by LC Champlin
They pushed through the glass doors beyond, into the ticketing area. The second level looked down on them, railings guarding its perimeter. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows provided an excellent view of the city beyond.
Bypassing the team merchandise store, the interlopers turned left, heading for one of the emergency stairs. They flanked the elevator doors ahead.
A clatter from the darkness down the hall—
“What was that?” Birk hissed. “A cannibal?”
“Private, shouldn’t your battle buddy be with you?” Sophia questioned their guide.
Judging by Kraus’s clenched jaw, he would prefer a partner as well. “We have to work with limited resources.” Did LOGOS have a hand in the understaffing, or did the chaotic situation do their work for them?
When the four reached the stairs’ door, the Soldier remained on point, with Nathan and Sophia stacking behind him. Birk stayed clear. After deploying a set of keys, the escort unlocked the portal. They decided on roles, then . . . Open! The trio swept in. Steel handrails and steps greeted them.
Kraus advanced to the first flight, squinting up through the M4’s sights.
Ssssaaaahhhh!
A blur of movement slammed into him. Humanoid, with arms and legs wrapped around the prey. Jaws sank into the man’s neck under his helmet.
Nathan darted back through the door, Sophia ahead of him. They slammed the barrier.
“Shit,” Sophia hissed, bracing against it with Nathan. “He has the keys!”
Chapter 66
Keyless
Matter of Time – TRIBE
June 5, 2016—
The sun reached its zenith as the helicopter reached its destination: the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, beside the Rocky Mountains. Below, scattered industrial buildings occupied the plain, north of several lakes and south of a half-finished housing development. Overall, few people if any would notice the helicopter landing.
The craft settled onto a vacant lot beside one of the industrial structures. The pilot looked back at them. “Here’s your stop. Good luck.”
“We make our own,” Albin responded as he removed his headset.
Behrmann left her place beside the pilot as Albin slid the door open. The others gathered their meager gear.
Outside, a blue SUV sat nearby, sans driver. The rest of the area appeared deserted.
Bridges addressed the pilot: “Hey, what are we supposed to do from here? Call a cab?”
“The email said there’d be transportation. What about that vehicle?” The pilot pointed to the SUV. “Otherwise call a cab, call a friend, call Uber.” He gave them an apologetic smile.
“Thank you,” Albin responded before exiting.
The others also expressed their gratitude.
As the group trotted away from the rotor wash’s footprint, Denver squinted back at the craft. “What do we do now? Even if we have a car, where do we go?” She spoke for Albin and, no doubt, the others.
Albin slowed. “Kenichi-san may be eccentric, but he is quite reliable when he has a task he wishes completed.”
“I still don’t like this.” Amanda shook her head. “This is the man Nathan thought was so dangerous that he tried to kill him. I know Nathan went off the rails, but . . .” Time evidently made the pain of Mr. Serebus’s actions fade. Or perhaps crediting him with sound judgment mitigated the discomfort she felt for placing her trust in him. Whatever the reason, she made an excellent point.
“I did not say Kenichi-san was harmless. I merely said he is reliable when acting in self-interest.”
Uncertainty in her expression, she watched the helicopter depart. “I don’t trust him, Albin, but I do trust you.”
He sighed, turning toward the SUV. “If I fail you, know that it will not be of my own volition. Defend yourself and your daughters. Do not rely on others.”
“I don’t, but we are part of a team now.” She smiled, laying her hand on his shoulder as they walked.
He signaled for the others to halt as he approached the vehicle. No trip wires glinted. No disturbances in the earth appeared other than light footprints leading from the SUV. The blue Jeep Renegade, an appropriate model for the maverick inventor, bore a keypad lock on the driver-side door.
Kenichi-san wanted him to solve the riddle—Wait, happy early birthday? “Very amusing,” Albin murmured. He typed in his date of birth. When he opened the door, he found the interior empty save for a cooler in the rear row of seats. Upon inspection, the box revealed bottles of water and Gatorade. How considerate.
