Nano Z (8 page)

One of the meat puppets stayed back as the other four meat puppets advanced on Mack and Amber. In life the creature was a security guard. Its tattered beige uniform was covered in human and puppet blood. Both of its metallic eyes with glowing red irises stared at what it saw as dinner. Then its left arm started to jerk around wildly.

What the hell is it doing?
Mack kept retreating towards the far wall of the rodeo arena. That clearly angered, annoyed and disappointed the crowd, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was survival. But he was at a loss as to how they could survive. He kept Amber behind him as he back peddled.

I-23. You took them on without a weapon. Then again, you were in better shape. Fuck it. I don’t have much of a choice.

“Stay back. Stay alive,” said Mack before he walked forward to meet the meat puppets. If the bastards in the audience wanted a show, they were going to get a show.

Any illusions that Mack had about his ability to take on the meat puppets hand-to-hand dissipated when his fist met one of their faces. It was like hitting a brick wall. He felt the damage to his knuckles immediately.

Mack dodged meat puppets attempts to grab and claw at him. Even with their changes, the creatures still weren’t nimble or fast. With that said, all they had to do was surround him and he would be screwed.

What-the-fuck?
As he avoided the hands and metallic finger nails of the meat puppets, the actions of the monster in the security outfit caught Mack’s attention. The skin, muscle and fat that covered the creature’s arm split open and fell away.

Metal tendrils spilled out of what was previously the security uniform clad meat puppet’s right arm. They squirmed in the dirt before coming for Mack, with the locomotion of a nest of snakes.

Just when Mack and Amber were backed into a corner of the rodeo arena, with no escape, gunshots rang out. At first no one seemed to notice. Then came the first scream from the crowd. That was followed by a growing panic in the spectators that seemed to build
à
 
la
the domino effect.

The crowd at the pit started to break apart. Their savage nature was turned against them. People got trampled and stepped over. All that mattered was escape while the gunshots continued. Over their yells, Mack heard what sounded like a fire fight.

“This is our chance.” Mack got down on one knee. He cupped his hands and held them just low enough for Amber’s foot to reach.

Amber didn’t hesitate. There were five meat puppets coming for them. And one of them looked like a nightmare from a science fiction movie or an anime. It was all the motivation she needed.

Mack boosted Amber up. She grabbed the top of the wooden wall behind them and lifted herself onto it. With her diminished physical condition, it was difficult. The fear of being mauled by meat puppets lent her the necessary strength.

Once on top of the wall, in the lowest tier of seats in the rodeo arena, Amber reached down. She intended on helping Mack up. He knew that there was no way she could help lift up all of his two hundred plus pounds. So he jumped up and grabbed the top edge of the wall.

The meat puppets in the pit reached and shrieked for Mack and Amber. But they were out of the creatures’ reach. That didn’t mean they were safe. Someone was attacking the rodeo arena.

“Stay low,” ordered Mack as he crouched. He didn’t know where the gunshots were coming from or where the dangers were. All he could do is carefully lead Amber towards an exit.

In the concourses of the rodeo arena, complete and utter mayhem took root. Two of the hunters were in a gunfight with unseen combatants down the hall behind a popcorn stand. In between them were almost a dozen bodies. Mack couldn’t help but feel that those dead former crowd members deserved their fate.

Be smart about this.
Mack and Amber waited behind a corner in lieu of entering the concourse. They watched as the two groups of men exchanged fire.

A woman came running through one of the many doors in the concourse. She was drenched in blood and confused. Predictably she was cut down in the crossfire within seconds.

What was she running from?
It didn’t take long before Mack’s internally asked question was answered. A half a ton bear came running out of the door behind the brood drenched woman. Immediately it pounced on one of the hunters. After quickly tearing him to pieces, the bear moved on to the other hunter. Bullets tore apart the meat puppet monster’s skin and fur, revealing a small glimpse of the metal bone underneath.

Keep firing idiots, all the bullets in the world aren’t going to stop that thing. We need to wait for the right moment.
Mack motioned for Amber to stay quiet and hidden. He held his breathe as he peeked around the corner.

The meat puppet bear charged the two men behind the popcorn stand. Knowing that they were discovered, the men popped up and opened up on the monster coming at them. They were dressed in all black SWAT gear.

