to the railroad crossing was long and winding so Otis would be able to alert them via CB that the Major and the girl were on the way and still give them time to set up the ambush. Meanwhile they would fan out and keep searching just in case.
Mark decided to follow the main group of bounty hunters since there were few places to hide near the Express Station and he wasn’t convinced Storm was going there. They should have passed him and the girl along the way there and they hadn’t. It was likely he had gone a different direction, but the bounty hunters would eventually find out where and Mark wanted to be there when that happened.
So he had followed them for about an hour as they drove around the area looking for their quarry. Eventually they stopped at an abandoned strip mall and took a break. They actually broke out bottles of moonshine and started drinking. A couple even had sex in the back of one of the SUVs while the others watched. They were carrying on when they received a frantic call from the station owner, Otis.
He informed the hillbillies that Storm had killed the man on the roof and beat him up. He told them that the Major had stolen a truck and was probably on his way to the ambush site right now. Mark was impressed; the Major was living up to his billing. He had somehow evaded the bounty hunters and Mark even though they must have driven right by him and the girl. Then Storm had sniped the sniper and procured transportation. Unfortunately he was currently heading into a trap.
The rednecks had scrambled into their vehicles and set off to put their plan into motion. He followed them to the railroad crossing and watched them set up their ambush. Storm and the girl had arrived not too long after the ambush was set. They almost fell for it, but skidded to a halt just outside of town. Mark didn’t know what had alerted Storm to the ambush but was again impressed. This was how the man had stayed alive for so long in the extremely dangerous world of special operators.
Mark had watched from a knoll nearby as the bounty hunters had chased after the rusty pickup Storm and the girl were in once they knew their ambush was blown. The short rolling battle had been entertaining to watch. Storm’s use of the gas cans had been particularly exciting. But the numerical and vehicular superiority of the hunters had been too much and they had managed to crash the pickup using barbed wire and then capture Storm and the girl. The angry hillbillies and kicked the Major unconscious and must have done some damage.
He had followed them to their base of operations, the former county prison facility. Once inside they had locked the gates and dragged the girl and an unconscious Storm inside. He took a position five hundred yards away in a small stand of scrub pine and eyed the prison. It had two high chain link fences topped with razor wire that surrounded the facility. Guard towers were located at the corners and at the gate, but they only had one guard in them. One man had been stationed with a hunting rifle at one of the entrance towers. He had been inst
ructed to watch for their employer and make sure Storm and the girl didn’t take a vehicle on the off, off chance they escaped.
Mark considered his options. With Storm incapacitated and the device presumably in the hands of the bounty hunters, the mission had taken a detour. The Humek would arrive in the not too distant future to retrieve the device. So he could either enter the facility and retrieve the device himself, or he could wait for the Humek to arrive and then take it from his dead body. That option appealed to him because it meant he could exact some revenge while also completing his mission. Both options disappointed him because it meant he wouldn’t get to match skills with the Major.
As he surveyed the facility to determine his entry and exit point Mark heard a disturbance from inside the building. The sounds were indistinct but they sounded like screaming and gunfire. At one point he thought he heard a chainsaw. What the hell was going on in there? There was brief silence and then a sharp explosion near the front of the building. There was more gunfire, a few explosions, gunfire, and then silence. He decided to wait and see what was happening before he entered the facility.
Then about thirty minutes later the front door was flung open and Storm and the girl came out. He was badly wounded and she was almost carrying him, his arm across her shoulders. As the door opened Mark saw the sniper in the tower raise his weapon to fire. He realized he couldn’t let them die and risk having the device fall into the Collective’s hands. Who knew what tech that cyborg had available. The Collective had wiped out entire brigades of U.S.T.G. troops with only a small cadre of drones and that was eight years ago. Who knew what they had developed since then.
He sighted the XRG and fired one shot at the sniper. The tungsten round flew straight and silent ripping through the bulletproof glass of the tower. It traveled through the sniper spraying blood throughout the small space and then exited through the glass on the other side. The only signs of its passing a small popping noise as it broke the glass and the bloody holes in the tower. The girl and Storm didn’t even seem to notice.
He watched her place the Major in the SUV with the ram and get in the driver’s side. The Major almost immediately slumped over and as they burst through the gates, Mark could see that he was white as a sheet and passed out completely. The Major was missing his jacket and shirt and looked to have at least three major wounds. He was probably out of commission for days if not longer. All Mark had to do was follow them to their next location and take the device. The girl would be only a minor obstacle for him. He swung onto the motorcycle and headed out after them.
Chapter 34
June 14, 2029
Near Craighead County Prison
After leaving the bounty hunters, Maximillian had tasked a satellite to track them. Then he had gone to Jonesboro to wait for them to bring him Major Storm, the girl, and the device. At the time he had been fairly confident in their success. The bounties were outrageously large enough to motivate them and they seemed well armed compared to the previous rabble he had used. But as time had passed he grew increasingly concerned.
The satellite had followed the hillbillys’ vehicles as they had swept the surrounding area. Eventually they had all concentrated in one area near a small patch of buildings at an old railroad depot. For some reason the satellite had glitched at that moment and for about three hours there had been no signal. He wasn’t sure what had caused it, according to diagnostics there was nothing wrong with the satellite. Maybe there was interference from the sun or residual radiation from the Collapse.
