Machine God: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (23 page)

But that didn’t help much now. We had to enter the open if we were to reach the hatch, which was suicide. Ann-Lyze spied through the hole in the wall we just came through. She screamed.

“More Technoids are coming.”

Damn. 

Pressure.

Exactly what I didn’t need. 

I pushed forward to the corner and waved my team over. The hatch lay only eleven meters in front of us, but this short distance was our potential graveyard.

“We don’t have much time.”

I held out my hand and waved.

Tried to taunt enemy sniper fire but nothing happened.

If the sharp shooter was smart, he wouldn’t fall for it.

He didn't.

Which meant: more pressure.

“We have to run now. The Technoids are reaching our position,” the soldier said.

My heart roared inside my chest and wanted to break free. 

“Let me finally be of use.”

The voice seemed surreal.

All eyes fell to Nathan who awoke from his weakened slumber.

“Let me distract the shooters for you."

Ann-Lyze intervened. This must have been hard on her.

“No, father, that’s suicide.”

“Look at me. I'm a breathing corpse. I’ve been nothing but an obstacle for the past hours."

I exchanged glances with the digger and the soldier. They gave me a silent nod. 

Deal sealed.

Only Ann-Lyze refused.

Of course she did.

“Okay,” I said, giving the go.

Ann-Lyze’s face twitched. 

“Okay what?”

But everyone knew.

Nathan inhaled deeply.

Pushed himself up from the ground.

Neared the corner and stared deep into my iris.

“Promise to take care of her.”

He wanted to hush but hesitated.

"By the way, I'm sorry for bruising your face. You're a decent chap."

I nodded.

It was the only thing I could have done.

The old man stormed into the open first, we zigzagged after him and kept a three meter distance. 

Ann-Lyze screamed.

I grabbed her arm and dragged her across the open road when an energy blast ripped through Nathan's head and melted it like bloody cheese. I rolled on the ground, opened the hatch with the soldier.

"Nooo,” Ann-Lyze screamed, but I pushed her into the shaft.

The diggers followed up.

Another javelin blast burned the sandy ground around the hatch. In the distance, I saw Technoids leaping through the wall hole. They darted through the back alley that we came from and opened fire.

Nathan's corpse leaked a river of blood from the throat where his head used to be.

I closed the hatch and sealed it shut from the inside.

The blasts plonked.

Muffled jib jabs. 

Ann-Lyze, the digger and the soldier climbed down below me.

I heard her crying echoing through the tight shaft.

“No, no no,” she said.

Stuck in a nightmare that happened to be reality.

The Bulwark soldier nudged her with the boot.

“Move.”

Harsh, but necessary. 

This was no time for an emotional breakdown. 

I climbed.

Into the dark abyss.

The blood made love to the sweat on my palms.

The mix greased the ladder and almost made me slip from the rungs.

My mind shut down.

Only the lizard brain remained.

Yelling, 

move down

move down.

More muffled impact rounds sounded from above. 

Were the Technoids’ weapons able to melt through the metal?

I didn’t want to find out.

69

My boots connected with the tunnel ground. 

The rest of the team stood by me.

Ann-Lyze collapsed on her knees.

Buried her head into her hands.

I said,

“your father just saved our lives.”

She didn’t care.

Couldn’t.

The bond between father and daughter was broken.

From now on, he would only remain a memory.

Until the dust, too, would take her like everyone else.

A tragic moment, but we had to keep on going.

“Where to?” the soldier said.

“Away from here, ASAP.”

We ran into the tunnel when we reached an intersection. I closed my eyes and picked a direction that felt ‘right’.

“Why this way?” the young digger said.

I didn’t know.

Blame it on my instinct. 

We hammered the ground with our boots. 

By now, our feet had to be bruised and blistered. 

But the human’s will for survival was stronger than anything else. Critical thinking switched off, only the warrior remained.

“Run, run, run,” I said.

Into the darkness.

We pressed on.

As far away from the shaft as possible. 

I led the way, ran into this tunnel, turned in the next. 

As if I carried a map in my mind, which wasn’t the case.

Even my commcuff gave me a question mark.

"Unidentified location."

Yeah right.

These tunnels were another mystery the Bulwark Cluster had kept quiet about. An entire underground maze, a second world below the dust. 

Why were they built? 

Why did no one know about them?

Too many questions.

When we reached another midsection, we settled down and caught some much needed rest. It was a miracle my team was still standing. They fell through holes, blasted through the scorched surface and carried gear and old Nathan. In a strange way, I was proud of them. 

Maybe my leadership played a role in their excellent performances.

I did a quick check up on our resources.

“Supply status?”

The young digger stepped up like a disgruntled child too afraid to spread the news.

“One ration and half a liter left.”

Burn.

Barely enough to make it through the day.

70

We each took a sip, except for the soldier. 

He simply refused to open his face shield.

It was a strict soldier rule from the Bulwark to always leave your guard up, including hiding your identity from the other classes. But these circumstances nullified the cluster's stern orders. We'd probably never see it again.

I said,

“Are you sure? We'll split it evenly.”

He nodded.

“I’m a warrior. I can last for days without water. Blame my Bulwark training.”

More for us then.

During the ration sharing, I asked the soldier,

"What's your name?"

"Does it matter?"

"Feels a bit strange to talk to a faceless soldier with no name."

"Says the nameless man from the ruins."

"Two points for you."

I wanted to shift topics but the soldier finally opened up.

"Call me Naif."

So Naif it was.

When the tension quieted down, I joined Ann-Lyze near the tunnel wall. Her mind seemed absent, her posture defensive. There had to be an invisible wall between her and everyone else, including me.

“Do you want to be alone?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

She sank her head into her knees.

Looked like an apathetic bum.

Begging for a chance to turn back time.

