Allegiance

TWENTY-TWO

The wind howled outside the abandoned factory. The toxic monsoon pounded the roof, and lightning cracked in all directions. Water dripped from a hole in the ceiling to form a growing puddle behind a metal desk.

Traveling now was too dangerous, and Michael had ordered his team to find shelter until it let up. Outside the dark room, Edgar and Alexander stood sentry on the mezzanine. The other divers used the time to check their gear and study their digital maps. According to Michael’s wrist monitor, Cricket was off the grid, which meant it had either perished at the hands of the Sirens or was simply too far out to get a signal.

He prayed it was the latter.

The robot had become like a friend, if such a thing was possible, and it had saved their lives at the sinkhole. Some quick thinking by Captain Mitchells and Timothy had also helped, but Michael feared it had meant the end for poor Cricket.

“We’re pretty close to the target,” Sofia said. She took a seat on an I-beam next to Michael. Arlo joined them. His hands were shaking. He shoved them in his pockets, but Michael already knew how scared the young diver was.

“Magnolia and her team are hunkering down, too,” Michael said. He punched his cracked wrist computer screen, bringing up their location. “Still three miles to our south.”

Sofia looked at the ceiling.

Michael couldn’t help feeling that they were wasting time, but going outside in the driving rain was an even greater risk than the lightning. Moving over to a shuttered window, he squatted down to look through a crack in the iron hatch that someone had installed after the war. The brass casings and the bullet holes in the walls led him to believe that people had used this place as a hiding spot centuries ago.

Michael wondered whether it had worked, and who or what the people were shooting at. Other humans? Monsters?

Defectors…

Michael felt his throat tighten at the memory of the last ambush. He had promised himself he wouldn’t dwell on the tragedy in Jamaica and instead use Trey’s death as motivation to save others. He wouldn’t let his friend die for nothing.

Moving to the side, Michael looked through a different crack. Water cascaded down the sloped street, riffling past the hulls of vehicles still parked outside. The rubber tires were gone, and the plastic components brittle and broken. All that remained were iron engine blocks, rusted body metal, and some glass.

Thunder boomed in the distance.

“Reminds me of my birth,” said Arlo.

He stepped up next to Michael. “Thunder sounds like a badass nickname, right? Well, it’s not.”

Michael let the kid talk—it would help with his nerves after he nearly ended up Siren food.

“Kids used to make fun of me when I was younger, but they didn’t know the story,” Arlo continued. “I was born during a storm, but I wasn’t breathing when I arrived in this dark world. My dad gave me mouth-to-mouth, and for nine minutes, Dr. Huff said, I didn’t breathe.”

Arlo clapped his hands together.

“Quiet!” Michael snapped.

“Sorry,” Arlo whispered. “I was trying to describe the thunder. When it clapped outside the airship, I gasped for air and saw my parents for the first time. That’s why they called me Thunder.”

“Cool story,” Sofia said. “I’m still pissed at you for clipping me on the dive.”

“I’m sorry,” Arlo said.

“Do something like that again, and you won’t be having any more fun with your lady friends, if you know what I mean.”

Arlo hesitated and then looked to Michael.

“I’m sorry to you too, Commander Everhart,” he said.

“You’re forgiven,” Michael said. “Just don’t go pulling any more stupid shit.”

“That’s a promise.”

“Commander,” said a new voice.

Michael looked to the open doorway, where Edgar stood with rifle cradled.

“We found something you might want to check out,” he said.

“Stay put,” Michael said to Sofia and Arlo.

After leaving the two new boots in the office, he took the stairwell down to the first floor. Alexander was waiting there and led them across the factory floor. They stopped at a door to a bathroom, and Edgar pushed it open.

“Found some sort of maze,” he said, shining his light inside.

Michael clicked on his beam and went into the bathroom. Broken tiles were strewn over the floor, and a row of sinks had collapsed. Cracked mirrors hung on the wall, their surfaces covered in gray-green moss.

He followed Alexander around a corner to the showers, and a hole in the center of the floor. The tile and concrete had been broken away, opening into an old sewer line.

“This is probably where the survivors fled to,” he said, bending down. They shined their lights down a narrow passage littered with glass bottles, cans, and galvanized buckets.

“Want to see where it goes?” Edgar asked.

Hearing voices behind them, they found Sofia and Arlo at the entrance to the bathroom.

“I thought I said stay put,” Michael said, trying to keep his voice low.

“I’m sorry, Commander,” Sofia said, “but that growling we heard back at the sinkhole—it’s back.”

“I heard it too,” Arlo said, clearly nervous. He shifted hands on his rifle. “Doesn’t sound like Sirens. I think this is something else. Something big.”

“Keep your voices low,” Michael said.

They all moved back out onto the factory floor. Rain leaked through the ceiling, collecting on old metal tables and dripping on the machinery. Michael stopped to listen.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, low growling came through the sound of dripping and trickling water.

He looked at the ceiling. It sounded as though it was coming from above.

Michael motioned for the divers to fan out. They shouldered their rifles and crossed the space in combat intervals.

Michael moved toward the side door they had used to enter the building. It was the only entry point they had found besides a window on the second floor. The other entrances were all sealed off with heavy beams and equipment by whoever had taken refuge here in the past.

A loud bang across the room made him flinch. Alexander had knocked the sheet-metal hood off an old piece of machinery, and the duct clattered onto the floor.

Gritting his teeth, Michael waited.

It wasn’t long before a piercing howl rose above the pecking of rain on the roof. A thud rang out from the roof, and Michael pointed his laser rifle at a large dent in the metal. The other divers did the same, backing slowly away.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the roof.

“What is it?” Arlo said, his voice cracking.

Michael put a finger at mouth level on his helmet.

Whatever was up there had enough weight to make a dent with every step.

Another thump sounded to the left, and Michael swung his rifle toward the brick wall. An impact on the other side dislodged several bricks. One popped out and skidded on the floor.

Michael pulled one hand away from the laser weapon and gave the hand signal to retreat to the bathroom. They all turned and made a run for it, but Edgar’s armor clipped a table on his way, knocking several empty cans to the floor.

A guttural howl answered, and Michael looked up as a piece of ceiling was pried back. Rain poured into the room, and lightning flashed overhead, silhouetting the beast looking down at them.

This was no Siren, but it did have some humanoid features, especially in the face. The knees snapped as the hulking creature bent down and looked into the factory. The thing was huge and covered with bony armor.

This was the same type of creature that killed Commander Rick Weaver at Hilltop Bastion. The monster the Cazadores called the demon king, or bone beast.

But this one seemed slightly different from the others. Barbed spheres protruded from the double-jointed kneecaps and elbows. The thick pectoral muscles under the exterior bones flashed orange with each beat of its heart.

Michael aimed his laser rifle at the chest, just left of center, where he hoped the heart was, and fired a bolt. The shot was perfect, an orange hole sizzling through exterior bone and muscle.

Roaring, the creature pawed at the floor, and when it pulled its hand away, Michael saw that the thick muscles and bony armor had stopped the bolt.

“Mother of God,” he whispered.

The wall to Michael’s left collapsed, and the monster’s twin stormed through the explosion of bricks and dust.

“Open fire!” Michael shouted.

Laser bolts lanced into both creatures.

Michael ducked to avoid crossfire from Arlo, who hadn’t pulled back from his scope to check his firing zone. Taking cover under a table, Michael crawled to the other side and then pushed himself up. He aimed his laser rifle at the beast looking down at them, but it jumped down at the same moment, landing on a table across the room and crushing it under its weight. The monster brought up black-taloned hands to shield its eyes from the flurry of rounds chipping away at its bony armor.

The creature on the left lumbered into the space, tossing a steel worktable aside as if it were balsa wood. Sofia rolled away before it could hit her. She came up on one knee and fired a blast into the creature’s face, destroying an eyeball.

