Dead Mech (49 page)

“Fine. To answer your question, we were
outside for another series of tests on the armor when all hell
broke loose inside. We lost contact with Control. Then Dr. Johnson
came on the com and ordered us back for ‘inoculations’. We didn’t
go.”

***

“Your turn,” Murphy said to Mathew. “What
the hell are you? Where are the other mechs?”

“Well, to answer the first question: I don’t
know. Shiner and I are, well, new.”

“Shiner?” Specialist Kafar asked. “It has a
name?”

“I do,” Shiner answered and the whole team
took a step back. “Self-identification is part of
self-awareness.”

“That’s just fucked up,” Kafar said.

“Try having it in your head 24/7!” Mathew
exclaimed.

“And the other mechs?” Murphy pushed on,
ignoring Kafar.

“They are on their way, I hope,” Mathew
said. “They were about to get in the shit with some Ranchers.”

***

“Ranchers? What do Ranchers have to do with
this?” Murphy asked.

“That’s why I’m here, to get answers,”
Mathew answered. “We noticed- by we I mean the other mech pilots
and myself- a lot of strange Rancher movement then I spotted them
loading up UDC transports with deaders. Next thing we know every
city/state has been inoculated, killed and controlled by something
called the Outsider. Any clue what the fuck that is?”

Lieutenant Murphy snorted. “That would be
Dr. Johnson. He invented the nanotech. I guess the UDC brass took
it from him and, um, he didn’t handle it well.”

***

“We aren’t sure what happened inside the
stronghold, but what we do know is that Johnson is the only living
thing in there,” Murphy said.

Nguyen cleared his throat. “Before Johnson
locked down the system I was able to grab some surveillance.” He
tapped at his tablet then turned it about for Mathew to see. It was
an image of a hangar with dozens of UDC personnel laid out upon the
floor. Coming at them was a forklift. Mathew watched in horror as
each person stayed perfectly still as the forklift drove over their
heads, mashing them to a pulp.

***

“Okay, and not to repeat myself, but why
aren’t you dead?” Mathew asked.

Lieutenant Murphy looked at him puzzled. “I
don’t understand your meaning.”

“When the Reaper chips activated, why didn’t
yours fry your brains?”

“We pulled them,” Murphy answered
matter-of-factly. “The second we knew Johnson had taken over, those
chips became a liability. We don’t deal with liabilities.” The
other team members grunted their agreement. “And, what did you mean
by all the city/states were killed and now controlled?”

“Um, I hate to break this to you, but human
civilization is now dead and walking. Walking right to us.”

***

“How much time do we have?” Specialist Sol
asked.

“It is a matter of a few hours at most,”
Shiner responded. “Some dead armies are closer than others.”

“Armies?” Lieutenant Murphy asked. “Why
would you refer to them as armies?”

“That’s what they are,” Mathew answered.
“The controlled masses of the city/states being led by the
controlled UDC troops. And all the transports and armaments that
come with those troops.”

“Jeezus,” Austin muttered.

Murphy activated her com. “Grandetti? On
me.”

There was a slight shifting of rocks above
and behind everyone then a man stood up, sniper rifle in hand.

***

“If Johnson’s the Outsider, then he’s
connected to the entire wasteland. How’s that possible?” Mathew
asked.

“The mainframe, of course. It’s just like
your mechs. Complicated AI run by human integration,” Specialist
Nguyen answered, looking to the Lieutenant and back at
Shiner/Mathew. “It’s common knowledge.”

“Maybe on the inside, but us out in the
waste had no idea,” Mathew responded. “Kinda seems like a dangerous
concentration of power.”

“What, like having one person in charge of
several kilotons of weaponry and a 50 ton battle mech without an
active Reaper chip?” Murphy laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Well put,” Mathew agreed.

***

“So, there’s really no getting inside, is
there?” Mathew asked.

“Not unless Johnson wants us to,” the
Lieutenant answered.

Mathew sighed. “Well, let’s make him want
to.”

The mech moved from the Special Ops team and
walked down to the main gate.

“Hey Outsider!” Mathew called out. “I think
you’ve been looking for us!”

