Intended Extinction (24 page)

Perfect timing, damn it.

Both of us half-smiled at each other. I was glad we could at least see the humor.

“I promise we’ll have this conversation after,” Tara told me, and we left the Armory together.

So that was it. I could have easily been annoyed, but maybe it was best. There was a glimmer of hope at the end of this unnecessary tunnel.

When we met with the group, everyone was already wearing their helmets. Justin was standing with Celia and Vane on the pedestal, and the giant Vista doors were opened, revealing a small antechamber.

“The reason we’re doing this full force,” announced Vane, as Tara and I donned our helmets, “is for the simple matter of
unity
. This will tell us how well we can cooperate. That can make all the difference later on.”

Inside my helmet, everything looked vividly orange. Holographic charts and introductory phrases popped up on the corners of the visor as the helmet was configured. Each helmet was designed to provide a huge range of visibility. I could see fairly well in my peripheral vision and didn’t feel suffocated or trapped. The electronic interface let me know how many bullets I had left, where damaged portions of my suit were, and anything else Celia wanted to insert.

For the last five minutes, we ran over how the operation was going to work. If we had the resources and the time, I’m sure training and planning for specific missions would be week-long at the least. But we were renegades, being chased by GenoTec. We weren’t allowed the precious time needed to meticulously plan out an operation. Especially now, with Celement trailing us.

Once the short briefing finished, Vane sighed and said, “Good luck.”

The five of us grouped together inside the small, concrete cubicle, breathing heavily and feeling strong. I flexed my fingers in and out, stretched my neck, and double-checked everything.

“Four clips, Vexin?” poked Dodge, mocking Vexin’s over-preparation.

Vexin produced a conceited laugh and said, “You’ll be wishing I saved your ass when you run out of ammo.”

Dodge snickered and Bollis interjected, “Technically, we don’t know what’s in there.”

“Oh, c’mon,” said Dodge nonchalantly, “whatever broke through is either dead or gone by now. Let’s just finish this as fast as we can—I’m runnin’ on no sleep here, folks.”

I said nothing as the giant doors behind us closed, starting the fuse to my first live mission.

“Decontamination in
progress,”
said a clean, familiar female voice. Aiya was trolling along as usual. Everyone was taut and unnerved while the room became free from any foreign agents. A whoosh of air enveloped our bodies and a low humming sound processed its way throughout the room. As the procedure finished, I thought about Tara and wondered what she was feeling right now.

“Watch your step,” said Aiya, “and have a safe travel to the Corrupt Vista.”

The large door opened in a mirage of scintillating lights. The tunnel’s high, arching ceiling and ribbed walls made me feel empty. The semicircular corridor stretched fifty yards, making the end muddled. Following the curvature of the concrete, fiber lamps twitched and buzzed in disarray. I felt liquid lap against my boots and watched as water poured into the cubicle.

“Well, here we go,” said Bollis, and we all waded our way out into the unknown. The water was ankle deep throughout the entire tunnel.

We split up to cover more ground. Dodge, Tara and I stayed back, securing the first two grates, while Vexin and Bollis started to splash their way down to the end of the tunnel.

“Okay, so the water damage isn’t as bad as I thought, that’s good,” said a startling Celia, probably watching all of this from someone’s visor.

“Nothing back here,” I said through my helmet. The grate looked clean and unobstructed. Dodge announced the same thing, so we followed the other two.

“What the—”

“What is
that
?” exclaimed Celia.

We ran the full length of the tunnel, reaching Bollis and Vexin, huddled around the left side grate.

Finally, we came to halt.

Ho-lee hell.

Behind my orange-tinted glass, my eyes focused on one of the strangest things I had ever seen. Latched and intertwined with the grate was a giant, pulsating mass of what looked like puce flesh. Slimy tentacles were choking the drainage system, rooted deep.

“I need a sample,
now
,” said Celia.

“It’s . . . it’s
oozing
,” said Tara.

“Why don’t
you
come down here and get a sample,” Dodge replied, disgusted.

