The Foliage:Termination (The Foliage Series Book 2)

by Nathan Ward

  “You’re honestly underestimating them, Captain. I don’t know what forces you’ve encountered but the phase two scenario dispatched android infantry opposed to the human mind slaves, believe me…I’ve seen them with my own eyes, they scour the scorched land in military transport vehicles – like those over there.” Joy pointed in the direction of two UNA transport carriers, long steel reinforced tanks built for all terrains.

  Murdock paused to rethink.

  “I still don’t think that agent should be left behind,” he added.

  “We definitely wont be leaving any behind,” Joy began to reach in to her medical pouch attached to the back of her suit, it had a red cross embroidered to the flap from which she pulled out her hand showing a small canister clenched within her grasp.

  “You see this… it’s the last of it. This world isn’t ready for medical treatment like this, it’s all they could manage to mix,” Joy explained, looking down at the glowing green solution within the double layered canister.

  “You keep a hold of it, Joy,” said Murdock, raising his hand on to her shoulder, “We shouldn’t need it, but you never know…” he added, before turning to walk away, “Besides, I think you’ve earned that, my dear.”

  Murdock then moved close to Sasha, which came as quite a surprise to her at first. She didn’t know where to look or how to feel, a flurry of nerves had suddenly started to jangle about inside her. He raised his hand to Sasha's neck and placed it gently against her silk smooth skin, releasing her tension and flourishing a spell of butterflies within her stomach.

  “Look, I just don’t want to fuck things up. I don’t know what we had going on but if you could do one thing for me, just the one thing,” Sasha nodded in agreement to whatever he was about to add, “Give this thick skull of mine time to repair, it will all come back… I’m just sorry that the past is lost, but it won’t stay lost, everything finds its way home in the end, if its clever enough.”

  Murdock chuckled and Sasha traded a smile with him, believing his old self would soon return, but she knew she would have to be patient and trust in the hope that what he was saying was true.

  Joy had become slightly irritated by the lack of attention she was getting from Murdock, even Enrique had now begun to notice as she kept leaning over some left over crates that had been stacked beside her.

  “You sure you don’t need a final check up, Murdock?” Joy asked, drawing Murdock's attention away from Sasha.

  “I’ll be just fine, Joy. Just fine,” he claimed, with a subtle smile etched to his face. “You know, I don’t want to run the risk of you deteriorating on us once we leave…” she added, sounding a tiny bit desperate in her plea to help but she was immediately shot down by Sasha, who had obviously heard enough.

  “He said he’s fine!” she yelled, regaining Murdock's immediate attention, as he felt surprised at the sound that had roared from such a small lady.

  He could understand that there were pieces to the jigsaw missing and it almost made him feel slightly excited at the thought of hopefully finding them all over again as he and Sasha once again traded a flirtatious grin.

  Joy had instantly become bored of the situation and instead of pushing her luck she decided to turn her attention to something else as she waited for Connor to reunite with them. She glanced over in to a deserted corner of the hangar where a large object had been standing since they arrived, untouched and covered by a large tarpaulin which draped over the body and dangled loosely an inch off the ground.

  “What’s that over there? I hadn’t noticed it before...” Joy claimed, addressing anyone and everyone.

  “It would seem to be another vehicle,” Enrique replied, staring towards the black mass.

  “It’s part of the UNA’s Phase 3 line,” Murdock explained, raising his wrist computer and scrolling through a long digital document, “Phase 3 has now been discontinued, they think what they have is efficient enough…not to mention it looks like they never perfected it,” he added, while reading the enemy document.

  “So it’s a form of plane, a vehicle like Enrique said?” Joy asked, intrigued by the notes Murdock was scrolling past with his touch sensitive device.

  “I’d say it’s a bit more than a plane, Joy. You’ve all got these wrist thingy ma bobs, look for yourselves!” Murdock exclaimed, while laughing at the same time.

  “I haven’t a fucking clue how it works!” Joy replied.

  “Me either...”Sasha added.

  Murdock finally reached the bottom of the document where a giant green button sat, illuminating his screen reading activate across it.

