Fugitives (The Silent Wars Book 2), page 20
“I near shit myself,” Kora said. “Asked me a thousand questions, then let me go.”
“Like what?” Rose sat down on a dark green sofa, staring daggers at the couple opposite until they moved.
“Who my parents were. Life in Idaho.”
“Sorry, kid. I didn’t think they would ask stuff like that.” Rose squinted.
Kora didn’t blame her for being suspicious. She figured anyone involved in Succour would be by default. Or you ended up like those back at the safe house. Hanging from the rafters, waiting for the worms — or, in their case, the maggots — to devour you. “We see a lot of old-world films in Lincoln. I just told them a bunch of stuff I had seen, and figured life for a Gnat would be similar on the surface.”
“Nice thinking. That took guts,” Agnes said. She slouched and shut her eyes.
Kora could see by the display on a large screen that it was a five-hour trip. “Are we allowed outside?”
“Yup.”
“I’m going to get some air.”
“Don’t draw attention, kid,” Agnes said.
Nodding, Kora followed the signs to an open deck and clutched the rail as the large ship gained speed. She had no idea what powered it, but it made the vessel move fast. Once they cleared the harbour and were out in the open ocean, the ship put on more speed. Rising out of the water on foils, it gobbled up the kilometres in seconds, the force of the air pushing Kora against the hull.
She didn’t mind the sensation. It felt good to have this much oxygen blowing through her hair, cleansing the torment from her mind.
CHAPTER 18
Near Lincoln City.
Pacific Sea Floor Mining Complex.
The Glittering Cavern got its name for obvious reasons. Lit by a bioluminescent fungus, it twinkled like a million stars. The Donker River flowed through the centre of the cavern, cascading down a series of shallow waterfalls and adding to the ambience by creating a mist. Discovered a hundred years earlier by lode hunters following stone worm tunnels, it had been a favourite hangout for each generation of teenagers since.
Today, it was a scene of chaos. The remnants of Lincoln’s defenders crowded the space. Falcon Legion moved military equipment into position, guarding the tunnels that led back to the city, while medical tents treated the injured. Ore trains that used to carry the valuable cargo topside now carried casualties from the front line, evacuating them to Gladstone.
Eli stumbled out of the buggy with Colter’s assistance. Nox clung to his side, licking his hand and whimpering. The Alsatian knew something was wrong with Eli. A nurse took over from Colter and opened the last available med capsule. Collapsing inside, Eli was happy to see Ley next to him. Awake, she kissed her hand and pressed it against the glass of her med capsule. He mirrored her action and lay back as the machine went to work.
Ignoring the pokes and jabs, he thought about what Lincoln had just been through. Zapata had attacked the city because of a handwritten journal. The risk of the secret getting out was so great, the Thule was willing to commit genocide to keep it.
No more games.
The last words Zapata had spoken to him repeated in his mind. That frightened him — the insinuation that, up until that point, Zapata had been amused. When one lives a long life, maybe the joy of being alive is lost. Nothing is new. One has seen it all. Done it all. Experienced pain, pleasure, fear, anger and love. Was the former commander bored? Was finding Fisher another game? Something to entertain him.
The med capsule warned him stims were coming. A quick sting in his forearm, then instant relief as the concoction entered his exhausted body. He shut his eyes and relaxed.
Ley kissed him passionately as soon as the capsule door opened. Nox jumped up and nuzzled his face against Eli’s leg. “Nice to see you too, bud.”
“Not me?” Ley grinned and kissed him again.
Eli caressed her cheek, savouring the feel of her soft skin under the touch of his fingers. He wished they could escape to the far reaches of the labyrinth and put all this behind them. But they couldn’t. Jade had been right — Even the smallest thing can change the world. The small thing was hiding on the surface somewhere, and Thule like Zapata were willing to do anything to get it.
“Feel better?” Ley asked.
“Much. You?”
“Rested. The others are with your father. He’s asking for you.”
Eli caressed her cheek again and tenderly kissed her lips. Duty could wait a few more minutes. “Promise me something.”
“Natuurlijk.”
