Chapter Twenty-One

Zella Mills - Costaluna, Naguela

The four of them stood, watching through the Errant’s open loading bay. The Errant had landed on the outskirts of the beach. In the distance, they saw carnage sweeping across Costaluna, where drones four times the size of the Grid Warden hovered around buildings. These drones had bombed buildings, torched them, smoked them out, and shot through windows. The air was calm on the beach and along the pier, but the city was in pandemonium. From where they stood, they could feel the devastation that had struck the city. The screams had long since gone. They heard burning flames among the mechanical shifting of the callous drones. Many people had already lost their lives. The circling drones had struck citizens attempting to flee. The casualties were said to be in the deep hundreds, but Zella suspected it was in the thousands already. All of this because Finnigan Watts’ secret murder of Naguela’s president gave Estrea a weakness to exploit.

“This is evil,” Khloe said, her face distraught. They caught sight of a drone hovering near the outskirts. Its spotlights were aimed down at the streets, looking for targets. These drones were bulky. They packed enough armor to make them difficult to shoot down with pistols. Luckily, Tay had more firepower to offer in the Errant’s armory.

Tay was on the brink of tears but composed himself enough to focus on his goal. The thing he had shown up for. “Look, I’m heading for the orphanage. Word came through the radio that troops were on the way. My guys are also en route. For now, we need to assist as many innocent people as we can, alright? I’ll head for the orphanage in that direction,” he said, pointing to the left part of the city.

“I’ll head that way with you,” Chi said. “Those are G21 drones, meaning that they’re operating in some kind of local network. There will be some kind of hub nearby that connects them all. The hub could be anything, some kind of moving vehicle, a ship, or even another drone. Whatever it is, I’m going to find it and shut it down.”

“I’ll cover you until we reach the orphanage then,” Tay added. He turned his attention to Zella and Khloe. “Please, I need you two to head to the care home on the right side. It’s next to a pharmacy with a giant neon-red cross on the front. You can’t miss it. Help anyone that you can there. There are a lot of helpless people stuck in buildings, hiding.”

“Got it,” Zella said. “I’ll need a little more firepower than these pistols, though.”

Tay pulled a keycard from his pocket and tossed it toward Zella. She caught it with minimal effort. “Grab anything you need from the armory. We’ve got nades, launchers, SMGs, shotties, and rifles. But try not to overload and slow yourselves down, yeah?”

Zella nodded.

Chi looked up at Zella. “The G21s can take a beating, but they have two major weak points at the top and bottom. There are two amber circles, one on their top and one directly under it at the drone’s base. They’re hard to hit while the drone is facing you, but if you can get over or under one of them, aim for that circle to bring it down fast.”

“Good to know,” Khloe said.

“With any hope, troops will swarm in and provide support within minutes,” Tay said. “Until then, stay alert.”

Chi tapped her ear. “Don’t forget the earpieces I gave you. Keep in touch.”

“Got it,” Zella said.

Tay pivoted towards Zella, his gaze locking intensely onto hers. Shadows of unease flickered across his visage, a poignant prelude to an impending ordeal. “Aye, immortal slayer, I know you don’t need it, but good luck out there.”

Zella offered a solemn nod, her gaze tracking Tay and Chi as they trudged down the metallic loading ramp, their figures steadily melding with the city under fire.

Zella nudged Khloe to follow her to the armory, where she stocked up on ammo and grenades. She holstered her pistol and took a shotgun. “Do me a favor and carry that grenade launcher,” she told Khloe. “It could be useful.”

Khloe picked it up without hesitation. Zella helped her strap it diagonally over her back so it wouldn’t become too restrictive on her movement. They loaded themselves and then went on their way. Heading for the right side of the Costaluna border.

*

Navigating the charred arteries of Costaluna revealed an undeniable truth. This wasn’t merely a strike. It was a methodical siege, a whisper of the Estreans' intent to brand their ownership upon the city’s smoldering remnants. If not that, it seemed a chilling experiment, gauging the morbid efficacy of their drones, foreshadowing a cataclysm yet to unfurl its sinister wings.

