Fiction: Afterlife Volume 3 (Chapter 34)

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Afterlife is a sci fi/western action serial published every other week. Join us in a post-apocalyptic journey through a future where life has become little more than a struggle for survival. However, where there’s life, there’s always hope.

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Read the previous chapter here:

Afterlife, Volume 3, Chapter 33

Where:
Abby and Paul reach Rose City.
Abby and the resistance leaders come up with an ingenious plan.
Resistance leadership votes to free Ace to help lead the attack.

Find the Volume 3 Table of Contents page here.

View the Map here.

Check out Afterlife on Goodreads and don’t forget to rate it.

 

Afterlife, Volume 3, Chapter 34

There was someone at the door.  Ace could hear the guard fumbling with his keys outside the cell.  The prison cell wasn’t as comfortable as the cell Ace had been in when he’d first arrived in Rose City, but it was still far better than other cells he’d been in.  The stone walls were blank, but there was a separate bathroom and the cot had a mattress, unlike some of Numurka’s more infamous prisons.  The resistance wasn’t as unforgiving as Rennock had been.  “You have a visitor,” the guard’s gruff voice said from the other side of the door.  Ace was confused.  When Della had visited, he’d been brought out to a special room where he and Della had been separated by laserproof glass.  This visitor must have been someone special.

The door opened and Abby walked into Ace’s cell and sat on a metal chair.  The guard shut the door as Ace sat dumbfounded.  He smiled as he got over his initial shock.  There was something different about Abby.  She appeared calmly confident, dressed in a tan resistance uniform with no insignia, and her short black hair added to the military look.  She smiled, breaking the formality.  “Hi, Ace.  It’s good to see you again.”  Ace found her piercing eyes sexy.

“I’m glad to see you survived,” he said with his gentlemanly southern accent.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” she said.

“Really?” Ace asked.  “I’d be much obliged.”

“You need to help the resistance with something, though,” she said.

“If there were no strings attached, I’d be suspicious.”

She grinned.  “We need you to lead a squad of soldiers.  Your mission is going to be to sneak through a tunnel dug by the IAO.  You’re then going to steal a leveler.  We have a BB-44 your group can use to blast through the armor and gain entry.”

Ace nodded.  “Sounds like my kind of plan.  Not very different from a prison break Annabelle and I pulled off a few years ago near Green Rock.  Still, it sounds awfully risky.”

“You don’t seem like someone who’s afraid to take risks,” Abby said.  “I mean you are a gambler, after all.”

Ace grinned.  “You don’t know me as well as you think you do.  I never take risks, Abby.  At least I don’t take risks unless they’re highly calculated.  I always make sure things are likely to come out in my favor.”

“You mean you cheat,” Abby said.

“You know what I always say,” Ace said.  “It’s better to cheat than to lose, especially when your life is on the line.  When the odds aren’t good and there’s no way to cheat, I fold and sit out the hand.  I never walk into a room I can’t walk out of.”

“That’s why we’re going to try to even the odds a bit,” Abby said.

“So you’re going to cheat,” Ace said.

“I didn’t say that,” Abby said.  “I said we’re going to even the odds a bit.”

Ace grinned.  “That, my darlin’, is the definition of cheating.”  He leaned forward.  “So how are you going to even the odds?”

“First of all,” Abby said, “I’ve talked with some of our tech people.  They’ve set up a system where they’re going to overload the IAO radar detectors so it seems like millions of targets are coming at them from every direction.  Meanwhile, your squad is going to use sand bikes with force field projectors to burrow into their tunnels.  You’ll take out some of their troops and steal their uniforms so you can surprise any other soldiers in the tunnels.  Then, you’ll sneak onto the levelers and free our soldiers who’ve been taken prisoner, creating even more chaos in their ranks.  While this is going on, our army will attack.”

Ace nodded.  “It’s well thought out.  Not perfect, but has as much of a chance as succeeding as anything else in our current situation.”

“So your choice,” Abby said, “is to either sit this out in this prison cell and wait to see who wins, or help lead this attack.  Choose the first option and if we win, you stay in prison.  If the IAO wins, who knows what they’ll do to you.  The other choice is to help lead this attack, in which case, you’ll be a free man.  No more jail cells, no more prisons.”

