Part One- The First Wave
June put her finger to her lips as the door slid open and Themopolous stepped into the train compartment.
“How’s he doing?” Themopolous whispered.
“He’s been asleep for an hour now,” June responded. “How are Bisby and Jethro?”
“Bisby’s stable and I’ve already prepped the arm for prosthetics. Jethro isn’t doing as well,” the Doctor sighed.
“Will he make it?”
“Physically, yes, we can keep his body alive indefinitely. His mind, though, probably has 24 hours.” Themopolous motioned towards a chair. “But, let’s move on to you. Have a seat here and let’s get a better look at your injuries.”
***
“The first wave is here, sir,” Specialist Nguyen announced.
“How many?” Lieutenant Murphy asked.
“87,000 on the ground and 14 transports,” Nguyen responded.
The Lieutenant looked at her communications Specialist. “Are you fucking shitting me?”
“No, sir, those numbers are shit free,” Nguyen said.
“Smart ass,” Sol said, looking over Nguyen’s shoulder at the tablet.
Murphy activated her com. “Dig in folks. I want concealed defensive positions set up. Who has the charges?”
“I do, sir,” Austin replied.
“Good. Get over here. We’re going to need to plot out some special placement for those.”
“You got it, Lieutenant,” Austin said.
***
June painfully pulled her shirt over her head. Themopolous nodded at the wrapping and began to unwind the cloth from her midsection.
“Looks like the Railer medics have done a decent job,” Themopolous said. “But, I’d like to get a better… Oh, sweet Jeezus, June!” The Doctor looked up into June’s eyes. The pilot held her gaze, never flinching as Themopolous carefully probed the deep purple bruises. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Do you?” June asked. “I can go into grisly detail if you want.”
Themopolous winced at June’s tone. “The ribs are definitely broken.”
“Yeah, I know.”
***
“Um, sir, Johnson is aware of our presence. I don’t see how setting up any position is going to be a tactical advantage,” Specialist Sol said.
Lieutenant Murphy turned to her 2nd in command. “Would you rather we all just stand here with our dicks in our hands?”
“No, sir, but I’d like to see you try,” Sol smirked. Murphy narrowed her eyes and Sol cleared his throat. “I’m just saying that maybe this isn’t our stand. Maybe we should just let happen what’s going to happen and assess the situation after the dust settles.”
Murphy narrowed her eyes further.
***
A light knocking on the compartment door brought a welcome distraction from the room’s tension. The door slid open and the Rookie peeked his head in. “Sorry to interrupt. Bisby’s coming out of it and he’s not being very cooperative.”
“Okay, we’re done. I’ll be right there,” Themopolous said, handing June her shirt. “Rest if you can.”
June didn’t respond, her eyes and attention locked on the Rookie. “Who the fuck are you?”
The Rookie was taken aback and looked to Themopolous and back to June. “Um, I’m the Rookie. Remember?”
“June? Are you alright? What’s wrong?” Themopolous asked, alarmed.
***
“I’m going to explain this one time and one time only,” Murphy said, her anger barely contained. “This is our stand. This is our fight. And if it’s the last one, so be it.” She looked at her unit, assessing each member carefully. “If we run and Johnson wins this shit then we could be some of the only people left alive in the whole fucking world.”
She grabbed up her AR-715 auto-carbine and checked the chamber. “And it may not mean much to you gents, but I really don’t want to have the only working uterus in the wasteland.”
***
“You should rest,” Themopolous said, trying to divert June’s attention from the Rookie.
“Who the fuck are you?” June asked again, ignoring the Doctor.
“That’s the Rookie, June,” Themoplous said.
June gave the Doctor a look of reproach and stood, moving towards the door. “Fuck all that Rookie shit. Where did you come from? You aren’t city/state, are you?”
The Rookie snorted. “Did one of the Railers tell you? No, I’m not city/state. I was born in the waste. I’m, was, a Boiler.”
June stumbled back and Themopolous reached out to steady her.
“You look just like him,” June growled.
***
“You have less than a .003 percent chance of surviving this day,” the Outsider’s voice, Johnson’s voice, boomed. “Submit now.”
“Give up? And miss kicking your ass? I don’t think so,” Mathew responded. “How about you open up instead and we have a nice face to face.”