Loudspeakers crackled to life. “And now you
are here,” a voice boomed. “As all will be.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mathew said. “How about you
let us in? I’m sure you’d want to study my mech.”

Laughter echoed off the rocks and ridges.
“You have nothing for me!”

***

“Please can I drop some charges and blow the
fuck out of those backstabbing Skinner bastards?” Rachel asked over
the com.

“No, Baby Girl,” Capreze responded as the
two mechs joined Jay’s and flanked the speeding Railer train.
“They’re about to have 100,000 deaders on top of them. That’ll be
revenge enough.”

“But they’re hidden,” Rachel insisted.

“Did you dispose of the Skinner or Rancher
corpses?” Capreze asked.

“No.”

“Neither did I. Once those deaders have the
scent, I don’t care how controlled they are, they’ll dig down
looking for more. I don’t think the Outsider can override that
bloodlust.”

***

Harlow wedged her right foot between two
boulders inside the cave, gritted her teeth and pushed. The pain
was unimaginable and she struggled with consciousness. Her strength
and willpower nearly gave out just as a loud and painful pop echoed
off the cave’s walls.

She laid back, glad that the agony of the
dislocation was over. She knew she’d hurt for days, but at least
mobility was possible.

“Okay, no time to puss out,” she muttered to
herself and struggled upright. She put a little wait on the leg and
winced, sure she had ripped something inside. “I eat pain…”

***

“I don’t get to meet the Harlow?” Stomper
asked, the AI’s voice hurt and confused.

“No, Stomper, you don’t,” Masters stated
flatly. “Harlow is no more.”

“But the Harlow is your soul?” Stomper
persisted.

“And my soul is dead,” Masters
responded.

Stomper processed a moment. “Then what is
the point of our existence?”

“To kill,” Masters answered. “To kill the
Outsider then to kill every last deader in the wasteland.”

Stomper was silent.

“I’m going to need you to dig deep and
remember what it was like being a deader,” Masters continued. “I
need you to give that to me.”

***

One step, two, three. The pain wasn’t too
bad, she’d had worse. Harlow took an inventory of her supplies. She
had her long blades, her sidearm and her survival pack. She
regretted losing the carbine, but knew it would just get in the way
when she undertook the inevitable slow climb up the cliff face.

Harlow instantly froze at the sound of a
small gasp behind her. She unclasped her sidearm holster and turned
slowly.

A little girl of six, maybe seven stood at
the back of the cave, holding a handmade doll.

“Shhhh, I won’t hurt you,” Harlow
soothed.

***

The little girl shook with fear, her eyes
nearly popping from her skull.

“It’s okay,” Harlow said quietly, slowly
inching towards the girl. “I’m not going-” Before she could finish
the girl let out a blood-curdling scream, turned and dashed through
an unseen crack in the cave’s back wall.

“Shit!” Harlow cursed, knowing she was about
to have a lot of company. She limped to the edge of the cave,
leaned out carefully and assessed the cliff face. There were plenty
of holds for her to use, but it would be a very long climb on a
very sore leg.

***

By the time she heard voices shouting in the
cave, Harlow was already twenty feet above the opening.

“You had better just come down from there,
girl,” one shouted. “There’s no place for you to go.”

Harlow ignored the voice and focused on her
climbing. She made it another ten feet before the voice called out
again. “Stop wasting time and come down. You’ll just tire yourself
out climbing all the way to the top.”

Harlow glanced upward, checking her
distance, and saw the many faces peering over the edge at her.

“Goddamn mother fucker,” she cursed, out of
breath.

***

“I don’t want to kill anymore,” Stomper
said.

“Hey, it’s not like we’ll be killing people,
just those already dead,” Masters said.

Stomper processed. “I don’t want to be a
killer, is what I mean.”

Masters tried to ignore what Stomper said,
but the two were so fully integrated that he couldn’t shove the
thought aside.

“You won’t have to be a killer,” Masters
finally said. “I’ll do it for both of us. When the time comes you
can just withdraw, go back into that place I had to put you
before.”

“It’s dark in there,” Stomper said.

Masters groaned.

***

Many hands grabbed Harlow when she made it
back down to the cave. She was handed roughly from Skinner to
Skinner until she reached the crack in the cave wall. More hands
reached out, pulling her through and into a stone tunnel.

