Subject Nightingale 1: Birth and Death (5 page)

“What's that?” Nightingale asked.

“
Compassion,” she answered. “Tommy is a very smart man, and a very capable soldier... But without compassion, all you have is a ruthless killing machine...”

Back at the map, Jonny and Theo were wrapping up their escape plan.

“With Tommy being in play as a wild card, it's difficult knowing how we'll have to adjust as we go,” Jonny explained.

“
So basically, our plan boils down to walking right out the front door?” Theo asked.

Jonny just shrugged. “I told you it was gonna turn out to be a crappy plan. But it's the best we've got for now, so let's get moving. Check out the weapon lockers, grab anything that was left behind.”

As Theo took to smashing the locks off the black steel lockers with the butt of his shotgun, Jonny tugged the combat knife out of the sheath attached to his shoulder and stabbed the map. He grabbed the map with one hand and the knife in the other, and tore it in two. Its blue light faded along with the positions of the ECHO squads, including their own.

“
We're officially dark,” Jonny announced.

“
A name can be a very important thing,” Michaela said to Nightingale. “What is yours?”

“
It's Nightingale,” she answered.

Michaela's gaze suddenly turned sympathetic, and she shook her head slowly. “No, child... 'Nightingale' is just a codename that the Lab assigned you... You do not know your real name?”

Nightingale frowned, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “N-no, I thought that...it was Nightingale... It's what everyone was calling me, isn't it? Why's everyone calling me something that's not my name?”

“
Doctor Metzger was using you for an experiment. It is likely he names all his experiments for his own record keeping.” Michaela's naturally blunt and honest personality shone through, but Nightingale seemed to appreciate the straight answers.

“
What was he doing to me?” Nightingale asked. She saw a glimmer of hope that Michaela, or another member of Glitch squad, may know something about her.

“
We do not know exactly what he was trying to accomplish... I am sorry. The file containing your information is very limited.”

“
Did it say where I came from? If we do get out of here, I don't even know where I'd go...”

“
I am sorry, but no... You do not remember where your home is?”

Nightingale shook her head. “I don't remember anything before waking up here... Not even my own name, apparently.”

“Well...” Michaela paused for a moment to think. “If you wish to be called Nightingale... Then I think it is a very pretty name, and it suits you very well.”

Nightingale suddenly smiled and looked up at Michaela. The bird on her shoulder chirped happily. “Really? You think so?”

“Yes, child, it is perfect.” Michaela smiled back and touched the top of Nightingale's head.

“
We're moving out,” Jonny said as he approached the two, cocking his rifle.

“
What is the plan?” Michaela asked as she stepped away from the console and jerked her rifle's hammer back.

“
Oh, it's a real winner,” Theo chimed in as he walked over. “We'll be outta here in ten minutes flat.” He tossed Michaela two hand grenades, and handed Jonny two as well. “Flash bangs and frag grenades all around. It's all that was left.”

Jonny pocketed the grenades as he explained their plan. “In about two minutes, we'll have the east stairwell to ourselves for three minutes. If we can get to floor fifteen before that time is up, we can head over to the west stairwell. From there, we'll have five minutes to get to the ground floor. Then it's just through the lobby—right out the front door, and we're home free.”

“Our plan is to walk right through the center of base camp?” Michaela asked. Once the ground level had been cleared, the lobby was turned into a base camp—a secure area with additional armaments and support should the ECHO squads require it.

Theo extended his crowbar and began prying the door open.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jonny said, “it's pretty crappy, I know. But it's the best chance we've got—as cliché as it sounds, they won't be expecting us to just head through the lobby. But be prepared for Tommy's monkey wrench, too.” He looked at Nightingale, then, and smiled. “How about you, are you and your bird gonna be okay?”

Nightingale looked up at Jonny a bit nervously, and panned her gaze to Michaela. Michaela smiled that warm and reassuring smile, and Nightingale nodded. “Roger!” she answered emphatically.

Chapter 5
Ten Minutes Flat
 

For the next few minutes, Jonny had everyone waiting at the door to the east stairwell. They were flattened against the wall on floor 25, listening for signs of movement, guns held at the ready in case Specter squad got curious and poked their heads through the wide-open, malfunctioning door.

“Right on schedule,” Theo commented quietly when they heard footsteps rushing down the stairwell. His shotgun was already cocked, so he waited against the wall to the door's right.

“
Be on your guard,” Jonny whispered, rifle raised and ready, and he stared down its sights from the door's left. “We don't know if the other squads have been tipped off about us yet.”

Michaela was behind Jonny, and Nightingale was behind her. She was getting used to standing against walls like this, huddled behind Michaela where she felt safe. She kept quiet, even holding her breath as the footsteps were soon right outside the door. The nightingale on her shoulder was just as silent and breathless, waiting for Specter squad to pass before daring to move a muscle.

Once they had passed she and the bird began to breathe again, and Nightingale let out a sigh of relief. “Are they gone?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“
Yes, child, we are clear,” Michaela answered.

