Residents of Jack’s beloved Greely Park District ran by the airplane in panic, as Sable Guard soldiers unleashed streams of bullets across the park. Malady infected, still crazed by Gemni, swarmed over uninfected, beating them with blunt objects or slicing them apart with bladed weapons. Unarmed people fell dead in the street, blood painted the walls of the neighborhood buildings.
“This is a massacre!” Luna shouted over the gunfire. She watched the Sable Guards shoot up a crowd of defending citizens fighting in front of Greely Park Diner. The storm of bullets killed them all and blew in the glass.
Jack leapt from the airplane, running through the fray toward the diner.
Luna screamed for him to stop but the sounds of war proved too loud and she lost him in the crowd. “Jameson, we have to get him back!”
“I know. Quickly.”
They jumped out of the airplane to the blood-stained grass. Jameson pulled a handgun off a dead man and tossed it to Albert. “Stay with the plane, doc. Protect yourself if you have to.”
Albert nervously clutched the gun in both hands.
Luna and Jameson shot down Sable Guard and maddened infected, clearing a path across the park. They hurried over the bodies in the street, and into the smoky diner. Their boots crunched over shards of glass and broken dishes.
“Jack!” called Luna. “Jack, where are you?”
“I’m here!”
Luna’s rifle light found Jack huddled behind the counter with Donna curled in his lap. Jack brushed Donna’s red hair from her face and Luna saw the blood.
“Is she okay?” asked Luna.
“I—I don’t know,” stammered Jack, tears running down his face.
“Let’s get her back to Albert. He can check her in the plane.”
Jack carried Donna over the debris. Jameson kept firing at the wild-eyed attackers that ran toward them. They stepped out of the diner and onto the sidewalk. A convoy of Sable Guard vans rolled up the street. Soldiers hung from the windows with automatic weapons. Luna looked across the street, to the park and the waiting airplane. A horde of murderous Malady infected surrounded it, beating at the doors to get to Albert. Luna’s bullets took down six, then her weapon fell silent. Empty.
“What do we do now?” shouted Jack. Donna whimpered in his arms.
Luna looked up at the roof of the diner considering higher ground, but with the convoy closing in and the airplane being attacked, she reasoned there wasn’t time to reposition. She looked at Jameson. “Thoughts?”
“Yeah. Get out of the way.”
Jameson pointed at the side street behind Luna. She turned to see a massive black semi-trailer thundering fast in their direction, knocking ruined cars aside. Baby Boy!
Luna, Jack and Jameson crouched low as the Iron Tribe’s fighting vehicle rumbled into the street, cutting the path of the convoy. The top of the trailer opened and Baby Boy’s formidable machine gun turret lifted high overhead. It swiveled on its pivoting base and opened fire on the enemy vans. Luna heard the screams of Graves’ soldiers as the tribe shredded them apart.
As the devastating gun rained death over the Sable Guard, a force of Iron Tribe foot soldiers poured from the back of the trailer. They trampled the mob surrounding the airplane, killing them with heavy combat knives. Marksmen stood atop the semi’s roof, gunning down the last of the frenzied infected. Soon, Greely Park was a field of the dead and dying. Some surviving innocents emerged from hiding and tended to the wounded. Smoke filled the air from fires feasting on war-ravaged buildings.
Jack returned to the airplane with Donna. Albert dressed her wounds in the backseat and Jack started the plane once more. Luna and Jameson met with Baby Boy’s driver.
“We meet again,” said Luna. “Thank you for your help.”
“It is I who should express thanks. You challenged me, Briggs. You spoke to me with such truth and power, that soon after our encounter, I did see things differently,” explained the driver. “Karma City, and all of the places beyond the rails, are worth fighting for. There’s more purpose to my life off the tracks.”
“You left the Tribe?”
“Yes. My men and I are not going back. We took Baby Boy with us.”
“The Iron Tribe will kill you for your crime against them.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But Marcus Graves must be stopped. If he is not, it is only a matter of time before we are all dead…or worse.”