That seemed to enrage it even more.

Reaching over its shoulder, it pulled out a sharp-ended bone nearly two feet long and hurled it at her. She rolled again and took cover while Michael fired bolts at the humanoid face, trying for the other eyeball.

A laser punched through the armored biceps, and blood sloshed out. The creature staggered, gripping the injury with its other hand. It looked his way, and as the black maw opened to let out a roar, Michael fired a bolt.

The laser went through its mouth and out the back of its head, slinging hunks of bone and gore onto the wall. The beast slumped over, crashing against another table and onto the floor.

The divers turned their attention to the remaining creature, which had pulled several of the bony darts from its back. One after another, the spears whistled through the air.

Michael shot a rapid-fire stream of laser bolts, which tunneled through the thick chest armor on the right side, punching out the other side. The creature fell to the floor but pushed itself back up.

A roar nearly brought Michael to his knees. He needed just one lucky shot. The creature threw another bone arrow just as Michael fired a flurry of bolts into the center of its skull.

The weapon sizzled and locked up, overheated. But the lasers had burned through the monster’s bony face, melting away the hideous features. It slashed at the air before finally falling backward onto its double-jointed knees, then rolled facedown on the floor.

The entire building trembled from the impact.

Michael let the smoking rifle hang from its strap and pulled out the pistol X had given him. Heart thumping, he waited and listened. For the moment, it seemed, they had avoided death.

But then he heard a new sound over the patter of rain and the booming thunder. Many feet pounded the ground outside, sounding like a stampede of wild animals.

“What in the wastes is that?” Arlo said.

“Get to the bathroom,” Michael said. He turned with the kid to find Sofia and Edgar at the back of the room, kneeling over Alexander.

Michael ran over as fast as he could, hoping the wound wasn’t as bad as it looked. It was worse. The diver had taken a bone dart right through his stomach armor.

The pounding feet grew louder, shaking the floor.

Michael knelt beside Alexander, ignoring the sounds. The injured diver writhed in pain as Sofia rummaged through her med pack.

“We pull it out, patch the wound, and then patch the armor,” Michael said. “Come help us hold him.”

Edgar moved over, but Arlo stood staring in the other direction, trembling.

“We’ll pull it out on three, okay?” Michael said.

Alexander nodded.

“One…” Michael pulled the shaft on two, and out it came. Alexander let out a long scream and then clamped his jaw shut.

As Sofia went to work on the bleeding wound, Michael gripped Alexander’s hand.

“Hold on, man,” he said. “We’re going to get you out of here.”

Edgar rejoined Arlo to provide cover. They aimed their rifles at the gap in the brick wall, and the hole in the ceiling left by the bone beasts. Rain sluiced in through the opening in the roof, pooling across the floor.

“Those things are almost here,” Arlo said. He took a step back, his rifle shaking in his hands.

Choking noises pulled Michael’s gaze back to Alexander.

Sofia worked faster, but the blood was everywhere.

“Commander…” Alexander coughed and then said, “Tell Eevi she is my rock and I will always love her.”

He let go of Michael’s arm and reached toward his vest, pulling up the leather flap to expose his battery unit.

“Get out of here,” he grunted. “I’ll hold them back while I can, and then I’ll blow my battery unit.”

Michael looked over his shoulder. The entire building seemed to shake from the approaching beasts. It sounded like an entire herd.

Alexander choked, and Sofia continued to work.

“I can save you,” she said. “Just hold on.”

“There’s no more time,” Alexander said, trying to sit up. He choked again and broke into a deep cough.

“Please,” Sofia begged.

Alexander grabbed Michael’s hand. “Save the rest of them, Commander.”

“I will,” Michael said. “I’ll tell Eevi what you did.”

Alexander nodded again.

Sofia finished taping a blood-soaked bandage, sobbing. Edgar helped Michael drag Alexander to a wall, and Arlo handed Alexander his dropped rifle.

“It’s been an honor diving with you,” Edgar said, squeezing Alexander’s hand.

