Dead Mech (53 page)

“Good, maybe he can thin the numbers for us
before we get there,” Jenny said.

“I doubt it,” Jay said. “Masters has revenge
on his mind. The only thing that hot head is going to care about is
getting inside the stronghold so he can kill the Outsider.”

“Is that possible? Can he get in the
stronghold? I mean, isn’t impenetrable kinda part of the whole
stronghold thing?” Jenny asked.

“Oh, he’ll get in,” Jay said
confidently.

***

“Don’t stop for anything!” Masters ordered
Stomper.

“Please quit yelling at me,” Stomper said.
“Your anger is painful.”

“Toughen the fuck up! I don’t need no whiny
bitch mech crying over hurt feelings!”

The Hill Stomper didn’t slow when it reached
the rear of the deader army. The 12-story machine bore down and
destroyed everything in its path, grinding zombies into the
wasteland dirt, crushing transports like cans, cutting a swath of
chaos as it closed in on the stronghold entrance.

“That is Shiner/Mathew ahead,” Stomper
stated.

Masters activated his loudspeaker. “Better
get the fuck out of my way Matty!”

***

“Holy shit! Move Goddammit!” Mathew
screamed.

The Special Ops team didn’t wait to be told
twice as the sight of the Hill Stomper charging towards them was
motivation enough.

Shiner/Mathew piloted out of the way just in
time before Masters kicked through the entrance gate which only
came up past the mech’s ankle. It reached the stronghold’s main
entry in two strides and stopped.

“What’s it doing?” Austin asked. “Why’s it
just standing there?”

In answer, the gigantic mech punched both
fists right into the rock on each side of the main entry, burying
its arms up to the elbows.

***

Masters could hear metal strain and groan as
the mech shifted its entire weight back and began to rip the
stronghold’s massive iron and steel entrance door right out of the
mountainside.

“Are we going to hold?” Mathew asked
Stomper.

“Yes, this is what I am built for,” Stomper
responded. “Even with years of disuse, my arms can take much more
than this.”

“Good, because I may bring this whole
fucking mountain down!”

Like the sound of the earth being split
apart, the entrance door tore away from its stone moorings. Masters
spun about, tossing the 1,000 ton chunk away.

***

The Special Ops team stood in awe as they
watched the stronghold’s entrance door cut a hundred foot wide
swath right down the middle of the deader army.

“There’s a few thousand less deaders to deal
with,” Sol said.

“What the hell is he doing?” Austin asked
pointing at Masters as he repelled down Stomper. “He doesn’t plan
on going in alone?”

Lieutenant Muprhy looked at her team and
they all nodded at once, grabbed up their gear and sprinted towards
the wide open stronghold.

“If he kills Johnson all UDC data will be
lost!” Mathew shouted after the team.

***

“Kill anything that tries to get past you!”
Masters ordered Stomper as he dropped the last few feet to the
ground.

“Even the human soldiers running this way?”
Stomper asked.

Masters glanced over his shoulder at the
approaching Special Ops team. “I don’t know who the fuck they are,
so yeah, kill ‘em.”

“And what about Shiner/Mathew?”

“If they are planning on stopping me, then,
yes, kill them too.”

Masters turned on his halogen but the beam
was swallowed by the gloom. The grief mad mech pilot pulled his
side arm and stepped into the oppressive darkness of the
stronghold.

“Masters would like me to kill you, but I
prefer not to,” Stomper said.

“We’d prefer you not kill us either,” Mathew
responded, standing before the giant mech as it blocked the
entrance to the stronghold. “We’d prefer it even more if you let us
all pass. Masters has no idea what he’s up against in there.”

“The Harlow is dead,” Stomper stated
flatly.

Mathew’s gut turned and he struggled not to
be sick. “What? Dead? Are you sure?”

“Yes, we saw her mech at the bottom of a
canyon, destroyed,” Stomper replied. “Masters is not right anymore.
He’s changed.”

***

Masters pointed the halogen down the UDC
stronghold’s long concrete entrance tunnel, side arm ready.

“Hello, Pilot Masters,” Johnson’s voice
echoed through the tunnel. “Come to kill me?”

“If you’re the Outsider then yes,” Masters
replied calmly. “Wanna tell me where you’re at so we can get this
over with?”

