The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion Book 2) (6 page)

“Shit,” Rooney swore.

“They’re making more Abscrags because they want more numbers to their cause. They want into the city.”

“They won’t make it,” Vanguard Rooney replied, her eyes hard.

Torran appreciated her determination. “The two most dangerous ones are in Constabulary uniforms. A white woman and a black man. I heard their names: Alkan and Reese. They’re a lot smarter and faster than the rest. The only really stupid thing they did was take off the helmets of most of the squad to infect them. Which means it’s a lot easier to kill those particular infected. Though, three bullets to the faceplate of a helmet will shatter it.”

Rooney nodded. “Understood. Hobbes, get to the top of this structure. Giacomi, watch our backs. Franklin, join Hobbes. You’re our best sniper. MacDonald, you’re with me.”

“Yes, sir!” was the chorused reply.

The man named Hobbes sprang onto the top of the wall, then leaped and caught the edge of the roof. Boosting his body up and over the lip, he disappeared out of view.

Behind the clear facemask of her helmet, Vanguard Rooney was obviously assessing the information scrolling across it. She was young, blond, and had a fierce look in her hazel eyes that Torran instantly respected.

Franklin’s weapon continued to bark out single shots while swiftly following in Hobbes wake. Giacomi and the vanguard took over weeding out the strays while Franklin ran along the back wall and jumped to grab Hobbe’s hand. He easily swung her up onto the roof.

The newly made Abscrags sprinted into range, screeching at the top of their lungs. In the mix were a few of the older Scrags, but Torran saw far too many of the faces of people who’d been comrades and friends. There were many more in the herd than he’d anticipated and, unexpectedly, the chance of any of them surviving was questionable. Yet now that he was in cover, the illusion of protection made it harder to pull the trigger. Gritting his teeth, he fought his hesitation, fired, and watched the bullets shred through human flesh and skulls.

On the ground, the three soldiers had their weapons at full auto. On top of the structure, Hobbes and Franklin took up sniper positions.

“Aim for the heads,” the vanguard growled, her frustration clear as a few Scrags managed to evade the bullets peppering the ground.

Six Abscrags raced through the killing zone and straight for the three soldiers taking cover below the low wall. They were all former SWD soldiers and their weapons slapped against their backs.

“Hungry,” their voices growled through din, animalistic and terrifying.

“If they’re so smart, why aren’t they using their weapons?” Giacomi pounded up a few steps and fired directly at the helmets of several of the approaching Abscrags.

It was a legitimate question. Torran had already seen two of the Abscrags, the more intelligent ones, using weapons. His mind whirled at the possibilities.

A second later, Giacomi gasped and toppled over.

Chapter 6

Lindsey heard Giacomi’s voice rasp through her helmet speakers, then caught sight of her crumpling at the top of the steps. Straightaway, she climbed upward to grab Giacomi and drag her back into cover. “Hobbes, Franklin, cover me!”

The bark of the weaponry was reassuring as she reached for Giacomi. A Scrag toppled to the steps not far from her, thrashing violently until another bullet killed it.

“Don’t touch her!” MacDonald exclaimed, grabbing Lindsey’s arm to prevent her from doing so. “An electroshock disc hit her!”

Following the invisible line from the tip of his pointing finger to Giacomi, Lindsey saw the small black disc clinging to the old Constabulary armor, sparking with energy. It took only a second for Lindsey to realize what was happening and skirt back down the stairs.

“Shit. They’re herding the dumber ones to distract us while they move into position! Hobbes, Franklin, get down here!”

The two soldiers scrambled to comply.

Franklin let out a startled cry.

Lindsey’s heart skipped a beat.

“It just dinged my helmet,” Franklin said breathlessly, dropping down.

It was impossible to hear the electroshock rifles discharging over the roar of the heavy weaponry firing around her. Lindsey aimed for an older Scrag rushing toward them just as Hobbes landed with a hard thump behind her.

“They got Hobbes,” Franklin exclaimed, scrambling to get into a better position to fire, yet stay out of sight. She used the railing as a foothold and lifted herself into a better spot.

Lindsey gave Hobbes’ vibrating body a brief look, but knew she couldn’t touch him until the disc ran out of juice.

“They’ll try and flank us,” MacDonald said to Lindsey. “That’s what they did earlier.”

“Then cover our asses,” Lindsey answered briskly.

MacDonald immediately scrambled to comply.

Lindsey continued to fire, aiming purposefully at the helmets of the former SWD squad and the exposed heads of Scrags. Their numbers were diminishing, but the swarm continued to rush their position. A few fell just a scant foot from their cover. So far, only one had made it over the wall, but for how much longer?

