Ascent

by M. T. Miller

  Instead of a warning, there came the sound of gunfire. Facing them head on, he pointed his gun at the nearest guard and started shooting. As the rain of metal tore off bits and pieces off the incoming men, so did their own discharge bite into him. Despite that fact, there was barely any pain anymore. His body was healing so quickly it ejected used-up bullets as fast as his rifle was throwing out cartridges.

  “Dick-spits!” Contrast shouted as he stopped shooting.

  “You alright, Bones?” Rush said as she slowly came up from behind him.

  “Perfect,” the Nameless said. “Stay behind me. I can recover from this. You cannot.”

  “Right,” Rush said.

  “No need to tell me twice,” Contrast added.

  The sound of several elevators docking came from their front. Teeth gritted, the Nameless signaled for his companions to proceed. He knew exactly what it meant.

  ***

  Arms shivering, Sheriff Wallace knelt above the body. He tried wiping some blood off his son’s ruined face, instead only managing to smother it worse.

  “Had to happen sooner or later,” he mumbled, turning his hand palm-up so he could better see the red.

  “Sheriff!” Uncle shouted from across the hallway. Rifle in hand, he ran forward. “Is that…? Jesus…”

  “Bones did it,” the sheriff said as he rose. Not paying any heed to the blood all over himself, he pulled out his gun.

  “Wallace,” Uncle said. “I’m sorry.”

  The sheriff was just about to say something when a metallic buzzing interrupted him. “It’s the real boss,” he said, pulling out his walkie-talkie and pressing a button. “I’m here.”

  “What’s going on down there?” the Sun God shouted from the other side.

  “Bones seems to be coming for you,” the sheriff said coldly.

  “And you can’t stop him?”

  The sheriff said nothing. His eyes drifted down to his son’s body. He was probably the best we had.

  “Wallace?” said the Sun God.

  The sheriff distanced the communicator from his ear and let it drop. Then he pointed his revolver at it and squeezed the trigger.

  “Wh—what are you doing?” Uncle shouted.

  “Giving you an order,” the sheriff said. “Find the Grin. He’s likely to be running around just as you were.”

  “Then?” Uncle said.

  “Then you patrol the perimeter,” the sheriff said. “Try and save as many lives as possible. It’s what Mark would have wanted.”

  “What about you?” Uncle asked. “What’ll you be doing?”

  “Something I should have done a while ago,” the sheriff said as he started walking.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Panting and wheezing, the Nameless braced himself against the door to Room 1. Bullets kept falling out of him like drops from a leaky faucet.

  So, so tired…

  “You’re a regular pin cushion, aren’t you?” said Contrast.

  After taking another breath, the Nameless turned to face him. The elevator hub was positively littered with bodies, numbering somewhere between fifteen and twenty. Behind the gruesome sight, the lifts were already closing. They were about to head down.

  “The only reason you are alive is because I took some shots for you,” the Nameless said.

  “Well, I didn’t make you,” Contrast said.

  “You’re wearing a dress,” Rush said, “so stop with the dick measuring. More guards will come soon.”

  “Right,” the Nameless said as he turned back to the door. Pointing his rifle at the lock, he fired off a large burst. Less than a second later, he gave it a swift kick, and the entrance was opened.

  “Snake!” he shouted as he stepped in, both companions right behind him. “We are having a misunderstanding. Retrieve your hounds!”

  There was no reply of any sort.

  “Nobody home,” Contrast said.

  “Where does that lead?” Rush asked, pointing to the spiral staircase.

  “Further up,” the Nameless said, approaching the door to Snake’s office. He gave it the same treatment as the previous one. Just like he feared, Snake was not there.

  “Take the strongest material you can find,” he said, grabbing a chair. “We are going to bar the door with it.”

  “It won’t hold them forever,” Rush said as she lifted a table. As if it weighed nothing at all, she turned it to the side and carried it up to the entrance.

  “What are you people?” Contrast asked, replacing his clip.