“I’m so sorry,” Sofia said.

“Sorry, man,” Arlo said. “You’re my definition of bravery.”

Michael led the divers back to the bathroom, leaving Alexander to face the beasts alone. He hated doing it, but it was either leave now, or they all would die.

A roar sounded as soon as they entered the room. Dust sifted down from the ceiling. Arlo, Sofia, and Edgar made their way around the corner, but Michael hesitated.

Gunfire cracked on the open factory floor, echoing over the first screech. Seemingly all at once, a dozen roars came from outside and above the structure. More thuds on the rooftop.

The divers ducked into the sewer tunnel, but Michael backtracked around the corner, keeping his laser rifle up to cover them.

The gunfire echoed in the other room, then went silent. He finally turned and climbed down into the narrow passage.

The divers moved in a crouch, their helmets scratching against the low ceiling. Michael turned and aimed his laser rifle at the entrance they had left behind. Destroying it would seal that side, so if they didn’t find a way out, they were trapped.

He didn’t get the chance to decide.

A thunderous boom came from inside the factory, bringing part of the bathroom ceiling down on the floor and crushing the tunnel entrance.

Michael flicked on his night-vision goggles and looked at his HUD. One of the beacons was offline.

Team Raptor was down to four members.

It was almost 2 a.m., but Rhino couldn’t sleep. Apparently, neither could King Xavier. They stood at the southern rail on the capitol tower, looking out over the rigs. Unlike on the boat ride earlier, Miles didn’t seem to have any trouble dozing off now.

He lay at their feet, snoring loudly.

Rhino tried to keep his mind off Sofia. She was risking her life in the wastes to find people just like herself and Rhino—survivors trying to scrape out a living belowground.

He should have been by her side, but he wasn’t. He was here on the Vanguard Islands, and now it was time to fight for their future so that when she returned home, she wouldn’t have to live in fear of another war.

X broke the silence.

“I really don’t know about this plan,” he said. “You’re sure you can trust these men?”

“Mac will never betray me, and Felipe has sworn his loyalty.”

“And Isaiah?”

“As long as he gets paid, we don’t have to worry,” Rhino said with all the confidence he could project.

“I’ve got a lot of other things than this to worry about, Rhino. We can’t afford to make any mistakes.”

“And we won’t, sir. Mac will arrange everything at the trading post. They are his stomping grounds. No one on the islands is better for this mission.”

“All right, General.” X drew in a breath of cool morning air. “Much as I don’t want to, I’d better tell Lieutenant Sloan of the plan now that it’s set. I can’t keep this from her.”

He pulled out his radio, and a few minutes later, Sloan came jogging around the rooftop’s plot of tropical forest. Rubbing her eyes, she joined them on the platform.

“Sir, you called for me?” she said.

X nodded. “We need to chat.”

Militia soldiers, some of them smoking cigarettes, patrolled the rooftop.

“Assassinate Colonel Vargas?” Sloan gasped. “Are you out of your tiny frigging mind … uh, sir?” Her lazy eye wandered toward Rhino. “This is your idea, isn’t it?”

He started to reply, but Sloan was rolling. “If you want to get yourself killed, be my guest. But my duty is to serve King Xavier and to prevent the bloodshed of innocent sky people. Not to mention protect humanity. One wrong move could spark a—”

“Lieutenant,” X interrupted.

Sloan looked at him but kept talking. “I will have no part of this, and the militia will have no part of this. If Cazadores want to kill each other, who am I to get in their way? But if X is caught killing Vargas at this point, it could start an all-out war.”

“Lieutenant,” X growled.

She finally clamped her mouth shut.

“The militia is sitting this out,” X said. “And I’m moving forward with the assassination to prevent a war. If something happens to General Santiago out there, Colonel Vargas and his allies are coming after Rhino and me.”

“By killing him, we end the threat first,” Rhino said.

Miles wagged his tail, as if he were all for it.

Sloan shook her head. “This still sounds crazy to me.”

