Chapter Forty - Oncoming

Chapter Forty - Oncoming

Chapter Forty - Oncoming

The battle is only lost when there are no more humans left to save. That is when we can finally allow ourselves to despair. They might come in their thousands or millions, but as long as we are here to meet them, then there is hope.

Today, there is no hope.

Despair for all these aliens. Hell. And may none of them escape satisfied!

-Major General Dimitri Strugatsky, moments before detonating a fail-safe nuclear device near the city of Mogocha, 2050

***

I hated it when I had to make hard choices without the time to think them through, or any ways to weasel my way out of the problem in the first place.

Were not leaving until we warn the idiots upstairs, I said.

Gomorrah paused and half-turned to face me. What?

"Look, weve barely dented this hive. The least we can do is warn the people living here that the hive is still active and that were leaving. They think that theyre relatively safe, you know?

Itll take more time than we have, Gomorrah said. Laserjacks request sounded urgent.

I dont care, I decided. I wasnt going to run off and leave these people without at least a warning. I stared at Gomorrah, and her emotionless mask stared back.

Fine, she said. Were losing more time arguing. Im going to park the Fury out front. Once were out of this damnable basement you can warn them all you want.

Thank you, I said.

We walked our way back out of the basement, retracing our steps as we went. Neither of us seemed patient enough to walk with the same care as we used to enter the basement, so we made good time on our way out.

This time I took the lead, sloshing through the water with frustrated energy. The faster we made it out, the faster we could warn folks, and the less Gomorrah would be irate. And wed get back to the city faster too.

Once back in the dryer section of the basement I jogged over to the door and pushed it open.

I wasnt expecting to find Charles and Paul and a few others all grouped up in the factorys main living space, but there they were. One of them was even lounging on the couch. Hey! I said.

They jumped. Not hearing my footfalls I could forgive, but the big iron door? That thing squealed when it opened.

Charles jogged over, and it seemed that he was something of a spokesman. We voted again, he said.

So, youre getting ready to pack up? I asked. That's good, because Ive got bad news and worse news, and you dont get to pick the order.

You alright? she asked.

Stressed, I think, I admitted. What does stress feel like, anyway?

I think it varies from person to person, she said. I just feel nervous, I suppose. Franny complains about a pain in her chest, though shes not stressed often.

I hummed, then put it out of my mind for now. If it got bad, I could get something for it.

What are you buying? Gomorrah asked.

What?

Gear, she said. Youve been out all day. You must have a few points to spend. If were going to be facing off against a large horde, then nows the time to start looking into whatever gear you need.

Oh, yeah, I said. That made sense. I dont know what I need though. My current set-up is working just fine, you know?

Then get better prosthetics, better augs, and better armour, Gomorrah said. Theyll pay themselves off quickly enough.

I shrugged. It wasnt a terrible idea. What are you getting?

A jetpack.

I blinked. Youre getting a jetpack? I asked.

Yes. They let you fly.

I know what a jetpack does. Thats... okay, thats kind of awesome, honestly. I imagined myself with a jetpack. I then imagined myself with a jetpack giving Lucy a princess carry. Yeah, I was getting one of those. Maybe not right now though. I didnt see how it would be helpful with the current wave.

Gomorrah really put the pedal down, accelerating us until the pressure was uncomfortable, even with the comfortable seats the Fury had.

Wed be on top of the city in a few minutes.

Already, I could see smoke on the horizon, pooling under the overcast sky. A lot of stuff was burning. Out of curiosity, I checked the Familys map, then just stared at it for a while. When had it turned so red?

There were huge blurs of red across the countryside, and anything that wasnt red was yellow fading into orange.

We had a few hours until the sun set. When it rose, would everything be crimson?

I sent a text to Lucy, just to be able to interact with her a little. She replied immediately, and so for a moment I ignored the world and all the shit about to go down and focused on trying to make my girl laugh by being an idiot. It was better than thinking.

***