Interlude: Journey Part 2
“Finally got net back! Thank god that’s never going to happen again” - Anon, 18:29 UTC, 15th of March 2034, on the popular messaging board ‘6tan’ thirty minutes before the second Solar Flare hit.
Matt took his first breath of outside air. It felt… dirtier, unfiltered by ventilation. Yet it wasn’t dusty, there were no particles in it like the air in less ventilated areas, but it was still dry and alien.
The air wasn’t clean, but it also wasn’t stale.
He looked up and… was shaken a bit. Matt thought he was prepared or at least didn’t think it would be that big of a deal, but for the first time in his life, he stared at a ceilingless sky and comprehended its vastness in a way VR with its limited render distance never could. A burning bright orb illuminated an indigo purple sky as sickly looking black clouds lazily floated. He kept looking, expecting an end to the horizon, a wall, an unrendered chunk… but he never found it.
“It used to be blue…” Denise quietly muttered as she tightly clutched Max’s hand.
“Is everyone out?” Alex asked, their eyes scanning the skies. Matt’s eyes followed theirs, unlike him, Alex’s eyes were searching. For the drones he thought, Peri was a bitch to fight even in-game.
Matt turned his gaze down. He recognised some parts of the city, the abandoned bombed-out buildings, leaving little but blackened frames. Old Paris was a pretty open area for a city, making it a bitch to keep when he played defence on the map. If it wasn’t a national symbol of the old nations then it would’ve fallen a lot quicker.
“I’m good,” Matt said. The rest of the group quickly sounded off, with Jeremy the last.
“About time?” the soldier asked, checking an analog watch on his wrist.
“Yes,” Alex said, just as loud sirens began to blare. They signalled to the rest of the group and began hurrying forward, taking point. Matt followed behind, his steps passively adopting the soundless movement he was used to. Sarah and Denise were behind them, each holding one of Max’s hands, they weren’t fast, but Alex was keeping pace. Jeremy was last, watching the group like a wolf with his pack.
They managed to jog past several streets before the bombs started dropping. The aftershocks shook the ground, powerful winds whipped at them. Matt barely managed to brace for it, he was almost knocked off if Alex didn’t catch him.
“Thanks.” Alex wasn’t looking at him, instead, staring to the southward end as numerous explosions bloomed from small black dots dropped from the sky. As the explosions moved away from them, they gestured to keep going.
Here laid the core of the plan. Whenever the Perimeter bombed a location, it withdrew most of its forces. Allowing small gaps where one could slip through its security.
They jogged past abandoned streets and bombed out buildings, the heavy smell of gunpowder and acrid stench permeated throughout the city, they made good time. A few minutes and the remains of the Eiffel Tower was in sight, passing under the Seine River through an out of use sewer tunnel, they were allowed their first moment of rest.
Matt breathed in and out deeply as he leaned by the brick wall. He was fit so it wasn’t as hard on him. He could’ve gone for another two hours at least, he decided. Alex and Jeremy were barely even huffing, while Sarah and Denise were in relatively similar shape to him. His mums weren’t as fit but they were also older, had longer legs and took fewer steps compared to him. They stopped for Max, who didn’t complain, but was clearly slowing and fell to the ground almost immediately.
“Deep breaths,” Denise said as she gently ruffled his brother’s hair. “Take deep breaths.”
“I’m… Huff… Fine!” Max defiantly said, pushing Denise’s hand off him as he shakily stood, “Let’s keep going!”
“Shhh,” Jeremy shushed from the back, his gaze still focused on the outside.
“Ah… sorry,” quieter this time, he said, “Let’s keep going…”
“Rest for the moment,” Alex said, “there aren’t a lot of shelters the Perimeter won’t check. But we only have another ten till we need to be moving again.”
“I feel a bit tired as well,” Sarah said, squatting down next to Max, “can you wait a moment for me?”
Max hmmphed and sat down with all the patience of a ten-year-old. Matt smiled, the next few minutes passed in comfortable silence- well, as silent as they could with the constant sound of bombs dropping just a few kilometres from them. They had sparse conversation other than Jeremy reporting what he saw at the edge of the tunnel to Alex.
“Time,” Alex said and everyone quietly stood back up. Outside, Jeremy checked his watch, “Accurate to the second once again.”
The sounds of bombings had long since dimmed, still noticeable if you strained your ears, but now far off.
“We’ll keep following the Seine river,” Alex said as they shuffled outside.
Max looked at the river, “Can’t we boat?”
Jeremy shook his head, “Can’t, the entire stretch of river was mined after Paris fell.”
