Ch1 - From the Ending Comes the New Beginning

“Seven years, three months, two weeks, and six days.”

Jasper looked over at Beatnik as the question was answered without the large man even taking the binoculars from his eyes. Jasper looked out into the dusty landscape and spoke again, “Doesn’t seem possible does it?”

Beatnik barely moved the optics and glanced sideways at Jasper, “No it doesn’t.”

He brought the glass back to his eyes and continued to scan the horizon line. The sun was settling for the night and soon the massive steel doors would be sealed up. He watched, and waited as his stomach tightened with each passing minute.

“Five more minutes sir.” Beatnik didn’t even turn around to look at the guard who stood fifty feet behind him, rifle in hand, waiting to close the gate that guarded the underground bunker where they lived. Suddenly he shifted his gaze and saw a thin line of dust popping off the scorched ground. A small smile lifted on the left side of his mouth as he brought the optics up and saw what he had been looking for. A lone figure on a hover bike reflected the dying orange light of sunset off the helmet visor and was etching a straight line right towards them. He whispered, “That’s right kid, you got us.”

Jasper finally noticed the movement and instinctually the 15 year old grabbed his rifle and straightened his back up. Beatnik placed a calming hand on the young man’s shoulder and patted him softly, “Ease up kiddo, nothing to worry about, it’s just Banshee.”

Jasper smiled and stood up as he watched the rider and hover bike cut through the remaining distance. They could both hear the turbine begin to wind down as Banshee cut the power and the thin vehicle drifted in the last few hundred yards. The gate guard knew better than to say anything even though the five minutes was up, Beatnik wasn’t one to remind more than once that something was about to happen.


The hover bike crept to a stop and the figure in desert camo stepped off and walked up, removed her helmet and saluted sharply. Beatnik returned the salute, as did Jasper and Banshee looked at her superior as he turned to the gate guard, “Get this bike in and then close the gate for the night.”

“Aye sir,” The guard saluted as the three passed into the underground complex and Beatnik brought Banshee and Jasper into his office. As he c losed the door he looked at Banshee and spoke with a smile that he couldn’t help but offer, “Good to have you back.” Banshee brushed a tendril of sweaty hair off her forehead and spoke, “It’s good to be back sir, it wasn’t easy but I found them.”

Jasper turned and looked at Beatnik and then back to Banshee, “Way to go sis!”

Banshee turned and winked at Jasper before turning to Beatnik who spoke, “Well done, I knew I could count on you, give me the details.”

Banshee looked at Jasper and spoke, “Can you get me a basin of water please little brother?”

Jasper nodded and went over to the sink and did as his sister requested as she spoke, “The scouting reports are officially confirmed, there is a settlement of about 150 free humans that have taken refuge in a bunker that extends out near where Liberty Park used to be located. The facility is organized and lead by a man named Murdoc and he is networked with several other free human groups. It was dodgy even getting there, Scorps were out in force all day, they must be onto something in the area because I saw at least six of them, plus dozens of Plants moving around in coordinated efforts. I didn’t see any Skinnies but with all the mechanicals and such moving about I am sure there are at least a couple in the area.”

Beatnik nodded and spoke, “How far to Liberty Park?” Banshee shrugged and spoke as she rubbed the back of her neck with the cool cloth, “Fifteen, sixteen miles maybe?”

“Hmm, and how was this Murdoc guy? Trustworthy? Open to our heading his way?”

Banshee looked up and nodded, “Oh yeah, he is definitely a free human, no doubt. He spoke almost as if this was a holy war, kind of like you do.” He turned and looked at her as he furrowed his brow, “Isn’t it?”

Banshee nodded in response, “Sure, more for some of us than others I suppose, but whatever we do won’t rebuild the planet.” He stepped forward and spoke, “The infestation needs to be eradicated before any rebuilding can even begin kid, that’s the point.”

She swallowed hard and not in the mood for a full dressing down simply nodded, “Aye sir.”

He leaned back and turned to Jasper, “Tell the gang we are moving at dawn, ammo, food and water are the priorities, clothing and personal belongings will only be carried if there is room.”

Jasper nodded and slipped out of the room as Beatnik turned back to Banshee, “You did great, I know it wasn’t easy but we have been getting chewed to pieces, we need to get what’s left of us into a larger group so what you did was necessary and you were the only one who had the means to make it happen. I am sorry I had to put you into such danger.”

Banshee shrugged and looked up at him, “Is what it is sir, just glad we will be getting to move north. Murdoc has a pretty big facility, large enough for the twenty of us anyway. They are manufacturing explosives and seem to be pretty well coordinated. He even offered to let me stay the evening so I could travel on feel sleep and a meal in my belly, but I knew you would worry and stew all night if I didn’t get back here before sunrise.”

He turned and looked at her with a small smile, “And you are right, I would have worried.”

Banshee huffed with a smile, “Nice to be back.”

He looked at her and spoke, “Get some food and grab some shut eye, we leave at dawn.”

“Aye sir.”

Murdoc watched the girl on the hover bike move away from him, the vehicle was virtually silent as it was swallowed back up in the dusty atmosphere, the sun barely penetrated the dust turning the surrounding area into a mustard yellow smog. Soon the fast moving vehicle could not be seen any longer.

Murdoc stood atop a massive rubble pile near a huge sewer drain. Two men and two women were nearby, they were all armed.

"20 minutes and we go back below. We found some diesel fuel yesterday, see if there's more." Murdoc said still staring in the direction that the hover bike had gone.

"20 minutes, no longer." Murdoc said seriously.

The men and women fanned out to locate any usable resources. Murdoc stayed near the sewer opening. A commercial building had collapsed on top of the sewer opening obscuring it from any aerial reconnaissance executed by the invaders giving the resistance fighters a good place to come and go undetected, for now. The aliens were experts at locating any signs of human life so Murdoc would only stay above ground in 20 minute cycles, the past few days had been heavy troop movement days for the invaders. Murdoc and his people had seen a lot of the enemy and their unimaginable and terrifying technology, a few times they had walked right over his settlement but seemed not to notice.

Murdoc walked near the large sewer opening, several explosive devices were placed into openings in the old wall were cinder blocks were missing. Murdoc checked the devices, each one was constructed out of several pipe tubes full of gelignite taped together. Each of the two devices were rigged with a small battery powered detonator that had a delay of a few minutes once a 'D' ring was pulled. The batteries were still functioning.

"Good..." Murdoc whispered as he checked the devices.

A stiff wind blew the ever present dust around as Murdoc descended the rubble pile. A few of his people were coming back.

"Anything useable?" Murdoc said squinting in the yellow dust.

" I got some copper wire, some more ammunition and some unopened Coca Cola." A young man said through his bandana covered face.

"Any of that ammo for a .45?" Murdoc asked.

"No Murdoc, not today." The young man said.

"You did good, take the stuff inside, hide the soda for now or you'll start a shit storm." Murdoc commanded.

The others were returning too, they carried some ragged boxes and a few plastic bags full of their findings.