Them? Who the hell are these guys? They’re everywhere.
Mack kept watching the gruesome scene that was unraveling in the rodeo arena concourse. He didn’t do so out of some morbid curiosity. No, Mack was waiting for an opening.

The bear feasted on the two men in black. With the beast’s attention diverted, Mack decided to move. He took Amber’s hand and they hurried into the concourse while still crouching.

Screeches, screams and shrieks echoed throughout the concourse. They drowned out the sound of Mack and Amber navigating their way out. It was auditory cover.

“Shit!” Mack ducked. A bullet flew by just inches from his head. Even though the exit was within sight, he and Amber had to jump over the counter of a concession stand and hide. A whole squad of SWAT guys were coming down the concourse in their direction.

Mack and Amber hid as the sound of the squad of SWAT guys marched past. They were shooting anything that moved. So the two stayed quiet and prayed that they wouldn’t be found among the stale nachos and empty fountain soda taps.

The men in SWAT attire were organized. Mack could hear them using military lingo. And they stayed calm. In that short time, Mack knew that confronting them would be the death of him. So he and his teenage traveling companion didn’t move.

Once the SWAT squad passed the concession stand, they poked their heads up. The squad was engaging the meat puppet bear, leaving the path to the exit clear. Hanging above it was a red glowing sign that promised safety and sanctuary. They hopped the counter of the concession stand and took one last look at the ongoing battle down the hall just to make sure. Then they made for the exit.

Outside the rodeo arena was a slaughterhouse. The people who were in the crowd earlier were mostly dead. Those who survived tried to take cover behind cars, trees and light poles. It was in vain. A row of SWAT men kept mowing them down.

“We can’t go out there,” said Amber, pointing out the obvious.

“No, we can’t. At least not this way.” Mack didn’t know what to do. Then he remembered the basement. “C’mon, I think I know some place to hide.”

I can’t believe I’m back here again.
Mack looked around the rodeo arena basement. Other than Amber there were only a handful of people down there with him. After they freed a lot of the prisoners, they fled upstairs. Despite his attempts to convince them to stay, they left. None of them survived.

On their way back to the basement, Mack and Amber passed a room full of bags, clothes and other miscellaneous objects once owned by the hunters’ prisoners.  It was a huge pile of people’s memories and possessions. They were tossed aside like their owners’ lives. The adolescent spotted their bags. She grabbed them before they took shelter in the former prison cell.

“When can we get out of here?” asked Amber. She was sitting and leaning up against the same pipe Mack was previously bound to a couple of nights before. In her lap was her bag. Much to her relief the hunters didn’t bother looking inside. All of the meds she grabbed from her dad’s pharmacy back in Dallas were still there. So was the food she took from the gas station before they got caught.

Amber took out a bag of crackers. She was hungry and wanted to eat. But once she did, nausea overwhelmed her. The lack of food in her stomach was the only thing that stopped that from happening.

“I don’t know. When it’s quiet I guess,” answered Mack. He was referring to the constant screeches of meat puppets, gunfire and the cries of the few humans left alive.

Mack looked out at the others in the basement. There were only three of them. They were all in worst shape than himself. None of them knew what to do.

Did I make a mistake? Should we have taken our chances and left the arena? I thought I was being safe, but is this better? Who knows what these other prisoners are capable of?

***

No one in the basement knew how much time had passed. Amber silently counted the time between meat puppets screeches. It was the only clock she had. Sitting with just the silence was too much to bare. She needed to do something to keep her sanity.

“Two hours,” said Amber.

“Hm?”

“It’s been two hours since I last heard a puppet.”

Mack stretched his back. Amber could hear the cracking noise, like breaking a chicken bone. He yawned and wiped his eyes.

“You sure?”

“I’ve been counting.”

“Okay, let’s go.”
Ask them. Sure, they probably won’t make it. They can at least make for pretty decent distractions.
“Anyone else coming with us? Anyone else want to get the hell out of here?”

The group in the rodeo arena basement was motley. There was an older man, looked about seventy. In one corner stood a set of young adult twins, one a man, the other a woman. They were all that was left.

“We’re in,” said the female twin. She looked over to her brother. He looked a little angry but ended up nodding in agreement. “I’m…”

Mack interrupted the female twin. “Tell me your names once this is over and we’re far away from this godforsaken shithole.”