I tried to find the right words, but they eluded me. I never had family, or maybe I did and forgot about it. But to lose your own flesh and blood must have hurt as much as getting your limbs chopped off. Besides, Nathan was probably not the only family member she had lost over the past years. 

This world had decay written all over it. 

With nothing smart to say, I sat next to Ann-Lyze and scooped closer. She leaned her head against my shoulder and breathed in.

My body moved back and forth.

We rejoiced in the silence of the tunnel. 

Ignored the digger chatting with the soldier now known as Naif. After a pause that stretched into eternity, Ann-Lyze said,

“You were born, you battle, and back to dust, you’ll blow."

“What’s that?”

“Some stupid poem. Apparently from a famous children’s book.”

“That must be one creepy-ass children’s book.”

She giggled for the first time before she remembered her personal tragedy again. Ann-Lyze fell back into grievance and sighed.

“I’m not sure I want to live anymore. What’s the point? Everyone of us is going to die. We either get shot by the Technoids, ripped apart by the sandstorms or imprisoned in the cluster. Seriously, what's the freaking point?”

Heavy question, too complex for now. 

The adrenaline had subsided, but the tension inside of me remained.

Ann-Lyze continued.

“I lost everyone in my family. My sister. My brother. Mother. And now father.”

She eyed my Dust Viper.

In it, a 15mm bolt.

The quickest way to salvation.

“If I kill myself, I could complete the cycle. You know, rejoice with my family. Maybe even in heaven.”

I put the firearm out of her reach, in case she was going to grab it. Ann-Lyze was in a dangerous phase and any sign of violence could trigger her. I tried to shift the conversation to a more upbeat topic. 

“Heaven, em? I’m not even sure it exists in this world. I only worry about today, and tomorrow. Hacking away the unessential, only focusing on what matters."

“But why? Tomorrow's going to be as disturbing as today. I don't have anything to look forward to anymore."

"You have your science and research. Doesn't that fulfill you?"

"Maybe."

Pause.

"I always loved science because it advanced humanity. It was supposed to make everything better for us. But now, I'm not so sure anymore. All these machines and technology that humans had built during the Great Collision, they have wiped out our planet, maybe even because of a misunderstanding. Doesn't that bother you?"

“I don’t know. My mind's still murky. I just feel like it’s my duty to try every option. Survive at all costs.”

“Duty?”

“Something inside of me I can’t put into words. You don’t have this feeling?”

“No. Not in the slightest.”

“You’re pretty touchy-feely for a warrior,” a deep, male voice said.

Naif, the soldier, stood in front of us and looked down.

“I don’t want to disturb you, but I think it’s better to move on. We have to get as much distance between us and the Technoids as possible.”

He was right. 

Every delay would increase the metal freaks' chances of catching up with us.

Or worse: enslave us for their twisted experiments, if that rumor was true. I craned my neck toward Ann-Lyze who still rested her head on my shoulder.

“Can you walk?”

“I have to.”

I helped her up and joined the others.

Four were left.

Me.

Ann-Lyze.

Naif, the soldier.

And one young digger whose name I still didn't know. 

It was time to change that.

“How are you called?”

“Trinch,” the young digger said.

“And my father’s name was Smedge. A brave man who who shouldn’t have died up there.”

Damn. Another parent-child dilemma. 

Tragic, but this wasn’t the time to point fingers. 

Our lives were still at danger.

“Let’s move on,” I said instead.

Naif waited for my direction.

“Which way now?”

I pointed toward the third tunnel from my left.

“Why this one?”

Because my instinct told me so.

71

It felt as if the tunnel was calling me. 

Not by name, because I had none, but by a faint whistle. 

Tsssssssssuush.

Some background noise that hummed louder the deeper we marched into the tunnel system.

I kept that to myself because I didn’t want to sound like a mad man going bonkers in the brain. Ever since I had woken up in that capsule-thingy inside the ruinous hall, my body felt as if it was attached to invisible strings. I first thought it was pure instinct guiding my path, but the more I ventured through this wasteland of a world, I realized it was something else. Which made me wonder—were all the decisions I've made so far really mine?

What was pulling me into this underground system, choosing tunnels that I had never passed, lighting my way by tingling my insides?

Maybe I was becoming mad. A sign from exhaustion and malnutrition, but I didn't feel as tired as my mind wanted to make me believe.

My feet moved on auto.

My body picked the tunnel.

And I? Just followed my limbs.

The troop morale had hit bottom since Nathan's sacrifice, and one more person freaking out would destroy everything, so I had to act my leader part.

A man without hope was a piece of meat.

“Do you mind?”

Ann-Lyze walked me up and clutched my arm.

I didn’t.

Whatever made her feel better.

Heck, it made
me
feel better.

72

Hours underground, your eyes adapt to the quasi-darkness. Silhouettes became clear, the environment morphed into a dark blue. Not just my vision, also my nose powered up. The smell of wet and rusty metal pounded my nostrils. Despite the fatigue, my senses stayed sharp. 

Since silence had accompanied us for most of the walk, it felt as my duty to check on the whereabouts of my team.

“How is everyone shaping up?”

“Still alive,” Trinch said.

“Same here.”

Since I knew their names now, they became much closer to me.

Amazing what a label could do.

Which made me ponder my own namelessness. My identity was buried in the Lost Lands, but maybe I could create a new one. Each day in this world shaped my character, made me realize what I stood for. 

Once I brought everyone back to safety, I had to reconsider this.

I still had the soldier's, I mean Naif's, Dust Viper, plus one and a half mags left. So far, he didn’t ask for his firearm, which meant he either trusted or feared me. 

Talking about weapons, Naif reared my left.

“Can I talk to you?”

“Do you want a break?”

“No. We can keep walking. I just want to talk to you.”