Johnson laughed, the sound turning into a cackle then snarl. “This door will never open again, for anyone.”
“You know I have to try to get in, right?” Mathew asked. “I kinda have a situation on my hands and I really think the solution is behind that twenty feet of iron and steel.”
***
“Can you give us a minute?” the Rookie asked Themopolous. “June and I need to talk.”
Themopolous looked to June and the woman nodded. “Okay, I’ll be in with Bisby. I’ll come back later and check on you again, June. Before we get to, well, wherever we’re going.”
The Doctor left reluctantly and the Rookie closed the door behind her.
“Who do I look like?” he asked.
“Does the name Olivia mean anything to you?” June watched the Rookie closely. “Or The Boss?”
Anger flashed briefly across the Rookie’s face.
June sighed and sat. “Yes, we do need to talk.”
***
Harlow didn’t bother dodging the deaders in her path, she just kept a straight heading, throttle at full while she operated the transport’s weapons systems. Five of the UDC transports turned about, ready to engage.
“Fuck me,” she muttered, knowing she didn’t have the capabilities to fend off a full attack.
The screen to her right bleeped shrilly, but Harlow ignored it, busy trying to devise a way out of her latest impossible situation.
The screen bleeped again, louder then again and again.
“What?!?” she shouted then seeing what was on the screen, she smiled. “Well, hello there little guy.”
***
“Charges set, sir,” Specialist Austin said over his com. “Good thing the approach to the stronghold was designed to bottle neck. We might have a shot at stopping them. Or at least slowing them down.”
“Great Job, Austin,” Lieutenant Murphy responded. “Hold tight for my mark.”
“Will do,” Austin said.
“ETA, Nguyen?” Murphy asked.
“Any minute now, sir,” the Specialist answered.
A steady vibration began to make itself felt.
“Or, they could be here now,” Nguyen said checking his tablet. “Dead ahead, sir.”
Lieutenant Murphy and Specialist Sol lifted their binocs in unison and scanned the approach to the stronghold.
***
“You now have a less than .0007 chance of survival,” Johnson’s inhuman voice echoed. “Submission is your only option.”
“You see, that’s just bad math,” Mathew said. “If I have a .0007 chance then submission isn’t my only option. I don’t think all of your synapses are firing right.”
“You cannot comprehend the synaptic complexity of my being!” Johnson yelled.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Johnson ol’ pal,” Mathew laughed. “I not only can comprehend, but I’m pretty much living it right now.”
“He is attempting a scan,” Shiner warned.
“Let him,” Mathew responded. “He should know what he’s up against.”
***
“You okay, Papa Bear?” Rachel asked over the com.
“Fine,” Capreze grunted.
“You sure? Because I need to know your head is in the game,” Rachel said.
“Who’s the Commander here?” Capreze asked. “Me or you?”
“Well, sounds like it’s me right now. Unless you plan on shoving that hurt down deep and getting your ass ready to fight,” Rachel replied.
Capreze sighed to himself. “I’m amazed at how well you turned out and frightened at the same time. You are the perfect mech pilot.”
“Yeah, well you’re the perfect Commander and Father. How about you start acting like it?”
***
“Olivia raised me. Pissed the Boss off, a woman raising his son,” the Rookie said quietly, seated next June. “He always hated her filling my head with things larger than the next fight.”
“How old were you when she helped you escape?” June asked.
“Eleven? Twelve, maybe? I don’t know. I never knew my birthday and the doctors at Foggy Bottom could only approximate,” the Rookie laughed. “Olivia would be horrified to know I escaped fighting in the pit to end up fighting in a cage.”
“Just be thankful you escaped at all,” June said looking at the sleeping boy.
***
Harlow keyed in the command and waited for acknowledgement. In a matter of seconds, Four pinged back and Harlow smiled. “Now I have a plan,” she said aloud.
Her smile quickly faded as warning alarms sounded. “Fuck,” she cursed, watching as the UDC transports locked their missiles onto the mech transport. Without stopping to think, Harlow launched all RPGs and the last few missiles preemptively, hoping to throw the other transports’ attack off.