"You three back inside, GG you're with me." Murdoc said staring out onto the city ruins.
There was nothing much to see, the landscape did not change, collapsed buildings, sandwiched parking garages and broken bricks and twisted metal as far as the eye could see. On a slightly clearer day one could see pillars of smoke from the actions of the invaders as they endlessly sought out humans for extermination. The dust and the wind was bad today, it blew around like sticky yellow pollen and caked on everything.

"GG, this smog can work for us today. The hoppers can't scan us in all this." Murdoc said as he tied a bandana of his own around his mouth and nose.
"You and I could make a run to the old police department and scrounge for ammo and other goodies, you know the good stuff."

Murdoc and his people could use the bullets and any more guns the two could find. Truth be told Murdoc needed some time away from the sewers, some time away from the darkness of underground.

"Two hours tops and we're back, just in time for dinner." Murdoc said to GG.

GG stood with the others behind Murdoc as they all watched the girl on the hover bike gliding away. The prospect of more free humans joining their group was both a relief and a concern. With the movement of any group of people it usually means encounters with the enemy. Either Scorps, Plants and worse….Necros. None of them were any good to have on your six, as Murdoc says.

Rummaging through the nearby rubble, GG looked for anything that could be useable. All she found were some rebar that could be used for various things but nothing significant. At least, nothing that could be used in a gun they were carrying. And it was getting more difficult in leaving the entrance of the sewer opening with each passing day.

GG was just getting ready to head back in with the others when Murdoc told her she was with him. A red flag of warning was raising in her mind when he did and as he explained what he had in mind to do, that red flag was not only waving like it was caught in the wind of a hurricane but sirens were blaring with it.

Squinting and pulling her bandana up over her mouth and nose like Murdoc, she looked in the direction of the police station. She knew why he wanted her to go with him. Or at least, had a good idea. She was able to keep up with him, for the most part, but she was as quiet as a church mouse. Even when she was staring down the barrel of a gun a Plant had pointed at her. At first, she thought she had frozen in sheer terror but the fact it happened each time she encountered danger, she realized it was because she was not afraid to die. Not that she WANTED to die, but she wasn’t afraid to either.

Finally she nodded.

”OK. Just be mindful of the Necros. Last time they had more or less overtaken the area around the place. We don’t need them raising hell and alerting the skinnies we’re out and about.”

Murdoc merely nodded. He wasn’t much for long speeches nor was he one to say much of anything when his mind was turning. And GG found that was most of the time. And that suited her just fine. The less she had to talk to anyone, the less people knew about her. And she liked it that way. Even Murdoc didn’t ask her many questions and accepted her for what she was able to offer. And that was a far cry different than they way it used to be for her when it came to a man accepting what she had to offer.

Synchronizing their wrist watches, they headed out darting between the rubble, using pieces of fallen buildings and damaged vehicles as cover. Both of them were quiet as they made their way along and while Murdoc was right, the smog worked in their favor, it was also working in the skinnies favor. Especially when they found themselves hiding under two cars about 50 feet apart whenthey rounded the corner and came face to....well....tail with a Scorp. They had made it about 200 yards when they encountered the deadly thing. If it hadn’t been for the sound of the constant hum that came from the machine and the fact it’s back was turned towards them, they would have most likely been incinerated right then and there.

Looking like a couple of major league baseball players sliding for home plate, Murdoc shoved GG towards one car while he slid under an abandoned truck. GG was clutching her shotgun to her torso with both hands as she looked over at Murdoc with eyes wide open. The Scorp moved in their direction but it was obvious the smog was interfering with its sensors. It moved slowly in their direction and stopped. GG looked towards Murdoc and saw he was looking back at her. She saw the look on his face and knew he was about to do something. She moved her head back and forth negatively and mouthed the word “NO” at him. After a few moments the thing lumbered on and faded out of sight and ear shot.

GG and Murdoc waited a few more moments before they decided to move. GG closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. When she opened them and looked over, Murdoc was gone. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the man suddenly whispered to her from the opposite side of the car when he knelt down to get her attention.

“Hey….psst…..you gonna sleep all damn night?”

Rolling out from under the vehicle, she got to her feet and gave him a cross look.

”I wasn’t sleepin’. I was prayin’.”

Giving her that unreadable look, he motioned with his head they needed to start moving and once more they moved about cautiously heading for the police station. Once they reached the street the station was located they paused and looked around. Neither one of them could see anything so they made the decision to move on. With the time eaten up by the Scorp, their time in the station was going to be a lot less than they had originally hoped for.

When they finally got inside and made sure they were safe, they lowered their bandanas and looked at each other. Murdoc checked his watch and looked back at her.

”I know, I know….grab and dash. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

Murdoc went right while GG went left. Each one of them weregrabbing as much as they could carry. It was a damn good thing they got into the habit of carrying backpacks with them at all times. It made collecting stuff easier to carry back to the underground when they had to make it quick.

Beatnik barely slept. The gentle drip of water leaking through the old copper pipes kept him occupied but the thought of meeting this fellow Murdoc had his mind racing with what might happen. Nothing was safe, nothing was guaranteed, this was the way of the world now.

Groups of free humans were as varied as the individuals themselves. Murdoc could have been putting on a front just to get them there and then murder them and take what they had. Or Murdoc could have been of the same mind as Beatnik himself and understood that with numbers comes strength and unity, but also the responsibility of the needs of those people.

Beatnik’s mind was racing with the possibilities. He ran every possible scenario and he knew their backs were against the wall no matter what route they chose. The skinnies were aware of the human presence in this area, just three weeks ago there were at least five settlements of free humans totaling about 700 individuals, now there were 21, counting himself. Almost all their clean water was depleted because the filtration and purification systems they had managed to build were destroyed in the fighting, as was most of their food. They dared not venture out too far looking for supplies as the patrols were picking off groups left and right. The Murdoc option at least offered a glimmer of hope, an established settlement of free humans that Beatnik could fold his people into, but at the same time it meant learning to live by someone elses rules and way of doing things. Murdoc could be a madman, or he could be a level headed leader, Beatnik simply wouldn’t know unless he met the man himself. He trusted Banshee’s judgment, she was smart, wise, and gifted with discerning individuals, but she was also young and not yet learned of the world, especially how the world was now, full of desperate individuals that would often stop at nothing to get what they needed to make it just one more week.

All of this was compounded with the prospect of the journey itself, it was likely they would have to fight, 15 to 16 miles without contact with some form of enemy was highly improbable and Beatnik knew that all 21 of them might not make it. He looked up as a small sliver of golden light peeked in through the cracks in the concrete above them, dawn had arrived and he needed to get his people up and moving.

It only took one hour to get everything together. He looked at his people and spoke, “OK gang, outside protocols, nobody wanders out of eye and earshot. If you see ANYTHING you signal the group and we go to silence until we determine the threat, and our best course of action. We will do our best to avoid open areas, we NEED to stay in as much cover as possible.”