“Of course, eh?”
“Sorry, still in Dutch mode in my brain. Was talking to Captain Bergkamp. They’ve sent a recon team to Lincoln to locate anyone left behind. What do I have to promise?”
“When this is all over, all this fighting and violence, we take Nox and live out our lives somewhere peaceful.”
“Like Kangaroo Valley?”
Eli barked out a laugh, recalling the old-world documentary they had seen about a remote valley in some place called Australia. “Kangaroo Valley it is.”
“Maybe we’ll like the ocean, though. Imagine that. Swimming in blue water with hundreds of fish. Waves crashing on the shore while we stare at the sky and sun.”
“I’d like that. We could drink Mai Tais or whatever, try surfing.”
“Sharks, though.”
“Again, Jaws isn’t real.”
“Sharks are. Big bastards. What was that song you played me?”
“‘Shark Attack’ by Split Enz?” Eli sang a few bars.
“That’s it. Maybe they’re singing about Jaws.”
“I doubt it.”
“C’mon.”
“This again? It’s difficult to understand what they’re singing about in a world we haven’t lived in. I just like the guitars. That’s why I listen to music. The musicality.”
“Even ABBA?”
“Hell, yeah. Now jazz, that’s a different story. Insanity.”
Ley gently slapped his cheek and kissed him again. “Nothing but class.”
Eli, Nox and Ley cuddled until a nurse poked her head in. “Sorry to interrupt. Colonel Miller is asking for you all and we’re moving out soon, so I need to get the capsule loaded.”
“Thank you, nurse…?”
“It’s Svenson.”
“Svenson. Thank you.”
Eli was surprised but happy to see Marie standing next to Jade and Colter as he entered the tent that had been set up as the command centre. Noah broke away from two sergeants and hugged Eli. For the second time in the last few seconds, he was surprised. It was rare for his father to show any public display of affection.
“Had me worried there for a moment.”
“I’m okay.”
“Nurse Svenson said the bullet missed your femoral by millimetres. And some toxin was still in your system.”
“I’m okay. Seriously. What’s the situation?”
Noah clapped him on the back. “Tough, us Millers. Glad you’re okay too, Haru. Maybe we were wrong to not accept you into the legion.”
“Maybe. But then I wouldn’t have been a Watcher.”
“True. This way.” Noah gestured to Marie and guided the team to a table. Once everyone was seated, he nodded to a private, who activated the haloscreen in the centre.
“All right. Fourth and fifth battalions have recon teams scouting what remains of Lincoln and the immediate tunnels, rounding up stragglers and getting us a sitrep on the enemy…”
“Sorry.” Eli put up his hand. “The citizens. Mum? Lucas, Furillo, Old Patty?”
“All safe apart from Furillo. He and some others are MIA. Patty Durand said her goodbyes and disappeared into the labyrinth.”
That sounded like Old Patty. She preferred the solitude of the darkness. She had done her duty and deserved whatever time she had left.
“We volunteer to search for Furillo,” Ley said. She had read Eli’s mind. The chief had gone to bat for them during Mayor Sousa’s bullshit. They weren’t going to leave him behind.
“Negative. I have my best SR team tracking them. Listen up. I’m only going to say this once. Everyone here is to defend this position to give the citizens more time, and make sure our soldiers get home. Understood?”
Noah waited until every man and woman in the room acknowledged him before continuing.
“Captain Lucas Miller and Sixth Battalion are still holding the climate control plant. Fusion core is offline and sabotaged. Reports are coming in that mercs are working on it. I don’t need to tell you what will happen if that goes boom. I’ve been informed that it will take them at least a week to restart after they make repairs if they can, but I’m planning a counterattack to stop them. Captain MacKay?”
“Sir.”
Eli glanced at the short man with mocha skin. His white beard shone in the low light.
“Take a small squad and make the mercs’ lives difficult. You know these tunnels better than most.”
“Wilco.”
“Engineers are bringing the back-up systems online now in Pitt, Gladstone and Chamberlain.”
“They’re still standing?” Eli asked.
