Project Devilgama

Thirteen

They had seen several lines of metal tracks, buried in sand and dirt over some segments. They were intersecting with one another, coming out of the garages of the homes. Mhaz knew that all of them were no longer operating for the lack of power. And transporters cannot fleet and float without these tracks providing counterforce. He did not want them for this reason. Instead, he was in search of classic electric cars. Despite slowly turning obsolete, they were silent and versatile.

May and Hannev covered his back, whilst Mhaz led the way. His sight was set upon a broad one-story house with a front yard and dead, dry trees. Numerous pots contained soil that had turned solid rock and pale. No greens, almost colorless. Wandering around the walls and metal bars bordering the building, he eventually found a large metal sliding door divided into five folding sections. It was the garage. But fortunately, this was a different one – there was no track stemming off the doorway.

"Any way to open this thing?" May banged the door with his strong robotic limb, "Apology. It was too loud, wasn't it?"

They realized that opening this sturdy door would require something noisy. A boom, even. Mhaz was not a specialist in lock picking, but he had a better solution; his rail rifle. A long charge of the rifle would result in maximum power of the shot. It would be ready to shoot when phases of purple lights have lined up on the side of the barrel, from the muzzle to the back end.

Standing clear of the target, Mhaz aimed near the locking mechanism. He held the trigger, pressing on it. Purple lights began to fill the barrel, quickly. Then came the moment when a bullet unleashed from the gun at unprecedented velocity. Sparks and small shards of metal bloomed out of the receiving end.

He did not feel any pushback from the rifle, only vibrations that build up at the charge's end. Now a messy hole had been punctured on the metal, the digital lock disappeared in an instant.

"Come on, come on." Hannev recited the two words as he pushes open the busted door. The axles of the rusty wheels and the joints contacted with all the metals as it moves, a shrieking noise rising into the air. The quietness had been obliterated since then.

"I'll get into the house and find a key. You guys do the overwatch." May instructed. The four-wheeled vehicle was there; a sedan, blanketed in dust.

Mhaz gazed at the open street. But his mind was not in a watchful mode.

Mhaz could remember staging an underground movement together with his peers. A movement that fear-mongered the terror. He thought of human faiths as a series of corrupted fantasies – violence had been named after them. The ancient principle that had long plagued humankind. An obsoletion streaming through the cracks in modernity - it would grow and tear everything apart if left untreated.

Along the lines, he realized and accepted the truth that Dawkinians were as dirty as the Dogs.

But he knew one thing: blind beliefs bring fake calmness and fake stability in society. Rationale and logic were their calamities. He never wanted to be a part of stupidity in diversity. He wanted the thoughts that used to be kept in silence by the thinkers to go wild.

"We called us Dawkinians. We did education; campaigns; propaganda." Mhaz introduced, "I got several mates. We used to cover each other's backs. Henry, Bryan, Rohan, Darvin, et alliance. Praise be to them. Most of our deployments were anti-terror, but one day, we wanted something new."

"Anti-terror?" Hannev was hinting a little doubt, "I mean, the armed security wings have done all the work, haven't they?"

"The tendency comes from the minds, Hann. It is a thought warfare that you never physically see. You want to fight those minds to halt the corruption."

"You want to meet them again?" Hannev asked, "Your brother-in-arms."

"If only I can. I decommissioned and worked in a biotech company. Just a little bit of self-actualization and a reminder – that science was still in my grasp. It freed me. It fed me. It empowered me."

"Great. Back on the surface, you're the most wanted."

"How did you meet Maykal?"

"Long story."

"Make it short."

"Devilgama."

May exclaimed as he came back on a run, "Got the keys, peo-"

A sudden exploding sound emerged on the wall behind Hannev, combined with a burst of concrete debris. Then, another one. Two craters appeared on the wall. It was a close call for him. He yelled, "What the hell was that!? I didn't see a man on the street!"

May set the door-locks loose using the remote key. The three immediately realized that the Dogs were coming for the noise and quickly scrambled to enter the car. Projectiles were still pounding on the garage side walls when May started the engine. "Two bars left," he gasped. Now his feet stepped on the throttle, the car launched on a drive.

Wheels roll fast on the street, "Keep us in the right direction, Hannev. The GPS is off, so no more autopilot."

"Sucker. They brought us a helicopter!" Hannev screamed, "Behind us, Mhaz. Can you shoot it down!?"

"Let's have a shot together!"

He had gotten a quarter of his body out of the car window, the reticles on top of the barrel pinpoint at the pilot bay. Hannev came out of the other side of the vehicle, his rifle lifted toward the aerial vehicle. The barrel of Mhaz's rifle began to glow purple. "On you, Hann!"

The charge-up ended. Bullets struck the glass window of the cockpit, pulverizing the interior, and shot to the rotor engine. Black smoke blow out after a burst of metal sparks, then fire. The helicopter spun several times before collapsing to the ground, then everything burned in a fiery explosion. It ended quickly for the aerial vehicle.

"Hot damn! That's what I'm talking about." Mhaz exhilarated.

The car kept its pace. Hannev informed May that their rear was clear, and they opted to dust off the Dog-infested settlement. It wasn't for no reason - they assumed that by the end of the hour, a hundred men could have arrived here to search all buildings, inside the wardrobes, and under the beds. Then, they would have to drain both sweat, blood, and soul to fight them all so they chose to leave. The car followed the asphalt that cleft through the remnants of rice paddy, which had lost its natural tone.

Mhaz spoke to the driver, he had located the coordinates of the Maglev station along with the possible routes.

It has been an hour en route. Hannev gazed through the windshield, scanning the scenery. Mhaz had his eye shut.

"Hannev," May call, he handed the drive taken from Farad, "Put this on his lap."