CHAPTER 3
2210
Earth
It was late afternoon, with the sun preparing to set in the west. Scattered gray clouds spiraled across the orange sky. It looked like the beginning of a beautiful evening, but it wasn’t to be. A thundering explosion filled the air, loud enough to burst a person’s eardrums. Thousands of feet in the air, the bright blue flames faded as quickly as they appeared, leaving behind heated shards that rained onto the surface below. Among the falling debris of what was once a civilian rescue ship, there came a bipedal mechanized battle armor. It fell faster than everything else, red like flames. It cut through the smoke-filled sky like a blade, and everyone below ran to clear a path for it.
The armor landed on the ground on its foot, knee, and fist, enveloped by raging clouds of dust that swirled and shifted in every direction. It took several moments for the dust to settle. As it cleared, the rain of burning shards followed, penetrating everything they touched like heavenly bullets. The mech remained in its landing position, unmoved by the shards. It had no reason to fear them. Its armor was as strong as a tank, perhaps stronger. When the shards stopped, the mech slowly rose to its feet. It was mechanized battle armor, piloted by a human being. It was a third-generation combat mech, six meters high, twenty-five tons of super reinforced titanium alloy, with faded red paint lining its edges. It was lighter than its predecessors and outfitted with more powerful artillery. On its back, there was an automatic rifle with five thousand rounds of explosive 20mm rounds. Hanging on its waist was an M6D handgun, painted to match the armor. Its right hand was surrounded by sections of a retractable energy cannon. The mech rose to its feet and stood tall. On its chest, just below the hatch, was faded white text: ‘Vindex in Machina’. He looked up, then around. Everywhere he turned, there was the burning debris of what was once the central point of Knox, the capital city of Atheux Fortuna. It had been one of the great nations of the world, a technological marvel, but now it was a city of bones, exuding a foul stench of burning flesh. It was a horrific sight but not the worst the soldier had seen during his military career.
“What happened up there, Riley?” a voice behind him asked.
He was flanked by six other mechs. One of the others had fallen shortly before the Vindex touched the ground. A green mech lurched toward the downed unit, shouting over the comm. Evans took control of the downed mech and began opening the front visor which was also the entrance. There was a large hole through the visor, into the cockpit. The green mech stopped. Its visor opened and Sayeed jumped down onto the ground. He was wearing a skintight but protective mech pilot suit, with various padded layers, and had a handgun strapped to his side. The downed mech’s hatch wouldn’t open fully, due to the damage it had sustained. Sayeed ripped the door open with brute force and dragged the pilot out. The man wore the same gear as Sayeed. His face and chest were covered in blood. Sayeed lifted him and carefully descended to the ground before setting him down. The man was gurgling, with one hand clutching his neck. He locked eyes with Sayeed, and his hand slowly slipped away from his throat. There was a hole the size of a golf ball above his collarbone, and blood was pouring from it. Sayeed’s head dropped. He placed his hand on the hole and squeezed in a futile attempt to stem the bleeding. Sayeed looked into Sanchez’s eyes and saw that he was afraid.
Sanchez’s eyes were closing. His lower lip quivered as he tried to speak. Whatever he intended to say, he could no longer form the words. When he opened his mouth, all that emerged was blood. Sayeed held Sanchez and rested the pilot’s head on his lap. The others had climbed out of their mechs and were running toward him. Sayeed gritted his teeth, veins bulging. He opened his mouth to speak to Sanchez, but stopped, closed his eyes tightly, and held Sanchez’s hand.
“Sir,” said Evans, “It is inadvisable and against protocol to leave our mechs. I strongly recommend we –”
“Quiet, Evans!” Isaac shouted as he crouched beside Sayeed and pressed his hand on Sanchez’s neck. Isaac took an anti-bleeding patch from his pouch and placed it onto the injury. The patch spread to fill the hole, but the wound was too deep and the patch disappeared into the blood. It was Isaac’s first time in active combat or seeing an injury so gruesome, but he was determined to do everything within his power to save the man’s life.
Isaac looked up with desperation. “Evans, I need reports on his vitals!”