He turned to Banshee, “Kid, you scout on ahead on the hover bike, you and I have the only functioning comm’s so I want tcheck-in’s on the tens or if you see something we need to avoid. If you spot any threat that you can’t avoid you lead it away from us and then loop back after you lose it. We need you to use the speed of that bike to keep our path clear, but don’t take any risks not worth taking, got it?”

Banshee looked at him and nodded her head sharply. “Good.”

He inhaled deeply and looked over the remnants of his people, “Alright gang, let’s get all of us to meet this Murdoc yes?”

They opened the heavy metal plating that covered the entrance to their bunker and the mustard yellow light poured in as Beatnik surveyed the landscape. He signaled Banshee who fired up the hover bike and snapped her goggles down over her eyes. The bike tore off into the morning and she shifted her weight, leaning to the right and disappeared in a matter of a couple minutes. The group began to move out carrying all they had following the map Banshee had made for them the night before.

Not everyone was killed, as Beatnik presumed. A few of his people were rounded up and taken back for inquisition, Vashar’in style. Unfortunately for the alien’s, most of their subjects couldn’t handle the process and died only after a few hours. A few, however, proved to be rather useful. The fact they survived was testimony enough to the Vashar’in humans were rather determined to live, no matter what. But in the end, the Vashar’in were the victors and in an effort to prove their point, they would leave the tortured, disfigured remnants of the humans littered about like discarded trash for other humans to find.

The information gathered by the Vashar’in from the humans who divulged information about the colony Beatnik was a part of was going to be used to flush the humans out of their hiding once and for all. Or so they thought. One thing the humans taught the Vashar’in was humans should never be underestimated. A lesson the Vashar’in were learning all the time. In some twisted way, the Vashar’in admired the humans for the resilience and determination but in the end, they would be exterminated. After all, the Vashar’in needed the planet for their own kind, There was no room for both species. And since the Vashar’in had the technology and the brute force to claim the planet, they would make sure mankind became extinct.

As Beatnik and his rag tag group of followers prepared for the journey across the way to join Murdoc, the Vasahr’in were gathering a small force as well to make on final, violent raid in the area. Like an infestation of chiggers that won’t give you any rest until they were dead, so the Vashar’in viewed this last, small group of humans.

Enough was enough.

As the Vashar’in headed out from their base of operations, they had with them a being known as Eve. The name of the first female to occupy the Earth, according to Biblical stories anyway, the Vashar’in thought it was only right their first successful female human sentient implant should also share the famous name. She had proven to be rather useful to them once they were able to successfully implant the sentient to her. A few times they thought she would die but her will to live was stronger than they realized. Once the sentient was fully in place and not rejected by her own body, they were able to glean a great deal of information from her as well as share their own.

And it was an excellent exchange.

Now, as the Vashar’in moved along with five Scorps, Eve stood atop one of them holding onto a tether to help maintain her balance. Her dark eyes scanned the horizon as they moved towards the location the humans had given up. Now….it was just a matter of time before the Vashar’in eliminated this last remaining group of humans in this area.




Or so they thought.

Banshee cut the power and stayed low as the bike came to a halt near the end of the trees. She slid off and her armor instantly changed to the color of the twisted foliage as she crouched low and looked out into the wasteland to the east. The winds were blowing and the sun could barely penetrate as the mustard yellow mixture of debris and fine particles swirled around.

She clicked her comm and whispered, “Banshee reporting, two miles north of departure point, north side of old woods, route is clear to here.”

The comm crackled softly but remained silent. This was Beatniks way, he would engage the comm but not actually speak into it. They had all learned this was the confirmation that the message was received while maintaining silence. She gave one more look before standing back up and slid back onto the hover cycle. She was really beginning to love this thing. She remembered when she was 16 and begged for a motorcycle from her mother and step-father, but they wouldn’t have it, in fact they barely paid any attention to her once they started having kids of their own. Their first, Jasper, was the only one that she really liked, ironic she thought how all of that ‘worked’ out in the end. She had taken Jasper to get some new shoes when the Skinny’s attacked, her house and every other member of the family was killed when a raiding part walked down the block destroying every single home.

She snapped out of it and switched her goggled to thermal and kicked the turbine over. It whirred softly under her as she sat on the bike, she smiled almost lovingly and kicked the accelerator, shooting off into the landscape. The thick dust and micro-particles only allowed for a hundred yards or so of visibility, but her thermal setting allowed her to see much further. She went out about half a mile and then swung back to the south, planning to loop back and double into the line of advancement for her group. She knew the wastes were a dangerous place, but she loved it, and since she had gotten this bike, armor and weaponry she felt invincible.

She kicked the accelerator again and watched as the odometer cranked up, 135, 140, 145, 150… she looked up and saw absolutely nothing. She remembered stories of the Utah salt flats where people would bring tricked out rocket cars and such, she had always wanted to see it, but her suburban parents were never comfortable leaving the neighborhood. She always said she would go when she was 18 and watch the vehicles race across the salt, of course, that was when she still thought humanity would live on forever.

She swung the bike over and tipped to the south, watching the compass needle until it was dead on and snapped the bike back up straight and hit the accelerator again. The deafening sound of the wind racing by, the ticking of the sand and micro-particles as the belted off her visor, she felt alive in all this death…

Suddenly the tone in her ear went off, she immediately cut power and the bike drifted. She didn’t apply the decelerator, she allowed the bike to move in complete silence as she scanned. Almost to her complete left side she caught a glimpse and her stomach instantly knotted up. Lumbering silhouettes moving at a slow pace… Scorps. She grit her teeth, there were two… no, three… five… She turned her body and tilted the bike to bring herself around, a sixth and… a humanoid figure on top of one. They were still at least a half mile out, and between the wind, the sands and the highly obscured visibility she knew that she had not been spotted.

She punched the data pad on the bike and got a trajectory, they were heading right towards the old bunker, right to where the party had just left only a couple hours ago. She breathed a slight sigh of relief, what a surprise when they found the place empty, but nevertheless… she kicked the bike back to the west, the exact opposite direction the Scorps were traveling and kicked the accelerator again. The nearly silent vehicle went off like a shot and she got a mile out before swinging back north and then east again. When she knew she was getting close to the old woods again she hit the comm, “Beatnik, six scorps and what appeared to be a Skinny are heading right for the old bunker, what is your location.”

The comm snapped, then went silent, then snapped again, “Four miles north of that location. We are set down resting under an old bridge, look for a busted Ferris Wheel, can’t miss us.”

Banshee snapped her comm once to confirm receipt and kicked the accelerator again, heading northeast to hook back up with her group.

Murdoc went quickly from room to room at the police station, there wasn't much to find, he and GG had been here a time or two before and had just about picked the place clean. Because of time constraints he and GG had not attempted to go to the lower levels of the building, preferring to restrict their scrounging to the dimly sunlit ground level. Murdoc navigated back through the hallway and found GG.

"This level's cashed out, we should go down below." Murdoc said as he fixed a small tactical light to his brown handled .45. Murdoc clicked the small light on and passed his hand in front of it to test it's brightness.
The lower levels were unexplored and full of rubble and dead ends and perhaps necros, or worse. There was also the chance that the lower floors had food, drink or ordnance. Murdoc hadn't made a big deal of it but he was running seriously low on ammo for his personal sidearm and was more than ready to take chances in order to rectify this situation.

