Prometheus, A New Dawn

by Nicole MacDonald

  SCREECH!

  The shriek of metal grinding against metal caused Ally to jerk back into a protective stance, eyesight sharpening in readiness.

  The screeching protest of sound continued along with another sound, water. Ally realized those on the other side of the door were having to keep a constant flow of water to cool the blade to stop it from breaking. Wincing at the awful sound, Ally made herself get closer, narrowing down where they worked at. It sounded like they were trying the very center of the door. Listening carefully she very gently tapped the door, flinching as she did. The screech continued, her tap going unnoticed by them but telling her enough. They’d barely made a nick in it yet. The sound difference was so slight.

  Stepping away from the door, she took a breath and rolled her shoulders, thinking through her options.

  At the rate the raiders cut they’d take a day to cut through. All she had to do then was pry Eoin away from the lab, and they’d have the best possible head start. The other door concerned her, but the heavy growth around it had shown it was almost invisible. As long as they stayed focused on the door here, then Ally had the perfect getaway route.

  Just need a vehicle, she thought and broke into a run, darting back along the tunnel till she thought she’d reached the spot. Waving her hands near the wall of the tunnel, she made a noise of satisfaction at the sudden glowing appearance of the remote. Hand on it, the doors slid open, lights flicking on revealing the three vehicles inside. Stepping into the room Ally said, ‘Mechanic! We require terrain vehicle three, instruct me on how to ready it!’

  The bio printer hummed then uttered a short treble note before the sound of something glass-like dropped into the hatch. Eoin stared at the clear tube of liquid sitting beneath the clear flap. It felt then like the absolute worst idea in the history of bad ideas. Attempting to re-create something that had taken what he could only guess would have been decades, perhaps even a century’s worth of work, in just a few days with no time whatsoever to allow for stringent testing.

  Time felt slow and fast as he stared at that tube and its innocuous looking liquid, thoughts fighting to be heard in the chaos of his mind.

  If he’d got anything wrong, if any of the genetic instructions created a different result to his predicted outcome the results could, in fact likely would, be fatal.

  Slowly he reached down and lifted the flap then gently removed the tube. The instant its weight left the hatch a drawer slid open beside Eoin. Nestled inside its form fitting foam cut-out lay a hydro-spray gun. Lifting the device out, he slotted the tube into it, the gun hissing as it locked it in. Footsteps gave him the briefest of warning before Ally burst through the door, making a neat leap down the first then the second short stretches of stairs, stopping beside him seconds later.

  ‘They’re working on the tunnel door. It’ll give us more time. Are you ready, how’d it go?’

  Her words tumbled out as Eoin stared at her, uncertain of his own.

  ‘I .. uhh .. it’s.’ Eoin swallowed. ‘It’s done. But I have no way of testing it. Without Holi to run her diagnostics I can’t check it.’

  Ally stared at him, her eyes calm. That trusting expression made him blurt it out.

  ‘I’m testing it! Not you. I can’t risk it. I don’t know-‘

  Ally, without the slightest change in expression snatched the hydro-spray gun from his hand, pressed it to her neck and said, ‘Hope there’s enough for two.’

  Before Eoin could knock it away she’d pulled the trigger. Seconds later he felt the cold sting against his extended wrist. His gasp of astonishment hadn’t even escaped his lips.

  With an arch of her eyebrow, lips twisted in a half smirk, Ally said, ‘Marriage. We’re in this crazy shit together.’

  He managed a nod even though his gut twisted in anxiety.

  ‘Now! What are you taking? C’mon, let’s get out of here!’

  Eoin pointed at the microscope which Ally grabbed as he said, ‘The ‘scope, I thought it would appease your father. I’ve got a bag in the room and that’s it.’

  ‘Grab your bag! Let’s go! I’ve got something to show you,’ Ally called as she ran back up the stairs, the bulky microscope in her arms.

  Taking a moment to breathe, Eoin stood in the middle of the lab and slowly turned around, staring at the space and committing all the incredible pieces of equipment to memory.

  The greatest discovery he’d ever made, and he had to leave it behind.