She didn’t struggle, knowing she was
outnumbered in unfamiliar territory. However, when a hood made of
deader skin was pushed towards her head, she started to thrash,
refusing to make the Skinners’ lives easy.

“Better kill me now fuckers!” she
yelled.

“We have no intention of harming you,
Pilot,” a woman’s voice said. “We plan on using you.”

***

Harlow was immediately relieved of her long
blades and sidearm. She watched silently as her survival pack was
ransacked and the supplies distributed amongst the Skinners.

“You don’t recognize me, do you?” the woman
asked Harlow.

Harlow refused to answer.

The woman stepped closer and the hands
restraining Harlow gripped tighter.

“I was with Mastelo when members of the
council met with your Commander.” The woman waited for a response.
Getting none, she continued. “The council had no intention of
honoring Mastelo’s agreement. We merely wanted to see the strength
of your numbers, which, in hind sight, we grossly
underestimated.”

***

The councilwoman walked away and Harlow was
forced along behind her. “Now, since the Bishop’s, or I believe
Archbishop now, deal did not turn out as expected, we will need to
strike a new deal. We are hoping to use you as leverage.”

The group stepped out of the dark tunnel and
into a massive cavern. Small holes in the ceiling helped illuminate
the space with sunlight, but the main light source was from bright
white phosphorescent patches covering the rock walls. Harlow peered
about, taking in her surroundings. Skinners of all ages milled
about the cavern.

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

***

“You see,” the councilwoman kept on. “We are
quite capable of self-sufficiency. Our society has flourished the
past hundred years. We do not need protection or salvation from the
wasteland. We are only looking to establish alliances that will
best strengthen our way of life.”

“You have a strange sense of diplomacy,”
Harlow said.

The councilwoman turned and eyed Harlow
carefully. “Strange? Hardly. We had a choice between the few,” she
nodded towards Harlow. “Or the many.” She gestured to the wasteland
above. “It really wasn’t strange at all. Simple math.”

Harlow laughed. “You have no idea what’s up
there.”

***

The councilwoman smiled condescendingly at
the mech pilot. “We are fully aware of the shift of power
occurring. That is why we already have a delegation above, waiting
to speak to the Rancher army marching this way.” The councilwoman
eyed the holes in the cavern’s ceiling. “They should be arriving
now.”

It was then that Harlow noticed the growing
vibrations for the first time. “You think those are Ranchers?
You’re all fools. The army that’s coming can’t be negotiated with.
You can’t deal with the dead.”

The councilwoman laughed. “Your attempts at
deception are pitiful, pilot. I’d have expected better.”

***

The Skinners all became still and silent as
the deader army marched and rolled above, shaking the cavern
slightly. Men and women eyed the ceiling warily, the noise of the
march reverberating off the glowing walls.

“You need to leave. You need to run. There
is nothing but death up there. Trust me, it’s my job,” Harlow
warned.

“Shhhhh!” the councilwoman scolded.

At once the march ceased, an ominous silence
thickening the air.

“You see,” the councilwoman beamed
triumphantly. “You were wrong.”

Harlow didn’t flinch as the first explosion,
then the second brought dust and debris down on the Skinners.

***

“You were saying?” Harlow shouted over the
terrified screams and yells of the Skinners.

The councilwoman waved her hands about,
trying to get everyone’s attention. “Quiet! Quiet! I am sure those
are just warning shots designed to show us their strength. I am
positive no one has been harmed.”

“Who’d you blow to get on the council?”
Harlow laughed. “You’re a fucking idiot if you believe your own
bullshit.”

The councilwoman glared at Harlow. “I have
had enough of your negativity.” She waved her hand at the two
Skinners holding Harlow. “Secure her until we finish negotiations
with the Ranchers.”

***

“You’re all going to die,” Harlow said to
her Skinner guards. “There isn’t a living soul up above right now,
nothing but thousands upon thousands of deaders. And I’m sure they
are very, very hungry. Marching across the wasteland towards war
can work up an appetite.”

“Shut it, woman,” one of the Skinners
barked, yanking on Harlow’s arm.