As twilight enveloped the horizon, an ominous pall shrouded the ravaged cityscape of Costaluna. The drones, with surgical precision, had extinguished street lights and neutralized cameras, plunging the once-vibrant streets into an abyss of darkness. Erratic flickers from fading neon signs punctured the darkness, casting an eerie glow upon the devastation below. Zella and Khloe treaded gingerly past a haunting procession of lifeless bodies, now mere relics of existence, their still forms twisted amidst debris. A testament to the vicious nature of the drones above. “The Estreans, the immortals, and COG; they must all pay a heavy price for this,” Khloe said, as they made their way forth to a large collapsed red cross sign.

“It’s just one more tragedy that they’re on the hook for,” Zella replied. “I hope Chi can help us clap back at them.”

“Look, Z,” Khloe said, “I don’t think we can trust them.”

“They’re shitty for pulling guns on us, but our interests seem to align, don’t you think?”

“Hackers always have an agenda, Z. We can’t trust that girl. And if Tay is on her side, we can’t trust him either.”

“Is that Khloe the activist speaking, or the former intelligence officer?”

“A bit of both.”

They hunkered down instinctively at the mechanical churning of a nearby drone patrolling the area. Zella waved Khloe to her as she crouched further towards the pharmacy. She couldn’t see exactly where the drone was, but her ears told her it wasn’t yet close enough to spot them. If they kept quiet, they could make it to the care home without being caught.

Zella glanced through the shattered pharmacy windows as they crept past. There were no signs of life inside. Aisles were left in violent disarray. Looters had ransacked the aisles. The pharmacy had most likely been one of the first places to scavenge during the strike. Stray medicine boxes and first aid kits lay scattered across the floor. If they ended up in an emergency, they could come back for them. The weight they were carrying already burdened them. If it came down to a game of survival, Zella would choose her guns over first aid every time. Bullets over bandages was her motto. In her mind, prevention was better than the cure.

They cautiously navigated around the toppled neon cross, its glow now reduced to a feeble, erratic flicker.

“Here it is,” said Zella, finding the entrance to the care home next door.

A stench hit them that told them to expect unpleasant sights. Paperwork, abandoned wheelchairs, medicine cups, trays, and empty sandwich boxes littered the floor. Patches of blood stained the walls, morbidly adorning the plaid wallpaper. They checked each room, looking for signs of life.

Zella encountered a jammed entrance into one room, but she pushed her way in carefully and got them inside, where they were met by the unpleasant sight of an old man shot up by the door, his body awash in his own blood. A quick assessment of the shattered window told of his desperate attempt to escape, before being fiercely terminated by the drone.

“Are you alright?” Zella asked Khloe, recognizing her heavy breathing and sobbing.

“I—” she paused. “My grandfather passed away in a care home.” Zella urged her out of the room. They stepped back into the hallway. “We missed his last breaths,” Khloe continued. “The staff called us in to see him before they took his body. I still remember how his mouth was stuck open as if he had been trying desperately to keep breathing. His face was still warm.”

Khloe fell silent. Zella allowed her a moment to collect her thoughts. This time, Zella was bold in her decision to massage Khloe’s shoulder. Letting her know she had her back. Zella hadn’t known her grandparents, but she recalled how unsettling it was to find Dr. Calloway’s body after his murder. Seeing someone you love in a lifeless state is something that never leaves you.

“I’m alright. Let’s keep looking,” Khloe said. Zella nodded and took the lead as they made their way up the hall. “Thanks, Z,” Khloe added.

“Don’t mention it.”

With measured caution, they made their way upstairs. The drone outside persisted in its orbit around the building, sensing signs of life. The searchlight beamed through the window at the top of the steps, forcing them to get on their knees and creep across the landing to avoid detection. When the light disappeared from the window, they pushed their way into the first room on the second floor.

Zella felt steps on the floorboard that didn’t come from Khloe, prompting her to raise her short-barrel shotty, her fingers tensely coiled around the grip. “What’s up?” Khloe whispered.

“Someone’s here,” Zella replied. “Pull your weapon.” Khloe drew a pistol and held it upward, following Zella’s lead into the unlit room.

