Dead Mech (18 page)

Although the bout lasted a little longer
than the previous, it was no less gruesome as one fighter dug her
sharpened nails into the other’s chest and ripped a breast clean
off.

The crowd exploded with cheers and
bloodlust.

***

The third fight was a much stronger
contest.

The pilots watched as two evenly matched men
went after each other like caged animals, which they were.

One fighter, a squat, tightly muscled man,
was a strong ground fighter, but his opponent, wiry and lean, was
lightning fast and flexible and able to squirm out of the other’s
grasp each time before getting a limb ripped off.

“Skinny goes down in four,” Legit winked at
Jay and sure enough the lean fighter started to wobble only seconds
into the fourth round.

The slight hesitation resulted in his quick
and messy decapitation.

***

As the fourth fight was under way, Masters
leaned over to the Rookie. “Drugs?”

The Rookie nodded.

“So how did you…?” Masters asked.

“I didn’t eat or drink the entire day of or
during the fight. I wouldn’t let anyone get near me and I watched
my gear like a starving zombie.”

Masters glanced down at the Rookie’s
cocktail, which was half way finished. Almost imperceptibly, the
Rookie nodded to the floor. Below his seat was a small puddle of
liquid.

Masters looked at his own drink and
blanched, flagging down a passing waitress. “Hey! You guys got any
coffee?”

***

“So where are you getting the Reaper chips?”
Jay asked Legit as the latest corpse was removed from the cage.

“Huh? I don’t know what you mean, Jay. UDC
provides all city/state citizens with Reaper chips at birth,” Legit
responded with veiled sarcasm.

“Bullshit. I’ve lived in the waste long
enough to know you aren’t getting your fighters from inside the
walls. Who are you buying them from? The Ranchers? Or do you just
pick from the refugees trying to get in, hoping for a better life
than the waste.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,
Rind,” Legit smiled.

***

“If you’re sticking to the same format, I’m
up after this one,” the Rookie said, getting to his feet, eyeing
the cage as three ‘offenders’ were whipped mercilessly for the
crowd’s entertainment.

“You got it, kid,” Legit smirked. “You’re
up. I’ll be announcing this one. What do you want me to call
you.”

“The Rookie.”

“Excellent! That’ll make the odds skyrocket
in my favor. No one will believe an unknown named The Rookie can
take down Kilroy.”

“They can believe what they want. They’ll
know the truth soon enough when his body is dragged from the
cage.”

“Love that spirit!”

***

“Ladies and Gentlemen and those in between!”
Legit boomed over the PA. “I’m sorry to say that tonight’s fight
has changed.”

A groan erupted from the crowd. Legit made a
theatrical quiet down motion. He paused before bringing the old
fashioned mic back to his lips, savoring the moment.

“Now you all know me, would I
disappoint?”

No's and never's rang out.

“Don’t worry, Kilroy
will
be
fighting, but instead of Crusher John he’ll be taking on a
newcomer.”

Legit caught the eye of the Rookie standing
just outside the cage and grinned wickedly.

“Folks, I give you The Rookie!”

***

Kilroy stepped into the cage, his muscles
twitching with nervous, murderous energy. “So you’re the piece of
shit that’s supposed to end my reign?”

“Just settling an old debt. Nothing
personal,” the Rookie shouted over the crowd noise. “I’ll try to
make it quick.” Kilroy just laughed.

The bell sounded and Kilroy came out
swinging, his massive arms cutting through the air like steel
girders.

The Rookie danced out of reach, studying the
big fighter’s movements, watching for his weaknesses, his
habits.

“I know what you’re doing!” Kilroy yelled
between swings. “But you ain’t gonna find what you’re looking
for.”

***

“Jeezus, that guy is fucking huge,” Masters
said. “What’s he on?”

“Everything money can buy,” Legit
interjected. “300 pounds and almost zero body fat. He’s an
unstoppable killing machine. Too bad unstoppable is bad for
business.”

They watched the Rookie move around Kilroy,
ducking and dodging.

“Ahh, the Razor has gone soft,” Legit
mocked.

“Maybe he just isn’t the killer you knew,”
Jay said. “People change.”

“Bullshit. That kid’s a homicidal madman.
Why’d you think he became a mech pilot?”

Masters and Jay stayed silent, neither sure
they wanted to explore the answer.