“Sounds like an easy choice,” Ace said.

Abby nodded.  “That’s definitely how I see it.”

Ace looked at her for several seconds.  “So I have one question for you.”

“Ask away,” Abby said, “but I can’t promise you an answer.”

“What is it you want?”

Abby looked confused.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Ace said, “what is your ultimate goal in all this?”

Abby looked at him with her piercing eyes.  “I want to save the resistance.  I want to defeat the IAO and bring peace back to the word.  End the chaos.”

Ace shook his head.  “I’m not talking about altruism here.  I’m not talking about helping others.  I’m talking about you.  What is it that you want?  For yourself, I mean.”

“For myself?” Abby asked.

“You don’t truly know someone until you know what they want,” Ace said.

“That’s what you think?” Abby asked.

“I don’t think it,” Ace said.  “I know it.  And I won’t agree to leading your crazy little expedition until you give me an honest answer.   What drives you?  What is it that you want more than anything?”

“All right,” Abby said.  She thought for a few seconds.  “I want what we all want.”

“What’s that?” Ace asked.  He was intrigued.

“Immortality,” Abby said.  Ace locked eyes with her.  “On the surface,” Abby said, “It seems like people want lots of different things.  Some people want love more than anything.  A love that will stand the test of time.  A love for the ages.  Becoming one with another person in the deepest, most meaningful way possible.  And that’s their form of immortality.  Some people want a family.  They want children more than anything.  But in reality, they want to pass a little of themselves on.  Their children represent immortality for them.  Some people want fame and fortune.  They think perhaps the truly famous will live on through their words and actions.  And this is their form of immortality.  Maybe their fortune will be their immortality as they pass it from generation to generation.  Some people want to build things.  They want to put their stamp on the world and build buildings, towers that will stand the test of time.  And for them, this is immortality.  People build entire nations, political ideas, philosophies.  Great novels and works of art.  Scientific discoveries.  Anything to live on forever.”

Ace nodded.  “Go on.”

“And when people used to die in the old world,” Abby said, “they’d build gravestones, statues, mausoleums, anything to gain that little piece of immortality.  That little monument to prove that they existed.  Everyone is looking for some way, any possible way, to live forever.  But this world and everything in it are temporary.  All of this will one day end, and everything we know will end with it.  Think of the people living before the apocalypse.  Everything they were is gone now.  It’s all lost.  Most people are looking for immortality in the wrong places.  There’s only one true place to find it, and that’s through God.  God is the only thing that will truly last forever.  He’s the only thing that will stand the test of time.”

Ace frowned.  “I should have seen this coming.  And what if God doesn’t exist?  What if all of this is a work of purely natural phenomena?”

Abby looked him in the eye.  “Then there really is nothing.  It’s all a big sham.  An illusion.  Just like the IAO say.  But I can’t think that.  I have to live on hope.  In this world, it’s really the only thing we have.  It’s what’s kept me going up to this point.  And it’s what’s going to help us win this thing.”

Ace took a deep breath.  “Well I know a little more about you now.”

“Will you lead the squad?” Abby asked.

“Sure,” Ace said.  “Why not?  It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Abby chuckled.  “So you were gonna say yes all along.  Why’d you put me through all that?”

“I wanted to know you better,” Ace said.  “A poker player is always trying to gain a better understanding of the rest of the field.”

Abby nodded.  “So I have a question for you now.”

Ace grinned.  “Ask away.  But I can’t promise you an answer.”

“Did you ever really kill a baby?” Abby asked, glaring at him with her piercing eyes.

Ace was taken aback.  “A baby?”

Abby nodded.  “I remember Annabelle once saying you killed a baby in order to get things quiet.”

Ace took a deep breath.  “Oh, that.”

“Did it happen?” Abby asked, still glaring at him.

Ace shook his head.  “I never really killed a baby.  Anabelle always liked to say that.  I threatened to, but I never actually did it.  If we ever killed anyone, it was in self-defense.  It was us or them.”

“How can I believe you?” Abby asked.  “I know you’d lie to suit your purpose.”

Ace looked into her eyes and smiled.  He shrugged.  “Believe me or not.  It’s up to you.”  It was true.  Ace had never intentionally killed anyone unless he perceived them as an immediate threat to him or someone he cared about.  “Please trust me on this,” he said.