She yanked the controls and turned the transport perpendicular with the others and tried to coax more power from the throttle. “Come on you piece of shit!”
***
“I feel the mech trying to bypass my security,” Johnson boomed. “It will not succeed.”
“He may be correct,” Shiner said. “There are complexities of code that I am unfamiliar with. It appears that the Outsider has created his own language, reprogramming the UDC mainframe to run only on his commands.”
“Which means?” Mathew asked.
“It means that if we destroy Dr. Johnson the mainframe will start to break down within the hour. All stored data, all of your humanity’s collected history and information, would be lost. You will be left with only memories.”
“Back to square one,” Mathew responded.
***
Zombies flew up over the front of the mech transport as Harlow plowed through the massive horde. Rotted limbs, putrid torsos and badly decomposed heads smashed into the windshield, obscuring her view, making her rely more on the vid screens than what was right in front of her.
“Come on, little guy, bust ass and get here,” she said.
An explosion, then another rocked the transport. Her readings told her all systems were online and functioning, but she knew it was only a matter of time before the missiles hit home.
Gunfire erupted and several more explosions shook the wasteland.
***
“I have visual!” Nguyen yelled. “ETA ten minutes before we are swarmed by deaders.”
“Okay folks,” Lieutenant Murphy shouted. “You have your positions. Dig in and don’t stop firing until you are empty. If you can draw a transport close enough to try to overtake then do so. If we can get in one of those fuckers then we stand a helluva lot better chance of survival.”
“This is the real shit, huh, sir?” Specialist Kafar asked over the com.
“Yes, Specialist, it is,” Murphy answered. “You ready for this?”
“Born ready, sir,” Kafar responded.
“We all were,” Sol affirmed.
***
“You hear them chattering away as if they stand a chance?” Johnson laughed, his semi-human, semi-synthesized voice cackling madly. “Little ants to be stepped on.”
“This guy is really starting to bug the shit out of me,” Mathew said.
“I agree with the bug shit,” Shiner said. “But, I believe I almost have access.”
Mathew watched with anticipation, but quickly despaired as a massive plate slid down in front of the stronghold entrance, adding yet another layer of protection against breach.
“Our cerebral integration must be off because I have a distinctly different definition of access,” Mathew grumbled to Shiner.
***
Themopolous rounded the corner, nearly colliding with the Rookie.
“Sorry, Doc. My fault,” the Rookie apologized. “How’s Biz?”
“He’s as pissed off as ever,” Themopolous said, exasperated. “He wants me to let him ride up in the engine control room so he can help with tactical.”
“What about his arm?”
“I saved enough nerves that he should be compatible for a full prosthetic,” she answered. “You and June have a good talk?”
“Good? I don’t know about that, but June knows she isn’t alone anymore.” The Rookie sighed. “We now have a lot more in common than I thought possible.”
***
Four kept on firing its 50mm gun, annihilating the UDC missiles as they sped towards the mech transport. Its first objective accomplished, the mini-mech turned on the transports themselves, its plasma cannon glowing red.
Dodging cannon fire, it headed straight at the transports. A shell exploded feet from the mini-mech, the concussion knocking it to the ground. Barely missing a step, Four righted itself and continued on its direct path towards the transports.
When only a couple yards away it let loose a barrage of plasma bursts, aiming not for the windshields, but for the armored wheel wells and axles.
***
Harlow watched the vid screen as she put as much distance between herself and the UDC deaders as possible. The mini-mech was holding up better than she’d hoped and she hated what she would have to do.
“Okay, little guy, turn them around,” she said.
Four crippled several transports. Those still functioning pursued the mini-mech as it led them back into the zombie masses.
Harlow checked her readings, calculated the distance and set her hand above the large red button on the mini-mech control console.
When certain she was as clear as she could get, she slammed the button home.
***
The pile of deader corpses that Harlow left in the wasteland shuddered, the repaired undead re-animating, coming back to unlife. Hands and claws scratched and ripped their way through their unaffected brethren, tearing through carcasses to gain access to mobility once again.
Several got to their unsteady feet, their slashed open skulls knitting back together as they lurched upright. The signal in their inoculated, tech modified brains told them to march, to keep moving towards Him.
