Dead Mech (47 page)

Harlow knew her timing would be close, so
when the suicide Ranchers went off, she braced herself. Instantly
her world flipped about, head over heels as the force of the
concussions tossed her mech end over end.

She landed on her knees, stumbled to her
feet and grinned murderously, knowing she had been lucky. Her legs’
hydraulics protested though as she continued her pursuit.

“I said not today, mother fucker!”

***

“Where the fuck is she going?” Capreze
yelled, watching the distance grow as Harlow continued her
pursuit.

Rachel sprang into the air, coming down feet
first onto an oncoming transport, crushing the cargo area, nearly
splitting the thing in two. She sent thousands of 50mm rounds
inside to finish off whoever lived through the impact.

“Have you tried her com?” she asked, kicking
the smoking wreckage away.

“Gee, didn’t think of that,” Capreze
quipped. “Of course I did! She isn’t answering.

“It may have been damaged. Want me to go
after her?”

“No. Stay here and clean up,” Capreze
responded.

***

Archbishop Wyble lashed out at the vid
screen, his fist fracturing the screen and distorting the image of
Harlow’s still pursuing mech. He looked about him, desperate to
figure out some way to attack. Seeing nothing, he contemplated
Martyrdom, but those thoughts were shoved aside as a proximity
alarm echoed around him. Unfamiliar with the controls he scanned
the panels, trying to find the source, but movement directly in the
transport’s path made the search unnecessary.

Maybe a quarter mile off, heading straight
for him, was another mech. And Wyble could tell this one was a
Demon, a dead mech.

***

“Oh, you got to be shitting me!” Harlow
swore, seeing the incoming deader. She wasn’t sure what angered her
more: the fact that she now had a deader to deal with or the fact
that the dead mech might reach Wyble first and kill the son of a
bitch before she could.

“Hey guys?” she called over the com. “We’ve
got company. Something a little bigger and deadlier than those
pussy ass Ranchers.”

She was answered by static.

“Um, guys?” Nothing. “Fuck! I’m going to
kick Jethro’s ass for not building a better com system. This shit
never fucking works!”

***

Jethro monitored the chatter between Capreze
and Rachel.

“Everyone okay?” Themopolous asked.

“Yeah, sounds like Harlow’s com’s out,
though. I’m sure I’ll hear about that,” he responded. “How’s our
little guy doing?”

“Four is managing the terrain just fine,”
Themopolous said. “Can I step away and check Bisby?”

“You bet, Doc.”

Themopolous got up from the mini-mech
controls and walked back to Bisby’s unconscious form. The transport
lurched suddenly and she almost toppled onto the wounded mech
pilot. “Jeezus, Jethro! Careful-” She stopped immediately when she
turned to berate the mechanic. Jethro’s body was slumped over the
control panel. “Jethro?”

***

Harlow barreled down on the Archbishop’s
transport. She was surprised he hadn’t altered his course away from
the dead mech, but then, if he was smart, he’d turn away at the
last second, letting the deader get as close to her as possible,
knowing the thing would change it’s focus and come at her.

A few more yards and Harlow was proven
correct as the transport swerved, leaving nothing but open space
between the two behemoths.

Harlow tried to launch her plasma charges,
but nothing happened. Her console told her the grenade blasts had
shorted all weapons.

“Shit,” she cursed.

***

“Jethro? Jethro!” the Doctor screamed,
rushing to the collapsed mechanic’s side. “Oh, dear God.”

She carefully lifted his head off the
control console and gasped. Blood was dripping from his nose and
both ears. “Jethro? Can you hear me?”

“I don’t feel too good,” he whispered. “I
smell fruit. Is that good?”

“No, Jethro, that’s not good,” she
answered.

Themopolous helped Jethro out of his
wheelchair and onto the floor of the transport. She checked his
pulse and pupil dilation, happy with neither result. A shudder made
her fall back and she quickly realized no one was driving the
transport.

***

“Looks like you and I are gonna have to duke
this out,” Harlow said aloud, watching the dead mech charge. She
stopped and planted her feet, arms up and ready.

The dead mech roared and Harlow shivered at
the inhuman sound coming from the deader’s loudspeaker.

Ten steps, six, four and Harlow spun,
letting the dead mech fly by. She planted a roundhouse kick
directly into the deader’s back, sending the machine sprawling. The
impact shook her mech, but she didn’t hesitate, springing into
action.

She brought her fist down, but only hit dirt
as the dead mech rolled away.

***

Themopolous took the drivers seat and stared
helplessly at the transport’s controls. “Jethro, I don’t know what
to do,” she cried.

“Eat the butterflies. They taste like rocks
and axle grease. Rich in healthy vitamins,” Jethro said,
deliriously.

She tapped the com. “Hello? Commander?
Rachel? Anyone? Help! Jethro’s down and I don’t know how to drive
this fucking thing!”

“Doctor? This is Capreze. What’s your
situation?”

Themopolous glanced out the windshield and
nearly pissed herself. “Oh, God! I think I’m heading straight for a
canyon! Please help!”

“Okay! Stay calm! Do you see the control
stick?”

“Yes!”

“Good! Grab it!”

***

Capreze watched Rachel take on the last
Rancher transport. “You got this, Baby Girl?!?”

“Yeah, Papa Bear! You help them!”

“Okay. Doctor? You with me?”

“Yes, Commander,” Themopolous responded over
the com.

“Okay, I want you to yank back on the
control stick. This will slow you down.”

“Okay. We’re slowing, but not much.”

“Now you are going to need to hit the
emergency braking system. Whatever you do, do not turn the
transport once you hit the brakes or you’ll flip the thing.”

“Gotcha! Where are the brakes?”

“E brake is the large black and yellow
button. Hit it.”

***

Themopolous slammed her palm on the
emergency brake button and the transport groaned and protested as
all wheels locked up at once. She watched in horror as the edge of
the canyon got closer and closer with every passing second. She
closed her eyes and screamed.

She felt a bump and a lurch then
stillness.

“Doctor? Doc! Answer me!” Capreze yelled
over the com.

Calming herself down, she opened one then
both eyes. All she could see was empty space leading to the other
side of the canyon. She checked her vid feeds and then she really
did pee herself.

***

The deader kicked out, connecting with
Harlow’s left knee, knocking her mech to the ground. Warnings
blared and she saw her already weakened hydraulics system red
line.

“Fuck!” she swore, but had no time for
anything else as the dead mech lashed out with its other leg,
slamming its giant foot into Harlow’s mid-section. Her mech toppled
back and nearly every alarm the mech had went off.

“Oh no…” Her face turned white. The plasma
charges she had tried to launch earlier were now armed and ready.
But, the deployment hatches were not opening. She pounded at the
controls desperately.

***

“Doctor! You’re on my scope and I’m heading
your way,” Capreze called.

“That’s a very good thing, Commander,
because while the transport did stop, I don’t think all of it is on
the ground,” Themopolous responded. “Please hurry.”

“I’m just a few minutes off. Hold
tight.”

Themopolous chuckled nervously. “Not a
problem.” She gripped her seat with all her strength, her knuckles
cracking from the strain. The transport wobbled up and down
slightly as an updraft from the canyon caught the front end hanging
over the edge.

“I hate the wasteland,” Themopolous
whispered.

“I like cheese,” Jethro whispered in
return.

***

Harlow brought her arm up and blocked the
dead mech’s attack. She could see the zombie pilot inside its
cockpit and the thing looked well fed. “Fucking great, it’s a
natural killer.”

Harlow rolled to the side, and kept rolling,
trying to put as much space between her and the deader. More alarms
added to the cacophony. “Fucking now what?!?” she shouted. Her
scanner warned her of a sheer drop off, fifty yards away. She
stopped her roll and pushed her mech to its unsteady feet. “That
information I can actually use.”

She backed towards the drop, setting her
trap.

***

“Okay, okay, I can do this,” Themoplous said
over and over as she slowly got up and carefully kneeled next to
Jethro, very aware that any extra movement could send the transport
plummeting to the canyon floor.

“Hey there Teddy Bear,” Jethro said,
reaching up to stroke Themopolous’ face. “Can I have some candy
now?”

The doctor took Jethro’s hand in hers and
held it tight. “No candy right now, mechanic. Just rest.”