On to the cargo hold. A cover concealed whatever lay beneath. Opening the hatch revealed four military-issue duffle bags.
“Well?” Behrmann demanded as she joined him.
In answer, he unzipped the nearest. Two AR-15-type carbines and two MP5s greeted him.
Behrmann opened another. “Ammunition.” She tapped the boxes inside her duffel bag.
The other packs contained body armor, black fatigues, radios, rope, handguns, and various items one would find in a bug-out bag or survival kit. A cardboard box of canned and dry goods occupied the corner of the cargo hold.
By this point, the others had joined them. “Wow!” Denver pushed in for a closer view.
Acting on reflex, Amanda pulled her back. “Don’t touch.”
Taylor stood on tiptoes to see over her mother’s shoulder. “Are you sure this is for us?”
“This is from Kenichi-san,” Albin reassured her with a slight smile. “Look.” He returned to the driver’s side, where he pulled the door open. On the ground, where BMWs normally projected their blue and silver logo, the familiar O-N-I letters appeared.
++++++++++++
June 6, 2016—
“What happened?” Flipping up the night-vision goggles, which resembled compact binoculars, Birk stared at the duo. Panic overwhelmed accusation in his expression. “Don’t tell me the cannibals are—”
“Loose in the stairs,” Sophia confirmed.
Tightening his grip on the carbine, Nathan put his shoulder against the wall beside the door. “I’m going in for the keys. Open it for me on three.”
“You’re nuts,” Birk laughed, incredulous. “It just took out a Soldier.”
“It ambushed a Soldier,” Sophia returned as she grabbed the door handle. “There’s a difference.”
“One, two, three!” Nathan bolted across the threshold. The door closed behind him.
Its pale face covered in the victim’s blood, the cannibal looked up into the flashlight beam. Its eyes shone white-green in the night-vision goggles.
Bang-bang!
The two rounds caught it in the skull, toppling it. As it fell, Nathan advanced. Hurry! More of the abominations could drop out of the upper flight at any moment. Keys, keys—there! He pulled them from the drop pouch on the thigh of the blood- and possibly cannibal-oil-covered victim. Kraus struggled, gurgling on his blood.
Nathan dashed out through the doorway. Sophia slammed it shut behind.
“Did you—”
The jingling keys held aloft silenced her and closed Birk’s mouth.
With a growl, the researcher shoved his hand through his hair. “Now what? Take the escalators and hope we don’t run into any cannibals waiting to ambush us? There’s no telling how many are loose. Damn these incompetent idiots for not using more guards!” At the last word, he kicked the door. “This is ridiculous. This whole plan—”
“Shut up,” Sophia and Nathan ordered.
The twit’s chest heaved as he glowered at them. “If you two have a brilliant solution, now’s the time to reveal it.”
“The other Soldier will be calling in reinforcements soon,” Nathan murmured.
“If he hasn’t radioed already,” Sophia agreed. “There are a few more guards around the perimeter, remember.”
“I’d rather not be about when a platoon arrives to detain and interrogate us.”
Sophia looked down the conc
ourse to the rear of the stadium. “We need a better view. We can use the Club booths. They’re like box seats. This way.”
As they backtracked to the escalator, starlight sparkled beyond the wall of windows on their left. The scant illumination made the world as bright as day in the night-vision. Bathrooms appeared at regular intervals off the concourse. Hopefully no monsters waited within. He’d had enough of hiding and fighting in bathrooms. Steel barriers blocked the tunnels into the stadium proper.
Birk spared a look over his shoulder. “You really could have done this on your own. One of you could pretend to be the scientist, since apparently all you have to do is throw on a white coat—”
Nathan cut him off: “After all you’ve done to fuck us over, it’s time you did something worthwhile. If we run into something unforeseen—”
“Like cannibals in the stairs?” the researcher hissed.
“Like something with the satellite signal transceivers,” Sophia interjected.
At the escalator, the trio jogged up, alert for ambush. An empty second level greeted them. It resembled the first floor with its bathrooms, concession stands, and entrances / exits.