“Look,” she demanded, “if I don’t get a sample, no one’s setting foot inside that Vista.”

“I’ve never seen
anything
like this before,” said Bollis, squatting and taking the sample. He used a small needle, taken from the cuff of his armor and stuck the unknown mass. He inserted the sample back into the sleeve and waited for Celia to get the readings.

It was quiet as we all examined the grotesque thing. It was porous, slowly draining greenish pus. I was glad our helmets were on, because it probably smelled like death.

“Celia, what’ve you got?” said Dodge, impatiently.

Celia cursed from the other side and said, “This thing’s got huge traces of
Edge
!”

Edge?
What in the hell was Edge doing in something like this?

“Axxiol. It came from Axxiol,” said Vexin, unlatching his shotgun and pointing it at the mass. “Let’s get rid of it and move on.”

“Now wait a minute!” said Bollis, shoving Vexin’s barrel down. “There’s no way this thing came from Axxiol. How could something like this
break
through our hull?”

“Give me another explanation?” said Vexin, face to face with Bollis.

“Just bring it back once you’ve finished. We’ll figure things out later,” said Celia, receiving terrible reviews on that idea. Nevertheless, Vexin raised his weapon again.

The pellets impaled the creature and splattered green ooze all over the watery floor below. A bunch of other bulbous substances escaped from the opening, covered in thin, transparent films along with a red liquid.

“We’ll have to cut it down,” said Vexin.

Most of the thing had been cleared away, leaving a stained metal vent, but there were still some attached tentacles, like unforgiving ivy.

We took turns cutting out the hardened stalks, using small combat knives. We had to remove the grate to manually clear out the infestation. Green, murky liquid was everywhere, along with barnacle-like obstructions and sticky debris. It was like cleaning out a sewage tank. Once we had physically fixed the drain, the water still didn’t budge.

“I guess that wasn’t the problem,” said Dodge, as we waited for Celia’s reassurance. But there was none.

“It has to recalibrate,” she said, pausing for a while.

“Well, we might as well move on then,” said Bollis. He moved toward the raised platform, to the entrance to the Vista, and started checking the interface unit to the left of the doors.

Tara and I replaced the grate and hurried to join Dodge up the stairs. Celia directed Bollis and Vexin how to manually power to door’s mechanism.

“You ready for this?” I asked Tara.

She nodded and said, “Definitely.”

I clutched my rifle, steadying my grip. Both of my clips were full. My body felt agile. I had clear purpose. As my shoulder leaned against the concrete wall, I realized that I had truly become a machine of war. Within a month, I had successfully been able to still my emotions, halter my reservations, and hone my skills as a warrior. If there were still a need for soldiers today, Simone would be the most coveted resource on the market. I wondered what I would be like if we had reached two months.

“All right,” said Vexin, his voice crystal clear through my helmet. “On the count of three.”

I counted with him in my mind.

One.

Two.

Three.

Gushing liquid rushed past my legs, draining into the tunnel below. Finally, as the door peaked, the surge of water grew as tall as me, pouring furiously. The raging water roared. I thought it would never cease.

But the level receded and the last of the water trickled out of the Vista, pooling in various crevices and dousing our platform in strikingly green water.

“This stuff’s the same color . . .” said Dodge, sounding a little forlorn.

“Lights,” said Bollis, and everyone ignited their torches at the ends of their rifles.

Bollis was the first to go. He breached the corner and led the rest of us into the massive, gaping cavern.

It
was
a cave. As dark and as damp, as chilling and as eerie as any cave that had probably ever existed. Water dripped from every inch of the ceiling, echoing off of the great stone walls. Configured like Central, the Vista had a raised platform in the center of the room, with screens, computers, and a bunch of other wrecked and waterlogged equipment. I shined my light at one of the corners, finding the breach. Like a hissing cobra, ocean water was spraying every direction, dousing Bollis as he approached.

While everyone situated, curiosity bested me. I continued past them, stepping through the small deluge, into the darker reaches of the Vista. When I rounded the pedestal, a pillar of adrenaline rose through me.