Nightingale hardly relaxed, though. A few moments after the other ECHO squad had passed, Jonny motioned for everyone to file into the stairwell.

“We've only got a few minutes. Glitch squad, move out,” he said as he led the way.

Michaela and Nightingale went after him, and Theo walked backward through the door, keeping an eye on their rear until they were in the stairwell.

“Why are they going down to twenty-two?” Nightingale asked as she followed Michaela. Going from floor 30 to floor 22 seemed fairly random to her, so she was concerned that their patterns were difficult to predict.

“
Every ECHO squad is on a strict schedule,” Michaela replied. She knew Nightingale was only talking because she was so nervous, and she wanted to do what she could to help the poor girl relax. “We are each assigned a series of floors and a scheduled time. The schedules are organized in a way so every floor is cleared several times, and at evenly spaced intervals.”

“
So as long as we have the schedule, we know which floors are empty and when?”

“
That is correct—”

“
Lock it up, we got something,” Jonny said, and Michaela and Nightingale immediately silenced themselves.

They had passed floor 19 before Reverb squad showed up according to plan, and were now standing outside their target floor—floor 15. The door was wide open, though.

“It doesn't mean someone's in there,” Theo suggested, “it could just be busted like the others. Who knows how long it's been open like this.”

“
We need to assume there are hostiles in there,” Jonny said, looking at each member of his squad and Nightingale. “Stay focused, and stick close.”

Jonny turned to head through the door, but the bird began to chirp in Nightingale's ear. Her eyes shot open wide, and she grabbed one of the pouches on Michaela's belt to get her attention.

“Wait, my bird can go in first!” she said, suddenly quite proud of her idea.

“
Not now, child, we must remain focused,” Michaela answered. She didn't know why Nightingale thought sending her bird in first would help, but she didn't have time to ask.

“
No, I mean it!” She followed close as she explained, “I can...see through its eyes, or something... I've done it before!” Just like the rest of the building, the entire floor was in a deplorable state. Crumbling concrete, flickering lights, and blood-splattered walls lined their way as they trekked cautiously to the west stairwell.

“
Please, someone will hear us.” Her tone was a bit firmer, and Nightingale was becoming frustrated.

“
Can you take a look ahead for us?” she whispered to the nightingale, and the small bird fluttered right off her shoulder. Nightingale gasped and grabbed Michaela's pouch again, shutting her eyes and holding on tight as her vision clouded. It was a gentler transition than the last few times, and the pounding in her head wasn't as intense. After a few moments, she was seeing through the bird's eyes as clearly as she saw through her own.

“
That bird's gonna get us killed!” Theo muttered as he watched it fly ahead of the group.

“
Calm down, it's just a bird,” Jonny said.

It zipped around the corner, the speed turning Nightingale's stomach into a knotted mess as it weaved up and down between thick plumes of smoke. It followed signs for the west stairwell, taking the most direct route it could find.

“Little one, you are bleeding,” Michaela said, and Nightingale instinctively opened her eyes.

She caught a glimpse of Michaela and the rest of Glitch squad, hunkered down at a corner. Michaela grabbed either side of Nightingale's head and tilted her face up to keep her nose elevated. Her vision quickly turned back to the bird's, though, no matter how wide she opened her eyes.

“I'm fine,” Nightingale insisted, but her words were laced with the pain of her headache.

The bird turned another corner, but stopped in its tracks midair when it came to face to face with something Nightingale could only describe as a
monster
. She let out a frightened shriek, and her link with the bird broke.

“
There's something over there!” she shouted.

“
Keep your voice down!” Jonny shouted back. “Michaela, stop her bleeding, and then we're moving out—you've got thirty seconds.”

“
Roger,” Michaela confirmed, and removed a clean rag from her medical kit.

“
No, I'm fine,” Nightingale insisted, pushing Michaela's hands away. “There's something over there, I saw it! My bird saw it!”

“
Sheesh, kid,” Theo commented next, “what did they do to you up there? You're not thinking straight, you're seeing things.”

“
I'm not just seeing things, I'm not crazy!” The nightingale returned a moment later, chirping wildly as it landed on Nightingale's shoulder. It hopped close to her neck and once again took cover in her hair. “See, she's scared! She saw something!”

“
She?” Theo asked. “How do you know it's a girl?”

Nightingale's eyebrows scrunched together and she shook her head. “I don't know, I just...know! That's not the point! The point is she saw something, and so did I!” When Michaela tried to dab at the blood on her face again, Nightingale snatched the rag and began wiping it herself. “I'm not bleeding anymore!” She wiped off the blood and threw the rag onto the floor.

“Good, then we're moving out,” Jonny said.

Nightingale stomped her foot and threw her fists down at her sides, glaring up at Michaela. “Why won't you believe me!?”

A burst of intense pain surged through Michaela's head—a powerful migraine that only lasted for a few seconds—when Nightingale yelled at her. She grabbed her forehead and shut her eyes, and took a deep breath until it passed just as quickly. “We will look for ourselves, little one,” Michaela said, her tone as calm as ever. “But please, keep your voice down and stay close.”