“I don’t know if I can,” Abby said.  “If you want my trust, you’ll have to earn it.  But you can start with leading this attack.  And doing it in an honorable manner.”

Ace laughed.  “There’s nothing honorable about war.”

“You’ll have to try to change your mindset,” Abby said.

“I guess I can try,” Ace said.  “If it will get me out of this prison cell.”

Abby nodded.  “All right.  Come with me, then.”

“Come with you?” Ace asked.  “Now?”

Abby nodded.  “I secured your release on a military pardon.  Now that you’ve agreed to lead this squad, you’re free from prison.  But you’re bound to the military.  At least until the conflict with the IAO is over.”

“So I’m anything but a free man,” Ace said.

“None of us are free as long as the IAO are in control,” Abby said.  Ace nodded and the two of them stood and walked out of the cell and past the guards.  Ace smiled and nodded to them as he walked past.  They didn’t seem amused.  Abby led him down the hallway, past the closed doors of the other cells.  Ace wasn’t sure whether he was lucky or very unlucky.  He’d find out soon enough.

<>

Abby couldn’t turn away from the beauty of the rainbow.  It came down from the gathered clouds and ended in the lake that spread out in front of her.  In the mountains in the distance, the buildings of a city brushed the sky.  It wasn’t a city from her world, though.  It was a city from the old world, like Denver, or New York, or one of the old cities of legend.  “You’ve reached the home stretch.”  Abby turned to see her father standing next to her, a look of longing in his eyes as he looked out at the mountains and the city.

“This is going to be the hardest part,” Abby said.  “I can’t get cocky.  It seems like we’ve already won, but we still have a long way to go.”  Abby could see Pastor Earl standing next to her father, and just beyond him were Nat and Bobby.  “I’m sorry,” she said.

“Sorry for what?” Nat asked.

“Sorry that you were killed by an android,” she said.  “That it wasn’t even the real Warrick Baines.  And that I deserted you.  Both of you.”  She frowned at Bobby.

“You didn’t desert us,” Bobby said.  “You had to move on.  We both understood.”

“And as far as I’m concerned,” Nat said, “That was Baines.  It had his personality and his memories.  It may not have had his physical body, but Baines’ mind was there.  And that bastard never had a soul.”

“So where do we go from here?” Abby asked.  “Do I just sit and let the fighting play out.  Pray and hope that we’re the victors?”

Pastor Earl chuckled.  “We all know you’ll never do that, Abby.  Just be careful.  We don’t need you joining us.  Not yet, anyway.”

“Even if we are just figments of your imagination,” Nat muttered.

“Same old Nat,” Earl said with a grin.

Abby smiled.  “Some things never change.”  She glanced at Bobby.  “Sorry I gave your book away.”  Abby had given Bobby’s copy of On the Road to Shelly just before she left Denver.

“It’s all right,” he said.  “Shelly could use it.  She needed something to remember me by.  Something to remind her of her humanity.”

“Is she gonna be okay?” Abby asked.

“As okay as any of us,” Bobby said, “I guess.”

Abby nodded.  “Well I need to go.  I have some things to take care of.”

“Remember what our ancestor told you,” her father said.  “And remember what I’ve been telling you all along.  Guns aren’t going to win this thing.  Information is.”

Pastor Earl nodded.  “And don’t forget what’s most important.  If you turn away from God, you turn your back on your greatest ally.”

“Don’t be afraid to ruffle some feathers, though,” Nat said.  “Do what you have to do to win.  This thing’s not gonna be won by a bunch of pansies.”

“And remember who you’re fighting for,” Bobby said.  “The people you love.  The people who’ve made sacrifices to keep this thing going.  And the people of the future.  Our children.  Our descendants.  People who will need the world you’re trying to build.”

Abby smiled.  “I’ll remember.  Thank you.  Thank all of you.  I’m ready now.”  She woke up in her hotel room.  It was still dark through the window.  It was early in the morning.  The raid was about to begin.  She needed to get her uniform on and head to the command center.

