Relias: Uprising (42 page)

 In his head, Merino unleashed a veritable downpour of curses. There was only one thing left he could justify his ignorance to that name. He prayed he wouldn’t again fall victim to coincidence.

 “That’s cause I’m in Second Platoon.” Merino said. It was almost natural to wince as he said it.

 The Monolith just looked at him with narrowed eyes, holding the identification up but not looking at it. “Let me hurry and run this through the system.” He stated slowly.

 That was the end of it.

  Before turning away from the truck, the Monolith glanced over at Sable, Shank, then Sable again. He wasn’t looking at her body like most of the other sexually deprived soldiers would, but rather he was focused on her eyes. The Monolith nodded towards her.

 “What’s with your eyes?”

 Merino spoke up but the Monolith quickly hushed him.

 “Easy, Corporal. I’m asking her.” The Monolith looked back to Sable.   

 “My company was holding down one of the Furo extractors on the Pyrian perimeter while it was under assault from a large force of Darks.” Sable said quickly, but not so fast as to make it seem like a fabricated response. Her voice was solid, and she made it sound believably deeper and tougher than usual. “We had broken into squads and that jocky bastard Ranjak nailed and ruptured a pipe carrying raw Furo that went right next to my head. Took it right in the eyes.”

 The Monolith was surprised and quite impressed. “You were in Princeton’s 2
^nd
squad?”

 “Corporal Sheyla Lanstack. I’m a Skirmisher.”

 The Monolith whistled. “What’s a gorgeous woman like you doing in the Legionnaire? I mean, if it’s okay that I ask.”

 “It’s just a little ‘I told ya so’ to everybody who said I was nothing but a pansy little girl.”

 “Well…” The Monolith said, handing the license back to Merino, the original purpose for his having it completely forgotten. “Good on ya.” He looked back towards the rest of the squad as they inspected the outside of the trailer, opening up fuel compartments, checking utility boxes, and giving the trailer a front-to-back inspection. “Sorry 'bout this hold up. I’ll hurry an… Langston! We’re done! Bring ‘em all back!” The Monolith laughed and pointed back to the squad. “Darks’ve been sneakin' into the city and we got the privilege of standin' here all day turnin' cars inside out. Friggin’ Darks.”

 “Douchebags.” Sable shook her head.

 “Get back here, Sarge!” One of the Nightwolves had transformed back into a man and beckoned for the Monolith.

 “What the…” The Monolith stepped away from the window and held up a finger. “Just a minute.” His boots thumping against the ground, the Monolith went back towards the rear of the trailer. Merino and Shank exchanged worried looks. Sable looked into the rearview mirror with her hand on her sword.

 “What the hell’s goin on back here!” The Monolith demanded. “We got a line backed up that’s nearly a mile long and-“

 “Got a scent.” The Nightwolf said, having flipped off his Moonlight Module and transformed back to human. “Inside the trailer.”

 The Monolith was confused. “You mean… you haven’t opened it up yet? WELL WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU ALL BEEN DOING! OPEN IT UP!”

 Two of the Knights immediately came forward, putting their arms through the straps on their Obliterators to allow them to use both hands to work with. They undid the latches on both sides of the door. Everybody stood back to allow the ramp to lower. In the cab they heard the trailer door screech as it opened on old steel hinges while, hiding in the bottom of the trailer, Rush and the Ditrinity held their breath. The door to the trailer clattered against the pavement and the Legionnaires all plugged their noses while some staggered backwards at the wall of rancid air

 The sound of munching Quos and buzzing flies accompanied the powerful, putrid stench of fresh manure. The Monolith looked to the Nightwolf with a disapproving expression.

 “I think I can guess what your scent was.” The Monolith said. The Nightwolf shook his head furiously in complete embarrassment.

 “No… I mean… on the outside of the trailer I know that I smelt people.”

 “People?” The Monolith said, bending over so that he could get closer to the Nightwolf’s face. “That doesn’t look like ‘people’ to me. Does it to you? Cause all I see is a front-to-back, ankle-deep pile of hot, steaming Quo shit.”

