Funny Papers

The map betrayed the total incline of the hill. Even though it was marked for topographical formations, it always seemed more flat than in real life. That was her mind playing tricks on her, maybe. She’d been feeling the stim for the past half hour as she scaled up through the park that sat below the castle. She made sure to use the trees as cover as she made her ascent. There was no telling who these guys were and where they came from, but she had a feeling that they were the ones operating those new machines she saw. That complicated things heavily.

It was at that moment that she realized that she was about to storm a castle. Alone. Entirely without support. Castles were easy to defend as they were made to endure sieges and battles of old. And here she was, about to try to sneak in all by herself. Allison took a knee and thought. She wasn’t special forces by a long shot. Not even a grunt. She was a demi-machina, and her mission was to pilot her ARES unit. Should her ARES fall in battle, her mission was to move back towards friendly lines and signal for rescue. To live to fight another day. And yet something gnawed at her. Something that seemed to come from her gut. Whatever she found here, whatever she could take back to base, would be worth its weight in gold.

She fell back onto her SERE training. She had everything she needed to get out. To live off the land. To hide herself and evade capture. And, most importantly, to resist interrogation and torture. The unappreciated benefit of being a demi-machina was that since the military got the hold of them for their whole lives, a lot of training could be put into them as they grew up. Allison was as well equipped to evade capture as aircrew and pilots were, even though the prospect was slim. Slim, but not impossible, as she reminded herself that she was now in an “escape and evade” scenario. She checked her gear again and came up with a plan. An infiltration to the castle, no matter how stupid, was even worse in daylight. She’d have to wait until nightfall if she really wanted to get in without making a fuss.

She checked her map again. To the south another hilltop. With as far away as it was, it was a half-hour to take a straight shot there. Not to mention there might be more infected around. That was another thing that crossed her mind. She had never seen an infected creature like that before. The thing was too muscular, and they never jumped around like that before. They were changing. Evolving, maybe. That or something else. Some other reason for it. Maybe they were just better fed than the others, ending in the result of the much sturdier and stronger creature she saw. So many possibilities, but she wasn’t a scientist. She took a breath and listened. No real sounds other than the small engine of the utility vehicle that passed by. The larger machines must’ve given chase to Charlotte. Without waiting to see if the truck was coming back, she stood up and stepped off.

The way south took her through residential neighborhoods. Houses left in disarray with vegetation creeping up along the walls to reclaim them. Many of the windows were broken, leaving shattered glass scattered inside and out. Blood stained walls where the rain couldn’t wash them away like the grass and streets. Dark shadows looming in every opening, making it difficult to see inside. She hated them. They stood silently like monsters who fell asleep long ago, harboring dark secrets that many who were desperate enough to find went for. Any one of them made a good nesting place for the infected. She never truly felt safe unless she went inside and confirmed that it was clear. But she knew better. She had only enough ammunition to defend herself, not assault a nest. Besides, who knew what other new creatures were lurking around.

The sky darkened overhead. Allison looked up to see a rolling overcast that stretched beyond the horizon. A thunderhead marked the coming storm, heading right for her. From bad to miserable. It would be here in a couple hours, and who knows how long it’d last. She hoped, silently, that it was going to be the whole night. Much as she hated it, it would do well to mask her approach and her movements. Plus, the infected tended to hole up more inside as well. Thanks to her training, she could stand storms, even if it made things rather difficult to move through. Think positive, Allison. She told herself as she moved across the streets, keeping her head on a swivel for any sign of movement.

She pushed across and stopped at the corners of the houses to make sure she wasn’t spotted or being followed. She was taking the time to listen, as it was her best tool for early warning of activity right now. She didn’t want to push herself. It was about longevity. Endurance. The more energy she conserved, the better off she would be. She kept her PDW on a sling across her shoulder and moved with a purpose. A goal in mind. Once again, the ground started to incline as she neared the hilltop. She put herself through the last of the residential backyards with a stop at some expensive looking house at the end of a side street. It was on the map, but the more important thing was the wooded area behind it. She pushed ahead and made for the treeline before anything got a wise idea about showing up.

Leaves crunched under her boots as she moved through the small woods. The hilltop wasn’t far now, but there was something off about it. Something wasn’t easing her fears about what was to come. The woods gave way to the top. It was barren and open. A long radio mast stuck up from the middle of it. There were lights on, indicating that it was active. It felt like there was a rock in her gut. No one operating a radio tower this far into No Man’s Land was up to any good. But if the lights were on, then it was time to see who was home. She pressed on across a small street and moved towards a large observation tower. The door to it opened and she immediately hit the dirt on her stomach.