“You don’t want to savor your revenge?”
Johnson laughed. “I’m disappointed. I figured a big, bad mech pilot
like yourself would want to draw out the violence.”

“Nope, just want you dead.”

“Well, then, let me light your way.”

A green line illuminated in the concrete
floor below Masters’ feet.

***

“You’re coming in too?” Lieutenant Murphy
asked Shiner/Mathew.

“Yeah. The main entrance staging area is
large enough for us. If we find a jack point Shiner can get direct
access to the mainframe,” Mathew answered. “We might be able to
re-route the data and save most of it if Masters succeeds.”

“Oh, he will,” Johnson’s voice boomed.
“Masters’ drive for revenge has shown me that it will be much
sweeter to die and let all of humanity’s recorded history be wiped
clean. Not to mention the chaos created when the 300,000 zombies in
my control are set free! What fun!”

***

“So this fucker spent most of the day trying
to kill us and keep us out and now he’s inviting us in?” Austin
asked. “See, what’d I tell you? He’s fucking nuts!”

Johnson laughed harder. “You misunderstand.
I have let Masters in. You Special Ops people and the mech are not
allowed in. You’ll just try to stop him and I don’t want that
anymore. No, no, no, I don’t want that at all.”

“Well, we’re coming in anyway!” Murphy
shouted.

Previously motionless turret guns stationed
along the mountainside whirred to life, targeting Mathew/Shiner and
the team. “I believe not.”

***

“So I just follow the line, huh?” Masters
asked. “Do you really think I’m that stupid?”

“You’re stupidity is beside the point,”
Johnson quipped.

Masters stood there unmoving.

“No longer in a hurry?” Johnson asked. “Lose
your nerve?”

Masters snorted. “What’s your fucking angle,
man? Why the death wish? You spend however long hatching your
fucking plan to take over the wasteland and now you’re just going
to give up? Let me find you and blow your brains right out the back
of your fucking head?”

“Something like that,” Johnson sighed.
“There are other, well, circumstances. You’ll see soon enough.”

***

“You really are insane,” Mathew said. “First
you want me to submit, now you’re throwing in the towel.”

“I’ll admit the thought of absorbing the
consciousness of a seamlessly integrated mech and its pilot was too
thrilling to pass up, but since you’ve decided you’d rather have
death then, really, it is just boredom from here on out for me,”
Johnson responded matter-of-factly.

Specialist Austin had slowly moved to the
side, hoping the Outsider was distracted. A burst of gunfire from
one of the turrets into his mid-section proved him wrong.

“I
will
miss the killing though. It’s
a rush.”

***

“Austin!” Murphy shouted, rushing to the
downed Specialist’s bloody body. The Special Ops team all raised
their weapons, forming a protective circle around their fallen
teammate.

“Is he dead?” Grendetti asked.

Lieutenant Murphy knelt by Austin’s still
corpse, the body armor not strong enough to withstand the large
caliber rounds. She carefully lifted his visor and closed his
glassy eyes. “Yeah.”

Grendetti whipped around and fired three
well placed shots at the turret. “Mother fucker!”

Sol reached out and slapped Grendetti’s
rifle barrel down. “Knock it off! You’re just wasting ammo!”

Johnson cackled hysterically. “Oh, the look
on your faces!”

***

The sound of gunfire echoed weakly down the
concrete tunnel. Masters slowed and glanced behind him.

“Is there a problem, Pilot?” Johnson asked.
“Having second thoughts?”

Masters grunted and kept walking.

“Don’t you want to know which one of your
friends is dead?” Johnson taunted.

“They aren’t my friends,” Masters responded
sourly. “I don’t know any of them.”

“What about Pilot Jespers?”

Masters refused to answer.

“Oh, so cold. Man made of steel.” Johnson
chuckled. “Before the world burned and the dead walked, society
looked to a Man Of Steel. A hero. Is that you pilot? Are you
society’s hero?”

***

The deader army halted as one.

“What are they waiting for?” Specialist
Kafar asked. “Why don’t they attack?”

“He doesn’t want them to,” Mathew answered.
“He’s playing with us. Playing with all of us like the wasteland
and all its inhabitants are his game pieces to move about as he
wants. Is that right, Johnson? This all a game to you?”