  "Here, how about this…”

  Murdock punched his finger against the digital button and a deep rumble came from underneath the tarpaulin, followed by a raging burst of fire that blazed and pulled the covering away, revealing what had been hidden underneath it all this time. All four of their faces suddenly changed to looks of awe and wonder, even Murdock who seemed to have a grasp of the relevant information struggled to stay composed as his sights fell upon the beautiful, highly advanced vehicle.

  “You’re fucking kidding me…” Joy muttered, immediately raising her hand to her mouth a little too late, recognising this was an oops moment, because she had just dropped an f-bomb in front of a kid - Connor was stumbling over to her side, staring across at the fantastic sight:

  Stood in the corner of the hangar was a form of space craft, similar in looks to the blackbird plane, but with advanced engines and weaponry equipped to the hull, readying it for a future that was always forever approaching.

  “They have it tagged as the UNA eagle, advanced war bird capable of space travel and devastating firepower, oh... and they seemed to have mastered a chameleon cloaking field, makes us look like primitive apes…”

  “We are,” Enrique added, still with his eyes fixed on the war bird.

  “Can you please explain to me, Murdock? Why aren’t we travelling in THAT?”

  Sasha asked, her mind still clearly blown by the sight of the powerful craft.

  “Well, if I had known about that… we’d probably still be taking a wasp.” he replied, remembering what they set out to achieve.

  “Why!?”

  “Yeah…why?” they all asked with their eyes fixed on Murdock, who was swift to give his reply.

  “Because we’re not at war. Not anymore, we’re just trying to get this food and water back to the people, remember why we came here…never forget that, after all it’s what has kept me on my feet, fighting on. Now who’s coming with me?” he asked, grounding the tone of the conversation as they didn’t really need the added excitement distracting them - but he did feel a sense of loss at not being able to take up the matt black war bird that sat gracefully in the corner of the hangar bay.

  Joy, Sasha, Connor and Enrique nodded in acknowledgment and Murdock reached out his hand to all of them, grasping each of their palms and shaking them with gratitude for standing by him.

  The five of them stood, sporting their brand new grey uniforms, fully equipped for whatever the future had planned for them, whatever would come hurtling towards them unexpected. They were finally heading home, to share their findings with the people they promised they would protect and support.

  “I’m feeling generous, I may even pick up Josh and his team on the way back,”

  Murdock added - entirely unaware of the dilemma that Josh, Steph and Thomas had found themselves in.

  The cities military had already been alerted of Murdock's presence at the fort by the time they descended to ground level and began to exit a small outhouse building situated close to the great tower of light.

  Six UNA androids wielding rifles and contained within the casual military white leathers stormed towards one of the nearby parked carriers, followed by the squad driver who was last to disembark – adjusting his ammunition belt as he made his way towards the cabin.

  The troops pulled down the ramp and loaded themselves in to the back of the vehicle, pulling the ramp in to a l
ocking position behind them. The driver then boarded the cabin and didn’t waste any time firing up the ignition, the engine roared, firing up on all six cylinders before taking to the city roads, kicking up a cloud of dust that chased in its wake as it hurtled towards the eastern gates.

  The carrier soon came to an abrupt halt, here they couldn’t advance any further with the tall, black gates towering over them. A UNA guardsman stepped out from behind an operations booth and approached the drivers window, scanning the vehicle to make sure it was going to be leaving with only the appropriate passengers on board.

  The drivers window slid down and a robotic face leaned out with its glowing blue eyes meeting the guardsman's sights.

  “State your mission report before permission to leave is granted,” said the guarding android, stood motionless beside the military grade carrier.

  “Uploading mission data, recovery of Captain Nathan Murdock. There cannot be delays,” the driver replied in its toneless voice.

  “Immediate approval allocated, release the gates.” The android signaled for the gates to be opened, allowing the vehicle to storm out into the blazing dunes of an apocalyptic Earth, with its sights set on one location, and one individual in particular whose life had now been plunged into mortal danger.