The invaders made their way to the orange-walled United Club West entrance a short distance down the concourse. Hopefully the keys would get them through the glass doors.
A clatter further down the hall. An answering rattle from the level above—
Sssssaaaaaahhhh! From the current level, down the concourse.
Sssssaaaaaahhhh! Third level, getting closer.
Chapter 67
Co-Op
Heroes – Zayde Wolf
June 5, 2016—
“It’s like we’re spies!” Grinning, Denver opened the side door of the Jeep. Climbing in, she stared about, possibly expecting a button for afterburners or missiles.
“Well,” Bridges grunted, swinging into the row of seats ahead of her, “I don’t know about that, but at least you have a DVD player.”
“I suppose. I hope he’s got something good to watch.”
The vehicle also carried a GPS. While the others chose their seats in the rear, Behrmann claimed the front passenger seat.
After fastening his seatbelt and locking the doors, Albin powered on the GPS. According to the map, their destination lay in a neighborhood called Coyote Gulch, south of Fox Point, on the western outskirts of the city. They would require half an hour via CO-93 S to reach it.
“Do we go?” the reporter asked.
“What choice do we have?” He glanced at her as he turned the key.
They set off across the grey-brown plain, the mountains rising before them. A pensive silence hung over the travelers.
“I found a DVD!” Denver attempted to lighten the mood. “It doesn’t have a label on it. I hope it’s SpongeBob or Frozen.”
“Not Frozen,” Taylor snapped. “I’ll take that DVD and let it go out the window.”
Bridges looked over his shoulder. “Girls, sometimes it’s not wise to put in other people’s unlabeled DVDs. You never know—”
“Too late. Oh.” The younger sibling’s excitement dropped. “It looks like a commercial.”
Uplifting music played, then an explosion and a shattering, after which came electric-guitar riffs that Mr. Serebus would have enjoyed. “O-N-I,” the announcer declared. “Reality’s worst nightmare.”
“It is a stupid commercial,” Denver groaned. “Let me see what else there is.”
“Wait.” Albin raised his hand for her to wait. “If I know Kenichi-san, he left it here for a reason.”
The screeching guitars quieted to a bass thudding like the pulse of a heart. Then the inventor spoke: “Hello, loyal viewers. Thank you for joining me on your commute. I hope you enjoyed your stay at the ranch. Lexa wasn’t thrilled that you wandered off; you’re welcome for the chopper, by the way. She hasn’t realized I helped with that part. She also hasn’t realized I’m not the team player she thinks.” He snickered.
“But enough with the bragging. You’re in for a treat today. Please watch the following feature in its entirety as many times as you need. And believe me, you will need it.” The guitars raged once more.
Albin pulled off in the emergency lane. He exited, then climbed in beside the sisters. Onscreen, a map of Denver, Colorado, materialized.
“Look, it’s my city!” Denver crowed.
“This is your target,” Kenichi-san proclaimed. The video zoomed in on a stadium. The label Broncos Sports Authority Field hovered over it, along with the team mascot, a white stallion. “You won’t find any football teams here. Instead, you’ll find LOGOS’s team, the cannibals. LOGOS has a new game plan, and they’re about to test it with these all-stars. If they succeed, you’re probably all screwed.”
Albin crossed his arms as he glared at the screen. Around him, the others exchanged looks of dread and disquiet.
“I don’t think I like this video,” Denver murmured.
Taylor shook her head. “I don’t like this world.”
“Me either, Ms. Taylor, me either.” But what choice did he have but to forge ahead? The world’s fate might depend on him. More importantly, Mr. Serebus’s fate might hinge on the attorney’s actions.
++++++++++++
June 6, 2016—
Nathan skidded to a halt at the doors. Please let the keys work!
“Hurry up!” Birk urged, voice low.
“Obviously.”
“Is there something on the escalator down the hall? I think I see something.”
