TH - Book 2 - Chapter 42 - Foul Play

Even though the bridge to the east was significantly more ricketty than the previous one we’d crossed, I couldn’t help but keep glancing back at Skyler to make sure she was okay. It seemed that the sense of dread I felt crossing over the dark slurry below was eclipsed by my fear that something could happen to Skyler.

Grey just chuckled when she saw me twist around. “You do realize I can change that chair’s form at will. Even if the bridge did give out there’s more than enough nanites to reach up to the roof and hoist her out of trouble. You should worry about yourself.”

“I can’t help it,” I muttered. “If I let something happen to her I’d never be able to live with myself.”

“And I’m sure she’d be just as broken up if something happened to you,” Grey replied. “So pay attention to where you’re going so nothing happens.”

I begrudgingly followed her advice and turned back around, concentrating once again on my footing instead of the people behind me.

We made it to the other end without any issues. Despite there being a number of rusty holes in the bridge, it didn’t sway or creak as much as some of the previous ones. That being said, I really couldn’t fully relax until everyone finally stepped off the bridge.

“Did you want to rest for a moment?” Grey asked. 

“No, we need to keep moving if we want to catch up to this thing. I may not be fully comfortable crossing these bridges, but I can handle it,” I replied quietly.

“Good, because we still have one more bridge to cross before we get to our next destination,” Grey declared as she stepped past me and headed towards the bridge to the north.

I sighed, and fell into line behind her. Unlike the previous bridge, Grey didn’t give me any time to prepare, she just strode right on and started making her way across. I hesitated, just for a moment, before following.

Each step I took was accompanied by creaks, and groans. The metal trembled with every step, yet Grey moved on, seemingly completely confident in her footing. I, on the other hand, moved slowly, confirming each step was solid before taking the next.

I managed to get about half way across before finally glancing down into the dark abyss below. Normally the inky garbage filled water was calm, almost like glass, but as I stared down something stirred under the surface. 

Before I could say anything, dozens of tentacles shot from beneath the surface, latching onto the bridge. The structure groaned in protest as half a dozen Model Fours hoisted themselves out of the mire. 

“Ambush! Below!” I yelled before drawing my blade and severing the nearest tentacles. 

Behind me Skyler blinked, her concentration breaking for the first time in several minutes. “What?” 

“Get to the other side! I don’t think this bridge is going to hold!” I shouted, stabbing down through the grating to slay one of the beasts. It did little to deter them. Even though I managed to remove two of the Model Fours, more than a dozen had now grabbed onto the bridge.

Skyler attempted to climb down from her seat, but before she could it changed. The back of the chair grew straps, which grabbed Skyler under the arms, while the legs elongated, becoming more spider-like. Within seconds it went from being a slow, ponderous chair, to something agile. The metallic legs sprinted forward, stepping over me as they rocketed towards the end of the bridge. 

“No time for heroics here, concentrate on sending your drones to deal with our new friends! I’ll make sure Wind and I make it across,” Grey yelled as Skyler passed by.

If Skyler had a reply I didn’t hear it, I was too focused on the problem at hand.

The Model Fours had all but cut me off from the other end of the bridge, wrapping the entire structure with their tentacles as they slowly pulled themselves out of the water. I tried to cut my way forward, sever the tentacles like I had with the first Four, but the antithesis weren’t going down without a fight. The ones that had managed to raise themselves out of the water stabbed at me with tentacles tipped with sharpened bone harpoons. They weren’t exactly a threat, I cut these down as easily as all the others, but they slowed me down. 

On the other side of the swarm, Grey struck down the Antithesis with tentacles of her own. Long whip-like prehensile arms which stabbed deep into the water to kill off our attackers. Skyler’s drones even started getting involved. Hovering down, just out of reach of the Model Fours, to rake the monsters with their heavy machine guns.

Just when it felt like we were getting a handle on the situation there was a crack, almost like a gunshot, and the entire structure twisted sharply to the left, sagging between Grey and I. The sudden shift sent tumbling towards the edge, and if it wasn’t for my reflexes I probably would have plummeted into the water, but I managed to snag the edge of the bridge before I went over. 

The Model Fours weren’t done yet though. It was like they smelled blood. The creatures struck from every direction, the ones still hanging attempted to spear me, while the ones in the water did their best to pull me down. I did my best to keep them away, but hanging from one hand while swinging a sword from the other was significantly harder than fighting on solid ground. 

After several seconds of furious combat I finally felt something slip around my waist. I braced myself for the inevitable yank that would pull me off my perch, and into the disgusting water below, but instead of going down I found myself flying sideways.

I stared blankly at the antithesis below as I was carried up, out of their reach, and across to the otherside of the bridge.

“I told you I’d get both you and I across, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do!” Grey declared, now hanging from the same tentacles she’d been using as weapons earlier. Glancing down I finally saw it was one of these tentacles that had grabbed me, and not the antithesis. “Hold on, this might be a little bumpy.”

With the dexterity that surpassed the Model Fours Grey used her tentacles to swiftly carry us over to the far side. The Model Fours attempted to lash out, and stop us, but they were just too slow and before long I found myself placed safely on solid ground.

“Are you two alright?” Skyler asked as she ran over to where I collapsed.

“Fucking… fuck… I never want to go through that again,“ I muttered, shaking. “How the fuck did those Model Fours get under the bridge?”

“Oh, Model Fours were originally an aquatic species,” Grey explained matter of factly. “That pheromone they excrete that makes mammalian species panic is not only water soluble, but way worse when you’re exposed underwater. I guess the antithesis just liked using them as shock troops, because they can do a bit of everything.”

“That’s horrifying, but not really what I meant,” I explained. “Let me rephrase, what were they doing under the bridge? It almost seemed like they were waiting for us.”

“They probably were and, to be honest, we probably should have been expecting it,” Grey said quietly. “If this SV-Seventeen is as smart as a regular Seventeen it might be monitoring our pursuit through the vibrations, and sent those Model Fours to attack us when were most vulnerable. It wouldn’t be hard for it to identify a weak bridge and send some lackeys to attack us there.”

“You think it would do that?” Skyler asked.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the antithesis, it is to never underestimate them. Just because we’ve never seen a Model do something, doesn’t mean the antithesis are incapable of it, just that we haven’t seen it happen yet.”

“What do we do with our friends?” I muttered, gesturing back towards the bridge that was still swarming with Model Fours. They appeared to be attempting to make their way across to us, but while they were capable of both climbing walls and swimming, they didn’t seem to be that great at swinging.

“I’ll take care of them,” Skyler declared. “I’d guess you’d both like to stay on solid ground for a while. Maybe you can see if you can find any clues here while I use my drones to clean up.”

“Thanks,” I said, “I’ll do just that.”