I heard the crackling before I smelled it. Acrid, bitter smoke. Burning techskin. Someone got a scorched ass on the way through. Fair enough, it wasn’t uncommon. Luckily enough, I timed my jump perfectly. I only burned my boot heels. Better than a toasty butt.
Crack! The final burst of energy flashed like sheet lightning, and a large smouldering man, and I mean actually smoking, staggered away from the wall. He promptly stopped in his tracks, and keeled over like a felled tree. Thump! I belly-crawled over to him through the grass. He seemed conscious and not particularly happy about it. Jabbing him in the arm with the butt of my knife made him jerk upward.
“You ok buddy?”
He lifted his head from the ground, stubble caked in dirt and pebbles. “Bit warm.”
I smirked. “It burns like a bitch, I know. But you’re out so we can get you cleaned up soon.”
“It feels like someone set my arse on fire,” he said with a grunt. I looked him over, and saw a bare buttock peeking out from the roasted techskin pants.
“The wall set your glorious ass on fire, yes. It’s not happy with our methods. But we gotta move before the drones come investigate.”
We could already hear the low rumble of them in the distance, being dispatched from a central tower in the city.
With a yank on the arm I pulled him upright. “We got about 30 seconds before they’re in sight range. On your feet soldier!”
Tapping my comm button I called in the signal. “Red Rock One, come in. I’ve got him, meet us at the usual spot. ETA 2 minutes.”
“Received. We’re already in place.”
Startled by the voice that replied, I paused. It wasn’t ‘Candlestick’ Rachel, but Markin. Didn’t know he was coming along, but as long as they were in the spot, no big deal.
I pointed to a large group of rocks, shaped like daggers. The others would be behind guarding the tunnels.
“The sharp rocks, they’re the Blades. Go there. Run as fast as you can. Follow me.” Taking off in a full sprint toward them, I heard him grunt and pull himself up after me, feet pounding the ground. Crashing through the dry bracken I ignored the branches threatening to tear my skin.
“Aaaah shite!”he growled behind me. The air smelled of blood, metal and smoke.
“Come on! You can’t slow down!” I replied as I hastened my pace more. The drones were closer now, I could hear the deep rumble of their engines. We were nearly in sight range. We crashed through the vegetation, slashing through the branches with my knife.
“Fuck!”
I turned around just in time to see my new friend go flying over a low hanging branch I’d jumped over. Thud! He landed face first, hands outstretched but too late in breaking his fall.
“Hey man, get up!”Grabbing his torn short, I yanked him up again. Aiming for standing but I only got him to a half crouching slump. Eyes were unfocused and dazed. A thousand yard stare of creeping shock.
My armoured glove left a thin trail of blood across his face as I backhanded him. Still, he stared at the air. Time for more desperate measures. Slap! Slap! Slap! I had to get him going even if he was running to kill me. Either way, those drones would do it first unless we frickin’ moved!
We were in a dense forest. The drones couldn’t see us but they knew we were here, I could see the spotlights filtering through. The buzzing, roaring noise, I hated it. That low thrum like an ancient predator salivating as they hovered over the tree tops, stalking us. They could most definitely sense life in here. Armour cancelled out most of my body heat, but my friend here, he was a great big hotspot to them. I grabbed the front of his shirt and gave him a good shake.
“Snap out of it sweetie, I would prefer not being drone jam!” I sighed with relief as he lifted his head to look me in the eye.
“Kharl,” he said, spitting a glob of blood on the dirt. “Call me Kharl. Not sweetie.” He stood up properly. “Over there?” he said, pointing at the Blades. I nodded.
“Thanks, um…what’s yer name hon?” he said. He swept his eyes up and down my body, looking for clues.
I pointed to the side of my helmet, turning my head to show him the painted title.
“Psycho? Ah, very er, ladylike.”
Kharl peered up through the trees, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation.
“Those things armed?”
I laughed. “Oh yes, like a hovering tank. Now come on, break time’s over. I’m not stopping again.”
Kharl dusted himself off and peered at his bloodied leg. “Alright. Right behind ya.”
