Chapter Fourteen
“Plead not for God’s wisdom, Brothers and Sisters. The dead rise not because He has forsaken us. No, no! The dead rise because we have forsaken Him!
–Father Elijah Campbell. Larkspur, Colorado. 20 Days After.
* * *
Hades beamed. “How’s it hanging, Leah?”
She stayed in the doorway, too crippled by the ambush to think of how to respond next.
“What?” he asked. “You don’t look so happy right now. Cat got your tongue?”
Leah grit her teeth. Hades had drafted a posse of more than a dozen of his own people, pulled straight from the walls of Elysium, each brandishing military-grade rifles. His distinctive LeMat revolver still smoked from the warning shot he had given.
Worse yet, Hades had dressed for the occasion. His casual biker get-up had been swapped for the three-piece suit with a black overcoat and pants, and vest stained in a dark maroon hue that looked like it had been coated in rotten blood. His bright scarlet eyes were barely visible below the rim of his black cowboy hat, and the spikes of his barbed leather gloves glinted in the waning light of day.
This was no longer damage control. Hades hadn’t worn that outfit in years, back when rezzers were forced to scavenge the old city more regularly. They weren’t facing the apathetic oligarch. Hades was here to Hunt again.
“Do all of you undead prioritize fashion over function?” Liam Fenix murmured, oblivious to the threat they now faced.
“Come on, Leah!” Hades barked. “When are you gonna introduce me to your friend?”
“You don’t need to be here, Hades,” Leah said, her tone wavering. “I’ve got everything under control.”
“Oh? Sure as shit doesn’t look that way. Seems to me that you fed me a bag of lies, and thought you could slip the rug out from under me.”
No, we’re still good! Leah wanted to say. She’d known what she was doing, and would’ve brought the human in, and would’ve killed her people, and Mother, and whoever else she had to. She would’ve done whatever it took to survive. It didn’t have to go down this way!
“Tell you what, Leah,” Hades said. “You hand him over now and I’ll let you walk away from this. Consider it a banishment and not an execution.” He smiled. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”
Her veins tightened for a beat. This was the lifeline she needed. A chance to get out. If Leah had one shred of an opportunity to survive this, she had to seize the moment. Throw the human to the wolves and fight for another day. There was no other choice here. She had to surrender to this insurmountable force.
“Please,” Liam pleaded. “Don’t do this.”
As Leah looked to Liam Fenix by her side, with his flushed face, she thought again of her conversation with Mother. What was going through his living, human mind? What thoughts plagued him now? What emotions was he experiencing? Leah had never felt those ineffable expressions. She had never had parents, or children, or been married. No future, no past, no lineage, no life. Her story was that of herself and nothing more, and no matter how long she survived, that would not change so long as she was trapped in the dead husk of an undead body.
Hades yawned. “Don’t have all day. We doing this, or is it murdering time?”
Leah did not want to die, but she also craved life.
She groaned. “Shit.”
Leah drew her 1911 and fired. The .45 ACP round whizzed over Hades’s head as he lurched to the ground.
“You fucking cu–!”
But Leah kept shooting. The two closest mercs dropped while they fumbled with their weapons. Before she could get the killing blow on Hades, he scrambled behind a nearby car. She popped a third gunner as he took aim.
The return fire hit like a torrent, but Leah threw herself and Liam Fenix behind the brick facade before it could land. She leaned back into the open and emptied her magazine, then scrambled for the nearest couch.
“Stay down!” Leah ordered. She quickly removed her suppressor and rammed a mag of soft-point cartridges in place. It would be a nightmare to kill any of them, but an open-tipped lead bullet lodged into undead flesh could practically take out a limb the moment it mushroomed out.
More bullets rocketed throughout the house, shattering the windows and exploding the wall. Hades’s troops moved to flank as Leah tried to bog them down. The act was futile. She managed to take out half of one guy’s chest with a pair of shots, and disintegrated the hand of another entirely, but landing a head shot on moving targets was difficult enough on its own. Doing so when they shot back and from cover was nigh impossible.
Leah caught sight of the backpack filled with books she had swiped. It was mere feet away, but with all the firepower in the air, it might have been miles. She cursed herself, knowing that this bounty would have to be left behind.
Leah grunted. “Fall back!”
The two retreated into the kitchen. Liam Fenix thrust the refrigerator onto the ground as makeshift cover, and Leah went to secure the back door. Another barrage hit before she could plot an escape route.
Damn it, there’s too many! Leah had chosen poorly. This exercise was hopeless, and she was going to die, all because she had clung to this fantasy of life…
Suddenly, a high-caliber round tore through one of the soldier’s heads. Before her nearby friend could respond, Kurt rushed into view and drove his sledgehammer down. Ichor exploded out and the merc went limp.
Leah grinned. “Run!”
The pair rushed into the street and around a corner. Gunshots hissed through the air, but Buttercup was on a nearby roof laying into them with his Dragunov, and they could find little purchase against his storm.
Mastermind popped out from a fence door and fired a volley from his suppressed MP5. “Over here, mum!”
