Knight in Cyber Armor

by Bard Constantine

  Jett motioned to the others, who had stopped in the hallway. "Don't worry about it. We got this far. Won't let you—"

  Bozo grabbed Jett's arm with a shake of his head. "Not…gonna make this one." He grimaced, yanking a C-4 explosive from his pack. "You take the crew on. I'll make sure to shut the door behind you."

  Jett shook his head. "You know I won't leave a man down."

  "You gotta. Do it for me, Big Top. We're all that's left. Can't let it be for nothing." Bozo raised a trembling hand. "Raise hell."

  Jett's vision blurred when he clasped Bozo's hand. "Die well, Hellrazor."

  Bullets ricocheted around him. He yelled, firing back at the advancing Deviants as he retreated into the hallway. "We're taking the building. Let's go."

  Rosy grabbed his arm. "What about Bozo?"

  "He's closing the door. His choice."

  Her eyes glistened, but she nodded, dashing ahead. Jett motioned the rest onward.

  "Major fire in the hole. Move it, people!"

  The explosion erupted just as they rounded the corner. The walls vibrated, smoke and dust funneled inward. He squinted as the hallway darkened from the choking detritus.

  "Switch to night vision."

  He tapped a button on his helmet. His visor brightened, illuminating the vicinity just in time to see the crew of Deviants that stealthily approached from the far end of the large laboratory.

  "We got company at twelve o'clock." He opened fire, dropping several Deviants. The others scattered, ducking behind consoles and equipment.

  Beef unloaded his heavy rifle in a semicircle formation, tearing right through glass and metal. Dropping to one knee, he motioned forward.

  Jisei dashed headlong, leaped on Beef's back and vaulted, firing twin handguns at the Deviants huddled behind a console barricade. She landed on top of them, finishing with close range double taps.

  Jett went to the wall console, pulling up building schematics. "The bunker will be deep underground. Take the door to the left—it goes downstairs."

  Jax jogged over to the door. A throwing knife whirred and struck right next to the door handle, narrowly missing his fingers. He jerked his hand back with a curse, turning to glare at Jisei.

  "Hey what the hell—?"

  She pointed downward. Jax glanced that direction, realization dawning on his face. "Tripwire. The door's rigged. Thanks, Jisei. You saved my bacon. That's three times I owe you."

  She held up four fingers.

  He frowned. "You still counting that time in Chicago? C'mon, that's a technicality."

  "Later, Jax. We're on a clock." Jett glanced up. With the firefight over, the sounds from outside the building had amplified. He had never heard anything like it. The entire facility shuddered as if on the verge of collapse. He was sure it wouldn't be much longer before that actually happened.

  "Can you disarm that thing?"

  "Gimme a minute."

  "You got twenty seconds."

  Jax grunted. "Bozo was best at this, but I think…I got it." He stood, took a deep breath, and pulled the door open.

  No explosion.

  He turned to them with a grin. "See I told you—"

  The side of his head disintegrated. His lifeless body seemed to fall in slow motion.

  Jett pulled a grenade and tossed it into the corridor at an angle to make it bounce off the walls. The team leaped to the side as the explosion ripped the door apart and blew debris into the lab. Jett rolled to his feet and ran inside, fanning his rifle back and forth. A single body lay inside, shredded by the detonation. He rolled the corpse over with his boot.

  "Just a kid. Bastards must have left him to guard the door. Damn it!"

  The boy couldn't have been older than fifteen. Sightless eyes stared from a charred and filthy face, the electric blue color fading as Jett started.

  Beef grunted. "Nothing we can do for it. Jax is gone, brother. So is the kid. We gotta keep trucking."

  Jett took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, let's move."

  They proceeded down the stairwell with caution, floor after floor until Jett lost count of how far they had descended. The walls groaned in torment; the stairs rattled as if about to rip apart.

  It was a relief when they finally reached the bottom. His legs were on fire, but there was no time for rest. He dashed to one side of the wide double doors, Jisei the other. He motioned at Beef, who ran forward when they kicked in the doors.

