Morningside Fall

by Jay Posey

  When they reached the entrance, Finn and Wick left Painter just outside and steamrolled in, snapping their weapons around in precise movements as they made sure the room was clear. Their red lights danced across the walls and made it look like a fire was burning low inside.

  Cass caught up and Gamble quickly directed them all inside. The first room was large and open, with a wide and partially collapsed staircase running up the left side, and a doorframe in the back wall. There red lights played along the walls of a hall, where Wick and Finn were rapidly searching for any threats. Wick’s pack was in the middle of the room, on the floor. Gamble slung hers there as well.

  “Cass,” she said, pointing at the base of the staircase. “Anything moves up there, kill it. Boys, over here.” Cass moved to the bottom of the stairs and went down on a knee, aiming the jittergun up into the darkness at the top of the stairs. Painter and Wren followed Gamble’s directions and moved to a corner in the back of the room, furthest from all the entrances.

  “Floor’s clear,” Finn said as he re-entered the room, “but there’s a back door in one of the rooms.” He turned off the light on his rifle.

  “Wick,” Gamble said. “You’ve got the hall.”

  “I’m on the hall, check,” Wick answered. He stayed in the front room, but crouched down near the back where he had a tight angle through the doorframe into the hall.

  “Upstairs?” Finn said.

  “Cass has it,” Gamble said. “I need you guns front.”

  Finn moved closer to the front entrance, though he remained well inside and to one side of the door. Gamble slid over to the opposite direction, so they were covering opposing angles through the entrance.

  “Where’s Sky?” Finn asked.

  “On the way. Wick, you bounce the location?”

  “Yeah, they’ve got it.”

  “Check.”

  Cass couldn’t see what was going on outside the building from where she was, but the Weir were making a lot of noise calling and answering. Their cries and howls filled her with dread. And out there, somewhere, Sky was alone. Cass couldn’t imagine what he must’ve been feeling. Or what Gamble must’ve been going through. Not that she was showing any signs of concern.

  “Swoop? Gamble, what’s your situation…? We had to hole up. You get Wick’s bounce…? If you can, yeah.”

  “Here he comes,” Finn said.

  “Understood,” Gamble said, though Cass couldn’t tell if she was responding to Finn or still talking to Swoop.

  “Come on, come on,” Finn said to himself. And then, a few seconds later, slightly louder, “Sky’s coming in.” He lowered his rifle, and Gamble pointed hers at the ceiling. Moments later Sky ducked in through the entrance. As soon as he was through, both Gamble and Finn brought their weapons back on target.

  “Sorry, Ace,” Sky said, breathing heavily. “Had to do some extra legwork.”

  “You bring any with you?” she asked him.

  “Not immediately. Left a little trail for them headed the opposite direction. Might buy us a couple minutes.”

  “Check.”

  Sky slid in next to Gamble, taking over her position. “Glad you’re safe,” she said.

  “Me too,” he answered.

  Gamble moved further back into the room, putting herself between the door and the boys.

  “Finn is front,” Gamble said. “Wick is back. Cass is stairs.”

  “Check,” Sky said. Coordinating, Cass figured. So if Gamble told everyone to move to the back, they all knew which way she meant.

  They sat in silence after that, tensely. Three minutes passed. Five. Maybe as many as ten. Cass’s arms grew tired, and she lowered them to rest on her knees. If anything had been upstairs, it likely would’ve come down by now. Even so she stayed focused on the staircase, just to be safe. The stairs bent to the right, preventing her from seeing all the way to the top, but a portion of the upper steps had collapsed, which gave Cass a better view than she would’ve had otherwise.

  After a time, unless Cass was mistaken, the Weir began to quiet. It was subtle at first. More pauses between calls. Longer delays. And then they started to seem farther away. Maybe they’d thrown them off the trail after all.

  Finn made a soft hissing sound. Cass glanced over and saw him holding up one finger. She wondered if anyone else could see it in the darkened room, but Gamble’s whisper answered that question.

  “How far?” she asked.

  “Thirty meters,” Finn answered.

  “Inbound?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Hold fire. See if it moves on.”

