“His trouble is he thinks he’s back in the old world—”
The voices receded up the passage and disappeared. Mercy’s right leg stiffened, she swore and gritted her teeth.
Cramp. Hold on a minute longer just in case—
“It’s alright Mercy, you can come out now. They’ve gone,” Rose’s voice came from above.
Mercy straightened her leg and stretched.
Thank Christ—
Mercy pushed back the tarpaulin and clambered out from between the planks of wood. She looked up at Rose.
“Jesus, you’re covered in dirt,” Rose grinned. She extended a hand, “It was worth it though. I think we pulled it off—”
If it’s stupid, but it works, it isn’t stupid—
Chapter 4
Deeper
They moved cautiously down the metro tunnel and came to an empty guard post in a recess.
“This is where those soldiers are stationed,” Barnes said, searching the area.
Mercy tapped her map, “We’ve got three metro stations to go before we reach the Smithsonian. Come on, let’s go. Keep your eyes open for any hiding places. We need to stay sharp, they’ll send more men sooner or later—”
They continued down the metro tunnel. The flashing emergency lights had been replaced by dim LED strip lights, loosely attached to the walls. The tunnel was straight and they made good progress, reaching Capitol South Metro Station twenty minutes later. The platform was littered with broken crates and trash. Water dripped from the high vaulted concrete ceiling and part of the tracks were submerged. They pressed on through the ghostly space and followed the strip lighting into the far tunnel. The next twenty minutes passed in a blur as they moved on to the next station. Mercy wiped sweat from her forehead, her eyes following the lights ahead.
It’s like a treadmill. No real point of reference, no horizon. Focus, the next station is Federal Center Southwest. There could be more soldiers there, take it easy—
A draft from behind, followed by a low rumble.
More carts coming, pull in—
Mercy pointed out a maintenance recess on the left and they piled in. Two minutes later six mining carts trundled by, filled with body bags.
What was I thinking? There’s no way to catch a ride on those things. We’d easily be spotted—
They watched as the carts receded into the distance. Mercy stuck her head out of the recess and looked up and down the tunnel.
Clear—
“Come on guys, next stop Federal Center Station—” Mercy stepped out and moved on, quickening her pace with each step.
“Hey Mercy, slow it down girl, we’ll get there soon enough. Now’s not the time to make mistakes—” Rose said, catching up.
Mercy gritted her teeth and reduced her speed, “Yeah, you’re right. I just want to get there and get it on.”
Get it over. One way or another. End it—
They staked out Federal Center Station, watching the platform from the relative safety of the tunnel.
It looks deserted, same crap as before—
Mercy stood up. Rose touched her on the shoulder and raised a hand. Barnes loomed in the rear. Mercy raised her eyebrows at Rose. Rose picked up some gravel from the ground and threw it at the station platform, five yards away. The small stones skittered across the platform creating tiny echoes across the station. Mercy crouched down, her eyes darting across the area ahead.
Nothing. Nice touch Rose—
They passed through Federal Center Station and continued along the damp tunnel to the much larger L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station. Here, the platforms were littered with desiccated corpses. Bullet holes pockmarked the station’s concrete walls. The smell of old death lingered in the air. Some of the bodies were half-eaten. Something scuttled past Mercy’s feet, she looked down bringing her HK45 to bear. She raised her eyes in surprise.
Rats? Rats? But how come?
Rose sidled up, “Rats, we’re in a no-trope zone, so the rats have survived here.”
Wherever the living are, there’s rats. We’re getting closer, next station is the Smithsonian—
They picked their way over the tracks and were out of L’Enfant Plaza Station a few minutes later. Mercy pushed ahead then stopped twenty yards into the new section of tunnel.
What’s that—?
A breeze and metallic rumble filled the confined space.
Shit. It’s coming from ahead—
Two bright lights materialized around a corner in the distance. A hand grabbed Mercy’s shoulder pulling her back.
“Back this way,” Rose hissed in Mercy’s ear.
They backtracked to the tunnel entrance and out into L’Enfant Plaza Station. Barnes jumped onto the platform and reached down to help Rose up. The rumbling grew louder. Mercy climbed onto the platform and ran after Barnes and Rose.
Shit, there’s nowhere to hide—
Rose dropped to the platform. The rumbling reached a crescendo. Mercy and Barnes fell to the ground. Light shone from the tunnel behind. Mercy landed face down on the polished concrete floor beside a dry corpse. The rumbling continued for a few seconds then diminished as the rail car disappeared into the far tunnel.
They didn’t see us—
Movement caught Mercy’s eye, she focused on the corpse’s fingers. A cockroach emerged from the dead woman’s sleeve and advanced towards Mercy. A heavy boot appeared, crushing the insect.
Barnes reached down to Mercy, “You do a pretty good stiff. Even had me fooled for a minute—”
Mercy grimaced and ignored his hand, “Thanks Barnes. It’ll take more than that to get a rise out of me. Let’s get back to it—”
Too close to the bone Barnes—
Barnes winked at Rose who was dusting herself off. “We’re all good here. They missed us. We blended in with the skinnies, there’s just so many of them. We were lucky—”
Barnes stood up, “Yeah, reckon we were. There were about twenty soldiers in that carriage. They’re obviously gonna do a thorough search of the area. Looks like we’ve got the jump on them though.”
Mercy stood up and checked her M16. “Come on then, no more delay. Let’s get this job done—”
Mercy turned and jumped back onto the tracks. The tunnel beckoned.
Our next stop: the Smithsonian—
Chapter 5
Smithsonian
Thirty minutes later they