"There's bound to be vending machines or water." Murdoc said as he stepped lightly down the stairs, watching for obstacles at his feet in the damaged building.

"Our company is arriving in the morning, GG. We need the supplies." Murdoc added.

Murdoc descended the staircase to the first lower level, it was dark but quiet. GG shuffled close behind him as Murdoc pushed the stairwell door open with his shoulder an entered the dark hallway. Murdoc shone his light in front of him, the hallway was relatively clear of rubble but the exterior rooms could be different. The small light only reached so far but it was better than nothing. At the edge of the light's reach Murdoc and GG could see a bank of large vending machine shapes, they were just big black squares in the darkness but they were obvious.

Murdoc approached the machines, there were several different snack items still sitting in rows in the dust covered machines. Murdoc pulled his bandana from around his neck and wrapped it around the grip of his pistol in an effort to muffle the sound of the breaking glass as much as possible. Murdoc broke the glass panel and began stuffing the chips, cookies and crackers into his pack.

Murdoc went to the other two machines and broke them open too.

"You know the drill, GG." He said as he frantically loaded his pack.

From the other machine a big piece of the broken glass front fell out of the frame and shattered on the floor loudly. Murdoc stopped moving immediately, the sound was loud but they were below ground level, the danger was minimal wasn't it?

From further down the hall came the sound of a door opening, there was no wind down here, the deliberate sound emanated from the opposite end of the hall beyond the snack machines, out in the unexplored darkness.

Murdoc crouched low and leaned against the wall between the vending machines. He motioned to GG to get low, the woman needed no direction, she was as low as she could get and had her gun off her back and in her hands already.

"Don't be afraid." Murdoc said in a whisper as he clicked his light off out of necessity. Murdoc and GG were now shoulder to shoulder in complete darkness. A sound like shuffling papers and trash was coming from just 30 or 40 feet from them. Something was coming close.

GG heard the sound of the shuffling paper and closed her eyes once more. She could feel Murdoc’s steady breathing and the beating of his heart. When she heard his words, she whispered back at him.

”Right back acha.”

It was obvious that whatever was coming down the hallway didn’t need light to see by. That meant it could be damn near anything down here. Necros didn’t need light. They moved by sense of smell, mostly. Of course when there was light it only aided them. And those things were fast. Like viper strike fast.

Holding her shotgun in front of her and her hands placed on the weapon for rapid firing, she waited for the sound to make its way into the room where they waited. Time ticked by slowly and GG was certain a year went by before a dark shadow moved in front of the door and stopped. While it was almost pitch black down her, she could tell when something got darker and from the size of it, she didn’t WANT to know what it was.

She felt Murdoc move slightly and wondered what he was up to. The man never made any move unless there was a reason for it. Especially right now. That’s when GG heard the noise of breathing. Heavy….breathing. And from the sounds of it, the lungs doing the breathing were huge.

NOW GG was scared.

Just a little.

The hover bike purred silently as Banshee used her googles, clicking them over to enhanced vision. The setting allowed her to magnify the landscape much like binoculars. Now that she was back into the former urban area of New Jersey the winds and dust was easier to see through. This was good but it was also potentially deadly. Scanning to the east she looked along the coastline where the beach front carnivals and boardwalks once were. There was no Ferris Wheel, no bridge... nothing. She inhaled deeply and in frustration clicked the goggles up and looked to the east again, as if this would be any better.

"Nice bike."

Banshee turned around and a gruff looking man with two companions were standing only a few meters behind her. She stepped back and looked them over, she could tell immediately that they were bad news.

"I would suggest you back up, all three of you."

"Oh we will, right after we are done."

As the first man lunged right at her the other two moved to flank her. Instead of defending from the one in the middle first she stepped to her left and because the fellow was only expecting to block her escape he was caught off guard. The suit which allowed her to move faster and with more strength than normal gave her the reflexes to twist under his arm, spin his body so he was facing her again and she delivered a stomp kick to the center of his chest. The sickening crunch of bone snapping filled the air and the man fell over, screaming in agony and clutching the boot shaped dent in his chest. The remaining two men adjusted quickly but not quick enough, she had stepped back with the momentum and now had her pistol pointed at the crotch of the first man who had spoken to her.

"Now.... now, don't do anything crazy lady."

She raised her eyebrow and spoke forecfully, "Nothing crazy? Like attempt to accost a lone woman in the middle of all this shit."

"NO, no we were...,"

"Fuck you, I know exactly what you 'were' and it's unfortunate because it just cost you, nothings free in the world anymore, not even stupidity."

She pulled the trigger and the mans genitals evaporated in a crimson mist as the molten plasma tore through his flesh. He instantly passed out from the pain and the second man turned to run away. With no remorse she squeezed off a second shot and put a hole through the small of his back that exploded the size of a pie plate out the front of his body. The man collapsed as his guts spilled out the hole and he bleed out in a matter of seconds. Holstering her weapon she turned to the third man who was wheezing for air and bleeding from his mouth, "If you live, maybe you'll smarten up."

As he coughed blood onto the dry ground Banshee turned and straddled the hover bike, kicked the accelerator and moved east again, hoping to link up with Beatnik sooner than later.

Eve stood atop the lumbering Scorp flexing her legs as the beast moved. Her face was protected by a helmet that fit snugly to her head with goggles that gave off digital readings of her environment and activity around her. Of course the flying debris wasn’t helping the raiding party but she was still able to get some good information from the readings. While she was an implant of the aliens, she was still human and just to be outside, regardless of the conditions today, was enough for her.

Her eyes scanned the limited horizon and kept track of the readings from her helmet as they progressed forward. They had been on the move for about two hours now. They weren’t in any real hurry to get where they were going. Besides, they didn’t want to alert the humans any sooner than they needed to. While resistance would be futile, the Vashar’in preferred the element of surprise. The connection she had with the Vashar’in kept her in constant communication with them. While audible sounds weren’t foreign to them, they were a more advanced race and communicated in many ways humans could not hear. It was the bond all Plants shared with their handlers as well as the robotic warriors of the Vashar'in. And Eve was no exception.

As they approached the location, Eve felt her Scorp halt as did the rest of the Scorps. Looking to her left then to her right, the Scorps spread out. Three surrounded the old bunker while two more remained on the perimeter of each side to take care of any human who may have found an alternate way to escape. Jumping down from the back of her Scorp, Eve made a few passes around the area until she found what she was looking for. When the entrance became visible to her, she looked up at the Scorp she was riding. A small device detached itself from the machine and came to hover eye level with her protective visor then after a few seconds darted into the entrance. The odd patrol unit was very still for a while as their sensors and scanners began to look for life. While the environment was causing limited use of their advanced technology above ground, inside the empty bunker, the device Eve deployed was sending back a great deal of information. Moles, as the devices were known by the humans, had sensors that gave readings of temperature, humidity, moisture level, heat signature as well as some more advanced readings human technology had not yet developed.