<>

Della watched Ace through his night vision goggles as the former bank robber, recently turned resistance major, lead the squad through the dark tunnel.  Ace was holding a double barreled laser shotgun, which had apparently been a specific request, and Della thought he looked good in his tan resistance uniform with the major insignia on the sleeves.  Major Joe Rodeo was to Della’s right and Bud Johnson was to his left as they snuck through the dark, glass-walled tunnel.  Bud Johnson had previously driven Evileye Alphacore’s leveler and now, taken in as a defector from the Warriors of Freedom, he was the man who was going to operate the IAO leveler once they infiltrated it, assuming the insane plan actually worked.  The rest of Major Rodeo’s squad, consisting of his former show members, along with several former prisoners who’d been released the same time Ace had been, followed closely behind.  Della noticed Ayman Ali, the man who had been solely responsible for bringing the diamonds that had been with Alex Harris and his group to Rose City.  The man was a hero, but Della noticed Ayman walking with Ava Haddid, who’d formerly been known as Princess Floating Feather as part of the Wild Joe Rodeo Show.  Ayman and Ava seemed to be growing close, like Billy and Mary, who were also former members of the show.  Della hoped so many relationships in the group didn’t detract from their ability to do their duty.

Della looked up ahead in the tunnel as Ace raised a hand, signaling caution.  There were two bodies up ahead.  Della looked past them to see a sand bike parked in the sand and a figure walking towards them holding a Mueller AZ-2 assault laser rifle like the ones Della and the rest of their group other than Ace were holding.  It was Paul Jacobs, who had driven the sand bike at high speed, using a force field projector to burn a hole through the sand to infiltrate the IAO tunnel.  The rest of the group followed through the new tunnel until they reached the IAO tunnel they were now sneaking through.  “I got two of them,” Paul said quietly.  He was shorter than the rest of the soldiers, but Della knew from Paul’s reputation and Della’s experience working with him that Paul was a formidable fighting force.  “I haven’t seen any others yet, but there are sure to be more up ahead.”

“Did you get them in the heads?” Della asked as Paul joined the squad and they walked towards the two bodies.

“One of them,” Paul said.  “The other in the chest, but it’s still a usable outfit.  It’s the IAO we’re talking about here.”  Della grinned and nodded.  Leading up to the operation, everyone had been referring to the IAO outfits as “uniforms,” but they were little more than thrown together mismatches of leather and metal armor.

“See if these fit anyone,” Ace said as he stopped near the bodies.  Their plan was to take uniforms as they killed the IAO soldiers to add to the confusion their attack was going to cause.  They had yellow markers with them to mark the outfits once the rest of the resistance army attacked in order to avoid friendly fire as much as possible.  Art Crab had already led a hacking attack which had screwed up the IAO radar systems, making it seem like millions of attackers were coming from all directions.  It would take the IAO leadership a while to figure out what was happening, but once they did, the IAO would be on high alert.  Della, Ace, and their squad had a small window to make a successful sneak attack.  There were several other squads doing the same thing, but Ace’s was going to be the first to see fighting since the leveler they were attacking was closer to the city than any of the other targets.  They were relying on surprise and confusion.  It was a good plan, but the IAO had been ready for the last attack attempt.  Hopefully this time, they’d be caught off guard.

Major Rodeo and Billy were the best fits for the IAO clothing so, they replaced their tan resistance uniforms with the IAO armor.  They would now lead the way.  Hopefully this would help them sneak up on the rest of the soldiers in the tunnel.  According to spy drone reports, the tunnel entrances were heavily guarded.  Della noticed some movement up ahead and Major Rodeo and Billy fired down the tunnel.  Through his night vision goggles, Della could see four troops fall.  “Clear!” Major Rodeo shouted.  The squad made their way to the bodies, and Della found one with an outfit which fit him well, or as well as an IAO outfit could fit anyone.  Della wasn’t particularly happy about wearing their mismatched armor once again.  The soldier had been shot in the head so the outfit wasn’t damaged.  It consisted of a metal breastplate with leather straps and leather chaps over jeans.  It was awful, but at least it had some flash.  Ace, Ayman, and Paul put on the other uniforms.  It was a near miracle that one of them had been small enough for Paul to fit into it.