  Cass hated not being able to see what was going on. The slot window wasn’t far from her. But she knew Gamble was counting on her to watch the stairs, and she fought back the urge to sneak a peek.

  “What’s it doing?” Gamble asked after a minute.

  “Just standing there,” Finn said. “But it’s looking this way.”

  And then it made a sound that sent chills racing down Cass’s spine.

  “Spshhhh. Naaaah.” The same noise they’d made the night they attacked the wall. It was shockingly unlike the Weir’s typical cries. They were some unholy mix of electronic and raw animal sound. As uncanny as those were, this new cry was different, more disturbing; almost as if a piece of machinery were trying to form words.

  “Not again,” Sky said.

  “Hold,” Gamble said.

  “Spshhhh. Naaaah.”

  “Count?” Gamble asked.

  “Still just the one.”

  Cass watched the others, trying to get a read on the situation. Everyone was focused, intent on their areas of responsibility. Wick might as well have been oblivious to what was going on through the front door, even though Cass knew he was completely aware; he just kept his eyes fixed on that back hallway. Wren and Painter were still huddled together in that corner. Cass noticed Wren had his knife out.

  Some instinct kicked in, and Cass quickly looked back at the stairs and at the same time brought the jittergun up. There was a soft glow reflecting, and through the gap she saw clawed fingers closing to grip the top stair.

  A Weir.

  Cass did her best to emulate what she’d seen the others do. She hissed and held up one finger, keeping her eyes on the Weir’s hand she could still see. What was it waiting for?

  Wordlessly, Gamble glided over to her side, and Cass pointed at the hand. Gamble shook her head. She couldn’t see it, unlike Cass.

  “Spshhhh. Naaaah.”

  It didn’t matter.

  “Back hall, back hall,” Wick called, and then he was firing, and Cass saw the fingers flex on the stair.

  She squeezed the trigger just as the Weir pounced down the steps, and caught it with a full burst before it touched the ground. It landed in a wet heap and slid down the stairs towards her, but in the next instant a second Weir was on the steps, and she fired again. It fell backwards, flailing wildly. Gamble fired a burst from her weapon and the second Weir went still.

  Wick was sending a steady but measured stream of death down his hall, pop pop pop pop-pop, and Finn fired two shots out the front.

  “Help on the hall,” Wick called, and Sky was there in a second, standing behind Wick’s crouched form and adding his firepower.

  Gamble ducked under Cass’s gun and moved up two steps. Then Gamble leaned forward and braced herself with one hand to get a better look up the stairs, and then fired off two quick bursts.

  “They’re coming in through the roof!” she called, and then bounded up four more steps.

  “Help front,” Finn said.

  “Sky moving front,” Sky called, and he dashed across the room. Finn was standing right at the door, calmly firing. Sky slid on his knees and started shooting.

  “Cover,” Finn said. He ejected the magazine from his rifle and smoothly replaced it with a fresh one. “I’m up.” And he went right back to firing.

  “Back hall,” Wick called again. “I’m low.”

  “Cass, help W
ick,” Gamble said.

  Cass flew across the room and took up a position just as she’d seen Sky do a few moments before, leaning over Wick so she could shoot over top of him without impeding his movement. There were several dead Weir strewn in the hallway, all in awkward positions, and three more were charging towards them.

  It was a tight angle. Cass fired and saw the doorframe splinter as the burst from her weapon tore through it and into the first Weir. Wick fired twice, and Cass followed with another burst, dropping the last Weir.

  “Cover,” Wick said, “keep it covered, Cass.”

  “Covering,” Cass answered. And she killed another Weir that tried to round the corner.

  Wick swapped magazines on his weapon and had it back up and running in under two seconds. “I’m up.” He emphasized the point by firing off four rounds and dropping another two Weir. There were enough bodies piled in the hall now that other Weir were stumbling and clambering over their fallen. But still they came, heedless of the death that awaited them.

  “Gamble,” Sky called. “Get back where we can see you!”

  If she answered, Cass couldn’t hear it over the shrieks of the Weir and the gunfire echoing in the cavernous room. The jittergun was starting to get warm in her hand. She wondered how much ammunition she had left.

