Liquid Bank - Chapter 11
A Megacosm Novelette
Chapter 2 - Economically Viable
Chapter 6 - The Communication Room
Chapter 11 – Overload
Bwing!
A bullet bounced off a piece of metal, sparking a firecracker white as it caromed closer to Matthew’s head than he would like and made him duck down.
“Dammit, keep them off me!” Matthew shouted as he knelt at the box connected to the massive silver generator that chugged a smooth rhythm.
“I’m trying!” Meagan shouted back as she hid behind a round metal pipe that was painted a light cream. Bursts of gunfire pinged against the pipe that made her cower further. When there was a momentary break in the barrage, she held out both arms, taking careful aim and fired a single shot.
“Did you get one?” Matthew asked as he pressed buttons.
Gun fire echoed off the walls.
“Guess!” Meagan shouted back, “and I only have seven rounds left. I thought we had a Mega helping?”
Between a jumble of red steam pipes, Radio’s eyes glowed the same color as he held out his hand. “Get off my back!” he yelled as more gunfire erupted. She noticed that the shooters seemed more interested in him than her, concentrating their fire to keep him pinned down. “I have to actually see the weapons before I can destroy them,” two more rounds burst near his head that made Radio duck for cover, “and they keep weaving!”
“Smart,” Matthew muttered as he pulled on levers and turned the dials.
“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Meagan shouted just before firing off a shot.
Matthew glanced back at her, “no,” he said, then turned back to the panel, “but if action movies taught me anything it’s that if you turn everything up to capacity, something will blow.”
“That’s it?” Meagan asked, her back against the pipe, “That’s the plan?”
“Yup,” Matthew replied as he went down the panel and clicked random switches.
“We’re going to die,” Meagan said, taking a breath before firing several shots. “Five rounds left!”
Mathew studied the panel. He had pushed every button and turned every dial he saw, yet all he was able to accomplish was change the generator noise from a low hum to an angry growl.
“Think, think think! What makes a machine overheat?” He yelled to himself as the sound of gunfire grew closer.
The generator was top of the line, made with solid steel and with an Automatic Transfer Switch that would transfer the power to a smaller generator to keep the emergency power on. There was a power source other than traditional diesel, but the machine parts inside still needed to protect against friction. Looking about, Matthew studied the signs.
“I got it!” Matthew shouted, “Radio, Meagan, I’m going to need cover!”
“What?” Meagan shouted, but Matthew was already in a stride that his ankle would allow, bullets pelting the surrounding metal.
Looking to her left, Megan saw Radio leaning through the pipes, eyes burning a red that cast a blood shadow on the wall. In the distance, she heard the same distinct explosions as the stairwell, hearing the screams as several of the advancing gunmen fell from his power.
There was nearly hope in her heart that they would live until a round punched Radio in the stomach, pushing him against the pipe behind him, his back making a sickening thump.
“Radio!” Meagan shouted, but gunfire kept her pinned.
Touching his stomach and bringing back red, Radio groaned, “Okay, that’s it!”
A red surged over Meagan’s crouching spot, forcing her to bring her hand up to see a shadow walking through the haze. Clutching his stomach, Radio crawled between the pipes to stand out in the open, the red light of his eyes covering his body like a burning sun.
The light reached out to cover many of the gunmen in his aura.
“Take this!” Radio shouted as their rifles exploded in a cacophony of explosions that sent shards of flesh and metal piercing nearby pipes that vomited steam.
Looking over her pipe hideout, Meagan saw that Radio’s attack killed the advancing gunmen, leaving painted streaks of blood where they once stood. Yet, he did not get them all. The man she saw while in the tunnel, the one they called Broden, had kept several men behind who rose up from their hiding spaces to fire.
Bursts of gunfire ripped through Radio, who stumbled back into the pipes, the red light around him dimming into darkness.
