Dead Mech (31 page)

Mastelo laughed. “Well, a future for my
people outside the deep waste, of course!”

***

“Foggy Bottom fell? You mean, like Windy
City?” Mathew asked, horrified. “I’m from Foggy Bottom. I still
have some family there, some childhood friends… It couldn’t have
just fallen.”

“Not like Windy City. Windy City refused to
cooperate and they were destroyed for it,” Shiner responded. “Foggy
Bottom was inoculated. That is what I have been able to gather when
I have checked the relay net. Before finding you, there was an
incident with mech pilots. They escaped, but all trace was lost
when the UDC transports pursuing them were destroyed and the waste
storm hit their last known coordinates.”

***

“And how can we help you achieve that
future?” Capreze asked.

“For generations we have been beset upon by
other denizens of the wasteland,” Mastelo said.

“Yeah, but you easily outnumber them,” Bisby
said over the com.

Mastelo looked at the conference disc and
leaned in. “Yes, but we are not a warring people. We have hidden
our society underground to avoid direct conflict.”

“So what good are you to us?” Bisby
snapped.

“Pilot…” Capreze growled.

“It’s a valid point, Commander. We will give
you our numbers, and you will teach us to fight, in exchange for
sanctuary and protection.”

***

“Hey, can we use the mech relays ourselves?”
Mathew asked.

“Not without the Outsider taking notice,”
Shiner responded as the new mech left the Windy City rubble and
headed out into the wasteland.

“So? What can it do? Does it control the
dead mechs?”

“No, but it controls the people,” Shiner
answered.

“People? What do you mean?” Mathew
asked.

One took its place next to Shiner/Mathew,
its weapons ready. Shiner/Mathew placed a massive hand upon One’s
frame, calming the twitchy mini-mech.

“Those inoculated. They are under direct
control of the Outsider. That is why it needs the relays,” answered
Shiner.

***

“Sounds pretty one sided, if you ask me,”
Bisby said.

“Pilot Bisby, please get off the com,”
Capreze ordered.

“But, sir! We’ll do all the work, they get
trained and then we trust them to help us? Come on!”

“Get off the com,” Capreze growled.

Busby grunted. “Yes, sir.”

“He does have a point,” Rachel said.

“Not you too, Baby Girl.”

“Commander, I do not want to create strife
amongst your people,” Mastelo said, standing and nodding to Rachel
and Jethro. “I must check on my wounded. Good evening to you
all.”

Mastelo left Rachel and Jethro to Capreze’s
glare.

***

“Listen…,” Mathew started.

“I’m always listening, there is no
separation of our thoughts,” Shiner interrupted.

“It’s an expression. Anyway, maybe we can
tap into the relay net and find my friends. It’s worth a shot.”

Shiner paused for a millisecond. “It may be
worth the risk.”

“I still don’t see what the risk is,” Mathew
said, frustrated. “If the Outsider can’t control us then what’s the
worst it can do?”

“It can send UDC transports after us. We are
just one mech. With enough transports, the Outsider can take us
down.”

“Well, they’d have to catch us first,
wouldn’t they?”

***

Rachel spoke first, ignoring her father’s
glare. “We know nothing about Mastelo and those, those…
Skinners.”

“I trust him,” Capreze said.

“Why? Because he didn’t kill you? Come on,
Papa Bear! This isn’t smart!”

Capreze stood suddenly, anger clouding his
features. “It’s all we have! We lost the fucking base! Had to tuck
tail and run like a bunch of bitches! I’m not a bitch and if there
is a chance to march back there and fucking kill every goddamn last
one of those Rancher mother fuckers and take our base back then I’m
willing to take that fucking chance!”

***

Shiner/Mathew broke into a run, quickly
upping the pace until they were sprinting across the nighttime
landscape of the wasteland.

“We hook into the relay net while we’re
moving. As soon as we have the info we need, we disconnect then
adjust course. The Outsider may have a general idea, but the
wasteland is a mighty big place and we’ll be miles away before
anything gets remotely close to us.”

“Fine. But, if the Outsider sees us it will
be angered. It holds grudges. It will not rest until it finds us
and destroys us,” Shiner warned.

“Welcome to life.”