We set off sprinting through the trees again. I could hear the roar of the drones above us, they were following close. Nothing I could do about that, shooting them would just give them a target to back trace. It was pitch dark in here, the only light we had shone from my helmet’s visor light. Enough to barely see my dirty boots in front of me, but not enough to show on a heat sensor. They were getting close enough to start calling our neurochips. Mine was deactivated and a non-issue, Kharl’s would be damaged from the wall jump but I didn’t know if it worked still, or to what extent.
“Argh. Get out of my fucking head!”
I looked back to see him still behind me, whipping his head about like a dog shaking off water. His chip still blasted him with internal audio, but the callback code didn’t work. It couldn’t force him to run back like a lemming, lucky for us. Still wasn’t an enjoyable experience for anyone.
Spying the Blades on my visor map only 45m away, I increased the pace. The most dangerous part was approaching, because between the rocks and the forest was a clearing we had to sprint through, no cover. Picked up my pace and hoped Kharl kept up.
The noise from the drones was now a thunderous roar, and threaded with a high pitched whining. My least favourite sound in the world. That meant the weapons were powering up.
“We have to get across here as quick as possible! Stopping means you’re dead! Dead! I will not come back for you if you fall!”
His eyes widened and he nodded. “I don’t expect you would get killed for the sake of me girl!”
“I prefer my body in the current configuration, rather than splattered across the Blades! Now run!”
We had reached the tree line. The drones had spotted us and emitted a piercing siren. My comms were going crazy. Markin’s voice yelling at me through the comms. “Run. Run! We’ve got you covered, just frickin run like a dog!”
A blinding blue spotlight seared my eyes. Took a deep breath and ran the fastest I have ever moved in my short life. My shadow loomed large in front of me as the drone spotlight chased at my back. Lungs burning from the forest sprint, now they felt ready to burst. Breathe, remember to breathe. Don’t hold your breath. Don’t stop, can’t stop, you’ll die! One foot after the other, that’s it. I could see Markin peeking out from around a large boulder, his lazen gun flush against his shoulder. Looking me right in the eye, he turned back to fire a glancing shot at the drone behind me. It caused the bot to swerve and miss me by a good few metres. I’d breathe a sigh of relief if it didn’t feel like swallowing razors. Kharl grunted as another shot barely missed him, despite his injuries he was dodging quite well.
Within reach of the mountain now, the path was clear. I took a running leap over a boulder, crashing into Markin and knocking him flat on his back. I’d ended up sitting on his chest. I had no time to remedy this awkward issue before the next one arrived.
“Comin’ through!”
Kharl jumped right over the boulder, head butting me in the back. Great, now we were a damn human sandwich. Markin groaned at the extra weight. Kharl was not a dainty man. Markin flailed his arms and Kharl stumbled to his feel next to the overhanging cliff. I stood up and Markin followed, pointing down the tunnel between the rocks. He turned to Kharl, extending a hand.
“My name is Markin. I keep things somewhat organized around here. What’s your name mate?”
Kharl grabbed his hand with a meaty paw. “Kharl. Good shootin’ back there.”
Mar
kin inclined his head, bowing. He then turned on his heel and marched silently down the tunnel. Kharl turned to me with a smirk.
“Not a talker, eh? Bit weird.”
I laughed. “You have no idea man. No idea.”
“Hey, Markin.”
“Yes?” I replied, standing up as Psycho entered my room.
“I gave Kharl a bed in the hospital room. His leg is cut up pretty bad, gonna keep an eye on him for a few days.”
“Understood.”
She paused at the door, waiting. Fingers intertwined through her hair. An anxious habit. Wanting some sort of praise perhaps. There was no need to reward her for doing what was expected. But even so, she was a useful agent. Not like the other girls. Psycho was a different creature.
“Good job today. That could have ended badly, but you pulled it off. Well done Outsider.”
Turning on a booted heel, she bowed her head. “Thank you sir.”
She left the room, head held a bit higher than before. Good enough for now.
People were so docile now, even the feisty ones. These third gens were so complacent in authority. It wasn’t hard to pick around the edges of the veneer though. The security the Akhataree promised? Lies. They’re molding you into slaves. Only the barest of proof was needed to arouse the natural human need to rebel. Our rallies helped the cause.
“I ask you this, young citizen. If you are so free, then why can’t we leave the city walls;
If we’re so equal, why do they build drones to watch us?”