Evans’ eye brightened as he tried to connect to Sanchez’s suit data. “Acquiring pilot Sanchez’s vital analysis.”
“Beth, I need you here!” Isaac cried, pressing against Sanchez’s wound as firmly as he could.
Bethany stood frozen, overwhelmed by the horror she was witnessing. Her mouth was hanging open. Like Isaac, she had never been in a true combat situation before and the sight of Sanchez’s injury made her sick. Bethany staggered back, holding her
stomach. She didn’t hear Isaac calling her. She was completely overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of chaos that surrounded her.
“Vital analysis complete,” Evans said as his face dimmed back to its usual mode. “Severe bleeding and laceration in the larynx and multiple fractured vertebrae. Multiple stab wounds in the thorax area. Dismembered left arm. Pilot Sanchez has sustained severe injuries and requires immediate medical attention.”
Isaac took a small container, labeled ‘Adrenal Shot’, from his pouch. He took out the syringe, primed it, and was about to inject it into Sanchez when Sayeed grabbed his hand. Sayeed looked into Isaac’s eyes and shook his head. Isaac was shocked; Sayeed wasn’t the type of person to give up while Sanchez was still breathing.
“Pilot Sanchez’s vitals are failing,” Evans warned. “He requires immediate medical attention.”
Ethan approached Isaac and placed his hand on his shoulder. “There’s nothing you can do for him.”
Isaac shoved Ethan’s hand away and shook Sanchez, shouting his name, hoping for any kind of response. His other hand was still pressing Sanchez’s neck, blood seeping through his fingers. Isaac wiped tears from his eyes with his forearm.
“Ethan’s right,” said Riley. “There’s nothing we can do for him now and there’s a horde coming this way. ETA ten minutes, at most. We need to get moving.”
“You heard the man,” Ethan bellowed. “We have less than ten minutes to get out of here and ninety minutes to reach the extraction point before it starts raining fire.”
Despite the warnings, Isaac continued holding Sanchez’s wounds and pressing at his chest.
Sayeed, still crouched over Sanchez, looked down at his squadmate with sadness in his eyes. He bent down and whispered into Sanchez’s ear. “Rest well, sadiqi. Your battle is over.” Sayeed placed his hand on Isaac’s shoulder, gave him a brief glance, and stood off the ground.
Isaac shook his head and shed a tear, but he wouldn’t stop trying to save him. He continued until the last signs of life left Sanchez and he slumped to the ground. Sayeed grabbed Isaac by the shoulders and pulled him up. Isaac looked down at his bloody hands, then at Sanchez’s body.
Beth regained her senses when she heard Isaac and turned to face him. Her blood turned cold when she saw Sanchez’s lifeless body between Isaac and Sayeed and the pool of blood they were kneeling in. She fell to her knees and sobbed.
Evans spoke. “Update: Vital signs terminated. Pilot Sanchez has been deceased. Awaiting orders to assign the Ryzex mech to a new pilot.”
Riley lowered his head. “Evans, full mission status.”
Evans whirred briefly, then his light brightened. “Global Defense Systems: offline. Global population status: approximately ninety percent of the human population has been eliminated. Civilian extraction status: two percent. Air offense status: failed. Ground offense status: failed. Overall mission assessment: failed. Tactical advice: reach the extraction point within seventy-two minutes. Abandon planet. Mission status report complete. Requesting permission to transmit the report to Titan II.”
“Permission granted,” said Ethan.
Sayeed whispered a few parting words to Sanchez, then closed his friend’s eyes and gently lowered his head to the ground. He stood up and climbed back into his mech. Sayeed’s mech had sustained significant damage to its hull, but nothing that would cause a system failure. He activated the mech and started moving toward the Vickers building.
Ethan blocked the path with his mech. “Where are you going?” he demanded.
“Get out of my way, Ethan. I couldn’t help Sanchez, but I can help the our guys still out there.”
Ethan smirked. “You’re telling me you finally found some humanity? Turn around, soldier. That’s an order! The only place we’re going is the evac point.”
Sayeed shoved Ethan aside and continued on his way.
