Origins

Lisa jumped into the Recon and took up position behind the second window. A few bullets were fired from the rim of the canyon. A moment later, the loud crack of the sniper rifled echoed off the rock walls. Lisa fired again, again, again…

The bullets from above stopped raining down.

“They’re hiding,” Lisa shouted. “Now’s your chance!”

Makara and I ran around the side of the vehicle, only to have a bullet ricochet off the ground at our feet. We hopped into the cargo bay before any more could fire at us. The tire was mounted on the wall on the right side. We grabbed the tire and jack. We quickly jumped back out with the tire, dropping it next to the group.

“Let Makara work,” Samuel said. “You stand guard.”

From time to time, Lisa’s sniper rifle fired, sending a deafening blast throughout the canyon. Anna stood nearby with a pistol out, looking unsure. She was much more at home with the blade still sheathed on her back.

The Recon was already lifted from the ground. Makara had the mangled tire off in less than a minute. She was fast.

“Brings back old times in L.A.,” Samuel said.

“They’re running away,” Lisa said, jumping out of the Recon, sniper rifle pointed skyward. “I think they’ve given up.”

Makara was lowering the jack. The new tire was on, and we were ready to resume our journey.

“All done,” she said. “Get back in so we can…”

An otherworldly bellow permeated the canyon, causing me to cover my ears.

“What the hell was that?” Lisa asked.

“In the Recon, now!” Samuel yelled.

We rushed to get inside. Makara turned the key in the ignition. Behind, I could hear the ground shake. Something really big was charging for us.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Just go, go!” Samuel said.

As the Recon tore through the dirt, Makara clicked on the LCD screen. It revealed a giant creature, at least fifteen feet tall. It had a stooping frame and ripped muscles. Its sickly pink skin gave away where it had came from — the xenovirus — but it was like nothing I had ever seen. It was bipedal and had angry narrow slits for eyes. It reminded me of Kari, the giant creature we had fought at Bunker 114. Only this one was bigger. And angrier.

It charged forward, nearing the vehicle.

“Alex, do something!” Makara yelled.

“Do something? Against that thing?”

“The turret!”

The Recon surged ahead as the creature’s extended claws scratched the back of the vehicle. We gained a bit of distance, but the respite wasn’t to last. The creature closed the gap, nearing the Recon once more.

“Alex, man the turret!” Samuel yelled. “Go, now!”

I got up and ran to the back, climbing the short ladder to the turret. I opened the hatch and stepped through, trying not to let the bumps throw me off balance.

The giant machine gun was waiting for me.

It was pointing ahead, so I wheeled it around. The monster was closer than ever, just a few strides away. Its grotesque face was open, revealing rows of razor-sharp yellow teeth. Its all-white eyes burned fiercely. Upon seeing me, it gave a roar and charged forward, faster.

I had a few seconds to figure out how the turret worked, or the monster would kill me.

“Here goes nothing.”

I squeezed the trigger.

Nothing happened.

The Behemoth reached an arm back, its eyes igniting in bloodlust.

Anna popped out next to me.

“Try turning the safety off.”

She clicked it off. I squeezed the trigger.

A hail of bullets issued from the end of the gun, splattering the legs and abdomen of the monster. It bellowed in pain, but the skin was thick. I only seemed to piss it off and make it charge for us faster.

“Aim for the eyes!” Anna shouted.

I swiveled the weapon upward, holding it steady. I let the Behemoth have it again, and the bullets entered its neck and face. It gave a horrible wail, falling to its knees. I kept shooting. Somehow, I was able to train the gun on its face, and more bullets entered its head. The thing fell into the dirt and was inert. I didn’t stop shooting. I wanted to be sure it was really dead.

Anna grabbed my arm, making me release pressure from the trigger.

“It’s dead,” she said.

Indeed it was. The thing was slumped on the ground, purple, sticky liquid gushing from the holes I had made in its face.

We stood there a moment as the Recon kept driving. The cold wind chilled my face. My hands were still glued to the gun.

Anna put her hands on mine, and one by one released each of my fingers from the grips. She held them for a moment, looking into my eyes.

“You alright?”

“Yeah. Fine.”

“Let’s get inside,” she said. “Don’t want Makara to get lost.”

After I clicked the safety back on, we went back into the cargo bay and closed the hatch above us.

When we reentered the cab, everyone was ecstatic.

“Good job,” Samuel said. “Couldn’t have done it better myself.”

“Yeah,” Makara said. “Hopefully it’s clear sailing.”

The ground rose, leading us out of the canyon and back onto the arid, dune-ridden Boundless. Hundreds of dunes spread in all directions, stopped only by lines of jagged mountains far in the east. It would be hell trying to get through those. It was late afternoon, and the light was already failing.

But the dunes were not what worried me most. In the distance to the east a low, menacing wall of cloud tumbled toward us.

“Dust storm,” Lisa said. “And nowhere to hide.”

“First an ambush,” I said, “then a troll thing, and now a dust storm? It’s as if something doesn’t want us to get there.”

“Just bad luck,” Anna said. “Dust storms become more common the farther east you go. More sand, and less water.”

“Where do we wait it out?”

Samuel pointed toward the left. “Let’s head to that mesa. It’s maybe a klick out.”

“That’s fine,” Anna said. “We’re out of options, anyway.”

“Good to know they have Devil’s Walls out here, too,” Makara said. “Hopefully we’re not too late.”

“If we stay on the mesa’s leeward side, we should be safe,” Anna said.

Makara was going full throttle, racing against the cloud advancing toward us. The red, bulbous mass expanded ever outward, stumbling over itself. It seemed malevolent, as if it existed only to harm us, thundering and crashing with Jovian force. Lightning flashed in its interior. It was still about a mile out, and would be our deaths if we were caught in it.

One by one, the dunes in the distance were lost as the wall of cloud overtook them. We were close to the mesa. Only I didn’t know if we were close enough.

Finally the dunes ended, and a large flatland separated us from the mesa. The dust was on our right, shooting toward us, just seconds away.

“We’re not going to make it,” Lisa said.

“Hold on tight,” Makara said.