“Shit,” he whispered, rotating around the tree. He heard the truck’s transmission whine as it was thrown into drive.
“Mike!” Vala yelled, probing for a shot, but she was well out of range. She darted toward them as Michael dropped from the tree and scrambled toward the truck as it stalled, spinning tires in the morning dew.
“Come on!” the driver yelled cutting the wheel back and forth. He glanced up in the mirror as Michael charged toward him. “Go!” It caught traction and took off with Michael hurdling logs and ditches close behind. The truck was approaching the open field at full throttle, bouncing wildly as the driver bobbed around in the cab.
Michael approached near fifty miles an hour, closing in within twenty feet, but the truck was gaining speed on the open terrain, slowly pulling away. With every cybernetic ounce of power, he lunged forward, igniting his plasma blade in midair, swiping low at the vehicle’s rear tire. A loud popping noise erupted, followed by the squeaking of the rear shocks absorbing the truck’s weight as it bottomed out.
Michael rolled in the dirt several times, but bounced upright, staring at the truck as it spun completely around and stopped. Its harsh headlamps were beaming at Michael only twenty feet away. A cloud of dust drifted between them, Michael pointed his plasma saber at him. “Hands up and out of the vehicle, now!” he ordered.
The door opened as a young man climbed out with his raised arms in the air.
“Slowly!” Vala yelled from far behind Michael, her gun trained on the young man as she moved forward. The driver shook his head and stepped away from the vehicle. “Can’t believe this.”
“Knees,” Michael said. The merc dropped to his knees, placing his hands behind his head. He glared at Michael squinting, his mouth slowly opening.
The young merc appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with fair skin and reddish hair. He wasn’t a stranger to the weight room and had a squared face with a few dozen freckles around his nose and blue eyes. Despite his recently acquired manly features, he still had a baby face.
“You called it in?” Michael asked.
“What?” the merc asked.
“For support. Did you call for additional support?” Michael asked.
“N-no, I was waiting for them,” he said with a faint British accent.
“Good, but I hope that’s not a lie, for your sake. You’re really new at this, aren’t you?” Michael asked.
“Y-yes. How did you know?”
“It’s all over your face, deer in the headlights.”
“This was only my third mission, so no, I don’t know anything either,” he said.
“Hmm. What’s your job?” Michael asked.
“Driver, of course. They hired me because I was a hit driver in London for three years,” he explained.
Michael glanced back at the forest. “Three years? You shoulda never parked so deep in the forest. Rookie mistake.”
“Not many forests in London, nor anywhere in England, for that matter.” He shifted his eyes away as Michael stared at him.
“We got ourselves a wise ass, huh?” Vala approached, glancing at the merc.
“Seems so.”
“Did you fall, Mike?” She snickered. Michael continued watching the merc.
“No, I did not fall. I rolled,” Michael snapped at her.
“So, you fell on purpose?” She smirked. Vala narrowed her eyes at the vehicle, glancing inside the cab while aiming her gun at the merc. “You got any weapons on you?” she asked.
“Noo-pe,” he said.
She paused, glancing over at him. “What about in the truck?”
“Noo-pe.” He repeated. Vala shook her head at his response.
“I’m gonna search you. If you do stupid shit, you’ll take a dirt nap,” she said, patting him down with her free hand. Michael searched the vehicle, rummaging through cases of ammo, beer bottles, and MREs.
“See any weapons?” she asked.
“Noo-pe,” Michael replied, immediately covering his mouth.
“Stop. You knew he was annoying me with that shit and you join in?” she asked. Michael rose, staring at her. He flashed a Zip-Tie. “Look what I found.”
“Fine. Tie him up, funny guy.” She glared at him, her eyes displaying a hint of red in the pupils. Michael likely knew it was time to chill with the jokes. He’d been through so much over the years that laughter was sometimes his only medicine.
He needed something to lighten him up from time to time. Michael’s face didn’t display as many hints of emotion with his lower jaw replaced by a mechanized one, not to mention his eyes had no pupils. Vala relied on his body language and tone more than anything.
“So, you mean to tell me that after all that gunfire, yelling, then no communication from your allies for several long minutes, you still didn’t call in for support?” Michael grilled him.
“Again, no. My commander ordered me to stay put. He said he had a plan to lure you both into a trap. He mentioned you would be severely wounded or killed, enough to recover your body.”
Michael sighed. “Hmm. Well, I hate to tell you, but your commander was wrong… Wait.”
“What?” Vala stopped.
“The noise, what’s that?” Michael detected a strange sound within the truck, a clicking. “Shhhh.”
“Vala get—” She threw herself away from the truck as it exploded into a fiery blaze, hurling the merc’s scorched body sailing over Michael’s head.
“Mike?” Vala asked, peering through the flames toward him. He rolled in the dirt, putting out the fire on his jacket. Vala stood, backing away from the burning wreckage with her hand in front of her face.
“I’m fine! You? Any injuries?” He sprung up to his feet and hurried to Vala.
“Y-yeah. Good. What the hell?” she replied, glaring at the young merc’s burning corpse. Michael ushered her away from the debris back to their SUV with his arm around her, checking her for wounds. “He knew we’d come back to the truck, it was bait,” Michael said.