***

Themopolous held her head in her hands, not
bothering to remove the surgical gloves, blood smearing her face
and hair.

Mastelo approached and touched her shoulder.
Themopolous jumped, falling from the bench she sat upon and onto
the hard ground.

“Forgive me,” Mastelo said. “I didn’t mean
to startle you. I was…” He trailed off seeing the blood stained
sheet covered silhouette on the camp table. “She has passed?”

“Yes,” Themopolous answered quietly. “I am
sorry. I did what I could, but she bled out too quickly.”

Mastelo lifted the body into his arms and
walked quietly into the dark.

***

“How do we connect?” Mathew asked, barely
containing his excitement at the sensation of night running without
feeling blind.

“We already are,” Shiner responded. “ I have
been conducting a systematic search of all information relating to
your friends while you have been busy…” Shiner searched Mathew’s
mind. “…joyriding.”

“Well, move that brain over Shiner, my boy
and let’s see what we can find together.”

Mathew opened his consciousness to the relay
path Shiner had opened. He instantly cringed at the death and decay
the relay net was built upon. “Jeezus, how do you stand this?”

“I try not to.”

***

Jethro looked away while Rachel stood and
crossed to her father. “Hey, I understand, I truly do. That base
was my home, too. The only home I’ve ever known. I want it back,
but rushing into this is not the way to do it.”

Capreze snorted. “Really? Are you expecting
a different army to fall into our laps?”

“Don’t take that tone with me, Mister,”
Rachel scolded playfully, teasing a slight smile from the
Commander’s lips. “I’m not saying it isn’t a good idea, but let’s
not sign the treaty right now. We ALL need to talk this plan
over.”

***

The pain came sudden and strong, making
Mathew take a mental stumble. “What the fuck?”

“Ignore it,” Shiner said. “It isn’t
real.”

“It felt fucking real! Ow!” Mathew
responded. “What was that?”

“The Outsider. We’re being tested. I assure
you the pain isn’t real, it’s just your human brain’s way of
interpreting the data.”

“A digital bitch slap?”

Shiner processed. “Yes, that would be a good
way of putting it.”

The attack came again, but Mathew was
prepared, seeing it for what it was.

“Whatever the Outsider is, it’s fucking
big,” Mathew stated. “And…”

“Insane,” Shiner finished the thought.

“Yeah.”

***

Harlow sat next to Themopolous. “I patched
the kids up. They’ll be fine. Their people already took them home.”
Themopolous didn’t respond, her head back in her hands. “Come on,
let’s get you cleaned up.”

Harlow went to stand, but Themopolous
slumped against her, shaking with sobs. “Oh, Doc… Shhhhh…,” Harlow
soothed, putting her arm about Themopolous’s shoulders, hugging
her. “Shhh… You did what you could.”

“I’m not cut out for this,” Themopolous
cried. “I’m a Doctor. This is war, this is hell!”

“Bullshit,” Capreze said, stepping from the
transport. “You’re as much cut out for this as I am.”

***

Mathew scanned the relay, cringing less and
less each time his consciousness brushed against a deader’s. The
Outsider remained an ever looming presence, prodding and testing
Mathew/Shiner, trying to figure out the new mech.

“God, that’s just fucking annoying,” Mathew
said.

“Yes, it is,” Shiner agreed. “And it’s
getting closer to tracking us down. We cannot keep searching
blindly for information. That could take a lifetime.”

“You’re right,” Mathew sighed. “You take
over physically, I’m diving into the data.”

“I am quite against that, it is too
dangerous,” Shiner warned.

“Hey, I’m human. We’re stupid when it comes
to danger.”

***

“We are
all
here because we are made
of something different,” Capreze said, approaching Themopolous and
Harlow. “I don’t disagree, Doctor, this
is
hell. But, it is
what each of us was born for. This is our moment in time. We make
the future. And while the future may not be completely dead, it’s
on its way and it’s up to us to keep it alive.”

Capreze turned and looked up at Bisby’s mech
then at Rachel as she helped Jethro wheel out of the transport.

“We write the history people will remember.
So let’s write it as a win.”

***

This must be what it’s like to fly
,
Mathew thought as he surfed the relay data, looking for any sign of
what may have happened to Jay and the others.