  The vehicle sat just out the front of the garage, a long way to carry the heavy microscope but Ally was so amped with adrenalin she didn’t notice. The sound of her footsteps on the dirt seemed oddly loud, but she ignored it, so focused on the task. Reaching the terrain vehicle, she set the microscope gently on the ground and motioned the door to open, clambering in and peering over the seats. With a grumble under her breath she turned back to the dash, holding her hands over it to make the controls appear. Scanning the options, she tentatively swiped it to the left, making a variety of lit images flash past. The mechanic had instructed her on how to operate the vehicle, but it still felt totally foreign compared to the wide wheeled LENR vehicles back home. Too small, too compact, and far more complicated.

  Finding a control that gave her access to the back, she pressed the command. The back of the vehicle slid open. Scrambling out the front, Ally zipped around to the back and examined the open space. She needed to wedge the microscope in if it were to survive the trip home. Fabric wadded beneath one of the front seats caught her eye and she reached for it. When she spread the smooth thick fabric out it formed a large square with bulgy sides. A little more examining revealed a plug. Ally gave the cord attached to it a quick tug while peering at the pictograms on the tag attached to the plug. Hissing, the square began to fill with air, the sides popping up and filling out until it formed a firm box. With a grin Ally turned to lift the microscope into the cube, gently lowering the weight while clenching her teeth, hoping the weight wouldn’t be too much. It settled in nicely and she wedged the cube behind the front seats then climbed over into them. Bringing the controls up again, she got comfortable in the seat then tentatively set the vehicle in motion. The forward motion instantly gave her a thrill of delight but she resisted increasing the speed, not wanting to push it too soon. The terrain vehicle trundled along, the sound of its airless tires on the soft dirt a constant murmur.

  A rumble beneath that seemed to echo through the vehicle made Ally hit the red marked STOP button and leap out the machine. Seconds later the tunnel shuddered with the muffled sound of an explosion.

  Ally bolted.

  Ears ringing, Eoin rolled onto his back, the flash of the explosion still blinding his vision. His body ached but he could feel the rushing sensation of stimulants through his system as his nano-virus reacted to the external stimuli. Mind a muddled mess, Eoin felt a brief sense of gratitude that it at least was still working; can’t have screwed it up completely, he thought in relief.

  The feeling was short lived.

  ‘Promethean!’ bellowed a deep threatening voice. ‘Sei mortuus!’

  It didn’t matter the language “you’re dead” always managed to sound as threatening as intended. Shoving to his feet, Eoin staggered while blinking rapidly, taking stock of the scattered bodies around him. One, oh, and two definitely dead. Three, four-

  ‘Adesso sì che ci siamo!’

  The voice right behind him made Eoin swing an arm out in defense, knocking down the human who’d just attempted to grab him. Before he could swing back a heavy weight struck him mid-back and he fell to his knees. Seconds later he heard another voice snarl, ‘Bastardus!’ then a blinding CRACK hurled him into blackness.

  Minutes, or maybe only seconds later, he couldn’t tell his head ringing and neck aching from the blow, Eoin opened his eyes.

  Ally stood twenty meters or so from him, her beautiful violet eyes shockingly wide and unblinking. Eoin went to move then realized they had him pinned, two on either side, another two with net guns t
rained on Ally and another two held stun guns at the ready. Realizing he couldn’t see the other four Eoin struggled, trying to twist his head to see them.

  An enormous spread of a hand settled firmly around the base of his neck. Eoin’s skin prickled with alarm and he opened his mouth, eyes on Ally.

  ‘Ally, RU-‘

  The shout broke off in a gurgle of blood as the other hand, fisted tight around a long sharp silver spout, slammed the device directly into Eoin’s jugular.

  17 Eerie Calm

  Time seemed to slow as Ally watched Eoin slump, the humans holding him bracing his weight as they directed the bright red blood that gushed from the mouth of the spout into a double walled container designed specifically to hold Promethean blood. The absolute horror at witnessing her husband’s very life force pouring out of him into the hands of murderous thieves did it.

  The fear vanished, transmuted to an eerie calm.

