A Clockwork Green Ch. 12

"Where's Mackenzie," Tubbins asks for the third time since I scooped him up. He keeps looking behind us. The rest of the children settled into my wake when I kept running. After about a half mile, we come to the first split in the tunnel, and I set him back down. He looks like he's about to cry, and he's not the only one. I think they all can sense my unease. "Why isn't she with you?"

I kneel down and put both hands on his shoulders while looking him in the eyes. "Mackenzie bought us time, sweetie." He sniffles a little as he nods. "And now, I am going to go back and make sure she's okay."

Raphe and Sera talk over each other in their urgency.

"You're going back there alone?"

"You're leaving us here alone?"

"This is not a debate or a democracy." I stand up and unsheathe my sword. "I am going back for her. You two get the children to safety. Remember the location we discussed?" Raphe swallows hard and nods. "Good. Make your way over there as quickly and safely as you can. Mackenzie and I will be along soon." They all look at me with trepidation, and I offer them a smile. "Courage, little ones." With that, I spin on the heel of my boot and sprint off.

So much effort wasted on trash. On the unworthy. Amaranth's voice echoes in my head. How you disappoint me, Charlotte. If you had only trusted m-

"Shut it, Amaranth." My teeth grind in anger as I push her out of my mind. All that matters is my real Mistress. Nothing will keep me from her. Not you, not him... not anyone!"

I come to a stop as I hop up on the platform in the station, looking about for any signs of where those machines have taken her. Scorch marks are scattered about where I last saw her. Gods, she almost melted the concrete! That would make sense, since she was trying to distract them. Still, I heard her lay into that... thing. There ought to be three mounds of scrap with the amount of firepower she was throwing at them, not just one.

Something moans as it approaches from behind me. I reverse my grip on the hilt of my blade and thrust backward, gutting a Deadie before yanking the blade back out. I don't even bother to turn around to look as I walk over to the epicenter of the charring, and kneel down to examine the wreckage. If it took all of her casting to do this to just one of them, then I'm going to have to amend my tactics. Direct explosive attacks are out... but the things still have roughly human anatomy. I look around and find a relatively undamaged arm lying a short distance off, still intact. The blade flares, and a moment later the arm lays in two pieces, cleanly severed at the elbow joint. I smile grimly and lash out in an arc. The Deadie approaching from my left hits the ground. Twice.

With that out of the way I run to the doors leading into the substructure, stopping to survey the room once I enter. Some kind of service room? Meant to allow maintenance workers access to the building's support machinery? There's a short hallway directly ahead of me, and I can hear the faint sounds of some kind of walking machine echo back to me. I creep along the hall and peek around the corner.

I can see one of them now. It's moving in a patrol along the hallway and, oh good, it's back toward me. I round the corner and slink down the hall toward it. The sentry has a little more distance to go before it reaches the next intersection. I take off at a dead run, closing the distance with my sword held out to my side and trailing fire behind it. It surprises me how easily my sabre cuts through the joint of its' left knee, and it doesn't seem to react right off as it tumbles backwards. I scramble to my feet and round back in on the thing. "Alert! Unit compromised! Reque-" The blade slices into the cables and hoses of the sentry's neck, and it's head flies away in a shower of sparks.

The blade's fire winks out, and I smile a bit to myself. Not bad for a showy dancer, eh Captain? I head through the door at the end of the hallway and gasp. Scorch marks! Mackenzie was here! Hold on a little longer, Mistress... I'm coming for y-

"Halt!" Shit. Stupid, Charlotte... very stupid. "Stand fast!" I leap backwards as the sentry makes a grab for me, barely evading it's grasp. It lumbers towards me and reaches again, only this time it draws back a stump, it's left arm at the elbow falling to the floor with the clang. "Halt!" I roll under its' legs and clamber up its' back, pulling out the shotgun and placing the barrel right at the base of its' head. I let loose with both barrels and instantly regret it; the shriek of metal shearing through metal coupled with the boom makes far too much noise for my liking.

I jump off of it's back as it crashes to the ground, shaking my head in disgust. All this flashiness is wasting time. I must find her, and this is slowing me down. I head up the hallway, following the scorch marks on the walls.

***

I can barely hear a man's voice, low and soft as I step into the boiler room. I can see nothing yet though, the pipes and clouds of steam obscuring my view, but I can hear him all the same. I take another step between the pipes, and it's then that I can hear Mackenzie whimper. The man I hear talking... time slows to a crawl as I draw my blade.

You are not going to have any chance against Him. You know that, right? Amaranth's voice mocks me as I continue through the steam. I had only the merest shadow of his power, and look what I was able to do to you! To Mackenzie! What hope can you possibly have against him?

I killed you to save her, Amaranth. This fool is not going to be any different! My Mistress needs me. She's my friend, my lover... my owner. That's all that matters now. I won't let her down, I simply will NOT. The steam finally parts ahead of me.

He's standing with his back to me, hovering over Mackenzie and talking to her in hushed tones. She's curled up in a fetal position, rocking herself back and forth. She's babbling incoherently and sometimes even screaming him to stop, though it doesn't look like he's doing anything to her. My heart leaps to my throat as I watch.

The flame imbuement stays off. I watch him for a few moments before taking a single step forward, toe down first followed by the heel. Silently I pad towards him, one agonizing step at a time. He bends over Mackenzie to say something, and I take off at a dead sprint, my sword raised high for the killing blow. My heart pounds madly as I close the distance, and only at the last moment does he turn around. His face freezes in horror as we lock eyes.

The blade sinks deep into his skull, a sound like that of a watermelon being dropped from a great height echoing off the walls of the room. Blood spurts from the wound as I wrench the blade out and watch as his body drops to the floor like so much dead weight. Good riddance to rubbish.

Mackenzie stirs on the floor, and I rush over to her. Gently, almost fearfully I cradle her head in my hands and lift it into my lap. "Mistress? Mistress, please. Are you okay?"

"Yeah... yeah. I think I'm okay, Cherry." She reaches up and strokes my cheek with her fingertips. "Thanks for coming back for me, babe."

I giggle in relief as I take her hand in mine and squeeze it gently. "I thought I had lost you there for a second. I... I don't know what I would have done if you were gone." I lean over and kiss her nose before setting my forehead on hers. I inhale deeply and close my eyes. "You're the most important person to me, ever."

Mackenzie turns three shades of red and grimaces as she slowly gets to her knees. "Gods, always with th' sappy shows of affection. We got work ta do, and all you can think of is perfessin' yer undying love to me yet again." She pauses for a moment and the grimace turns into a faint smile. "There'll be time enough for that later."

I can't help but hug her hard around her neck. "As you wish, Mistress. So, it it over? Are we...?"

"Nope. That dude was an honest-to-gods blood mage. He had some fucked up plans for everythin', and we figured big in them." She gets to her feet, almost losing her balance in the process. I grab the neck of her duster in order to help her regain her footing. "He was gonna use us to create places where things could grow. Places that he owned, and he was gonna use them drones out there to work it tirelessly." She turns back to me with a deadly serious look that chills me to my core. "Cherry, this place has ta be destroyed. It ain't just the people in it, but the machines and the means to make more! Somethin' like this can't be left alone. Nothin' can be left for anyone else like him to use. Do you understand?"

I sheathe my sword in the scabbard slung over my shoulder and nod. I start to look away but she grabs me by the shoulders. "No, Cherry. I don't think ya do at all. I'm talkin' about Bringing. Down. The Grasp. No matter WHAT the cost."

There is such desperation in her eyes. Mackenzie isn't one to get rattled like this, so if this... structure has her so worked up, then it must be serious. "Of course. I'll do exactly as you say, Mistress. What would you have of me?"

She looks away and shakes her head slowly. "I dunno. I know I'm gonna have to blow it up somehow, but I can't generate that kinda firepower all by myself. I'm gonna need some kind of help."

I tap my finger to my lips. "That rail car we hid next to, by the support beam? That was a fuel car. We can use your magic like a fuse to ignite it, and that may weaken the foundation enough to bring it all down on itself." I smile and look to her for approval. "Like a controlled demolition."

"Well, it'll probably lot messier than that, but yeah." She nods and starts heading for the door. "Come on. The sooner we do this, the better." I fall in step behind her as she goes and almost run into her as she stops. She turns around to me and looks at me again. This time she's smiling, but there's also tears in her eyes. It's such a bittersweet expression, and it tears at me in ways I can't even begin to understand.

