TORMENT (14 page)

She wondered for a moment if this could have happened before.
Maybe the flood was some kind of man-made cataclysm?
she
thought. Six thousand years in the future, our descendants might debate the mythology surrounding the time when God burned the Earth, sparing those who fled into space, in EEPs that contained all the knowledge and life of the previous earth. The knowledge, all digital, wouldn’t survive long. Batteries would die and the technology to recreate them wouldn’t exist for a long time to come. But in the years to come, using the technology on the EEPs, they would recreate Earth’s animal life.

She knew it was all ludicrous, but that didn’t keep her from hoping.

What else is there to hope for?
she
wondered.

The parachutes deployed and jolted the EEP hard, slowing the descent to a swaying flutter.

She unlocked the bar restraint and pushed it back over her head.

“What are you doing?” Austin asked.

“I want to see.” The cushioning system disengaged with the removal of the bar and she could move again. She undid the Velcro snaps and pushed out of her chair. But she didn’t make it far. While gravity was now tugging her toward the Earth’s core, her brain had yet to readjust. Some part of her mind expected to float free of the chair, but she merely bounced in the seat.

Austin chuckled. “Heavier than you remember?”

“Hey,” she said, before standing and leaning toward the window.

“When we touch down, you’ll want to be back in the chair and strapped in,” he said, undoing his own restraints. “It could be rough.”

The EEP had swayed back so she could see only sky. “Won’t the shock absorbers take most of it?”

“Unless we land on a ledge and flip over.”

She looked back at him. “That could happen?”

“If it’s a short fall we could end up upside down or on our side. If it’s a long fall, the EEP would right itself—it’s bottom heavy—but the parachutes might not slow us down again.”

Mia frowned, but felt the EEP sway in the other direction. She leaned over the command console and looked out the window. As the world below came into view, Austin joined her.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

“Well, that’s not what I expected.”

A residential neighborhood, seemingly untouched by the war, stood one thousand feet below. Things looked different in the distance—darker—but this small part of the world looked livable.

“Do you think there are survivors?”

“I don’t see how it’s possible. Then again, I don’t see how this is possible either. I was expecting ruins everywhere.” As the EEP spun around, Austin saw a gleaming white circle below them. “There’s EEP Beta.”

Mia strained to see. The massive spacecraft had come to rest atop of a house, now flattened beneath it.

“EEP Alpha, do you read?”

Austin toggled the com system. “We hear you Reggie. What’s the score?”

“The system was right. I’m on the ground. The air is breathable. The Geiger counter is pinging at normal levels. No fallout anywhere. It’s like the missiles never dropped.”

“Have you seen any survivors?”

“Not a one.” Reggie was quiet for a moment. “No animals either. No birds. No bugs. Somehow this neighborhood survived.”

A stiff breeze caught EEP Alpha and began pulling them away from EEP Beta. “Looks like we’re going to touch down a few blocks away,” Austin said. “Stay where you are. We’ll come to you.”

“Copy that, Austin.”

Austin motioned to the chairs and sat down. “Better strap in, we’ll be on the ground in thirty seconds.”

Mia nodded, took her seat and began to lift the bar restraint over her body. But before she did, Reggie’s voice came over the speakers again. “Oh my God, I see survivors!”

Mia and Austin launched from their chairs and looked out the window. EEP Beta was further away, but still visible. They could see Reggie in front, waving his arms, and his group of survivors exiting the EEP behind him. Further down the street, a crowd of people approached.

“Looks like the whole neighborhood,” Reggie said.
“Sounds like they’re shouting something.”

“What are they saying?” Austin asked, while keeping one eye on their distance from the ground. Maybe fifteen seconds left.

“Can’t tell.
They’re all shouting.
Making it hard to hear.”
Reggie’s voice grew louder as he spoke to the people, who were now just a few feet away.
“One at a time!
I can’t hear you!”

A new voice, feminine, came over Reggie’s mic. “Please run! I don’t want to hurt—”

“Reggie...” Austin said. Something about the woman’s voice bothered him. But he didn’t get any further.

“What?” Reggie said, “I don’t
—
” The scream that followed was horrible, like something from a B-movie actress, but worse because it came from the voice of a man.

“Fuck,” Austin said. They were far from the action now, but the jerky violent movements of the mob as they descended on the survivors, coupled with Reggie’s scream told him everything he needed to know. They were being slaughtered. The last thing he saw was a group of the mob peel off and head in their direction.
Then a tall power line passed by the window.

He shoved Mia into her seat and dove into his. “Hold on!”

