The Sunshine Dame of Doom (26 page)

But reality in Downtown was far more terrorizing than what was shown on TV. Armed forces from Uptown fell upon the place like the army of apocalypse, shooting and leaving behind corpses whose blood painted the streets red, as an anchorman said.

Citizens sought protection as best as they could, while their houses and shops were either reduced to pieces by gun fire, or blown to shreds by RPG (rocket-propelled grenades). Desperate, panic-stricken women ran with children to the local orphanage, but even such institution was made a target.

The first line of defense when the deadly army started its destructive campaign was Lily’s truck. She barely had time to position the vehicle across the road to block the advance of the enemy. Nobody was expecting such sudden attack. Anyway, the truck did its job as much as it could.

Soldiers shot the vehicle with the thunderous firepower of M249 light machine guns. The hull was resisting the punishment, but it was beginning to crack. Lily and Clark clumsily returned fire with M16s, the only weapon they got. And they clearly didn’t know how to shoot.

With very anguished eyes, Colonel Talbot followed the entire action from an outdoors garage on the second story of a commercial building, a reasonably safe position. Shane came to him.

“You’re late.” He turned to her.

“I had some problems leaving the TV Station.”

“What the heck happened to you?”

“I was shot several times, but that doesn’t matter. How is it going?”

“What do you think? They are not a match for us, not in a million years.”

“They had it coming. Have you seen Lily?”

“She’s in the truck, together with her friend. And the vehicle is really complicating matters, but we can deal with it.” 

“Just bomb it out of the way like anything else. As I said, there’s more than one way to kill a myth and this time I mean it literally. Lily is pretty good, but she’s not bulletproof.”

Realizing the action was taking too long, the soldiers themselves took the initiative to call the man with the RPG. He fired at the truck and the rocket directly hit the ground right below the vehicle, causing it to fly a few feet from the asphalt and roll down the street toward an abandoned liquor store, clearing the way for the armored cars of the attackers. Despite the truck overturned several times, it landed on its tires, but Clark and Lily was unconscious inside, bleeding like a waterfall.

“Nice shot.” Talbot praised after watching everything through the lenses of a binocular.   

And the army of doom was free to ominously strike down upon the frightened city, leaving nothing but destruction in its path, like a hurricane.

A small militia of street fighters tried to make a stand with the few weapons and ammunition they had. Most of them had already been gunned down, including Raul, shot dead. Hector, Vince, Prashant and even Maria led a reduced squadron of courageous individuals who didn’t even know why they were being attacked. Aaron had to stay at the hospital, taking care of the hostages rescued from the hangar.

Former sergeant Harper and some volunteers, all with wife and kids, fought to hold the attackers back in another battle front.

But eventually, they all had to retreat to avoid getting massacred. Many lives had already been wasted.

Every resident who was crazy enough to hold a gun was shooting at the powerful enemy behind light poles and dumpsters; however, they looked more like criminals trying to resist a huge police raid in a godforsaken neighborhood. And they were also forced to seek shelter behind constructions, some of them died trying to get there.

Harper and his men managed to get into the hospital in one piece. Hector, Vincent and their group had to seek protection in a bar. None of them could reach Tess’ restaurant. But it would be pointless anyway. All places in town were on the path of total obliteration.

“Hey Phil, how are you doing?” Vince asked him.

“Trying not to be shot to pieces, and you?”

“Where are Lily and Mate?” Hector asked.

“Their truck got hit by one of those missiles, or whatever that thing is.”

“And what happened?”

“I don’t know, man. After the hit, I just saw a big ball of fire, a crater on the road and the truck had disappeared. I think it was blown to pieces.”

“Ah, Jesus!”

“I don’t think Lily and Mate had time to jump out of it.” Vince took a deep breath. “They’re gone, bro.”

“This is the end of Apocalily.” Pedro said. “This is the end of us all.”     

“Everything we did only brought us tragedy.” Prashant lamented. “We need to stop this madness before more people die and I lose the only eye I got left.”

“Alright” Hector said. “Somebody find me a piece of white cloth, it could be anything but your underpants.”

And, some minutes later…

“Hold your fire!” Colonel Talbot screamed.

“Hold your fire!”

“Hold your fire!” The message was passed along the troops.

The shooting stopped.

“What’s happening down there?” Shane asked rudely and snatched the binocular from Talbot’s hands.

And she saw it as well. Hector was walking in the shattered main street followed by his group. He was carrying a white cloth attached to a stick.

“We’re all yours!” He screamed. “Just leave the rest of the residents be!”

“Great!” Shane said, giving the binocular back to Talbot. “That makes it easier. Colonel, tell your men to gather fifty people in the street, including the rebels that’s just surrendered. Make them kneel down and cross fingers behind their heads.”

“Y-yes madam.”

Talbot screamed the order to Major Henderson, his second in command down at the sidewalk, and he passed it along to his lieutenants, sergeants and privates.

In a few minutes, the fourteen who escaped the power plant plus thirty-six other residents were brought by the soldiers and organized in several rows along the street, all kneeling down, as per Shane’s orders.