“Couldn’t have given them that easy of a time,” Matt muttered. “Can’t have them launching attacks to the other bases from the river.”
Jeremy cocked a brow, “You’re pretty knowledgeable kid.”
“I play PoW,” he answered.
The soldier nodded. “The river won’t be safe till Poses,” he continued, “and by that point, we’ll be in the home stretch.”
“We need to hurry and move,” Alex said, “there are only a few more minutes of error we can afford.”
With that, everyone began moving again.
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They had passed the remains of Cergy when something happened. Max, who was now being piggybacked by Jeremy, as the soldier can’t have his hands be occupied, spotted it first. Raising a small hand and pointing to the sky.
Alex saw it next, their eyes enhanced beyond what mere genetics could give, and they quietly swore as they brought their rifle up in the air.
“Jeremy, visual on canary, broken wing two-two.”
Then Matt saw it, a small shape in the sky. A quadcopter drone flying fifty metres above as if drunk, before Matt realised the propeller on its back right wasn’t moving.
It stopped, turning towards them.
Jeremy let Max down, pulling out his own weapon, “Wet Peter?”
‘No,’ Max thought. It wasn’t a white phosphorus drone.
“Negative,” Alex replied, weapon still trained on the drone, just barely hovering. “It’s an eye.”
Their weapon fired and the working propeller on the drone’s right blew off. It went spiralling down, but as it did, there was the slowly mounting sense of realisation.
They were detected.
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“This is Jumbo Four,” Jeremy said into his comms as they rushed through the forest, uncaring of the radio silence they previously held, “Situation Tango One-One. I repeat, Tango One-One.”
The device blared to life, “Has an Eight-Six Scheduling Shift scenario occurred? Over.”
“Negative,” the soldier answered. “Wounded Canary, Eunuch Alpha suspects it wasn’t able to follow evac protocol.”
‘Wear and tear,’ Matt thought. Alex examined the drone when it fell and concluded the rotor broke from years of cold exposure and small accumulating damage. No matter how sturdy the Russians made their toys, the decades wore on them and thus it wasn’t able to follow the normal, predictable routes Peri had.
“Copy,” the comms said, “Hunting Dog?”
“Negative,” Jeremy answered as he helped pull Sarah over a ledge. “No Tango yet. We have Metros, requesting Helivac, ASAP.”
“Are you currently in an EMP Field?”
Jeremy slowed to a stop, the old soldier staring at his communicator, “I want you to take a moment and think about what you just asked.”
The comms were silent for a moment.
“Understood,” it said, dodging the subject, “sending a B-Eagle to- BZZZZZZZZZT”
Jeremy swore and ripped off the communicator, tossing it to the ground, the thing fizzling with smoke and sparks before it popped. Its circuits now fried and useless.
“Shit,” Alex swore, “contact imminent.”
“What do we do?” Sarah asked, panic filling her eyes as they darted around wildly, while Denise tightly hugged the both of them.
“Calm down,” Alex said with forced composure. “There is an average of three minutes once an EMP field is set before the drones make contact. More so since they still haven’t reestablished their presence here.”
“But…” Sarah began with hesitation. Denise’s arm tightened around Matt. He knew what was left unsaid, the problem was them. Peri’s drones were tireless and would eventually wear them down. They might get out in the short term but eventually, they’ll be hunted down. With an EMP field up, they don’t even have a chance of an air evac. Both soldiers could probably make it out safely if they didn’t have them four slowing them down.
“No, no, no, no!” Alex said, violently shaking their head, “I’ll get you guys out! There are ways, but it’ll be risky. We can move westward. Towards Évreux, it’s out of Perimeter’s range, so we’ll have a head start before the wolves are after us.”
“Are there subways we can use to move underground?” Sarah asked.
“None that are usable,” Jeremy answered with barely veiled frustration. “Trust me the Greens were thorough in making sure nothing can be used anymore.”
The soldier turned to Alex, “Isn’t the route to Évreux just as dangerous?”
Face still scrunched up in thought, “It is, the area between Évreux and the Seine was where the fighting was most fierce. But Évreux itself should remain relatively intact, there may still be underground routes and Peri is unlikely to pursue us past the lines.”
There were a few small nods of agreement, but Matt was looking at the two soldiers. Jeremy spoke, “Only problem is the area is probably mined to all hell.”
“Both paths are risky,” Alex agreed, “but moving as we are now means the wolves will catch up to us eventually. While I have a field map of the area memorised, so I can direct us to some relatively safe-”
They froze, the soldier’s ears perked up, hearing something they couldn’t. Jeremy raised his rifle as his partner did theirs.