Standing statue still, Eve waited for the readings to be received by the Vashar'in and what the readings told them was disappointing at best. There were no inhabitants to be found. But evidence of recent occupation was everywhere. Obviously, they had moved on and from what the readings indicated, not that long ago. Eve waited patently for her handler to instruct her for what to do next. It seemed like forever before she moved again and when she did, it was to take her place back on the Scorp. The Scoprs began to do the typical circle of search. Slowly but methodically they moved in a circle around the bunker and with each pass they spread their search grid outwards from the bunker entrance. It was an old fashioned grid search, but one the Vashar'in learned was rather useful when technology was limited. A second device was deployed from the Scorp and began a strange zig zag like pattern from the bunker entrance. "Sniffers" as they were called, used the readings from the ground to report back the most recent path of travel. Sensors were diagnosing almost everything and it wasn’t until the third pass that the Scorps found something that made them halt their movements.

The discharge of a plasma weapon was unmistakable. Even when the environment was as harsh as it was right now. And the Scorps sensors had picked up on it. Problem was, they were uncertain of the exact location. They had a general idea, but nothing to pin point. The Scorps started moving in Banshee's direction now at a little faster pace then when they started out from their operations base. And with each additional discharge of the weapon, it was aiding the Scorps in pinpointing that location. The fact there was no communication from the weapon holder, it meant only one thing: Humans.

All five Scorps formed a horizontal line, staggering their distance and space between the next. Sensors were operating at heightened alert to try and locate the reason for the weapon discharge. A small blip showed on the horizon and it was seen moving eastward. It wasn't a steady blip but one that made Eve want to investigate further. Her handler had doubts but trusted the human and allowed this small bit of latitude in her mission.

Now all that remained was to find out if Eve's human instinct was enough to convince the Vashar'in to trust it.

The hours were passing slowly for Beatnik as he let his group rest. He reached into his chest pocket and felt around, good, the item was still there. He looked out towards the water. He thought about how this place used to be a haven for beach seekers and vacationers looking to unwind. It was a place that offered entertainment, food, recreation and fun. Now it was little more than a dangerous rest stop along the way to what would hopefully be a more permanent place to lay low and fight back.

Jasper walked up to him and spoke, “No sign Beat, nothing at all.”

Beatnik nodded without taking his eyes off the water, “She might be keeping silence to lay low… we’ll give her more time.”

Jasper nodded sadly and turned to look east again, hoping to see that thin contrail of his sisters hover bike slicing the wastes, but still, there was nothing.

Beatnik looked up again roughly two hours later. There were no more excuses, he had to get his people moving. He turned to Jasper and gave the ‘move out’ signal. The men and women all slung their packs on, brought their masks up and goggles down and headed out from under the shelter of the fallen bridge. As they slowly made their way to the top of the northern ridge Beatnik took the first look. The old Jersey Turnpike, mostly overgrown and broken apart now still cut the most direct route up the coast. After observing for a few minutes he signaled again and the group began to move out slowly. Two of Beatnik’s best men moved a little faster and up ahead of the group to scout while Beatnik stayed back to keep the group coordinated. Jasper was trudging along slowly and started to fall behind. Not wanting to yell to him Beatnik fell back and whispered, “We have to keep moving kid.”

Jasper looked up at him, the dust collected under his goggles and was sticking to his face mask. He nodded and responded, “I am scared Beatnik.”

Beatnik patted his shoulder gently and spoke, “One thing I can tell you about your sister kid is that she’s a fighter. She’s got the most advanced gear of anyone we have ever come across, and she knows how to take care of herself. She knows where we are heading, when she does find the Ferris Wheel and bridge she’ll know we had to keep moving.“

Jasper nodded half assured and Beatnik spoke, “Biggest thing I need from you right now buddy is to keep up. We can’t get split up or we lose our advantage of being in a group ok? Our strength right now is in our numbers and the lions always try to pick off the stragglers. You mean too much to me to see anything happen to you.”

Jasper looked at him, “Do I mean as much to you as my sister does?”

Beatnik huffed slightly and spoke, “Of course you do kid, you know that.”

Though his face was obscured but the bandana it was obvious that Jasper was smiling, “Now get up there kid, I want you walking mid-pack on the left side to cover our flank ok?”

Jasper nodded and began double timing it back to the group who were now about 50 meters ahead of them. Beatnik quickened his pace enough to catch up and take the rear, but he had nothing on his mind right now except the safety of Banshee, where in the Devil was she?”



Banshee stopped again and looked to the east, there is was, a Ferris Wheel and a broken bridge, just as Beatnik had said. She kicked the accelerator again and smiled under her visor, finally!

As she approached she stopped on the top of the broken side of the bridge and looked down. There was nobody under the bridge. Not wanting to wander too far she reached for the comm, there wasn’t even enough battery power left to show a dead battery indicator. Furrowing her brows she slipped it back into the pocket of her thigh and with some hesitation she stepped off the bike. She walked and looked as she clicked the thermal setting on her visor. There were no signs of heat signatures anywhere.

Sighing heavily she turned and mounted her bike again, kicked the accelerator over and swung the bike up and around heading north. She crept at a fairly slow pace as the area was thick with overgrowth and vines. She had to navigate the bike through the maze of strange growth. The plants seemed like they would come to life and reach out for her at any second. After about 30 minutes she saw movement up ahead. The familiar silhouette of Beatnik in the rear of the group was unmistakable and she smiled as she quickened her pace a bit.

Beatnik turned on a whim, and saw Banshee on her bike making her way towards them… he exhaled a breath that he felt like he had been holding for days. He signaled the group and they crouched at first but then seeing the familiar bike and armor of their comrade they all assembled on Beatnik and Jasper came sprinting up just as Banshee dismounted and lifted her helmet from her head. He ran right into her and hugged her tightly. She brought her arms up and patted him gently on the back. Jasper was always a lot more affectionate than she was, and she tolerated it because deep down she loved him back, but physical expressions of love were not her thing.

As Jasper backed up she could tell he was grinning ear to ear under his face mask, she smiled and just shook her head gently as Beatnik spoke, “Good to have you back kid, how ya feeling?”

She raised her eyebrow and shook her head again, “Feelings are not the issue Beat, there’s six Scorps heading to the old bunker, pretty serendipitous that you decided to leave this morning because if you hadn’t you’d all be dead by now.” She wasn’t one to beat around the bush. Looking at Jasper and then back to Beatnik she continued, “Surly by now they have discovered the bunkers empty, so as much fun as this homecoming party is getting we need to keep moving north. The good news is there were only Scorps and you are at least five or six hours ahead of them, they’ll never catch up with their slow speed.”

Beatnik nodded and looked back to the south as if he would see them on the horizon and then back to the group, “All right gang you heard her, we need to keep moving.”

He turned to Banshee again and spoke, “I hate to ask this kid but…”

She interrupted and spoke, “Scouting is what I am made for Beat, don’t even sweat it.”

