Fiction: Afterlife Volume 3 (Chapter 39)

If you’ve never read Afterlife before, click here to go to the first chapter.

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.

Image via

Read the previous chapter here:

Afterlife, Volume 3, Chapter 38

Where:
The Battle of Vulture’s Pass comes to a close.
Eileen and Mavery deal with problems in Rose City.
The campaign for New Atlantis begins.

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 39

“How are things going with that guy you’re dating?” Abby asked Della.  “What was his name again?”  Bob Dylan was playing from Abby’s sound system.  “The Times They Are a-Changin’.”

Della smiled and sipped his cola.  He chose not to drink that night, as did Ace, because they didn’t want to tempt Abby.  Della knew she’d had issues with addiction in the past. He figured Ace had the same thoughts, which Della figured was why he was also drinking cola rather than beer or wine.  “His name’s Nick,” Della said. “And things are going fine. At least so far.  He’s not in the army.  He’s back in Rose City still, and he might be going out of town for a while, so it might be a while before I get to see him again, but…”

“Well you know what they say,” Ace said.  “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

“I don’t know,” Della said.  “I wonder if I’d be better off dating a soldier.”

“It can be hard serving with someone you’re dating, though,” Ace said.

Abby hit him in the side as he sat next to her with his arm around her.  “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” she asked him.

“I don’t know,” Ace said.  “I feel like I need to look out for you, you know?”

Abby laughed.  “Really? You look after me?”

Della cleared his throat.  “Weren’t we gonna play some poker?”  They were in Abby’s tent, sitting in metal folding chairs around a card table.  From the sounds outside, the shouts and laughter, it didn’t sound like the other troops were staying sober that night.  Della heard a lot of female voices and laughter.  It sounded to him like there were far more women in camp than there were female troops in the resistance army.  He wondered if camp followers had somehow managed to sneak into the resistance camp, and if so, how many.  The security concerns bothered him.  Hopefully the army security units would find a way to get the situation under control.

Ace opened the metal poker case he’d brought and started passing out the chips.  “What’s the buy in?” he asked.

Abby shuffled the cards.  “Five bucks.”

Ace chuckled.  “Hardly worth our time, don’t you think?”

“We’re playing for fun,” Abby said.  “Not money.  We could all die tomorrow, so what good’s money anyway?”

Ace shrugged.  “Well if you look at it that way, why don’t we have a million dollar buy in?”

Della cleared his throat.  “Five bucks is just fine.” He swigged his cola and there was an explosion off in the distance.  Skirmishes had been going on for some time.  The IAO troops were testing the perimeters.  The real fighting would start early in the morning though, just before sunrise, when Abby and General Rodriguez planned to attack.

They played for a while, laughing and talking all along.  Della found himself losing his concentration often as he listened to Bob Dylan’s fascinating lyrics.  They were as relevant in their time as they had ever been.  At least that’s how it seemed to Della.  Ace was an obviously skilled poker player, winning most of the hands, but Della sensed that he was bored by their style of play.  And Abby seemed distant. Her mind was understandably on other things.  Ace smiled as he shuffled the cards.  “Are you all sure you don’t want to raise the stakes a tad?”

“Honey,” Della said with a chuckle, “of course you want to raise the stakes.  You’re winning.”

Ace shrugged.  “I just thought it would add some excitement.  And maybe give you two a chance to push your way back into the game.”

“Or end the game sooner is more like it,” Della said.

Abby smiled.  “Okay.  Here’s how we’ll raise the stakes, then.  Next people to lose a hand, regardless how much they lose, they have to each answer one question from the winner.  And they have to be honest.  And I’ll put Einstein on your wrist.  He’ll know if you’re lying.  He can read your vital signs.”

“I’m not sure I want to be a part of this,” Einstein said from Abby’s wrist.

“You don’t have a choice this time,” Abby said.  “Come on.  It’ll be fun.”

“Fun?” Ace asked.  “I’m not sure that’s the right word for it.”

“All right,” Della said.  “I’m in.”  He and Abby both looked at Ace.

Ace shrugged.  “Sure.  Let’s do it.”  Ace won the first hand with three queens, so he was the first to ask questions of both Della and Abby.  “Since you’ve come out as gay,” Ace asked Della, looking him in the eye, “have you been attracted to a woman?”

Della gasped.  Abby smiled and put Einstein on his wrist.  “You have to tell the truth,” she said.

Della grinned.  “Well, of course.  I mean, straight guys find other guys attractive from time to time, whether they’re willing to admit it or not.  Straight girls find other girls attractive sometimes, too.”

“Who was it?” Ace asked.