  Rosy followed closely behind Beef, quickly fanning out to cover the area. It was a large, brightly lit, circular control room. Massive monitors lined the walls, most displaying screen snow. Stainless steel islands and tables were overlain with computers and prototype tech. There was no one waiting for them inside.

  No one alive.

  A half dozen bodies were strewn across the concrete floor in the center of the room, lying in a pool of blood. They looked just as filthy and nasty as their friends outside, covered in tribal and geometric tattoos, innumerable piercings, grease, and dirt. Despite all the filth, they didn't look as if they'd been there long.

  Beef circled the corpses. "What do you think happened?"

  "Best guess? Mass suicide."

  "Good for them, I guess."

  Rosy jerked a thumb at the consoles. "They probably saw what was coming."

  "Probably." Jett had already dismissed them from his mind. He approached the main computer terminal and slipped in a mini-drive. "Okay, time to see if Data Mack's info was worth the price we paid. If we're in the right place, there should be a hidden door leading to an old underground missile silo that's been retrofitted into a stasis station."

  Beef snorted. "Yeah, or we scare the rats that have been nesting here all winter."

  "Better than out there," Rosy said.

  "'Till we starve."

  She smiled. "We can eat the rats."

  "We're about to find out." Jett tapped in a last command. "The wall over there should be a façade. It's going to open up right about…now."

  They all held a collective breath as the wall shuddered. With a piercing squeal of hinges, it slowly slid to the side, revealing a stainless-steel entrance-way behind it."

  Jisei walked over and rapped the surface with her knuckles. It was solid, but there was definitely something hollow behind it.

  Beef glanced at Jett. "Still sealed, Big Top."

  "I got eyes, Beef. We're right there. Just have to figure out how to open—"

  "Guess we'll take it from here."

  Jett turned in surprise at the new voice. To his shock, the dead Deviants were very much alive. They rose from the floor, looking like blood-soaked revenants. Bright blue eyes glowed from their faces. Even worse, each one held handguns at the ready, aimed at Jett's Hellrazors.

  The Hellrazors aimed back.

  "Shit." Beef shook his head. "We never checked to see if they were flatlined."

  "That's right." Their leader grinned, displaying his pointed teeth. "Had your eyes so focused on the prize you forget to check the devils at the door. Figured this place had its secrets. Didn't know how to get to 'em. 'Til now."

  Jett tilted his head. "I know you. The one they call the Skinner. You're Deacon Holden's right-hand man. Killed a busload of old people and kids. Took their scalps."

  "That ain't but the tip of the iceberg." Skinner's eyes twinkled with cobalt fires. "Our work is scattered from one coast to the next. We are the scourge. Flaying this land of the sickness of aberrant flesh. The Deacon is the god of the desert. The Burning Man made flesh, come to baptize his disciples in fire to cleanse their souls."

  Rosy glanced at Jett. "We taking this clown out, or what?"

  "Everyone stay cool." Jett aimed his rifle at Skinner, using the terminal island as cover. "We can all get through this without killing each other."

  "Don't know 'bout that." Skinner held a detonator clutched in his fist. For the first time, Jett noticed the harness that crisscrossed the leader's chest. It was strapped with C4 explosives.

  "If you're thin
king about getting a quick shot off, think again. I've already pressed on the detonator. My thumb comes off, we all go sky high. I guess you'll be wanting to drop your weapons and head back the way you came. Or else things are gonna get…sticky."

  Beef clenched his teeth. "We drop our weapons; he and his freak friends use us for target practice. No go!"

  "You think I won't do it?" Skinner hoisted the detonator up high, voice rising to a rabid howl. "This is the end of our days, you blind worms. The Deacon has seen the great and terrible eye open in the heavens, burning with its eternal gaze. We will witness the world that lies beyond when we are purged of these crude and useless husks. Our ashes will be turned to rays of glorious light!"

  Jisei streaked forward, a blur of dark movement. A retractable blade snapped from her gauntlet, severing Skinner's hand at the wrist. She simultaneously clamped fingers on his thumb, keeping the detonator pressed down. Her other hand jammed a handgun into Skinner's open mouth. His eyes bulged, touched by fear for the first time.