The squad made their way deeper into the tunnel, now with Ace, Della, and Major Rodeo leading the way once again, with the other three disguised soldiers following close behind and the rest of the squad taking up the rear.  Della noticed four more soldiers up ahead walking towards them.  It seemed the IAO patrol squads consisted of four soldiers.  Della opened fire with the others, hitting two of them men in the head.  Ace and Major Rodeo took out the others.  The squad made their way to the bodies and Bud and three of the prisoners put the outfits on.  “I have a feeling the next group won’t be so easy,” Ace said.  “I imagine they’ll be onto us soon.  We need to move quickly.”  Della nodded and the squad continued through the tunnel.

Lasers started firing from the darkness up ahead and Della rushed to the edge of the tunnel.  Several of the others hit the floor and started firing into the darkness.  Two people were hit.  Della saw blood and he saw people on the ground, but he wasn’t sure who it was.  He could see that Ace and Major Rodeo were both okay and prone on the ground, firing their weapons ahead of them.  Della raised a hand for everyone to stop firing and noticed that there were no more laser shots coming from ahead in the tunnel.  Using his night vision goggles, he scanned the tunnel up ahead and saw nothing.  One thing was definite.  The IAO were onto them now.  They would have to keep moving or more troops would arrive quickly.  Ace apparently had the same thoughts.  He stood in a crouch and started moving forward, signaling the others to do the same.  Della fell in next to him, keeping as low as possible while staying on his feet in order to move quickly.  They stayed towards the edges of the tunnel and continued moving, watching the tunnel ahead of them.  If the laser fire started up again, they could do the army crawl with their stomachs against the floor, but they’d move a lot more slowly.  Della turned to see that the oldest of Major Rodeo’s soldiers, a man named Raj Abbas who went by the stage name Chief Resting Crow, had stayed behind to look after the two wounded soldiers, two of the prisoners who’d been freed for the mission.  Raj had some experience with medicine so he was the group’s acting medic.  Ava Haddid, who seemed to be particularly close to the old man, said goodbye to him before joining the group once again.  “Go on,” Della heard Raj say.  “I’ll be with you soon enough.”

Della moved forward with the rest of the squad, aiming his weapon ahead of him as he went, ready for another onslaught of laser fire at any moment.  There were several IAO bodies lining the walls.  Several more members of Della’s squad found uniforms which fit them.  There were two soldiers with the squad, Big Bob the Giant and Jimmy Thumb, who Della was sure would never find fitting uniforms.  They’d have to stay in the back as the rear guard.  “We’re nearing the entrance,” Ace said quietly.  “When we get there, Major Rodeo, you take your group to free the prisoners as we discussed.  I’ll lead the group heading for the leveler.”  Major Rodeo nodded and the squad was on the move again.

Ace led the way with Della and Major Rodeo at his sides and the rest of the troops following close behind.  From the maps they’d studied, Della knew the tunnel entrance would be coming up soon.  As he moved forward, he could see light up ahead confirming his suspicions.  He aimed his gun up ahead and Ace started moving more quickly.  He darted to the side of the tunnel and fired his laser shot gun up ahead.  Several lasers came down the tunnel and Ace and Della rushed to the other side of the tunnel.  Another group of soldiers moved ahead of them as more lasers came down the tunnel and one hit Mary Cassidy in the arm as she took cover next to Buckaroo Billy.  “It’s okay,” Della heard her say as she held her arm.  Several more soldiers moved forward as Ace, Della, and the others provided covering fire.  Della knew it was about to get heavy.  They expected some casualties here.

Della rushed ahead firing bursts of laser fire.  He could see several IAO soldiers positioned at the sides of the entrance up ahead, using the edges of the entrance as cover.  He fired, hitting one of them in the head as Ace ran forward blasting them with his double barreled laser shotgun.  Lasers flew all around the former bank robber and Della was amazed that none of them hit him.  “Let’s go!” Major Rodeo shouted as he ran forward, zigzagging from one side of the tunnel and firing ahead of him all along.  Della and the rest of the soldiers in their squad did the same.  Three of the former prisoners were hit and fell to the ground as Della and the others slowly approached the tunnel entrance, zigzagging from side to side as those who were stationary provided covering fire for those who were moving.  There was a huge flash of green light up ahead and part of the tunnel collapsed.

“The leveler’s trying to seal us in!” Ace shouted.  They had anticipated this.  “We need to move!” Ace shouted.  “It’s now or never!”  Della glanced behind him at Big Bob, who was holding the BB-44 block-buster, the large gun they were going to use to infiltrate the leveler.  Ace ran ahead to the left of the tunnel and Big Bob followed along with Jimmy Thumb, Paul Jacobs, and Bud Johnson, the man who was going to be driving the giant machine.  Four other soldiers ran along with them as Della headed for the entrance with four former prisoners.  Major Rodeo led his group towards the right.  Buckaroo Billy, Mary Cassidy, Ayman Ali, and Ava Haddid were with him along with three other resistance soldiers.

Della and his troops took cover behind piles of rubble which had been created by the leveler’s shots.  Della looked out through the tunnel opening and saw what looked like dozens of troops outside.  He started firing quickly as the troops rushed to take cover at the tunnel edges.  Ace and his squad kept moving forward.  Della could see the huge leveler outside.  One of its side cannons fired and a huge green blast which caused part of the tunnel to collapse to the left.  Sand sprayed down all over the place up ahead.  Major Rodeo led his troops past it as Della kept firing at the IAO soldiers up ahead.  A barrage of laser blasts hit the rubble Della and his troops were taking cover behind and Della ducked as low as he could get.  The soldier next to him was hit in the head with a laser blast and blood splattered across Della’s uniform.  Della had the bad feeling this was going to get ugly fast.

He leaned out and fired several shots at IAO troops up ahead and watched as Big Bob fired a continuous blast at the leveler with the BB-44, blasting a hole through the side of it the size of a garage door.  Lasers came at Big Bob from every direction and one hit his arm.  Several hit the BB-44 he’d been carrying and it caught on fire, but the damage was already done.  Paul and Ace helped Big Bob, who had dropped his weapon as Bud Johnson and Jimmy Thumb ran through the hole blasted in the side of the leveler, guns blazing.  Major Rodeo and his squad ran in the other direction towards the dune where the prisoners were housed.  Once they freed the prisoners, all hell would break lose.  Della motioned for his remaining soldiers to move in that direction.  Ace and Paul helped Big Bob into the leveler which was now firing at IAO positions.  They seemed to have things well in hand.

<>

Abby looked through the binoculars as she stood near the window.  “I should be out there.”

“Welcome to the party,” General Rodriguez said as he stood beside her.  “Think how it feels for me.  I’ve been a soldier my whole life.  Now I’m stuck in this headquarters watching the fighting from afar.”

“If things go south,” General Howell said, “you’ll both be happy that this is where you are.”

“Why’s that?” Abby asked.  “This is my plan.  If things go south, I should suffer just as much as our troops.”

“You know we can’t afford to lose you,” Foxtrot said.

Abby watched the fighting through the binoculars from the room in the Undercity’s command center.  The room had gray stone walls and a large metal table which was surrounded by chairs which were all occupied.  Several high ranking officers were in the chairs, sending messages from their communicators and looking at three dimensional representations of various aspects of the battle.  “General Schmidt’s out there somewhere,” Abby said.

“In a hover tank,” General Rodriguez said.  “Well away from the fighting.  You can be sure of that.”

Abby shook her head.  “I still feel like I should be out there.”  The fighting looked like chaos.  She couldn’t make heads or tails of it.  Then she noticed a leveler firing at IAO soldiers.

“We just received message,” Foxtrot said, “that our troops have one of the levelers.  We’re also on our way to freeing the first group of soldiers.  Things seem to be going well.  At least so far.”

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” General Rodriguez said.  He put his hand on Abby’s shoulder.  “It was a good plan.  If we don’t win this one, it’s through no fault of yours.”

Abby frowned.  “We have to win this one.  If we don’t, it’s all over.”  She continued watching through her binoculars as lasers fired and explosions of sand filled the dunes on the horizon.  General Howell gave the order to start the full scale attack and the officers were relaying the order to their troops.  “This is just the beginning, though,” Abby said.

 
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJJeLFvYsT0] 

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Continue on to the next chapter:

Afterlife, Volume 3, Chapter 35
Where:
The battle for Rose City concludes.
Ace and Abby grow closer.
The resistance fights to free the Disputed Lands from the IAO.

Find the Volume 3 Table of Contents page here.

View the Map here.

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