“Should have known. Ah, Marcos,” she said, glaring back toward the cave.
“We should get moving. Let’s just assume there is backup coming. He wouldn’t have known about it, anyway. Sounds like he didn’t know much about anything,” Michael said.
“Poor fella. He took the wrong gig,” Vala said.
They returned to the SUV parked in front of the house. Michael put his arm around Vala, pulling her in tightly to him. He pressed his head against hers. “You know, if you would have told me in my twenties that our thirties would be like this, I might not believe it.”
“Really? Such a mundane existence. You expected something more, exciting, right?” She smirked.
“Yeah.” Michael shook his head and opened the back door for Vala. “I’ll drive for a little bit,” he said, staring at her before she got in. He flashed one eye at her, brightening it over the other. It wasn’t exactly a wink, but it was the best he had.
She leaned in and kissed him on his chin. He closed his mouth, careful that his razor-sharp fangs didn’t snag her lip. He slumped his head, incapable of returning any of the affection. He panned away from her briefly.
“What?” she whispered.
“Just, you know,” he replied. She nodded slowly.
He put his arms around her, putting his forehead against hers for a moment. He squeezed her tightly as the wind whipped around them, howling through the forest and the abandoned house before them.
It would have been an eerie scene for most, but they were the monsters.
“Any guess about what Marcos said? You really believe it?” she asked.
“If I had to guess, I’d say he’s telling the truth. Somehow, this is tied in with what Keith called about, that artifact, but we’re being pulled from both directions, which makes me suspicious.”
“Why?”
“Keith said Lucas wanted you to steal that artifact. That splits us up as a team. That’s exactly what I would do because we’re too powerful together. Do you know how many
we’ve killed now?” Michael asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I’d say fifty, maybe sixty.”
“Seventy-six.”
“Uh, I try not to think about it, Mike,” Vala replied.
“Me too, but we’re killing droves of hired guns on both sides. Think about it, even in the beginning, they were probably sending top-notch talent, so that’s a lot of mercs. Now they’re sending Cilans. Maybe the only way to get to me is through you, split us up.”
“Wait. You’re saying Lucas and Keith are in on it? That’s why they want me to go on that mission to split us up?” Vala said.
“I highly doubt Keith is, but at this point, all we can do is trust each other,” he said. Michael glared over his shoulder, staring at the house. “Hey.” Michael nodded. There was a teenage girl standing in the door with long unkempt hair.
“What the?” Vala mumbled.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, hello there.” Vala waved. The girl didn’t reply. Her skin was so pale it appeared unhealthy. She was awkwardly tall and thin, looked around fourteen, possibly a recent victim of an adolescent growth spurt. She wore an old and faded baby-blue dress with shoulder straps with no shoes and a silver tiara on her head.
“Another Cilan trick,” Michael growled.
“Nope, not this one, her bone structure is too underdeveloped. The procedure would kill a child or elderly person.”
The girl slowly strolled out toward them, then began skipping about like a small girl, humming a tune.
“Careful,” Michael warned, flashing his glowing green eyes. The girl stopped in place.
“It’s concerning to me that you’re indifferent to my appearance,” he said.
“Mike, stop,” Vala whispered.
“What?” he asked.
“Do you live here?” Vala asked.
The girl glanced over her shoulder. “Yep.”
“Where are your parents?” Vala quickly followed up. The girl shot them a grim glare, then dropped her head. “Gone.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. And I’m sorry we bothered you,” Vala said.
“I watched it all.” Her voice sounded like a seven-year-old versus a teenager.
“Um, what?” Vala asked.
“I watched you both. You killed those men. I saw it from my room,” she said.
“You didn’t see her in there?” Michael whispered.
“No, Mike, I was distracted.” Vala looked back at the girl. “Sweetheart, we apologize that you had to see that.”
“They shot at you first though,” the girl said.
“Yes,” Vala replied.
“It’s okay to fight back, that’s what my dad taught me,” she said.
“Vala. We have to go. Assuming that Cilan was lying and they called for backup, our presence will endanger this girl,” he said.
“If that’s true, then she’s already in danger,” she replied.
Vala raised her eyebrows. “What’s your name?”
“Iris. My father named me,” she said.
“I like that. I’m Vala and this is Michael.”
Vala gazed at the wreath of flowers in front of the house. “Why don’t you come with us, at least ride with us a few exits just to get you away from here,” Vala suggested.
Michael snapped his head over at Vala.
“But I don’t know you,” she replied.
“Those men, it’s possible they’ll send more. Why don’t you let us get you a hotel for a few days until things blow over?” Vala asked. Iris glanced back at the house and gave it a good once-over, then looked out in the forest where Michael and Vala had slain the mercenaries.
“So many have died out here.” Iris gazed out into the distance.
Vala studied her for a moment. “Why?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Iris dropped her head.
“Ok. This is only for a few days until things smooth over. I’m guessing you could come back after a little while,” Vala comforted.
Iris nodded her head in agreement, tiptoeing toward their SUV.
“No one else is in the house, right?” Vala asked.