“Because he needed bigger prey, that’s
why!”

***

The crowd grew impatient with the Rookie’s
skillful dodging. Glasses and bottles started pelting the fight
cage. Liquor splashed the Rookie in the face momentarily blinding
him.

That moment was all Kilroy needed. He closed
in quickly on the Rookie, landing two powerful gut punches and a
right uppercut, simultaneously doubling the Rookie over and sending
him flying backwards against the cage.

Stunned, the Rookie barely avoided a boot
stomp to the face by rolling across the mat into a crouch. That was
when he saw the weakness.

The Rookie stood up, dodged two more swings
and cracked his neck.

***

Kilroy was a mat-bound ton of muscle. The
Rookie smiled at this realization.

“Keep fucking smiling, dead boy!” Kilroy
roared.

The Rookie stayed silent, but turned his
body just right, backing himself into a corner, giving the illusion
of carelessness. Kilroy took the bait, putting all his power behind
a right arm punch.

The Rookie reached above, grabbing the steel
cage, and pulled himself up, just clear of Kilroy’s punch. While
the brawler was lucky enough not to connect with one of the steel
bars, he was unlucky enough to have his arm become trapped between
two bars, wedged tight.

***

The Rookie let go of the cage, letting all
of his weight fall onto Kilroy’s trapped arm. The snap brought a
massive groan from the crowd and then an equally massive cheer.
Kilroy tried to slump to the ground, but his still trapped arm
wouldn’t let him, forcing him to hang and pull on the limb in
agony.

The Rookie casually stepped away from Kilroy
and walked to the edge of the cage to stare at Legit. “We’re
done!”

Legit grinned viciously and shook his head.
Finish it
, he mouthed.

“It is!”

Legit pulled his pistol and turned on
Masters.

***

Four bodyguards pounced on Jay and Masters,
holding both of them tight as Legit placed the barrel of the pistol
against Masters’ forehead.

“It’s a shame really,” Legit said. “You seem
like a good guy.”

Masters and Jay struggled as Legit pulled
the hammer back. The Rookie raged at the cage’s door, trying to
force it open, the crowd oblivious to the sideshow as they raged
for Kilroy’s head.

Legit paused as the screams of bloodlust
turned to screams of agony. He glanced over his shoulder as one by
one, members of the crowd grabbed at their heads in pain.

***

Legit’s bodyguards released Jay and Masters,
falling to their knees, palms pressed firmly against their skulls,
their faces distorted by pain.

“What the fuck?” Legit said, turning and
watching the entire roomful of people brought to the ground by some
unseen torture.

The screams joined into one horrible
crescendo and then…silence.

Before him, every single person laid
unmoving, chests still, dead.

Legit was so distracted by the scene that
the brutal rabbit punches to his kidneys took him completely by
surprise, dropping him to his knees. Masters wrapped an arm around
Legit’s throat, locking it tight.

“Any last words?”

***

“Wait!” the Rookie shouted.

Masters placed a knee in the center of
Legit’s back and pressed, causing the man to wince and gasp as his
spine was stretched. “Why?”

“Because he knows the codes to get out of
here. The door is secured from the inside,” the Rookie answered,
motioning to the entrance they had come through earlier in the
night.

“He’s…right,” Legit choked.

Masters hesitated then slammed Legit upside
the head and shoved him to the ground. Jay stepped in quickly and
picked up Legit’s pistol.

“Good. Now how about someone open this
fucking cage?” the Rookie yelled.

***

Jay shoved Legit against the cage door,
pistol trained on his forehead. “Open it asshole.”

“You ain’t gonna shoot me, Jay,” Legit
smirked. “You ain’t
that
kinda guy.”

“But, I am,” Masters called over, having
retrieved Legit’s bodyguards’ sidearms. “In fact,” Masters
continued hefting a rather large auto-pistol. “I’m the kinda guy
that will ass rape you with this before I pull the trigger.”

Legit sized up Masters, laughed and faced
the Rookie. “I knew you hadn’t gone soft. These assholes are just
your kind of crazy.” Legit reached for the number pad and started
to key in the code.

***

Legit had half the code typed in when
movement out of the corner of his eye distracted him.

“Whatcha fuckin’ waiting on?” Jay
growled.

