The New Haven Incident - Part Forty

The fighting was fierce. Lilith had the advantage of her martial arts experience, but Mendez had only his training in the military. He was used to moving in a team, with someone else telling him what to do. And even then, he was the company medic. This one-on-one fighting was not something he had much real-world experience in; particularly not without a gun in his hands. It was the same training his opponents had, though their use of it was entirely unconscious. Lilith had come to his aid twice, pulling his former unit members off him and giving him some space. It did little in the end. Mendez found himself slammed against the wall, his feet off the ground, a Dark One squeezing at his throat. He threw several kicks against its chest. Despite being powerful strikes, the kicks seemed to have no effect against the chitinous breastplate that had grown there.

Two sudden, loud shots and the Dark One’s head exploded. Mendez dropped to his feet. He placed one hand against the wall to steady himself as he gained control of his breaths. He had been quite forgotten as a target, leaving the space to recover. Another two shots turned his head and he froze.

“I thought you said he was dead,” Reinhert shrieked.

“He was,” Harding growled. “I saw to it myself.”

“Clearly.”

“I’ll handle this,” Harding said. He turned and marched from the room.

Sebastian found himself in the middle of a heated battle. He moved blindingly fast, using both his handgun and a scavenged kitchen knife to great effect. The gun bought space and time, the knife severed the spine, providing the kill. The fluidity of Sebastian’s fight style was remarkable. Mendez did not have time to marvel. He was soon back in the fight.

“Lilith!” Sebastian barked, sliding something off his back as Lilith kicked an attacker away. She turned and saw her harness with her swords flying through the air at her. Reacting without thinking, she leapt, snatched the weapons and landed, drawing the blades. Snarling, she faced her attackers.

Mendez, now the only one unarmed, struggled to hold back Grier. He was rescued at the last minute by Sebastian, who sent the former lieutenant sideways with a perfectly timed flying knee.

“Shoot to stop,” Sebastian said, pressing a handgun in one of Mendez’ hands. “Knife to kill.” He pressed another kitchen knife into Mendez’ other hand.  Mendez nodded, a thousand questions racing through his mind. He and Sebastian turned back to the fight. With three now-armed combatants against the remaining Infected, the fight ended quickly. Lilith, Sebastian and Mendez stood the victors, bodies of Dark Ones and the new kind of infected that was Mendez’ previous unit members in bloodied piles on the ground. The victors stood in silence, breathing heavily.

Lilith stared at Sebastian, her eyes wide. Feeling her gaze, Sebastian turned. He offered her an awkward, apologetic smile.

“Hey,” he greeted sheepishly.

She slammed into him and wrapped her arms around him. Taken aback, Sebastian froze for a moment. Holstering his sidearm at his thigh, he wrapped his arms around her in return. His right hand still held a knife, but years of handling the weapon ensured Lilith was safe from harm. Lilith trembled, her breaths coming in sobs. He pulled her close, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

Mendez watched, unable to process. He kept his weapon in front of him. Though the barrel was currently pointed downward, he was preparing to raise it and put a bullet between Sebastian’s eyes. There could be no way Sebastian survived a point-blank shot to the chest unless… unless he was one of them. Unless he was infected. Again. That made Sebastian a clear threat.

Very cute. Reinhert’s voice said over the speakers. But you will not win. Let’s raise the stakes, shall we?

A hole opened in the floor, dropping bodies. Mendez teetered on the edge, reeled, his arms circling wildly as he fought to regain his balance. Sebastian released Lilith and lunged forward, grabbing Mendez by the front of his shirt. He pulled him to safety. Lilith, seeing Mendez was safe, went in search of the harness which held the sheaths for her blades. She found it buried under three bodies. Wrinkling her nose, she pulled it out. Surprisingly little blood had touched the leather. She strapped it on.

Another hole opened in the ceiling and a small cage on a sturdy chain lowered.

“Lilith!” Hannah screamed from the cage, her face streaked with tears.

“What the fuck?” Mendez breathed.

You have five minutes to defeat the next wave. Five minutes, Reinhert said. Fail, and the cage drops into the pit.

Mendez and Sebastian exchanged a glance. “The pit?” Mendez asked. “What Medieval fucking bullshit is this?”

Sebastian stepped forward. “Give it up, Reinhert,” he said, staring at the reflective surface of the observation window. “There’s nothing for you after this.”

You know nothing! Reinhert’s voice squeaked. I have an army!

“The incubation chambers in that warehouse you have down here?” Sebastian demanded. “Yeah, they’re not going to last for another hour. The whole thing is rigged to blow, Reinhert. I set the charges myself. Give it up.”

