Ep.#9 - "Resistance" (12 page)

“Did you see that?” the major asked. “The current took it straight in to shore.”

“So?”

“So, we use our packs as floats, jump out as far as we can, kick a bit, and let the current take us the rest of the way. A piece of pie.”

“I believe the expression they use is ‘a piece of cake’,” Loki said, “but it was a good attempt. And for the record, I don’t think it is a piece of cake.”

“I’ll go first, of course,” the major explained as he picked up his pack. “That way I can haul you in if the current tries to carry you farther downstream.”

“Maybe we should rest a bit first,” Loki suggested, trying to buy time.

“The sun, remember?” Major Waddell said, pointing at the sky. He put his pack on backward with the pack on his chest instead of his back. “Fasten the strap‘s buckle for me,” he instructed.

Loki fastened the buckle on the major’s back, connecting the two straps together so they would not slip off of the major’s shoulders. “Are you sure these things will float?”

“The fabric has thousands of tiny, air-filled cells,” the major explained. “It’s supposed to protect the contents, but it also makes the packs buoyant.”

“Enough to hold us up?”

“No, but enough to keep your head above water, since you can’t swim.”

“Then why are you using it?” Loki asked. “You know how to swim.”

“To make sure it actually works before you try it,” the major said with a grin. “Now put yours on.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that,” Loki said as he picked up his pack.

Major Waddell buckled Loki’s straps together behind him in the same fashion, then patted him on the back. “We’re all set.” He tossed the bundle of cord that connected them out into the currents. “Remember, if something happens to me, and I end up being swept downstream, you have to haul me in, so be ready. If that happens, try to haul me in to the sandbar so I can stand and walk my way back up here.”

“Got it,” Loki answered.

“Good luck, kid,” the major said. Without hesitation, the major moved to the far side of the rock and turned around to face the river. After taking three deep breaths, he ran toward the edge of the rock and leapt out over the river with his hands holding onto either side of his pack and his elbows out. The major’s feet pierced the water first, and the rest of his body followed with little splash. He rocked back and forth slightly as his hands let go of his pack and jutted out to the sides to steady him. The current quickly grabbed the major and took him downstream, just as expected.

The major kicked with his feet and paddled with his arms in an attempt to get across the deep part of the river as quickly as possible, but he seemed to make little headway. Loki began to worry that the current was not going to have as much effect on the major as it had on his meal bar.

The major started kicking and paddling more vigorously, and Loki became more concerned. Major Waddell had already traveled at least twenty meters downriver, and the current did not appear to be moving him toward the opposite shore as he had predicted.

Loki began quickly pulling in the loose slack in the cord that connected the two of them in preparation to haul the major back toward the center of the river and out of danger. Then, just as he was about to pull the cord taut, the major stood up in water that was only chest deep and barely moving.

“Ha-ha!” Loki laughed in both excitement and surprise. “You did it!”

Major Waddell gestured for Loki to keep his voice down.

After Major Waddell made it close to the far shore and was only standing in knee deep water, he motioned for Loki to jump in. The major demonstrated the proper positioning for Loki’s hands, the same position he had used. Loki nodded his understanding, grabbing his pack in similar fashion with his elbows out. He took several steps back, took three deep breaths just as the major had done, ran across the rock in three bounding strides, and jumped off into the water.

Loki had never jumped into any water before, not even a swimming pool. His entry was far less graceful than Major Waddell’s had been. Loki’s entire body hit the water at once, causing a tremendous splash. He was surprised to find that the seemingly soft water felt like a wall, slamming the pack into his chest and stinging his face. He immediately felt unstable as the initial force of his impact caused his body to go under the water. His arms shot out unevenly and he rolled over onto his back before breaking the surface. Now his pack was floating on the water, with Loki dangling under the pack just beneath the surface.

Loki thrashed about with his hands and feet, struggling to upright himself. He tried not to panic, but he could not get upright. He twisted and turned as he tried to roll back over, and for a moment, he thought his head was above water. He gasped for air. A whole new wave of panic swept over him as some of the water found its way into his lungs. His reaction was to cough, which forced the last of the air from his body. He fought the urge to take another breath, well aware that his head was still underwater, as he continued to thrash about in his attempt to right himself.