“The Nine and the mercs didn’t attack Pitt, Eli. They went around, ignoring us,” Marie explained.
“Okay. Sorry for interrupting.”
Noah turned back to the screen, showing the map of the area. “Recon teams November and Alpha are reporting movement in several tunnels heading this way, both man and beast. The Glittering Cavern is a natural chokepoint, so we are going to hold them off here until everyone is safe. Then we’ll flood it.”
Ley grasped Eli’s hand under the table as the ground beneath them rumbled violently. The chairs and tables seemed to float, vibrating across the floor of the large tent.
“Storms!” someone shouted. Not that anyone needed to be told.
“To your stations!” Noah ordered.
Marie saluted Eli and the other Watchers before dashing from the meeting.
For a moment, Eli was confused what to do. Then Ley, Jade and Colter were next to him, hustling him out of the tent. He hastily strapped his weapons on and snapped his backpack and crossbow into place.
Jade tossed him a merc rifle. “Remember how to use it?”
“Kinda hard to forget.”
“Watch the charge counter.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
“No worries.”
Jade handed Ley and Colter one each, while she kept the last one. Nox started barking furiously as four large stone worms broke through the walls of the cavern, sending glowing fungi flying in all directions. They landed with a thump and slid, their huge bodies knocking soldiers over. One worm twisted around with terrifying speed and clamped down on the head of an unfortunate man who was too slow getting out of the way. In seconds, he was nothing but a skeleton with hunks of flesh hanging off the bones like the discarded parts of a fish. Eli snapped out of his daze and sprinted after his friends. Instead of a machine-gun nest, they manned one of the high-pressure hoses powered by a massive generator. Colter and Jade jumped up onto the seats to drive the contraption while Eli, still feeling a bit fragile, helped Ley with the hoses. Their job was to keep the water flowing, stop any debris from clogging the intake.
More worms piled out from the holes, shrieking and contorting, their segmented bodies hunting for prey.
“Here we go!”
Colter opened the valve with his foot and directed his nozzle at the nearest worm. The effect was instantaneous. The worm shrieked, an ear-splitting sound, and curled into a ball. Jade hit a different worm and got the same result. Over and over, they soaked the creatures until a huge, writhing ball of worms twisted against the wall. Using the power of the dual nozzles, Colter and Jade pushed the mass of creatures into the river.
“On the left!” Ley warned just as Nox zipped out from the hose nest and nipped at a stone worm charging at them. A split second later, and there were five more. Then another seven. All Colter and Jade could do was sweep the water from side to side to keep them at bay. Whistling, Eli called Nox back, then charged his stolen merc rifle. He had to adjust his feet for the recoil as the bullets burst out and tore into the flesh of the beasts.
“Ugly motherfuckers!” Ley called out as she too fired on them, killing the last worm with a blast at close range. All throughout the Glittering Cavern, shouts, screams and calls to arms could be heard. Eli had never seen so many worms in one place before. The Nine were behind this. He checked if the hose was still free, then jammed a fresh magazine into his weapon. Somewhere towards the back of the cavern, the Lincoln Pipe Band started playing their bagpipes — as if the sound of the pigs’ bladders would scare the modified creatures away. Whatever, Eli loved it. The music flowed through him and, in a strange way, gave him a renewed sense of courage.
“Mole rats!” a warning came over the comms. “Entering from the west.”
Eli pivoted in time to watch a mass of the weird, huge rodents storm into the cavern. Dozens of them, gnashing their teeth and squeaking, an awful, high-pitched sound. Falcon Legion fought back with flamethrowers, large crossbow bolts and long pikes. The battle was on.
Eli refocused and turned back as more worms arrived. He rested his rifle on the hose nearest him and picked them off with precise shots to their heads. Having the carbine in his hands certainly made killing the beasts easier.
“All non-military personnel are to evacuate immediately!” Noah said over the comms, his voice laced with anger.
Eli wasn’t sure if that meant the Watchers too, so he continued to fire at the worms.
As he took down a juvenile, a large muzzle appeared in the tunnel entrance, quickly followed by the head of a hyena. It howled and charged into the melee.
“Hyenas!” Eli warned.
“Awesome,” Ley said.
Jamming a fresh magazine into his rifle, Eli tried to get a bead on the lead hyena, but the damn thing was too fast. He watched as the canine barreled into a group of medical staff boarding the train and crunched down on a nurse’s arm. It tore off the limb and tossed it to land next to a prowling mole rat. The mole rat picked it up like it was some prize and scurried away.
“The medical team! Ley, with me. Jade?”
The Echo glanced over and nodded. She jumped from her seat and shouldered her rifle. Eli and Ley sprinted over the tracks, firing at the hyena until it dropped the nurse’s bloody body. Ley killed it with a shot to the chest and blasted another into its twitching body to silence its death throes.
Eli rolled the nurse over and grimaced. It was Nurse Svenson. She gurgled blood and tried to the sit up.
“Stay down.” Eli looked around for help, but everyone was either too busy or frightened to do anything useful.
Svenson grabbed his hand. “Leave me. It’s too late.”
Eli shook his head and lifted her scrubs. A large bite mark ringed her torso, blood leaking from the wounds. Her stump pumped claret at a steady rate.
“Stims?” Eli asked.
“All gone.”
Svenson gurgled more blood and her breathing became ragged. She was losing colour, and her lips were blue. Ley tossed Eli her med kit, and Eli jabbed Svenson with a stim. Once the wounds began to clot, he wrapped them as best as he could and lifted her into the train.
“Thanks,” she said.
“Live. We need you.” Eli smiled and took her remaining hand, then rested it on her chest.
Several more howls reverberated around the cavern as more hyenas charged in. When Eli saw mercs stomping in, he knew it was over for Falcon Legion and the Watchers. They could hold them off for a while, but they were fighting a battle with multiple enemies, and he didn’t need to be a master strategist to know it was bad. Real bad. He banged the stock of his rifle on the train, and it began to move towards Pitt. Like before, the mercs weren’t firing. They would approach a soldier, grab them by the throat, use some sort of scanning device, then kill them and move on to the next.
“Ley?”
“What?”
“They’re looking for us again. The mercs.”
Ley shot another hyena, then crouched so she could observe the mercs. The Nine soldiers came next, seeking targets and shooting anyone still alive.
“Let’s give them something to chase, then, while everyone gets the fuck outta here.”
“Labyrinth?”
“Yup. I’ll radio Colter. The buggy is close.”
Nox bounded over to Eli, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. His teeth were bloodied, and bits of sinew and tissue hung from them. Eli gave him a quick once-over, checking for wounds. Apart from some scratches and cuts, he was fine.
“This is crazy,” Colter said, pulling up in the buggy.
Jade stood and fired a burst over Eli’s and Ley’s heads. A hyena crashed to the ground and skidded in the blood-soaked dust before slamming into the buggy.
“Eli for Colonel Miller.”
“Go for Miller.”
“Mercs are hunting for us. We’re going to lead them away.”
“Negative. Break contact. We’re going to drown these assholes.”
“Can’t do that, Dad. They’ll never stop chasing us until we are dead. I’ll explain one day. Love you guys.”
Eli switched off his radio and flashed Colter a thumbs-up.
Colter dodged several pockets of fighting as he drove the buggy towards the southern entrance of the cavern, then skidded to a halt in front of the advancing mercs. Beyond them, the tunnel leading to the cavern was filled with their machines of war — tanks, drills, troop carriers.
Eli and Ley hopped out and spread their arms wide. One of the mercs snapped his helmet up. Eli wished he could see the recognition on the sexless Echo’s face, but he had to make do with seeing the merc take a step back and gesture at his squad mates.
Eli and Ley leapt back into the buggy. “Go!” Eli shouted.
The buggy lurched forwards and tore up the spiralling road. Eli hadn’t been in this part of the cavern before. Like nearly every teenager, he had brought dates here to see the beauty of nature at its best, but, for whatever reason, he had never gone to the highest viewpoint. Over the years, it had become the make-out spot. To Eli, it was way too cliche.
