by E. R. Torre
Becky Waters felt some strength return to her body. She forced herself into a sitting position and reached over to check Nox’s pulse.
“Is it done?” General Spradlin asked.
Becky Waters nodded. She released Nox’s arm. Her attention shifted to the room. In the corner sat Jennifer Alberts. Moments before, the elderly woman watched them while they worked on Nox. She too had drifted off to sleep.
“Help me,” Becky Waters said.
General Spradlin did. He helped Becky to her feet and took her to Jennifer Alberts’ side.
“Jennifer was always a real pain in my ass,” General Spradlin said. “You did what I asked. Let me take care of her.”
General Spradlin released Becky Waters and reached into his jacket pocket. When his hand emerged, it carried a small leather pouch. He unzipped it and exposed a syringe and set of vials.
“This will take care of her,” General Spradlin said.
“Didn’t you shut off the machines?”
“Temporarily. When she’s injected, they will receive the signal. It will take care of her.”
“Is she worth it?” Becky Waters asked.
“Everyone is worth it,” General Spradlin said.
“You didn’t use to think that way.”
“I’ve changed.”
He took the syringe and injected the clear solution into the elderly woman’s arm. Alberts grimaced and let out a soft moan but did not awake.
“That’s it?” Becky Waters asked.
“Yes.”
The warrior woman gently ran her hand through the elderly woman’s hair, arranging it. She pulled in close and laid a tender kiss on her forehead.
“You had family once, didn’t you?” Becky Waters asked.
“They’re gone now.”
“You miss them?”
“Every day.”
“She’s all I have left,” Becky Waters said. She closed her eyes. “I remember holding Jennifer when she was a child. I remember…I remember her fourth birthday. She loved cartoons, especially the ones with princesses and magic kingdoms. I bought her a toy magic wand. When she saw it, she took off, ran to the corner of her room. Her parents were relieved to have a few free moments. Me? I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She waved the wand, like they did in the cartoons, and pointed it at the floor. She was making a wish. I don’t know what she wished for. It…it broke my heart to see the look of disappointment on her face when she realized there was no magic in that wand.”
Tears rolled down Becky Waters’ checks and mingled with her blood.
“There’s still some magic left,” General Spradlin said. He laid his hand on Becky Waters’ shoulder. “I’ll miss you.”
Becky Waters laughed.
“You haven’t seen me in twenty years.”
“That was a mistake.”
Becky Waters held General Spradlin’s hands in hers. Both set of arms, Becky Waters’ as well as General Spradlin’s were scarred with age and wear. Hers as much as his.
“One day, they’ll know what we did,” Becky Waters said. “They’ll know what we went through.”
“Do you have any regrets?”
“None,” Becky Waters said.
“I wish I could say the same.”
“Save the children, General Spradlin,” she said. “Save yourself.”
Becky Waters knew she didn’t have to tell him. General Spradlin would save them. General Spradlin would save the world.
It’s what he always did.
43
Nox awoke to chaos.
From somewhere far away came the blare of alarms. She smelled smoke and felt hectic movement. Her eyes fluttered open and she realized she was the one moving. She was in a dark corridor. Computer panels lined the walls. They flashed a bloody red, all warning of imminent danger.
From the corner of her eye she saw General Spradlin. Her right arm was draped over his shoulders. He was holding her up and dragging her down the passage.
“…what…?” she asked. Her voice was weak, her mind still in a fog.
“Easy,” General Spradlin said.
Nox shook her head.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Becky Waters temporarily purged the old program from your system,” General Spradlin muttered. “You remember?”
“Some.”
“In doing so, she gave away our location. Lemner’s passkey attacked.”
A crashing sound come from somewhere above.
“Joshua Landon and the other child soldiers are here,” General Spradlin said.
The crashing increased. There were many people above and inside the mansion. They were scurrying about and destroying everything they crossed. They were working their way down to the basement.
Down to them.
“Where’s Becky?” Nox asked. “Where’s Jennifer Alberts?”
“They’re gone,” General Spradlin said.
Nox raised her free hand. It was covered in blood.
“What did I do?” she asked. “What the hell did I do?!”
General Spradlin ignored her question.
“They’re converging on the basement,” he said. “It won’t be long before they make it inside.”
Nox put weight on her legs in an attempt to speed up their movements. A wave of nausea washed over her. When it passed, a memory burst into her mind with the force of a nuclear bomb.
“I know exactly where the children are,” Nox said. “I can feel them.”
“They’re alive?” General Spradlin asked.
“Yes. All twenty four of them.”
“Good,” General Spradlin said.
They reached a large wooden door and General Spradlin gently put Nox down on the stone floor. The sound of mayhem coming from above was reaching its apex. Somewhere, a door crashed open.
“They’ve found the staircase,” Nox said.
General Spradlin pushed the wooden door open. Beyond it was a garage filled with a half dozen vehicles. Many were in disrepair. Another couple were classic roadsters. The last was a desert all-terrain vehicle. Behind the door and nailed to the wall was a wooden box. Spradlin opened it and found sets of labeled keys. He quickly located the one he needed and helped Nox back to her feet.