  She pulled the trigger, blowing his brains out the back of his head.

  Gunfire erupted, turning the chamber into a close-quarter bloodbath. Jett fired at the nearest Deviants, howling as his team took mortal wounds from point-blank range. Bodies jerked in grotesque motion as the room flickered with muzzle flashes, the air filled with screams. In a matter of mere seconds, only one person other than Jett was left standing.

  Jisei stood on wobbly legs, still holding tight to Skinner's severed hand. She appeared dazed, as unaware of where she was. Bullet holes perforated her armor in dozens of places. Jett knew that at such close range, most of them had penetrated.

  "Jisei?" He edged around the terminal island. "Tatsu, can you hear me?"

  Her head jerked up in recognition of her real name. "Jett…"

  "Hold on. I'm coming to you."

  "No." She thrust out a warning hand, retreating from him. "Take cover."

  "Tatsu…" He stared helplessly.

  "I can't hold this anymore. I…am sorry." She tottered, spiraling like a broken dancer. Finally, she went limp.

  Jett dove behind the terminal island as the explosives erupted, destroying the room in a wreath of flame and concussive force. He was lifted off the floor and slammed into the far wall, covered in soot and debris.

  His vision blurred from the fire and smoke that choked the chamber. His bones felt like water when he tried to free himself from the smoldering debris. Somehow he managed to stand upright, staggering on unsteady feet. Tears streamed down his face from more than the smoke. Charred bodies were thrown across the room, barely recognizable. He stumbled from one to the next, checking for vital signs. There weren't any.

  "Jett…"

  He followed the warbling voice, shoving away a blazing section of collapsed ceiling. Tatsu lay underneath. Her helmet was shattered, revealing her face. It was the only part of her that wasn't shredded by the explosion.

  He dropped down, cradling her head in her arms. "Tatsu, I'm sorry…"

  "Door."

  "What?"

  She pointed. He looked in that direction. The door that was previously sealed had buckled in, forced partially open from the force of the blast.

  Tatsu stared at him. "Go."

  His chest tightened. "What's the use? We were supposed to make it together, all of us…"

  She placed a hand on his cheek. "Go." Her eyes filmed over, and her arm dropped to the floor.

  He closed her eyes and gently laid her back down. Standing, he forced himself to tear his gaze away. The room was blackened, hazy, gutted by the detonation. Light effused from the doorway as if beckoning to him.

  He went to it, squeezing his way past the broken door. Pain stabbed him with every step, wounds making themselves known as the adrenaline faded. Wrenching off his helmet, he let it slam to the floor. The narrow hall led to an elevator. He entered, collapsing when his knees buckled. The doors closed with a hissing sound. The momentary, stomach-churning sensation of falling passed as the elevator took him downward, deep down into the unknown depths. He closed his eyes, seeing the faces of his Hellrazors in his mind.

  "I'm sorry." Tears slid down his cheeks. "It should have been me. It should have been me…"

  The elevator's descent took forever. Consciousness fled, leaving him mired in guilt and darkness.

  Ⓥ

  He awoke in a prison.

  His heart exploded into overdrive at awakening inside a sealed pod just large enough to hold him. He tried to move, but his wrists, ankles, and waist were strapped down and secured. No matter how frantic his movements, he was trapped tighter than a rabbit in a snare.

  "Ah, you're awake."

  A man approached and stood over the sight-glass of the pod. He was mid-sixties, athletic build, silver-haired. His face was carved lines and rigid angles, the face of a man who gave orders and expected them to be obeyed.

  Jett forced himself to calm down. "Let me out of here."

  "Out?" The man's eyebrows lifted. "But you fought so hard to get in."

  "Then this is…?"

  "A stasis station. As you must have known when you came charging in with your team. When the Deviants took the facility, I was so afraid they would find a way down here and ruin everything. But you took care of that, didn't you? Sad that things went the way they did with your team, but there weren't enough stasis chambers for all of them anyway. I think it worked out for the best, all things considered."

  "Who are you?"

  "My name is William Golding."

  "The tech billionaire."