He dove into each dead mech’s consciousness,
just as he would in battle, blasting and slashing his was way
through the info until he was sure there was nothing there.

“Be careful, Mathew,” Shiner warned. “You’re
enraging half the wasteland right now.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a bit pissed off too. So
fuck ‘em.”

He was moving so quickly now he almost
missed the faint consciousness that was barely hanging on.

***

They all watched Capreze. Bisby looking down
from his mech, Rachel and Jethro by the transport, Harlow and
Themopolous seated on the camp bench. And Capreze locked eyes with
each of them in turn.

“I know you’re all scared. Hell, I’m
shitting bricks right now, but ever fiber of my being is saying
this is the right decision. This is the
only
decision,” he
said, shoulders square, back straight, the picture of confidence.
“But, I will not commit any of you to something you are not
committed to yourselves.”

He looked at each again and strode back to
the transport.

***

“Whoa. That’s different,” Mathew said,
exploring the weak consciousness. “Is it a deader?”

“I’m not sure,” Shiner answered. “You’re
assessment is correct, this one is different.”

“Is it the Outsider?”

“No.”

“Well, I’m going in.”

“Be careful. It does not feel like a trap,
but it’s foreign enough that I may not be able to extract you if
needed.”

“Understood,” Mathew said as he pushed
forward. Immediately he saw that there were two consciousnesses
present. One a very stripped down, basic dead mech, and the other a
human mind.

A human mind that Mathew knew very well.

“Holy shit! Masters?”

***

“Hold on, Commander,” Bisby grumbled. “As
much as I don’t like this. You’re right. This is the only decision
before us. I’m in.”

“Me, too,” Harlow said.

“I ain’t got nothing better to do,” Jethro
added.

“You know I’ll always have your back, Papa
Bear,” Rachel smiled.

Capreze turned to Themopolous. “Doctor? What
do you say?”

Themoplous wiped at her eyes and took a deep
breath. She stripped the bloody gloves from her hands and tossed
them on the ground, looking Capreze squarely in the eyes. “Well,
someone has to patch you idiots up when this all goes to shit.”

June sat before the breed feed holding pen,
watching the two children that were left sleep. She’d been told
earlier that the others didn’t make it through the storm. That no
one bothered to bring them inside, leaving them exposed to the
power of the wasteland.

The two that were left looked bruised and
battered, blood smearing their faces and the rags they wore as
clothes. One of the children, a boy of maybe 8 or 9, with a
malformed skull and no nose, just a hole in the center of his face,
stirred fitfully in his sleep, fighting nightmares.

***

“Mitch? Mitch?!? MASTERS!!!” the voice
yelled.

Masters stirred uneasily, his head feeling
like a ten ton hangover had taken up residence and died.

He could hear other voices, thoughts, sounds
and from what his hazy brain could tell, they were all dead voices,
thoughts, sounds. Except for the one yelling at him.

I must be in Hell
, Masters thought.
Pain, torture, mental anguish, strange voices and sounds? Yep,
that would be Hell.

“Masters!!! Wake the fuck up!” the voice
shouted louder.

“Matty? Is that you?” Masters asked.

“Yes!”

“I knew
I’d
end up in Hell, but never
thought you would.”

***

“You’re not in Hell, dumbass,” Mathew said.
“Somehow you are joined with a dead mech’s consciousness. One of
the thinkers. So am I, that’s how we’re communicating.”

Mathew could feel Masters’ mind slowly wake
up, but it was far from coherent.

Masters groaned. “I know you said a lot of
words just then, but all I heard was ‘blahblah blechblah blub blub
blah’. How’s about you make some sense?”

“Where are you, Masters?” Mathew asked,
growing annoyed.

“I’m in Hell, Jespers. It’s where the wicked
go when they die.”

“YOU AREN’T IN HELL!” Mathew roared.

“Ow, no more yelling, please.”

***

June didn’t move as the village went quiet
for the night, she just watched the children sleep, taking solace
in the sad fact that they could find some comfort in their lives,
if even for only a few hours a night.

“Come on, stop gawking at the lunch,” the
Boss growled behind her.

“No,” June stated flatly.

The Boss stared down at her for a moment.
“I’m sorry, I thought you just told me ‘no’. But, that can’t be
right, could it?”