A figure appeared before Zella, stopping mere feet in front of her. “Move again and I shoot,” Zella said. “Who are you?”

“Am I okay?” said a slow-talking male’s voice.

“Is there a light switch near you, K?” Zella asked Khloe.

Zella heard the clicking of a switch. The emergence of the light was overbearing. In front of Zella stood an older man with a hunched back, shaggy hair, and a bushy grey beard. She lowered her weapon. “Are you okay, sir?”

“What’s wrong with me?” he asked.

“Sorry, lady,” came another voice. A child stormed out of the bathroom and stood by the older man’s side. “This is Uncle Edson. And I’m Marco. Excuse my uncle, he, uhh, his short-term memory isn’t so good. Means he repeats himself a lot.”

“What are you two still doing here?” Khloe asked them. “It’s dangerous. You should have evacuated by now.”

“When the attack started, I took my time and snuck over here to find my uncle. I came from the orphanage. Had to take my time so the drones wouldn’t spot me. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to find him alive. The care workers get tired of my uncle. I was sure they’d leave him for dead. Anyway, I found him here. But we couldn’t leave because of that drone outside.”

“What happened to me?” Uncle Edson asked. His eyes bulged towards his nephew, his bushy eyebrows raised and his forehead wrinkled.

“Stop asking questions, uncle, you’re gonna embarrass me in front of the gun lady.” Marco pointed at Zella. "That's a cool shotgun, by the way. I have one like it in War Call. Took me hours to unlock it."

Outside of the window, they could see a beam of light weaving over the opposite building. “We need to get out of here,” Zella said. “Did you find anyone else at all?”

“I saw a bunch of bodies,” Marco said. “They reeked. I was so scared that my Tío was gone.”

“What happened to me?”

“Shhh,” Marco hissed to his uncle.

How Marco was so calm in this situation was beyond Zella. The boy looked to be between ten and twelve years old, by her estimation. “You’re a brave kid, Marco. Got some guts making it all the way here alone when the drones are out there.”

“My friends all waited for the rescue party back at the orphanage. But I’ll be honest, we all thought we were dead meat. I thought if I was going to die anyway, I should find Uncle first. He's the only family I've got.”

“You’ve got heart,” Khloe said.

The mechanical screeching of the drone was close. Zella placed her index finger over her lips, signaling them to be quiet. She nodded to the door. Slowly, she led them out of the room, and back onto the second-floor hallway.

Uncle Edson, who was holding Marco’s hand, stumbled onto the floor. An immediate, chaotic cascade of consequences unfurled. The floor voiced a betraying creak beneath them, Uncle Edson unleashed an ear-splitting bellow, and Khloe spat a curse through gritted teeth as the drone materialized outside the window. Its spotlight, an unyielding eye, fixed maliciously upon them.

Zella pulled her shotgun and fired at the window. The glass exploded, and the drone staggered. “Downstairs. Now!” she cried.

Khloe took Uncle Edson by the hand. Together, she and Marco fast-walked him to the stairs. The drone fired through the window. Zella hit the floor and rolled. The drone’s spread was so broad that there was only so long she could avoid getting hit. She kept moving, desperately trying to avoid it.

And then, suddenly, the bullets ceased. Zella looked up and saw the drone lowering itself. Searching for the group who had fled down the stairs. No, you don’t! Zella said in her head. She quickly got on her feet and ran for the window, shifting her weight to accommodate the shotgun.

She lept through the window, feeling a shard of glass nick her shoulder. The amber circle on top of the drone beamed brightly. She used the momentum of her dive to line up the shot. With a deafening blast, the shells punctured the drone’s exterior. Her body collided with the drone. Together, they crashed against the hard concrete. Zella's attempt to move was met with a rebellion from her broken form. Her eyes, reluctantly, shuttered closed.

TO BE CONTINUED! 

-Mere Immortal is written by Gary Swift. If you see this on another website under another name, then someone has plagiarised it. Visit mereimmortal.com for official chapters. Subscribe to the Substack paid tier to support the creation of this project.

-This version of Mere Immortal is written in US English.