Prisoner 3-57: Nuke Town (6 page)

‘
I
can’t go any faster than this,’ yelled Clay.

‘
Then
we may be fucked,’ she replied.

‘
Open
fire!’ I told Robbie.

His
gun thundered loudly from the hatch above. I could see the impacts
cutting through the creature’s mighty body, but still it
charged after us. Didn’t these things feel pain? I used the
back of my seat to support my bolt rifle and fired out through the
back window, blowing glass out onto the ground behind us. Fiona
opened fire with her sub-machine gun. We both knew that our weapons
wouldn’t slow this thing down for a second, but it felt better
to do something. A few seconds went by and already I had to re-load.

The
creature roared like a lion.

It
had caught up.

I
watched in shocked silence, as the thing lifted its sledge hammer
shaped head and then swung it down towards us. The back of the armour
vehicle shook heavily, as the creature crashed into us. Fiona grabbed
Robbie by the feet and tugged the young man down into the vehicle. It
was good timing. Fangs, the size of a grown man’s leg, pieced
the armoured roof. With a single bite the creature ripped the rear
half of the roof away.

Clay
turned off to the right hand side.

Driving
between rocks and old tree stumps.

The
creature smashed its skull straight through a rock as if it wasn’t
there.

The
vehicle was thrown left and right, as he zigzagged across the
difficult terrain.

‘
We
are almost there,’ said Rose.

I
pulled a grenade from my belt and pulled the pin.

‘
One,
two, three...’ I tossed it out the back of the armoured car.

The
grenade bounced once and rolled beneath the alien monster. The
explosion blew its front legs off at the knee joint. It landed face
fist into the black ash that covered the landscape and bounced
dramatically, rolling several times, before sliding back first into a
collection of rocks. I knew it wasn’t over, but at least that
brought us a little more time.

‘
There
it is,’ said Clay.

I
turned my attention to the front of the vehicle.

A
long flat building was coming into view. It looked like it had taken
quite a battering from the bullet holes and burn marks across the
outer wall. More of the creatures were gathered around the building.
I could see hundreds of them on the roof. They were slamming their
hands down, biting with their fangs and clawing the metal walls, but
they didn’t seem to be having any luck and getting through.

Suddenly,
a clawed hand smashed through the windscreen and slashed Clay’s
face.

He
screamed in pain and cradled his eyes.

Rose
grabbed the steering wheel, as the car swerved dangerously.

A
second hand smashed through the windscreen and tried to grab Rose.

I
turned my bolt rifle to what was left of the roof and fired up in the
hope of hitting the bastard.

‘
Get
ready,’ said Rose, ‘this isn’t going to be pretty.’

A
garage door slid vertically down, as we smashed through the crowd of
creatures. Unconsciously, I pulled the seatbelt across me and clipped
it into the seat. The armoured car tore into the long garage at
speed. The moment we were inside, the garage door slammed shut. The
beast on top of the car continued to reach into the front of the
vehicle. Its claws were aiming for Rose’s face. She hit the
brakes. The car skidded. The wheels screeched in protest. We slammed
straight into the end wall. Air bags exploded out of hidden
compartments. The seatbelt nearly cut me in two, as my body was
thrown forward with shocking force. It had knocked all the air from
my lungs. I gasped for air, as the engine hummed. I could smell
something burning.

Chapter Three: Back
Up

Fiona
and Rose dragged Clay out of the driver’s door. I removed my
bolt revolver from my right thigh holster and prepare myself. I have
already had the misfortune of seeing someone turn into one of these
creatures. The guy that I had seen before had been bitten by one of
those damn demons, but could someone turn from a scratch, too? I
didn’t know. The first sign that Clay was turning and I would
put all six bolts into his head. Clay was in agony. He had claw marks
across the front of his helmet. The beast had cut through the metal
mask like a can opener.

‘
Jesus,’
gasped Fiona.

Clay’s
eyes had been gouged out.

I
swallowed hard, so that I didn’t throw up.

Rose
pulled a first aid bag out of the armoured car and explored its
contents.

‘
It
hurts. It hurts,’ moaned Clay.

‘
You’re
safe now, baby,’ replied Rose. ‘We got to the Green
Zone.’

A
menacing howl echoed throughout the garage. I turned my gun to the
front of the car. The beast that had got Clay was pinned between the
bonnet and the wall. It clawed relentlessly at the frame of the car,
carving huge chunks of metal away. Eyeless sockets looked straight at
me, as its mouth chomped away at the air. The sound of its teeth
smashing together was unnerving. The thing should be dead. Its entire
lower half had to be crushed completely. What was it? How was it able
to continue to live?

A
side door to the garage opened and a group of people, wearing various
types of body armour, rushed in. Three of them wore big clunky
canisters on their backs, which were connected to flame throwers.
Robbie, Rose and Fiona dragged Clay away from the car, as the new
people took up their positions.