“Not fair,” Della said.  “One question.  That was the rule.”

“It’s part of the same question,” Ace said.

“Well I always had a gay crush on Shelly,” Della said.  “She can sing, she’s beautiful, and she just has a way about her.  Doesn’t mean I’d actually do anything, obviously, but I always found her attractive.”

Ace nodded and smiled at Abby.  “Your turn.”  Della strapped Einstein to her wrist.

“Ask away,” Abby said.

“Who was your first true love?” Ace asked.

“Why that question?” Abby asked.

“I’m asking the question here, darlin’,” Ace said with a grin.  “It’s about learning.  If you want to get to the heart of someone, you need to know who and what they love.”

Abby shrugged.  “His name was Aaron Villaine.  It was high school.  We were close friends.  I went on a few dates with him after we’d been friends for years.  We even kissed.  But he was in love with someone else, so once she said yes when he asked her to the prom, that was it for us.”

Della frowned.  “I know how that feels.  To be in love with someone who doesn’t love you back.”  He thought about Matt Lund, but quickly pushed the thoughts out of his head.  Why was he still thinking about Matt when he had a new boyfriend?

“It’s your turn now,” Abby said to Ace.

“I won,” he said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Abby said.  “Della and I both answered your question.  Now you have to answer mine.”  She took Einstein off her wrist.

“That’s not what we agreed to,” Ace said.  “I won the game.  I shouldn’t have to answer any questions.”

“You’re afraid of being honest?” Abby asked.

“That’s why I won the game,” Ace said with a grin.  “But I’m always honest.  Remember my pseudonym, ‘Honest’ Abe.”

“Yeah,” Abby said as she strapped Einstein around his wrist.  “Right.”

“All right,” Ace said.  “But only one question.  I won’t answer more than that.”

“Did you ever really kill a baby?” Abby asked.

“This again?” Ace asked.  “We went over this before.”

“I just need to know,” Abby said.

Ace looked her in the eye.  “I didn’t.  I’ve never killed a baby.”

Abby looked down at Einstein.  “He appears to be telling the truth,” Einstein said.

Abby looked at Ace once again.  “How old was the youngest person you’ve killed?”

“One question,” Ace said.  Della was feeling a little uncomfortable.

“How old?” Abby asked.

“I don’t know,” Ace said.  “Eight maybe.  He had a gun.  He was trying to kill me.”  He frowned.  “Look, I’ve spent most of my life robbing banks.  I’ve never pretended to be a saint.”  He took Einstein off and handed him back to Abby.  “We’re done with this.  Let’s get back to poker.”

Abby nodded.  “All right.”  They played late into the night.  Abby’s mind was elsewhere the whole time.  She even seemed distant from Ace.  It was almost like she was becoming a different person.  It was still nice for Della to spend some time with them.  He knew he’d have trouble sleeping, but he wanted to stay with them as long as he could.  Eventually, though, he was so tired he had to leave, so he said his goodbyes and left the tent, making his way through the sandy dunes back to his own officer’s tent.  They’d be waking before dawn to begin the attack.  He had to at least try to get a few hours of sleep.

<>

Ayman watched Ava as she slept, her arms around him and the covers pulled up just above her breasts.  They’d made love earlier and it was beautiful.  Ayman wanted to look at her as long as he could, just in case this was the last time he’d have the chance.  She’d cut her hair shorter to accommodate her army life, but it was as beautiful as it had ever been.  No matter how often he saw her, he couldn’t get used to her beauty.  He smiled as he thought about the prospect of them having children together.  He wondered what their children would look like and what their personalities would be like.  They’d have to make sure they both made it home in one piece so one day they’d be able to find out.  Ayman turned and looked up at the top of the tent, thinking about the attack as he drifted off to sleep.

<>

Averil Jones stood on her balcony in New Atlantis, looking out at the city lights and the dunes beyond them.  The resistance army was out there somewhere in the darkness.  The gray dunes spread out towards the dark horizon.  Averil thought about Long John and the tears started running down her cheeks.  He’d be back that night.  She knew it.  He knew where she lived now and he seemed to have taken an interest in her.  She felt helpless, like a rat in a cage.  She felt dirty like a rat, too.  First, she turned against her friends in the resistance.  She thought she sensed opportunity.  If she’d known then what she knew now, she’d have never done it.  And now, there was the chance that the resistance could actually win and take New Atlantis.  It was possible, though not likely.  So the most likely scenario was her being a slave to Long John for the rest of her life.  The other slight possibility was having to face the resistance she’d turned her back on.  She already knew Bernard Parks and Winston Cooper were dead.  That didn’t leave many people she’d known still alive.  But there was Abigail Song.  Averil remembered what she did to Judith Isreal when she found out she was a traitor.