Jethro narrowed his eyes menacingly. “No
candy? Who ate all the candy? Was it Bisby? Oh, that overgrown
monkey!”

“Shhhh, Jethro. Quiet. Save your strength,”
Themopolous soothed.

***

The deader came straight for Harlow. She
knew she would need to time her move perfectly or the dead mech
would catch on and stop before going over the edge. All alarms
ceased except for one: the detonation warning. Her systems were so
messed up that the armed plasma charges were about to explode on
their own.

“That throws a fucking wrinkle in things,”
she grunted grabbing her pack, long blades and carbine. Harlow
strapped everything on and popped the cockpit, ever aware of the
deader only yards away. She tossed a safety line out of the cockpit
and repelled.

***

Capreze dove for the transport, its front
end finally tipping the balance. His mech’s metal fingers gripped
the transport’s shell, crushing the frame slightly. He dug his feet
in and leaned back, bringing the vehicle back from the edge.
Slowly, mindful he had wounded personnel inside, the Commander
backed away from the canyon, bringing all of the transport’s wheels
on to solid ground.

“You okay in there, Doc?” he asked.

“Yes, Commander, thank you,” Themopolous
responded. “But, Jethro is in pretty bad shape. I need time to do a
full work up on him.”

“I can’t guarantee that time, Doctor.”

***

Harlow let go of the safety line, dropping
the remaining twenty feet to the ground. Her knees protested and a
sharp pain shot up her leg. She got to her feet shakily and knew
from experience nothing was broken or sprained and she could walk
off the injury. Or run off the injury as the ground shuddered with
the dead mech’s approach.

She turned to escape, but was tripped up by
the slack of safety line pooled upon the ground.
“Nonononononononononononono!” she yelled, trying desperately to
free her tangled feet as the deader hit her mech at a full run.

***

“Rachel, I want you on me. We need to stay
together,” Capreze ordered over the com.

“Hold on! I think I have a reading on
Harlow’s mech,” Rachel responded. “What the fuck?”

“What? What did you find?” Capreze
asked.

“She’s gone. One second there, now she’s
not. It almost looked like a second mech was with her, but I didn’t
have time to assess the readings fully.”

Capreze thought for a moment. “Go find her,
Baby Girl.”

“I’m on it, Papa Bear.”

Rachel turned her mech and ran towards the
coordinates of the last reading hoping she’d find Harlow alive.

***

Harlow reached for her knife, but it was too
late as the slack line became taught and she was dragged
unbelievably fast towards the cliff edge. She clawed at the dirt,
trying to find purchase, but her fingers only came away with loose
bits of rock and several bent finger nails. She screamed aloud as
her right leg popped loose from its hip socket and a new agony
overtook her.

Within seconds, though, the pain left her
mind and she found herself in empty space, falling towards the two
mechs that had just impacted on the ground far below her.

***

“What are we looking at, Doc? Is Jethro
going to make it?” Capreze asked, keeping watch in his mech.

“I think he’ll live, but his brain is
deteriorating fast. It has to be damage from the reaper chip
attack. I can keep him stable, but unless I get him hooked up to
some real medical equipment, I’m afraid he’s going to quickly
become a vegetable,” Themopolous responded.

“How long?” Capeze asked.

“My best guess? And it’s just that, a guess.
Maybe a day.”

Capreze sighed. “Do what you can to make him
comfortable.”

“I’m already ahead of you on that.”

***

Harlow’s body shook uncontrollably, racked
with pain. She hung, upside down, her dislocated leg still tangled
in the safety line, which was in turn caught on a rock outcropping
above her. Below her, maybe 100 feet, she could see smoke and fire
billowing from the wreckage of the mechs.

She gritted her teeth and tried to focus, to
scan her surroundings, but the pain from her leg and the blood
rushing to her head made it hard to think.

To her right, she could see a shadow on the
cliff wall: a cave.

“This is gonna fucking hurt,” she
croaked.

***

Shrieking, fiery pain pounding at her leg,
Harlow swung herself back and forth. It took all of her strength to
stay conscious, but she kept on until her body was swinging past
the small cave opening. She unsheathed one of her long blades and
hoped she had built up enough momentum to get her into the
cave.