Clio and Cy: The Apocalypse (25 page)

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The
strength of each member is the team.”

― Phil Jackson

They found a vehicle that got them halfway before running
out of power. Cy led the team toward DARPA as they approached on foot a few
miles out.

Scanning, the Ker guard stood outside of the facility.

The young cyborg halted the patrol. “What is it Cy?” Deines
asked. The cyborg downloaded information and saw a clear image appear in his
viewer.

“Ker, Petty Officer Deines.” Cy
responded.

“One? How close?” Woolridge asked. “One, yes. It’s at
DARPA,” Cy answered, fearing for his master’s life.

Deines looked at his GPS. “We’re less than a mile. No
talking from here on out,” Deines ordered.

“Keep her quiet,” Woolridge ordered looking at Lady and then
Clio. The girl nodded.

They patrolled out of the woods and made it to the edge of
the city. DARPA was in sight. “Wait here,” Deines whispered to Cy and Clio.
“Keep hold of that dog till this is over.”

“Ready?” Deines softly asked Woolridge. He nodded yes.
Closing on the Ker, the SEAL and Marine quietly moved between the buildings.
Engaging the men without warning, the machine turned and fired. Chunks of
building knocked Deines to the ground and he immediately looked up at the
Marine. “I’m good. Kill it!” he ordered.

Turning and aiming, Woolridge shot from a knee and pierced
the Ker’s armor, dropping it into the rubble. After jumping to his feet, the
Marine ran forward blasting away at the robot. The Ker attempted to get up and
reached for its cannon, struggling. Woolridge closed, fueled with anger, aiming
and firing his weapon, pounding his shoulder like the hammer of Thor. Standing
over the metal bastard, he unloaded into its face shield. Dimming, the Ker’s
blue eyes faded dark.

Cy raced to Deines with Clio trailing behind. Lady arrived
first and started licking the SEAL’s face. “I’m alright girl,” he said, shaking
the cobwebs out.

After realizing the SEAL wasn’t injured, Cy ran for DARPA.
Arriving, he raced down the steps. “Dr. Marcus!” Cy’s scanners didn’t pick up a
life form and the young cyborg worried his master was dead. The rest of the
team went down the steps and entered the facility.

“He’s gone,” Cy said. He went up the steps and ran outside.

The others followed the cyborg out. “What’s he doing?”
Woolridge asked. “Don’t know…” Deines responded.

After scanning the area, Cy inspected the ground. “There
were two Sentinels here,” Cy said squatting down, running his hand over the
road. “They were driving a Hum-Z and headed off in that direction,” the cyborg
stated as he looked south.

“You sure?” Deines asked.

“Positive,” Cy responded.

Deines shook his head yes and noted the information. “Makes
sense.”

“Why’s that?” Woolridge asked.

“Yeah, why?” Clio asked.

“Cause the son of a bitch is in Atlanta somewhere.”

“You’re right Petty Officer Deines. Dr. Marcus believed the
same thing.” Cy confirmed.

Clio thought about her mother. “What are we waiting for?”
she asked.

“I’ll find transportation,” Cy said scanning the area.
“There’s a working vehicle a few miles down the interstate.” the young cyborg
announced.

“Roger that,” Deines said. “Let’s go.”

The team marched down the interstate gaining on the SUV.
“That one,” Cy affirmed.

Cy opened the door as Deines and Woolridge scanned the area
and held their weapons out. Clio’s face grimaced at the pile of bones that the
cyborg began scooping out. Leaning in the passenger side, Woolridge flipped the
reserve power switch.

“Load up,” Deines ordered. Lady jumped in first and the rest
began climbing in behind her.

“Might I drive Petty Officer?” Cy asked with an excited
expression on his face.

“You know how?”

“Of course, Petty Officer Deines. I’m an excellent driver.”

“Ok,” he answered shaking his head. “Just take it easy…
Don’t crash,” Deines ordered. As much as possible, the SEAL wanted to devote
his undivided attention to scanning the area and checking for danger on the way
to Atlanta. Wanting Woolridge to do the same, he let the cyborg drive.

“Of course not Petty Officer Deines,” Cy responded.

With Deines eyeballing him, Cy put the Suburban in gear and
drove off.

“Do we know where we’re going exactly?” Woolridge asked.

“Intel thought Dr. Pavlov might be held up near the CDC,”
Deines suggested.

“That makes excellent sense, Petty Officer Deines,” Cy
announced.

***

As the team drove toward Atlanta, two Super Destroyers made
their way across country heading for the same location. Most of Seth Pavlov’s
warrior machines were sent to RMB Pendleton. Also heading for Atlanta, a small
group of surviving Ker trailed behind the faster bionic bugs.