  "Once. It doesn't matter anymore. Still, my billions secured this facility, myself, and a few staff members. And now, you. As you know, the word above is coming to its long-delayed end. Absolutely dreadful to witness before all the cameras were destroyed. Anything on the surface will be annihilated within the next forty-eight hours. The fallout will contaminate the atmosphere for the next few centuries. There is nothing we can do except hibernate, entrusting our lives to this technology in order to awaken into a new future. For your part in eliminating threats to my enterprise, this is your reward." He gestured to the stasis pod.

  Stepping to a nearby panel, he tapped a few keys and pressed a green button. "There really is no way to prepare yourself. Just try not to let the panic kill you."

  "What do you mean?" Jett struggled again against his bonds. "What are you doing to me?"

  "Saving your life, my new friend. I have a feeling about you. I think you're…special. Time is short, I'm afraid. See you on the other side."

  Slots opened in the capsule, expelling thick liquid. It gurgled as it quickly filled up the entire chamber. Jett held his breath for as long as he could; until black specks danced across his vision. The air finally expelled in a blast of viscous bubbles. His scream was choked by the gelatinous liquid pouring down his throat. Fire erupted in his chest as his lungs filled, drowning him.

  A sudden rush of freezing air turned everything into frigid ice. The last thing he saw was the sky tearing open and a fiery eye staring down at him, into him, burning him alive.

  Approximately 300 years later

  Ⓥ

  Chapter 2

  Good evening. You're with Cam Danvers on another NYN news Fast Break. The weather might have cooled off some of the gang war altercations, but it hasn't stopped the murder rate from rising to alarming rates once again. Just this evening three passersby were taken to the hospital with critical injuries after being caught in the middle of an all-out brawl in Joe's Tavern. Eyewitnesses say rival gangs Crimson Kings and Krazy Eights were responsible for the injuries and property damage totaling in the thousands. This makes six violent altercations in the last three days, with RCE officials offering little explanation for why they're unable to—

  "You're one of those Defrosts, aren't you?"

  Jett looked up from his shot of whiskey. The man at the bar next to him was short, disheveled, and unremarkable in appearance. Sandy hair pulled back into a wispy ponytail, buckshot stu
bble across his cheeks, and large front teeth that made Jett immediately think of a rodent when the man gave him a friendly grin.

  "Tim LeBlanc's my name. The Tim ain't important. I go by LeBlanc professionally." He offered a hand, which Jett reluctantly shook.

  "Didn't mean to disturb you. Just noticed the holoband. Brand new issue. Which means either you just got outta the funhouse or you just got thawed out."

  "The funhouse?"

  "Yeah, you know—jail. The 'fun' label is witticism."

  "Yeah, I get it. Didn't know people still got locked up. Thought they just shoot you dead in the streets when you break the law."

  "That's just the street sweepers. Haven-approved robotic assassins. They don't get activated as much as people think. But plenty of other offenses can get you cooling your heels in a box. That's what the RCE uniforms are for. Keeping the so-called peace. Street sweepers usually step in when things get seriously outta hand."

  "Well, I'm not an ex-con." Jett glanced at the holoband on his wrist. It functioned as a communicator, computer, and personal assistant; able to project an interactive holographic display in visually stunning clarity. It possessed all of his records, his identification, his entire new life biologically bonded to his unique DNA through a chip embedded in his wrist. If removed, the holoband would cease to function, and an alert would go directly to the nearest RCE station.

  LeBlanc let out a loud guffaw. "I knew it. You're a Defrost. So, you were there at the end. At the Cataclysm. Then you went under and woke up three hundred something years later. Man, what was that like? When you first came out of stasis?"

  Millions of icy pinpricks like tiny stabs across his entire body. Muscles limp, he slumped to the floor, vomiting oxygenated liquid until his lungs burned. Quivering uncontrollably, barely aware of lab-coated personnel trying to ease him upright. Black-armored security guards were present as well, regarding him with a coldness he couldn't decipher. He didn't care. The world was a photo flash of brilliant light and blaring noise, disorienting and overwhelming. It was too sudden, too much to process. He curled into the fetal position and wailed like a newborn.