When the satellite had gotten a signal again he could see that all the vehicles were now at a prison complex about an hour away from Jonesboro. According to the records it was the county prison. Maximillian assumed they had captured the Major since they were no longer searching and waited about an hour before growing impatient. He should be beyond that emotion but this was a critical mission and he could not fail.
He decided to go to the prison and check it out. Either the bounty hunters had captured the Major and were delaying turning him over for some reason, or they had called off the search and needed more motivation. He activated the van with a thought and directed it to take him to the prison. One way or another he would move this hunt along.
The van arrived at the prison and he found the gates smashed open from the inside and no one in sight. A dead body was barely visible in one of the guard towers and a trail of blood led from the front doors to the parking lot. Frustration raged briefly before he got control of his emotions. Had the Major managed to escape yet again?
Exiting the van Maximillian walked slowly to the front doors of the prison. He hesitated before entering the main lobby. The sterile environment and the sight of the bars triggered an unwanted memory from his past life in the Special Forces. He was reminded of the last time he had been trapped in a prison. He had been locked behind bars in a hellhole in China following a failed operation. Captured as they tried to escape an entire division of elite Red Guard.
Badly injured, he had been taken to a remote prison and thrown into a small windowless cell. He had barely been fed and had received only minimal care for his extensive injuries. His face had significant burn scarring and he his left eye was ruined. The broken bones had been set roughly and the breaks had healed improperly, leaving his limbs twisted and almost useless. He had barely been able to stand yet alone walk. For a young man of twenty-five that had been particularly upsetting.
He had languished in the prison for six months before he had been traded back. He endured daily beatings and other torture as his captors tried to get any secret they could from him. But he never broke; he never revealed anything despite the fact that he felt abandoned by his country. The Chinese were impressed by his toughness and eventually gave him grudging respect. He hadn’t held it against them; they were just doing their job. No he blamed the people who had left him behind on the battlefield.
The Chinese had told him how the American commander had managed to get the rest of the team to a chopper and escape. Leaving Maximillian and a few other wounded behind. When he had asked about the other wounded, he was informed they hadn’t survived their wounds. A desire for revenge against the commander, one Major Derek H. Storm, had sustained him during the beatings, starvation, and torture.
When he had been traded back, he was not sent to a normal military hospital. His injuries had been deemed too severe for a regular doctor to fix and so he had been sent to a special hospital with advanced specialists. There they had offered him a stark choice. They could reset the bones and use plastic surgery to fix some of his face, but he would always walk with a limp and never be normal again. Or, they could replace his limbs and reconstruct his face with titanium bones and plates. Advanced cybernetics would replace his muscles and they would grow skin on top of them.
There were a lot of risk with that option he wouldn’t be normal then either, but if he survived he would be better. So he took that option and agreed to the extreme surgeries necessary. With his new body he would be able to get his revenge. He knew that fire would sustain him during the surgeries as it had in the Chinese prison. So as he succumbed to the anesthesia he was excited.
The truth of it had turned out to be very different. He had awoken to excruciating pain running throughout his entire body. He had been told his body was rejecting the cybernetics. Pain meds had been unable to lower the pain and he was unable to move. Lying motionless and in excruciating pain he had been forced to agree to another set of experimental surgeries to implant computer chips in his brain to help control the pain and the new limbs.
They had moved him to another facility for those surgeries and the doctors hadn’t been military. The facility had looked much more high tech and had a much more modern architecture and appearance. These doctors hadn’t spoken to him prior to surgery; but a tall, well dressed man wearing a surgical mask had come to him just before they gave him anesthetic.
Even with the mask, Maximillian knew who the man was. Stefan Doors was on the cover
of many magazines and the subject of documentaries and exposés. He was the face of Silicon Valley and the tech revolution that had created the digital age. Maximillian didn’t know much about the man, but he was an American icon. And according to him, he was Maximillian’s benefactor.
“You are blessed young man. You will be the First. The first of a new age of humanity, reborn marrying the perfection of technology to the imperfection of the human form. You will be stronger, faster, smarter, and more intelligent. You will be the next step in the evolutionary process. You will no longer be human, you will be better, you will become Humek.” Doors rapturously informed him as the anesthesia took effect.
Maximillian woke up without pain. He could move his arms and legs and they were perfectly formed. There were surgical masked nurses in the room but they didn’t move to help him as he leapt out of bed. Ignoring his nakedness he flexed his muscles and exercised his limbs. He was made whole again. He felt stronger, and he could see out of his left eye! He was excited to be a man once again. Now he could exact revenge on his former commander.
“There will be time for that later. Now you have a purpose.” A voice spoke in his head.
Startled, Maximillian had looked around the room, but none of the nurses had spoken or even moved. The voice spoke again, and this time he recognized it as belonging to Doors. “I am speaking to you through the chips in your head.”
“That’s not possible.” Maximillian had replied.
“The impossible has become possible. The chips in your head are hardwired into your brain. Once you learn to use them properly you will have almost unlimited access to information and processing power. Your brain will in effect become part of the network. I call it the LINC. Eventually everyone will be connected and we will have Utopia. You are the First and you will be my messenger, my herald; and you will bring my vision to the world. We will remake the world to be more efficient, more productive, and give everyone a purpose. There will be no war, no hunger, and no poverty. You will show them the joys of the Collective.” Doors had preached, becoming more passionate with every word.