Feverishly working to build more metal warriors, four Ker
and two Sentinels remained inside his CDC factory. Now that RMB Pendleton was
destroyed, only tiny pockets of the Resistance remained. Pavlov was now close
to achieving his goal of being the last man standing.

***

“There it is,” Woolridge announced. The Atlanta skyline was
in the distance.

“How you doing Cy?” Deines asked.

“Good Petty Officer Deines. My scanners aren’t picking up
any Ker.”

“Good,” Clio said from the backseat.

They stopped a few miles out from the CDC. “Let’s move out
on foot from here,” Deines ordered.

After climbing out, the team headed toward the CDC amongst
the desolate remains of the city of Atlanta.

The SEAL glanced down at his GPS. “We’re a few clicks out,”
Deines quietly confirmed.

“Wonder how many Ker are going to be waiting for us?”
Woolridge quietly asked.

“Six,” Cy responded.

Denies and Woolridge looked at Cy. “Not bad,” the SEAL
suggested.

“I can live with that,” Woolridge confirmed.

Lady barked. “Quiet Lady,” Clio ordered.

“We’re two hundred yards away,” Cy softly announced.

“What’s the plan?” Woolridge asked.

“Yeah what’s the plan?” Clio asked.

“The plan? Go in and shoot like hell… that’s the plan,”
Denies said. He looked over at Clio and Lady. “You too are going to stay put
though,” he ordered, pointing at the girl and the dog.

“I don’t want to stay here,” Clio begged.

“It’s too dangerous kid,” Woolridge said, looking at Clio.

“I know how to handle myself,” Clio responded, louder than
she intended to.

“He’s right. It’s too dangerous,” Deines confirmed.

“My mother is in there. I know it. I’m going! I’m not just
going to sit here!” Clio announced in a loud voice.

This kid’s not going
to take no for an answer
Deines thought. “You’re not going to take no for
an answer are you kid?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“Ok, relax… you can go…”

“I guess the damn dog is going too,” Woolridge stated
shaking his head back and forth.

“Alright… Jesus this is a bad idea… Well stay behind us and
keep low,” Deines ordered. Clio looked down at her photon pistol. “Ok,” she
answered. Lady wagged her tail as if she was ready to go.

“Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the
children of your soul, the blueprints of your
ultimate achievements.”

-Napoleon Hill

Atlanta:

Inside the CDC:

Two Sentinels dragged out an Asian woman from the holding
office.

“I need information. Tell me what I want to know and I won’t
hurt you… like the others,” Dr. Pavlov said, looking over at the President’s
dismembered body and another that lay next to him.

“I don’t know anything,” the women responded.

The Sentinels pulled on her arms. She screamed and begged.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she begged.

“Where are the others hiding?” Dr. Pavlov asked.

“What others?”

“The Resistance you stupid woman! Tell me!”

“I don’t know anything… I promise,” she answered with tears
streaming down her cheeks.

***

The team moved outside the CDC. “Cy, you want a weapon?”
Deines asked.

“I’ve only fired a rifle once. Sadly my master didn’t
program me on how to use a pistol,” Cy responded.

“Might be a good time to learn,” Woolridge suggested.

“If you can drive a car, you can shoot a weapon,” Deines
explained.

“I can do it Petty Officer Deines,” Cy announced reaching
out for the backup weapon the SEAL was now handing him.

“Just aim and squeeze the trigger, simple,” Deines said,
showing him with his rifle.

“I’ll do my best Petty Officer Deines,” Cy said, inspecting
the photon pistol.

“Good,” Woolridge responded. “Think we should give the dog a
weapon too?” he asked.

Deines rolled his eyes and put his game face on. “Everyone
ready?” he asked.

The rest of the team nodded.

“Roger that… Let’s move,” Deines ordered.

Cy went first and stood outside the door of the CDC. Deines
was right behind him. After scanning through the wall, the cyborg turned back
to the SEAL

“Dr. Pavlov is interrogating a woman. My sensors indicate
he’s going to kill her soon,” Cy stated.

“Get ready,” Deines said looking back at the rest of the
team. “On my mark…” The SEAL held up his hand and counted to three with his
fingers. “Go!”

Cy burst through the door and the rest followed.

Deines aimed and shot at the Sentinels holding the woman.
They released their grip and charged forward. The SEAL hit one in the chest,
dropping it to the ground and mangling the man-sized bot.

Four Ker crashed through the assembly line doors as Deines
and Woolridge fired in their direction. Man and machine raged in a violent
firefight that splintered pain through the dog’s ears. “I’m out!” the SEAL
shouted, dropping to a knee and ejecting his magazine. Sprinting forward, Cy
broke far out ahead of the others, diving and sliding for cover.