Averil didn’t see a possible future for herself in the resistance or with the IAO.  Not a future she could live with, anyway.  She leaned against the railing of her balcony and looked down forty floors at the lights and the street below.  It looked so small from so high up.  As she looked down, Averil wondered if there was anyone who would truly miss her.  She put a leg over the railing, closed her eyes, and pulled the other leg over.  She tumbled through the night air, feeling the rush of wind against her as she plummeted towards the street below.

<>

Bud Johnson drove the leveler to the center of the dune and positioned it to give the gunners the best shot at hitting the city walls.  It was still dark, but the leveler’s monitors used night vision technology.  They were just within range of the city, but far enough away to keep the IAO’s guns off them.  The aircraft were already fighting in the sky, though.  Bud hoped none of the IAO airships made it to the leveler he was driving.  Two of Wild Joe’s former men, Jimmy Thumb and Big Bob, were manning the gunner positions.  Their leader in the command chair was Major Wingate, the young redheaded officer who was under General Schmidt’s command.  Bud found it ironic that he was teaming up with a soldier who’d once been one of Rennock’s best.  “All right,” Major Wingate said.  “We need to make a hole in that metal wall big enough for our men to fit through before the city defenses kick in.  Big Bob, when you feel you have a good shot, go ahead and take it.”

“Yes, sir,” Big Bob said.

Bud watched his view screen as the resistance army advanced through the darkness towards the city walls.  Everyone knew this wasn’t going to be easy.  The IAO had lots of tricks up their sleeves.  They most certainly had defenses other than the walls in place.  Rumors were that there was an electromagnetic force field along with lots of heavy artillery, but there were probably other things resistance intelligence didn’t even know about.

The resistance hover tanks started firing at the wall first, their red blasts making holes large enough for one or two men to enter through.  The leveler blasted another hole with its huge green laser.  It blasted again and there was a breach in the wall fifty feet wide or more.  After that, the lasers hit the air hundreds of yards in front of the wall and faded to nothing.  “They’ve turned on the electromagnetic force field,” Major Wingate said.  “Hopefully the holes are big enough.  Regardless, if we can last long enough, they’ll run out of power and we can hit them again.  Our orders are to stay back here.”

Bud watched as the army advanced towards the spot where the force field was.  Physical objects would be able to move through it, though it would repulse all laser fire.  Bud knew as soon as the soldiers crossed through the force field, the IAO guns would start firing at them.  Hopefully enough would make it through to take the city.

<>

“Stay in formation!” Paul shouted.  He knew it was their only chance since they were outnumbered by the saucer-shaped IAO AAV’s zipping through the dark skies all around them.  A laser blasted the ship to his left and Phil Knox plummeted towards the desert sand, his shouts coming through the formation channel.  Paul looked to his right to see that at least Ben Dolan was still with him.  “Ben!” he shouted.  “Stay with me.  Let’s keep them away from our leveler down there.”

“Yes, sir,” Ben said.

Paul looked below him at the resistance forces advancing towards the southern wall of the city.  There was another attack to the north.  They’d been stationed at the southern wall, though.  Still, Paul knew his orders could change any second.  The leveler below him was under Major Wingate’s command and it was probably one of the main targets for the IAO air forces.  Paul and the others would have to try to defend it with their lives.  He zipped down to a spot above the leveler and to the west.  Ben zipped down beside him and Paul started targeting IAO ships and firing.  Two of them plummeted down to the sand below.  Ben was also firing at ships nearby.  Paul noticed one of those also go down.  “We have to make ourselves hard targets,” Paul said.  “Don’t stay in one place too long.  Lock onto me.  I’m gonna be moving around a lot.”

“Will do, sir,” Ben said.

Paul zipped to another spot to the southwest of the leveler and Ben followed.  Paul locked an enemy ship in his sights and fired, knocking it out of the sky.  He looked at his scanner and noticed three more bogeys to the west.  He zipped there with Ben and shot them down.  Bogeys were appearing on his scanner all over the place like flies coming to a picnic.  “Where are they all coming from?” he asked rhetorically.

“They really want this leveler,” Ben said.  Paul looked beside him at Ben and saw three ships zip next to him and start firing.

“Ben!” Paul shouted but it was too late.  Ben’s ship was plummeting down towards the leveler.  His AAV smashed into the leveler and there was an explosion.  The huge vehicle titled to its side and more IAO AAV’s zipped down and fired at it.  Paul zipped up into the sky, firing at them and sending several down into the sand in bursts of flame.  There were too many, though.  They continued firing at the damaged leveler and the huge vehicle exploded in an orange fireball, sending debris all around the surrounding desert.