“Oh my God,” Meagan gasped, seeing the Mega on his back, body torn by the barrage. “You murderers!” She shouted while taking aim and firing, hitting one of the gunmen in the head, which made his head flip back in a spray of blood. As the rest of the gunmen took cover from her shots, Meagan ran in Matthew’s direction, ducking beneath pipes and blowing steam.
Sliding beneath the generator motor, Matthew’s eyes moved in all directions. In his mind, he knew that the dying red light he saw meant Radio had fallen and Meagan didn’t have enough bullets to last very long.
“C’mon, c’mon!” Matthew shouted until his eyes found what he was looking for.
He twisted a rusty valve, fingers slipping from the substance slicked around it, until the metal fell with a thump and rolled off his chest. A slick black substance followed, coating Matthew’s lips that he spat out before rolling from beneath the generator. As he scrambled to his feet, he saw Meagan running towards him, eyes wide.
“Radio is dead,” she said in huffs.
“I know,” Matthew replied, taking her hand, “C’mon, let’s go!”
Holding her hand, Matthew limped his way further into the generator room, sparing seconds to turn red knobs on the pipes that coughed steam.
Behind him, Broden peered over his cover then down to the puddles that used to be his cohorts.
“Let’s get these bastards!” Finlay said just behind him as he changed his magazine. Only he, Broden and two other men had survived the Mega’s fury.
“No,” Broden replied.
“No?” Finlay replied, eyes twitching with anger. “First you told us not to kill them until that Mega went nuts, and now we can’t kill them again?’
“Jus give it a sec,” Broden said as he peered about.
The chugging from the generator increased, a low whine that turned into the sound of a jet engine spiraling to earth. The generator screamed, shaking the pipes near them, and making the other men cover their ears before Broden heard a click and the room plunged into darkness.
The’re it is,” Broden said in the darkness.
Sirens blared from the loss of motion and power as all around them the bank lurched to a stop. The black only seemed to amplify the sound of glass shattering around them. Pipes rattled in their moorings, others screaming as they burst water from busted seams. It felt like an earthquake had struck the bank. Broden hugged a strong pipe, feeling the barge ease to a stop as he waited for the ATS to kick in.
Pale light illuminated portions of the generator room and Broden looked around, only letting go of the pipe when he felt the rattle cease beneath his fingers.
Broden turned away as he spoke into his walkie-talkie, “Is it down?” He asked.
“Checking,” Intruder’s voice replied. There was a static on the other end and Broden tapped his finger against the plastic. “Yes, that did it.”
A smile broke out on Broden’s face.
“You’re smiling?” Finlay said, rushing to clutch Broden by the shirt collar. “Our mates are dead, and you’re smiling!”
“Yeh, I’m smiling,” Broden said, glancing down at the clutched fist beneath his chin, then at Finlay’s eyes. “Knocking out that genny reset the vault security. We have moments to get inside and get the loot,” then he nodded towards the dead men, “or do you want your mates to have died for nothin?”
Finlay’s face fell as he unclenched Broden’s suit jacket.
Leaning forward, Broden clutched him by the shoulders. “You want your revenge, eh?” He said, “Now you’ll get it. Take Reese and Gary with you, hunt those basturd’s down and kill em.”
Finlay finally looked up and nodded, chambering a round of his rifle with a metallic click.
Broden watched as Finlay and the others made their way through the pipes and steam, then turned and said into the walkie, “Connor, Shaw, you had better be done down there by now,” he said, “and meet me in the vault. We have a bank to rob.”
Novelette
“Writing a novelette allows the writer to create all that supporting information to back up a short story. Whether a short story is meant as a scene in a larger story, or simply as a story by itself, it will always be taking part in a larger world.” -ThisIsWriting
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Plot:
"A chance encounter introduces Linda Mark to Henry Collins, a recently discharged Green Beret. Used to dealing with war veterans because of her husband Shawn, a former Army Ranger, they quickly strike up a friendship."
"Yet, events spiral out of control, and Linda and Shawn struggle to survive as Henry’s affection for Linda turns into a deadly obsession."
You can find The Mark at these online stories: