فصل 59

chapter-59 Already lost

The dark grounds below us were chaos. The screaming of fallen prisoners echoed amid the hellish landscape of rain, smoke, and fire. The Elgen forces flowed in like demon shadows, darkening a courtyard lit only by gunfire or grenades. Occasionally, lightning would strike, illuminating the grounds for a second, like a strobe, capturing the dying and killing in frozen, violent stances. That’s when we could see just how many there were of them. It seemed like thousands.

“They’re setting explosives on the outer fence,” Ian said.

“That’s the last thing keeping them from the building,” I said. “Once they reach the building, it’s over.” “We could have used Cassy,” Taylor said.

“Jack!” I shouted. “Hit those guys on the south perimeter. They’ve got explosives.” “Got them.”

Taylor said, “Michael, what’s going on over there?” At the end of the north corridor, beneath the flume of the Starxource plant, a door opened, revealing an intense red glow that seemed to be growing brighter. Suddenly a steaming flow burst from the door. It was glowing orangish-red, like a stream of lava spewed from a volcano.

“What the crap is that?” Ian said.

It was something I had seen before.

“It’s genius,” I said. “Ostin is a freaking genius.” Then the sound caught up to us, a loud screech like the painful squeal of a train’s brakes. “It’s rats. Ostin must have released them from the Starxource plant.” Even in the mini Starxource bowl there were tens of thousands of the hungry, electric animals. The ravenous rats swept across the yard in a powerful, glowing surge, running at the guards, drawn to them by the smell of death and meat.

The Elgen in front were the first to fall, vainly firing their guns into the mass, which was like shooting arrows to stop a river.

The swarm of rats broke against the men like a wave hitting the shore, covering and devouring them, pouring over each other, as the guards were stripped of their flesh.

The guards at the rear ran to escape the onslaught, some successfully, some not.

It took less than three minutes for the guards to evacuate the complex. At least those who could. Those who didn’t make it out were devoured.

The river of glowing fur continued out the breaches in the wall, chasing the guards outside. The sounds of screams and machine guns echoed in the distance.

I lifted my radio. “Ostin, you’re a freaking genius.” “Roger that,” he said. “Tell me something I don’t know.” “I can’t. There’s nothing you don’t know.”

“Well, we emptied the yard for a moment.”

“More than just a moment,” I said.

“It’s a reprieve,” he said. “Not a victory.” “What do you mean?” I noticed that the glow below us had began to dull. I looked through my binoculars. The rats were falling to their sides, steaming and twitching until the entire ground was a gray, writhing carpet of wet, smoldering fur.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“It’s the rain,” Ostin said. “Water kills them.” I looked around. “Jack, let’s get the prisoners back out there and collect the Elgen weapons. Let’s get their machine guns on the breaches. They’ll be back.” “Sooner than you think,” Ian said.

Just then a loud explosion rocked our perch. At first I thought lightning had struck the grounds, because smoke was rising from below us, but when I looked out toward the fence, I saw a large gap wide enough to drive a tank through. Then another blast hit.

“It’s mortar fire,” Ian said. “They’re shelling us.” Another projectile hit the tower to our east and blew it apart, leaving just a few bricks and mangled rebar. Then a second tower was hit.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” Taylor said. “They’re aiming for the towers.” “Too late!” Ian shouted. “Incoming!”

A mortar round broke through the glass of our tower. I reached out to deflect it just as it blew. The shrapnel scattered away from me, covering the western wall. The explosion rang in my ears as smoke filled the room.

After a moment Taylor coughed, then said, “You saved us.” I rolled over to my side, trying to catch my breath as the smoke cleared.

“Oh no,” Nichelle said. “Tanner?”

I sat up. Through the smoke I could see Tanner lying on top of a desk against the west wall. His arm was dangling over the side, and I could see blood dripping from his fingers.

“Tanner!” I shouted.

All of us ran to his side. He was mostly covered in the chalky plaster of the wall, except where the red of his blood had seeped through and stained his clothes and the dust crimson. There were holes all over his body. Shrapnel. I looked over at Ian, who looked horror-struck. He lowered his head as he shook it.

Somehow Tanner was still conscious.

I touched his shoulder, one of the few places not soaked with blood. “I’m so sorry.” Tanner grimaced in pain, then said softly, “You were right, man . . .” His chin quivered, and a thin stream of blood fell down from the corner of his mouth. “I tried. I just couldn’t do it. All those people I killed.” “It wasn’t your fault,” I said. “It was never your fault. Hatch made you do it.” “Maybe . . . God will see it that way.” He looked into my eyes. Then his gaze froze and his hand went limp.

“No,” I said. “Tanner, I’m sorry.”

Taylor started crying.

“I killed him,” I said.

Nichelle put her hand on my arm. “No, you didn’t. The Elgen did.” I stood there, the world spinning around me. I had already lost two friends. No matter the outcome, I had already lost. After a minute Ian said, “Come on, Michael. We’ve got to get out of here.” I just knelt down next to Tanner’s body. “I’m so sorry.” Taylor put her arm around me. “Please, Michael. Ian’s right. We’ve got to go or we’ll all die.” I looked back up. Ian and Nichelle were looking at me and there was fear on their faces.

“C’mon,” Taylor said, gently pulling me. “We’ve got to go.” I forced myself to my feet. We took the stairs back down into the prison, barring the door behind us. At the end of the hallway we could see a group of GPs crowded inside. The lights inside the building were flickering.

I was having trouble concentrating. “Ian, what’s going on?” “The guards have taken the grounds again. There’re more of them. They just keep coming.” Just then Tessa’s voice came over the radio. “Michael, they broke through the north gate. We can’t hold them. We’re falling back inside.” “The second fence is down,” Ian said.

“Everyone into the prison,” I said.

“It’s going to be hand-to-hand combat,” Ian said.

I looked at him. “No, it’s not. They’re going to bury us alive.” Just then the ground beneath us shook.

“It came from over there,” Ian said. “It’s the tunnel.” “Zeus!” I lifted my radio. “Zeus? Are you there? Zeus, what happened?” Nothing.

“Zeus!”

There was a burst of static, then, “I’m here. I couldn’t hold them anymore so I blew the outer tunnel. I’m coming up.” I breathed out in relief. “Meet us in the east corridor. Ostin, Jack, everyone, meet in the east corridor. Now!” A horrid little voice said to me, We’ll die together in the east corridor.