Worked every time. Thousands of dead drop holo-capsules all over Opalesk City. Squirrelled away in corners, crevices and out of the way places. The power cycle flaw was one of my more genius ideas before I left. Nobody bothered to look at the software anymore, it worked fine. Citizens didn’t care about their gilded cage. Fed, clothed, entertained. Why would you want to leave? Why indeed. To have a choice in the matter? To find out what’s really going on? Suspicious, how one day we’re at war, and the next day everything is dandy.
I opened up a ghosted connection to Visnet, reading over familiar historical accounts of the war with a wry scowl. That last day. We knew that everyone was doomed. So what happened? I’m pretty sure Valerius knew more than he let on. He never took my questions seriously, dismissing me as a paranoid dissenter. Alere had looked down on me with pity.
“The Akhataree came to help us. Their motives are pure, they think we deserve a second chance.”
“Nobody just helps someone without expecting a favour at some point, Valerius,” I replied.
That was the last I saw of him before I left Opalesk. Knowing what was going on between him and my Serena. Didn’t care, it’s not like we married for love. Marriages of convenience are useless once they cease to be convenient. In my case, it had. She served her purpose. Just like this little girl, Psycho. A somewhat tragic name given her circumstances.
Her real name was Lilith. True to her name, she had refused to back down and it got her in trouble. This had become a strong personality trait and it worked well for the Outsiders missions. Her refusal to fail got things done.
The day I found her I will remember forever. Scared, little child covered in blood, huddled in a drone crate. Shivering, and bug eyed. So dazed she could barely spit out her name. Pulled her out of the crate with some difficulty. Lilith had wailed and screamed like a wild animal terrified of the hunter’s dogs. Once I had her in my arms she clutched her twiggy arms around my neck tight and refused to let go. I hugged her right back, hard as I could without crushing her. Nobody seemed to know where she was from and no parent came forth to claim her. I was loathe to give her up to the orphan system. But I’d never had a child of my own. Now I had a little girl to take care of. Albeit a damaged one. Lilith was mine now.
After a few days, she became less wary of me. Hovering over my shoulder and peering at the drones I worked on.
“Markin, wassat?”
“A helicopter drone,” I replied, setting down my multi-tool.
“Wassa drone?”
“It flies over the city and watches things. Watches people.”
“Why?”
“Because the people in charge said so.”
Lilith cocked her head at me, making her shaggy white hair bounce. Creeping closer to the drone, she bent over it and examined it closer.
“Is alive?”
“No child, it’s not alive. It’s a droid like the ones in town.”
The girl shook her small head so fast I thought it might break off. “No no no no! Mean droid. Bad droid!”
The hair on my neck stood up. I tried to pull her toward me, grasping one chubby arm. She jumped back and ran into the other room. I stood up to hear the door slam behind her. At least she’d talked to me. Now I knew she hated droids.
We would all learn why, later. It came out messy and tragic, something I’ll regret for a long time. I should have talked to her about it, but instead it was tucked away.
Lilith soon grew into a whip-smart young woman who spent most of her waking hours tinkering with drones and guns. Didn’t like the other kids much, not that there were many around. Being a loner was fine with her. Earned her unfortunate nickname at the expense of someone else. At the tender age of 19.
One day someone found a scrapped labour droid dumped outside the city walls. They’d hauled it back here to camp with intents of salvaging it I suppose. A few days later our local engineers had it up and stomping around. The problem was a lack of brainpower, being that it lacked a proper android brain set. I’d warned against playing with them like this, didn’t approve of them screwing with advanced technology.
Lilith was up on her usual work platform in the corner, tinkering away at a new design of lazen gun. Amazed at her proficiency with weapons systems, I allowed her to experiment as much as she liked. The other kids didn’t like that overmuch. Saw it as me playing favourites. Lilith was mine, she’d always be my favourite. I lost hours watching her work.
So there she was sitting in near darkness, utterly focused on her work. Unaware that these idiot boys had set their pet android charging in her direction. All of a sudden I hear an piercing scream. Charged outside to the warehouse floor to see the droid pounding fists into her work platform.Two teenage boys laughing at her and mocking her tears. Destroying the precious experiment she was working on. Lilith wasn’t screaming out of fear though, it was pure unbridled rage. Face was white as a sheet and her small fists clenched into iron. Smack! The droid’s head went soaring across the room. The force of it sent her boot flying, making the boys laugh even harder. I saw the broken head roll to a stop in front of the boy’s feet. The were too busy crying with laughter to notice Lilith sprinting toward them with a long shard of the broken gun in her hands.