They dove behind a garage, out of immediate danger.
Mastermind handed over the M16 that Leah preferred for this kind of engagement. She’d nabbed it from the corpse of a soldier over a decade ago, and had to have swapped out every part a dozen times by now, always aiming for a more perfect instrument of death. The odds were now back in her favor. A Hunter was only ever as powerful as her tools.
“Thought I told you I’d take care of this on my own,” Leah said as she loaded a fresh magazine, this one filled with jacketed hollow points that’d give her shots a little more kick.
Mastermind grinned. “Evidently, your instincts have led you astray. Hades must have had you followed because once I’d located Kurt and Buttercup, he had already rallied a detachment in pursuit. We’re lucky to have reached you now. Our timing could not have been more auspicious.”
She laid down some suppressing fire of her own, peppering those bold enough to try for an advance. The mercs scattered anew. “You can say that again.”
Kurt made his way to them and lurched behind the wall. “What’s the play here, boss? These guys won’t stay spooked for long.”
“Only use JHPs for ammo from here on out,” she ordered. “We’re not trying to kill them, only keep them where they are. Burn every mag if you have to. Trust me, this isn’t a fight they’ll want dragged out.” She yelled to Buttercup and conveyed the same information by hand.
“What about me?” Liam Fenix asked.
She shoved him down another inch. “Stay where you are and let us handle this.”
The battle raged for minutes as Leah and her crew forced Hades into a stalemate. The street was mostly clear of debris from their vantage, forcing their enemies to storm a killing field if they wanted to advance. Hades roared through his megaphone, talking all the shit he could in an attempt to rally his forces. An occasional patter of blood burst free as each side took hits, but no one else was able to land a killing blow.
A door shattered open to Hades’s flank and a hollow wandered into the open. Another came seconds after, and then another after that. Within moments, dozens began to file down the street, drawn by the gunfire.
“Herd!” one of the mercs shouted.
Leah laughed. “Got them.”
The hollows flocked their enemies like locusts. Hades and his troops were forced to burn ammunition, and with the weight of the hollows’ numbers pressing on their ranks, their position had been exposed. First one of his mercs dropped when he rushed out of cover, and then another. The threat would be minimal for seasoned Hunters, but these were Elysium guards. They were used to beating a worker who’d overstayed his welcome, and not challenging a herd head-on. Only Hades remained undeterred, and directed his wrath to their new enemy, slicing this way and that with his bolo machete as he organized his soldiers to stay in line.
But it was not enough. The hollows had surrounded them, and soon, they were lost in a sea of desiccated corpses.
Leah met Hades in the eye, in spite of the distance. He watched her, incredulous that the odds had tilted so far against him. This was the ultimate humiliation. The greatest insult he’d ever suffered. Nobody defeated him.
Leah flashed the two-fingered peace sign and made her escape.
* * *
Buttercup paced back and forth, his hands in his hair. “Oh man, oh man. I can’t believe we did that. We’re fucked!”
“Calm down,” Leah said. “We’ve lost them for now.”
“Umm, yeah… Emphasis on ‘now’. What the hell are we going to do when he catches back up?”
What do you think? Leah could have said. Keep shooting and hope he drops before we do. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
Liam Fenix gasped for air from the shelf he had floundered onto. “I’m gonna need a breather. You all might be in good shape, but I’m not exactly built to run a marathon like this.”
Kurt massaged a wound in his knee. “I could use a break too. Leg’s not working right. I think the bone might’ve been chipped.”
“Come on,” Leah said. “We’ve barely been moving an hour. Give it a couple more before we start hunkering down.”
She looked around the office building they had taken as a refuge. The windows had been boarded up and the parking lot was clear of blindspots, but they were far from secure, should anything greater than small-arms fire come their way. The added height gave them miles of vision, at least.
“Our companions do raise a fair point,” Mastermind said. “Hades will require some time to rally reinforcements, and even the best Hunters wouldn’t be able track our path before tomorrow. We should use this opportunity to strategize a more effective response.”
“What do you suggest then?” Leah asked. “Pandemonium’s burned. There’s no going back any time soon.”
“No thanks to you!” Buttercup shouted.
She narrowed her gaze. “What did you just say?”
“You’re the one who dragged us into this mess, and you’re the one who’s only made it worse. Why should we care what Hades does to a human?”
Liam Fenix stirred. “You know I’m right h–”
“Where would you be without me, Buttercup?” Leah snapped. “Still cleaning streets? Maybe slinging cards at Elysium? Let’s not forget that you came to me. I’m sorry that you’re in over your head, but I won’t take shit from anyone just because they thought we were getting easy pics!”
But he did not back down. “Don’t act all high and mighty just because you’re too proud to admit you fucked up. We’re all going to die, and that’s on you.”
Leah couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t the insubordination that insulted her half as much as his sheer arrogance. Did he have any clue how high the stakes had been?
She pointed to the door. “Tell you what, Buttercup. Why not try your luck on your own? I won’t stop you.”