  I’ll have to kill them all.

  With Eoin dying before her eyes, Ally knew she had three minutes in which to do it. Kill them, or at the very least distract them enough to leave Eoin alone, so he could remove the spout.

  If he still had the strength.

  The moment of time it took for her to realize, then to take measure of the ten individuals and their weapons; stun guns, net guns, soft pellet guns, all weapons designed to immobilize, not kill, took actual seconds though for Ally it felt like the longest minute of her life. She took a breath slow and deep, tasting the air, tasting the scent of the unwashed human flesh, tasting the scent of the flesh that rejected the vicious adaptations forced upon it, and above all the smell of blood. Eoin’s blood.

  Setting her gaze on the human that stood dead center, Ally reacted.

  To the humans watching it seemed the violet eyed woman vanished, replaced with a blur of motion. Shouts rang out and the guns lifted. An explosion of sound ricocheted off the titanium alloy walls as the human who stood at the center braced himself, his leg adaptations shooting steel rods downward to hold himself in place as Ally launched herself through the air at him. Standing diagonally from the center man, the human holding the net gun fired at them both, willing to risk a comrade’s life in order to save his own.

  Ally, quite capable of controlling her leap arched back in the air as the net flashed past, skimming over her body. The strong trajectory spun the net wide, slamming a human on the opposite side to the ground. Ally heard the crackle of electricity as the net reacted to the human’s struggles, the man beneath it pinned to the ground shrieking in pain. A second later she hit the man with the leg adaptations high in the chest, sending his crackling stun gun flying. The weight of her landing forced the man’s body back. An animalistic shriek of pain wrenched from the human’s lips as his spine snapped, the leg adaptations still holding strong in the ground. Slumped over backward like a broken toy, the man burbled and shuddered as blood flooded his throat, eyes rolling back while his arms spasmed.

  Ignoring the death throes, Ally snatched the stun gun and aimed at the man who’d stood at the front left of their attack formation, pulling her trigger a second before he pulled his.

  The barbed missile slashed her upper arm making her snarl in pain but didn’t stick, hitting the ground with a crackle. The man she’d aimed at struggled to yank her shot from his chest, shrieking when it erupted. Not leaving anything to chance Ally rushed him, a hail of pellets following her as the last of the humans not guarding Eoin attempted to shoot her. She reached the human with the barb in his chest seconds later, snatching him by the jaw and shoulder, her arm across his collarbone and spun him around to provide cover. His body jolted with the heavy shots of the pellet gun. The human firing the gun screamed in anger at her, and kept firing.

  Continuing to hold the human up as her shield, Ally could feel the pulse beneath his jaw hammering away with each body jarring slam. When the one shooting paused to reload, Ally reacted. Moving each arm in the opposite direction with a sharp twist she broke the neck of the human and let his body slump to the ground. The measured count in her head told Ally a minute had passed.

  KEEP MOVING! MUST KEEP MOVING!

  Leaping over the dead body at her feet, Ally bolted toward the man holding the pellet gun.

  ‘Rapere! Rapere! Abbiamo bisogno d’aiuto quaggiu!’

  Eoin could just hear the human behind those holding him screaming for help. The roar in his head as his body desperately fought against the inevitable made sounds and sights seem to float in and out. He half felt as if he himself floated though at the same time his body felt heavier and heavier.

  ‘Portior! Portior la donna!’

  Trying to keep his eyes on Ally, Eoin’s vision shuddered and twisted as the men holding him released his arms, following the instructions of the one shouting behind him. Slumping to the ground, his heart beating erratically Eoin watched dreamily as the four men spread out around Ally, their stun grenades loaded. A part of his mind reminded him of his throat and he gurgled with effort while lifting his arm that felt miles away. It took several attempts, his hand hitting his nose first, then his chest, then his cheek before he managed to drag it down to his throat. The steel sticking out of his throat was sticky with smooth edges. The effort of folding his ice cold hand around the tubular spout felt near impossible. Blood trickled over his hand, running down his fingers as he gurgled, tugging and tugging, finally feeling his flesh pull away from it. His hand fell to the dirt beside him as he panted, trying to breathe through the clogging blood. Eyes unfocused he felt the itching sensations as his body, freed from the implement, worked rapidly to heal the breach in his vein. Heart rate falling, Eoin’s vision began to narrow, blackening at the edges. Part of his mind knew this was bad, recognizing how close to death he edged, but Eoin couldn’t muster the strength to panic. Instead he watched his beautiful wife.