“Move,” Alex quietly whispered in urgency, “Now!”
Stolen novel; please report.
They began running, Alex in the lead. From behind, Matt heard the deafening sound of gunfire as Jeremy covered their back.
The trees rushed past them in a blur. Matt ran, in his element. The only sound in the dusk was gunfire, explosions and their thudding footsteps. In front, Alex paused for the slightest moment to fire two shots into the sky. Matt only saw the two smoking trails as the drones fell from the sky before Alex rushed them to keep going.
Their head turned to the woods on their left and Matt couldn’t help but follow, only to see the fast-moving blur.
Bipedal, its sleek body painted in camouflage long flaking. Its ‘head’ was a black glass surface containing the camera. The machine spoke first in French, a phrase spoken endlessly in PoW, Matt only now hearing it in person. “CITIZEN! YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO BREACH UNION BORDERS! SUBMIT YOURSELF FOR CAPTURE AND BE DIRECTED TO THE NEAREST CORRECTIONAL FACILITY!”
It began to speak again in English, but Alex shot it in the head, breaking the glass and knocking it away as it crashed into a tree.
From above, he heard another drone shout, “CITIZEN! YOU ARE COLLABORATING WITH AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING OR BE FORCIBLY DETAINED-” Alex was faster now, whipping his weapon immediately to the other drone.
“Keep running!” Alex yelled as a smoke trail fell from the sky.
“NO NEED TO TELL US TWICE!” Matt yelled.
Four more wolf drones on the right, keeping up easily with them. Their sides popped open but Alex was faster, shooting one before it could launch its net, while a grenade landed in between the rest. The resulting explosion knocked them away slightly.
“BAD NEWS ALEX!” Jeremy yelled from behind as he caught up with them.
“There are worse news!?” Sarah yelled back, just as Alex’s weapon whipped out to take out another two aerial drones.
“There’s a crab in the area! We gotta get out now-”
There was a low thrumming sound, a sensation which Matt felt in his very bones. Jeremy jumped and pushed Sarah out of the way before a roar of thunder deafened them. Jeremy’s right side was torn off and the ground beside Matt exploded as the slug blasted it apart.
They were thrown to the ground, while Jeremy flew. Alex swore and turned around, guns blazing. Denise rushed to Sarah and Matt was only dimly aware she was piggybacking Max. He turned around and for a brief moment, Matt was stunned.
A shadow, about twenty metres away but not at all hidden. It loomed in the trees. Six insectoid like legs, supporting an armoured hull with machine guns attached on both sides and an additional Gauss cannon on its ‘head’, that he knew, what he learned from encountering it in PoW. But this thing, it was ancient, something VR could never simulate. The machine gun on its right was blown off, scorch marks still present on the metal, its other was trying to spin but was jammed. Its camouflage coating was rife with scarring and damage. Three of its legs seemed damaged in some small way and one was being dragged uselessly behind it. All proof that this machine was older than him, fought wars longer than he had been in alive.
The only weapon that was functioning was the Gauss cannon. A magnetic slingshot firing devastator slugs the size of soda cans.The only thing it needed to kill all of them.
Alex was firing at it, their bullets not even scratching its armour. Matt knew only anti-tank weapons would get through it. But Alex achieved something else, the crab turned towards them as they ran and a piece of ground exploded as it fired, not because the slugs were explosive, but due to the sheer force they were shot with. The crab moved with impossible speed, unexpected of something of that size. Tearing through trees as if they weren’t there, chasing the soldier.
As Matt moved to action, turning to see Denise lift Sarah up. In the distance, he heard Jeremy swear as he applied medspray to his blown off torso. He knew the crab wasn’t moving as fast as it could, that machines’ max speed was ninety-six kilometres an hour, but it was ancient and age accumulated. Alex could buy time, but it will catch up, damage or not.
“We can’t beat that thing!” he yelled as he scrambled back to the group. “Alex’s gonna die at this rate!”
Sarah was simply staring off into space, her body covered in Jeremy’s blood and flesh. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…” Max was tightly gripping onto Denise, eyes shut tight and small tears coming out of his eyes.
Matt turned to the soldier, hoping he could give anything to help, a speech, confidence, experience, just something. But Jeremy was leaning on a tree, heavily breathing, the right side of his torso blown open revealing his ribs jutting out as he pushed his intestines back into himself, blood dripped from yellow fat as he desperately applied nanite gels and medsprays. His entire side was gone and that was what happened when the crab missed. There was no help there, he was dealing with their own problems, how could-
Denise slapped Sarah on the face.
