Mike crouched and crept forward until he was a few feet from the persons face. A bearded man, with scruffy hair, dressed with a fast food restaurant’s uniform. His eyes were open and blue light danced within them. Mike moved closer, his hand reaching for the man’s chest—

  “Oh hell no!”

  Mike jumped and fell back in one movement, then looked at Elias. The older man was looking off to his side. “Is Travis back?” said Mike.

  Elias ignored Mike’s question, instead focusing squarely on an empty area of shattered sidewalk. “I’m not doing that!”

  Mike stood. “What? What does he want you to do!?”

  Elias looked away from where Travis was standing. “It don’t matter. I ain’t doing it.”

  Mike glanced back at the body, then moved closer to Elias. “What? Tell me!”

  “Ah… he wants me to stick my fingers in one of them’s… eyes… say’s he needs me to do it, so he can get better, but nope, not going to happen.” Elias took a few steps back. “Actually, you know what? I think I’m done with this crazy nonsense.” He suddenly stopped, and hung his head as if he was listening to a conversation, then swung it left and right in frustration. Finally he let out a sigh. “Fine!” Without Mike knowing what had just transpired between Elias and his son, the older man walked to the nearest body and crouched near it. Elias’s face contorted. “Sorry man, I got no choice.” He said to whoever the bearded individual was and slowly moved his fingers to the person’s eyes. On contact Elias slumped to his side, falling onto the body of the man, his hand still covering the man’s face.

  Mike ran forward to help, but stopped on seeing Elias’s eyes sparkle with blue flecks. “Elias!” He half whispered half shouted. “Can you hear me?” He spun around, desperate for an answer to what was happening. “Travis! What are you doing!”

  Brad had been watching, trying to understand what was happening when suddenly his attention was drawn to an area of the huge pile of bodies, roughly ten feet to the left of Mike. Something was moving. He turned the binocular’s focus wheel slightly, left then right trying to better see… “Fuck…” he said under his breath. One of the bodies rose slowly as if being pulled up by invisible strings, until it was standing and looking at Mike, but the FBI agent had no idea, his attention being solely on Elias. Brad swore again. Another body was upright. Both looking at Mike, and others were moving too. Arms and legs quivering. “No, no no… Mike!” he shouted, but his words were lost to the constant rhythmic drone of the ball of light.

  Mike leaned over Elias, whose eyes had returned to normal and closed. Was he dead? Had whatever Travis wanted him to do, killed the old man?

  Elias’s eyes then flicked open. He blinked.

  “Are you okay?” said Mike. “Is Travis still with you?”

  “I… wh…” Suddenly Elias’s face was one of shock, but he wasn’t looking at the man standing next to him, he was looking to his right.

  Mike slowly turned around. “What is—”

  A boom rang out, as blood splatted across Mike, and a man in overhauls just inches from him, jolted away, falling backwards. Brad was walking towards them, his shotgun now pointed at a new target. Ten or so people with dead eyes despite the light within them, were staggering forwards and he fired again.

  “Get off me!” shouted Elias at the restaurant man, whose hand was pulling at Elias’s jacket. He scrambled to move away when another hand grabbed his shoulder, than another his waist.

  Mike slammed a fist into one of the grabbers, but there was no reaction. The first man was now holding Elias with all his limbs and the older man was sinking into the swarm of bodies beneath him. As Brad’s gun boomed once more, causing another figure to drop, Mike looked around and quickly found what he needed. A metal pipe sat a few feet away, which he ran too, picked up and returned with. Elias was struggling to keep his head from being completely sunk within the sea of body parts. Mike smashed the pipe over one of the bodies heads, caving its skull and it fell limp. He repeated it again and again, then thrust his hand into the melee, grabbing hold of Elias’s arm and pulled him slowly free. Both men fell backwards onto the concrete.

  “I’m out!” shouted Brad who was now using the gun as a club to bludgeon those he could, but he too was being pulled and dragged by the awakening human drones.

  Mike and Elias instinctively scrambled to their feet, almost hypnotized by a sea of writhing bodies, the closest ones standing and lunging at them. Others were falling from the steep slope of the mound, landing with a solid thump on the concrete, or on each other, all trying to come closer to those who had awoken them.

  A clatter of automatic fire rang out and a row of AI’s zombies collapsed. Mike swung around, and relief swept over him. Soldiers were running forward, laying down covering fire, while another waved him towards them.

  Mike grabbed Elias and Brad who was now just an arm’s length away. “Come on!” They all ran to the soldiers as the men in fatigues started to fall back, but still kept up the barrage, felling tens of figures with every volley.

