Extensis Vitae: The Shattered Land Read online

  The mutant charged, and she ducked and slashed it in the thigh and again in the calf as she slipped past. Sparks rang as she parried two of its strikes, backing away, leading it to think it had the advantage. Then she gambled and lunged inside its guard, sinking the katana to the hilt in its gut. She yanked on the blade, trying to disembowel it, but the beast wrapped her up in a bear hug, crushing her to its body. The hilt dug painfully into her stomach, and she realized the mutant was further impaling itself in the process.

  Rin tried to draw breath, but she couldn’t expand her lungs to take in any air, and her arms were pinned at her sides. She didn’t know how long she could go without oxygen, but fortunately for her, the mutant released its grip after a couple minutes. Rin wheezed as her bruised lungs sucked in air, legs wobbly from oxygen deprivation.

  The mutant grabbed her by the back of the neck and pummeled her in the midsection, its fist so large it struck her from sternum to stomach all at once. She felt a rib crack from the blow, and then she was flying through the air.

  Rin slammed hard on the floor, momentarily stunned. The mutant plucked the katana out of its belly as if it was a splinter and tossed it aside. It advanced, and Rin kicked against the smooth stone, trying to slide away as she fought to clear her head and get air in her lungs.

  The mutant stepped on her ankle just hard enough to keep her from pulling away. It knelt on her, pinning her thighs beneath its knees, and drove its serrated arm blade into her trapezius muscle, just above the collarbone. Rin bit back a cry of pain as the blade finally penetrated her dermal plating under the continuous pressure. She was forced to the ground, the impaling claw passing through her muscle until it struck the stone beneath her. She shuddered at the sensation of the blade grinding against her collar bone. She tried to buck her hips and dislodge the monster, but to no avail. Its weight was too great as it knelt on her thighs.

  “How would you like it if I put a baby in your belly too?” the mutant growled, its breath fetid in her face. It slowly traced her exposed stomach with its other claw. The green tendrils pulsed across its skin. Almost like a heartbeat.

  “I don’t think that would work out very well for you,” Rin growled. She released her forearm blade and drove it into the creature’s groin, sawing through its scrotum and into its guts.

  The monster roared in agony and fury as it reared back, ready to tear her apart. The impaling claw tore free, and blood spurted from her wound.

  Reznik suddenly appeared behind the creature, his face grim and bloody. He wrestled the mutant’s arm back, and at first she thought he punched it in the mouth. But his fist went inside its mouth; its sharp teeth carved bloody streaks in his fist. As he withdrew his hand, she could see the dull metal orb he had jammed down its throat.

  “Get clear,” he yelled, managing to drag the huge monster off of her so she could slide her legs out from under it. Rin rolled clear of the beast. The mutant opened its mouth wide and attempted to dislodge the grenade, much like a cat trying to cough up a hairball. She pulled a throwing knife from the sheath on her thigh and stabbed the mutant through the bottom of its chin and into its upper palate, preventing its mouth from opening all the way.

  Reznik released his hold on the mutant, shoving it away from them. Rin took a running leap and sprang into the air, delivering a powerful flying kick to its head, sending it reeling away. The explosion was a muffled, booming splat that rained chunks of flesh and glowing goop on them.

  “You okay?” Reznik asked. He reached out and flicked a chunk of mutant flesh off her shoulder.

  Rin nodded. “Thanks. We’re even again.”

  He smiled. “Not quite yet—you saved me that first time and then came back for me when you could have saved yourself. We can check the tally later, though. We still have a ways to go until we’re out of here.”

  Reznik approached the nearest pen. He called for the women to stand back and kicked it in, splintering the crudely constructed gate.

  A half-dozen women peered blindly into the darkness. Rin switched her optical augs back to the visible light spectrum. Reznik must have as well, for he pulled a flashlight from his pocket and shone it around the pen. The women ranged from late teenagers to middle-aged and looked dirty and malnourished. They all had swollen bellies, and Rin realized they were all heavily pregnant.

  “Did my uncle send you?” asked the young woman who had spoken before.