“I’m mad at you,” Denise said with forced calm, “but I would much rather be mad at you when we’re all safe. So stop apologising and get out of here!”
Sarah looked stunned for a moment before shame and embarrassment filled her face. “I’m- I’m sorry.”
Denise hugged her, Max’s own stubby arms reaching around her neck to wrap around Sarah’s.
Jeremy spoke, his voice hoarse with pain, “If you’re all done and all we need to keep moving.”
They turned to him, suddenly realising he was there, “Oh my god are you-”
“No,” the old soldier replied, Matt could see his lungs expand behind the blue gel, the bloody blots of blood where his intestines were torn and a piece of dark red flesh that might’ve been his liver poking out, “but we’re fuckers expected to take on shit like that without any help, so I’ll be as fine as can be.”
“The crabs hunting Alex right now,” Matt urgently relayed, “they can’t last long.” Even here, they could hear the thundering roars as the Gauss cannon fired its shots. It kept firing, which meant Alex was still alive, but for how long?
“No,” Jeremy replied with a pained groan, “but the lad will buy us enough time, cross the river, run and try to get into a heavily covered area, it's our only-”
He paused, as a single wolf drone stepped over a hill next to them. The thing turned to them, its side blowing open. Jeremy couldn’t raise his weapon in time and Matt saw the electrified net fly out-
The launcher of the drone dented as Sarah shot at it, knocking it aside just enough that they managed to jump out of the net before it fell.
Sarah gripped her pistol, even as the drone fell to the ground she kept shooting at it before it finally stopped moving.
She let out a sigh of relief, “Papa always said to keep a gun under the mattress…”
“Your father is a smart man,” Jeremy said, still barely standing but slowly getting his bearings as the anesthetics kicked in, “I would like to meet him.”
Sarah let out a nervous laugh as she helped him lean on her, “Oh, he got his head bashed in by gangbangers when I was seven.” She waved the pistol above her, “But hey at least I still have his Glock!”
“Was that what was under the mattress?” Denise asked, her face with disbelief, “I thought it was a dil-” she shook her head, remembering who was still on her back, “Nevermind.”
Despite the situation, a smile cracked on Matt’s face and he let out a giggle. Denise looked embarrassed while her wife simply smiled. Jeremy tried to chuckle but it instead came out like a pained cough, Max smiled as well, not knowing the joke but doing so because everyone else did.
In a land of death, hunted by one of the most dangerous military systems out there, it was a moment of vapid bullshit. But weren’t they the moments that made life worth living?
Jeremy straightened his back, not quite ok but close enough he could muster his voice, “We need to keep moving, Alex bought us time, but it won’t be enough.”
The drone Sarah just shot was one of many. Everything they’ve encountered was just the scouting party. Other than the crab all of them were meant for non-lethal takedowns. Staying here meant they won’t be as lucky.
“I’m not sure we can run,” Matt said.
They turned to him and he continued, “After the crab is done with Alex, it’s gonna chase after us next, we need to take it down, some way or another.”
Denise shook her head, “No, no! It’s too dangerous! How can we-”
“What’s your idea, kid?” Jeremy asked, his face thoughtful. “We don’t have anti-tank weapons. I’m carrying some grenades and plastic explosives but it won’t be enough.”
Matt told them.
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Within the depths of a military base, a screen flickered on, lighting up a dark room. A hundred processes, a hundred actions, all done within the span of a moment by the Perimeter.
> Intruders detected. Sector FP1407.
>
> Three Civilian Non-Combatants
>
> One Civilian Combatant
>
> Two Enhanced Combatants
>
> Apprehension was attempted and failed.
>
> Requiring Input.
Nothing moved in the room.
> Requiring Input.
The screen sat as it had for decades, untouched as age old dust settled on it in a thick blanket.
> Requiring Input.
Revealed by the light. Splayed out messily onto the keyboard was a military uniform. The back of the uniform faced upwards, but the imprints of many military medals could be seen, along with stripes that placed it as a general’s uniform.
> Requiring Input.
There was nothing inside the uniform, save for a thick grey goo.
> Requiring Input.
In another military base, the uniforms of dozens of soldiers lay in their barracks, their uniform fallen on top of their weapons, the same grey goo oozing out like a viscous slime.
> Requiring Input.
In the depths of a large sealed bunker, civilian clothes were spread everywhere, over earthly possessions, on empty beds and on dirtied toilets. A grey goo all within them.