 “No… Sarge… I smelt-“

 “Close it up.” The Monolith said. He waved a hand to the guard tower on the top of the wall above the gate. He pounded the back of the trailer to signal to Merino that he was clear to go. “You’re good man! If you see Sergeant Warr tell him his brother says hey!”

 They all gave a resounding sigh of relief as Merino, with a breathlessly victorious smile on his face, kicked the truck back into gear and drove through the gate.

 “See that? Knew it would work.” Merino bragged. Sable said nothing while Shank sat with his legs to his chest in a heavy sweat. They passed through the gate where even more Legionnaires were poised all around, combat ready. Incredibly pleased with the results and short-breathed from his relief at their successful passage, Merino watched joyfully as they passed by without the Legionnaire even giving them a second look. “And that story, man, it was perfect. I mean, completely perfect. How’d you know all that?”

 Sable didn’t concern herself too much with the conversation, watching the city as they ventured into it. “I was one of the Darks that assaulted that extractor.”

 Merino said nothing more. He could see that Sable was troubled and figured it best to leave her to herself. As for the others who were stowed away in the trailer, Merino hoped that they could hold on a little longer until they reached the place where they’d be spending the next couple of days.

 Leramato was an older city, the older districts starting at the center of the city and spreading outward into the newer ones like the darkened rings on a sawed tree trunk. Leramato started out as a small fledgling colony fortified against vicious wildlife and the destructive barbarian clans that once surrounded it. Then, as did the rest of the world, Leramato changed for the better at the advent of the Republican Union of Relias. As the clans died out, Leramato was no longer an alienated civilization and, being at a major crossroads in the Pretoratan, its population began to boom.

 Eventually, the population reached a point where the outer walls could no longer contain the people that populated Leramato, not to mention the rising demand Leromatan real estate. As such, the then governor decided that the town must be expanded and, due to the still thick population of dangerous wildlife, another outer wall must be constructed.

 That same decision was made several times over the course of a couple decades.

 What resulted was a city which had an aged and very industrialized center while its outer districts were full of glassy skyscrapers and ritzy hotels. Now Leramato had five of these rings and, while it was once no more than half a mile across with a population of a few thousand, it was now a sprawling city and a purported leader in technology and politics. And despite its location in the middle of nowhere, Leramato was a popular tourist destination frequented by many of the world’s most revered celebrities.

 Leramato was argued by many to be the progressive capital of the world, defending people’s rights and promoting unequivocal social justice. They bragged about being ‘on the cutting edge’ of social and political issues while disparaging those who weren’t in step with their beliefs. It was a city that provided clear evidence of the spectacular political polarization that had occurred within the Communal citizenry as a result of the Blacklist. They were obdurate proponents of big government but, ironically enough, they had no idea how big the government actually was.

 The truck bounced through the streets which were beginning to crowd with well-dressed party-goers. The evening commute had long since ended and now the streets glowed with the brilliant glitz of expensive cars, street lights, flashing cameras and blinking casino lights. And in the middle of all that high-end living drove Rush and the Ditrinity, looking more out of place than they could have possibly hoped. Everybody in the front seat watched as passersby would turn their heads in disgust, some covering their mouths and noses as the truck passed by, lurching through the heavy traffic as it made its way further into the city. 

 “They’re gonna hate me.” Merino muttered as they stopped at yet another red light.

 “The people?” Sable asked.

 “Your friends back there.” He replied. “That trailer has always been used for livestock and I’m sure that compartment has got crap leaking into it cause I didn’t go to any trouble to seal it off. I didn’t think we’d be that long.”

 Sable’s eyes went wide in disgust. “So you mean-“

 “Yeah, your friends are dripping with Quo crap.”

 Sable was disgusted and immediately began thinking about what Hendrick’s reaction would be when he was let out. What made it even worse though was that they couldn’t let themselves due entirely to the several thousand pounds of animal they had standing on top of the compartment.

 The truck passed through two more districts, the walled areas that circumvented the city center, before they reached the place where they’d be staying for the next few nights.