The cord tied around his chest suddenly yanked at him with incredible force, spinning Loki around. He instantly felt the wind on his cheeks, and he sputtered and gasped as he drew precious air into his lungs.

He heard the major yelling out from the shoreline, “Arms out!” He followed the major’s advice, spreading both his arms and his feet out as far as he could to steady himself, floating with his pack under his chest and riding with his head above the water.

Loki could feel the cord digging into his back and his armpits as Major Waddell pulled him toward the shore. He coughed and sputtered as water tried to work its way up out of his lungs. He could hear the sound of the major splashing in the shallow water as he ran out to grab Loki. When the major’s hands finally did grab Loki by his shirt and pull him toward the shore, it was almost euphoric.

With his feet finally under him, Loki stumbled through the shallows to the shore, the major helping him along.

“Damn, kid!” the major said as Loki collapsed on the shoreline, his legs still in the water. “I thought you were going to drown out there!”

Loki coughed and coughed, then finally held up one hand, a single finger in the air. “Not so loud,” he warned in between coughs. “The locals.”

Major Waddell smiled at Loki, grabbed his hand, and pulled him to his feet. “Right,” he answered, laughing.

CHAPTER FOUR

Jessica followed Synda from one street vendor to the next, occasionally stepping in to pay for something the young woman wanted to purchase for her eventual trip north. She pretended to look at various items herself, feigning more interest in some things than in others while really having no interest in them at all.

The open-air market place at the heart of the downtown shopping district was nothing more than a small cluster of streets that had been permanently blocked off to form the market. According to Synda, many of these had been formed in the earlier days immediately after the invasion. With many of the buildings damaged or destroyed by the attack, people had taken to setting up in the streets, often in front of their own half-destroyed shops or residences, in order to trade what they still had for what they needed. The Jung had moved quickly to replace the impromptu barter system with their own credit chips in order to better control the markets and the finances of the city, but with so many buildings still under repair, the open street markets had become the new standard. The Jung had simply moved them to officially designated locations in order to keep traffic flowing smoothly through the city.

The downtown marketplace was the largest in Winnipeg. While some markets specialized in certain types of merchandise, the downtown market carried everything. Thus, it was the one that attracted the largest crowds as well as the best prices.

As Jessica pretended to shop, she eyeballed members of the crowd. Most appeared to be going about their day, but a few seemed out of place: a man who seemed to scan the crowd out of the corner of his eye more so than Jessica, a woman who moved from vendor to vendor not really looking at anything, and a third man who followed the woman around and kept looking back at the first man to see what he was doing.

There was something else suspicious as well. She had seen at least a half dozen men, all with fair skin and clean-cut hair. They were all wearing civilian clothing, but they carried themselves differently, as if this environment felt unfamiliar to them.

The most suspicious thing of all was that she had not seen a single Jung soldier since they had arrived at the marketplace. They had spotted several patrols along the way and had managed to avoid them, but here, in the busiest marketplace in the city, there were none.

Jessica moved closer to Synda, who was completely absorbed in the only shopping she had been able to do since the invasion over two months ago. Jessica pulled at her arm, getting her to casually move away from the ears of other customers. “You said this place had been attacked several times in the last few weeks, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then why aren’t there any Jung guards around?”

“I don’t know. They move around a lot, never staying in one spot for very long except at the regular checkpoints. Maybe you just didn’t notice them.”

“When did you say the last attack here was?”

“Sunday, I believe.”

“And before that?”

“Friday. I remember because it was a holiday, and there were a lot of people killed.”

“What about the one before that?”

“Wednesday. They called it the hump day attack.”

“Let me guess. The one before the hump day attack was on a Monday, right?”

“Yeah, I think it was.” Synda looked at Jessica. “You don’t think…”

“Nah,” Jessica assured her. “Nobody’s that stupid.” She pushed Synda back toward the vendor. “Keep shopping.”

“I thought you wanted to find someone.”

“I’m working on it.”

Synda shrugged her off and returned to her shopping. Jessica moved to the next vendor and examined their wares as she stole glances at the crowd. She spotted another man doing more looking than shopping. Two clean-cut, fair-skinned men stood against a building talking.