> Requiring Input.
Above ground, a wolf drone passed by a preschool. Its camera passing over the inside of a large gym. Where there lay a pile of clothes for young children, old, dirty and frayed from weather and time, all containing or covered in grey goo.
> Requiring Input.
The Perimeter did not receive an order, and it had not received an order in decades.
> No Input Received.
>
> Activating Automatic Response.
One log added to countless others of the same nature.
> Accessing threat level.
>
> Threat level 1.
>
> Protocol 6 has been activated.
In the darkness, it spoke, a mechanical voice, devoid of emotion, meaning or reason. A machine bent to a purpose long lost, waging a pointless war because it knew nothing else.
“GLORY TO THE UNION. MAY HER PEOPLE LIVE FOREVER.”
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Matt stood at the end of an old bridge. Early twenty-first century by the design, he idly analysed. He was waiting, spinning a pin around his finger and anticipating as the sounds of thunder came ever closer.
Then he saw it, a figure running towards him. Alex.
Behind it, was the crab, tearing through trees and tirelessly chasing the soldier. He felt it now, that thrum which seemed to shake his very bones as the weapon powered up. Alex felt it too, so they jumped to the side, just as the slug tore through scores of trees, annihilating them to sawdust.
The soldier jumped out of the treeline and onto the road, sharply turning towards him. The crab shot out a moment later, but its turn was slow. Alex managed to destroy one of the legs somehow, its turret turned to them, but it was slower, and once more Matt was reminded. No matter how terrifying something was, time got to it eventually.
As Alex stepped onto the bridge, Matt knelt down with both arms raised. A gesture of surrender, one that the Perimeter was programmed to respect.
The Gauss cannon depowered as Alex ran near him.
In the end, it was still just a machine. It would wait till Alex was away from him, to avoid hurting a non-combative civilian. Alex stopped near him, appearing to fall down in tiredness and the crab stepped onto the bridge. Its Gauss cannon still pointed at them.
One wrong move, one single sign of aggression, and both of them were dead.
It inched closer to them, its pace slowed. After all, it had all the time in the world. The wolf drones were coming, those had non-lethal means of subduing, before they dragged them deeper into the Perimeter, until they were brought into SANs infected area.
Matt was suddenly aware of his heart. Loudly beating in his chest, as if it were a caged animal, clawing at his rib cage. Begging to be freed. A single wrong move and he will be turned to pink mist. The Gauss cannon almost killed Jeremy, a heavily enhanced soldier with a slug that missed. It was a weapon that could’ve been used to take down tanks, much less squishy human flesh.
He could die here and he was enjoying every moment of it.
“You’re crazy,” Alex muttered as they pushed themselves up, “smiling in a place like this.”
Was he? He didn’t realise until they mentioned it. He felt it now, and it grew wide as the crab stepped onto the midpoint of the bridge.
To the left, he saw a small black object be thrown from where Jeremy was hiding. Towards the bridge but not over it. The grenade landed in the Seine river under the bridge and Matt laughed as it detonated, triggering the sonic mine in the water.
There was a thunderous ringing sound. As if a bell larger than mountains was being struck. The concrete foundations of the bridge were crushed as it started to collapse inward. A sickening sense of nausea filled him as Alex grabbed him and ran. Underneath, it looked like the water was rippling in countless places as the mine went off. The water shook and droplets shot from the river in a mad dance to the endless cacophony of sound. The crab fell into the water, not even a moment of movement allowed before its armoured shell buckled as if it were mere tinfoil. At that moment, it was as if god itself kicked the machine in the balls.
Matt barely noticed them reaching the other side, onto solid ground, nor the fact he was still laughing. His ears were ringing, the world was shaking and he felt vomit come up his throat, but still, he laughed.
The soldier let go of him, crashing into a tree, barely able to stand themself, Matt fell to the ground. He didn’t know how long passed as the world shook. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Did he laugh the entire way? He didn’t know, but when he came to, he was out of breath, coughing out vomit with a massive smile on his face.
Shakily he stood up, Alex beside him. His idea worked, he won a great victory here. Perimeter couldn’t produce more crabs without humans assisting it. Peri may have tens of thousands of them but he just made it have one permanently less.
“You’re fucking insane kid,” Alex muttered or maybe yelled. He couldn’t tell. Everything sounded slightly quiet to him. The soldier turned to him, “Good job-” their eyes widened in panic, “Calm down and don’t mo-”
It was too late, still elated from the victory, his ears deafened, Matt didn’t hear the click as he stepped off the landmine.