  Chapter 24: Bigger Problems

  The light had given way to dusk, dying out to a midnight shade of blue as the cloak of darkness covered the battle torn land, perhaps for one last time - a gut feeling had begun to sink within all the land dwellers, a feeling of something catastrophic that waited upon the horizon, along with the thought that perhaps this night would be the last night of calm, before the coming of the inevitable storm - but until then, there would be a long, enduring night ahead.

  The courtyard within the lonesome fortress had also fallen into shade cast in midnight gloom as moonlight caught its silver glow on the raised rubble and metal that remained scattered on the ground. They all laid peacefully in silence, with just the sound of crickets chirping from the fresh foliage growing outside of the walls. The land was deserted, no man or animal in sight - just the structure standing gloriously tall under the elegant moonlight glow.

  Slowly the courtyard soil begun to vibrate, then the vibration evolved into a tremor. The rubble started to shudder and shift ever so slightly under the influence of the event, a loud clonk and clank sounded before finally, the ground began to rip apart, retracting underneath the fortress walls unveiling what seemed to look like the underground UNA hangar – its gleaming rays of light projected up into the sky like torchlight shining through mist and once the ground had locked into position leaving the hangar floor covered in dirt and debris, the sound of two jet engines began to ignite with a deafening roar, followed by a dark mass rising up and out of the hangar, a mass that took the silhouetted shape of a UNA carrier wasp – a phase 1 vehicle.

  Murdock was sat in the pilots’ cockpit observing the sights below him as he carefully ascended above the fortress in to the moon rays path. He switched his gaze to the circle of light emitting from the hangar, watching as the ground slowly began to close, concealing the underground facility in hope it would be enough of a disguise to keep any future weary travelers out.

  Murdock now felt satisfied with the lock down so he turned to his passengers - Sasha, Enrique, Joy and Connor who were all seated in the cargo hold - strapped and secure, ready for flight.

  “We all okay back there?” Murdock asked, just for reassurance.

  Connor lifted his thumbs while he gripped tightly to the arms of his seat, feeling ever so slightly uncomfortable as he tried not to think about the fact that he had never flown before, and here he was, about to shoot up high into the clouds, with the ground far, far below...

  “We’re all good,” Sasha added.

  But Joy caught a flicker of unease on Connor's face and gave him a reassuring smile, and then she gave Murdock a confident nod. Murdock returned a reassuring wink and Joy looked away as she smiled, then returned to face the front console. “Well, let’s punch it home,” he said while overlooking the controls, rapidly becoming familiar once more with flight procedures he had learned in training - then without a second to waste he threw his hand around a large cylindrical lever and throttled it forward, sending the aircraft into a sudden forward motion, ripping through the clear night sky - leaving nothing but the explosive sound of acceleration in its wake.

  The Wasp tore through the clouds and sped towards the East of England while Murdock kept a watchful eye on the ground below - which wasn’t as clear as he had hoped - but with the assistance of the thermal tracking software he guessed it would be simple to identify Josh.

  “Whoever came up with the idea for us to travel at night, you’re a genius…Oh wait! It was me!” Murdock exclaimed, chuckling to himself.

  “Are you being sarcastic?” Joy asked, not quite sure what to make of Murdock’s tone.

  “Not in the slightest…The ground's cooling off. If we left in the day it would be glowing hot. Would make it a hell of a lot harder to spot Josh and co,” Murdock added, enlightening the crew.

  “How long do you think this is going to take?” Sasha asked, leaning out from her seat and trying to lay her eyes upon the Captain.

  “In this thing? No time at all…” he replied, before pushing the acceleration to the max - the jet engines had begun to emit a blue energy, pushing the Wasp to a speed beyond two hundreds miles per hour. Before anyone had a chance to settle they had already arrived over Norfolk, which still lie murky in a thin cloud of toxic radiation, the Wasps speed slowed as it approached its landing point and Murdock prepped the team with a quick briefing, turning back once again to address his crew.

  “Any minute now, we will be touching down. Now, to make sure everyone makes it through alive and well I’m going to ask you all to activate the switch positioned to the left hand side of your collars, do that now…” Murdock ordered and then waited until they had all done so.