A bus pulled down a side street as Jessica moved around the corner vendor’s stand. She saw the bus pull to the side of the road and stop, but no one got out. As she pretended to study the items on display, she stole several more glances at the bus down the street. There were shadowy figures moving about inside the bus. Then the doors on the bus opened, and a man in an officer’s uniform stepped out and looked around—only it was a uniform Jessica had never seen before. The officer, once satisfied that no one was looking, signaled to someone inside the bus. A moment later, more than a dozen men dressed in full battle armor and carrying energy weapons emerged from the bus and quickly moved into the nearby building.

Jessica’s eyes snapped back to the merchandise she was pretending to shop for as the bus pulled away moving toward her. It passed slowly behind her and across the main street, being careful to avoid shoppers. It moved at least two blocks down before stopping again and unloading more armed men, who also disappeared into a building.

Jessica looked back to her right, spotting Synda still at the same vendor stand arguing with a woman about the price of something. Jessica looked beyond her, noticing another bus stopping more than a block away. It stopped on the corner, and all manner of people exited the bus and made their way into the market—women, children, and at least five nervous-looking men of mixed races, each with one thing in common… unusually bulky jackets for this time of year.

Jessica moved purposefully toward Synda, maintaining a casual pace so as not to draw attention. Her eyes darted about. Left and right, up and down, through the windows, and along the tops of buildings. There was movement in one of the shop windows, and for a moment, she could swear she saw the silhouette of a soldier.

Jessica finally got to Synda’s side. “Something’s up,” she said under her breath. “We need to go.”

“But I just found…”

“Now,” Jessica snapped, grabbing Synda’s arm and pulling her toward the side street.

An explosion went off directly behind them, knocking them both to the ground. Jessica felt a sharp pain in her right knee as she hit the road. Debris showered her and Synda as her ears rang. She could hear muffled screams of pain and panic in the distance. Her head was pounding, and for a split second, she wasn’t sure where she was or what had happened.

But only for a second.

Jessica rolled over onto her back, sitting slightly upright as her head cleared and her senses returned to perfect clarity. There was smoke everywhere. Through the smoke, she could see bodies lying in the street, bleeding. Some were intact. Others were merely the shredded remains of what had once been human beings. People were running in every direction, screaming and shouting in panic as they fled the danger.

Jessica looked to her side and found Synda moaning but moving and very much alive. She reached out for her. “Synda!” She grabbed the young woman’s shoulder and gave her a firm shake. “Are you all right?”

“What?”

Jessica could tell that Synda’s senses had not yet recovered from the blast. Gunshots rang out from several directions. They were immediately met by the metallic zing of the Jung energy weapons. Jessica scrambled to her feet, grabbing Synda by the upper arm and dragging her reluctantly to her feet as well. She pulled her along, practically throwing her against the wall before joining her there herself.

Jessica grabbed Synda’s face with one hand. “Snap out of it!” she ordered, shaking her head slightly.

Synda pushed Jessica’s hand away. “What the hell?”

“They’re attacking again!”

“What?” Synda looked around, the sound of the battle bringing her back to reality. “What’s going on? A shoot-out?”

“Did they have firefights before?” Jessica asked as she pushed Synda toward a recessed doorway a few meters farther down the street.

“Firefights?”

“Shoot-outs!” Jessica said. “Did they have shoot-outs with the Jung before?”

“No, never. They just set off bombs and shot up some Jung soldiers before they could return fire. They were usually gone in less than a minute.”

“I fucking knew it!” Jessica swore. “The moment I saw them climbing off that bus!”

“What are you talking about? What bus?”

“This is an ambush!” Jessica told her as the firefight continued. “The Jung knew they were going to hit today.”

“How would they know?” Synda said. “Do you think someone told them?”

“Probably not.” A blast from a Jung energy weapon struck the building just past their doorway, causing Jessica and Synda to duck back against the door. It had come from the opposite end of the street from where the bomb had gone off. More energy weapon blasts immediately followed. Gunshots rang out from the opposite direction as the resistance returned fire from the new threat. Jessica could hear more Jung energy weapons fire coming from two more directions. They were more subdued, and it sounded like they were coming from opposite ends of the main streets.