"Mistress...?"

"Cherry. Charlotte, listen to me." She licks her lips and pulls me close to her. "I'm not one fer words, an' I've always preferred to let my actions speak fer me. But I've known ya for so long. You've been my best friend, you've been my lover and now you've given me th' chance to be so much more." She shakes her head before kissing me on the cheek. "What I'm tryin' to tell ya is that I love ya, Cherry. I might've been able to avoid all that shit with Amaranth if I 'ad just toldja so then... but I'm tellin' ya now."

A sob catches in my throat as I stare at her, and I can barely bring myself to answer her. "I-I love you to, Mistress. Mackenzie."

She nods and smiles at me, then pushes the door open. "Come on. We got work to do."

***

It takes us a little while, but we have all the flammables we can find piled up around the four huge support columns in the basement. A train, more like a large trolley, is waiting for us at the entrance to the building. Mackenzie has me manning the controls as she turns to me and gives me a thumbs up. "Start 'er up, Cherry. Let's get the hell outta here."

"Right, Mistress." I throw down the lever and the trolley lurches forward, and Mackenzie smiles a wide, happy grin.

"'ey, Cherry... ya wanna see some REAL fireworks?"

I smile at her and nod. "Yes, I do. I never get tired of seeing your power on display."

Her grin becomes feral as she turns back to look at the building. We've pulled out into one of the tunnels, speeding into the black. "Oh yeah. You just watch." She sets her feet as though bracing for something and crosses her arms over her chest. She closes her eyes and begins to chant. I've never seen her chant when casting a spell before, and part of me knows this is something... special. Big.

Flames ignite at her head and run down her body, enveloping her whole form and making her glow with a brilliant orange hue. The flames leap higher and the glow gets brighter as her voice grows louder, the chanting becoming more like shouting now. Her duster kicks up in an arcane vortex, and a huge orb made up of oranges, yellows and reds begins to form above her. She opens her eye and laughs almost maniacally, pointing at the building.

"Finally figured out how ta direct the energy for a Holy Fire and make it an attack!" The roiling orb streaks away from her and back towards the building, and she laughs maniacally. "Gods! It's beautiful!!" It's a full few seconds before the groan of metal and stone competes with the sounds of earth moving. Mackenzie freezes before slowly turning back to me. "We... we may have used too much fuel."

"What d-" The thunderous sound of debris grows louder, and suddenly my question seems like a silly one. My jaw drops as the rumble becomes deafening, and I spin around to throw the throttle open on the engine. "We're not going to outrun it," I shout over the din as best I can. "If you have any ideas, now would be the time,"

She spins back around and braces herself against the back of the car. A jet of flame, larger than I've ever seen her make, throws the car forward even faster. I nearly fall before catching myself against the doorframe to the cab. The dust cloud begins to overtake us, and I know that the heavier stuff will follow soon. I start to head over to where she is standing. She turns to yell at me, but the words are lost in the deafening roar.

The world around me shakes violently, the sounds and sensations overwhelming me as I scream despite myself. I glance up as we explode back out of the debris cloud. It expanded outward into the open space of another hub. No sooner do I see that than we careen into another tunnel on the other side. The tunnel entrance behind us fades to a pinprick. Mackenzie slumps over against the railing. The roar of the wind overtakes everything else as we hurtle up a slight incline and out into daylight. A distant part of my brain tells me we just cruised past the outskirts of the Valhavia district to be above ground. Three miles in the longest, scariest minute of my life.

Mackenzie looks around blankly for a moment, then a slow, wide grin spreads across her face, stretching from ear to ear. She looks at me and pants, leaning back against the railing and putting her hands behind her head. Her hair blows about in the wind, and I swear she's never been as beautiful as she is right now. I can't help but return the smile as I fold my hands in front of my body.

***

The swell of my belly is more pronounced these days, and it's a little hard getting around. If you had told me when I was Tony that I would know what morning sickness is like, I would have laughed you out of the room. It's okay, though. All of the pieces have finally fallen into place, and I know what my true place in this world is. I bite my lip and run my hand in a slow swirl over where I just felt a kick.

