The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion Book 2) (29 page)

Lindsey shook her head. No one would’ve paid attention to these signs when the Scrag infestation had started. With a sigh, she turned to see the remote generator emerging from what appeared to be slightly shimmering air. It didn’t have any sort of stealth protection. Lindsey winced when its sudden appearance drew the attention of a nearby female Scrag shuffling around a pod car.

“We have a problem,” she said.

The long, violent shriek of the Scrag rent the air. Instantly, the others answered.

“No time,” Torran exclaimed and grabbed the remote generator. Shoving it against the entrance under the panel, he activated it.

The lights above the entrance flipped on, as did several close streetlights.

“Shit!” Franklin shouted, and shot the female Scrag through the head.

Sound no longer mattered.

The lighted entrance was a beacon to the Scrags.

The howls and the thunderous sound of running feet reverberated around the living.

Lindsey scanned the panel as it lit up. “It’s locked! City security protocols has it shut down. I’ll override. Buy me time!”

“We don’t have any!” Torran snapped, but opened fire on the Scrags heading their way a second later.

“I’ll take out the closest,” Franklin said, wielding her weapon with her usual deadly accuracy.

Lindsey tore her eyes away from the Scrags rushing from the riverbank and concentrated on her tablet. There weren’t Scrags coming from any other directions yet, but she had to move fast before they were cornered. Though her head was throbbing painfully, her brain absorbed the information after a few seconds into her examination of the city security protocols and revealed it as an image she could easily disseminate. It took only a few seconds to recognize what she needed to do to unlock the doors, and her fingers sprung into a quick dance.

The sharp barks of the weapons firing escalated. Lindsey glanced over her shoulder just as the stealth suits returned to visibility. Torran was using two weapons to slow down the oncoming rush. He wasn’t attempting killing headshots, but aiming to cripple the Scrags and slow them down.

The herd was closing fast, maybe fifteen meters away. The ones in the front fell beneath the barrage of fire, legs shredded and buckling beneath them. The following Scrags tumbled over the fallen, and the tangle of bodies swiftly became an obstacle.

“Lindsey, how are you doing?” Torran asked, his voice sharp.

The entrance shuddered, and the doors opened with a wail.

“Done!” Lindsey darted inside, her weapon aimed toward the frozen escalator. Nothing moved above her. “We’re clear at the bottom.”

Franklin dashed through the doorway and Torran followed, grabbing the remote generator as he scooted inside. Lindsey hit the door controls. They stuttered to a halt, then reversed their movement.

Aiming at their heads, Lindsey fired at two Scrags about to shove their way through the doorway. The back of their skulls erupted in a volcano of blood and brains. The sight sickened her, but was strangely satisfying. The oncoming Scrags weren’t going to make it to the doors on time and she exhaled with relief as they thumped closed. She locked it just as the Scrags hit the doors.

The area the surviving soldiers were in was a rectangular room that enclosed the bottom of four wide escalators: two ascending, two descending. The remote generator didn’t have enough juice to activate the underground mechanism, and Lindsey turned it off. The lights overhead dimmed, then blinked out as the generator ceased to function.

Torran stood on the steps above her while Franklin peered out at the Scrags beating their hands against the glass of the long windows on either side of the entrance. It was thick and would take great force to break through, so Lindsey assumed they were relatively safe for the moment. Exhaustion weighed on her, and she took a deep breath to steady both her nerves and wildly beating heart. Meeting Torran’s intense gaze, she licked her parched lips and gave him a slight nod.

“We need to keep going,” Franklin said briskly. “More are coming.”

“How long before the windows or doors give way?” Torran wondered aloud.

“Give me a moment to calculate,” Lindsey said, pulling out her pad again.

“I suggest we start climbing,” Franklin said shortly. To Lindsey’s surprise, the other woman grabbed her arm and jerked her toward the stairs.

“Hey!” Lindsey cried.

“We don’t have time to rest!” Franklin pointed at the Scrags clawing at the windows. Their mouths were spread wide as they shrieked. Lindsey was relieved that the soundproofing of the structure blocked out the sound. “They’re going to get in.”

“There’s still a chain of command here,” Torran said briskly, pulling Lindsey away from Franklin.

Lindsey didn’t like all the jostling and shrugged him off as well. “I suggest we remember we’re all soldiers and survivors and must work together. With two commanding officers, this will get confusing fast.”

“Then I capitulate to your will, since I’m the only SWD officer here,” Torran said. “You’re in charge, Vanguard Rooney.”

Franklin looked ready to protest, then nodded. “I think that works best, too.”

Lindsey was agitated that Franklin even commented. “Fine. Franklin, take the rear. MacDonald, take point.”

Lindsey picked up the remote generator. It was lightweight, but she was tired and stumbled slightly. Torran took it from her and signaled Franklin to turn over the heavy pack she was wearing. The tall woman almost protested, but again relented. It was obvious that Franklin was struggling with maintaining the illusion of being cooperative.

Once Torran had the pack on, he started up the still escalator, his boot heels causing the metal steps to ring out. Lindsey trailed after him, her weapon at the ready. Franklin’s steps were a reassuring sound behind her. At least Lindsey knew she could count on Franklin’s will to survive.

Together, they started the long climb.

* * *

The ascent was strenuous, but Torran managed to keep a steady pace despite his protesting body. At each landing, they’d rest for a minute or two before continuing. The stairwell zigzagged within the long cylinder and he could only see one section at a time. The muscles in his legs trembled from the exertion, and he was beginning to tire. After everything he’d endured since waking up that morning next to Lindsey, he just wanted to return to his bed and hold her in his arms.

Instead, he climbed.

