William Dietz - A Hole in the Sky

“Maybe,” Moxley allowed.

“And maybe not,” Terri put in. “We’re trying to create an alliance for the purpose of attacking Tunnel-Through and destroying it.”

“Sounds good,” a fierce-looking woman said. She was wearing a ratty fur coat and a necklace made out of what might have been Hybrid finger bones. “Let’s kill the bastards.”

“You know what?” Kawecki said, as he pulled a fifth of carefully hoarded whiskey out of his jacket pocket. “I think we should drink to that.”

Having successfully enrolled the citizens of Pop-Up in the alliance, the delegation traveled west towards the sprawling brick factory that had once been a major source of employment for the area. Because according to Tom Riley, some of the Acme Brick Company’s managers and employees had moved into the factory and were eking out a living there. If so, they were well within Judge Ramsey’s reach and therefore potential allies.

But long before the Brickyard’s chimneys and buildings came into sight, the group saw an ominous column of black smoke rising to point at the sky. “I don’t like the look of that,” Kawecki said grimly, and Capelli had to agree. Suddenly he was glad that Susan had agreed to remain in Haven.

Once the factory’s chimneys and buildings became visible, Kawecki signaled the group to stop while he and Capelli elbowed their way onto a rise where they could examine the facility through their binoculars. Huge piles of finished bricks obscured the source of the smoke.

But Capelli knew that whatever had caused the fire couldn’t be good. Because if humans had been living in the factory they would try to avoid bringing attention to themselves.

“It’s my guess that they were clobbered,” Kawecki said darkly, lowering his glasses. “I reckon somebody should go forward and take a look.”

Capelli turned to meet Kawecki’s gaze. “Me?”

“If you’re willing.”

“So the stinks will do the dirty work for you?”

“No,” Kawecki answered levelly. “Because you’re the person Hale would have chosen for the job. The man he could count on.”

It was a peace offering of sorts, and Capelli surprised himself by accepting it. The truth was that he cared what the Kaweckis of the world thought of him. Even if that was stupid. “Give me your radio.”

Kawecki did so, and once the device was secured, Capelli made his way forward. A rusty fence barred his way. But after following the barrier north he came to a ragged hole, bright metal, and what he knew to be Stalker tracks in the patchy snow.

He paused to listen for a moment and then entered the inner compound. Huge stacks of red bricks formed a maze that had to be negotiated before Capelli could see the source of the smoke. The brick buildings were intact. But lesser structures were made of wood and one of them was on fire. Capelli could hear the crackle of flames and smell the tangy smoke. He could also see scorch marks, cratered concrete, and a scattering of bodies.

Capelli advanced with his rifle at the ready. The first corpse he came across was that of a Hybrid. Its body had been riddled with bullets. But there was no snow on the body, no signs of bloating, or damage from scavengers. A relatively recent kill, then. Probably no more than twelve hours old. That was one of the many things that made stinks different from humans: They never bothered to bury their dead. Even when they won.

And there were humans, too: a mélange of men, women, and children. All clustered around four fully loaded carts. Some of the bodies had been partially eaten. Not by crows or vultures, but by the Chimera. Other bodies were untouched. It was sickening. Capelli had seen such sights before but never got used to them.

He had the radio out, and was about to press the transmit button, when one of the bodies groaned. Capelli went over to kneel next to the woman. She’d been hit in the abdomen and the front of her shirt was wet with blood.

“Carl? Is that you?”

“No,” Capelli said gently. “My name is Joe.”

The woman blinked repeatedly as his body blocked her view of the gray sky. “Is Carl dead?”

Capelli looked around. The smoke eddied, but everything else was still. “Yes.”

“Good. He isn’t in pain then.”

“No.”

“I’m thirsty. Very thirsty. Could I have a drink?”

The water wouldn’t be good for her. Capelli knew that. And he knew it wouldn’t matter as he freed the canteen, unscrewed the cap, and cradled the back of her head. She got some of the liquid down; the rest ran off her cheeks onto the ground. She coughed. “We were going to move… Going to be safe.”

“I’m sorry,” Capelli replied lamely. “Where were you headed?”

But there was no answer. Just a blank stare. The woman was dead.

Capelli closed her eyes and lowered her head to the ground. After thinking about it for a moment, he drew his knife. The cloth parted easily as the razor-sharp blade sliced through it. His suspicions confirmed, he went over to examine another body.

Capelli put the radio to his lips. There was no point in using military radio procedure. “This is Capelli.”

“I read you,” Kawecki replied. “What have you got?”

“A lot of dead people. They made the stinks pay, though. There’s at least a dozen ’brids lying around.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah. I think the residents were planning to move to Tunnel-Through.”

“How so?”

“They were packed to leave, and they had been vaccinated,” Capelli answered. “And recently, too. All of the human bodies have Band-Aids on their upper arms. And you can see the needle marks.”

After a moment of silence, Kawecki replied. “So Ramsey is making progress.”

“That’s the way it looks.”

“What now?”

The smoke swirled and rolled away as Capelli eyed the battlefield around him. “We bury Ramsey’s citizens. Or cremate them.”

“We’re on the way. Over.”

Capelli thumbed the transmit button twice by way of an acknowledgment. Over? Would it ever be over? The fire crackled and black smoke rolled away.

After cremating Brickyard’s citizens, and leaving the factory, the delegation paid visits to three more communities. Two of them agreed to join the alliance. Members of the third fired on the visitors and they had no way of knowing why. Fortunately no one was hurt.

Now, three days after the group’s return, the citizens of Haven were preparing for war. And Capelli was worried. It didn’t take a four-star general to know that an attack on a fortified position like the railroad tunnel was an iffy proposition at best. Especially without air power, armor, or artillery to break the place open.

In addition, Terri had to work around the clock to keep personality conflicts and politics from tearing the alliance apart. Fortunately, she had been able to convince the various players that Captain Kawecki should be in overall command because of his status as an emissary from the President, the depth of his military experience, and his neutrality where local politics were concerned.

In an effort to provide Kawecki with a reliable command structure, all of his men had been assigned to act as advisors, with at least one of them being incorporated into each unit. The hope was that the soldiers, plus the heavy weapons and hand-held radios recovered from the Suzy Q , would be enough to overcome the advantages Ramsey’s forces had.

Capelli wasn’t so sure. He had argued for at least a week of joint training prior to the attack. But while acknowledging the dangers involved, Kawecki, Terri, and senior members of the alliance pointed out the importance of surprise and the fact that exercises like the ones Capelli had in mind couldn’t be carried out without being noticed by the stinks. The latter represented another potential problem. What if they dropped out of the sky right in the middle of the upcoming battle?