  “Gamble!” Sky shouted.

  “Here!” Gamble answered. Cass glanced at the staircase and saw Gamble backpedaling down the steps, firing controlled bursts the whole way. “We’re gonna lose the stairs!”

  “Finn?” Sky said.

  “Go!” Finn yelled.

  “Sky, moving to stairs!” Sky called, and as he moved to help his wife, he let his rifle drop on its sling and transitioned to his sidearm. Cass couldn’t tell what it was, but it was loud.

  “Swoop, we’re in the heat!” Gamble said, still firing her weapon. A Weir tumbled down the stairs and Sky shot it twice more. “Where are you?” Then to Sky, “Back, get back off the stairs!” And then “Swoop, say again!”

  Since Cass wasn’t dialed in on the channel, she had no idea what Swoop’s response was. But there was a sudden eruption of gunfire from the front of the building, and Finn gave a little whoop.

  “There you go,” Finn yelled. “Get on ’em, son!”

  “Check, we’re rolling out front side,” Gamble called. “Front side, watch my ping! Finn, stairs!”

  “Finn moving to stairs!” he said, moving instantly and stepping into position as soon as Gamble was clear. Gamble strode across the room, snagged her pack off the floor and threw it over a shoulder. Pulled the boys to their feet, shepherded them towards the front door.

  “Cass, with me,” she said. “We’re going out the front. We’re coming out!”

  Cass fired a final burst and then turned and closed in on Gamble, who was already ushering the boys through the front door.

  “Run, boys, run,” Gamble said as they made it to the street. She got them pointed in the right direction, and they both took off. She hesitated, waving Cass on, and then giving her a quick slap on the shoulder as she passed.

  The street was littered with dead Weir. Three figures were rapidly approaching: Swoop, Mouse, and Able. Painter and Wren reached them first, but Cass wasn’t far behind.

  Able lowered his weapon and caught Wren, and swung him up to carry him. Mouse took charge of Painter.

  “Stay right behind me,” Swoop said when Cass reached him. “Right hand on my left shoulder, stand behind me and to my left.”

  “Check,” Cass answered, and she slid around behind him into position exactly as directed. Back down the street Gamble was still standing at the entrance, directing the others in their evacuation. Sky was already out, heading their way. Then Finn backed out, but he stopped just outside and kept firing back into the building. A few seconds later, Wick came out backwards in a crouch, dragging his pack with one hand and squeezing off bursts from his rifle with the other. When he was out, both he and Finn went full throttle and unleashed a non-stop torrent of fire.

  Gamble pulled something off her vest and tossed it underhanded through the entrance. Then the three of them broke in a full-out sprint towards the rest of the team. A few seconds later a lightning flash silently erupted inside the building, momentarily dazzling Cass’s eyes. Nothing else came out afterwards.

  “Get lost?” Gamble said when she reached Swoop.

  “Bad directions,” Swoop answered. “Worse neighborhood.”

  A Weir stumbled out from the building, wounded or dazed or both. Sky’s rifle hummed and dropped it before it’d gone three steps.

  “Cover our withdrawal. Peel back, Swoop’s the anchor. I’ve got the cargo,” Gamble said, and she matched her words with hand signals.

  “Check,” Swoop said. He hunched over and brought his weapon up, covering the building. Finn, Wick, and Sky jogged and quickly lined up on a diagonal behind Swoop with about five yards between each of them.

  “Cass, you’re with me,” she said. Mouse and Able were already moving with Painter and Wren. “I’m not going to hold on to you, but I need you to stay right behind me.”

  “Got it,” Cass said. She lined up behind Gamble, just off her right shoulder. Gamble started guiding her away from the building.

  A few moments later, Cass heard Swoop open up with his heavy weapon behind her, a long sustained burst. She looked back and saw him get up and start towards them, and as soon as he had passed Finn, Swoop slapped him on the shoulder and Finn started firing, full auto. A few Weir had come out, only to get cut down by the gunfire. Even so, the sheer volume was disconcerting given how precise and methodical the team usually were with their weapons.

