Dogfights

Dogfights - Fall (Chapter 13)

The sun crept above the city skyline as the Carriers came into view. The vehicles were immense beasts covered in thick metal plates, housing thirteen soldiers who sat shoulder to shoulder inside. The Carriers creaked and groaned as they crawled forward, emitting noxious gas that spilled upwards. A cool breeze ran throughout the streets, brushing across concrete and asphalt. The deep breath was being taken, a final moment before the plunge.

The Carriers descended upon predestined sections of the city blocs. Soldiers emerged from their metallic tombs and marched towards homes, their weapons poised and ready. Medics followed close by, clutching cases of medical equipment, their red eyes drifting, car-lights in the dark. A cavalcade of thinly veiled footsteps rushed across the dust but produced no sound. The sun peaked over the horizon, only to be blocked by the rain clouds now gaining momentum.

It was time. The soldiers descended upon the city's citizens like thieves in the night.

Simultaneously a hundred doors were smashed apart as the soldiers spilled into the homes of the common people. Some cried out in shock, others stared blankly forward, not knowing what to do. The soldiers pressed bodies down onto mattresses and dirty floorboards, their inauthentic muscles overpowering any who struggled. The medics followed, giving guidance when guidance was needed, urging the soldiers to be more careful. One slip and the host would die.

Needles were inserted into the necks of the unwilling. They became tired and weak, eventually falling to dreams. Children were confined into separate rooms. The more rebellious tried to fight back, only to met by pain as the soldiers delivered brutal blows without pause. The clock was running down and the operation had to begin on time. All would see the light of a new age, or be brought into the darkness.

The countdown came to an end. Those who did not receive the medicines were shot on sight. No one would be left behind.

The work began in blood. The soldiers began to hack off limbs with sawed edges in fervor. Blood splattered across walls and pieces of furniture. Meanwhile the medics raced outside to the carriers and retrieved augmented limbs. Flesh melded with plastic. The soldiers and the medics were calm as they performed their cold work. They had been preparing for this day for a generation.

An hour passed. With a sickening swiftness the soldiers used devilry unknown to the common man to pluck out an obscene number of eyes, replaced swiftly with yet another base and yet another augmentation. The soft splatter of blood was the only noise that could be heard for the soldiers were silent in their endeavours and the children were too confused and frightened to cry.

And then the soldiers slowly began to withdraw, taking the bodies of the deceased who had rejected the treatment. The blood was removed in a half-hearted attempt. As they left some of the soldiers lingered on, looking on at the soft blood stains and desecration. They were quickly prompted by their familiars. The nightmare rolled away, but the stink of death in the air was prominent. In the span of a few short hours the work was done. A new squad replaced the old one, a fresh batch of soldiers and medics who fanned out amongst the city, repeating the process with passion.

The endeavour would last one week. Upon awakening the people of the city would be changed, robotic like their overlords, bastards in the eyes of nature. Some would revel in their good fortune, seeing it as a sign that they had been freed of their slave-like bondage. Some would walk into the dark sunlight and die, their bodies rejecting the new form. But most would scream in agony, sad beyond words, clutching their children, skin rubbing against plastic.

The city watched the fall, laughing.

***

Kane woke to the low hum of helicopter wings and the shouting of men. He listened as he tried to identify friend or foe. They were looking for someone. He had kept underneath the desk he had crawled into before. He had slept through the night but he still felt tired.