Key in the lock. Nathan glanced back while pressuring the handle and key. Four figures crept down the steps, each moving with the stealth and purpose of a big cat.
Sssssaaaaaahhhh.
Pistol up, Sophia waited as rear guard.
Come on, come on! “Yes!”
Birk shoved past Nathan as they ducked through the Club entrance. Sophia followed, sideways, sights on the enemies. The second she crossed the threshold, Nathan and Birk threw their shoulders against the door. Relock. At the click, the three interlopers let out a sigh. Sweat trickled down Nathan’s neck.
“All right,” Sophia breathed, “let’s go.”
In the Club area, the hall teed, wrapping around the stadium to give access to the booths. Nathan moved to the nearest door. No trouble from the keys this time.
Carbine ready, advance into the box seats. No life, healthy or infected, greeted him. Instead, a floor-to-ceiling window overlooked the field. It stretched the length of the suite, at least fifteen yards. The seats ran in sections down the inclined floor, copying the layout of those outside, except carpet rather than anti-slip steel covered the floor.
With measured tread, Nathan made his way toward the window. The site ahead dominated every shred of his consciousness. The dark stadium shifted and heaved like a restless sea at night. Or like ants swarming from a hill when an anteater breaks through. The Dalits filled the stands and field to capacity. If the occupants had paid, Sports Authority Field would have broken a profit record. But rather than cash, they left black oil teaming with contagion.
++++++++++++
June 5, 2016—
Albin pulled into the driveway of a middle-class house in Coyote Gulch. Manicured gardens fronted homes with two-car garages. Trees dotted the neighborhood.
Using his birth date as the code for the keypad, Albin led the way into the domicile. Modern but minimalistic décor gave the interior the feel of a home staged for selling, or of a HomeAway rental ready for guests.
The group made themselves at home by choosing sleeping quarters. The Musters selected one of the bedrooms, Bridges claimed the recliner, and Behrmann took the couch, despite Albin’s attempt to grant her the second bedroom. She then attempted to make inroads in discovering if his plan differed from Kenichi-san’s, but he excused himself to view the mission’s DVD once more.
On the video, Kenichi-san detailed LOGOS’s plan for the cannibals in the stadium. The organization w
ould execute a test of new technology on the next evening. This left a little over thirty hours to prepare. If he failed, LOGOS would gain a possibly insurmountable advantage.
After taking the SUV for a drive to familiarize himself with the area around the Broncos stadium, Albin returned to the house that evening. He dined with his comrades, then retired to his room.
Hands behind his back, he stood gazing out the window at the dark back garden. His mind burrowed under the cool sand of numbness like a viper in the desert. Losing sleep running the same scenarios through his mental eye would only harm him.
A knock came at the door.
“Enter.”
Amanda stepped inside. “Albin? Are you all right? I thought you’d be asleep. The security system means we don’t have to stand guard.”
“I shall retire soon. I was merely contemplating the plan Kenichi-san outlined.”
“He made it seem simple, but I don’t know if getting into the arena when it’s holding that many of the affected is going to be easy. Or wise.”
“Simple and easy are two very different qualities. The rules of chess are simple, but the game is certainly not easy.”
“I suppose you are sort of playing chess,” she decided as she came to his side, well into his personal space radius. He shifted in her direction, narrowing the gap between them by a few centimeters.
“You needn’t worry for me. I would rather die attempting to fulfill my responsibilities than live a haunted life as a failure.”
“Would that everyone could have a friend as loyal as you.” She offered him a smile.
Albin attempted to return it but fell short, ending in a partial wince. “We shall see.”
“I really did admire Nathan’s leadership. I thought he was a good person and I could count on him. But I seem to have poor taste in men.” She gave a bitter laugh. “My ex probably thinks he has poor taste in women, or that I’m too headstrong for anyone.”
“If you are correct, then he is a fool.” As he spoke, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Curse his injuries, which limited his ability to defend his companions and complete his duty. His throat tightened. He could not protect these people even if he possessed his full strength. But he could give them a fighting chance.