Behind her, MacDonald was firing at the creatures attempting to attack from the other side. One Abscrag in black SWD armor raced past the others and threw itself at the wall. Lindsey ducked as he flew over her head, landing on the stairs. Writhing about, it instantly scrabbled at MacDonald’s legs, trying to gain purchase. The man was without a helmet, his left cheek missing.

“Fucking hell,” MacDonald grunted and shot his former comrade in the face, turning his head to avoid the splatter.

“Did you get any on you?” Lindsey grabbed his shoulder and jerked him about.

“No, I’m good,” MacDonald answered, his thin face fierce.

He was furious, that much was clear. Lindsey didn’t blame him. Life was being horribly unfair to him. Heaving his weapon into position, he fired at the Scrags rushing him.

Discs pelted the stairs from the side and Franklin dropped from her perch as she attempted to avoid the incoming danger. “Shit!”

Lindsey fell back across the steps, the impact jarring the breath from her lungs, but she kept her weapon aimed at the darkness looming at the top of the stairs. Someone was out there, skirting the main battle to fire at them from the side. The blackness of the night was hazy, and Lindsey checked her map on the corner of her helmet. There was no wristlet signal emanating from where the discs had to have originated.

“The two dangerous ones, Master Seeker. Did they have wristlets?”

MacDonald was flush against the wall lining the steps, his gun aiming overhead in case a Scrag bounded onto the stairwell. “I don’t recall seeing any.”

Lindsey studied the red dots still on her helmet. Only two were still moving, but they weren’t the intelligent Abscrags they needed to worry about. “Franklin, we got two left. Attempting to sneak up on our blind spot. They’re not on our sensors.”

“I’ll find them. They’re mine,” came the brisk answer. Franklin was also lying across the steps, wary of any more shots fired from the electroshock weapons, but she started to rise.

“No, hold position.” Lindsey hated that they were pinned down, but it was a risk she’d taken when she decided to rescue MacDonald. Quickly analyzing all possibilities, Lindsey realized they couldn’t leave their position without risking the lives of Hobbes and Giacomi and themselves. If they opened the blast doors, they risked the Abscrags charging to get inside. Then she realized what she had to do.

“Can you move Giacomi?” she asked MacDonald.

Keeping his body flush against the steps, he dared to poke his head up to look at Giacomi. “Disc is dead. I’ll get her.”

While he crawled upward to retrieve the fallen soldier, Lindsey checked on Hobbes. The disc clinging to his armor was still sputtering, but was terminating. “As soon as it’s dead, we need to move him above us.”

“As a barricade?” Franklin asked incredulously.

“They want to disable and infect us. Giacomi and Hobbes are already knocked out.”

Lindsey was not comfortable with her decision, but if the three of them were hit, too, it was over. Lindsey continued to watch her screen and the two red dots of the remaining members of MacDonald’s squad. They were rushing about the area in a zigzag. She suspected they were trying to find more Inferi Scourge to direct to the subway entrance. It’s what she would do if she were the clever Abscrags. Gather a bunch of the mindless undead, drive them at the enemy, and then take advantage of the commotion.

MacDonald wiggled back down the stairs, dragging Giacomi with him. A few seconds later, the disc died. Hobbes was huge, so it took both women to scoot him up the stairs just as MacDonald reached them with Giacomi. A few discs ricocheted off the walls and steps, but fell short of their position. Realizing what they were doing, MacDonald angled Giacomi on her side above Hobbes. The three remaining soldiers squatted on the lower landing in front of the closed entrance.

“They’re going to cause a stampede with the regular Scrags.” Lindsey kept an eye on the two red dots on her screen as they separated and headed in opposite directions.

“I see it,” Franklin agreed. “They’ll hit us from both sides and the Abscrags will come down the center.”

“Right. But we’re not going to give them that chance,” Lindsey replied.

It was evident by how far away the two dots were from the subway that the two turned SWD soldiers were having difficulty rounding up Scrags. That was definitely a good sign. She opened the comm to Petra and merged it so Franklin could hear. She felt bad to exclude MacDonald. “Petra, I need you to open the blast doors.”

“Vanguard, I can’t—”

“Not all the way. Just open it to about a meter, then shut it. We’re pinned down and I need to draw out the intelligent Abscrags in charge of the others. They’re the ones left over from the failed Inferi Boon missions.”

“Do it,” Commandant Pierce’s voice ordered over the line. “Kill them and destroy their bodies.”

“Understood.” Lindsey leaned toward MacDonald. “Did you hear any of that?”

“Opening the doors as bait,” he whispered back.

She barely heard his voice, but could read his lips.

“Not all the way,” she answered him.

“Understood,” MacDonald said, nodding.