“Good. I appreciate your expedition.” She said. “Now tell your soldiers to shoot them all dead. Then, gather another fifty and do the same until there’s nobody left in this dump.”

“But…” The colonel was sweating through every pore. “I can’t do that!”

“I’m sorry if I didn’t make myself clear when we first had this conversation. This is neither an invasion nor a raid. This is a cleaning and replacing operation. Now, do as I said, then we discuss with the Center of Refugees the best strategy to bring new people in.”

“You are aware of course we’re about to shoot unarmed civilians who want to surrender!”

“Well, they know why they are dying. We need people who follow the rules as they are. We can’t afford the kind of indiscipline they showed. Otherwise, we have no order. Otherwise, we have no peace.”

“Let me arrest them and give them a chance to answer for their crimes!”

“Too late for that, they were surely given more than a fair chance. Now follow orders, colonel.”

Talbot hardened his look.

“Colonel!” Shane insisted. “I’m not asking you again!”

“NO!” He retorted furiously. “I’m not doing this!”

“It will happen with or without you!”

“Then it’ll be without me! You know something… I’m sick of you and your ways! Like you said before, I guess I can stop kissing your ass now.” He ripped the military patches off his uniform sleeve and threw them on the floor, by Shane’s feet. “I resign my commission!”

Shane looked at him really disappointed and grabbed him by the neck. She fixed eyes on him and forced the man to return her look.

“You just listen to this, my dear mutineer.” She began reciting “The sunshine springs, happiness it brings. Those eyes you should follow… ah, what the heck!”

Shane decided to simply snap Talbot’s neck and toss him on the sidewalk. His dead body crashed against the ground, very close to his second in command.

“Major Henderson…” Shane spoke to the air and her words were carried by radio waves that emanated from her brain until they reached the major’s walkie-talkie.”

“Um… yes madam?” He responded stunned on the radio.

“It seems you’re in charge now. You see those people on the street?”

“Yes.”

“Tell your men to shoot them dead. Then, gather more fifty and do the same.”

The major hesitated.

“Do you want to end up like your colonel?” Shane pressed him.

Henderson looked at Talbot’s horridly twisted body on the sidewalk. He turned to his soldiers with a heavy face. They all stared back at him with anguished eyes.

“Weapons ready!” He finally gave the order.

His men obeyed him.

“Aim!” The major ordered after a brief pause.

All machine gun barrels pointed at the rows of human beings crowding the street. Hector didn’t take his eyes off his killers. Maria closed hers. She and Vince held hands.

“FIRE!”

“Stop everything you’re doing, please!” Susan’s voice resounded from the giant loudspeaker hanging right above the soldiers ready to shoot. “Please, stop whatever you’re doing! I’m talking to the ones doing the killing in the Industrial Zone. I beg you to stop and listen to me, please!”

“HOLD IT!” Major Henderson screamed.

The soldiers stood down. Maria opened her eyes.

Susan’s face was also on television sets all over Downtown, as well as on the big screens spread around Uptown.

Susan on TV:

“My name is Susan. I’m a teacher at Heavensville’s Elementary. If I’m getting through somebody, just know I’m addressing you all, but especially the people of the so called Heavensville. I plead you to listen to what I have to say. Shane is nothing more than a cruel and ruthless assassin and torturer. She’s been misleading and deceiving you all along…”

“I knew I should have killed that bird when I had the chance.” Shane spoke grinding teeth.

“I knew she was a good girl the moment I set my eyes on her.” Tess said to Mario, both watching the plasma TV on
Fleur du Soir
.

At the News TV Set, while Susan spoke, Nick, Paul and Becky walked around with weapons in hand to assure full cooperation of the audio and video crews. They only had to shoot at the ceiling once in awhile.

“I’ve always wanted to produce my own show.” Paul commented.

Susan continued on TV:

“…and when I found out the truth about the Industrial Zone, also called Downtown, I tried to take the problem to Shane, expecting that she would look into the matter in a fair and reasonable way.

“I deal with her later.” Shane thought. “Major Henderson!” She called him again. “You got your orders! Follow them now!”

“Shut up, Shane!” He responded and turned off his walkie-talkie.

Susan continued on TV:

“But what she did instead was shooting my friend in the head. His name was Frank, a citizen like you and me. Then, she imprisoned, drugged and tortured me! Following her orders, some men injected something in my veins, threw me in a prison cell to later take me outside the city gates to be torn apart by those deranged drifters some of you call
lamebrains
.”

“Thank God Lily Master and her friend Mate Clarkson came and saved my life. But Shane betrayed them too, like she did to all of you!”

“This is a scheme, can’t you see?” Shane screamed with all the strength of her lungs from the garage two stories up. “It’s a dirty scheme plotted by these scumbags kneeling down before you! Shoot them, damn it!”

The soldiers turned to Shane in confusion, then back to the loudspeaker. One civilian kneeling on the street tried to stand up.

“Go back down!” A soldier shouted, pointing his rifle at him. “Go back down!”