Chapter 29

THE HUNT BEGINS

By the time they finally moved out, the sun was high overhead. After everything the night before, they had agreed that real sleep mattered more than an early start.

Breakfast passed in near silence. Augustus had slipped out almost as soon as he woke, off to scout sewer access points around the district ring they had narrowed down the night before. Without him, the group moved through their routines, missing the familiar rhythm of his home-cooked meals.

It surprised Alexander how much the absence of one person could be felt.

They made final preparations while conserving energy. The morning’s revelation came when they found Auggy had replaced all their masks. Outwardly they looked identical, but inside they carried upgrades: airtight sealing for oxygen filtration, with an internal mount for their multi-mode goggles.

Alexander made a mental note to talk to him about their finances once this was over. Augustus had been shouldering so much, and none of them had asked what it cost him.

I’ll bring it up when things quiet down again. Maybe we’ll need to rob a few stores of our own. Just without all the death.

By the time Augustus returned, the rest of them were ready. He’d selected four locations where he would drop them off. The plan wasn’t to sweep every tunnel, but to work toward the center and triangulate. With some luck, they would find some signs of activity. With more luck, they would find skeletons or even the villains themselves.

Alexander set the rules before they left.

“No engagements,” he said. “If you encounter one of the four—any of them—you fall back. Record the location and get out. No heroics, no emotions.”

He looked directly at Annie. She only crossed her arms and muttered what might, generously, be called agreement.

“Given the location and distance, real-time comms will be unreliable at best,” Alexander went on. “I want message check-ins every ten minutes. Agreed?”

Everyone murmured agreement.

“In the event of an encounter, alert the others, then get to the surface and identify your position. Augustus will handle extraction.”

Augustus nodded. “If in doubt, call me. And if it turns ugly, remember your rings. If one goes off, we all come running.”

“We regroup in exactly two hours,” Alexander finished. He extended his hand into the center.

The others laid theirs over his, taking a moment of silent acknowledgment. They all knew the risk. They were ready anyway.

“Let’s start the hunt,” Alexander said.

One by one, Augustus portaled them out. Talia first, then Annie, then Alexander.

He emerged in the shadow of an old industrial lot, tucked behind a collapsed fence and overgrown storage sheds. The sewer hatch was half-rusted into the concrete, but with effort he pried it loose.

He descended carefully. Metal rungs clanked under his boots, echoing loudly. A few from the bottom, he let go and dropped, landing with a thud on the narrow concrete path beside the sewer channel.

He paused to listen. It was quieter than he expected. Not that he really knew what a sewer was supposed to sound like.

Alexander removed his mask, feeling the seal loosen with a pop. He slotted the goggles into place, switched them to night vision, and sealed the mask again with a faint hiss. With the system ready, he set off. His black duster hung open over the tactical vest and shoulder rig, new weapons at his sides, gadgets within easy reach.

He chuckled quietly. Full battle regalia.

He checked both directions, then headed deeper into the tunnels.

Time stretched in the silence.

Alexander advanced with deliberate care, switching tunnels when they angled the way he needed. The further he went, the more certain he became that the sewers could lead him to their targets.

He hadn’t found much; just enough to keep the tension from fading. Gouges along the walls that weren’t from tools. Bones, maybe. Rats torn apart and left to rot. Not eaten, just mangled.

He was glad to have the mask. Well, mostly the filtration system.

At each junction, he deployed drones. They weren’t much to look at; simple bottlecap-sized machines that buzzed loudly and moved swiftly. They were dim to his senses, only capable of receiving simple instructions. Enough to scout down tunnels and return thirty seconds later after feeding imagery to his implant.

Alexander was pleased to discover he could recharge the drones with Electrokinesis. It required a delicate touch, the barest thread of current, in order not to overwhelm the tiny batteries. But each one only took seconds.

He checked in regularly. Auggy and Annie reported nothing. Talia had found signs similar to his own. It was an efficient process… but it was also quite boring.

He reached another junction. Four tunnels branched off in different directions. Cracks ran along the walls here, and the one tunnel sloped down in the direction he needed to go. It looked older than the others.

He crouched, reaching for the drones. Then froze.

The noise was faint. But he’d heard it.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Something scraped against concrete. Then the sound of metal striking something. Again and again. Erratic and desperate.

Alexander waited, but the sounds only grew more frantic.

That definitely does not sound like rats. Or even skeletons.

He launched three drones into the unexplored tunnels, then slid carefully down the slope behind one.

The feed from the lead drone showed the fight before he saw it: three cybernetically enhanced fighters—two men and a woman—were fighting over thirty skeletons. One man lay on the ground, armored exoskeleton buckling under the relentless blows. The other two struggled to push back the tide, desperately trying to reach their companion.

Alexander broke into a jog, composing a message as he ran.

“I’ve found skeletons. They’re engaged with three chromers. Moving to assist,” he subvocalized, sending it with little expectation that it would be received from this far down.

He rounded the bend, switching the goggles to motion-assist mode. Floodlights strobed from the hunters’ rigs, casting harsh, flickering shadows across the tunnel. The two still standing were being forced back because every skeleton they smashed reformed seconds later.

The third lay pinned, exoskeleton groaning under the assault.

Alexander must have made a noise because the woman turned and spotted him, then shouted in panic.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! It’s one of the Demon Masks!”