Legit glanced away from the keypad to one of
the dead spectators in the front row. “Did that guy move?”

“What? You saw what happened! Everyone’s
Reaper chip took a shit and fried their brains. Which begs the
question: why aren’t you fried?”

“Had mine taken out. Ain’t lettin’ nobody
have control over my life.”

“Yeah, yeah, finish typing,” Jay sneered.
But before Legit could continue, every corpse in the room twitched
simultaneously.

“See!” Legit shouted.

***

“Whoa! What the fuck is going on?” Masters
yelled, watching the corpses convulse. “They shouldn’t be doing
that!”

“No shit!” Jay yelled back. He turned on
Legit. “Finish typing in the code! Now!”

“I’m trying! Back the fuck off, Rind!”

The Rookie eyed Kilroy’s corpse as it shook,
still dangling by its trapped arm. Then as one, the corpses
stilled.

“This is fucking weird,” Masters said.

“You think it’s because of the inoculation?”
the Rookie mused, his eyes never leaving Kilroy’s now still
form.

“Let me guess,” Jay said to Legit. “You
didn’t get inoculated, but all your people did.”

***

The Rookie never let his eyes leave Kilroy’s
corpse, instinct keeping him wary.

“I don’t give a fuck who got a shot in their
ass! Get me out of here!” the Rookie insisted.

And then, Kilroy moved. His body no longer
dangled, as the corpse stood and tried to turn towards the Rookie,
but was prevented by its wedged arm. Kilroy growled low and began
to pull against the arm. Flesh started to rip.

“Um, guys?!?” the Rookie gulped.

“Yeah, we know!” Masters responded.

The Rookie risked a glance away from
Kilroy.

Every corpse in the room began to stand.

***

Double fisted and taking quick, targeted
aim, Masters opened fire. The zombies’ heads exploded with each
expertly placed shot.

Legit hit the last number and the cage lock
disengaged. “Don’t say I didn’t do nothing for ya Razor! Now
someone give me a fucking gun!”

Masters kicked a pistol over and Legit
grabbed it up in time to dodge a lunging zombie, putting a bullet
in its brain, the headless corpse falling against the cage
door.

The Rookie dove for the door, but a loud
click told him he was again trapped with the raging corpse of a
trained killer.

***

The crunch of bone and snap, pop, tear of
sinew and flesh forced the Rookie to switch his focus from the once
again locked cage door, to the zombie that was Kilroy.

The hulking abomination, black blood spewing
from the stump of its right arm, bared its teeth and roared. The
Rookie cracked his neck, readying himself for the attack.

“Anytime you want to try opening the door
again, feel free!” the Rookie yelled.

“You’re just going to have to suck it up,
kid and deal with your one zombie! We’ve got a few more on our
hands!” Jay yelled.

***

“I’m almost out!” Masters hollered.

“Behind the bar! Sixth bottle from the left!
Pull it!” Legit yelled back.

Masters ducked two zombies, spun and buried
his empty auto-pistols into their heads. He rolled to the bar,
springing up and over in one fluid motion and grabbed the bottle as
he tumbled to the floor.

Even over the cacophony of zombie howls and
gunfire, Masters heard gears clanging. Within seconds the entire
wall behind the bar opened onto an arsenal to rival the mech base
itself.

“Oh, I wish Harlow could see this,” Masters
muttered, grabbing a 12 gauge full-auto shotgun.

***

The Rookie ignored the deafening shotgun
blasts and focused on the newly freed zombie Kilroy.

“Okay, big boy, let’s see what you-” but
before he could finish Kilroy charged.

The Rookie rolled to the side, grabbing the
cage for leverage and kicked out hard with his left leg, connecting
with Kilroy’s right calf, knocking the enraged zombie to the mat.
The Rookie pulled himself upright and continued to climb the cage
wall, trying to get out of reach of the already recovered zombie as
it rushed him again.

“FUCK ME!” he yelled, barley swinging his
legs away from Kilroy’s grasp.

***

Jay caught the A1-59 auto pistol Masters
tossed him just as his own clicked empty. Opening fire he dropped
three more zombies as he tried to sidestep over to the bar.

Legit lifted a chair, smashing it down atop
two zombies, crushing but not killing them. He grabbed another
chair and swung it out in an arc, clearing away the zombies rushing
him.