The wasteland turned white and all things, dead, undead, re-undead disappeared in a blast of heat that boiled then vaporized rotted flesh and bone.
***
The Skinner cavern collapsed as the ground above was scorched clean. Chunks of rock crushed the undead and the living by the dozens. Then all was dark and silent.
Those that survived the deader attack, that survived the collapse, that had hidden themselves and loved ones, had hidden from the terror their society had so carefully tried to avoid, that waited in the blackness, waited for the world to stop quaking and for the chaos to settle, wept as the moans and hisses of the creatures that wouldn’t die drifted to their ears, knowing they had brought this on themselves.
***
Harlow felt the end of the transport lift and she watched as every gauge on the control panel red lined. She gripped her chair as if death itself was trying to rip her from its fabric, which in essence it was.
Harlow counted out the seconds, waiting for her world to flip end over end. She refused to close her eyes, choosing to face her fate head on as she did with everything in life.
By the time she had counted to sixty she realized the heat shielding was holding and that systems were still online. She was still alive.
***
The Outsider roared, its mutated voice crashing and reverberating off the rock surrounding the UDC stronghold.
“I will dismantle you piece by piece as I listen to your cries for mercy and laugh!”
“What the fuck is he talking about?” Mathew asked Shiner.
“I am unsure,” Shiner responded.
“They are mine! I made them, I control them! They are not meant to die ever! EVER!” Johnson roared.
“I’m guessing something happened out in the waste,” Mathew said over the loudspeaker. “I’m also guessing some of my people may have put a wrench in your great and powerful deader army plans.”
***
“Long range scanners have detected a detonation corresponding with the last known location of the mech personnel and Railers,” Stomper said.
Masters grunted in response.
“Do you not care that your friends and allies may be harmed?”
“No,” Masters stated. “They’re big kids, they can take care of themselves.”
“Should we not turn back and see if they need assistance? Some may have been injured.”
“No, we aren’t turning back!” Masters yelled. “Nothing matters except putting a bullet in the Outsider’s head. If the fucker has a head. If it doesn’t, I don’t care, it’s getting a bullet in something.”
***
Warning alarms sounded in the train engine control room. Jenny and Marin immediately checked all scanners.
“Wow, something just made a very big bang back there,” Marin said. “And I mean big.”
Timson stepped up behind and checked the readings for himself. “That’s not normal ordinance. That is way too large a detonation.”
“Readings are starting to clear,” Jenny said. “Holy fuck! That entire deader army is gone. Things are still a bit fuzzy, but I don’t have any movement on the scope.”
“Well, whatever it was looks like we now have one less problem to deal with,” Marin said.
***
“That was Four!” Jay shouted over the com.
“Are you sure?” Capreze asked.
“Yeah, I know when my tech goes boom,” Jay said. “I always add a little something extra making the blast signature unique. It’s part of the Jay Rind service agreement.”
“You know what Jay?” Rachel asked.
“What’s that?”
“When this is all over we need to get you laid,” she laughed. “You’ve got way too much tech in that head and you need to let it go.”
“Don’t I know it!” Jay laughed as well.
“It’s statements like that Rache that do a Father proud,” Capreze sighed.
***
“Sir, should I cut them off or cut them in half?” Specialist Austin asked.
“Wait until you can crush as many as possible,” Lieutenant Murphy answered. “Maximum damage is key, but if you can stop them or slow them then do so.”
“Roger that,” Austin responded, his finger on the detonator.
The Special Ops team watched the deader army march slowly towards them, transports leading. Even with their training, the sight of a sea of zombies was unnerving.
“That’s a lot of deaders,” Specialist Grendetti said.
“Amen to that, man,” Specialist Kafar agreed.
Austin waited patiently then depressed the button.
***
The earth shook under Shiner/Mathew’s feet as Austin’s charges detonated. Shiner/Mathew checked its readings and Mathew smiled.
“Well, looks like the ants are bringing the walls down around your great army,” Mathew smirked. “Best laid plans and all that shit, huh?”
Silence.
“Not talking now? Ah, come on, don’t be such a sore loser.”
“Missile locks confirmed,” Shiner said. “All transports capable have targeted us.”
“Just us?”
“Yes, it appears so.”
“Well, that’s not fair, now is it?”