Thick, grooved tentacles each with the girth of a water bottle lay across the floor and wall. I followed the scaly tubes all the way to the corner, too afraid to speak. I held my breath as I approached the source: a mound of pale green and amber flesh, wriggling and highly disfigured. It was pulsating, making the tentacles protruding from its body squirm and twitch. Keeping my weapon drawn, I carefully stepped through the maze of appendages. I could feel my suit struggling to wick away the great amounts of sweat coming from my jittery body.

I could hear Tara and Dodge asking for me. I was mentally alone, enthralled by the strange creature in front of me. I wanted nothing more than to know what it was, and how it had managed to break through the exterior of the Underbed. I took one more step forward, salivating for answers, when a curdled screech broke the silence like a supernova.

It came at me like a pouncing baboon. The mound of unrecognizable flesh had turned into a blurry humanoid. I tried kicking it off, but it was heavy, like a massive sea lion, blubbering on top of my body, scratching, writhing, screaming. My own cries added to the confusion, calling the others to my aid. I couldn’t see anything. The backup night vision in my helmet went berserk as the creature slapped my face and kept me from seeing clearly.

Another terribly haunting scream echoed throughout the Vista. It leapt from my body. I gasped, immediately rolling over onto my stomach. I refocused and retrieved my rifle from the blackened, shallow water.

Gunfire railed the walls and ricocheted everywhere. I heard the deep bellowing of Vexin’s shotgun, and a few rounds of the pistols. Finally, my vision returned from a static wave and I rushed around the circular pedestal.

I stopped and almost dropped my weapon.

Like an orangutan, the creature was perched on one of the computers, its arms dangling in front. It had no neck or distinguishable shoulders. There were just gangling arms attached to the oozing trunk and short, stocky legs, almost crumpled beneath. It’s nose was gone, and the eyes sat on far ends of the face, twitching and drooped. Below, the ever-open mouth screamed and sprayed a phlegm-like substance toward us. The creature was naked, layered with decaying skin, visible bones, and organs that were discernible from open parts of its stomach area.

The carrion beast bounded away just as Vexin pocked the area with his shotgun. Sparks flew everywhere, and I heard Celia trying to tell us to move away from the technology.

“Outside!” I yelled.

The group started to make their way to the lighted exit.

I felt a bruise starting to sprout underneath my suit where the creature had pounded me. I winced with each step as I leapt out of the deafening Vista, splashed through the raised platform, and jumped into the murky depths of the water below.

My feet slammed into the concrete, and I pushed up, emerging from the water just as another banshee shriek filled the entire tunnel. I looked up at the opening to see Dodge pulling up the rear and attempting to jump out of the Vista, but the creature caught him mid-air and they both went sailing into a semi-shallow demise.

I waded to the aid of my friend, as Vexin, Tara, and Bollis took refuge upon the stairs of the platform. The liquid molasses pulled my Oversuit as if I were weighted with plates of lead.

Dodge tried to get a shot off as the creature struggled to wrap its skeleton arms around his neck. Once I came close enough, I ripped the creature’s head away and pulled the slippery body from Dodge. It shrieked and writhed within my grip, splashing like a child afraid to swim.

“Got it!” announced Celia.

It only took me a second to understand what she meant, as the water line started to lower. The creature flailed and wagged his head, trying to escape my clutches, but Dodge had his pistol up to its face, ready to discharge a fresh bullet. The creature had no inhibitions or reflexes, but continued to wrench its head around. I tilted to the side, and Dodge tried for a second shot.

The head exploded, showering my helmet with green and yellow pus. I felt the body relax and I dropped it to the floor, just as the water withdrew.

“What. The.
Hell
. Was that?” shouted Dodge, crouching to observe the corpse.

The others ran to our side and Tara placed her hand upon my shoulder.

“Are you okay?!” she asked.

I couldn’t speak. I had prepared to fight
soldiers
. Not that. That kind of fear hadn’t been extinguished.

“Vane,” said Bollis, “we might have another complication.”