‘
Get
ready!’ ordered a man in a large bulky blue battle suit. It was
a suit designed for fighting in space. The suit made the man look
about seven foot tall. It was the type of thing you had to climb into
using a foot stall. It had numerous weapons built into the shoulders,
arms, legs and chest. The whole thing must have cost him a fair few
credits. ‘Burn it!’ The three people with flame throwers
opened up on the trapped creature. Its agonising scream filled the
air, as it thrashed violently. It was painful to watch.

It
took nearly two minutes to kill this diabolical thing.

They
stopped the hose of fires.

The
creature fell silent. It fell still.

The
group turned towards us.

It
was hard to gauge the situation with everyone wearing helmets. There
were no facial expressions to read. The man in the blue suit stepped
forward.

‘
My
name is Levi,’ said Levi. ‘I am in charge of this
installation. I have been sent here to guide players to safety. You
are all safe now. The monsters cannot get inside. And if we get the
odd one or two we know how to deal with them. Fire kills them.’
I made a mental note of this information. ‘You can take your
friend down to level three. There is a medical suite that will be
able to help aid to his wounds.’

‘
Thank
you,’ said Rose.

She
turned worried eyes towards me. ‘Brother, help me carry him.’

I
tried to fight the urge to help her. I wasn’t sure if she was
real or not. Was this another trick by the creators of this game? Was
I still in prison? The problem was that I loved my sister. I would
give my life for her, or that is what I used to believe. It didn’t
matter. My body acted on its own. Something was programmed deep down
within the core of my being. I felt compelled to help her. I had to.
She was Rose.

I
moved forward to help Clay.

Chapter Four: Lost
Child

The
medical facilities were some of the best I had seen. This placed was
kitted out with numerous rooms, supplies and equipment. It was like
the game creators had put every single thing they could think of in
here. The medical bay was one entire floor of the safe house. I could
hear people moaning and groaning down the corridors, as round headed
medical robots treated their injuries. The robots looked pretty basic
in facial features and body shape, but their limbs were like a Swiss
army knife of medical tools and devices. I had walked the halls three
times now. It looked secure, but one thing I had learnt in this war
game was that nowhere was safe. The bad things always found a way in.
That was just how life was. I began to head back up towards Rose and
the others. The walking wounded in the hallways had to be about
twenty to twenty-five people. I was surprised by how many people had
actually been able to fight their way out of that shitty situation,
but then again these were hardcore players. These people have
survived more hellish missions than me. They were turning into a real
life fighting unit.

Outside
of Rose’s private room was Fiona.

The
beautiful woman in white was kneeling down in front of a young girl
of African descent. The girl was sat up straight with a faraway look
upon her face. She was covered from head to toe in blood. Fiona was
slowly wiping the gruesome mess away from the girls face.

‘
Who
is the girl?’ I asked.

‘
I
don’t know,’ said Fiona, ‘she hasn’t said a
word.’

‘
Is
she part of the game?’

Fiona
gave me a puzzled looked, as if I was as thick as shit.

‘
What?’

‘
Is
she part of the game? Is she like a computer game character?’

Fiona
said nothing for a moment and then replied with, ‘No. The girl
is real.’

It
was my turn to look confused.

‘
Who
would bring a child into this?’ I waved a hand at the world
around us.

‘
Someone
who loves their daughter,’ said Rose from behind us.

I
turned to look at my sister. She had a look of relief on her face. I
caught sight of Clay on the bed, as she closed the door to his room.
Clay was fast asleep. A drip was in his arm. His eyes were completely
bandaged.

‘
You
would bring someone you love here?’ I asked Rose.

‘
You
don’t know what it is like out there, Brother,’ replied
Rose. ‘The life we have is a constant struggle. The ships are
cold, damp and smelly. The food is limited and what we get is just
nutritious sludge. We don’t have homes. Three different
families will share a living quarters, which was originally designed
for two soldiers. The toilet facilities are terrible. We have power
for two hours a day, which means heating for two hours a day only.
Sickness is everywhere. The government force people into abortion, as
giving birth is now a crime. Murder and rape are everyday
occurrences. Mass suicides are a reality. Riots happen on a weekly
basis. The people have no hope. They exist purely to exist. We are
travelling through space without a destination.’

‘
I
thought you were heading somewhere.’

‘
Perhaps,
but we won’t see it in our generation,’ countered Fiona.

‘
Why
do you say that?’

‘
It
is just how things are,’ continued Rose. ‘Humanity is a
dying breed. We are floating through space in tin cans. They have the
two Jump Gates, but they are no good without a destination to get to.
This game allows for a better existence. When a player gets to a
certain level and a certain amount of credits they can pay for a
relief program.’

‘
What
is that?’

‘
It’s
like a virtual holiday.’

‘
They
pay for a three or four week break,’ explained Rose. ‘They
can live on a tropical island, eat amazing food, and spend time with
a lady or man that will do anything they desire. It is sort of a
paradise created by your own mind. They can do anything they want to.
They can be happy.’

‘
I
think I get it,’ I replied. ‘Is that why you are here?’

Rose
frowned and put her hands on her hips.

I
laughed.

I
didn’t mean to.

She
always did that when she was a child.

‘
I
came here to get you,’ replied Rose.

‘
Me?’