  “Your uncle?” Reznik looked confused. “We came from Planter’s Ridge. They told us what happened, and we came to get you out of here. I need to make sure Anna and Abby are with you.”

  “Oh. You look like the types he would send.” The young woman looked vaguely disappointed. “I’m Abby,” she said. The question about her uncle made sense now. She was the niece of the rebel leader.

  “I’m Reznik, and this is Rin. Are there more of you? We really need to get you out of here right now.”

  “Over here,” a woman called from the other side of a rock outcropping.

  Rin went and checked the other pens. Eight more women were in the next pen down. A single woman was in a pen across from the others. The rest of the pens were empty except for the hogs. Rin quickly released the others. She noticed the woman by herself was the only one not visibly pregnant. Singled out because she’s barren.

  “I count fifteen,” Reznik said. “Weren’t there sixteen that were kidnapped?”

  The women looked grim. “She didn’t make it,” Abby spoke up. “She couldn’t get pregnant, so they ate her.” She shuddered. “Yeah, it hasn’t been a very pleasant experience, so we’re ready when you are.”

  ***

  “Come on, ladies. We have to keep moving,” Reznik said urgently. The sound of outraged howls echoed from the cavern they had just left. He grabbed the arm of one of the women and helped her over some broken boulders. Rin took point, and he brought up the rear, glancing over his shoulder every couple seconds as he expected serrated claws to suddenly rip into his back.

  The women stayed fairly calm and moved pretty well considering their advanced stage of pregnancies. Anna, being the lone non-pregnant woman, helped usher them along. Abby trailed Rin by a couple paces and carried the flashlight, shining it around so the others could see.

  The pistol grip of the tactical shotgun felt comforting in Reznik’s hand. He had recovered it as they were hustling the women out of the room. He had the presence of mind to pull the half-full magazine from the ruined AK-47 as well. The Tachibana was slung across his back again.

  They passed through the room with the glowing pool without incident. Reznik consulted his HUD map so he could retrace their progress and saw that Rin must be doing the same, for she was already starting up the narrow passageway they had entered by.

  The group moved up the narrow cave and onto the ledge beside the stream. Reznik remained back to cover their retreat at the mouth of the passageway. Growls and the scrabbling sounds of claws on stone resounded in the tight passageway as the mutants pursued them. The cool weight of the remaining grenade was comforting in his hand as he withdrew it from his cargo pocket.

  “Are they back there?” Anna asked softly behind him. She peered into the glowing cavern.

  “Hey, you better keep up with the others. It’s dangerous,” he gently scolded.

  “I’ve been in danger for over a week now, just so you know. I can help you. I’m in better condition than the rest of them right now,” she said. “Plus, I’m a pretty good shot.”

  “We’re good for now,” he said, trying to suppress a smile. He liked the woman’s feisty attitude.

  The mutants chose that moment to race into the cavern. The four creatures quickly spotted the two of them and charged. Anna turned and fled into the narrow passage, Reznik right behind her. He made his way up the passageway a few yards and popped the pin free of the grenade. He waited until the first mutant approached, and he tossed the grenade down into the cavern. Then he turned and shielded Anna with his body. “Grenade! Cover your ears,” he yelled to the
group ahead.

  Clink clink clink… kaboom! The cavern shook from the blast, and pebbles rained down from the ceiling. Reznik listened for a moment after the explosion. Other than a wretched howl of pain from the cavern below, everything was still. He continued to urge the women along, and they made haste up the passage toward the surface and, hopefully, safety.

  Chapter 20

  Rin gunned the engine, and rocks shot out from the big tires as the truck scrabbled for traction. It managed to get enough grip and took off with a roar of the engine. Reznik had to grab the side to avoid toppling from the bed. The two women who couldn’t fit in the cab crouched against the bed’s bulkhead.

  Thoomthoomthoomthoom. The Ares 13 laid down cover fire, and the night lit up with its muzzle flashes. The first mutant to come out of the gully was torn into chunks of glowing goop by the 30mm rounds. The two behind it jumped up out of the gully and split in separate directions. The bot tracked the first one, heavy rounds carving up the ground and shattering chunks of rock. The mutant leaped into the air just as the autocannon’s rounds caught up with it. Its leg was blown clean off at the thigh, and the mutant spun around in the air before catching a couple more rounds in the torso. It hit the ground in several pieces.