“What now?” asked Luna.
The driver handed her the truck keys. “Now you go to war.”
Luna loaded weapons and ammo from Baby Boy into the airplane.
Donna remained unconscious. With care, Albert tucked his lab coat behind her head.
Jack read the airplane’s gauges, then craned his neck to speak to Albert. “How’s Donna doing?” he asked.
“Concussion. A few scrapes and bruises. Looks like a broken arm, too. I administered some heavy pain killers so she’s probably feeling pretty damn good. She’ll be okay, Jack.”
Jack leaned back in his pilot’s seat and sighed with relief. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
Luna handed Jack two heavy metal pipes capped at both ends. “These are Iron Tribe pipe bombs,” she said. “They’ve got enough pop to destroy our target without causing too much damage to the building. This isn’t going to be like blowing up the ship. We don’t need a skyscraper collapsing on a bunch of innocent people.”
“Let me guess,” said Jack. “Fly over the tower and drop it?”
“Once we get out of there, yes. And you’ve only got two, so make it count.”
“How are we going to know you’re safe?”
Luna switched on her tribal radio. “I’m sending a pulse to your plane now. Dial it up.”
Jack switched on the cockpit radio and adjusted the receiver. After a moment of fuzz and squeals, he heard Luna’s signal coming through. “Got yah. Frequency set.”
“Good. Jameson and I are going to smash through Sable District and, with the help of the tribesmen, infiltrate the tower. We’ll fight our way up until we find and rescue Carmen. Hopefully, we’ll put a bullet in Graves’ head while we’re there, too. I’ll let you know when we’re out and you blast the Malad-X containment. If all goes well, we’ll make it back to Albert’s lab in time for breakfast.”
“I like the sound of that,” said Jack. “Be safe, Luna.”
Luna returned to the colossal big-rig. She climbed into the driver seat and watched the red and white bush plane bounce across the grass, lift into the air, and disappear in the night sky.
Chapter 17
The semi sped over the streets of Karma City, shaking the concrete and leaving a cloud of black smoke behind it. While Luna drove the rig, Jameson sat in the passenger seat wringing his shotgun and eyeing the gates of Sable District drawing nearer.
“Are you ready?” asked Luna.
She was always so good at feeling his tension, sensing his worry. He appreciated that and somewhere in his heart he wondered if he ever told her so.
“I’m ready,” answered Jameson. And he always was.
“What about Brighton?”
“He’s been silent since…”
“Since you almost killed Jack?”
Jameson’s nostrils flared in regret.
“I’m worried for you, Jameson. Will you promise me something?”
“Okay.”
“Promise me that you’ll never forget who you are. I made that mistake.” She reached out her hand.
Jameson closed his fingers over hers. “I promise.”
Luna drove the rig straight through the main gates of Sable District. The iron bars bent over the truck’s enormous grill and chunks of brick and stonework blew into the street. Sable Guard cruisers responded to the intrusion, chasing them with sirens shrieking. The tribesmen opened the trailer roof and raised the machine gun turret, locking the sights on the pursuing cruisers.
Luna radioed to the tribesmen in the trailer. “Give them a warning.”
&nbs
p; The machine gun sprayed a line of bullets ahead of the cars, blowing apart the concrete in lightning-like blasts.
The Sable Guard swerved away, abandoning the pursuit.
Jameson looked behind them from the side mirrors and muttered a curse. “Hey, Luna, I think we’re going need more than warning shots to stop them.” An impenetrable crowd of Sable District citizens ran for their truck. He focused his Malad-X eyes to close the distance and noticed weapons of all types in their hands. Their contorted, enraged faces foretold their infection, but it was not Malady. He felt a surge pass through him, like a wave of subtle electricity. “They’re all Malad-X infected,” he warned. “I can feel it.”
“I can tell…your eyes are glowing green again.”
“Son of a bitch!” Jameson rubbed at his eyes. “I’ve become some kind of monster.”
“Remember your promise,” said Luna.