As they entered the garage, they heard the discordant sounds of ripping metal.
“They’re through the security doors in the main computer room,” Nox said. The fog in her mind was lifting with each passing second. She frowned. “I feel her.”
“Who?”
“Becky,” Nox said. She shook her head. “She’s still alive!”
Nox tried to turn, but General Spradlin held her firm.
“She’s still alive,” Nox repeated. “We have to get her!”
“We can’t,” General Spradlin said.
“You left her behind…on purpose?”
“We have to go.”
“What have you done?” Nox said.
“We have to go,” he repeated, softly.
They hurried to the all-terrain vehicle.
44
When they reached the vehicle, Spradlin used the key he retrieved from the wooden box to unlock its passenger door. He helped Nox into her seat, ran to the other side, and climbed into the driver’s seat. He scanned the controls and noted the radio over the vehicle’s central panel. He yanked it from its place and tossed it out the window.
“She’s an older vehicle,” General Spradlin said. “We’ll just have to hope there aren’t any other electronic devices within susceptible to Lemner’s passkey.”
Nox barely heard him. Her thoughts were on those they left behind. She feared what Joshua Landon and his one-time child soldiers would do when they found Becky Waters and Jennifer Alberts. General Spradlin inserted the key into the ignition and turned it. The truck’s engine coughed once before roaring to life. He waited a few seconds while it warmed up. The engine sounded fine. It appeared there was nothing within the vehicle for Lemner’s passkey to grab on to.
G
eneral Spradlin let out a relieved breath.
“Good,” he said. “Hang on.”
The vehicle skidded from its parking place and into a long, poorly lit corridor. At the end of the corridor was a metal garage door.
“Hang on,” General Spradlin said.
The truck smashed through the door, ripping away the thin sheet metal. From the darkness of the garage the duo emerged into a very sunny day. They were on the north side of the mansion and on the white sands surrounding it. They moved away fast. Though Nox could still barely move, she forced herself to turn in her seat.
She looked back at the mansion and found it was engulfed in flames. Shadowy figures were visible in the building’s windows. They moved at great speeds. One of the figures saw the ATV exit the parking garage. Almost as a collective, the other figures in the windows disappeared.
“They’re after us,” Nox said.
General Spradlin floored the accelerator. The vehicle skidded down a gentle sandy hill. They approached the north side shore. The rusted relics of tankers lined the beach and the water was a corrosive green.
A bullet shattered the vehicle’s rear window.
“Get down,” General Spradlin said. For a moment he closed his eyes. A look of great concentration filled his face.
We’re out.
The two words echoed in Nox’s head. The voice was General Spradlin’s. The message was directed outward.
“That was for Becky Waters?” Nox asked.
General Spradlin opened his eyes.
“Yes,” he said.
As the words left his mouth, the mansion erupted in a massive ball of flame. The concussive wave sent the ATV skidding. It wobbled wildly and almost tipped. The shock wave was followed by an equally strong heat wave, one hot enough to set the sand itself on fire. When the energy waves were spent, pieces of mortar and wood rushed past them. Chunks of shrapnel capable of ripping limbs and tearing flesh slammed into the sands.
General Spradlin fought the controls of the ATV. The vehicle continued to lurch from side to side, but he kept his speed while the ruins of the mansion fell around them.
Soon, the debris lessened and the vehicle was under control. General Spradlin slowed down and turned until they faced the remains of Jennifer Alberts’ mansion.
There was nothing left of it. The structure was completely gone. Heavy black smoke rose from an equally black crater.
For several seconds, Nox and General Spradlin watched the fires around the crater burn. For several seconds, neither said anything.
“They’re gone,” Nox said. There was emptiness within her, a feeling the bulk of the one-time child soldiers were lost. “I can only sense a few of them left…”
A shadow appeared over General Spradlin’s face.
“He’s still alive,” Spradlin said.
“Yes he is,” Nox said. She too could feel Joshua Landon and, through him, Lemner’s passkey. She could feel its frustration and anger. It suffered a devastating loss and a majority of its soldiers were now dead. Ironically enough, they died the way Lemner’s passkey attempted to kill General Spradlin at the TransCo Hospital. They were lured here, just as he was to the Hospital. At the Hospital, the bombs were defused. Here, Joshua Landon’s soldiers hadn’t been quite so lucky.
“He’s alive but injured,” Nox said.
“Yes,” General Spradlin replied. The shadow over his face lifted and was replaced by sadness. He closed his eyes once again and concentrated.
Goodbye, Becky.
General Spradlin gripped the vehicle’s steering wheel and drove off.
45
They passed the boundaries of Jennifer Alberts’ estate and were back in the Big City. The deserted buildings looked even more ominous in the light of day. The morning sun obliterated the shadows that hid much of the empty city’s ugliness. Several more of the massive skyscrapers had caught fire. The fires sent plumes of heavy black smoke into the sky. As before, there were no signs of anyone or anything to come fight the flames. They would burn until they could burn no more.