The arched ceiling of the stairwell was transparent, but it was still difficult to see through. The thick layer of crud obscured the sunlight and shrouded their ascent in gloom.

“The area below us is still clear,” Franklin said as they reached another landing.

This one had a three hundred and sixty degree view of the city. The light was a little stronger in this area, and Torran pressed a gloved hand to the glass and peered out. The snowstorm was definitely moving into the area. Flurries were already dusting the city across the river with white. Tilting his chin down, he saw a sight that chilled him. If not for the soundproofing of the stairwell, he was sure the screeching of the massive crowd of Scrags gathered at the entrance would be unbearable.

Stepping next to him, Lindsey followed his gaze. “Shit.”

“They’re going to break in at some point,” Torran said with a sigh.

“We’re pretty high right now,” she reminded him. “It’ll take some time for them to catch up.”

“But we’re already tired and they
won’t
,” he answered.

“Bloody hell,” Lindsey mumbled.

“We need to keep moving.” Franklin’s face was grim in the light of her helmet. Her dark skin was flecked with sweat and her black eyes glinted with determination. “We need to keep ahead of them and reach the higher platform.”

“How did the tiltrotor go down?” Lindsey asked abruptly. “How did this happen?”

Torran wished she hadn’t asked such a volatile question.

“Probably a Scrag jumping onto it from the upper city,” Franklin answered smoothly. “I’m sure you’ve seen the vids.”

Torran and Lindsey had both read the reports of the evacuation when putting together the excursion specs. According to eyewitness accounts, the Scrags had flung themselves from the upper city onto departing craft, sometimes with devastating results when they impacted with the hulls. If the damage was severe enough, the aircraft crashed. Franklin had told a clever lie, probably one devised for her mission. It fit perfectly.

“Yeah, I saw the vids,” Lindsey said with a sigh. “I guess that makes sense.”

“We’re close now.” Torran pointed to the underside of the upper city with its crisscrossing maintenance walkways.

“Let’s keep moving.” Lindsey pushed away from the windows and headed toward the stairs. Torran followed, resisting the urge to touch her. The last thing he wanted was for Franklin to discern was his personal interest in Lindsey. He needed Franklin to trust him and not question his loyalty.

The next part of the climb was a little harder. Though they’d observed shoes, coats, purses, bags, and other items discarded on the steps, there were now piles of personal items littering the frozen escalators. They had to kick the rubbish out of their way to keep ascending. For Torran, it was a little difficult to ignore the abandoned toys. It had been awful enough to see the Scrag child, but now he wondered about the fates of the children who had been evacuated to the upper city so long ago. That speculation was hell on his nerves. Though Torran had balked at the idea of fathering children by multiple women when the offer had been proposed to him, he’d started to consider the possibility of fatherhood when he and Lindsey had become increasingly closer in their relationship. The concept of having a child with her had started to appeal to him greatly, but now he wondered if he’d been foolish to even hope.

Again, he was paged by Franklin on a secure comm line. He answered: “How are we looking?”

“The aerial drone reached the top of the stairwell. The doors are open. Pried open from inside, it seems.”

“So we could have Scrags ahead,” Torran said.

“The drone is also reporting a blockage near the top. It definitely took damage at one point.”

“Can we get past it?”

Franklin hesitated, then said, “It’ll be precarious, but yes.”

“It’s not like we can go back down,” Torran groused.

“Once we reach the upper city, the aerial drone has mapped out the best path to our destination. There are Scrags in the area, but we should be able to deal with them.” Franklin didn’t sound as confident as before.

“This was not the best idea,” Torran said angrily.

Franklin was silent.

Torran began to worry that he had overstepped and created suspicion in the woman.

“I didn’t like the idea of the crash either, but us being stranded here had to be convincing. There was no way to let the Scrags into the food depot and create a crisis scenario. And we have to make a move now. The further out into the world Maria gets, the harder it will be to track her. Our search area doubles each time she relocates.”

“Agreed. Keep me updated. Switching back to the primary comm before Lindsey gets suspicious.”

Torran’s fury was overwhelming. It took all his willpower to not whip about and demand more answers. He had a gut feeling she’d clam up the minute she realized he wasn’t on her side.

Reaching another landing, Torran directed his gaze up at the next long expanse leading upward. It was darker than the other areas, since it was in the shadow of the upper city. Plastic bins, luggage and bags were in a heap at the top of the escalator. Kicking some of the bags out of his way, he glanced at Lindsey. Her big hazel eyes, more gray than any other color now, gazed back at him worriedly.

“It doesn’t feel right,” she said.

Franklin joined them. “It looks clear.”

“Yeah, but it still doesn’t feel right,” Torran said, agreeing with Lindsey.

“Do you think it was a barricade?” Lindsey pointed at the pile at the next landing.

“An inefficient one, if it was,” Torran said, but could see how she’d come to that conclusion.

“They were civilians,” Franklin observed. “They didn’t know how to protect themselves.”

“They were dependent on people like us,” Lindsey said somberly. “Keep alert. If it was a barricade and the Scrags aren’t below us, it means they’re above.”

Torran wished he could tell Lindsey what Franklin had reported, but he had to be cautious if he wanted to maintain Franklin’s trust in him. Once he had enough information about the group Franklin was a part of and their plans, what would he do then? He supposed he’d weigh his options when the moment arrived.

Climbing, the steps creaking beneath him, Torran’s suit adjusted to the increasing cold outside. Every few steps, he had to push bags, luggage and plastic containers to the side to squeeze through. Mindful to stay as quiet as possible, he was careful not to knock the cases down the escalators. As he neared the next landing, he saw it was filled with toppled luggage. Stepping over the objects was nearly impossible since there was so many.

“Definitely a barricade,” Lindsey decided.