He huffed through a small laugh and responded, “Well then what are you waiting for?” Banshee looked up at him and responded with a twinkle in her air, “I’m waiting for you to stop flapping your gums so I can do what I need to do.”

His shoulders rocked as he laughed silently and she turned to look at Jasper with a wink, “See ya soon little brother…”

She slid her helmet on and got back onto her bike, kicked the starter and turned to look at Beatnik, “My comm’s dead so I will do small frontal sweeps and come back to report in every fifteen to thirty minutes. This shit is hell to travel on so I am going to swing out to the east and see if it’s a little smoother over by the beach.”

Beatnik nodded and gave a small salute, she snapped the visor down and kicked over the accelerator, disappearing down a ravine and out of sight as she zipped to the east.

Eve and the group of Scorps followed the occasional blip for a while but like her handler, she was becoming increasingly frustrated at the fact the advanced technology was hindered when these dust and debris storms refused to cooperate. Surely there HAD to be a way to figure out where the blip was headed. Finally the Plant called a halt to the groups progress to confer with her handler.

It wasn’t easy convincing an advanced life form to listen to you and it took some time but eventually Eve had no choice but to allow the Vashar’in to handle the mission the way they wanted to, despite what she thought. The group of Scorps stood statue still, as did Eve, as the communication between human implant and alien took place.

The only thing Eve was able to convince the aliens TO do was look at a cartographic layout of the area and she pointed out the old human created roadways. In particular, the New Jersey Turnpike. In her human mind of thinking, that was what she would do. Following a major roadway for as long as possible made it easy to see the enemy - if the conditions were right - but also supplied cover with the abandoned vehicles as well. Not to mention the low lying medians and road sides that allow for hiding that way as well. But the Vashar’in disagreed stating it was too obvious and while they knew the humans really stood no chance in winning a fight against the advanced technology and weapons the aliens had, they still had weapons that could cause setbacks. Not to mention a few humans had plasma weapons and knew how to use them. They didn’t want to take a chance it was some sort of human uprising they weren’t fully prepared to deal with.

Eve requested one more thing and after some debate among her handler and other Vashar’in, they reluctantly agreed. While the visibility was hindered for the group and gave as much advantage to the humans as it did for the aliens, Eve wasn’t quite ready to give up just yet. Something told her there was value in pursuing her initial instincts.

The Vashar’in decided to call a halt to the mission thinking they would return when the environment allowed them the better chance of an assured attack and subsequent success. While they were an advanced race, deep down they were warriors and they enjoyed victory as much as the next race.

The sniffer was recalled and reattached itself to the Scorp Eve used as transportation then another device moved from the side of the Scorp. Eve moved to the side and swung her leg around as the device began to hover slightly off the ground. Now straddling a hover bike, she moved out from under the lumbering form of the large Scorp. The machine turned, along with the other Scorps and turned, marching back in the direction they had come from leaving Eve alone and watching the group quickly disappear in the whipping, dust filled wind.

Looking over her shoulder, she studied the horizon again and narrowed her eyes. Turning the hover bike around to face the direction she had looked, she studied the area closely for a long moment getting her bearings from the map she was able to read in her visor.
The blip started moving once more and headed out towards the coastline, something the Vashar’in didn’t necessarily care for. But Eve again was convinced the old turnpike was the way to go. There was no doubt the group still had a large lead on them but Eve hoped to make up some time and ground on the quieter, more easily maneuvered hover bike and at least report back to her handler where the Scorps should be sent.

Leaning low over the bike, Eve accelerated and began making her way a little quicker than the Scorps through the area. Once she reached the turnpike, she began making her way over the broken road, weaving in and out of abandoned vehicles, some with the skeletal remains of the human occupants still inside. It was still a little slower than she liked but quicker than the large machines were able to do and for that, she was grateful.

Where are you? I know you’re out there. We will find you. You cannot hide from us forever.

Banshee was moving towards the coast when suddenly a small blip appeared on the radar screen. She wasn't 100% how the blasted thing worked but she did know when something showed up she should investigate. She kicked the bike over and headed south, watching as the blip came up from the southeast. She slowed down and watched the landscape, parking the bike behind some cover and waiting. The tell tale sign of dust coming off another hover bike gave her pause and she clicked the magnification setting on her goggles.

A human rode the bike, that much was obvious, but who... Banshee couldn't help but be excited that they might be able to add another hover bike to their arsenal. Against any form of good judgment Banshee clicked off the camoflauge of her armor and stood, waving to the solitary figure rapidly approaching.

Eve slowed the hover bike as a figure appeared on the horizon. Her readings were sketchy at first but the closer she got the better the readings became. Human. Female. Weapons: Plasma discharge sidearm; plasma discharge rifle; advanced armor protection. Threat assessment: high.

Eve knew she had to approach the female carefully. While her handler wanted her to eliminate the threat right away, Eve was not so quick to do so. Information could be gathered if things went well. If they didn’t…..

The hover bike coasted to a stop and Eve kicked the stand out to let it rest. Swinging her leg over the bike, she looked at the female and spoke.

”What are you doing out here alone? Do you not know it is dangerous?”

Eve looked around to see if there were others but nothing indicated that was the case. Finally turning her attention back to the female once more, she looked her over and read the vital signs being sent to her. Slightly malnourished but other than that, in relatively good health. Already assessments were being done to determine if this female was a good candidate for an implant. So far…..it appeared as though she would be.

The woman slid up on her bike and came to a halt before dismounting. Banshee looked her over but immediately became uneasy as the woman asked her question, it was in no way shape or form the way anybody addressed one another out in the wastes, and Banshee was on high alert. She knew that Beatnik would strangle her silly if he knew what she had just done, luckily her face and the lack of any color which had all drained out was hidden from this woman. Banshee knew right away this must be a plant. She had never dealt with one, but Beatnik had told her all about them. She had only been with Beatnik and his gang for a couple months, it was six months ago or so that most of his gang was wiped out, and he mentioned seeing humans, none from his gang, roaming around and acting on behalf of the aliens.

She responded, keeping her voice calm and level, "Of course it's dangerous, it's been dangerous since the skinnys attacked, truth is I might ask you the same question."

She watched carefully the way this female responded and subtly she reached up and clicked the thermal setting on her visor, her suspicions were instantly confirmed, cool spots, like digital camouflage dotted the womans face where the implants were under her skin, whoever this 'person' was she was not a human anymore. Banshee immediately took a gentle step back and did her best to make it look like she was just turning to point towards the ocean, "We were on a lazala cargo freight train out in the middle of the panning arctic house boat, we were trying to fish for cadillac's but of course the green plants won't let us so now we are heading south. It's amazing how the penguins have managed to eat all the skyscrapers don't you think?"

She had been told by Banshee to speak in jibberish when in the presence of a suspected Plant. Plants were only part human anymore, and their processing of communication was controlled by their handler, if they heard something they didn't understand they would just agree to it instead of question why the heck the person sounded like they had lost their mind. Banshee watched carefully as this woman was about to answer, prepared for anything.