“I prefer to think of it as an elaborate
stage play,” Johnson responded. “I’m just the Director and the
performance is up to the players.”

“Let me guess, this is a tragedy?”

“One man’s tragedy is another’s comedy,
pilot.”

***

“I’m not sure I like the new Pilot Masters,”
Johnson said casually. “I preferred the joking, easy going Masters.
The fighter always ready with a one-liner or sarcastic comeback.
Where’d that Masters go?”

“You don’t know me,” Masters said. “You know
nothing about me.”

The green line on the floor stopped at a
thick steel door. “Oh, Mitch, Mitch, Mitch, I know everything there
is to know about you.”

The door slid open revealing a large room
covered in vid screens and emergency light twirling about casting
red shadows about the room. Masters’ attention was instantly drawn
to the images.

***

“So are we going to light this place up or
what?” Kafar asked, his body twitching with homicidal anger. “I got
to shoot something.”

“Hold, Specialist,” Lieutenant Murphy
ordered. “That goes for all of you. Just hold. Any more thoughts,
Pilot?”

“I’m as lost as you are, but you’re right,
we should just hold and see how this plays out,” Mathew
replied.

“Excellent choice,” Johnson said. “I like
how you’ve developed your character’s initial rash suicidal
motivations into a more cautious, dare I say hopeful, attitude.
It’ll keep you on the stage longer.”

“I fucking hate the theatre,” Grendetti
grumbled.

***

Masters stared at the vid screens, his
stomach churning with grief and hatred. “What the fuck is
this?”

“Oh, Pilot, did you think the UDC would just
let people run amok? Did you think the city/states were autonomous?
Did you honestly think your little mech base was an oasis, a desert
island in the vast sea of the wasteland? And you all are the
saviors?” Johnson snorted with derision. “Please.”

On every vid screen were images of Masters
and Harlow going at it. In the mech barracks, in the shower, in
supply closets, the one time in Capreze’s office. Everywhere.

***

“You sick fuck,” Masters whispered, his
breath catching in his throat. “You’ve been watching us?”

“Idiot!” Johnson barked. “You have always
been watched! Every inch of society is wired, there is no privacy,
there never has been! Before me someone else watched and someone
else before them. Every tiny detail of your pathetic lives has been
recorded and stored!”

Masters swayed then shook his head, trying
to pull it together, to shut out the images, the memories, the
pain, the loss. “Shut it off. Shut it off now. SHUT IT OFF
GODDAMIT!”

“No,” Johsnon responded. “This is why you’re
here.”

***

“You’ve known all along? You’ve known what
we were up to? That we weren’t going to go quietly,” Masters said,
glancing around the room, his eyes falling on a far corner draped
in shadows, the red lights barely illuminating a reclined figure.
Masters slowly walked towards the corner, his finger resting on his
pistol’s trigger guard.

“Known? Are you really that stupid? Haven’t
you gotten it yet?!? Jeezus how were you ever trusted with a
mech?!?” Johnson snarled. “Fucking morons, all of you!”

“Explain it to me then,” Masters said,
inching closer to the corner.

“I am! Look!” Johnson roared.

***

Masters shifted his gaze from the corner to
the vid screens. Each one showed a different view: empty streets,
empty shops, empty houses, empty rooms.

“Still not getting it,” Masters said.

“This is now. All across the city/states,
the ever so empty city/states,” Johnson said. “This is then.”

The screens blinked and 100 different scenes
lit up the room. People living, working, playing, laughing
crying.

“It’s all here,” Johnson continued. “The
entirety of our cozy little part of the world. All recorded. Even
you Mitch.”

The screens became parts of one image, a
young boy playing with a plastic toy.

***

“Turn it off,” Masters growled staring at
the image of the boy, as he played with his little plastic mech.
“You have no fucking right.”

“I HAVE EVERY RIGHT!” Johnson roared and
Masters had to cover his ears. “Sorry for that. Just watch.”

Masters shook his head, but didn’t take his
eyes off the screens as a man came into frame. The little boy
looked up at the man, his eyes wide with fear. The man stumbled
slightly then yanked the toy mech from the boy. He shook it in the
child’s face and tears brimmed in the boy’s eyes.

***