  “Desperate,” the Nameless said as he set the makeshift barricade against the door.

  “So what do we do now?” said Contrast. “We go there and waste ‘em? Because it’s been a while since I’ve had to carve anyone up. I think my last one was you.”

  “Can you give me a couple more chairs?” the Nameless asked Rush. “I know you can carry two.”

  “Piece of cake,” she said, going back into Snake’s office.

  Now is my chance. Just as Contrast’s gaze drifted toward Rush, so did the Nameless turn toward him.

  “Now we go up and reason with the so-called boss,” the Nameless said, moving forward. “Talk.”

  “You talk,” Contrast said, his bitter smile disappearing. “Those bastards killed Lydia. I’m going to fuck them up if it’s the last thing I do.”

  Why did I think he would cooperate? The Nameless took special care not to appear the least bit hostile. By the time he sprang into action, it was already too late for Contrast.

  “What are y—?” Contrast shouted, attempting to raise his rifle. His eyes crossed a moment later, staring at the point where the Nameless’ fist connected with his face. As he fell down, his weapon fired several shots into the ground before going silent.

  “Bones?” Rush said, dropping the chairs.

  The Nameless turned toward her, noticing that she was on her guard. “I want to try and fix this,” he said. “He would not let me. I have left him alive.” Against my wishes.

  “I know that,” Rush said, slowly relaxing her posture. “I can hear his heartbeat.”

  “Will you help me?” the Nameless asked.

  “You kidding me?” She said, grabbing hold of the chairs once more. “What else is there to do?”

  “Not much,” the Nameless said as he took to helping her secure the door.

  ***

  “How long do you think that will give us?” Rush asked, wiping the bluish sweat off her brow.

  “Minutes,” the Nameless said, turning toward the staircase. As he moved toward it, he snuck a quick glimpse of Contrast. Still out.

  “That’s not long, even with my perception of time,” Rush said.

  “I know.” The Nameless blew the lock off the stair-gate. He ejected the ammo case, jamming a fresh one in. “We will have to hurry,” he said as he ran upward.

  “You think?” Rush said, a step behind him.

  What do I even say? About half a minute passed as they climbed the staircase. All the while, the Nameless kept looking up toward the assumed roof. The sharp pain that suddenly hit his left knee proved that was a colossal mistake.

  He stopped running as he looked down. A large, green snake stuck out of the side of his leg, wriggling and hissing all the while. Furious, he pointed his gun toward it, but it let go at that very instant.

  “A snake? Here?” Rush said, a moment before a torrent of the disgusting creatures started seeping up the side of the staircase.

  “Shoot!” the Nameless shouted, stepping back as he squeezed the trigger.

  The combined firepower of two automatic rifles tore through the reptiles’ bodies. Regardless, more and more kept coming. Their ammunition spent, both Rush and the Nameless had to resort to reloading. As they did, instead of swarming around them, the snakes started forming a continuously growing pile. Like a man-shaped, constantly melting candle, the thing contorted unnaturally, as if it was preparing something big.

  And then it leapt forward.

  His
leg numb, the Nameless barely had any time to react. The hissing, convulsing pile of snakes that flew toward him was about to envelop him completely. If even half of them were similar to the one that bit his leg, death would be guaranteed.

  Suddenly, instead of the monster, he found himself staring at the graceful back of Rush. Faster than any living thing he’d ever seen, the woman pounced up toward the creature and grabbed it by what could only be its makeshift neck.

  Countless snakes bit into her shoulders and stomach, but she did not relent. Screaming in fury, she pushed the thing over the side of the staircase and let go. Unfortunately, the creature did not put up with that. With tens of heads still embedded in Rush’s flesh, she lost her footing and got dragged along the way.

  “Bones!” she shouted, grasping the ledge while the monster dragged itself up by burying more heads into her.

  The Nameless let his rifle hang, extending his hand.

  “Moron! Go!” she shouted, releasing her grip. Still holding tightly with dozens of fangs, the creature was carried down with her.