Jessica knew her luck was running out. She'd been surviving for the past 7 years on her survival skills and luck, since the aliens had taken her family from her. She looked down to the picture she always had with her of a little girl with dark brown curls and vivid blue eyes and the father that was holding her. Both were smiling as they seemed to be looking directly at her. She wiped a tear away then put the picture back into the tri-fold wallet and slid it into her back pocket. Checking her ammo for her 9 mm glock and sawed off shotgun, she made sure she was ready to defend herself before sliding out of the sewage drain. It stunk, but it seemed to help deter the sniffers when they were about.
.
As she came out of the pipe, she was slow and methodical about it, making sure the area was clear. She wasn't far from the Jersey Turnpike and was debating on whether or not to head that way when she heard the drone of the machines and looked around. She saw them first, in the distance and pulled out a pair of small binoculars. She could see them, looked like 5 in all and that was when she saw what looked like a human riding on one. She lowered the binoculars, knowing that it must be one of the humans carrying an implant inside of them. A human that wasn't to be trusted.

Accessing how far they were from her and if she had a chance to move, she thought about the human she'd seen on the machine. It was a woman, but it had been too far for her to see her features. Deciding that they were still far enough away from her for her to make her move without being detected she came out of the sewage drainpipe and headed for the turnpike, staying as low as she could when she heard voices. Ducking behind a piece of brick wall about 40 feet from them she spotted two women talking to each other...and the hover bikes. One looked like a soldier while the other looked.....well.....too clean. She stayed where she was, listening to what she could hear which was very little.

Eve studied the young woman carefully. It was obvious by the way the woman was acting she suspected something. Once more the threat assessment flashes in her helmet visor letting her know it was elevating. While Eve had not reached for the dual side arms she wore on each thigh, she was taking note of the elevated heart rate, increased perspiration and adrenaline in the young woman.

As Banshee spouted out the jibberish Eve tilted her head slightly. This was where the tight hold the Vashar’in had on their Plants was a hindrance. Unable to process the information since it was nothing but a bunch of, well, jibberish, it took Eve a few moments to react. And it was obvious, by what she said, she was what Banshee feared.

”Yes. I know what you mean.”

Banshee looked at the helmeted woman and nodded softly, "I am sure you do."

In a flash she drew her side arm and fired, it was a wild shot, missing the woman's right thigh by a good four feet, but it was more to create some space than intentionally hit her. Banshee turned and dashed for her hover cycle, tipping her body to the side, pointing her plasma pistol and squeezing off a second shot, this one too missed over the Plants right shoulder by several feet, but again, it was more to keep her off balance.

She slid down a small embankment and looked for any sort of cover, as she searched frantically she saw a second woman not far on the crest of a small hill, "Holy shit... there's two of them," she said to herself as she tucked and rolled expecting a flurry of shots to come from that direction. Ducking out of sight she squeezed herself between some rubble from a collapsed building and clicked the visor over to tactical mode which would scan for movement, heat, amplified sounds. She holstered her side arm and slung the rifle off her back, retracting the barrel into "urban" setting and clicked the scope to the side. She watched and calmed her breath knowing that one of two things was going to happen, either the two Plants were going to attack or retreat and call for reinforcements.

It was like watching an odd sort of theatric play. When Banshee drew her side arm, Eve was already moving. Her handler had full control now and the human woman was moving as though she were a puppet on a string. And Eve was not far from that. The only difference was where a puppet moved jerky and unpredictable, the bond Eve had with her handler made them think and move like one. The handler had to compensate for Eve’s human body and the movements she was unable to do since she wasn’t a Vashar’in but overall, the bond worked almost flawlessly.

As Banshee’s shots were fired, the Vashar’in were able to predict the trajectory of the shot and move Eve in the opposite direction to avoid unnecessary damage. Especially from the likes of a plasma weapon discharge. As the young woman ran for cover over the embankment, Eve drew her side arms and fired off a shot from each one simultaneously. If Banshee hadn’t dropped when she did, the bullets would have penetrated the back of her skull.

At the same time all of this was taking place, the Vashar’in were sending in air support to the Plant. It was no telling if this was a single woman or a group of people and they were to protect the alien’s prized possession at all costs. Fromt eh base of operations, an alien aircraft took off and started streaking through the sky headed in Eve’s direction.

With extreme caution, Eve approached the embankment and used an abandoned vehicle for cover as she studied the area she saw Banshee retreating to. The readings in her visor were not as reliable as they had been when she was closer to the young woman but they were giving her some information. Like another life form just slightly off to the right.

Moving out from behind the vehicle, Eve darted across some open area to another vehicle turned on it’s side and peered out from the side. Scanning the area again, she looked for signs of the young woman and was rewarded by a shot from the plasma rifle Banshee carried. If her handler had not picked up on the weapons charge in that split second, Eve would have been incinerated. As it was, she jumped out of the way at the last possible second and was rewarded with some minor burns and a few lacerations from the flying debris. It still didn’t’ stop her from firing off two rounds in the direction the shot came from.

AS the two shots smashed into wall in front of her and debris bounced off her visor Banshee suddenly felt very alone, very vulnerable, and very scared. She had never been in a situation like this, since she had found this armor a few months back she felt invulnerable, like nothing could harm her, but now she felt naked and frail.

Swallowing hard she crouched and moved as the camouflage pattern on her armor changed with the light reflecting up and off the objects around her. It made her almost impossible to see with the naked eye but she knew the plant wasn't limited to the naked eye. She managed to find a small crevice to lean into and waited. Then she saw the Plant, behind an abandoned vehicle, she had moved to flank. With the Plant having engaged instead of retreated she knew it was only a matter of minutes before the reinforcements would arrive and then should would be finished.

She tried to look and find a route back to her hover bike, she tried to stay calm and act like Beatnik did... but she wasn't a soldier, she was twenty and in college when all this happened, she was studying art for crying out loud.

She inhaled and centered herself, and the Plant was staying dead still. Banshee shouldered her weapon and looked through the scope, drawing a bead on the shoulder armor the woman wore and fired her weapon. The instant the energy left her weapon she didn't bother to observe a hit or miss, she was making a made dash for her hover bike, all she wanted was to get the heck out of here.

Eve was thrown back by the force of the plasma charge as it hit the ground in front of her and left a gaping hole in the cracked pavement. Her weapons were thrown askew and she felt the stinging, burning pain as her elbows scraped the rough surface as the thinner layer of her armor was ripped open exposing the skin there.

She recovered and located her weapons as she got to her feet. Her handler had grown tired of this game and sent Eve on the aggressive offensive. Holding her twin glocks in each hand, she moved forward firing off a rapid succession of bullets in the direction the sensors indicated Banshee’s movements. If it hand’e been for Banshee’s quick moves and evasive moving, Eve would have no doubt put many hole in her human body without hesitation.

As Banshee took to her bike, Eve realized there was no way she could outrun the machine. The best thing she could do was head back to her own bike and follow the young woman. Reloading her guns by ejecting the empty clips then shoving the grip of each gun down on her thighs, full, rapid reload clips locked into place as she holstered her weapons.