X gave her a sly grin. “Crazy kept me alive in the wastes, and it’s going to keep our people alive. You just have to trust me.”

She took a moment to answer. “Well, shit, maybe I should help, because I sure as hell don’t think you and three other soldiers are going to take down Colonel Vargas and his Praetorian Guard, even if you catch him with his pants down, so to speak.”

“No, you are right about not involving the militia,” X said firmly. “This needs to seem like it was all Cazadores, settling their differences.”

“You should have killed him when you had the chance.” Sloan growled the words, sounding enough like an animal to draw Miles’s attention.

“Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, as they used to say,” X said. “But I don’t regret my decision. I did it to keep the peace. Now things have changed.”

Sloan sighed.

“You just worry about security,” X said. “Make sure the oil tanker, the Hive, and this rig are protected at all costs. If something goes wrong or if Horn shows up or if the defectors come…”

The threats facing them might have daunted someone else, but Rhino had lived his entire life with death knocking at the hatch. He was less fearful now than when he had served under el Pulpo.

“You keep our security tight, no mistakes,” X said. “That’s your job, Lieutenant.”

“Don’t worry, sir. Nothing’s getting through.”

“No tuna out of the net, Lieutenant,” Rhino added. He normally didn’t joke, but the woman needed to take the edge off.

To his surprise, she one-upped him.

“I believe the term is, ‘security’s as tight as a turd cutter,’” she said.

With a nod and a snort, she walked off to the command center with her orders.

“I really think you’re starting to grow on her,” X said.

Rhino laughed again, deeper this time. He admired the sparkling band of the Milky Way and thought of his love. Discovery was somewhere out there, under the stars.

“I hope they are doing okay,” he said.

“The crew and divers are all experienced,” X said. “If there are people out there, my team will find them and bring them home. And if they encounter the defectors, Team Raptor will destroy them.”

He bent down next to Miles. The dog had gone back to sleep now that Sloan was gone.

“Come on, boy,” he said. “Time to go back to bed.”

The dog looked up and let out a whimper as X helped him to his feet. The hybrid animal was old, and Rhino feared it was nearing the end of its life.

Miles suddenly barked and growled.

Flashlight beams were flitting through the fence of tropical trees. Multiple voices called out in the night. Rhino grabbed his spear from where it leaned against the rail, and X unslung his new weapon.

Militia soldiers came running out onto the platform, machine guns cradled. Sloan was right behind them, running with a radio in one hand, her helmet in the other.

“What now?” X muttered.

“Sir,” Sloan said.

“What’s up?” X called out.

“A boat’s been discovered drifting through the border,” she said.

Sergeant Wynn joined her at the platform, and the other guards, including Ton and Victor, spread out. Rhino turned to see the machine-gun turrets and the thirty-millimeter cannons on the Hive already swinging around to the east as word spread over the comms.

“Is it the skinwalkers?” Rhino asked.

“I don’t know,” Sloan said. “It’s just a skiff, but it could be a trap, sent in by Horn to distract us.”

“Skiff?” Rhino asked.

“Yes,” said Wynn. “On the side, it says ‘Leon,’ whoever that is.”

Rhino’s grip tightened on the spear shaft. “Who found the boat?”

“Rhino, what’s it mean?” X said.

“Who found it, and are there survivors?” Rhino said to Sloan.

“A fishing boat that was trawling just off the border,” Sloan replied. “Two survivors, but they’re in bad shape.”

“Fuck a bone beast!” Rhino groaned.

“Either this is a well-orchestrated trick, or those men have been out on the water for a while,” Wynn said. “I’ve already dispatched two war boats to warn Mercury—figured we may need the help. Our people saw it heading out a few minutes ago.”

“God damn it, what’s ‘Leon’ mean?” X growled.

“Lay-own,” Rhino said, keeping his voice low. “Spanish for ‘lion,’ King Xavier. Those men aren’t skinwalkers from Horn’s crew. They are Cazadores who somehow escaped when Ada drowned the rest of the Lion’s crew.”