THE LAST MAN: Part Thirty

“Do you realize what you’ve done?” My betrayal is carved into the Rebel leader’s expression. She is not Bethune any longer. She cannot be, for with her crimes and short-sightedness the Rebel Leader is the antithesis of Bethune.

I am held against the wall by two of her bodyguards. There is a knife blade at my throat. It presses into the flesh enough that an errant move by either of us would cause it to pierce the flesh. I weigh the answer to her question carefully, knowing that an errant word could be far deadlier than an unguarded movement. Still I cannot play the fool, even now and in this precarious position.

“You’ll address one atrocity with another?” I accuse.

“You have seen their crimes. The Reclamation System is the backbone of the Corporation’s control and power. In one blow we strike at Section Twenty-one and martyr our enslaved comrades.”

“And thousands of Innocent Associates?”

“They are already dead. They gave themselves to the Corporation.”

“They were born into it.”

“I am fighting for the future.”

“And this accomplishes that goal?”

“This will shake the Corporation to its core!”

Three thunderous explosions shatter the sewers in quick succession. Glowing chunks of shrapnel tear at the sewer walls around me. A sudden fusillade of bullets rips the air like murderous hail, cutting down a number of the fighters nearby.

Suddenly Section Twenty-one fighters are everywhere in the sewers. In the darkness their incessant muzzle flashes capture images of unspeakable carnage, and at first their organized assault all but overwhelms the rebels. They advance steadily, pouring fire into their enemy, but in the darkness they are nothing against the smaller and fiercer rebels. The trooper’s cries for retreat or screams of agony are deafening as they are cut to pieces.

Within minutes the fighting all but ends. The moans of the wounded and dying are punctuated by scattered shots, or brief and distant fusillades. The battle is far from over. The rebels caught Section Twenty-one by surprise, but there can be little doubt they will return, wielding its vengeance and might against their shadowy enemy.