Jameson took a steady breath. Whatever I am now, I’m still me. I can do things I couldn’t do before, things no one can do. I can make this work. He felt the heat of the green light fade from his eyes.
Luna shifted the gears and pushed the big-rig faster until she came to Sable Tower. She stopped outside the main entrance and took up her rifle, but she paused when dozens of armed Sable Guard soldiers poured from the tower’s main entrance and surrounded the truck. Luna slammed her hand on the steering wheel in frustration. The mob of Malad-X infected citizens drew nearer. The soldiers triggered their small arms. Bullets sparked and chimed off the armored vehicle.
The tribesmen radioed to Luna. “Permission to fire?”
“Fire,” answered Luna.
The giant turret swiveled, setting its deadly sights on the guards in black armor. The tribesmen shot down Graves’ guardsmen but the wave of maddened citizens proved too great. They charged up the street and enveloped the truck. A hailstorm of bullets flashed white and yellow from the turret; blood sprayed and bodies collapsed. Jameson knew there were too many attackers to defend against. All he could do was watch as Graves’ infected people scaled the truck and claimed the machine gun. The tribesman manning the weapon was thrown to the ground and ripped apart, as if fed to a pit of beasts. The entire truck shook as the horde focused its wrath against it.
“Get us out of here, Luna!”
Luna fired up the engine and shifted into gear. The semi-trailer rolled forward, crunching over the dead. The infected mounted the truck, beating against the hood. Luna slammed on the breaks; the men and women tumbled to the ground.
“There are too many of them! Graves has infected the entire district!” shouted Luna. “We’re trapped!”
Jameson’s heightened senses picked up a low rumble that slowly intensified, the resonance emanating from every direction at once. The droning roar soon filled the sky over the truck. Jameson looked up through the skylight in the cabin roof to see the shadow of Jack’s bush plane swooping low overhead. Something small fell from the plane and a second later, an earsplitting explosion occurred in the street, devastating the mob. The citizens ran in terror, fleeing the sight of the strange object flying over them. The bush plane made a second pass, this time lower, clearing people from the street with the wail of its propeller. Jameson watched the plane touch down in the street and bob straight for the truck. Seconds before a devastating, head-on collision, Jack swung the tail around, angling the nose for take-off. Jameson saw Albert waving, hailing them to hasten to the aircraft now only a short run from the truck.
Jameson and Luna gathered their weapons and sprinted for the plane.
“You know,” said Jack, as he pushed the plane forward, “I thought you two trying to infiltrate Sable Tower was a dumb idea.” He pulled back the yoke and the plane took flight. “The vat of Malad-X is on the rooftop. Let’s just fly over and drop the last pipe bomb before Graves infects the rest of the city.”
Jameson leaned forward in his seat. “That will stop Malad-X, but not Graves. As long as he is alive, Karma City will never be safe.”
“He’s right,” added Albert. “And we still need to rescue Carmen.”
“I understand, but getting into the tower is impossible,” said Jack. “Dropping the bomb on the rooftop is the easy part. It’s not like we can drop Jameson and Luna out of the plane, too.”
Maybe that’s it, thought Jameson. He turned to Luna. “Remember when you and I jumped from the train before it exploded?”
“You’re not thinking about—”
“Yes, I am. We can jump down to the roof.”
“Falling from a speeding train to a river is one thing, but jumping from an airplane flying over Karma City to a skyscraper rooftop is insane. We’ll be killed.”
“No, we won’t. My Malad-X makes me strong, Luna. Very strong. I used the new power to escape the hunters at the airfield. I was unstoppable. Even the electrocution from the hanger generator didn’t harm me.”
“I don’t see you sprouting wings from your infection, Jameson.”
“Luna, I’m serious. I can do this…we can do this. I’m not asking you to trust what I’ve become or what I can do. I’m asking you to trust me.”
Luna sighed. “I trust you.”
Jack looked over his shoulder as he guided the airplane through the sky. “You’re all joking, right? Because from where I’m sitting, the conversation sounds ridiculous.”