  Reznik jumped on the .50 cal and grasped it by the handles. He depressed the trigger, trying to get a bead on the remaining mutant. The machine gun barked as it sent its rounds downrange. The mutant launched itself into the air, and Reznik’s HUD highlighted its trajectory. When it came down to the ground near the truck, a stream of bullets was waiting for it. The creature was riddled with bullets and cut down into a green pulp.

  The truck began bucking around badly as it picked up speed, and Reznik had to hold on to avoid being tossed out. The Ares 13 was retreating from its position, but its cannons remained aimed at the gully.

  More mutants came boiling out of the ravine. Reznik held down the trigger and concentrated on the group at the same time as the Ares 13 unloaded. A green mist formed as the first few creatures were shredded by the heavy-caliber rounds. The mutants farther back wised up and spread out: three of them went for the robot, and four others came after the truck.

  Tracers flared in the night as Reznik fired, but the wild bouncing of the truck prevented him from getting much accuracy. The sheer volume of bullets allowed him to cut one of them down and shred another’s legs, but the other two accelerated. With a great leap, one of the mutants cleared his stream of bullets and came down right at him. He lost sight of the other one as he ducked from the first mutant’s slashing claws.

  The truck lurched from the weight of the mutant as it landed in the bed. Reznik kicked at its knee. He heard a crack, and it bellowed in pain. It swiped its arm and knocked the .50 cal to the side then stabbed down at Reznik with its claw. Reznik scooted back until he bumped into one of the wailing women huddling against the bulkhead. The mutant’s claw tore a gash in the truck’s bed where Reznik’s groin had been a split second before.

  Reznik yanked the .45 revolver from its holster and fired, unloading all six hollow points into the mutant’s chest. It staggered backward, blood oozing from the tight shot group in the center of its chest. The truck hit another bump and it teetered against the edge of the truck bed.

  “Get the hell off my truck!” Reznik lunged to his feet and grabbed onto the post holding the .50 cal. He let his momentum swing him around and delivered a powerful kick to the mutant’s midsection, launching it off the back of the truck. It tumbled away on the rocky ground as the truck sped away.

  It was only when he looked forward that he noticed the roof had been peeled back like a sardine can.

  ***

  Rin wrestled with the steering wheel as the truck bucked wildly over the broken ground. The women were packed tightly in the cab, several of them whimpering in fear. She heard the booming of the .50 cal machine gun as Reznik fired from the rear of the truck. The night was illuminated behind them by tracers and muzzle flashes.

  Suddenly, a loud crash cut through the peripheral noise. The roof caved in above them about a foot. One of the women screamed. A foot-long claw carved through the roof of the truck as if it was paper. A woman screamed in pain as the mutant’s serrated claw hooked into her shoulder. She was yanked out of her seat and slammed against the roof of the truck, the serrated edges hooking the woman’s collar bone. She screamed and drummed her fists against the roof as the others tried to help her. With a savage yank, the mutant pulled its claw free. Rin could hear the rasp against the bone as it came out. The woman fell back limply, fortunate enough to have passed out from the pain.

  On instinct, Rin quickly leaned sideways just as the mutant punched through the roof above her. The claw snagged her hair and opened a cut on her scalp.

  “Someone hold the wheel,” she shouted as she twisted, realizing too late there wasn’t enough space to clear the scabbard with her katana. She half stood to give herself more space.

  “I’ve got it,” Abby called out, leaning over and holding the wheel.

  The claws rent the roof as the monster tore open a large gash. It punched down with its other claw and the women in the back seat cowered even lower. It gripped the metal and tore back the roof panel in a ragged strip. Its eyes glowed balefully in the darkness as it prepared to strike again.