  Surrounded by the four men with their stun grenades extended, Ally looked calm and poised. The instant the men made the slightest movement she leapt straight up. Two of them shot each other by accident, the third and fourth weren’t so stupid but still weren’t quick enough. Ally came down on the shoulders of one, swiped the vicious looking blade from his belt and slammed it through the back of his neck. If Eoin had had the strength to wince he would of. The human dropped dead and twitching to the ground. Face flushed with fury, the remaining human roared, charging Ally with outstretched arms. Standing so close she didn’t have a chance to step aside so she went with the motion and neatly tripped them, allowing the man to hurtle over her as she rolled back. Slamming him to the ground, she jammed the barrel of his grenade gun under his chin and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

  Stepping off the dying man’s body, she twisted, looking for him. Managing a messy smile, Eoin held his beautiful wife’s gaze, feeling an overwhelming sense of love. Or possibly floods of endorphins as his nano-virus swiftly rectified the damage to his throat. It couldn’t replace the lost fluids as quickly, and from where Eoin lay half soaked in a decent puddle of coagulating blood, he’d lost a lot. Ally took a step towards him, her smile tremulous before her expression snapped to one of alertness. She darted past him so fast he couldn’t follow the motion, only the sound; a single terrified scream then the snap of bones. Then silence punctuated by the crackle of a communicator.

  ‘Come on.’ Ally’s feet appeared near his head. Eoin struggled to roll over, watching his wife’s face crease with concern. ‘Still not good?’

  She knelt and a moment later he felt the pressure of her fingers against his throat.

  ‘Looks like the wound has healed. Wonder how long the blood loss will take to replace.’

  ‘Hmmm,’ Eoin said, his voice swooning and singsong-like as he slurred in exhaustion. ‘A day..daayy?’

  ‘Don’t have a day,’ Ally said with a grunt as she lifted him bodily to his feet, an arm beneath his shoulder and across his back. ‘Let’s get you to the vehicle.’

  The distance was hard to tell with his head so woozy, the rounded ribbed walls of the
tunnel seemed to float. Then out of apparently nowhere a compact creation appeared.

  ‘Wooaahh,’ Eoin slurred as he felt stirrings of excitement despite his overwhelming exhaustion. ‘Is that it?’

  ‘Yes,’ Ally sounded relieved. She set him gently on the ground and he watched as she activated the door. The glass slid smoothly aside and Ally turned, scooping him up with a grunt. She only staggered slightly getting him in, and he congratulated her for it, quite impressed.

  ‘Love, shut-up. You sound beyond intoxicated.’ She shut the door behind her and pressed a button on the top of the seat he sat propped in. Twin straps flashed out, sealing him to the seat. With him strapped in, Ally did the same to her own seat then activated the dash.

  ‘Ooo,’ Eoin blinked slowly at the impressive display and for some reason that amused him. He giggled.

  ‘Geeze,’ Ally muttered to herself. ‘Can’t remember the last time I heard you giggle like that.’ She punched something on the screen then sat back. Two handles slid out. Seizing them, Ally began steering. It was then Eoin realized they were moving.

  ‘Let’s get the hell out of here,’ Ally growled, guiding the vehicle past the remains of the humans, and the lab he’d been forced to order into self-destruction when he first registered the raiders presence.

  18 Escape

  Ally’s heart thudded away madly, far more anxious about driving the strange terrain vehicle than the disposing of the ten humans. Pressing the two handles forward increased the speed, which she did with caution. The tunnel lights flickered and that suddenly made her realize.

  She hadn’t heard any cutting when she’d went back to the vehicle with the microscope.

  The raiders had discovered the second entrance.