James Knapp - State of Decay

Quickly. The message floated there in the stark, gray air.

I turned back to the man who stood at the ramp. He gestured for me to come.

They’ve found us. Come quickly.

I recognized the man’s face. He was the one who had pushed the blade through me. It was the killer I had chased for so long. Somehow he was there, waiting.

Don’t you mean that they’ve found you?

There is no difference between us now. Not as far as they’re concerned. They won’t rescue you; they’ll shoot you on sight.

The group of helicopters drew closer. As they did, they spread into formation.

Come on , he said. They’ll fire on you from the air. Come with me. I will explain.

The vibration filled my head, urging me on. As the helicopters closed in behind me, I staggered through the last length of snow to him. He held a blanket and wrapped it around me.

“You killed my friend,” I told him, “and you killed me.”

He wrapped the blanket tight around my shoulders. His cold, electric eyes stared and met my own.

“I killed your shadow,” he said, “and I didn’t kill you. I freed you.”

She wasn’t much on social graces, but I admit I had taken an immediate liking to Calliope Flax, despite her foul mouth and the frank hatred of authority that included my own. It wasn’t just that she came back to check on me, which she didn’t have to do. Most people would have called us even by that point, but she was still taking point for a ride that could put her closer to trouble instead of the other way around. She had guts.

When we got back up to street level, the snow was coming down hard. We got on the bike and headed for Zoe’s apartment, but we didn’t get two blocks before I spotted the first military patrol. The armored vehicle was moving slowly down the main street, a soldier sweeping a spotlight across the building fronts and down the side roads. Another soldier on the back of the truck held an automatic rifle, keeping watch with an infrared scope. Further on I could see another beam scanning the street while a group of three uniformed revivors marched down the sidewalk, rifles slung over their shoulders as they crunched through the snow. It seemed like whole sections of the city had come under occupation.

Sean, talk to me. What’s going on?

Your civilian is gone, Nico.

What do you mean “gone”?

The units that showed up at her place found one dead, one injured, and no sign of Zoe Ott.

Show me.

Images from Zoe’s apartment appeared in my field of view. The feed from the officer scanned the inside of the place, shining a flashlight through the dark. The place was filthy, spiral-bound notebooks arranged in skewed stacks along the walls and leaning against the furniture. Trash, dust, and grime seemed to cover everything.

Do the officers have a lead on her?

Not yet, but they’re saying abduction, not murder, at least for now. Any idea why they’d take her?

No.

A struggle took place in there; that was clear. Some of the many empty liquor bottles had been toppled and smashed, and notebooks, papers, and pieces of glass were scattered across the floor.

Near the front door was a man’s body, lying in a wide pool of blood with what looked like his guts spilled out in front of him.

Who’s the victim?

Next-door neighbor.

The older man, the one she didn’t get along with. Maybe he tried to help her out and got more than he bargained for.

What about the survivor?

Downstairs neighbor.

Karen. Did she see anything?

According to her, she missed the whole thing. Zoe was gone when she got there.

She missed the whole thing?

That’s what she says.

Sean, how did she step over a dead man and get hit by the attacker if she missed the whole thing?

I’m just telling you what she said.

They’d dose her to be sure, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to matter. I had a feeling she didn’t miss the whole thing, but Zoe had influenced her otherwise.

She doesn’t know anything , Sean said.

You don’t think she’s lying?

I think she believes what she’s saying.

A shot rang out off to my left up ahead, and I saw a muzzle flash light up the concrete wall of the building. I felt Calliope jump in the seat in front of me, but she kept us steady. As we passed, I looked between the buildings and saw a luxury vehicle idling there on the side street, one wheel up on the curb of the walk. The driver’s-side door hung open and two revivor soldiers stood there, one holding its rifle with the barrel still drifting smoke. It moved to one side to let the other one in as it pointed a short weapon with a large, tubelike barrel into the vehicle. A gas-powered thud came from the street behind us as we passed.

“Cal, stop the bike!” I yelled, but she kept going.

“Calliope, stop the bike!”

“Fuck you. I’m not going near those things!”

The bike veered, fishtailing for a second on a patch of ice as Calliope took us down a side street to avoid a patrol up ahead where flames were shooting out of a storefront. Garbage and debris littered the sidewalks and the intersection where the soldiers were standing.

Sean, what’s going on out here?

They authorized a troop increase to help keep order.

Because of the explosion at the arena?

Where have you been? After the garage bomb, two more went off, one in a mall and one in a nightclub.

Calliope took the bike into an alley, then scooted by a Dumpster through a narrow passageway. The vibrations from the engine were making my chest throb from the inside out and I was freezing, but I had to admit we would never have gotten as far as we even had if I’d tried to take the car. Whole blocks were closed to traffic and there were checkpoints everywhere. Every face we passed looked terrified; the presence of the revivors on the street had stirred up a primal fear in people. Bombs or no, it was a mistake to deploy them.

Sean, what’s the protocol on the PH soldiers? What are their orders?

Containment and suppression only. Why?

Nothing lethal? For any circumstances?

Sean paused for a moment.

No. Did you see something?

I’m not sure. I think so. Does any of the deployment include the use of Leichenesser canisters?

Why would a revivor be issued Leichenesser?

Sean, yes or no?

No.

The substance was used primarily for medical reasons and to destroy revivors, but it would consume any dead flesh. It was also handy for cleaning up messes. For making things disappear. Where had they gotten it?

Look, there’s something else you should know , Sean said.

What do you mean?

There’s another problem. Some of the revivors, the ones deployed with the troops, they stopped checking in.

What does that mean, “they stopped checking in”?

Isolated pockets of them broke off from their assigned groups. Some turned up not long after and acted like it was a malfunction in the command network. Some are still unaccounted for.

Another update came over the connection I was monitoring.

Database synchronization pending. Updating …Header mismatch: Mullvue, Horace. Murder. Header mismatch: Vesco, William. Murder. Header mismatch: Hibiki, Fran. Murder. Header mismatch: Phang, Shin. Murder. Removing …Removing …Removing …Removing …