  Joy was first to push her switch, which sprung alive a mechanical limb that climbed out of the back of the suit and formed its way over her head, expanding its appendages until it had entirely concealed her, taking the form of a helmet with a small glass visor. The others did the same, followed lastly by Murdock who felt ever so slightly relieved after an incredible and sudden dose of paranoia had swept over him, taking him by complete surprise. Ever since he first laid his eyes on his facial deformities, he finally felt like uniform had brought balance and made him feel comfortable in his equality to those around him once again, at least until he would have to remove the helmet. He didn't know if these feelings of self consciousness would last forever and he hoped in time it would fade, but although he had other priorities to handle and much on his mind, he now knew he had to acknowledge that yes, after the initial numbing shock of the event had worn off, at the back of his mind he was still seeing himself in that mirror, his scars vivid, and feeling the shock of it for the first time, and perhaps that shock would always stay with him. But he kept those thoughts silent and then pushed them to the back of his mind as the others took in the sight of their companions, each with their own perspective thoughts running through their minds.

  “Oxygen enabled, we’re going in for final descent maneuver. Hold tight.” Murdock informed them, keeping a tight grasp to the steering controls.

  The Wasp hurtled through the radiation clouds in a spiraling motion until the remains of the old UNA outpost became visible in the distance. The Captain cast his hands over the console instruments to prepare the aircraft for landing, flicking switches and altering the balance of dials.

  The landing gear projected out from underneath the Wasps hull and the jet engines turned on their ends, pushing the Wasp down towards the decimated UNA facility rooftop, then after one final, gliding movement the aircraft dropped within touching distance before finally, a burst of anti directional air plummeted into the rubble making the touch down ever so slightly more bearable. The three steel struts made contact with the rooftop
supporting the weight of the Wasp and confirming a landing success. The captain and crew didn’t waste any time to check over the aircraft, instead they swiftly jumped out on to the roof and begun to pull aside the containment hatch, revealing the airtight crates that Sasha and Enrique had loaded on board.

  “Let’s get these unloaded and begin to head down in to the bunker,” Murdock commanded, pulling aside the other hatch to give his crew plenty of room to reach inside.

  “Mr. Murdock? Where are your friends you spoke about?” Connor asked, looking up in awe at the Captain, who stood over him as a tall and inspiring figure to the boy who had once lived in fear with no hope of salvation. In Captain Murdock he saw a true hero standing over him, a real one, someone he could truly believe in.

  “I didn’t see them, I’m hoping we will see them in just a moment, once we get underground,” he replied, silently hoping the kid had not picked up on the uncertainty in his tone as worry consumed his thoughts.

  Meanwhile Joy had already begun to hook up a couple of crates to her artillery belt so she wouldn’t be separated during the descent to the bunker, then Sasha and Enrique did the same, snapping the articulated hooks around steel loops attached on to their military grade belts.

  “I think we’re ready,” said Enrique, checking around him to make sure everyone else were done fastening.

  “All good,” Sasha confirmed, then lastly Joy, as she yanked on the cords just to be on the safe side.

  “Lets get our asses inside,” Murdock ordered, leading off towards a gaping hole in the roof which seemed to have caved in after the nuclear explosion.

  Murdock jumped down first, being as careful as possible, followed by Connor who he thankfully caught and placed on the ground. Sasha then approached the edge, taking a moment to pull her crates to her feet.

  “Lower them down to me, then I’ll catch you,” Murdock ordered, knowing what he was doing, and feeling glad he’d been trained for a situation exactly like this one. Sasha held tight to the cord and slowly lowered the crates down through the opening where Murdock was waiting, he reached up and took a strong hold of the descending crate and guided it to the ground, they repeated the procedure once more and then finally Sasha jumped and fell in to the arms of Murdock. For the briefest of moments they froze, her in his arms as Sasha gazed at Murdock's face plate, knowing the changed image that was obscured behind it, but despite knowing this, it seemed his scars were all that had altered, everything else felt as if time had stood still, locked in a moment, she just wished the old Murdock would return already…She’d never been the patient kind...