Jonathan Bond - The Terminus experiment

“Talk to me, Sandman We’re almost out of ammo, and I don’t think we can take too many more hits.” Flak’s voice sounded calm over the tacticom, but Rachel thought she could detect a hint of strain, maybe even fear.

“There’s not much I can tell you,” came Sandman’s voice in her ear. “The fighting outside is pretty hot. Whoever these guys are, they’re kicking hoop and taking no prisoners. At first, the vamps were getting back up again, but these guys are pros, and they’ve changed their tactics. Not so many vampires are getting up anymore.”

Flak grunted. “So the military-type boys are winning?”

There was a pause. “Yes and no. They’re taking down vampires fast and furious, but somebody tripped something in the system about five minutes ago, and some more vampires just showed up out of nowhere.”

“Damn,” muttered Flak. “Any way to slip out in the confusion?”

Sandman’s voice came over the com again. “Probably not, but you’ve only got one more corridor, and then you’re back the fresh air. Give me about a minute to double-check everything, then be ready to hit it when I give you the signal. You still packing those shaped charges?”

“Affirmative,” said Flak.

“Well, you’re probably gonna need them. The doors at the end of the hall are locked tighter than Lofwyr’s vaults, and there’s not one thing I can do. I’ve been shut out of that area of the system.”

“Check,” said Flak. He turned to the rest of team and said, “You heard the man! One minute, and we’re out of here. Get your drek together, and make sure you’ve got enough ammo.”

Suddenly the unreality of all that had happened that night hit Rachel. She looked around at the bloodied crew, then down at the guns in her hands.

She let out a small laugh. “Hey, guys, just twenty-four hours ago, I was wondering if I was gonna make the rent and whether to splurge on another pair of heels for work.”

Sinunu responded with a low chuckle. “Under the circumstances, you’ve done pretty fragging well.” She looked over at de Vries, who was standing near the door. “Next time you want to bring someone else along for the ride, vampire man, they better have as much on the ball as your girl here.”

De Vries smiled at her. “Is that your oblique way of apologizing?”

Sinunu looked at him for a moment, and Rachel thought she was angry, but then Sinunu shrugged. “I guess it is.”

Dc Vries’ smile grew into a toothy grin that somehow didn’t remind Rachel of the vampires they’d been killing for the last half an hour. “Apology accepted.”

The tacticom crackled. “Heads up, people. This is about as good as it gets.” Sandman’s voice was staticky over the com. We’re rolling again. There’s some fighting out by the front gate, and we’re going to try slipping past it. The corridor is clear, and you’ve got about a twenty-second window to make the loading dock. If you can, meet us at the front gate. Be careful. There’s a lead storm flying out here, and the good guys are on the defensive now.”

“Roger, Sandman,” said Flak. “We’re outta here.”

The rest of them got into position.

Rachel took up her new place, the position Truxa had held before getting injured. How strange that only two hours ago, she’d felt like a lost outsider with these people. Now, she was at home. She knew her role, and knew she was trusted to carry it out. She had proven something to herself as well, though she wasn’t quite sure what that was yet. All she knew was that she’d gotten back on her feet, her wounds were distant things, and that razor’s edge was calling to her.

“Okay, everybody,” said Flak, from up near the door, “this is it. One last dance, then hopefully we can get the hell off the dance floor. Everybody hang tight, conserve ammo, and if I give the signal, run. Don’t look back.”

With that, he opened the door, and they began to move quickly down the long hallway leading to a door at the far end, the exit sign gleaming like a promise.

Julius and his men hadn’t known what they’d find in this godforsaken place, and it was worse than anything they could have imagined. Vampires with cyberware.

Julius jammed his foot on the head of the vampire he’d just downed, just below the metal cranial cap, and rammed his shotgun up under the thing’s flat, rotten nose. He pulled the trigger and watched as the thing’s face came apart in a wet spray. Pushing the barrel of the shotgun further into the ruined flesh, he angled his shot upward and blew the cap right off the vampire’s head.

In the last thirty minutes, his men had learned a valuable lesson. The vampires might be undead, and might be able to take a lot of punishment, but if they were cybered, they were vulnerable. Screw with the cyber, and the vamp was hosed.

Looking up from his kill, Julius triggered the commlink in his helmet. “Biggs? Heads up. They’re flanking you. Team Two, lay down suppressive fire.”

Then he was running, the heavy combat suit making sweat stream down his body. Just behind him, the mage Killian managed to keep pace, despite his diminutive frame.

To his left, the earth elemental that Killian had summoned minutes before was heaving great mounds of dirt over a small group of vampires that had tried to attack it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Julius caught movement, and was turning to deal with it. when the night erupted in flame.

The vampire, a human female, turned into a glowing fireball in mid-air as she leapt for him. Julius used the heavy gloves of his combat suit to bat the burning woman aside as he continued running. “Thanks, Killian.”

The mage just nodded, sweat streaming down his face and blood coming from his nose. He’d been lighting up the night with his fire elementals, and the drain of summoning and casting was taking its toll.

On Julius’ right, Biggs was standing at the point of a wedge that made up Team Three. Ruby spears of coherent light lanced out into the darkness, cutting dark forms into pieces.

Julius cursed himself for not arming more of the men with lasers. They seemed to do more lasting damage than simple lead rounds.

When they’d discovered this, Julius had reformed his teams into straight vee-shapes, with a laser man walking point and the heavy guns playing backup. Each team had started out with a mage, though none as powerful as Killian. The vampires had caught on quickly, however, and only Killian and one other mage still lived.

Even with the reinforcements the vampires had received from inside the compound, the Fratellanza troops had managed to force them back again, until they’d almost reached the building.

Julius wasn’t about to leave this place without his son, but he hoped fervently that whoever was directing the defenses had committed everything to the exterior. If they hadn’t, and there were another forty or so of these bad boys lurking inside, it would be a running battle his men were sure to lose. Even with their superior speed and maneuverability, the vamps were proving manageable out in the open. Inside, the undead would have all the advantages.

Julius and Killian reached Team One just as Biggs finished bisecting a vampire. The thing screamed, though it tried to pull itself forward with just its hands, leaving still twitching legs behind.