He grit his teeth. “Come on, you know I can’t just do that.”
“Oh, so now you need me again. Fucking great. Maybe instead of bitching about shit we can’t change, you can shut the fuck up and let me deal with it, just like I always do for you.”
Buttercup stormed off with a scoff. Of course he’d be the first to crack. He was the youngest member of her crew, and Leah was never quite sure how she felt about him. The extra wealth might’ve turned him into a rebellious ass, but Hunting had also instilled a level of boldness he deserved to have.
But damn, did it piss her off sometimes. Younger rezzers only knew the world for what it was, not how it’d been. They had no idea how quickly it could all go to shit, or what the old guard had done to make the city stable to begin with. And to think that he had the temerity to challenge her? Did he not know how impossible her day had become the moment this goldmine landed in her lap?
How Leah wanted nothing more than to kill all the dead weight and shoulder this burden alone, just like she once had.
Her radio crackled. Leah wouldn’t have noticed at all had it not been attached to the inside of her sheepskin jacket. Everyone fell silent as she held the radio up.
“I’m glad you chose hope,” Mother said from the other end.
“Doesn’t quite feel that way,” Leah responded. “We could really use some of your people right now.”
“I’m not in the hospital, and I won’t be back there for a very long time. We have more important work to get done.”
Leah didn’t like her tone. It was the type that someone used before saying “I told you so” and giving a smug grin. “Why don’t we meet up then? Can’t say I like talking to you through an unsecured line.”
“There’s no time. Forces are moving against our future. The apocalypse will soon hit its crest, and humanity will be no more. What was started twelve years ago must be put to rest. It’s the only chance this world has.”
She sighed. “Stop speaking in riddles, Mother. If you’ve got a plan, I’m all ears.”
“I’m telling you the plan, you’re just not listening. In order to save tomorrow, we have to return to yesterday. Do you remember where you started, Leah? Has your reservoir held strong enough, all these long years later?”
She weighed the thought. “Yes.”
“Good. Mine has as well. That’s our advantage here. Hades doesn’t care about where we were or where we’re going. History is immaterial to the man who lives only in the present. That is why I’m asking you to bring Liam to the one place that he won’t know to follow: your own past. Relive that story, and I will provide you with another.”
What game is this? Leah knew exactly where she wanted them to go. “Seems kind of far to travel for a meet, especially with the added baggage.”
“And it will be longer still before we are done. You have to trust me.” She paused. “Just as you once had.”
Evading Hades while in the ruins of metropolis was one feat, but traversing the country with his soldiers at their heels was another. This was a risky journey with a slim chance on the best of conditions, and would be even more unimaginable when dragging a living human across such inhospitable terrain.
And yet, Mother was calculating beyond measure. She would not make such a request unless there was no alternative.
“I suppose you’ve got us over a barrel this time, Mother. You want my trust for now? You’ve got it.” Leah glared at the radio, as if to will her loathe through. “But don’t you dare make me regret this. I’ve fought too long just to die over your bullshit.”
“I understand,” she said. “My time is up. Don’t lose yourself, Leah. It’s all that keeps you whole.”
A distant growl ruptured the stillness of the room as a cluster of motorcycles echoed from afar. Leah rushed to the window and caught sight of them flying across the highway. Details fell into focus as she narrowed in with her binoculars, making out the white lab coat and feminine frame of Mother soaring across the barren highway. A troupe of her elite guard road behind, with their green scrubs and AK-47s. All flew due North, where Leah and the others would soon be heading.
Just another fucking day in paradise, huh? she thought.
“What the hell just happened?” Buttercup asked.
“I guess you could say we got ourselves a contract,” Leah considered. “We’re going on a road trip.”
“How far we talking?”
“Far enough to retrace twelve years of history and go to the place where I first hollowed.” She sighed. “We’re going to Reno.”
His eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Got any better ideas?”
He fell mum.
Liam Fenix took a step forth. “Hold on a second… If we’re going there, we’d have to cross through Sequoia, am I right?”
“So?”
He grinned. “That’s where my wife and daughter went, remember? We’d be right on the way.”
Not this shit again. Leah put her face in her palm. “I told you, it’s been twelve years. She’s gone.”
“Seems to me like we’re both trying to do the same thing. You have your history to track, and I have mine. Work with me on this one, yeah?”
No wonder Mother had pushed that angle so hard. She must have been speaking to both of them, and not just her. That’s what you get for giving her an inch. Leave it to Mother to always have some hidden card under the table. There would be no way to keep the fantasy out of his head now, and if Leah wanted any hope of keeping him compliant, she’d have to capitulate to his demand.
“Fine,” she said. “We’ll visit your town on the way. Just don’t do anything stupid.”
He nodded. “Of course. This won’t be my first hike in the mountains.”
“It’s settled then.” She turned to the others, and Buttercup in particular. “Unless anyone has any objections?”
They stayed silent.
“Great. Patch yourselves up, pack your shit, and get ready to roll. We don’t stop until I say. Got it?”
“You won’t regret this,” Liam Fenix said.
She already did.