“Take us over the rooftop,” ordered Luna. “We’re jumping down.”
“That’s suicide!”
Luna looked at Jameson, who gave her a confident grin. “We’ll be fine,” she said.
“I can’t land this plane on the roof,” warned Jack. “If you’re injured from the fall, I have no way of recovering you.”
The sky lightened with the coming morning to a soft purple twilight draping over the cityscape of Karma. Jameson opened the airplane door. “I understand.” The wind blew in, forcing the others to hold tightly to their restraints. Albert clutched his satchel and closed his eyes in fear. Donna remained asleep from the doctor’s medication. Jack held the plane steady and angled it for a pass over the roof.
Jameson focused his powerful vision. “I don’t see anyone on the roof,” he yelled. “There’s a chance we’ll go unnoticed.” He took off his backpack and tossed it to Albert. “Doc, there’s climbing rope in there. Tie it to something. Jack, once we drop down, fly out of view so Graves doesn’t hear the plane. We’ll get Carmen, kill Graves and radio when it’s safe for you to fly back for us. Albert, you lower the rope and I’ll grab it. Luna will hold on to me and Carmen and we’ll get off the roof. When we’re all safe on the plane, we’ll drop the bomb onto the Malad-X. Does everyone understand?”
“You don’t have to jump!” pleaded Albert. “We can think of another way!”
“There isn’t time. You know that. Now, do you understand the plan?”
“Yes.”
“Good. This our last shot so let’s do it right.” Jameson took Luna’s hand and positioned her near the open doorway. He looked into her eyes. “It’s going to be all right.”
“I know.”
“I’ll jump first,” said Jameson. “Once you see me on my feet, jump. I’ll catch you.”
The bush plane flew over the rooftop of Sable Tower. Jameson closed his eyes and called forth a surge of Malad-X energy from the deepest chambers of his mind. He felt his eyes tingling with light and his body pulsed with a strange heat that only he could feel. He opened the aft doors and jumped, dropping fast like a stone falling to the bottom of a well. The surface of the rooftop slammed under his boots with tremendous impact. Bits of concrete cracked beneath him as if his body were solid iron, unbreakable and unbending. Awesome! The airplane circled high above. He waved for Luna.
Luna’s fingers were talons digging into the frame of the airplane. The wind teared her eyes. The open sky pulled at her, breathed her in, while the screaming propeller stole away her courage. The rooftop waited far below and there, like a tiny toy soldier, stood Jameson, ready to somehow keep her from shattering like a porcelai
n doll. This is madness. I’m going to die. The wind will drag me past the building, down to the street. She imagined her body fluttering helplessly, like a dried leaf or lonesome feather. Shoot-outs, train jumps, even explosions felt normal compared to hanging from a flying airplane, toes on the edge of nothing. But Jameson had lived. He was okay. Just as he vowed. Luna nodded then, readying herself. I believe. She believed that this moment, this leap to freefall was right. It had to be. She knew she’d live because Jameson said so.
Luna let go of the doorway.
She thought of her sister.
She thought of the tribe.
She thought of the children of Karma City that woke up each day to a greater risk than falling from a plane. She took a deep breath, inhaling the cold, and outstretched her arms, not like a bird, not like a diver, but like a child trusting that unfailing hands would catch her. She thought of how much she loved Jameson Shoals and every minute with him on this deadly, insane and unbelievable adventure.
She jumped.
When Jameson saw Luna falling, he leapt upward, snatching her from the air and dropping back to his feet with cat-like grace. He held her in his arms, cradling her for a quiet moment. Luna stared into his eyes, in awe of his power.
“We made it,” exhaled Jameson.
“We always do.”
Jameson and Luna listened to the bush plane’s engine trailing away in the clouds and set to work, quietly inspecting the rooftop. The cloudy white Malad-X cistern glowed in the center of the roof. A small control booth, with a power substation and control panel, hummed near the cistern. The equipment fed and monitored Graves’ precious, parasitic brood.
Karma City Page 23