“They’ve got them boxed in!” Jessica said. Several Jung troops clad in body armor charged past the doorway as they continued to fire. More gunshots rang out. One Jung soldier fell to the ground directly in front of them, a gunshot wound to his neck gushing forth blood. Several more soldiers charged forward, jumping over their fallen comrade, their energy rifles answering the gunshots in rapid fire succession. The last Jung soldier in the charge stopped momentarily at the side of the fallen soldier, checking to see if he was alive. Gunshots suddenly struck the pavement near the last Jung soldier, causing him to stumble backwards and nearly fall to his left. He charged toward Jessica and Synda in the doorway.

Jessica turned and faced Synda, shielding her with her body as she screamed out. “Please don’t hurt us!” she begged.

The Jung soldier nearly fell against them as he scrambled to the safety of the doorway. He looked Jessica in the eyes. “Stay on this place, and no harm on you will come.” Jessica enthusiastically nodded her agreement. The Jung soldier peered back around as several more of his comrades charged past him.

As the Jung soldier was about to leave the safety of their doorway and join the attack, Jessica reached down and pulled the soldier’s sidearm from his holster and shot him in the back.

“Sorry. Changed my mind,” she announced as she took aim and shot him in the head. She reached down and peered out around the edge of the door. Seeing that the other troops were still down at the far end of the street and engaged with the resistance, she stepped out with the stolen energy pistol aimed at the rest of the soldiers down the street and quickly picked up the dead soldier’s energy rifle. “Here,” Jessica said, tossing the pistol to Synda. “Take this.”

Synda caught the pistol with both hands. “I thought you said it wasn’t safe to have one of these!”

“The situation just changed,” she said, giving the energy rifle a quick once-over. “Stay on my ass, and feel free to shoot any Jung that try to come up behind us.”

“What? Where are we going?”

“To make contact with the people I came looking for,” Jessica informed her as she raised her rifle and opened fire.

A quick spray of the end of the street took out all four Jung soldiers that were supposedly firing at resistance members near where the bomb had detonated. Jessica looked down at the weapon, surprised that it had offered no kick at all, unlike the Corinari firearms that kicked nearly as much as their own projectile weapons.

“Let’s move!” she ordered as she charged across to the doorway on the opposite side of the street. Synda followed her, falling into her when they reached the far side of the street.

“What the hell?” Synda asked. “Why didn’t we just run that way?” she asked, pointing down the street in the direction the Jung had come from.

“Bad idea,” Jessica said. “That’s where they came from. What if there are more coming?”

“Well, why did we even move? I mean, here, there, it’s all the…”

“They can probably track their own weapons,” Jessica said as three more Jung came back around the corner from the main street. They immediately opened fire on the doorway on the opposite of the street, where Jessica and Synda had been standing a moment ago. Jessica waited a few seconds for them to come farther down the street, then swung her weapon out and opened up on them, cutting them down in short order.

“How did you know that?” Synda said.

“Why do you think the resistance isn’t using Jung weapons?”

“Because they didn’t have any?”

“You had one.”

She looked at the weapon she was holding. “Should I even be carrying this?”

“I’m pretty sure they can only track them when they’re fired,” Jessica told her. “Otherwise, they would have shot at where I was instead of the last place I fired from.” Jessica looked out from the doorway, checking both ends of the street. “Come on,” she said as she stepped out of the doorway and headed down the street in the direction the soldiers had originally come from.

“I thought you said more might come from that way,” Synda said, sounding confused.

“Those three left the fight to come back and find us,” Jessica explained. “That means there are no more coming from this direction, otherwise
they
would’ve come for us.”

“Who are you?” Synda asked as they reached the corner.

Jessica peered around the building, looking in both directions and finding no Jung soldiers. “Little girl, you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.” Jessica turned around and headed toward the main street where the bomb had been detonated and the sound of the battle.

Synda watched her run back the way they had come, even more confused than before. “Try me!” she begged, running after her.

Jessica charged back up the street, coming to a stop against the wall on the left a few meters short of the corner. She inched forward just enough to see that the street was clear of Jung forces to her right. She then moved to the corner and peered around to the left, spotting eight more Jung soldiers tucked into doorways on either side of the street. They were firing on six members of the resistance trapped at the end of the street. The resistance was trying to return fire from four directions at once, and they were doing a poor job of it as two more of their group fell to Jung energy weapons fire.