“Evans, I’m authorizing you to electrify Sayeed’s cockpit and seize control of his mech if he takes one more step away from the extraction point.”
“Noted, sir,” Evans replied.
Sayeed stopped. “You coward!” he barked and charged at Ethan. Ethan braced himself, ready to fight back.
Riley walked to his Vindex armor. He climbed in, closed the hatch, then entered his seat and activated the machine. The visor was made of heavily reinforced ballistic glass, nearly as durable as the hull. It also provided the pilot with a touch-sensitive head-up display. There were numerous control buttons and switches around its edges. Riley inserted his hands and feet into the appendage module. It immediately wrapped around his hands and legs, allowing him to control the mech’s limbs. Each side of his seat featured a long control stick. He grabbed both sticks and wherever he moved his hands, the sticks followed.
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Isaac’s voice came through the communicator. “Riley, where are you going? There are still soldiers on the ground by the Vickers building, civilians too. We can’t leave them here!”
“There’s nothing more to be done here, Isaac. Evac ships are picking up the remaining survivors if they reach them in time. If we miss our window, we’ll be stranded here and nobody will come to rescue us.”
Isaac took Bethany by the shoulders and pulled her up to her feet. “Come on, Beth, wake up. There are people out there who still need our help. I’m going to them, and you know I can’t do this without you. I need your head back in the game.”
Beth nodded and followed Isaac. Their mech was painted white, with a double streak of red lines around its torso. It was smaller than the other mechs, with a single weapon fitted to its head. Slightly below the weapon, its name was written in red: Archimedes. They climbed into the mech. Unlike most mechs, Archimedes required two pilots: one to control its movement, and another to man the weaponry. Since they began piloting the mech, Isaac had manned the gun, while Bethany controlled the movement. Archimedes wasn’t intended as a combat mech; its primary purpose was to help civilians to safety until they could be rescued. Even so, its small-scale artillery was useful when facing an enemy as tough as the vilis. Their first real battlefield deployment had been traumatic. Even if they were shooting at monsters, they weren’t natural killers. Their shared ambition was to improve the lives of everyone they could. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Isaac wished he could take full control of the mech, as he wasn’t convinced Bethany was in the right state mind to pilot. Perhaps he wasn’t either. Like the other mechs, Archimedes had two legs, but it had no arms, making it easier to control. Bethany placed her legs in the control module and it wrapped around her legs up to her thighs. She grabbed the two control sticks and piloted the mech. Bethany activated the visor display and scanned for the other mechs nearby. A group of eight mechs was standing its ground near the Vickers building, near their location.
“That’s where we’re headed,” Isaac said, watching Bethany closely to ensure she was listening. “Beth, I know you’re struggling right now, I am too, but you need to focus on what we’re doing or we’ll get killed.”
Bethany looked at Isaac and nodded. He nodded back, and they started moving toward the other mechs.
Sayeed and Ethan were about to collide when they spotted Archimedes running toward the Vickers building. They both stopped and Sayeed burst out laughing.
“They’re not even soldiers, Ethan, but they’re willing to risk their lives to save others. We really must be screwed with Titan as the last world power.”
Ethan grunted through gritted teeth. He heard movement behind him and looked back to see the Vindex mech following Archimedes.
“What are my orders, sir?” asked Evans.
Ethan stomped his foot angrily. He looked at Sayeed and, without another word, went in pursuit of Vindex and Archimedes. Evans climbed up into his mech, then he and Sayeed followed Ethan.
They soon arrived at Vickers square. Eight mechs were shielding a group of civilians hiding in a building so damaged that it looked as though it could fall at any moment. The mechs were shooting in the opposite direction, but Riley couldn’t see what they were aiming at, nor could any of the pilots that arrived after him. Riley scanned the area. His display indicated hundreds of vilis hiding in the surrounding buildings and many more approaching.
“Shit!” Riley shouted.
Archimedes joined the other mechs, firing at the buildings across the street.
Bethany’s voice came through Riley’s comms. “Riley, do you see anything? I don’t know where we’re supposed to aim.”
“Aim anywhere,” said Riley. “Bethany, you should get out of here; this place is about to be overrun. There won’t be any survivors if we don’t leave now.”