  “No!” the Nameless screamed, grabbing nothing but air. Straining his eyes, he tried making sense of what was going on where they fell, but his vision was getting too blurry. He turned around, lifting his rifle and taking a few steps down.

  She wanted me to proceed, he told himself. Bit by bit, his ears were starting to ring, and the burning in his veins was getting more and more intense. If he went down there, he would not get back up. Muscles tensed, he forced himself into proceeding upward. If I fail this, we are all dead anyway.

  Slower and slower, the Nameless made his way up the staircase. By the time he found himself facing the ornate pair of doors at the end of the line, every muscle in his body was on fire. He was obviously fighting the venom, but lacked the power to do so effectively.

  I might have to reap something, he thought as he pushed the doors inside. I hope it will not have to be him.

  “Sun God!” he shouted. “This is all a—“

  A flash of light followed. As the doors slid, the Nameless found himself short of breath. More out of survival instinct than anything resembling a plan, he leapt to the side, just a foot shy of the first stair.

  He wheezed as he looked down at his body, noticing two finger-sized holes around his left pectoral. They bled profusely with every breath he took. Worse off, they were not getting better.

  The venom, he realized. It had to be messing with the rest of his system.

  Carefully, the Nameless peeked inside. The chamber was absolutely breathtaking: Paved with what looked like golden mirrors, it shone with the light of the sun itself. Somewhere at the center of the room there was a large throne, and standing in front of it was—

  The illumination intensified. In less than a second the Nameless had retreated, and the heat around him rose rapidly. A line of golden light hit the other side of the circular hallway, piercing a hole in it. What is that? Sunlight?

  “Th—this is a misunderstanding!” he barely managed to shout.

  “I believe you!” the Sun God called. “Come in and we’ll discuss it!”

  He is not going to talk.

  The guards would be up within minutes, so waiting anything out was not an option. And even if they somehow got stalled, it was only a matter of time before the poison finished him off.

  But… the Nameless’ eyes drifted toward the hole in the wall. It was deep, and was letting the sunlight in. If the Sun God could cut through that, what prevented him from torching the Nameless from the other room? The answer was obvious: mirrors. The chamber was full of them, reflecting the light back.

  I might be able to get closer if I get a piece.

  Yes. He would use it to get between pillars, deflecting the light along the way. It would hurt, but it was better than dying.

  Readying his rifle, the Nameless tensed every muscle in his body and leapt to the other side of the doorway. As he did, he showered the room with bullets, mostly hitting the floor. The few rounds that got close to the Sun God exploded harmlessly without even grazing him.

  Less than a second later, another beam of light cut through the wall opposite the room entrance.

  “Shooting? At me?” the Sun God shouted. “Laughable!”

  The heat is destroying the bullets, the Nameless concluded. He closed his eyes, trying to remember the layout of the room. There were enough pieces of shattered glass now for him to find a sizeable one if he ran for it. But there was another problem.

  If the mirrors indeed reflected the deadly light, then the Sun God could use them to bounce it at the Nameless even as he hid behind a pillar. If he had any intention of advancing on the enemy, he would have to make himself a hiding spot.

  Grasping his firearm again, he executed the exact same maneuver again. Only this time, he aimed for the closest pillar. Pieces of glass fell and shattered on the floor, as the Sun God prepared for yet another blast. Firing it, he almost grazed the Nameless’ shoulder.

  I can move now. The Nameless ejected the clip from his rifle and slammed a new one in. As he did, a trickle of blood fell down his lip.

  No time to waste. Go!

  He ran inside, just barely managing to prevent himself from tripping as he ducked to pick up a piece of mirror. In response, the Sun God’s eyes lit up momentarily. Holding the glass up, the Nameless dashed to the safety of the pillar. Hot to begin with, the mirror seared his fingers when the beam touched it, but gladly survived the impact.

  Wheezing in the heat, the Nameless collapsed, just barely having reached the pillar. He pressed his back against it and unloaded almost half of his ammunition into the wall in front of him.