  A soldier, whose name tag on his chest signified he was sergeant D. Wright, pulled Mike onwards, while shouting orders at this squad. The smog had returned, and they were all running down some concrete steps, but Mike had no idea where too. Then they were in the bowels of a building, and his lungs were burning with the dust and his heart pounded as he tried to keep up with those around him in the gloom. He tried to glance back to see where Elias and Brad were but was pushed along by a firm hand. Then they were back outside, running across the scarred surface of a street and more gunfire rang out but he wasn’t sure what at, he just knew he needed to keep moving. Below him became mud and grass, and dark forms of trees and bushes brushed past him as the ground fell away. Then lights appeared, bobbing up and down in the smog, which they ran towards, and the lapping waves of a river combined with the rush of boots. He staggered over the pebbles and sand of the bank and into the water. An engine fired up, churning up the water and hands grabbed and pulled him up and over the side of the boat. He fell onto a hard floor and lay looking up at a misty blue sky, and soldiers’ faces who were shouting. Elias and Brad both slumped to the floor to his side, but before he could talk, they all slid backwards as the engine roared and the boat surged forward.

  CHAPTER SIX

  A putrid odor invaded Mike’s senses before the jolt woke him. His head was orientated looking up, as it was when he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore, and clouds drifted across his vision. He realized he must have fallen asleep, and sat up when another thump echoed through the hull.

  “Starboard!” shouted a male soldier from Mike’s left, at the front of the boat. The vessel he, Elias and Brad had collapsed into was roughly thirty feet in length, and was brimming with gun emplacements, one on each side. Inside, the limited space was crammed with soldiers and equipment, including the four crew, twelve soldiers in total. Brad’s and Elias’s backs were facing him, and both men were standing next to others, looking out at the river. The boat veered to their left, making Mike need two attempts to stand. As he did the smell got stronger until he could see its source. His mouth almost fell open in disgust. A rotting bloated carcass of a cow, its once black and white hair now a mottled brown, floated past, a froth of yellow foam moving with it and others. Another thump rang out as the boat slowly moved through a river that was more rotting bodies than flowing waterway.

  “Port! Port!” shouted another of the solders at the front.

  The young sergeant, who was to Mike’s left looked back noticing he was awake, then back to the river. “We don’t know if the AI made them do this, or maybe…”

  “They decided death was better than what it wanted to do to them,” said Mike. Brad and Elias turned around.

  “Yeah…”

  “Where are we?”

  “Roughly thirty miles from the city,” said Wright.

  “When you plan on stopping?”

  “Soon. We got a forward operating base in a small town about ten minutes from here.”

  “Thanks for saving our asses.”

  The sergeant smiled. “Just doing our duty agent.”

  “You know who I am?”

  “Special agent Mike Richter, head of the task force to find Travis Wilson before everything went to shit.”

  The boat leaned to the starboard side then leveled off. Beige and brown bushes and small trees which sat at the top of a mud bank passed by on both sides.

  “We left some people back in the city.”

  “Nothing we can do for them now.”

  Mike exchanged a look with Brad and Elias.

  “You told them to leave if we didn’t come back,” said Brad.

  “I doubt Gabe would have waited that long,” said Elias. The older man wondered when he would next see his dog.

  Mike hoped Elias was right, either way he needed to continue his journey to the west. He looked at Elias again. Was Travis looking back at him? He looked at the soldiers around them. What would they do if they knew what was locked in the former ranger’s skull? “So the military forces are fighting back against what the AI’s doing? Is that why you were in Albuquerque?”

  “That was meant to be purely an observe and get our asses out of there kind of deal,” said Wright. “But then you three poked the bear and we had to intervene.”

  “Glad you did,” said Brad with a smile. His face straightened. “We almost became like… those things.”

  The sergeant looked at each of the three men in turn. “Any of you know just what the hell was going on there?”

  Mike shook his head. It was an honest response despite the secret the three men were keeping. Another soldier offered him a bottle of water which he gladly took a few gulps from.

  The boat moved around a bend and into view came more soldiers on a bank, and beyond two humvees, one with a turret.

  “Who do you report to?” said Mike.

  The sergeant smiled but did not reply. Mike had seen such an expression many times in his career. That was on a need to know basis and Mike didn’t need to know.

  The six foot deep muddy water being displaced, became even shallower, and the boat slowly came to a halt up against the bank. Soldiers at the front jumped off, one of them taking a rope with him and tied it to a stump. Mike’s body was sorer than he first thought and with some effort and a helping hand from another soldier he climbed over the side, splashing down in lapping waves and walked up the slope, Brad and Elias following. There was a slight chill in the air, but the sun was still bright amongst the few clouds above. Once near the vehicles he looked around. Nearby an old wooden fence ran parallel with the river, and he could just glimpse through the trees some light brown dusty looking buildings a mile or so away to the west.

  “Get in,” said Wright. “We’ll take you to the base.”

  Mike nodded, and with the other two climbed into the back of the military vehicle. The ride into town was short, but not short enough for images of writhing bodies with glowing eyes to leave Mike’s thoughts. He had managed to keep his sanity about how the world was changing, despite all of the strange things he had seen since that first evening at the cult’s compound. But what they all saw in the city was starting to make him feel detached. The old world was slipping away being replaced with something alien. It was too surreal to understand. At least the sergeant and his men had seen the same. He presumed Doctor Reed and Meyer would be out there somewhere and could make sense of it.

  Alexis’s smiling face came to him and he was filled with happiness and despair at the same time. He needed to get back on the road.

  They drove up a dry dirt track, through what looked like a farm until the ground beneath them firmed up and then become a patchy cement road. Other single story buildings passed with cars and trucks parked outside, some missing wheels, blocks holding them off the ground.

  Mike noticed pylons and wooden poles which once held up telephone and power lines were laying flat in fields, their cables snapped. “You do that?” he said to the sergeant who was seated in the passenger’s seat in the front.

  “Yes, sir. We take down any power and communication lines when we have the chance.” Wright turned around to face Mike. “Don’t want to make it any easier for the AI.”

  “What about the people that live outside the cities who use the electricity?” said Brad.

  Wright turned back to the windscreen. “That’s the least of their problems.”

  The Humvee drove onto a forecourt, which was filled with other military vehicles, including an APC and other Humvees. Beyond was a large brick built single story building with hardly any windows, which soldiers were entering and leaving. Mike just caught sight of the blades of more than one helicopter behind it.

  “Welcome to camp Grande,” said Wright as their Humvee pulled up near the entrance. “Private Hammond here, will show you to the mess hall, and we have medics that can give you a once over. I’m going to check in with my CO, then we can talk some more.”

  Mike nodded, but he wanted to find a vehicle and leave the small town as soon as he could. Getting out he scanned the nearby buildings, some containing boarded up stores, for any sign of a car or truck, but the streets were empty.

  Brad saw his friend looking away from the army headquarter’s building. “Mike. We should get some food and drink while we can…”

  Mike let out a breath and nodded, and they all headed inside to a small lobby. A counter was at one end, with posters for staying healthy on the walls.

  A young soldier held open a door. “This way to the mess hall.”

  They followed, moving along a busy corridor, with doors that opened and closed, showing glimpses of soldiers hovering over desks and screens. They moved through a set of double doors, with a sign above showing ‘dining hall’ and into the large room with a low ceiling. A number of tables sat in the center some of which were already taken by soldiers eating. Mike and the others sat near the wall away from people.

  “Wait here and I’ll see what’s available,” said Hammond then left, moving to the back of the room where a man stood behind a long counter.

  Mike leaned forward on the table, as did the other two. “We get an hours rest. Eat, drink, then we head back out. Find a vehicle and leave town.” Brad and Elias shared a glance. “What?” said Mike.

  “I know you want to find her Mike. I do too. But we have no idea where she is. She could be a thousand miles in any direction from us by now.”

  Mike knew his friend was right, but Brad didn’t know Travis had recently returned. He looked at Elias. “He still with you?”

  Brad caught Elias’s nodded reply, then frowned.

  “Ask him where he thinks she is.”

  Elias shook his head slightly. “He’s already said—”

  Mike saw Elias focus on something off to their left and swung he head around just in time to see soldiers burst through the double doors, guns held high and pointed in his direction. Wright was just behind them.

  “What’s going on?” said Mike.

  “Special Agent Mike Richter, you are under arrest. Please remove any weapons you have—”

  Brad stood and the soldier’s guns swung in his direction. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Sit down!” shouted Wright. “All of you are under arrest.”

  “On what charges?” said Mike.

  “On a charge of knowingly helping an enemy of the United States. Now remove any weapons you have. I won’t ask again!”

  Mike held the young man’s gaze. “I can’t stay here. I have too—” Elias’s hand landed on his arm. He looked at the older man, who was shaking his head.

  *****

  Denise moved into the meeting room flanked by four star generals. Corolla was already inside, seated at the head of the table. After her last meeting with him she disliked him a little less, but she still wasn’t sure he was making the right decisions. The joint chiefs took their seats, and she sat. Unlike last time Meyer sat to her side.

  The room fell silent. She looked at Corolla who looked at the clock as if waiting for something. Then the ‘something’ appeared. The door to the room opened and in walked Holland. His face still sporting a white beard but now better groomed. He walked with a stick and limped then sat opposite her. He began to smirk but she looked away.

  “I’ve asked colonel Holland to join us today. He assures me he is fully recuperated and fit for duty. His knowledge of the AI I’m sure will be damn useful.”

  Denise hid her sigh best she could.

  The large screen which was off to the side of the table lit up, and General Brooks, a middle-aged man she hadn’t heard much from during her stay in the mountain, stood and walked to the flat screen monitor which was showing the continental United States. He nodded to a young soldier seated who typed away at a keyboard and a number of icons flashed around the central area of the continent.

  “As you can see the AI has solidified its position in the central southern states. It has done this physically by using construction equipment to build walls, usually around twenty feet in height across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Our ground forces in Arizona managed to stop if from encroaching any further west and north, but the east is still… in flux. Our eyes on the ground… and I mean that literally because of course we cannot use drones, are telling us the AI is constructing its own… I’m not sure what you would call them—”

  “Robots?” said Cary.

  “Yes general, that would be an accurate description, but whatever they are, they are giving the AI capabilities beyond just the cyber realm.”

  “And then there’s the people of the cities within the AI’s domain…” said Admiral Payton.