“No, but we are the biggest threat,” Shiner responded.
“Well, we’d better live up to that threat,” Mathew grinned, checking weapons systems.
***
“Don’t think, do,” were the last words Mathew thought as a separate consciousness. He let his mind go and become a single unit with Shiner.
The mech assessed the readings, plotted all counter measures and charged the oncoming transports.
More explosions occurred as Austin detonated the second round of charges and Shiner/Mathew responded instantly adjusting as needed to the rocking terrain.
The mech dove under the first wave of missiles, letting them rocket past then came up firing. Shiner/Mathew watched the scope as the missiles changed course, doubling back on the mech.
Shiner/Mathew double pumped its massive legs and leapt.
***
“Jeezus Christ made of gravy,” Grendetti swore as he watched the mech twist in the air, one arm firing plasma bursts back at the encroaching missiles and the other arm unleashing hot 50mm lead upon the UDC transports below it.
The sniper turned his head away from the eyepiece as the first of the missiles were destroyed. Once the flash was gone he returned his attention to the mech and gasped as the battle machine came down atop a transport, crushing the hull, but was back on its feet in a blink, continuing its assault.
“Hot damn,” the sniper said.
***
Still firing, Shiner/Mathew executed a backflip off the crushed transport, landing feet first behind the machines. It ducked down as the missiles intended for it slammed into the vehicles that had fired them.
The concussion sent Shiner/Mathew rolling, but the mech was soon back up, grabbing the aft ends of two more transports. It swung them around like children’s toys, tossing the transports high into the air above the mass of zombies. Two well placed plasma blasts ripped the transports apart sending hot shrapnel down on the undead, thinning their numbers considerably, while the rest of the zombie horde charged.
***
“Open fire goddammit!” Murphy yelled. “Stop gawking and start killing! Those things are gonna overwhelm that mech!”
The Special Ops team did as ordered and truly began their assault on the deader army.
“Remember, head shots are no longer permanent on the inoculated! Take out the legs first, try to immobilize them!” the Lieutenant shouted. “Steady fire! Controlled bursts!”
“This ain’t our first dance, sir,” Specialist Kafar responded over the com. “You can save your breath for when we’re really slacking!”
“If you’re ever really slacking I’ll save my breath and use my boot, don’t you worry, Kafar!” Murphy promised.
***
Shiner/Mathew began to quickly back away from the first wave of zombies, dropping plasma charges in its wake. Once row upon row of attacking zombies covered the charges, Shiner/Mathew lit them up, the detonations shooting body parts into the air like undead geysers.
The mech mowed down another three rows with a non-stop onslaught from its 50mms, stopping only to let the guns cool so they wouldn’t overheat and jam. Alarms warned that power was draining from its plasma cannon, so the mech launched all of its RPGs into the horde painting the landscape with even more limbs and offal.
***
“Shit! Here they come!” Specialist Sol yelled as many zombies turned their attention from the mech and onto the other sources of gunfire. “Get ready people!”
Dozens of undead scrambled up the rocky slope towards Sol and he slowed his breathing, making every trigger pull count, going for head shots just to buy some time. He yanked a fractal grenade from his belt, pulled the pin with his teeth and tossed it below. He continued to fire while counting to four then ducked his head as the grenade exploded on the fifth second.
“Fuck yeah! Bring it you deader fucks!”
***
Specialist Kafar took out as many of the undead as he could before a dozen were on him. He fought like a mad man, punching and kicking anything that was within his reach.
Deader hands clawed at the Specialists body armor, trying to get at the flesh beneath. Jaws clamped down on his arms, but the teeth merely broke off in their rotted gums, unable to penetrate the material.
“Yeah, how do you like that tech, mother fuckers?!?” Kafar screamed freeing an arm and yanking a steel baton from his belt. He extended the collapsible weapon and set to work.
***
Knowing he was unable to re-load in time, Specialist Austin had tossed aside his carbine and already had his batons extended. With brutal grace he crushed undead skulls, shattered knees, femurs, forearms and anything else unlucky enough to come within his reach.
He kicked out, knocking zombie into zombie, creating a space of death around him. The deaders began to pull back, circling the Specialist, looking for an opening.