  Now you cannot hit me that way.

  But despite winning the battle, he would lose the war. The venom had advanced through his system so much that there was barely any pain anymore. With his limbs numb and his lung perforated, he would be lucky if he even reached his enemy, let alone defeated him in close combat. He tightened his grip around the gun. Perhaps if I squeeze the trigger while close enough, I can blow off a good chunk of him…

  The wall to his left, perfectly smooth up until that moment, started opening. Guards? He would not wait for them to spot him first. With his weapon barrel pointed around where their heads would be, the Nameless wasted no time in opening fire.

  “You bastard!“ the sheriff tried to yell. Instead, all he did was get shot in the neck. In the blink of an eye, another hole marked his forehead. Stumbling backward, he collapsed on one of the guards that had come with him.

  Thank you, and I am sorry, thought the Nameless. Despite that, he continued showering the elevator shaft with lead. Panicking, the other men shot back, but it was neither fast nor accurate enough. By the time the Nameless emptied his clip, not a thing was moving inside. He ejected it to slam another one in, but realized that he was out.

  “We can still talk!” he shouted, significantly louder than before.

  Instead of speaking, the Sun God fired a beam of light from the other side of the room. It bounced thrice and missed the Nameless by only a couple of feet. I will have to work fast, he realized, helping himself up with the rifle.

  Another beam followed, this one drilling a hole in the spot he’d been sitting. Sensation came back to his fingers and the Nameless’ veins caught fire again. He was still not as mobile as he’d like to be, but there was no other way. Holding the rifle in one hand, he grabbed two foot-long mirror pieces with the other.

  “Burn!”

  Yet another beam of gold bounced across the room from the other side. Fired with pinpoint accuracy, it would have cut a hole through the Nameless’ heart had he not held a mirror in front of it. The skin of his fingers stuck to the glass and he had to bite his lip to keep holding it.

  His blood was boiling, and it wasn’t due to the venom. He had given the Sun God every chance to settle this with as little bloodshed as possible. And in return, he got this? No. He would not let this pass. He would fight back.

  Now, while he re
covers!

  After throwing his rifle as a diversion, the Nameless ran out of his cover. Shielding his face with one mirror and his chest with the other, he sprinted toward the Sun God. He should follow up about… now! As the already-searing mirror burned more flesh off the Nameless’ hand, he nevertheless gripped it even tighter. This was the only way.

  Once the light subsided, he threw one piece toward the Sun God’s general location. He grasped the other one so firmly it cut into his fingers all the way to the bone. While his enemy was stepping to the side to avoid the thrown mirror, the Nameless swung the glass in as wide an arc as possible.

  Blood poured out from where the Sun God’s eyes had just been, accompanied by a constant barrage of tiny, harmless sparks. Recovering from his charge, the Nameless swung the shard again, this time aiming for the neck. A disgusting wound gaped open within an instant, exposing the throat. Wrapping his palms around it, the Sun God dropped to his knees, staining the floor with red.

  “You should have listened!” the Nameless shouted, a moment before kicking his enemy in the face. With a monstrous crack, the Sun God’s neck bent backward, a piece of the spine sticking out the hole in his throat. For several seconds his body shivered, and then stopped giving off any signs of life.

  The image of Lydia’s smile flashed before the Nameless’ eyes, before being blasted into a bloody pulp. Mark fired his weapon, and got gunned down. Rush fell into an inky blackness again and again.

  Without a single rational thought in his mind, the Nameless raised his head up toward the sky, howling like a crazed animal.

  ***

  The sound of footsteps grew louder. The guards would be upon him in a moment. Fine. Let them come.

  Seated on the Sun God’s throne, the Nameless let his feet rest on the body he had placed in front of it. Still in the kneeling position, it would send a perfect message. He had stripped what remained of his shirt, and set it behind his back. The heat was all but unbearable, and the fabric served to prevent his skin from touching the rock.