“We need to get everyone out,” Isaac shouted.
Riley opened a group communication, including the pilots that had already been in Vickers, and shared his data with them. A woman appeared on Riley’s screen, requesting direct communication. Riley’s HUD displayed her name as Bianca O’Green. Riley accepted the invitation and Bianca’s cockpit camera was shown.
“You’ve got your backs against the wall down here,” said Riley.
“I noticed,” replied Bianca. “There are hundreds of them in the buildings. The second we turn our backs and try to leave, they’ll overrun us. We’re low on ammo, and we won’t last long once we run out.”
“This is an extra red situation,” Ethan interrupted. “We can’t run.”
“We can,” Riley insisted. “We just need to push them back far enough to buy some time.”
Ethan smirked. Riley was a young recruit with less than two years’ combat experience. In those two years, Ethan had seen Riley achieve remarkable things, but he still had a hard time agreeing with the kid. In this instance, Riley’s assessment might have been right. There were lives at stake, both military and civilian; it wasn’t the time to worry about rank and ego.
“How do we push them back?” Bianca asked.
“We’ll use explosive rounds,” Ethan answered. “Take as many civilians as you can handle and get moving. Don’t stop for anything!”
Sayeed punched his fist into his palm. Since watching Sanchez die, he had been craving a return to battle. Now that opportunity had presented itself and he was going to enjoy it. Sayeed, Riley, Ethan, and four mechs from the other squad stepped forward. Ethan ordered the remaining mechs to load civilians and get moving.
“We’ll draw them out,” Ethan declared. “Nobody shoots until I give the order.”
They aimed their guns at the buildings, waiting for the vilis to reveal themselves. Sayeed cursed, urging the creatures to stop hiding like cowards and step out to meet them. As he finished his rant, something struck the ground in the distance ahead of them, causing the entire area to shake. Some buildings that had already sustained heavy damage crumbled further. A massive shockwave followed, moving at supersonic speed. The mech pilots were protected from the blast, but the civilians were knocked down forcefully. A deafening roar filled the air. The pilots stopped and looked at the building, eyes focused and ready to gun down anything that emerged. Bethany and Isaac continued working to evacuate the civilians. Some mechs finished loading civilians and headed for the evac point. Bethany opened the hatch of Archimedes and dropped down to help the survivors climb inside. Isaac remained on the gun, his eyes scanning the horizon for enemies.
The roar stopped. For a moment, everything was silent.
“Have you ever come face to face with one of these things?” Isaac asked over the comms.
“Don’t worry about that,” Ethan responded. “You’re about to see plenty.”
They heard a heavy footstep, then several, then hundreds more. The ground shook and more buildings crumbled. Before Ethan could give the order, Riley charged toward the building.
“What the hell are you doing, Riley?” Ethan asked.
“I hate foreplay,” said Riley and he turned off his comms.
As Riley approached the building, three holes opened on each of the mech’s shoulders, and cylindrical missiles burst out of them. The missiles spiraled forward, striking the buildings at various points and exploding. Smoke and dust shrouded the area. Riley didn’t stop. He held his arm out and the components of his rail cannon extended. The weapon took about five seconds to prepare, then it opened fire, launching blue energy projectiles into the dust. Ethan and the others joined him, all unloading their weapons into the haze. As the dust settled, a gigantic hand, covered in wet, thick black skin reached out of the smoke. The monstrous hand grabbed one of the mechs and pulled it away, too quickly for any of the pilots to react. Another hand reached out and grabbed Sayeed. Riley pulled out a blade and sliced the arm, freeing Sayeed. Sayeed fell to the ground but quickly rolled back up to his feet. Riley looked down at the dismembered arm for a moment, then charged into the dust. Ethan again roared at him, but Riley didn’t stop.
“Should we follow him?” one of the other mech pilots asked.
“No,” Ethan answered. “We hold the perimeter. He’s on his own.”
Riley disappeared into the dust, firing his ion cannon and slicing the creatures with his blade.
Bethany and Isaac helped two survivors into their mech, and there was no more space. Bethany looked up and saw that the Vindex mech was no longer visible.
