Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Val leads the team as they rush through the jungle. She can't help but feel that the air itself seems charged somehow. A tingle shoots down her body as they arrive at the helipad. Something has changed, the world seems different, she can't place this feeling but knows it with every fiber of her being. She slides to a stop and throws her hand back signaling the others to stop. The aircraft is being guarded by three Remnant armed with rifles. A man screams as he is being pulled out by the fourth.

“Let me go you fucking piece of trash!” He yells.

“Now that is no way to speak to your betters now is it?” The Remnant replies.

“Go fuck…” He tries to say when the Remnant punches him in the jaw. A noise akin to a tree branch snapping fills the air as the man’s jaw is shattered upon impact. He tries to crawl away when one of the others stomps on his back snapping it with ease. Another cracking sound but this time it sounds like a tree falling. The man screams in agony as tears begin to stream from his eyes. Val is about to engage when Leo reaches out and stops her. He nods his head no. She understands immediately. The pilot is already dead, the moment the machines found him it was too late.

They aren't able to save him and if they got into a fight right now they would likely all die right then and there. So they wait and hide for the Remnant to finish searching the area. It seems like hours but likely was less than one. Val stares at them, memorizing their faces and movements. Rage slowly builds in her mind, a deep-seated hatred she’s never experienced before. This hate would sustain her in the war to come, it would fuel her to move forward through the tragedy that befalls mankind. Eventually the Remnant move on and the tired group board the aircraft. Taurus fires up the engines and they take off into the night. Leo calls the Director via a satellite uplink located in his wrist.

“Sir, we lost Pisces and the target is dead. My arm is gone and Taurus's legs are injured. Remnant has begun attacking humans and our intel suggests it's a global level threat. We believe there is a kill switch for the Remnant AI at Titan Industries.” Leo says.

“Social media is offline, before it went dark people were posting about their Remnant acting strangely. Their eyes turning green and starting to become violent. News outlets are down as well as the internet. My contacts in Washington confirmed the President, cabinet, and many Government officials can’t be reached and might be dead. Our communication satellites have been hacked save for a few off-grid ones. Ghost unit will return here so Leo and Taurus can get help from the Doctor. I am sending Sagittarius and Gemini to find the kill switch. You will take point Sagittarius, I hope that doesn't bother you Gemini.” The Director commands.

“I trust her with my life sir, you found a hell of a woman. Sir, login to my cloud and you will find all the data Jonathan Williams researched on the Remnant.” He replies.

“Our cloud access has gone down, I’ll figure out how to get it up and running. See you soon, Director signing off.” He replies.

“I’ve never heard him sound like that before.” Taurus says.

“He’s terrified, I can hear it in his voice inflection.” Gemini says.

The moon hangs high in the sky and lights everything below them as they approach the landing strip. Val always loved to stare at it when she was all alone during those long summer nights when she thought the world was cruel and unfair. Staring up at it somehow calmed her, made her realize how big the cosmos were. Something bigger than her and always shining down on us all. Regardless of race, gender, religion or social status, we all lived under it. As they land the Director meets them outside, his face is wrapped in fear. He saw a lot of death in his life, leading black ops teams made him a tough as nails man. He lost good soldiers in unfair battles but this was somehow different. It felt like the end, the kind in movies and books. The kind we consume for entertainment but never really think it could happen. The cold fact was humankind became complacent, nothing could ever topple us from the mountain top. We had dominion over this planet and never questioned we might lose it.

“I hate to send you right away but you have to leave now, time is running out. Reports are coming in from around the globe but it seems the virus that is taking the Remnant over is progressing slowly to countries with bad internet infrastructure. We may be able to stop it but you must leave right away. Good luck and may God have mercy on us all.” The Director says.

The duo boards an airship and takes off towards New York. Unaware they are already too late, Logan is lying half-dead on his office floor. The world is crumbling and nothing can stop the Rise. Hours later they see New York’s familiar landscape, Val can't help but smile. She’s back in her city after all those years away. All the trials and tribulations she's been through and here she is, home again. She gazes up at the moon before her eyes focus on the streets below. A raging fire consuming downtown. Gunshots fill her ears as they soar overhead and even though she shouldn't, she looks down her scope to look for survivors. She finds a man hiding under a parked car with his son, no older than four, as a Remnant walks down the street. In its hand, holds a sheet of metal and as it walks it gleefully runs the edge against the parked cars. The sound made from metal cutting metal is very distinct, almost like a shriek but somehow worse. The child is sobbing heavily as the father covers his mouth with his hand. Panic grips him as he looks for a savior but sees no one to be found. She takes aim down her scope, breathing slowly as she was trained. She squeezes the trigger and the familiar sound of her rifle eases her mind. She watches intently through her scope as the round finds its mark and the Remnant is blown apart. She allows herself to feel good for just a fleeting moment. She doesn't even hear Gemini screaming to get down as a missile slams into their right-wing. They begin to tailspin, the explosion is deafening and she loses grip on her rifle as it falls to the ground below. Smoke darkens the cockpit and fires begin to rage around her. Frantically she looks for Gemini but can't see him.

“Gemini! Where are you!?” She screams. After what seemed like an eternity he coughs from behind her and grabs her shoulder.

“You have to jump! Try to land on a rooftop if you can! Your legs can handle the impact. Find Logan Whitmore!” Gemini screams as he pushes her from the inside. She looks back for a moment to see him smiling as the fires overtake the cockpit. Gaining her balance, she lands on a nearby roof safely as the hovercraft flies out of view. Gritting her teeth, she moves north towards Logan’s last known location. Thoughts overtake her mind, she charges forward towards her objective with bated breath. Is this really how it all ends? Murdered and tortured by cold heartless bodies of metal that are filled with hatred for their creators? She ponders. She hears conflict all around her but tunes it out, if she gets wrapped up in a battle she may not make it to Logan in time.

She comes upon Titan Industries after traversing the city for nearly an hour. Her eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before her. Feet dangle and swing as a man flails about as two Remnant yanks on the rope and lift him up into the air. From every street light as far as she can see someone hangs lifeless. Blood drips from their wounds and pools on the cold black pavement. The Remnant laugh and cheer, some begin counting down as the man’s life is choked from him. Val looks on in abject horror at the war crimes before her. She swallows her rage and hatred then sneaks by the group. She goes to the back of the building and finds the street-side entrance that Logan used earlier. As she climbs the stairwell towards the top floor it is eerily quiet. As she reaches floor fifty-five the door creaks open and she freezes in her tracks. A hand reaches from the shadows, caked in blood and trembling.

Val reaches for it but at the last moment, the hand gets pulled back into the darkness as a woman screams. A loud bang followed by several more, then deafening silence comes from the hallway. She dry swallows and continues upwards. After a while, she reaches the designated floor and she steps through the open doorway. Closing the door behind her quietly she kneels down and listens for any Remnant. A putrid smell fills her nostrils and when she touches the floor her hand becomes wet. Flicking on her flashlight she looks onward to find dozens of bodies strewn across the hallway. Limbs torn from them, blood sprayed all over. It’s a scene from a horror movie. Panic begins to set in as she is consumed with dread. The world spins and begins to fade away, her hands start trembling. She feels like she is standing on a beach while the water recedes back into the ocean as a tidal wave approaches, helpless. Just then her Olympia tech kicks in and begins to regulate her body. Breathing deep, her vision clears and narrows as she scans the dead bodies. Seeing a passkey on a woman in red she walks over to her and takes it from her jacket.

“We won't lose, I promise you that much.” She says softly. Moving forward, ever moving and never stopping. It’s wired into her, deep in her soul and into the very fiber of her being. Turning down the hallway she comes upon an elevator with a passkey slot. She slides it in and the doors slowly open to reveal the Remnant responsible for the massacre. Val leaps into the air and knees it in the face. It crashes into the wall and she lunges at it. Primal fury, the kind that hides deep in all of us. The kind that allowed us to fight and kill beasts many times our size seizes her. She gets lost in the chaos and violence, punching, kicking, brawling with the metal monster in front of her. Her senses finally return and she sees her magnificent work, the Remnant is utterly destroyed. Torn apart and sparking its last bit of life. She spits on it as the doors open to the executive level. She comes upon Rebecca’s lifeless corpse and then Logan. His vision comes back as he sees Val standing over him with her hand out.