The impact came a moment later. The EEP shook and screeched as they plowed through a house, scraped across the open street and slammed into a second home. The EEP tipped for a moment as the full parachutes tugged, but the heavy base settled to the ground with a thud.

They were still for only a moment when Austin leapt from his seat and yanked her up. There was no time to ask about injuries. No time to ponder what had happened. They needed to move.

“There an armory on board?” she asked.

Austin nodded. They were on the same page.

Though the neighborhood looked as American as they come, he didn’t know where they had landed. What he did know was that the locals were hostile and would reach them inside five minutes.

They had to run.

They had to fight.

The war, it seemed, wasn’t over.

TORMENT

18

America

“Everyone up!”
Mia shouted as she rejoined the others. She felt happy to see Garbarino and Paul Byers jump up at the ready.

When Austin added, “Move!
We have
hostiles
incoming!” Vanderwarf and White stood. Austin pointed to them, “You two, weapons cache. I want a firearm in the hands of everyone over seven years old in under a minute.” He turned to Garbarino and Byers. “Joe, break out the survival packs.
One for everyone.”

Garbarino waved for Paul to follow him,
then
looked back. “What about the kid? She won’t be able to carry it.”

“I’ll double up,” Austin said.

“So will you,” Mia said to Garbarino as she pulled Liz free of her restraints and picked her up. “I’m carrying Liz.”

He frowned for a moment, but then nodded. It made sense.

“Explain the situation to them while I check things out.” Austin said as he moved around Mia and headed for the exterior hatch.

 Mia watched him unlock the hatch and step outside, no pause or consideration given to the survivability of the atmosphere. When she turned back, Mark, Collins and Chang were staring at her wide-eyed.

“What’s happening?” Collins asked. “Is it the Russians? Did they survive somehow?”

“We’re in a residential neighborhood,” Mia said, and then thought about her next words. She didn’t want to scare Liz further. She could feel the little girl’s limbs shaking as she silently held on tight. “EEP Beta landed a few blocks over. They...encountered a large hostile group.”

Chang sucked in a breath. “They’re dead?”

Mia shot her a look as Liz tightened her grip.

Chang looked at the floor. “Sorry.”

Mia tried to think of a way to say things without Liz understanding. She decided on military speak, which she knew thanks to Matt. “They’re KIA,” Mia said. “Yes. Some of the group is coming this way.”

“Hence the backpacks and weapons,” Mark said. “We’re on the run.”

Vanderwarf and White reentered the room, each carrying a small arsenal—several handguns, spare clips, two shotguns and three MP5 submachine guns. They laid them out on a reclining chair. Mia had spent a lot of time at the shooting range with various men in her former life and was a pretty good shot. She felt thankful for that as she took a Sig Sauer handgun and four spare clips, and shoved them all into a pocket with one hand while holding Liz with the other.

Collins took a handgun as well. He didn’t look comfortable holding it.

“You’ve shot before?” Paul asked him.

“I’ve only fired a gun a few times. My father took me hunting.
Never liked it.”
He moved the weapon up and down, feeling its weight in his hand. “Not sure I could shoot someone.”

Mia let out scoffing laugh.
“Says the man who pushed the button.”

Collins stiffened. “Hey—”

“No time for talking, you two,” White said. “Focus on surviving or you’re likely not to.” He held a handgun out to Mark. “Not going to be a stereotype, are you?”

“Hardly,” Mark said, taking an MP5 and a Sig Sauer.

Vanderwarf squinted at him, motioning to the MP5. “You know how to use that?”

“The handgun, yes.”
He held up the MP5. “This thing, no—”

Garbarino and Paul
returned,
a slew of backpacks on their backs and in their arms.

 Mark pointed to Paul, “—but he does.” After taking two spare clips for the MP5, Mark handed the weapon to his brother, who had just deposited the bags at their feet.

Paul inspected the MP5, checked the clip and chambered the first round. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Mark said as he slipped on his backpack.

The exterior hatch swung open. Austin entered and found several weapons aimed in his direction. He paused for a moment, realizing he’d almost been shot, then stepped in and claimed a second handgun for
himself
. “Those who have never fired a
weapon,
please don’t aim or fire at something until those of us with experience say so. The switch on the left side is the safety. Switch it to the off position—” He demonstrated this for them. “—point it at your target and pull the trigger.”

“Right,” Chang said. She placed her handgun in her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She still wore her work clothes. She wasn’t wearing high heels, but her shoes weren’t exactly made for running. “How far do we have to go?”

While most of the people looked at her the way they might a mental patient, Austin said what they were all thinking. “As far as we have to, now—”

A distant scream cut through the air.