“
Keep your eyes open,” Jonny said as he led them down the hallway, unknowingly taking the same path as the bird—he was just following the signs for the west stairwell, “there's no telling who heard that little temper tantrum.”

After a few minutes, they reached a corridor with the door for the west stairwell at the end. Nightingale's heart was pounding as she looked it over; she was sweating, absolutely horrified that the monster could be lurking somewhere nearby.

“It was right around here,” she whispered.

“
Just keep your eyes on the door,” Jonny replied. “We're almost there.”

“
Contact!” Theo shouted, and Jonny, Michaela, and Nightingale turned around in unison.

“
What the %$#@ is that thing!?” Jonny shouted at the abomination they were suddenly staring down.

At least eight feet tall and formerly human, its tan flesh was continuously dripping off its body in thick globs and splattering on the floor like wet clay. Those globs of flesh continued to move, now of their own volition rather than gravity's, and rejoined with the creature. All manners of objects stuck to the flesh, though, as they moved across the floor: debris, bullet casings, entire guns, and even body parts from the bodies scattered across the floor.

It walked slowly toward the group, one heavy step at a time. Its foot fell and splattered flesh, re-collected and assimilated the recently shed flesh and miscellaneous objects it picked up, and then its other foot fell. Each time it picked up a piece of a human it grew slightly larger, according to how big of a piece it absorbed; an arm grew its arms, a leg grew its legs, and a torso was added to the mess of flesh that made up its own torso.

Glitch squad and Nightingale backed toward the stairwell door as the creature staggered closer, all of them too taken aback to react for a few moments. Eventually Jonny snapped out of it and began barking orders.

“Theo, get the door open!” He sidestepped into an office to use it as cover. “Michaela, take Nightingale to cover and open fire! We need cover fire so Theo can get us outta here!”

Michaela grabbed Nightingale and ducked into an office opposite Jonny, and Theo extended his crowbar. He yelled as he jammed it into the stairwell's door, and put every ounce of strength into applying leverage.

“I told you there was a monster down here!” Nightingale yelled. “What is that thing!?”

“
I do not know,” Michaela answered, poking her head out the door to study it. Jonny leaned into the hallway just enough to open fire, spraying it with bullets. “A terrible and failed experiment, perhaps.”

“
An experiment!?” Nightingale shouted. “Is that gonna happen to me!? Am I gonna become like that thing!?”

“
No, child, just remain calm,” Michaela said.

“
Reloading!” Jonny announced, and Michaela immediately leaned into the hallway. She focused her sights on its torso and began emptying her clip, but the bullets had little to no effect. They tore straight through the mass of flesh and exited clean through the other side, but the holes were just filled with more flesh as it continued to slop off its body.

“
Reloading!” Michaela shouted and ducked back into the room.

“
Our bullets aren't doing $#!% to it! How's that door coming, Theo!?” Jonny shouted as he leaned back into the hallway and opened fire once again.

“
As well as the others went!” Theo shouted back, the door barely open six inches.

The creature reared its head back and let out a roar that could have rocked the entire building. A hail of bullets erupted from its body, pulling the triggers of all the guns it had absorbed at once, forcing Jonny and Michaela back into their offices.

“Get down!” Jonny warned Theo, and Theo ducked and covered just in time.

He landed flat on his belly and covered his head with his hands, and a swath of bullets struck the wall inches above him. As soon as the gunfire settled down he sprung to his feet and got back to work on the door. He retracted his crowbar and held it horizontally between the partially open door and its threshold, and gave it a quick shake to re-extend it. It became wedged in the door and acted like Jaws of Life, slowly prying the door open on its own.

“Couple more minutes!” Theo shouted once the process was automated. He spun on a heel and dropped to one knee, lifting his shotgun in both hands to join the largely one-sided firefight.

“
We don't have a couple minutes!” Jonny shouted. He was running low on ammo, and putting bullets into this
thing
wasn't getting them anywhere.

“
Flash bang out!” Michaela shouted, and pivoted around the office doorway to underhand toss a flash bang grenade at the creature—it was worth a shot. She turned back into the office and knelt, grabbing Nightingale's shoulders on her way down to pull her to the floor as well. “Close your eyes!” she shouted, and Nightingale did as instructed. Michaela covered Nightingale's ears and shut her own eyes as well.

The flash bang landed against the creature's chest and stuck, and slowly sunk into its torso as it was covered by more flesh.

Nightingale shouted when she felt Michaela's hands on her ears, the touch sending another surge of pain through her head. Images of the medic flashed through her mind. She was in a doctor's office and wearing a white lab coat, and there was a boy sitting on a metal table in front of her. She applied a Band-Aid to a scrape on the child's knee, and then helped him down.

“
There, all better,” she said. “But no more climbing! The slides are for sliding down, little one.”

“
Yes, Michaela!” the boy said as he ran out of the room. “Thank you, Michaela!”

Michaela smiled and chuckled, and walked over to a window. She sighed and folded her arms, and stared out at the dozen or so children playing in a playground.