  Rin stood on the bench seat and lunged upward. Her nanocarbon blade slid free of her forearm, and she drove it up into the thigh of the monster where it knelt on the roof. It howled and scrambled away to the rear of the roof, dribbling green blood on the women inside the cab.

  Finally, with her head and shoulders above the roof, Rin had enough room to draw and pulled the katana. The creature lunged at the same moment. Moonlight glinted on the alloy blade as she ducked back down into the cab and made an overhead slash. Sparks flew as the creature’s claws glanced off the blade. Her slash wouldn’t have had much force behind it, but the mutant’s momentum carried it right into her blade, which slashed its belly open.

  The mutant screeched in pain and flopped forward onto the hood. Glowing blood smeared the windshield, and its claws punched through the sheet metal as it fought to hold on.

  Rin dropped back into the cab and gripped the wheel again. She stomped on the brake, and the creature flew off the hood. Sparks flew from its claws as they dug into the engine compartment, scrabbling for purchase before the mutant disappeared over the front of the hood. The truck bounced as the knobby tires ran it over. The electrical systems abruptly flickered and died, causing the truck to lose power and begin coasting silently to a stop.

  “We might be in trouble here,” Rin said quietly. The women’s faces around her were petrified with fright.

  ***

  “I think they’re going to make it,” Marcus said aloud as he watched the video from the drone feed. He was back at Outpost Echo, alone in the control room, their package secured in a room deep underground.

  Marcus watched the heat signatures of a dozen mutants race out of the cavern as Reznik and Rin took off in the truck with the women. Reznik and the robot cut down several before the truck began pulling away from the rest.

  The robot brought another one down before the remaining two jumped on it and knocked it to the ground. The mutants dug their claws in behind the armored carapace and destroyed the robot’s electronics. After a moment, those two rejoined the other two in pursuit of the truck, but it was much too fast for them to catch.

  He was impressed by the creatures’ single-mindedness in pursuing the truck even though at this point it was a quarter mile away and gaining.

  Marcus watched as Reznik and crew fought off the two that managed to catch the truck, but then the vehicle slowed and came to a stop.

  “Oh no, why are you stopping?” he yelled at the image from the drone. “You were almost clear—get out of there!” Then he saw the vehicle’s lights had gone out and realized the truck had been disabled. He could only watch as the four mutants’ heat signatures closed the distance. They would be on Reznik’s g
roup in just a few minutes.

  ***

  Reznik slammed against the bulkhead as the truck suddenly braked hard. The two women in the back looked afraid but didn’t say anything.

  The truck bounced as it ran over something, and then the electrical system died. The engine cut out, and then they coasted to a stop.

  Reznik poked his head inside the cab through the back window. “What happened?” He made a quick survey and saw one of the women was injured, bleeding from a large wound in her shoulder. Anna was holding a piece of cloth to the wound to try to stop the bleeding.

  “That mutant took out the electrical system would be my guess,” Rin replied. Her hair was matted with blood, and her gore-covered katana rested across her lap. “The truck is dead.”

  “We better prepare to make a stand in case any more are in pursuit,” Reznik said. “It’s going to be much too far to walk out of here with a group of heavily pregnant women.” He opened the lockbox in the back and inventoried what weapons he had left.

  ***

  “There’s one just to your ten o’clock,” Anna said softly. Reznik had bent the roof back down, and Anna lay prone on top of the cab. She peered through the Tachibana’s scope, acting as a spotter for Reznik. They had been sitting still for about ten minutes, preparing their defense.

  Reznik slowly swiveled the .50 cal, zooming in his vision on the outcropping of rock Anna indicated. At first, he couldn’t see anything, but after a moment, a dark shape moved behind a boulder. Luminous green eyes flashed in the darkness.

  “Is that the only one?”

  “So far, that’s all I can see.”

  “Rin, anything on that side?”

  “Negative,” came her reply. Rin stood outside the driver’s side of the truck, keeping watch to the front in case the mutants tried to surround them. The two women that had been in the bed had squeezed into the cab with the others. The truck offered some limited protection, at least. Reznik didn’t like his tactical options much, but defending the truck seemed a smarter move for now than trying to defend the group if they took off on foot.