Light, Glorious Light

Run, Akiva, Run

Akiva laughed but the joke was on her.

She saw light up ahead, bright and pure unlike the illumination that filtered in through the cracks in the depot's crumbling edifice. She also heard a thumping sound growing louder and louder. At first Akiva thought it was her pulse pounding in her ears, but quickly realized she was approaching the sound. Doubt filled her veins and she hesitated. The infected were unpredictable monsters, and she was one scout in the middle of nowhere. The thumping could have been anything, but Akiva couldn't afford to linger.

A ragged howl drew her attention to a massive infected lumbering toward her. Behind it were dozens of his brethren drooling in their eagerness to get a hold of her. With the unknown ahead and a wild horde at her back, Akiva chose the former and ran for the light. The thumping continued to grow louder until she stepped out into the light and her Armpad communicator came to life.

"This is Vulture Six. Raheem, come in."

The ancient depot jutted from the side of a rocky cliff face. Hovering just above was one of Phalanx's three flying transports. There had once been a fleet of eight, but The Waste was unforgiving and Phalanx's mechanics lacked the knowledge and capability to fabricate the pieces needed for repair. They were forced to cannibalize the failing machines in order to triage the ones that could still fly. It was a metaphor for the dying world. The living fed off of the dying to survive.

"I see her, Captain!" shouted a familiar voice. Tears spilled from the corners of Akiva's eyes as she swelled with joy. It was Gemma Acosta, a lieutenant of the Valkyrie. The Valkyrie protected Phalanx and her sister city, Cavalry, by patrolling The Waste for bandits and signs of infection. "Those monsters are on her back. Give her some cover!"

A hand grabbed her shoulder, tearing through leather, cloth, and flesh with ease. She screamed, a bullet sailed past, a head exploded. The horde behind her roared. Dozens of voices cried in unison, and the number was steadily rising. The Valkyrie responded with a volley of death. The afternoon air suddenly filled with blood, metal, and screams.

"Ain't risking my bird in a landing, there's too many of them. Figure something out, Lieutenant," the pilot said.

"I hope you heard that down there. You're gonna have to jump," Gemma shouted.

Vulture Six banked and descended until it was parallel to the cliff edge.

Akiva was almost spent, her muscles at their limit, her chest was about to burst, but the infected were still coming. They were relentless, sleeping only when there was no food to be had. They'd devoured the world, leaving only the scraps of humanity behind. Akiva Raheem had no intentions of being consumed too.

She pushed her legs through the liquid atrophy threatening to seize her body in vice-like cramps. Behind her, an infected shrieked, his spittle splashing the back of her neck. A bullet whizzed between her legs and the creature rolled forward knocking them both to the ground. Akiva and the monster rolled end over end kicking up sand, dirt, and small rocks. The young woman held her head and let her shoulders soak up the damage, as she became entangled with the infected. Akiva tumbled free from the body, and teetered dangerously as she did her best to make it to the waiting transport. The pustules on the body popped and sizzled in the direct sunlight that bathed the edge of the cliff. The infected corpse writhed violently before bursting open. The body may have looked human, but there was something else living inside of it, something squid-like. The alien shape caught fire in the light of day.

Akiva had no time to ponder the nature of the monsters or the infection that had spread across the globe like wildfire. The infected were still pouring out of the depot, and the only thing keeping them at bay was the sun peeking out between the spires of the old mountainside. Gemma and the pilot were yelling her name over the Armpad. She had to go, they wouldn't wait forever.

A ten foot gap stretched between the cliff edge and Vulture Six. A tall tattoo-covered Valkyrie fearlessly hung out over the empty space, one hand gripping the side of the transport and the other reaching for Akiva.

"Come on, girl! I'll catch you."

Akiva trusted the Valkyrie, and trusted that The Great Mother wouldn't have sent help only to let her die. She took a few steps back and made a running leap. For a mad moment she feared that she didn't have enough momentum, that she would plummet the hundred feet to her death upon the rocks below. Then the strong Valkyrie had her hand and was pulling her into the transport. The women aboard all sang thanks to The Great Mother in unison. Akiva gasped her praise through lungs begging for reprieve.

"How? How did you get here so fast?" Akiva asked as Vulture Six slowly rose into the air.

"We were heading back from New Decatur when we heard your distress beacon," Gemma explained, referring to the signal Akiva triggered when she stumbled upon the nest of infected. Gemma shook the tall Valkyrie's hand, and patted her on the back.

"Lucky you," mumbled Maira, with her normal melancholy tone. Akiva barely recognized the young woman among the others in her combat gear.

"Yes, The Great Mother is looking down on yo-" started the tall Valkyrie.

Vulture Six shook. One moment the woman was there and the next she was gone.

Festering tentacles pulled at the transport's tail and landing skids. The vehicle listed to the side. A massive infected had lashed out with tentacles protruding from his pustules. Smaller infected were coming for them, scaling his outstretched arm like a scaffolding. Gemma ordered her warriors to fire on the monster and a hail of bullets bombarded him. While the Valkyrie were trying to kill the creature, the pilot struggled to keep her bird airborne.

The cockpit controls trilled a wild chorus. Akiva pulled herself into the seat beside Maira and snapped on the restraints. The tentacles caught fire as the sunlight took its toll on the monster's foul flesh. Infected fell from his latticed tendrils, their pustules exploding as they plummeted to the rocks below. The stench of old milk filled the air. Vulture Six broke free with a jolt that tossed Gemma from the transport.

They were spinning, screaming. An infected crawled through the doorway, burning but still grabbing for the women as the vehicle fell from the sky.