<>

Ayman looked behind him as the leveler exploded in the distance.  He noticed Ava frown as she stood next to him.  “Big Bob and Jimmy were on that thing,” she said.  “There’s no way they survived.”  She wiped a tear and looked at Ayman.  Her eyes had a numb look to them.

“We have to keep marchin’ forward,” Wild Joe said.  “We have to get to that breach in the wall.  Take a position to the right or the left.  That’s our target for now.”

Ayman nodded and followed him, his assault laser rifle ready to fire at any IAO soldiers who appeared.  The sun was rising behind them, filling the sky above the dunes with orange light.  They didn’t expect any fighting until they entered the force field.  Still, they had to be ready.  Ava walked beside Ayman and Billy and Mary walked beside her as Wild Joe led the way.  They made their way down the side of one dune and up the side of the next.  It was slow going trudging through the sand, but they were getting close to the force field.

As they reached the top of the latest dune, Ayman noticed burning bodies in the distance to the west.  It was a body pit, and a very large one, as one might expect outside of New Atlantis.  They weren’t close enough to smell it, but Ayman could see the flickering flames.  “Don’t worry,” Ava said as she walked beside him.  “I’ll make sure you don’t end up in there.”

“Let’s hope so,” Ayman said.

They went down another dune and up the next and Ayman felt a strange sensation, almost like a quick shock.  “Well here we are,” Wild Joe said.  “We’re on the other side of the force field.  We need to take cover fast.”

A huge blue blast hit a nearby dune, blasting it to pieces along with a dozen or so resistance troops who were on top of it.  The hum of RLR’s filled the air as bodies dropped down dunes all around them into the sand, streaking the dunes with blood.  Laser blasts flew everywhere as Ayman ran down the side of the dune as fast as he could.  Sand and blood sprayed down on him as he looked next to him to see that Ava was okay.  He could see the fear in her eyes, though she smiled at him defiantly.  “Some honeymoon, huh?”

Ayman chuckled.  “If that’s what you want to call it.”

“Let’s go,” Wild Joe shouted.  “We can’t stay here.”  An explosion sprayed sand down on them as if to prove his point.  He rushed up the next dune, followed by Mary and Billy with Ava and Ayman close behind.

<>

Javy stood on the dune with his binoculars, a frown on his face.  “You don’t want to look,” he said.

“I don’t need binoculars,” Foxtrot said.  “I can see what’s happening.”

“The southern wall has been breached,” Javy said into his communicator, “but we have not infiltrated the city.  I repeat, we have not infiltrated the city.  I’ll respond with updates.  How are things to the north?”  There was no response.  Javy swigged his flask.

The dune was full of commanding officers and orderlies.  The surrounding dunes were swarming with hover tanks.  Foxtrot didn’t feel safe at all, though.  They were far from home and had no real way of retreating.  They knew the dangers of overextending themselves, but they knew this was their best shot at taking New Atlantis.  They had the IAO on their heels, backed against a wall.  It wasn’t going to be easy, though.  Trapped animals were often the most dangerous ones.  “They aren’t even getting close,” Foxtrot said as he looked at the breach in the city wall.  Any soldiers who made it were supposed to meet next to the breach to go over the plan for the next stage.  There was no one there.  Lasers and bombs were rocking the dunes out near the edge of the force field and resistance soldiers were dropping like flies.

“I wonder how things are going up north,” Javy said.  The fact that they hadn’t responded yet didn’t make Foxtrot feel very optimistic.

<>

Della frowned as he looked at the wall in the distance.  The desert around him was full of resistance soldiers, hover tanks and artillery.  There were two levelers on the dunes behind him, the Ruff Ridah and the one they’d stolen from the IAO and repaired, which was now being referred to fondly as “Tiny Dancer.”  As impressive as they were, the levelers were currently useless, because their lasers couldn’t get through the force field, and if they moved to the other side of the force field, they’d be within range of IAO artillery and they’d lose their advantage.  Besides the force field, the IAO had managed to find a way to jam all of their communications.  There was no breach in the northern wall, so the attack was a no go for the time being.  If the resistance soldiers reached the wall, they’d be sitting ducks with no way to get inside.  “So concussion bombs wouldn’t be able to breach the wall?” Della asked.

Abby shook her head.  “There’s no way.  We have bombs that can breach the wall but we have to get them there.  There’s also a chance that the electromagnetic force field could set them off.”

“So what’s the plan for now?” Ace asked.

“Since the levelers couldn’t breach the wall before the force field went up,” Abby said, “we’re going to have to wait for our AAV’s to take out the force field projectors.  Or for General Rodriguez to infiltrate the city from the south and for his troops to find their way up here and let us in.”  She frowned.  “The leveler to the south must have hit the wall first and that triggered the defenses for the whole city.  Hopefully that means they’re having better luck than we are.”

“Can’t we rendezvous with General Rodriguez to the south?” Ace asked.

Before Abby could answer, there was a sound from her left wrist.  “We’re being attacked from the east,” General Schmidt’s voice said over Abby’s communicator.  “IAO forces are also coming from the west.  They’ve cut off our escape routes.  What do you suggest?”

Abby lifted her communicator to her mouth.  “We need to hold them off until we can get that force field down,” she said.  “We can’t retreat now.  We lose all the ground we’ve gained.”  She looked at Della and smiled.  “They can detect camouflage projectors over a large area, but one projector might be able to infiltrate their defenses.  Their detection systems are meant to find an army, not one person.”

“What are you saying?” Ace asked.

“If one person can get up there and scale the wall, they can get to the force field projectors in the defense towers and bring them down.”

“And who would be crazy enough to do such a thing?” Ace asked.  Abby winked at him.

“Abby,” Della said, “you better not be thinking of doing anything insane.  Even if you could get up there, how would you scale a fifty foot metal wall?”

“I’ll figure something out,” she said.  And she disappeared.  Della reached out for where she’d been and just found air there.  He watched as footprints quickly appeared heading down the side of the dune.

Ace and Della looked at one another.  “We need to go after her,” Della said.

“How?” Ace asked.  “We don’t know where she went.  Now we’re just playing the waiting game with everyone else.”  Della turned and looked at the footprints to see that they’d faded into the sand.

<>

Wild Joe ran along the top of a wide dune, firing his assault laser rifle at the breach up ahead.  Billy and Mary followed him close behind and Ava and Ayman were behind them, firing their weapons also.  They ran down the side of the dune and trudged up the side of the next one.  Lasers were flying across the dunes and resistance soldiers were being torn to shreds.  Ayman locked in on a spot to the right of the breach.  He was going to go for that spot and run for it no matter what happened.  The plan was to meet against the wall where the weapons inside the city couldn’t reach them.  Ayman tried his best to ignore the line of vultures above the wall as he surveyed the area.  He ran down the side of the next dune, staying as close to Wild Joe and Ava as he could.  There were just a few more dunes before they reached the wall.

Wild Joe reached the top of the next dune first, followed by Billy and Mary.  Ava was next followed by Ayman.  He stayed as close as he could to Ava, firing into the breach with his assault laser rifle.  He could see the IAO soldiers inside now, firing their RLR’s from their tripods.  Thousands of lasers shot out from the breach, ripping through soldiers as Ayman ran.  The RLR’s hummed and Ayman watched lasers rip through Wild Joe, Billy, and Mary.  Several laser blasts hit Ava and Ayman felt blasts tear through his stomach and his arm and he fell into the sand.  The RLR’s continued firing, blasting sand and blood everywhere as Ayman felt another blast hit his right shoulder and he shouted in pain.  He coughed blood into the sand as he put his right hand over the massive hole in his abdomen.  He realized his left hand was gone as intense pain shot through his body.  Still, his mind was on Ava as he crawled towards her.

The dune was stained red with blood as Ayman fought through his pain.  He saw that Wild Joe’s head was gone.  Mary had been torn in half and huge chunks had been blasted out of Billy’s chest.  He wasn’t breathing.  Ava was gasping for air.  When Ayman reached her, he saw a gaping hole in her chest through which he could see sand.  Blood came out of her mouth as she looked at him, gasping, trying to fill lungs that were no longer there.  Ayman felt the tears drip down his cheeks as he watched her struggle to breathe.  If only there were something he could do to help her.  He tried to say something to her but no words came out.  She stopped gasping and stared lifelessly up into the sky.  Ayman fell beside her into the sand and rolled over onto his back as the RLR’s continued firing, ripping the dunes around them to pieces.  He looked at the sky above him and watched as red and pink laser blasts flew past.

 
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsuDBiWO3fs]
 

---

Continue on to the next chapter:

Afterlife, Volume 3, Chapter 40
Where:
The attack on New Atlantis continues.
The resistance continues their attempt to infiltrate the city walls.
The Battle of New Atlantis comes to a close.

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.

Check out Michael Monroe’s page on Amazon to find other stuff he’s written.
Like Afterlife on Facebook to find out when the next chapter is posted.
Follow Afterlife on Twitter to get updates on new postings and other news.
Follow Afterlife on Tumblr for access to supplemental material.