“Fair enough,” said the male twin.

“And you?” Mack turned to the older man.

“I’m staying,” answered the senior citizen.

“You sure?”

“Come with us,” urged Amber.

“They took her,” the older man had a faraway look in his eyes.

“Who?” asked Amber.

“My wife, Collette. They took her and she ain’t coming back. I’m gonna wait right here until she does.”

Poor bastard.
“She isn’t come back. I think you know that.” There was no time for comforting words and explanation. They needed to move. And they had to do so immediately. Another opportunity wasn’t guaranteed.

“I’m just gonna wait here.”

Have it your way old man. I don’t blame you.

Mack led the way upstairs. Amber was behind him. The twins took up the rear.

The door that led out of the basement slowly opened. It didn’t creak but made Mack wince as he opened it none the less. A light in the hallway above flickered. Even with that limited and sporadic lighting, he could see the streaks of blood on the wall and the suspicious lack of bodies.

Mack opened the basement door all the way. Then he proceeded to the blood covered hallway. Amber and the twins followed.

“This doesn’t look good,” observed the male twin. He was of course referring to the crime scene like nature of their surroundings. The others with him thought the same thing.

“If you see anything that you can use as a weapon, grab it. Chances are we’re going to have to fight our way out of here. Hopefully we won’t have to but better safe than dead.”

“Well there’s nothing here.” The female twin pointed out the obvious.

“I didn’t mean… just keep your eye open.”

The rodeo arena was a maze of hallways and concourses around a circular ring. Although they were out of the basement, the group of former prisoners were still in the bowels, under the concourses. Before getting out, getting safe, they had to find a way up.

Amber, Mack and the twins crept through the dark, careful not to make any loud or noticeable noises. They wanted to be fleeting shadows. Meat puppets and tactical extermination squads couldn’t kill shadows.

The group entered what looked to be the loading docks of the rodeo arena. It was so dark in there that they could hardly see the person in front of them, so they held hands and made a human chain.

I can’t see a damn thing. But I can’t hear anything either. I guess that’s a good sign.

“Doors,” whispered Amber. She pointed towards a set of sliding loading dock gates just ahead of the group. They were the metal kind that were opened and closed with a pull chain. A sliver of light from the outside shined out from underneath them.

“Stay here.” Mack left the group and headed towards the gates. He pressed his ear against the cold metal. There was no noise beyond it.

This is it. This is our way out. Question is how do I open it?
Mack tried to lift the loading dock gate. It barely budged. The rather loud noise trying to lift it echoed throughout the cavernous docks. He knew he couldn’t risk attempting it again.

“The chain,” whispered the male twin. Mack didn’t hear him. “The chain,” the second time he spoke a little louder.

Mack looked around. It didn’t take long before he saw the pull chain for the gate. Before even touching it he weighed the pros and cons.

There’s no way that this isn’t going to be loud. We haven’t seen any puppets or SWAT guys but that doesn’t mean they aren’t around. They’ll hear us down here and come running. And we’ll be utterly fucked.

Then again, if this gate does open, it'll probably lead outside. We can get out of here without even having to go to the concourses. Amber and I can slip away and find somewhere safe. If someplace safe still exists.

“Open it,” whispered the male twin.

“What are you waiting for?” asked the female twin. Amber kept quiet. The same thing that went through Mack’s head went through hers.

Here goes nothing.
Mack pulled on the pull chain. As he predicted, it was loud. The problem was that the chain wasn’t cooperating. Neither was the gate. Then something on the other side banged on the metal, hard. And Mack heard screeches, inside and out.

“Time to go,” said Mack, no longer concerned about the volume of his voice. He ran back to the group and convinced them to leave their cover.

A cacophony of meat puppet screeches echoed through the rodeo arena loading docks. They multiplied at a disturbing rate. Through the darkness, the group could see numerous pairs of glowing red eyes steadily getting closer.

All Mack could do was lead Amber and the twins towards the opposite side of the loading docks, away from the screeches. He hoped there was an escape from the docks in that direction. If not, they were very fucked.

Every step brought more fear for the group of former prisoners. At any moment they could be grabbed, or worse. Death was coming for them in the dark. And none of them knew the way out.