 It was the Crichlin Suites; It was a hotel that, at some point in time, was considered top of the line. However, years of losing business to the newer establishments in the outer districts and even going some weeks without a single customer had their effect on the hotel. Now the ivory stone exterior was becoming dirtied and blackened from city grime, dirt, and pollution and the white stone angels that stood above the main entrance looked like menacing, malevolent gargoyles which created a feeling of repellent that was quite regnant across the hotel’s exterior.

 The truck pulled onto the side of the street just before it would turn into the parking garage. Merino let the Quos out of the trailer and could already hear the complaints rise up from beneath the Quo skin at the back of the trailer and inside the floor compartment where everybody else was laying.

 Hendrick, as Sable had predicted, was the first one to burst from the compartment in a downpour of insults and profanities, throwing racial epithets at Merino like handfuls of driveway gravel while making loud, uncensored commentary on the brownish-green streaks that had dried across his body. Everybody else seemed equally disgusted, especially Seraphine and Serenity, who kept a persistent inquisition as to when they might have access to a shower.

 “Good god, I’m gonna have to shower twice.” Hendrick growled to himself. “You see this? Any bar of soap we get’s gonna be a one time use thing cause there’s no way I’m gonna be scrubbin' myself down with crap caked soap.”

 “I’m gonna smell like sweaty rotten Quo for weeks.” Morlo commented.

 “Seriously?” Hendrick replied in angered surprise. “Look at this, fatass! I’m covered in reasty rotten duke!”

 “You wanna start this now!”

 “Calm down.” Sable said as Merino was returning from the hotel having slipped away and checked the group in amidst their argument. Once Merino reached the edge of the group they circled up around him as he held up a single room key. Nobody spoke as he did, all eyes focused squarely on the one and only room key that Merino had in his possession.

 “You’ve got to be kidding.” Hendrick stated flatly.

 “I just spent a good hour spooning in a sweaty leather sack and there’s no way in hell I’m gonna sleep in the same cramped room as that guy!” Morlo looked over to Muldoon who returned his gaze and cracked his knuckles. Morlo took it as a threat. “Just try it!”

 “I know the guys that own this hotel.” Merino calmed them, pointing back to the men who had emerged from the hotel’s front doors and stood watch. “They’re legit. They got us a room that’s tucked away down in the basement. It’ll still be cramped but if any Legionnaire’s show up we’ll be pretty much invisible even if they decide to search the hotel.” Merino pocketed the key, going against the notion that everybody had that he’d be handing it to their leader which, now, was Hendrick. Merino turned on his heels and walked towards the hotel’s front entrance. “Grab your things and meet me inside. They’ll take us to where we’ll be staying.”

 Everybody was irritated. They were stiff, tired, they smelled like defecation, and Merino leaving them out in the street wound their frustrations just a little tighter. Hendrick threw his bag over his shoulder and waved for Morlo to come up next to him.

 “You got your radio, right?”

 Morlo nodded.

 “When we get settled in you give a call into base, have them send Price with a care package. Keep it light cause we’ll be done with this operation in the next few days. Just ask for ammo, ropes, and a set of Blazers. I’m sick of feeling completely emasculated.” 

 Morlo nodded in consent. He wasn’t talking as much as he usually did, due mostly to the fact that he saw the way Luke reacted when he reached his boiling point. Morlo knew his boiling point, should he reach it, would probably get somebody killed. He kept his mouth shut to avoid any exacerbation of the current turn of events.

 The inside of the hotel, surprisingly enough, was still in very good condition. The outside of the hotel had been enormously misleading and they thought they’d be met with peeling paint, grungy tile and tearing carpet all grouped up into some upper-class hovel. The walls were paneled with fine cedar, the floor was a thick, plush burgundy carpet, ornately carved wooden pillars reached towards the ceiling at several places around the room while, on one side of the massive hotel lobby, a fireplace cracked peacefully away as it ate away at the pile of logs placed there in. In the exact center of the lobby was a beautiful spiral staircase, the handrails topped with thick black marble which spiraled upwards towards the second floor. The interior of the hotel was spectacular. It was a pleasant surprise. Not to the hotel attendants, of course, who initially suggested that they spray Rush and the Ditrinity off with the hose out back before they were allowed entrance. The statement didn’t sit well and they were instead directed towards the basement, the area where their room was located, where they could shower off one by one.