The man spun. “Shit. They’re with these psychos! I’ll hold them, you get him!”

The woman hesitated. Then screamed and charged.

Alexander didn’t slow his jog. He studied her as they closed the distance toward each other. She felt slow compared to Annie and Talia. Reckless, even.

Or maybe I’m just faster now.

He reached for her with the sharpened edge of his will, Technopathy hammering into her cybernetics. He felt the familiar resistance of ownership pushing back against his intent. But he’d grown stronger since the last time he'd tried this.

Perhaps she might have succeeded if her own thoughts had been sharp, but her features bore only panic and fear.

Alexander shoved past the defenses and commanded:

Disobey.

He didn’t aim to disable the hunter fully, just to remove her as a nuisance long enough for him to deal with the actual threats.

Her limbs seized, jerking wildly. One arm locked, the other curled tight. She collapsed mid-sprint, tumbling across the floor.

Alexander moved past her without a second glance, closing toward the man still holding the line.

Twin metal tonfa snapped from his shoulder holsters and into his hands, crackling with current as he twirled them with familiarity

The second chromer was bracing hard against the wave of skeletons, being battered from every angle. His armor cracked, cybernetics straining as he slowly slid backwards.

Then Alexander arrived. The man turned, eyes widening in horror. Alexander thrust a tonfa over his shoulder.

Crack.

Electricity detonated against a skeleton’s chest before it collapsed into a heap.

Alexander pressed forward, stepping in with clean, methodical strikes. Each jab calculated to cause the most disruption as he worked his attacks around the meat-slash-machine-shield that was the second hunter.

Each skeleton that fell stayed down longer than before, as sparks of electricity continued to disrupt the reformation process.

Huh. Turns out bones are conductive.

Alexander continued the work, an unspoken agreement settling between the two parties. The bounty hunters, including the now recovered woman, kept what little distance they could as the three of them pushed through a tide of skeletons toward the downed man.

“You two keep our retreat path clear,” Alexander called out, sensing the shifting of bones, skeletons slowly reforming behind him. “I’ll get your friend.”

The hunters shared a glance, but obeyed.

Alexander braced the tonfa against his forearms and shoved into the swarm, pushing skeletons back into those behind. His mask and coat turned aside several hits before his boots began to slip backward on the damp surface.

He reached deep into the well of his Electrokinesis and unleashed it with full fury.

Arcs burst from his hands, the current conducted through the metal batons and into the skeletons in front. Sparks danced from one skeleton to the next, as they crumpled in a cascading wave.

Alexander stepped over scattered bones toward the fallen man. Blood pooled beneath the twisted frame of his exo-suit. He tried lifting, then dragging him, but the weight was too much.

“Hey!” Alexander called. “Grab your friend!”

The other two rushed in, hauling the injured man while Alexander cleared the way. At the junction, Alexander recalled his drones and slid them into the tubes along his belt.

The conscious man turned with a start, as if remembering Alexander’s presence. His arms raised warily, fingers clenching into fists.

Alexander eyed the pair thoughtfully, hearing only the rushing water and heavy breathing. And the clatter of skeletons moving away.

“This is where we part ways,” Alexander said. “I trust you’re not going to try to collect on my bounty.”

The hunters exchanged a glance.

“Why’d you help us?” the woman asked. “Ain’t those psychos your kind?”

He raised an eyebrow behind the mask. “Meand my kind… are here to put a stop to those monsters. But if we have to go through you and your kind to do it, we won’t hesitate.”

He turned and left the way he had come.

“Spread the word,” Alexander added. “Stay out of our way, and we’ll stay out of yours.”

The bounty hunters watched him leave, black duster swirling behind as the darkness swallowed him.

Alexander stepped into the safety of the AEGIS safe house and pulled his mask off, taking a deep breath and enjoying the freedom. A moment later, Talia stepped through, then Annie, and finally Augustus.

Talia sat gingerly on the couch arm, breath tight.

“Glad we’re all in one piece,” Augustus said, closing the portal.

“Just bruises,” Talia answered quickly. “I dropped into a lower chamber and was ambushed. The skeletons appeared dormant until disturbed.”

“But you’re okay, right?” Annie pressed, fussing over her.

Alexander saw more than Talia admitted. The way she favored one side, the swelling bruises. He said nothing, though he’d already come to a decision. He knew she wouldn’t like it, but it could wait until tomorrow.

The team traded accounts. Annie and Augustus had seen little. Talia described how she’d been ambushed, insisting she’d never been in any real danger despite the hits she’d taken to disengage.

Alexander recounted the fight between the bounty hunters and skeleton swarm. How he’d made use of his new tonfa, thanking Talia again for the training.

She reminded him that the training had barely begun. He groaned.

“I found a vantage point. It’s not perfect, but well-positioned,” Augustus said, retrieving a case. Inside lay sleek, high-powered binoculars. “These should be enough to keep watch.”

“Good,” Alexander said. “We’ll take turns with two on lookout duty, while two scan the news feeds. But for now, rest and recover.”

“Let’s order in,” Augustus said. “I spotted a nice Italian pizza place this morning. Smelled authentic.”

“Perfect,” Annie said. She grabbed a fresh pair of clothes and ran for the bathroom. “Dibs!”