The laughter that echoed through the speakers was entirely unhinged. You know nothing, Agent Connors. Now be silent! You have interfered enough!

The doors around the room hissed open and more Dark Ones and the new infected marched through. Sebastian growled his frustration, turned and fought.

Reinhert had lied. The fight was finished in less than five minutes, but as Sebastian turned to speak, the device at the centre of the chain holding the cage unlocked and the cage dropped. Hannah screamed. Moving before his mind could work, Sebastian slid the knife into his belt, ran forward, up the side of the wall, leapt and caught both ends of the chain, stopping the fall of the cage. It jolted; a sudden stop after a brief fall. Hannah screamed. He grunted as the forces pulled him taut in the middle of the air. Lilith and Mendez stared up at him.

The doors opened again, and more Dark Ones and infected stepped through.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Mendez snapped. “Keep them away from him,” he said to Lilith. She nodded. They turned to face the new horde.

Sebastian’s left hand slipped. He turned and looked up at it, willing it to stay. He tightened his grip, feeling the metal tear into his callouses. Warm blood trickled down his arm. Another door hissed open and Sebastian turned towards the sound. His heart stopped as Captain Harding walked through. The captain scanned the scene and smirked. He turned his focus to Mendez and leapt forward.

“Fuck!” Sebastian said. He looked down. “Hannah?”

“Yes?”

“I’m slipping. The cage is too heavy. I’m going to try and get the lock to open. But it’s going to be bumpy. You’ll need to hold on, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Ready?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Here we go.” Sebastian swung the cage. It took three swings before it hit the wall, striking it hard. Hannah screamed.

“Hang on tight!” Sebastian swung again, slamming the corner of the cage into the wall. This time, Hannah did not scream. Sebastian swung the cage again. The metal creaked as it warped. Hannah, seeing the effect of the impacts, moved forward in the cage and kicked hard at the door. The cage swung again, slamming hard. Hannah hung on, then kicked. The lock snapped and the cage door gave way, swinging open.

“It’s open!” Hannah screamed up at Sebastian.

“Good! Now it’s up to you. You’re going to have to climb out and up the chain to me, okay?”

“Okay!” With no hesitation, Hannah clambered out of the cage, pulling herself up and onto the top of the contraption. The shifting of the cage’s centre did not help Sebastian’s struggles to keep a hold of the chains. He grunted with the effort of holding everything together. Hannah seemed unconcerned. She scrambled across the top of the cage and started climbing up the chain.

Below, Mendez and Lilith both struggled against Harding. Mendez pulled the trigger of the gun Sebastian had given him. It clicked uselessly.

“Fuck!” Mendez barked. “I’m out.” With little recourse available to him, he threw the gun at an advancing Changeling, stunning it for a moment, giving him time to run forward and plunge his knife into the back of its neck. It dropped, only to be replaced by a Dark One.

Sebastian watched, unable to do anything until Hannah was safe, he looked down. Hannah was nearly to him. As soon as her little hand touched his wrist, he let go of the chain and pulled Hannah up to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his chest, whimpering. For a moment, Sebastian pulled her close.

“Good,” he said softly. “You did so well. You okay?”

Hannah nodded.

“Good. We’re almost there. Hang on tight, okay? I need both hands.”

Hannah tightened her grip, then wrapped her legs around his torso, clinging to him like a monkey.

“Atta girl.”

Sebastian dropped his arm, reaching to his belt to access the spare carabiners he had there. Removing one, he turned his attention to the chain above him. It was long enough. He pulled himself up with one arm, ignoring the searing pain of his torn palms, so he could reach above his head and connect the end of the chain with the carabiner, creating a loop large enough for Hannah to sit in.

“All done,” Sebastian said. He climbed up the chain a little to make it easier for Hannah to clamber into the make-shift swing. “You sit here until we make it safe for you.”

Hannah turned her head and looked at the loop of thick chain and nodded. “Uh-huh.” She reached over and pulled herself around the chain loop, slipping her feet through and sitting. She gripped either side of the loop. Sebastian’s arms burned with the effort of keeping his weight suspended mid-air. He looked down. Directly below was the pit. Why there was such a thing was beyond him; perhaps a simple way to dispose of whatever waste was created in the room. He couldn’t just let go. He’d fall straight in.

“Hannah?”

“Yeah?”

“I need you to help me swing across the hole. Can you do that?”

“Uh…”

“It’s just like a regular swing. Can you help me?”

“Okay.”

“Thank you. On three, ready? One…” Hannah and Sebastian both started to swing towards the firm ground of the testing room. “Two… Three!” On three, Sebastian released, bringing his momentum as far forward as he could. It worked. He sailed past the hole and landed on the floor. He rolled to his feet, unholstering his knife and gun, and entered the fight, shooting the Dark One that was about to pierce Mendez, giving the mercenary the space needed to take it out. Sebastian turned to make sure Hannah was safe. She sat on the chain, watching the fighting below with wide, horrified eyes.

“Reloading!’ he barked as his gun clicked. He ejected the empty cartridge just as Harding reached him and delivered a punch to his stomach so powerful, it lifted Sebastian off his feet and sent him backwards. His gun flew out of his hands. He slid on the ground towards the hole. Coughing, he tried to roll up, but the sight of the bottom of Harding’s boot stopped him. He twisted instead, ignoring the pain in his torso. The boot landed hard beside his head. Sebastian reached both hands around Harding’s ankle, and twisted again, wrapping his legs around Harding’s thigh, bringing the larger man down. He used Harding’s fall to leverage himself up, until he was straddling Harding. He struck down with his knife, was blocked and thrown back again. This time, Sebastian managed to remain upright.

Lilith took the head of the last of the infected as Harding rose to his feet.

“You,” Harding snarled at Sebastian. “How?”

Sebastian offered him a quick sardonic grin. “Looks like you’re not the only one who’s hard to kill.”

Harding scoffed. “I will tear your pretty head off, boy.” He leapt.

Sebastian spun away. He noticed Mendez run to retrieve his discarded hand gun. He reached into one of the pockets of his tactical vest, retrieved a full clip and tossed it to Mendez, who quickly reloaded the gun.

A knife flashed in Harding’s hand. Sebastian recognised it and he growled as he dodged. “That’s mine,” he snapped.

Harding grinned viciously and attacked again. Larger, faster and stronger than Sebastian, Harding used his advantages well. Sebastian was always on the back foot, barely coming out of every series of attacks. Yet, to his increasing frustration, the captain was unable to put a mark on the agent.

Mendez watched the two move, trying to keep up so he could get a shot at Harding. The pair moved too fast. Their two bodies were too close together to make any kind of shot safe. The risk of hitting Sebastian was too great. Frustrated but not defeated, Mendez narrowed his eyes, gun raised, seeking an opening.

Sebastian stumbled back under an onslaught of strikes. How he managed to block them surprised even him, but it came at a price. He lost his knife. Seeing the opening, Harding reached past Sebastian’s guard and wrapped his fingers around Sebastian’s throat. For the second time, he slammed Sebastian against a wall and lifted him by his throat. With his knife hand, he struck for Sebastian’s ribs. Sebastian grunted as the tip of the blade punctured his skin. He slammed his hand down and pushed, stopping the blade before it got deep enough to do real damage.

Lilith attacked. One of her swords bit deep into Harding’s thick forearm, but jarred to a stop at the bone. The other sword sung at his head. Harding let go of his knife to block the next strike. He did not release Sebastian. Sebastian grabbed the knife hilt, finding comfort in the familiar grip, and yanked it out.

With one hand, Harding disarmed Lilith. Snapping his hand around her neck, he brought her around and slammed her hard into the wall beside Sebastian. “Now here’s the question,” Harding growled, turning his feral gaze to Sebastian, “Do I keep you alive long enough to watch what I will do to her, or —”

Mendez fired, the bullet piercing the back of Harding’s head. The momentary pause this created gave Sebastian enough time to lift the knife and cut across Harding’s wrist, severing the tendons and forcing his release. He fell to the ground, gasping. Lilith grasped the sword stuck in Harding’s forearm and yanked it free. With a shake of his head, Harding, recovered from the shot. He flung her away before she swung at his head. He turned, facing Mendez. His eyes blazed.

Mendez had seen his friend angry often. Harding’s temper was legendary in Sigma. But he had never seen the captain like this; his mind utterly lost to rage and hatred. He swallowed, lifting his gun again as Harding rushed him. He managed to get two shots off before Harding reached him; one in the chest, the other in the head. Neither did much to slow him down.

Instinct saved Mendez from the first strike, but not the second. Harding’s boot hit him square in the chest, knocking the wind from him. The strike lifted him off the ground.

As Sebastian stood, Mendez flew backwards past him, right into the pit.

“Go!” he yelled at Lilith. He needn’t have. Lilith was already moving, diving down the hole after Mendez.

Harding turned back to Sebastian, roaring his fury. Sebastian lifted his knife and prepared for the attack.

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