“Well, look at y’all learning,” Austin said. “You’re a little faster on the uptake than your average deader, ain’t you?”
The zombies growled and hissed, their dead eyes filled with rage.
***
The deader tackled Lieutenant Murphy about the waste, knocking her to the ground.
“Fuck!” she swore, thankful for the protective helmet as the zombie’s jaw tried to clamp down on the tinted face plate.
More deaders piled on top of her and the weight threatened to crush her chest, squeezing all the air from her lungs. “A little help!” she yelled over her com.
Within a second, the deaders began to fall as one by one their heads exploded, coating her face plate until the world was a grey red blur.
“How’s that, sir?” Grendetti’s voice asked.
“Perfect, Specialist. Thanks.”
***
Nguyen screamed when his back twisted and snapped as three deaders hit the back of his legs and several more rammed his chest, nearly tearing him in two. “Oh, God, no!” he called out.
“Nguyen!” Sol shouted, desperately trying to fight his way to his teammate.
“Sol! Please! Oh, God, I can’t feel my legs anymore, man! Someone help!”
“Crap! I can’t get a mercy shot through his helmet!” Grendetti called over the com.
The deaders hammered at Nguyen’s body, unable to get through the armor. Within seconds the Specialist hemorrhaged to death as his body was beat into pulp.
***
Sol rolled two grenades towards Nguyen’s corpse and the pile of deaders still attacking it. He dropped to the ground, as the explosions made sure his fallen teammate wouldn’t return as an enemy.
“One down, sir!” he shouted to Murphy over the com.
“Who?” the Lieutenant responded.
“Nguyen, sir,” Sol answered. “I cleared the corpse.”
The 2nd in command got to his feet and took the few seconds he had to survey the scene. All about him, raging zombies swarmed, many coming for him. He watched the other Special Ops members struggle and grapple.
“Grenades people! Let’s end this quick!”
***
Shiner/Mathew sensed the grenade explosions about it as the Special Ops team tried to fend off their attackers, but the mech was never distracted as it laid down a steady stream of fire from its flame thrower, roasting a hundred zombies at once.
Its 50mms cool enough now to keep from seizing, the mech opened fire once again, ripping undead bodies into shreds.
Shiner/Mathew kept at it until the guns clicked empty and whirled to a stop, smoke curling from the ends of the rotating barrels.
The mech stood, looking upon a dead sea of broken, dismembered and scorched zombies.
***
Maniacal laughter erupted from the stronghold’s loudspeakers. “Such ferocity! How I would love to take you as mine! Send you out into the wasteland and destroy all that defy me!”
Shiner/Mathew turned slowly, the two consciousnesses splitting back into their less integrated forms. “It’ll never happen,” Mathew growled.
“Oh, yes, I am quite aware of that,” Johnson said. “For that was only a taste of what is in store. Almost a diversion, an amusement!”
“I didn’t find it very funny,” Mathew stated.
“Then you certainly aren’t going to laugh at the next course!”
“Mathew,” Shiner said. “They are all here.”
***
“Sound off!” Lieutenant Murphy ordered as she pulverized the skull of her last zombie with the heel of her boot.
“Specialist Sol, all fingers, all toes!”
“Specialist Austin, all fingers, all toes, cracked rib!”
“Specialist Kafar, all fingers, all toes, hyper-extended knee!”
“Specialist Grendetti, all fingers, all toes!”
Murphy sighed. “Godspeed Nguyen.”
“Godspeed,” the rest of team said in unison.
There was a brief moment of silence then the Lieutenant was back to business. “Full inventory now! I want to know what we have left for when the next army gets here!”
“Yes, sir!” the team shouted, again in unison.
***
“How many am I looking at?” Mathew asked.
“The numbers are so great it is impossible to get a full count,” Shiner responded.
“Estimate dammit! We’re not setting the fucking table for dinner!”
“I do not understand the reference. I am unsure what table settings have to do with-”
“SHINER!” Mathew roared, interrupting the AI.
“You have access to this information, but my estimation is close to three hundred thousand, give or take ten or twenty thousand.”
Mathew gulped. “Transports?”
“Those I have an exact count: 57,” Shiner said.
“How much time?” Mathew asked, knowing the answer.