  “Keep moving, Cass,” Gamble said. And then she added, “They’re bounding back. Should keep the crowd from following.”

  Then Cass understood. Swoop and his team were making a rolling retreat, with the front man providing suppressive fire for a few seconds, and then running to the back of the line while the next man took over. It gave the others time to put some distance between them and the concentration of Weir that had gathered around the building.

  Gamble caught up with, and then passed, Mouse and Able, and took point. She kept them all moving steadily, but set the pace quite a bit slower and more cautious than when they’d been headed for shelter. Eventually the gunfire ceased behind them, and a minute or two later the rest of the team rejoined them.

  “All clear?” Gamble asked when Wick caught up. She kept her voice low, but it wasn’t a whisper. That seemed encouraging.

  “Yeah, last couple of bursts were just for fun. I don’t think we got them all, but I’m pretty sure the survivors finally got the hint.”

  “Get us back on track. And try not to run us into any more trouble.”

  “Yes, sir,” Wick said, and he jogged up to the front. Gamble dropped back a little, putting Mouse and Able ahead of her, while Finn and Sky moved out wider to either side of the group. Swoop fell in next to Gamble.

  “Left a big mess back there,” he said. “Somebody comes lookin’, there’s not gonna be much doubt what happened.”

  “We’ll just have to hope the Weir clean up after themselves,” Gamble answered. “Or that nobody comes looking.”

  “Anybody hurt?” Swoop asked.

  “Don’t think so. But we better give everybody a once-over once the sun’s up.”

  At the mention, Cass noticed that the sky was already growing grey above them. She guessed they had another forty-five minutes, maybe an hour at most, before the Weir would withdraw. After what they’d just survived though, that seemed like a lifetime.

  “Be nice to get this gear spread out then too,” Swoop added.

  “You need me to carry something for you, cupcake?” Gamble said.

  “Nah,” Swoop answered. “I just worry about Mouse.”

  “What’s wrong with Mouse?” Cass asked. Gamble and Swoop both looked at her, and then at each other. Gamble smiled with one corner of her mouth.

  “Soul of a poet trapped in
a barbarian’s body,” Swoop said.

  Mouse looked back over his shoulder with a disapproving eye. It might have been their deadpan delivery, or maybe she was more tired than she realized. Or it might have been that Cass’s mind couldn’t comprehend any sort of light-heartedness so soon after the ordeal they’d just survived. Whatever the case, it took her longer than it should have to recognize they were actually joking around.

  “Sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “I didn’t realize you guys got issued senses of humor.”

  Swoop actually chuckled at that, and Cass thought that might have been the first time she’d ever heard him laugh.

  “Careful, Miss Cass,” Sky said. “People might start thinking you’re one of us.”

  “I might be tempted to take that as a compliment.”

  “And that’s how we know you’re not one of us,” Mouse said over his shoulder.

  “Alright, quiet time, kids,” Gamble said. “Swoop, rear guard. Eyes and guns up. We’ll break at sunrise.”

  Swoop gave a nod and dropped back, and just like that, everyone was back to being switched on. Still, the briefly playful moment stuck with Cass and took some of the edge off the silent march. Ahead of her, Able was still carrying Wren. Her son had fallen asleep with his head on Able’s shoulder. Though there were still distant calls and cries from the Weir, Cass felt herself relax. For some reason, she felt safer out in the open with these people than she had in the days back inside Morningside.

  Wick led them confidently on. They had a few sudden changes in direction, and on one occasion they’d all crowded into a narrow courtyard and waited silently for a number of minutes. But for the most part – as the sky grew ever lighter grey above them and the stars disappeared – they faced no great danger.

  Gradually the grey shifted to pale hues and the sounds of the Weir lessened, until a thin line of orange heralded a new dawn, and with it the retreat of the Weir. The team pressed on in weary silence until the sun was fully up and the horizon was vibrantly ablaze. Cass dug her veil out of her pack and covered her face to take the edge off the sharp morning light. Soon after, at long last, Gamble called for a halt and the group moved into a small protected courtyard and shed their gear.