Nox watched all this. She no longer felt weak. Whatever Becky Waters did to her, she was recovering fast. Her pale skin was turning a healthy pink and she sat erect in her seat.
“This is it. The end of the world.”
General Spradlin pressed down hard on the accelerator and continued their trip through the wide, empty streets.
They found a barricade of cars and debris in front of the Northwest exit of the Big City. General Spradlin slowed their vehicle down. His head swiveled back and forth. His eyes probed for some way through. He found a way out on the west edge of the barricades, a small opening that was nonetheless large enough for their ATV to fit through.
Something, however, didn’t feel right. Instead of driving through the opening, General Spradlin hit the brakes.
“You feel it too?” Nox said. There were eyes on them. Watching, checking.
Abruptly, General Spradlin shifted the vehicle into reverse. Tires screeched as she backed away from the blockade. As quickly as she moved, it was not quick enough. Something slammed into the road before them, sending a ball of flame in all directions. The vehicle lifted off the ground and fell on its side. The front end was a mangled ball of fire.
Nox ripped away her seatbelt.
“Let’s go,” she said.
General Spradlin didn’t move. He was in a daze and blood stained the front of his fatigues.
Nox kicked what remained of the shattered windshield. She slid from her seat to the ground and reached back inside, pulling General Spradlin from the wreckage and carrying him down the hill and toward the nearest building. Whoever fired upon them scurried out of sight.
“Things keep getting better and better,” Nox said.
When they were safely in the building, she laid the General down and checked for wounds. He had a deep gouge in his left shoulder from which a large piece of shrapnel stuck. Nox swore and grabbed at it.
“This is going to hurt,” she said.
She pulled the shrapnel out as the General groaned. The metal piece was at least three inches long and quite dull.
Good thing it was, she thought. Or else it would have sliced right through you.
Nox set it on the ground and ripped off part of her shirt. She wrapped the torn fabric against the wound.
“Hold on to it,” she said.
Though he was barely conscious, General Spradlin did as told. It was the worst possible time to be helpless.
Deeper in the building, Nox heard the sounds of someone moving.
“Stay here,” Nox said. “I’ll be right back.”
She headed deeper into the building.
Nox moved on, weighing the danger of not allowing her eyes to completely adjust to the darkness inside the building.
She didn’t have the time.
She heard the sounds of footsteps just a few feet from her and froze behind a corner. The person moving in her direction was doing so cautiously. She knew who it was.
Joshua Landon’s feet shuffled against the dusty floor. His breathing was very heavy. Nox could feel his pain. The injuries he sustained from the explosion at Jennifer Alberts’ mansion were very serious and Nox had an advantage. Would it be enough?
Let’s find out.
Nox kept still while the sounds increased. She could feel the one-time child soldier, the boy –now man– that walked at her side in Arabia approach even closer. He was silent and focused.
Abruptly, Joshua Landon stopped moving.
You can still join us.
Nox took a step back, surprised by the thought that intruded into her mind. Joshua Landon knew she was there. He knew—
Goosebumps covered Nox’s arms. She took a step back, then another before running at full speed away. Even before her mind could put it into words, she realized Joshua set a trap. He positioned her exactly where he wanted her to be.
The wall Nox was hiding behind only a second before erupted in explosive flames.
&nb
sp; Nox was thrown hard to the ground. Debris both large and small stung her body and her ears rung. Nox spun aside. Her mind was in a haze but she quickly got up. Heavy black dust floated around her, dulling her vision. Nox desperately looked about, trying to see where Joshua Landon was. She knew he was about to attack, yet no longer knew from where. She could no longer feel him.
Was he gone?
Nox knew that was unlikely. Injured or not, he would—
Nox noticed a shadowy figure emerge from a doorway to her right. To Nox’s surprise, it was a woman, one the Mechanic recognized instantly. It was Alexandra Despero, the one-time child soldier who found General Spradlin’s Big City parking hideaway.
She stood a full foot shorter than Nox and sported black and gray hair. She was overweight and her body was flaccid. Yet her eyes were a brilliant brown and ringed with a violent red.
She let out a scream and launched herself at Nox.
Nox grabbed the woman’s arms and twisted.
The moment she touched Alexandra Despero, Nox felt a sharp sting throughout her body. Her nano-probes were being assaulted by those within Despero. Even though the middle-aged woman was hardly a physical match to Nox, with the aid of her nano-probes she could easily gain the upper hand.
You can still join us.
The words were Alexandra’s. The words were Joshua Landon’s.
The words belonged to Lemner’s passkey.
Nox felt the flesh under her skin heat up. She desperately twisted her body while Alexandra used her weight to force Nox back and down. Nox anticipated the action and half-turned. The two dropped to the floor on their sides and Nox violently kicked the woman away. The moment Alexandra’s grip on Nox was severed, she felt her strength return. No longer were Alexandra’s nano-probes bombarding her system.
With a quick swing, Nox smashed her fist into the woman’s face.
Alexandra rolled back. The blow broke her nose and blood flowed down the side of her face. The one-time child soldier got back to her feet and drew her arms out in anticipation of another attack. She let out an animalistic hiss.