“None,” Shiner replied.
***
Each member of the Special Ops team made his way to the Lieutenant, putting down deaders as they could, knowing many were going to rise again soon unless they could torch all the bodies.
Once re-grouped, they removed their helmets, savoring the fresh air on their sweaty faces.
“What are we looking at?” Murphy asked as Sol sat next to her.
“Not good,” the 2nd in command said. “Nearly all of the grenades are gone and we each have enough ammo to last maybe five minutes.”
“At least we have a bullet each,” Austin said.
“Last resort only,” Murphy snarled.
***
Mathew could feel the ground vibrate all the way up in the cockpit from hundreds of thousands of deader feet. The rumble of the transports could be heard also, making the air hum as the colossal army of the dead moved towards them.
“Hey folks?” Mathew shouted. “You’re gonna want to get behind me!”
Murphy and her team stood and watched in awe as the approach to the stronghold was covered by row after row of deaders. Not a single member of the team waited for Murphy’s order as they each grabbed up their gear and sprinted towards the mech.
***
“Submit and I’ll spare you,” Johnson said.
“Ain’t happenin’ freak!” Mathew shouted. “I’m thinking death is a better option.”
“Death? No, I don’t plan on killing you. I plan on overpowering you, so your uniqueness may be studied,” Johnson laughed. “The Lieutenant’s team however, will be slowly ripped apart, their innards eaten while they watch.”
“Yeah, not thinking that’s part of the plan, either,” Mathew replied. “Tell your army to halt or I set the self-destruct and you’ll have nothing to study.”
Johnson’s cackle once again filled the air. “Then self-destruct! Your dissection was only to be an amusement anyway.”
***
“Whoa! Did he just say we’re going to have to watch while they eat our guts?” Austin asked. “I vote for self-destruct right now, please.”
“No, no one’s self-destructing!” Lieutenant Murphy shouted.
“Excuse me?” Mathew said. “I make the self-destruct call here.”
“Shut it mech!” Murphy ordered.
“Um, okay,” Mathew said. “You’ve got the floor.”
Murphy turned to the stronghold. “Johnson, listen, you’ve got to stop. If you kill everyone then you will be alone. Alone inside with nothing but deaders left out here.”
“Oh, no, Lieutenant, there are pockets of humanity still out there. Pockets uncorrupted by UDC lies!”
***
“That guy’s fucking nuts,” Specialist Austin mumbled.
“Insanity is relative,” Johnson responded. “Mainly relative to the one that holds the power.”
“Which would be me since I just set the self-destruct,” Mathew said. “I don’t know if it’ll penetrate the stronghold, but I sure hope it fucks up your day.”
“I cancelled the self-destruct,” Shiner said.
“What? You don’t get to make that call. I’m the pilot,” Mathew said angrily.
“But, my consciousness will cease to exist as well. I have as much an interest in surviving as you do,” Shiner insisted.
“But, we can’t beat those numbers!” Mathew yelled.
***
“Are those numbers accurate?” Timson asked staring at the scanner readings.
“Yeah, they are,” Jenny responded. “There has to be at least 300,000 deaders waiting at our destination. We are going to tear right through them in less than an hour.”
“Jay? Can your disc handle that many?” Timson asked.
“As long as those fucks are within the wave radius, yes, it can handle that many, but I don’t know how long they’ll stay down,” Jay responded over the com.
“It’ll buy us some time,” Capreze joined in. “We’ll destroy as many as we can before they get back up.”
***
The Special Ops team waited while Shiner and Mathew had their internal argument.
“What’s going on?” Specialist Sol asked, glancing warily as the deader army moved closer. “Are we gonna blow up or what? Those things are getting a little close.”
“Just keep your sidearm handy in case you need to take care of yourselves,” Lieutenant Murphy told her team. “I don’t know what the mech is doing.”
“Hey, do you feel that?” Grendetti asked. “Is the ground shaking?”
“Um, the ground has been shaking for a while! There are a couple hundred thousand deaders marching towards us!” Sol yelled.
***
“What is that?” Timson asked, pointing at the scope. “It’s huge.”
“It’s Masters,” Marin answered. “He’s just arrived at the stronghold, looks like.”
“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.