I open the cabinet and put away the cup I just finished drying while Mackenzie curses from down the hall at some bit of machinery that isn't doing exactly what she wants it to. She's a little more cross than usual. I chuckle softly to myself for a moment, then gasp as I can feel the baby kick again, harder. Ooh, he's a feisty one! Takes after his father, I suppose. Patience, little one. You'll get to explore the world soon enough!

I reach into the cabinet to put away a bowl, when a shooting pain runs up my arm. Oh, that hurt! I've got to get back into shape after the baby comes. I've let myself go a bit since I started to swell. No excuse for being lazy, now.

Mackenzie comes in and pours herself a cup of coffee before sitting down at the table. "Fuckin' drive shaft. Would you believe that piece o' shit torqued another one ta shreds? ...I guess I'll just have some coffee since someone won't let me have a cigarette." She shoots me an irritated look over her cup as she takes a sip.

"It's not good for the baby, Mistress. You'll just have to learn to deal with it." I smile back at her before reaching to put away another dish. The pain is worse this time, and I gasp in surprise at it's strength.

Mackenzie arches an eyebrow and sets her cup down. "You know, I'm not sure I want you doin' things like chores this far along. Maybe you oughta take it easy, let someone else do the work fer a while. That's what we have all these little jerks for, ain't it?"

"Hey," Tubbins says, frowning. Mackenzie ruffles his hair playfully.

"It's fine, Mistress. It's not anything that we should be worried about." I frown at her and lean up against the counter. "Besides, you and those little jerks wouldn't pick up after yourselves to save your life."

"Smartass. I'm just sayin' is all."

"Yeah, smartass." Tubbins mimics her right down to her tone.

"TUBBINS! You watch your mouth." He scurries behind Mackenzie as I scold him. "Such language, and a certain adult should know better than to use it in front of children, too."

"Aw, c'mon! 's nothin' he hadn't heard before." Mackenzie laughs and leans back in her chair. "No harm done."

"Momma, can I have a cookie? You said that if I was good, I could have a cookie." Tubbins comes around from behind her and pleads with me, looking up at me with those adorable puppy-dog eyes.

"Of course, sweetie. Language aside, you have been a good boy." I reach into the cupboard to get the container of cookies. The pain nearly blinds me this time, and I drop it to the floor below. Porcelain shatters and cookies roll everywhere. I bite my lip and hiss. "My arm!"

"That does it. Cherry, no more chores for you. This ain't normal." Mackenzie is up and at my side, both hands on my shoulders. "C'mon. We're getting you to a doctor."

"It... it'll be okay. Perhaps I just need a little rest." I brace myself against the counter for support. "There's no need to bother a doctor about something like this."

Mackenzie looks at me dubiously. "Okay," she says tentatively. "Trust your instincts, Charlotte. You know best." She gives my shoulders a squeeze and goes to clean up the mess. "C'mon, squirt. Help me with this and I'll get ya somethin' else."

Trust your instincts, Charlotte. I can hear Mackenzie's voice echo softly, and see her sad smile in my mind's eye. Suddenly, everything seems off. It feels like I am here, and yet not really. But why? We have a wonderful life now. Everything is as how it should be. Everything is perfect.

Perfect. Like a dream come true. Haven't we earned that?

It hits me with the force of a thunderclap. Too perfect. Nothing ever shapes up precisely the way we want it to, and this feels like someone has granted every small wish I've ever wished for. As if they're trying to distract me from something important. None of this is real. I look around as, one by one, the images of this idyllic life fade into nothingness. The bright sunlit room turns gray, pipes materialize out of the walls and steam hisses in the background.

***

My sword is held high as I lunge in. I can see the surprise in his eyes as I bring the sabre down in a brutal swipe. It sinks deep into his skull, a sound like that of a watermelon being dropped from a great height echoes off the walls. Blood spurts from the wound as I wrench the blade out and watch as his body drops to the floor like so much dead weight. I spit on his corpse.

I run over to Mackenzie, lying curled up on the floor in a fetal position. She isn't moving. Kneeling down, I pull her head into my lap and try to rouse her. "Mistress. Mistress, please... answer me."