“Franklin, cover the right. MacDonald, the left. I’ve got center.” Lindsey glanced up at the top of the structure. “No way up to the roof other than scaling the low walls, right?”

“Correct. They’ll have to hit us by coming over the walls or down the stairs,” Franklin answered.

“Then we keep our backs to the doors.” The two red dots on Lindsey’s screen were still a safe distance away. “Petra, open it up.”

The blast doors behind them shuddered as the gears within twirled and opened the locking mechanism. A second later, the doors started to part.

“Let’s see how desperate they are.” Lindsey adjusted her crouch and pressed against the steps, her gun resting on Hobbes’ shoulder. Her leg and hip were on fire with pain, but Lindsey ignored the discomfort.

Franklin and MacDonald also tried to minimize how visible they were from the top of the stairs and lifted their weapons.

The doors continued to yawn open.

Lindsey could only hope that the Abscrags took the bait. It wasn’t just her life on the line, but those of her squad, MacDonald, and the city. The intelligent Inferi Scourge would cause serious trouble for the forces clearing out the valley. If the Anomaly Scrags continued to ambush squads and transform them, a new outbreak would cause delays The Bastion couldn’t afford. The very survival of The Bastion’s populace depended on the valley being retaken and the lost resources being reclaimed. Humanity was hovering on the brink of extinction.

The Abscrags had to die.

“Where are they?” Franklin’s voice whispered through the feed.

“Watching,” Lindsey answered.

If she were her enemy, she’d be weighing her options. They were under duress to make a choice and soon, which meant they might act on impulse.

“I have to shut the doors, Vanguard,” Petra said.

“Understood.” Lindsey knew this would be the pivotal moment. Once the doors started to close, the Abscrags would have to make a decision.

“They’re going to rush us now,” MacDonald said with certainty.

A loud Scrag screech sliced through the night. The two red dots on Lindsey’s readout started to turn back. Body tensing, Lindsey aimed at the top of the stairwell.

The attack came from both flanks. The two Inferi Scourge bounded over the low wall at the same time from opposite sides. The Abscrags hadn’t dared to fire on the three soldiers below in fear of losing precious seconds they needed to get into the subway station. The woman, Alkan, landed on top of the insensible forms of Hobbes and Giacomi, lost her balance, and slammed backwards onto the stairs.

The male, Reese, landed in close proximity to Franklin, almost striking her, but she managed to roll to one side. Landing awkwardly on one leg, there was an audible snap as his femur took the brunt of his weight. Howling, Reese lost track of his weapon as he toppled over.

It was all happening so fast.

Lindsey attempted to aim at the female, but Alkan swung her electroshock weapon toward Lindsey and MacDonald and fired in short bursts. Ducking, Lindsey hunched behind her two unconscious friends. Hobbes’ body seized as a disc struck him. Flinching, Lindsey mentally apologized to him.

Behind Lindsey, Reese grappled with Franklin. Lindsey gritted her teeth and lashed out with one leg, her boot slamming into the side of his head. With a terrifying screech, he turned on her, red eyes illuminated by the light from Lindsey’s weapon. Her finger started to pull on the trigger just as Reese was struck by one of the discs. Collapsing, Reese’s body fell toward the closing doors. Franklin grunted as she kicked him with both feet, knocking him away from the entrance.

“I’m good, I’m good,” Franklin said breathlessly. She had apparently only received a minor shock. With a grunt, she fired a single bullet into Reese’s head.

Meanwhile, next to Lindsey, MacDonald attempted to get a good shot at Alkan. The female Abscrag was relentless and had MacDonald pinned. He couldn’t even risk lifting his head for fear of being hit. The second she had to reload, Alkan had to know she was as good as dead. Lindsey and MacDonald both waited for that inevitable moment, fingers ready on the trigger.

Instead, Alkan gave the unconscious bodies at her feet a mighty shove while continuing to fire. Hobbes rolled onto Lindsey, pinning her to the steps with his weight. Meanwhile, the blast doors continued to close and the female Abscrag was single-minded in reaching it. Leaping over the tangle of bodies, Alkan fired at Franklin at nearly point blank range, paralyzing her instantly.

MacDonald flung off Hobbes’ legs just as Lindsey rolled out from beneath him. Alkan hurtled her body toward the doors.

Lindsey realized in that moment her plan had failed.

* * *

Torran ascertained that the female Abscrag was going to make it through the doors if he didn’t act. He and Lindsey were jumbled up at the bottom of the stairs with her unconscious squad members. Shoving off the heavy legs of the man, Torran watched as Alkan leaped over them and toward the opening only to be momentarily thwarted by Reese and Franklin. The insidious little black discs embedded in both the living and the dead soldiers were sparking, meaning she couldn’t touch either one.