Iris shook her head as Vala opened the back door. The girl ducked to pass by them. Vala could smell her strong body odor as she closed the door.
Michael pointed at her. “You know better,” he whispered.
“We brought this on her, the least we can do is get her away from here,” she said.
“You didn’t know she was in that house, neither will they,” he said.
“I was preoccupied with a Cilan,” she said.
“Story of my life,” he said.
Vala put her hands on her hips. “Really? Look, I would have found her inside if I was looking,” she said. Michael got inside the driver’s seat and rolled down the windows as Vala flopped into the backseat.
Michael spun around and stared at her. “I don’t frighten you in the slightest, do I?”
Iris shook her head. “Nothing does, not anymore,” she uttered in an eerie, childlike voice. Michael paused, then turned around, throwing the SUV in gear before speeding off through the field. He merged on the freeway, donning his hooded jacket for concealment.
“Watch your speed, Mike,” Vala said.
“Got it.”
The partial nuclear fallout after the Star Rust war had produced some bizarre circumstances, and this appeared to be just another example. Whoever the girl was, her isolation would have been an anomaly in the world before the war, but not now. It was never quite the apocalypse modern fiction portrayed, but many state governments were forced to cut key funding such as child protective services.
“Who put those flowers up, the ones in front of your house?” Vala asked. Iris glared at the floorboard. “My aunt Mill. She thinks we’re all dead.”
“Oh.”
“She comes over every Sunday. I hear her crying for my sister and brother, and my mom, but I never say anything, and she doesn’t come inside.”
“Too painful perhaps. You said she cries for your family, but not you?” Vala asked. Michael’s eyes bounced from the road ahead into the rearview mirror.
“She never talks about me,” Iris replied.
“This Aunt, Aunt Mill, where does she live?” Vala asked. The girl shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve only been there once, but I was too little.” She furrowed her eyebrows.
“Okay, not a problem, I was just curious,” Vala said.
They proceeded down the freeway for a mile without a word until Iris spoke up. “I know you want to ask,” she said.
“Um, what was that?” Vala squinted.
“Why I’m alone,” she replied.
“The thought crossed my mind, yes.”
“Those glasses everyone wears, augmented reality, my mom started using them after the bombs were shot down. On the news, they told everyone to stay indoors because of the radiation. Mom started using the glasses with all the free time.”
“Unfortunately, this happened to many families. People did that to escape it all. Many couldn’t go outside so a lot more people turned to an alternate reality once that happened,” Vala said.
“Yes. At first, she just did VR modules, the ones where she was walking around outside in beautiful, clean air, then she started experimenting. Everything seemed to fall apart then. My brother was the first to die. He had the flu and Mom said we couldn’t take him to the hospital because they would steal our blood. She said they were all vampires. I did my best to take care of him, but I couldn’t do much,” Iris explained. Michael and Vala met eyes for a moment.
“Vampires. Oh, okay. Iris, your mom, the extended use of the device tricked her mind into believing those things. We’ve dealt with it in our family as well. Michael’s father got sick from that, right Mike?” Vala asked.
“Yeah,” Michael mumbled.
“After my brother passed, my sister died, she got radiation poisoning when she tried to escape into the woods. An old man came to our house in the m
iddle of the night and said he found the body, but Mom… I don’t know, she didn’t seem bothered by it. The man left my sister’s body wrapped in a thick cloth for us, but Mom just left her, leaving me to bury her. I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Iris said, tapping her foot.
“Oh no, Iris, that’s just horrible. I’m terribly s-sorry to hear that. Those devices cause people to do things they would never normally do. That wasn’t your mom in her right mind,” Vala said, attempting to suppress her trembling bottom lip.
“Well, not even a full year later, I would bury my mom, as well.” Iris gazed forward at nothing.
“That’s, so much pain,” Vala said, extending her hand toward Iris’ shoulder, but the girl moved away.
“Sorry,” Vala said. Iris paused, staring out the window.
“Mom went to sleep and never woke up. I found her like that,” Iris said. Vala gritted her teeth as her eyes turned red. She peered away from Iris.
“T-that’s quite a lot to deal with, Iris, and it’s remarkable you went through that. Now look at you, you’ve survived all on your own out here,” Vala said as Iris stared a million miles away.
“I’ve been using my dad’s storage, a lot of canned goods he’d been saving for years,” she said.
“In the basement?” Vala asked.
“No. There’s a cave, a little way from my house. My father built it. It’s like a—”
“A tunnel?” Vala said.
“Yes, you saw it?” Iris asked.
Vala nodded. “Yep.”
“My dad built it back when there were rumors about the war, after the spaceship crash.”
“Huh? Wow, for like a bunker maybe?”
“Sort of. One of the pieces crashed close to here. I don’t know how far away it was, but my dad and Uncle found it and hid it deep inside that tunnel they made.”
“What did they find?” Vala asked.
“Uh, I’d rather not tell you. Not yet,” she said.
“Oh. Well, I can respect that, I was just curious,” Vala said.
“Some men came, way before the ones you killed. They asked my father about the piece of space metal. Shortly after, he and my uncle disappeared,” she said, twiddling her thumbs.
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