Woolridge fired in a hail of bullets concentrating on the
four heavily armed Ker while Deines hurried to reload. Neither man noticed the
incoming Sentinel. Springing like a kangaroo, the human sized robot bounded and
flew in the air toward Deines.

After picking up the threat, Cy twisted around and aimed his
pistol from his belly. The cyborg squeezed the trigger and hit the Sentinel
while it was still airborne. The machine flew to the side spinning out of
control while Cy kept the trigger squeezed. Pieces of roof fell down before the
cyborg finally let go.

“Mom!” Clio screamed as she watched her mother struggle to
her feet. Peppering the office, Ker rounds whizzed over the team’s head in a
smoke screen. “Stay down Mom!” Clio shouted as she watched the Ker bound
forward.

Reloaded and still on a knee, Woolridge ripped shots toward
the Ker and scored a direct hit, knocking one to the floor. “I’m out!” the
Marine shouted, ejecting his magazine and squatting low.

Standing back up, Deines fired a kill shot. Then another. Cy
aimed for the two remaining Ker and fired, keeping the trigger squeezed,
missing and sending a ray over the machines’ head’s. Dust flew out from where
his blast hit, sending ceiling and walls tumbling around the Ker.

Emerging from the storm, the two remaining Ker kicked pieces
of the falling building out of the way, firing at the team scattering for
cover. Dr. Pavlov crawled on his belly under a table like a coward.

The team traded shots with the Ker, popping up and ducking
behind furniture.

“Clio! No!” Deines shouted as the girl crawled toward her
mother who was caught out in the open.

After getting to his feet, the Marine bound forward,
spraying and shooting from the middle of the CDC office. With no cover to
protect him, Woolridge was hit in the leg and went down, screaming. Time to
return a favor, Deines ran toward the Marine and slid to his side. Both were in
the open and Deines covered Woolridge’s injured body, shielding him while
firing back. They weren’t going to last long.

Cy raced forward and launched his body over both Ker, firing
while airborne. The cyborg scored a hit and sent one Ker stumbling back as its
weapon flew out of its hand and smashed against the wall. Cy landed hard and
his momentum carried him through the double assembly line doors, tumbling. The
uninjured Ker fired at the careening cyborg, shattering the doors and sending
them flying inside the factory. The Ker marched inside and searched for the
cyborg amidst the smoke and dust. No luck. Cy was gone.

Inside the office, the injured Ker reached down and picked
up its weapon and turned toward Deines and Woolridge. Its range finder was
damaged so it switched to its manual viewer. Aiming too low, Deines shot and
blew the Ker’s hand off, sending it to the floor along with its Gatling cannon.

“I’m out,” Deines shouted over a mumbling Woolridge who was
bleeding out on the floor. The SEAL was empty and didn’t have a backup weapon.
Woolridge didn’t have a round to his name either. Deines noticed Woolridge’s
weapon resting on the floor twenty feet away.
That’s got some rounds left
, he thought.

After picking up its cannon with its good hand, the Ker
turned to engage. The SEAL saw the soulless metal bastard as it spun to face
him.
We’re dead
Deines thought,
watching the Gatling cannon rise.
This is
how I die
he thought, watching his life flash before his eyes.

Switching to its manual guidance system, the Ker locked on
to the SEAL and injured Marine, and moved closer. Deines could only watch.

The SEAL jerked his body in surprise as he watched a ray
stream in light across the confines of the office. Clio fired her photon pistol
and hit the Ker in its face shield. Riddling the office with 30mm rounds, the
robot fired blind, keeping the trigger squeezed while falling back, barrel pointing
north, and crashing onto the ground. The ceiling fell down on top of it as it
continued to hold the trigger and shoot in a loud vicious display of firepower.

After jumping to his feet, Deines ran and picked up
Woolridge’s rifle. The Ker stopped firing and became invisible through the
smoke and dust. Deines carefully approached as he looked for it through the
pieces of debris that were still falling. Lying on its back, the Ker appeared
under the settling dust, covered in chalky powder stuck to its hot metal that
had turned to a paste… Standing over it, Deines aimed and emptied the remaining
few rounds into the Ker’s face shield.

“There’s one left!” Deines shouted holding up his finger.

The SEAL looked through the opening to the assembly line.
Turning back, he searched for the thirteen-year-old. “Got anything left in that
photon pistol?” he asked Clio.

“Maybe one or two!” she shouted back.

Deines gestured at the girl with his hand. “Catch,” Clio said
as she threw it to him. The SEAL entered the assembly line, looking for the
last Ker.

Hiding behind a wall, Cy looked at the charge on his photon
pistol.
Empty
he thought watching it
blink red. The Ker detected the cyborg hiding behind the structure. It aimed,
intending to shoot through the drywall barrier that was shielding Cy.

The Ker locked on. Deines saw the back of the robot,
preparing to shoot as the Ker raised its Gatling cannon. With the photon pistol
charged at quarter power, the SEAL fired just as the Ker pulled the trigger.
The young cyborg hit the deck as rounds ripped through the wall. Firing, the
Ker spun out of control and sent 30mm rounds ricocheting off the interior walls
of the factory. Deines slammed his belly to the deck as bullets whizzed by his
ears. The shooting stopped… It fell quiet inside the makeshift assembly area.

The Ker stood up with a pathetic hole still burning in its
back. It turned to face Deines. Aiming from his belly, the SEAL shot and hit
the robot’s chest. The photon pistol powered down to nil after hitting the Ker
at less than quarter charge. The Ker reeled back but didn’t go down. As the Ker
regained its balance, Deines saw his life flash before his eyes again. The
Destroyer raised its canon and began to aim.

Thinking of his family, Deines closed his eyes and waited.
It fell silent again…

Startled at the sound of the Gatling cannon, Petty Officer
Deines jerked and ran his hands over his face and body.
I’m still alive
he thought. The SEAL opened his eyes to see Cy holding
onto the Ker’s weapon. Holding onto the barrel like a pit bull, Cy kept the
mussel away from his body while being swung in every direction.

The Destroyer pulled the trigger and rounds ripped through
the factory, vibrating Cy’s hands with singeing heat. Cy gripped with all his
strength and pushed off the Ker’s abdomen, breaking the weapon free. Deines
watched as the cyborg slid back holding the cannon. Attacking unarmed, the Ker
launched through the air as Cy aimed.

“Kill it!” Deines shouted. Bracing the butt of the cannon
against the floor, Cy aimed and fired. The Ker shattered in pieces as Cy
continued to pull the trigger. Pieces of it showered the young cyborg as he let
go of the cannon and shielded his face from the incoming robot debris. The assembly
area fell silent again.

“You ok?” Deines asked.

“Yes Petty Officer Deines,” Cy answered.

“Thank you,” Deines said.

“You’re welcome Petty Officer Deines.”

“You saved my life.”

“I believe you saved mine first, Petty Officer Deines.”

Deines smiled. “You know you can call me Gary,” he said.

“Ok Petty Officer Gary,” Cy responded.

Deines smiled again, shaking his head. “Ok Cy… You’re a real
bad ass you know that?”

“Why thank you Petty Officer Gary. Dr. Marcus refers to me
as a wise ass… Dr. Marcus?” the young cyborg announced, knowing his master was
somewhere in the building and raced out to find him.

Dr. Marcus and the handful of people that were held captive
stood over Woolridge attending to him. “Dr. Marcus,” Cy called as he burst
through the battered opening of the assembly line.

“Cy! Boy am I glad to see you,” Dr. Pressfield said as a
tear rolled down his cheek. “I missed you too Dr. Marcus.”

The thirteen-year-old kneeled at her mother’s side. “I love
you Mom,” Clio said hugging her mom.

“I love you so much you beautiful creature,” her mother
responded, not wanting to let go. Lady licked Clio and her mother. “Who’s
this?” she asked. Clio stroked the dog’s neck. “This is Lady,” she answered.
The dog barked and wagged her tail.

“I wish Dad was here,” Clio announced.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” her mother softly whispered.

Deines kneeled at Woolridge’s side. “How you doing champ?”

“Hurts like a son of a bitch but I’ll make it,” he said with
pasty white skin covering his face.

“Good, glad to hear it.”

Cy stood with a troubled look. “What is it Cy?” Dr.
Pressfield asked.

“My scanners detect something is coming.”

“What?” Deines asked.

“I don’t know. They are not human. Two of them and their
power readings are massive. They’re huge whatever they are.

Dr. Pressfield looked on the floor and picked up a note pad.
“Think this is what’s coming our way?” he asked.

The image of a Super Destroyer was sketched on the paper.

“Let’s not wait around to find out,” Woolridge announced.

“What do we do with him?” Deines asked nodding at Dr. Pavlov
who was still cowering under a table.

“Put a bullet in his head, I say,” Woolridge affirmed while
he pointed his rifle at him.

“No, don’t kill him,” Dr. Pressfield requested.

“Dr. Marcus, it would be the prudent thing to do,” Cy
whispered.

Vibrating the building, the giant bugs were close, galloping
in thunderous strides.

“We need to get the fuck out of here!” Deines shouted.

Once again in haste, Dr. Pavlov was left alive.

Two warriors – a cyborg – a scientist – a mother and a
daughter – plus one dog - ventured outside, together, and now headed into the
unknown.

The End

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