Technomancer (Unspeakable Things: Book One)

probably joined Gilling’s group for the free food.
    “Can you thicken the air up enough to stop them?” I asked Abigail.
    She shook her head, concentrating on her task. She was doing a good job. The Gray Men clearly didn’t know where we were. But they knew they’d seen something out here. It occurred to me that we couldn’t retreat easily now. Abigail’s barrier would vanish if we ran, and then they would see the big rip. They would come through right into the mansion, and not in the wine cellar this time. The cultists would bein even more danger after that. This was exactly the kind of thing the enemy seemed to be looking for.
    “Just hold on, everyone,” I said. “They haven’t spotted us yet.”
    I shouldn’t have said those words. The vehicle turned away, then swung around and plowed right into the region of space we were in. The blinding headlight swiveled and bathed us in light.
    I could have ordered everyone to step back right then, to retreat. Maybe I should have done it. But I wanted to let these gray bastards know they were in a fight first. I was tired of running like a rat. When leading the living, it’s probably best to think of them rather than the dead, but I couldn’t help it. I thought of Holly, and I wanted revenge.
    “Fire!” I ordered. “Knock out that light!”
    Everyone opened up. I felt a gush of heat go by me and the van-shaped vehicle rocked with the impact. Here and there the smooth metal vehicle puffed flame and white sparks.
    I squeezed off rounds one at time. Fiona worked her knife in the air like a Japanese chef, and Old Red loosed more blasts. The light did go out, and I was never sure afterward which of us nailed it. If I had to guess, I would give the honor to Old Red. Whatever the case, we were cast into gloom again. Several shapes piled out of the vehicle. They were Gray Men, I was sure of that. They didn’t talk or shout. I’d never heard one utter a word up until now, and this occasion wasn’t any different.
    They were carrying those big beam weapons of theirs, but they didn’t have a chance to freeze us. Old Red let go first and his next puff caught three of them. They were staggering, burning. Like inhuman torches, they clawed at the sky and fell into the sands, thrashing.
    “Circle around to the left, Fiona,” I said. I didn’t want them to take cover on the far side of the vehicle and shoot under it. We had to stop them quickly.
    Fiona did as I asked without hesitation, scuttling sideways like a crab over the desert floor, staying low and keeping her eyes on the vehicle. She
wanted
to fight. I could see that clearly. Could these objects, depending on their natures, alter the mental outlook of their users? I felt it had to be the case, watching Fiona. No normal young girl would act like that. She was a like some kind of barbarian.
    “Keep up our shield, Abigail,” I shouted back over my shoulder. I glanced and saw she still stood with her hands held high. To stop her, they were going to have to cut her down. I didn’t want to see that happen, so I kept flanking them.
    In the end, a Gray Man hiding on the other side of the vehicle edged around it, shooting. He didn’t see me immediately in the dark. The only source of light was the big rip itself, slowly spinning in the sand. Unfortunately, the Gray Man got off a shot before I could take him down with my pistol. A blue-white blaze of plasma fired toward the rip. I put five rounds into him and he went down. I kept going around the vehicle. There was only one other Gray Man, and he was dead in the desert. Fiona stood over him with her knife in her twitching hand. She panted and stared at the body.
    We’d won.

Victory had come at a price. The Gray Man who’d gotten off a shot had killed Old Red. His cap and the dolly had survived, of course, but the rest of his upper body was a block of ice. The ice had cracked when he’d hit the sand. You could see frozen organs and shattered ribs inside.
    Abigail stood still, eyes closed, concentrating.
    Fiona came up beside me and stared at Old Red’s remains. “What do we do now?” she asked.
    I had been scanning the horizon, but didn’t see further signs of the enemy. I figured they had to be coming, though. The group we’d ambushed must have reported our position. After losing contact, the next time they sent a force they would come in strength. I imagined Gray Men quietly scrambling and loading their weapons into more trucks out there