“Where’s Riley?” she asked.
“He’s in there,” Isaac replied, his voice shaking.
Bethany looked around. “In where?”
“He’s in the dust. He just ran at those things. That idiot, they’ll kill him.”
Bethany scowled. “Riley knows how to protect himself. He’ll be fine.” She said the words but wasn’t sure she truly believed them.
Ethan and the others continued firing into the dust, using their automated guidance systems to avoid shooting at Riley, whose location was marked as a dot on their HUDs. A black hand, three times larger than the one that grabbed Sayeed, reached out and grabbed Riley from behind. It had enormous claws and it tightly gripped Riley. It lifted the mech and smashed it onto the ground. Riley grunted with pain and blood trickled from his mouth, but Vindex had absorbed the worst of the fall. The hand lifted him again to repeat its attack. Riley fired missiles straight up in the air. The missiles whistled up and landed on both Riley and the vilis before exploding. The vilis released Riley in mid-air and he plummeted toward the ground back-first. Riley wiggled his hands around, trying to flip the mech, but it didn’t work. He aimed his right arm at the ground and fired his cannon. The powerful shot sent him into a spin. He was still falling rapidly and pointed his clenched fists at the ground. The mech’s arms and legs extended in an attempt to minimize the impact. It landed face down on its four limbs. The limbs contracted as they absorbed the shock. Riley winced with pain and cried out, blood spurting from his mouth. He slowly looked up. The hand was coming again. He snatched the rifle from his back and immediately opened fire, pouring hundreds of 20mm explosive bullets into the hand. The bullets caused a chain reaction inside the vilis’ hand. As each round exploded, the blasts combined to form a larger explosion. The hand exploded into a puddle of black sludge. Concealed by the smoke and dust, the vilis shrieked a sound that tore through the air like thunder.
A notification appeared on Riley’s display.
‘Time Drive Engaged. Time Displacement Imminent.’
Riley took a deep breath, then sighed. He looked at the scans. There were thousands of vilis surrounding them, and they weren’t attacking in groups as they used to. Riley had never witnessed such behavior before but it wasn’t the time to figure out what was causing it. He looked back toward the others but he couldn’t see them through the smoke. A countdown appeared on his display, starting at ten. Riley knew what was about to happen and only wished he had more time to prepare. He detached his hands from the control module and opened a small compartment below the controls. Inside it, there was an old, partly burnt journal. He flipped through the pages and unclipped the pen. The countdown was at six. Riley turned to the next blank sheet and scribbled some quick notes. He placed the journal back into the compartment and looked at the small button next to it. It read ‘EJECT’. Riley pressed the button and the journal was ejected.
Five. Four. Three. Two…
Vindex in Machina was engulfed in a surge of white, pulsating light. Riley reconnected his hands to the module. He dropped to a knee, closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth as he felt himself being ripped apart. The pulsing light grew brighter by the second until it suddenly retracted and exploded, sending a surge of energy in every direction. When the explosion faded, it had leveled the building and its surroundings.
Ethan stood up first. He ran a perimeter scan and struggled to believe what he saw. Every single vilis in the vicinity had vanished, but so had Riley. They were all gone without a trace. The explosion had cleared away the dust and smoke and everything had become clear.
Bethany and Isaac stood up next. They had seen the explosion from a distance and crouched over the survivors who had been unable to board a mech. They were all dead, other than one little girl. It was a miracle; she couldn’t have been more than three years old but the Archimedes suit had shielded her from the explosion. Bethany and Isaac ejected themselves from the mech and dropped down to the child. They stared at her in stunned disbelief. The girl was covered in smoke and dust, yet she was alive. Bethany picked her up and embraced her. Surrounded by such horror, it was a small but meaningful victory. She looked back at Ethan and Sayeed. They had climbed out of their mechs. Bethany passed the child to Isaac and ran toward them.
As she moved closer, her eyes searched for the Vindex armor. At the center of the devastation, there was a scar on the ground. Bethany ran to it and found Riley’s journal. She picked it up and flipped through its pages, then looked for its owner as her lips trembled.
“Riley!” she cried.