“Yep, check,” Sky said.
In another ten minutes or so, they came to a wide intersection, and Sky broke off from the group and went to find a position. Nobody said anything, but Cass could almost feel the sharpening of focus. Nervous energy built. She drew closer to Wren, and tried to calm her breathing. It felt very much like they were walking into a fight.
When the enclave finally came into view, Cass quickly understood how it’d gotten its name. The tall building she’d seen before dominated the area, nine stories high. It was actually about fifty yards outside the wall of the enclave, just to the right of it from their direction, looming over it like a headstone.
“Main gate’s just around to the right,” Gamble said. “Swoop, Mouse, with me. We’ll take point. Wick, fall back and watch the rear. The rest of you stay about five meters behind me. If anybody starts popping off, just hit the ground until it’s quiet again. Or until I tell you otherwise.
“Sky,” she said, “you set…? No, we’re coming up on it now… alright. Well, stay put, we’ll check it out.”
“That’s weird,” Wick said.
“Maybe they’ve loosened up,” Gamble answered. “Still. Eyes up.”
Cass wanted to ask what the exchange was about, but thought better of it. Everyone else was switched on, no need to distract them. They approached the enclave, which was surrounded by a hexagonal concrete and metal wall, maybe fifteen feet high. The wall itself looked fairly well assembled; clean welds held the obviously scavenged parts together. It wasn’t the prettiest place she’d seen, but they’d constructed it with some skill. There were a few scattered watchtowers peeking over the top, though as they got closer she could tell the towers were actually constructed next to the wall on the inside, rather than on top of it. Maybe not ideal, but certainly functional. She got the feeling the place had been added on to over the years, rather than having been planned from the start.
Wren tensed up beside her.
“Mama,” he said quietly. “It’s not right.”
Cass slowed her pace. He stared straight ahead at the wall, eyes wide, shaking his head.
Gamble was just turning the corner around the wall and getting a view of where the gate was. She stopped short, and Swoop walked up right beside her.
“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Swoop said. He readjusted his weapon on its sling and started towards the gate.
The rest of the group gathered behind Gamble. Wren called after Swoop. “Don’t go in,” he said. “It’s not safe.”
Now that Wren brought it to her attention, Cass could feel it too. There was a weird energy there. Ethereal, evasive. Wild. Angry. But something vaguely familiar that she couldn’t place.
“Not again,” Wick said.
The gate had two doors, opening inward, and at first it just looked like the people of Ninestory had left it open. It wasn’t that uncommon for towns to let people enter freely during the day. But as Cass drew nearer, it became clear something had gone wrong. Towards the center, the metal was bent inwards, as if it’d been struck by some great force. Near the top of both doors, the hinges had flexed and pulled away. Something had most definitely breached the gate.
“Mama, don’t,” Wren insisted. He was hanging back, away from the gate. Wick and Swoop moved into the enclave with cautious steps. Finn and Mouse followed after, and the four men began to fan out with their weapons lowered, but shouldered.
“Sky, bring it in,” Gamble said. She and Able remained outside the gate with Cass and the boys. “You boys be careful.”
“Wren, what is it? What are you feeling?” Cass asked.
“There’s something in there, Mama.”
There were a number of buildings visible from the main entrance, but they were all closed up, windows dark. For all intents and purposes, the place looked completely abandoned.
“I don’t think there’s anything in there, Governor,” Gamble said.
Think they all left? Able signed.
“Could be. Seems odd, though. Ninestory’s been around for years. Don’t see why they’d pull up and head out now.”
There was a noise behind them, and Cass turned to see Sky jogging up to join them.
“What’s the word?” he said as he drew near.
“Dunno yet,” Gamble answered. “Could be an attack. Could be they up and left.”
Sky let out an exasperated sigh. “Didn’t we just do this?”
“Pretty much.”
“Wasn’t that great the first time, you know.”
Inside the enclave, the four team members were approaching the nearest building. Wick led the way, with Finn right behind him, while Mouse and Swoop held off a few yards and covered their flanks.
“Yeah, Wick, I got you,” Gamble said. “…Check. Just be careful. You see something you don’t like, you come right back out.”
“Please,” Wren said, “please, let’s just go. Let’s go back.”
Cass went down on one knee and drew Wren to her. He was trembling.
“Gamble, I really think we should listen to Wren,” Cass said.
“I hear him,” Gamble said. “Don’t worry, we’re not gonna stay long.”
Wick eased open the front door and flowed in with Finn in support. They disappeared into the darkened building. Mouse and Swoop waited outside, weapons up, casually scanning.
“Check,” Gamble said, and then looking back at Cass and Wren, “Front room’s clear. They’re just gonna check the lower level.”
The words had barely left her mouth when the gunfire barked from inside the building. Gamble cursed, and immediately the whole team switched on, weapons up, closing in on the building. Wren clapped his hands over his ears.
The gunshots continued, and a few seconds later Finn appeared in the doorway, firing his weapon with one hand and dragging something backwards with the other. He was screaming for Mouse.
It took a moment for Cass to realize what Finn was dragging: Wick. He was on his back, and his legs were fishtailing along the ground, trying to help his brother propel him backwards away from the building. Wick still had his weapon up, firing.
Mouse and Swoop started advancing towards the door — right as the first of the Weir stumbled out into the daylight. They both opened up, and the Weir dropped, but it was quickly replaced by another, and then another. Cass’s mind couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing, as a stream of Weir came pouring out into the street.
“Back! Fall back!” Gamble shouted, and all guns were up and firing, cutting down the impossible wave that flowed out of the building. Finn went down hard, fighting to drag Wick further away, but no matter how many they killed, the tide of Weir kept gaining ground. Mouse ran forward and skidded to a knee beside Wick, firing into the advancing horde.
Swoop let out a howl of pure rage and walked forward, unleashing an unrelenting torrent of gunfire. Able sprinted towards his comrades. Sky remained at the gate, methodically firing shot after shot after shot, with barely a second in between to acquire a new target.
And just when Cass thought the team was sure to be overwhelmed, the tide broke and the last of the Weir toppled to the ground, mere feet from where Wick lay.
“Come on, get him up, get him up!” Finn shouted, but Mouse was already there, lifting Wick to his feet. Mouse wrapped one of Wick’s arms over his shoulder and hauled him up, jogging away from the building and the mass of bodies that lay sprawled in the street. Even from where Cass knelt, she could see the dark stains soaking Wick’s chest, and the paleness of his face.
The others kept their weapons up as they backpedaled towards the gate. Cass was still trying to process what had just happened when the sounds started. It was muffled at first, an indistinct mass of white noise coming from somewhere within the enclave. But as it grew in intensity, it also sharpened, and Cass realized she wasn’t hearing a single sound, but rather some countless number of them blending together.