Thank you god. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Buddha. Thank you, whatever scientologists believe in.
Mack had never felt relief like he did when he saw the sign on a door ahead that read “Stairs”.

Mack didn’t even bother with the door handle. Without breaking his stride, he slammed into the door with his shoulder leading the way. It broke the hinges and opened the path for the rest of the group.

“Go! Go! Go!” Mack stood at the doorway and made sure everyone got through.

As the meat puppets came closer, Mack started to get idea of the numbers. According to his count there was at least twenty. With no weapons, he had to make sure that the monsters never reached his group.

Unable to close the door to the stairs due to completely ruined hinges, Mack decided to just follow his fellow survivors. After every couple of steps he looked behind and down to make sure the puppets weren’t following. They were slow, but still they followed.

“What are you guys doing?” asked Mack, perplexed. Amber and the twins were at the top of the stairwell. They weren’t moving.

“Shhh,” Amber was at the front of the group. She had to turn around to shush him.

“Why aren’t we moving?”

“Shhh,” both of the twins proceeded to shush Mack in unison.

Amber had the door out of the stairway slightly ajar. Through the crack she could see into the concourse. There were meat puppets everywhere. Some were once the redneck hunters who captured her and Mack, others were part of the pit crowd, and sprinkled in were a few SWAT guys.

Within her reach, Amber saw an assault rifle, extra clips and a pistol. The weapons were on one of the SWAT guys who was missing his head. Rather than contemplate how he lost it, she tried to calculate her chances if she went for him.

“We can’t stay here,” whispered Mack. He couldn’t help but keep looking down the stairs. The meat puppets from the rodeo arena loading docks were slowly making their way up them.

“Hold the door open for me,” Amber whispered her request to the female twin who was directly behind her.

“Okay?” The female twin held the door open. From her new vantage point she could see into the concourse. What she saw terrified her, but she kept her cool.

Amber crouched and grabbed the headless SWAT guy’s corpse by his Kevlar vest. She used what strength she had to drag him towards the stairwell. All that work make her grunt a little bit. That caught the attention of some of the meat puppets. Not wanting to waste any more time, she stopped dragging, leaving the body in the doorway.

Clever girl.
Mack saw Amber strip the SWAT guy’s gear. She threw him the vest and assault rifle, keeping the pistol for herself. The male twin got a baton. His sister got a taser gun.

“They’re coming,” said Amber as she watched more and more of the meat puppets in the concourse come towards her.

“Be careful. Make every bullet count. Move!” Mack held his gun at the ready, pointed at the puppets that came up the stairs.

Amber entered the concourse. She quickly scanned the area for any safe passages. In front of her were a dozen walking corpses. Behind her were six more. To her right, the stairway. To her left was daylight streaming through a tunnel. It led to the rodeo arena proper.

As tempted as she was, Amber didn’t let loose a single shot. Instead she led the group of former prisoners across the concourse and into the rodeo arena. They all made it without a scratch. Once in the main arena, Mack once again took lead.

The circular dirt “pit” area of the rodeo arena was filled with meat puppets. One of them was the bullet ridden bear. Mack knew they needed to get out of there before the beast saw them or they were dead meat, literally.

“What do we do now?” asked the female twin.

Good question.
Mack looked around. He saw where the stands/bleachers ended. That was their way out.

“We go up and over. Maybe we can climb down the side.”

There was no time to contemplate Mack’s plan. The whole group heard the roar of the bear from the pit. It saw them.

“Run!” yelled the male twin.

They hurried up the oversized concrete stairs that cut through the rows of bleachers. In the pit, the dead bear climbed up the walls and into the stands. It lumbered over the metal seats as it came after the only living beings in the area.

“You want us to climb down that?” The male twin looked over the edge at the top of the arena. It was about sixty feet down to the parking lot, which was also populated by puppets. But there were plenty of places on the outside walls that could serve as foot and hand holds.

“It’s better than the alternative. If you want to stay here and get eaten by that thing, by all means.” In Mack’s mind there was no doubt that they had to climb down. He’d seen what happened to those who tried to take down the bear puppet.

Something had changed in Amber since she reunited with Mack. It was if she had lost all fear. Her captivity had hardened the already tough teenage girl. Perhaps coming face-to-face with the worst life could offer killed off any remnants of childhood within her? She was first over the wall.