Reaching her bike, she fired it up and turned in the same direction the girls did. Before she left, she took her gun out of her left holster and fired at the lone figure that had observed everything from the hiding place it thought it had. Reholstering the weapon, she crouched low over the bike and pressed the throttle allowing the bike to pick up speed. The Vashar’in were guiding her and the hover bike using the maps and aided visibility the technology allowed.

Slowly the bike began to catch up to Banshee and Eve took out the gun in her right holster and began firing at Banshee taking her time to try and line up a shot. She didn’t really need to worry much about steering the machine as her handler was doing most of that. There was only an occasional object Eve had to compensate for. And lucky for Banshee that was the case. But then again, Banshee was damn good at manuvering that bike.

Jessica heard the firing of the plasma weapon and poked her head up a little to see the one woman in the armor head her way. When she looked at the woman in the eyes and saw the horrified expression she winced, thinking it was more from the way she smelled having hid in the sewers, not realizing that she thought she herself was a Plant. That was when Jessie realized that the woman was clearly panicked and as she put two and two together, she began to think that the other woman was a Plant and this woman had figured that out.

That was when she watched the woman all but disappear and her eyes widened as she knew that it was the armor playing chameleon.....how cool was that. She drew her 9mm glock when the armored covered woman fired her weapon and took off. Jessie saw her get on her hover bike and then was ducking when the other one fired at her, climbing onto her own hover bike and take off after the armored woman.

Leaving her hiding spot, Jessie looked at the disappearing hover bikes and prayed that the armored woman would be safe and out maneuver the Plant. But seeing the armor wearing woman had her smiling. There were real people out there....hopefully more than she suspected. She'd run into a few here and there over the past 7 years, but never saw the same person more than a couple of times. They were either found and killed or found and taken by the aliens.

Her dark eyes looked around again, then she headed out in the direction the two women had gone. If she caught up to them then she would help the armor wearing woman if she still lived. If not, then she would hide from the Plant and wait until dark to head back to the sewers.

Banshee was scared white, no doubt this was the scariest thing she had ever experienced since the actual invasion, and even then there was never a time when she was facing off against something one on one.

She had taken notice when this Plant fired a pot shot at the other woman who had appeared on the scene, this gave Banshee pause and it also helped her to begin and formulate a plan.

She kicked to the side as the Plant caught up and then one of the bullets ricocheted off her shoulder armor, leaving a deep gash in the flexsteel. She grit her teeth and leaned out, making it look like she was going to bank away, as the Plant's hover bike began to mimic her move she leaned back in and brought up her hand and smashed her fist into the ignition switch on the woman's bike. Banshee left her in the dust as the action cut the engine. She knew it was only going to take her a couple seconds to react, get her bike started again and be back in pursuit, but she only needed a couple seconds to swing back and kick the accelerator to full. The bikes turbine kicked in like the afterburner on a fighter jet and Banshee was off like a shot heading back to where all this started.

She glanced at the visors HUD display and saw a blip on the radar, then she passed the woman who had been on the scene, she too had a hoverbike. Amazed Banshee kicked to the side and came up beside her as the two rocketed north again. Banshee spoke over the sound of the wind rushing by, "Name's Banshee, looks like for now you are one of the free humans. This Plant's all over us and I don't think we can beat her unless we work together! You with me?!"

The woman nodded and Banshee nodded back, "Good, let's..."

She wasn't paying attention, the Plant was already back on them and Banshee never knew what she was hit with but she had heard them term, "hit like a freight train" before but now she knew exactly what that meant. She felt the gasp for precious air as the impact from whatever it was she had been hit with threw her from her bike and sent her tumbling to the ground. If it had not been for the armor she would certainly be dead. The HUD fizzled out as the connection created by her palm on the grip was severed and she choked looking for her first breath of recovery. Through tear filled, blurry eyes she watched as the Plant swung back around and she could hear the sound of the accelerator on her bike kick in as she sped back towards Banshee, right, straight at her.

She unholstered her sidearm and clicked the safety. With shaky hands she squeezed off a shot, she knew it was probably not on target, she was still wheezing for breath, barely able to force the void feeling of a collapsed set of lungs, her hands shaking in response to her body searching for oxygen.

Eve’s handler was thinking how nice it would be to eliminate this pesky human from existence after the woman was able to turn the hover bike off and eave Eve in the dust,, literally, for a few moments. Once the bike was fired up once more, Eve headed out at break neck speed to catch up with not just one but two hover bikes. Perhaps this venture would be fruitful after all.

Advancing on the two, Eve clicked a switch on her hover bike and a rather nasty looking barrel appeared. As soon as her visor indicated the target was locked on, Eve pushed the button to fire the weapon. A large projectile flew from the weapon at the speed of a bullet but instead of acting like a bullet, per say, the projectile exploded on impact. If it had not been for Banshee’s armor, she would have been ripped apart with nothing but a shell of her torso.

As the woman went flying and tumbling off the hover bike, Eve turned her own bike to avoid collision with the now rider less machine. Swinging back around, She saw the woman struggling to regain her center and from the sensors in the visor knew she had been injured badly. It was just a matter of delivering the killing blow now. Too bad. She would have made a good candidate for implantation.

As Eve crouched low over the n=bike again, she hit the throttle and accelerated. She was half way to the young woman when the second human on the hover bike suddenly appeared and started coming right at her. Eve blinked as she saw the weapon drawn and now being fired at her. Her handler had not expected something so bold from a human and was caught off guard.

When the second bullet whizzed by her head, her handler recovered and took evasive action. Leaning hard to the left, Eve practically laid the bike on its side to make a sharp turn. The two hover bikes passed by each other, barely missing a head on collision. Eve swung her bike around to make a run at the second woman when she halted suddenly. She stood statue still, a clear indication something was happening.

A strange sound, faint in the distance could be heard over the gusting wind. It took a few minutes but when the sound was finally recognized, it explained why Eve stopped her advancement and stayed where she was. She was using her own vision to guide the air support that had left the base back when she first engaged Banshee. While she couldn’t see Banshee anymore clearly, she was able to give the general location and it was just a matter of moments before the area would be fired upon by the lone aircraft.

Whoever this other woman was, Banshee was glad she was here. She watched in trepidation as the bikes barely missed one another and then turned as she watched the Plants actions. She was doing something, but what... She turned and looked in the same direction she was staring and clicked the thermals on her visor, her stomach lurched as she saw the heat signature of engines onthe horizon line. She contemplated shouldering her rifle and putting a bolt of plasma right through the Plant's chest, but there was no time for that. She holstered her sidearm and made her way as fast as she could to her hover bike, kicked the starter and signaled to the other woman to follow her.


Kicking the accelerator she made for the overgrowth near the shoreline. It was dense and provided a great deal of cover. They had to cross a couple miles of open ground to get there but on their bikes it would only take half a minute or so. She felt the pain in her chest as it throbbed at the impact point of that... thing that hit her. Grinding her teeth she pushed the pain out of her head and looked behind her, seeing the woman who helped her fight the Plant following close behind.