Two men stepped out. One lit up a cigarette and then lit another for his friend. They were wearing flecktarn uniforms with arm bands matching the symbol that she had seen earlier. It was the same one that was on the hood of the vehicle that passed her by the road up to the castle. She peered at them through the brush, taking time to curse the neural integration suit’s solid black color that would be spotted much easier against the autumn colors on the ground. Still, she held fast and watched them. She heard them talk and laugh. After a few minutes, they disappeared back inside the stone tower. She made a quick dash up to and then past it, keeping the tower between her and the building on her left until she was back in the treeline. She hoped that she had been quick enough to not be spotted. The building itself was dark, seeming to be devoid of any other personnel. If that was true, then she inferred that the radio station below the mast itself was occupied. That would mean trouble.

It was a gamble. One that she had to take. She’d come too far now to give up. She had to make her move. Every hesitation put her at risk. So she took off around the building, ducking down through the trees. The backside was where the treeline ended and opened up to a sidewalk. It was flanked by overgrown hedges that were wilting in preparation for the onset of winter. She made her way towards the radio mast, putting the large building between her and the observation tower. She hoped that the soldiers inside wouldn’t be watching the radio mast, and were instead keeping themselves busy with monitoring the town. Everything pointed to this place right now, but it was too early to put the pieces on the table. She still needed more to get the big picture.

Allison made it to the small building below the radio tower and brushed up against it. She heard sounds. Noise. Mechanical whirring. Buzzing. Talking. Garbled radio speak, then a clear answer. The radio was in use. She waited to hear the sound of the radio speaking again before she turned the doorknob. It unlatched and she slowly took a step, pushing the door in. Thinking on her feet, she quickly pulled out her pistol from its holster and stepped into the building, closing the door behind her gently. There was a doorway and an open hallway on either side. She took her chance with the doorway and poked her head in. She saw a man sitting at a chair in front of the radio equipment, and now she was able to hear what he was saying. He wasn’t speaking German, though. He spoke English.

“It is not your concern. Do as you are told.”

Allison’s eyebrow arched. The radio answered.

“They know too much. The sabotage may have worked in our favor, but I am not above suspicion! You said your people would have a future for me!”

“Our people will give you passage. That’s all you need to know now. Continue to perform your duties as we instruct and remember that hesitance means guilt.”

“This wasn’t our agreement! They know that their aircraft were broken on purpose!”

Allison stepped forward, putting her heel down first and then slowly easing forward until her whole foot came down.

“And your deeds have allowed us to gauge the enemy response as well as the elimination of one of their ARES units. The bait worked and the trap was successful. Continue to impress me.”

“Your words bring me little comfort.”

“You are a soldier. You have your orders. Carry them out. We are done talking.”

The man flipped a switch and turned the transmitter off. He sighed and stood up.

“‘Come into my parlor,’ said the spider to the fly.” He spoke aloud.

Allison froze. Her whole body tensed. Her eyes widened. The man turned and looked at her with a smirk. She saw his gaunt face. His taut features. His narrow eyes. The ones that regarded her now with the deep appreciation of a hunter waiting until the last moment to fire and claim his prized animal. He wore a dull black leather coat that came down past his knees. A small pendant hung from his neck in front of an olive drab sweater. His pants were gray and looked like they were made for work, not sitting around in an office.

“Don’t move.” Allison said, gathering up her bravado that she had just almost lost.

“Or what? You’ll kill me?”

“Try me and find out.”

“How very American of you.”

“Who were you talking to?”

“Why should I tell you that?”

“Because I have the gun.”

“Ah, but not for much longer.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The man smiled. Allison was getting tired of that look he had. Her finger tightened around the trigger. Just as she was about to press it, there was a noise from behind her. She turned her head and saw another man, dressed with that same arm band around his flecktarn clothes. He went for her. She stepped back and brought the pistol around. He grabbed her wrist and pushed it up, taking the gun with it. She stepped back, to the side, trying to gain distance. A pair of arms swiftly wrapped around her neck and braced her head. They constricted. Allison struggled, but her strength left her in mere seconds. All she could do was struggle to breathe until, finally, everything faded to black.