“They killed my family!”
Too slow to stop her. “Lilith stop!”
She ignored me and slid the knife sharp metal straight through the first boy’s chest cavity. Lilith pulled it out like it was butter. Faster than I could see, she whirled around to slice the throat of the second. They fell to the floor, gurgling and wheezing a chilling death rattle. My little girl was covered in blood again. Screaming the same words I heard on the day I found her, over and over.
“They killed my family!”
Lilith stared at me and the lazen shard clattered to the concrete floor. I caught her as she collapsed with a guttural moan of pain.
“I’m sorry Markin. So sorry.”
“It’s ok. It’s ok. Just breathe love, breathe.”
We hugged tight. She was slick with blood, and a familiar sick feeling rose in my stomach. Others had come to the sound of the screaming. A dozen Outsiders stood around the door, staring at the bloody mess. The boys were orphans and not well liked, but I knew nobody would ever treat Lilith the same. Already seen as a freak, that one that sits in the corner by herself. The girl that plays with guns like toys and never speaks to anyone but me. It took all I had to let Lilith go and turn to face them. Blood soaked from head to toe.
My sweet girl settled into a sobbing heap on the floor.
“A tragic accident. Please return to your stations while I deal with this unfortunate event.”
People began to whisper and point at the slashed and broken bodies.
“She murdered them! I told you that girl would be trouble!”
“Sits in the dark plotting with those weapons!”
“Freak!”
“Psycho!”
“Yeah, she’s a damn psycho. Coldblooded Psycho! Psycho!”
My fists balled up as I moved myself in front of Lilith in case someone got a stupid idea.
“I command you to return to your stations. Now.”
Staring down the crowd I dared them to touch me. Dared them to try something. Nobody took me up on it and I’d built one hell of a reputation. Laws didn’t exist around here, I was the closest thing to police. A few filed out and then the rest. The last couple gave me a dirty look but stomped back to their quarters. Breathing a sigh of relief I locked the door behind them. I got on my knees and gathered Lilith into my arms, brushing bloodsoaked hair from her face. She immediately burrowed her face into my shoulder just like the day we met. I kissed her head and held her until she ceased to sob.
“You’re safe with me.” She looked up at me with wet eyes. I smiled. “There’s my beautiful girl.”
I carried her to our bunker. Ours was away from the rest of the camp, behind the warehouse. Lilith had her arms wrapped around my neck. The cold night air washed across the blood on my skin. Dried the blood on her face. In the moonlight she stared up at the sky with her head hanging back, stars reflected in hollow eyes. My little girl had grown into a broken woman, mind shattered yet somehow hanging together by a thread until now. Lean and angular, the childlike softness had melted off her in recent years. Pushing the door open, I took her to the bathroom and deposited her down gently. Lilith gazed at the floor.
“It’s ok, really,” I said. “We all screw up. Clean yourself off.” I shut the door behind me. Moving to the kitchen I began to make dinner and I soon heard the shower pod turn on. By the time she emerged wrapped in a towel, I had prepared some decent food. We didn’t have the luxury of Replicon machines out here so the art of cooking was important. Gesturing to the simple food on the table, I walked into the bathroom. Stripping off my splattered clothing, I stepped into the shower. A quick rinse off, as I wanted to keep an eye on Lilith in her unstable state. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I exited the bathroom to see that Lilith had changed into a worn nightshirt. Staring at the empty plate, pushing a last morsel around with her knife. The light behind her showed a faint outline of the lithe body underneath. Clenched my jaw I strode quickly into my room. Tossing through my drawers found me a pair of boxers and I slipped them on. Turning to the bed I stared at the bare walls, running fingers through my wet hair. I sat down on the bed’s edge and laid back to close my eyes for a moment. Recalling the two dead bodies in the warehouse, I sighed. The building was digitally locked and closed to anyone but me. To be dealt with in the morning.
Torchworld: Outsiders Collection Page 2
