30 One-man army

Kevin's world had turned upside down. That 18-year-old boy who loved to play video games and skip classes was now buried somewhere deep inside his mind. And the one who was walking down the subway tunnel was a vengeful cyborg.

In this cruel new world, mercy and forgiveness were archaic words lost in the pages of an old, discarded dictionary. One had to be ruthless and unforgiving to survive. No place was truly safe anymore.

The Raiders were always going to be a threat as long as they lived. They would come back some other day with more men and try to finish the job. Kevin had already watched too many people die around him and he wasn't ready to lose anyone else. He knew he'd never be able to forgive himself if something happened to Suzy or her mom or Cassandra. And so he squeezed out his last bit of innocence and filled his heart with hate.

As Kevin marched through the security tunnels, he only thought about protecting those he cared about. He knew if Suzy had stayed in the tunnel a moment longer, she would've joined Tyler's men. Just thinking about it filled him with rage.

When Kevin still had a human body and things were normal, he had the luxury of being naive and immature, but now the boy was forced to suddenly grow up into a man, leaving behind all his childish hopes and dreams.

He remembered Dr. Zhao's words and now it all made perfect sense to him. Kevin was a killing machine and it was time for him to embrace his new identity. It didn't matter how many he'd have to kill to keep them safe. He swore he wasn't going to lose anyone else.

Stepping through the destroyed gates, Kevin approached the Dark District. Outside subsection D-1 his path was blocked by a makeshift barricade made by lining broken hoverbikes and transport carts horizontally across the tunnel.

Kevin sniggered at their pathetic attempt to keep him out. Backing away a couple of steps, he pointed his right arm at the barricade.

"Activate Auto-Targeting Laser Rifle."

As soon as the rifle was assembled, he fired a charged laser blast at the target, blowing up the obstacles in his path. He walked right through the smoldering pile of metal and made his way inside the Dark District.

There were no LED lights or even CFL lamps on this side. The Dark District was only faintly illuminated by the headlights of hoverbikes and high-power flashlights hanging from the ceiling. Everything about this place looked chaotic and messed up.

Kevin's AI quickly performed an environmental analysis and relayed the reports to him.

// Environmental assessment enabled.

Scanning environment...

Location:

Technoria.

Subcity.

Dark District.

Depth: 0.5 miles below sea level.

Predominant structural composition: Concrete, wood, and steel.

Predominant population: humans.

Ambient temperature: 300K

Hazards detected: traps and barriers.

No weather patterns detected. //

Kevin was about to charge right in when he received a call from the Research District. It was Cassandra on the other end.

Before she could speak, Kevin cut her off. "Don't try to stop me. I'm not coming back without killing every single Raider in this place."

"I'm not trying to stop you. I want to help," Cassandra replied. "Last night, we received the lab results for the drones. The Neutralizer and the Tracker Drones which you encountered that day were tampered with. They were being controlled locally."

"So the Raiders sent them to test our defenses," Kevin remarked.

"Exactly! They've been trying to get in for a long time. And they would've succeeded that day if you weren't there. This is why they tried to obtain a blueprint of your exoskeleton to learn about your weaknesses. I'm pretty sure there's a mole in the Research District who's feeding them intel."

"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm gonna kill them all."

"Have you not been paying attention to anything I've been saying?" Cassandra hollered. "The Raiders already know about you and they have access to drones and possibly other advanced weapons."

"I'll keep that—"

"I know you won't keep that in mind! That's exactly what happened on the surface too. You didn't stick to the plan and tried to take on that Reaver on your own," Cassandra snapped, cutting him off. "Don't try to be a hero. Think before you act. I'll be waiting for you to return in one piece, and I swear if anything happens to you, I'll—"

"I'll come back...I promise," Kevin blurted out, too afraid to hear what she was about to say next. "I won't mess up this time. I got this. No one else has to die."

With that, Cassandra wished him luck and disconnected the call.

Instead of just going in all guns blazing, Kevin paused to weigh his options. He didn't have any map of the Dark District, and there was no one to take the lead. But, he remembered he had his AI companion.

"I need assistance. Can you give me any information about the Dark District?"

// Artificial assistance enabled.

Please upload an objective to receive guidance. //

"I want to take down the Raiders and destroy their little camp."

// Primary Objective: Eliminate all Raiders.

Secondary Objective: Destroy the Raider Camp.

Consulting database and providing feedback...

The Dark District has an armed human population.

Preferred weapons: Shotguns, compact submachine guns, and automatic rifles.

Additional armaments: motion detection mines, grenades, and attack drones.

Protection type: light Kevlar vests and helmets.

Activating Bionic Scanner...

Amplifying laser...

Scan successful!

45 unique human heartbeats detected!

Suggest a stealthy approach.

Activating full combat mode!

User has complete manual access to weapon and defense systems!

Voice command requirement removed! //

Kevin now had a clear idea of what to expect out here. The basic weapons used by the Raiders posed little threat to him, but he had to keep an eye out for the mines and other traps.

There were a total of 45 Raiders in the area and possibly some drones as well. When dealing with humans, a stealthy approach was the most effective option, but Kevin had already blown the barricade to smithereens, alerting everyone in the district.

Crossing the stealthy approach out of his list, Kevin decided to adopt a more aggressive strategy. His eyes didn't have night vision or thermal scanning capabilities, so he had to take it slow and steady. Despite not having the best weapons, the enemy was expecting him.

As Kevin slowly made his way across the electro-rail tunnel, his bionic eyes twitched and focused on a blinking red light on the ground. Then he noticed another right beside it and a couple more a few feet ahead. If he had to take a wild guess what these were, he'd bet on motion detection mines. There were no Raiders nearby, which confirmed his suspicion.

Though Kevin's exoskeleton could shrug off conventional projectiles, high-intensity explosives such as landmines and grenades posed a serious threat. He didn't have any mine disabling kits equipped, so he had to innovate.

Kevin pointed his left arm at the ground and activated his Sonic Amplifier. A circular slot opened up on the surface of his palm and a charging indicator appeared in front of his left eye. When fully charged, he flicked his left thumb, triggering a wide area sonic blast which set off all mines in the area.

An ear-splitting explosion rattled the tunnel as multiple blasts shook the ground, spraying shrapnel and debris all over the place. Even the electromagnetic tracks buried deep under the ground were exposed as the blast took out the top cover of soil.

Kevin now had a clear path to the heart of the Dark District. As he made his way down the dark tunnel, he was greeted by a shower of bullets from the other side.

Someone was firing a mounted machine gun. Kevin couldn't see the person hiding in the darkness, but he had eyes on the flashlight aimed at him. He targeted that light and fired a charged laser blast. The machine gun stopped firing the very next moment.

With the main defenses out of the way, there was nothing to stop Kevin from powering ahead. The Raiders had fortified an abandoned zap train and transformed it into a gun nest. Kevin walked right into a blistering hail of bullets as he made his way forward. He immediately retracted his laser rifle and deployed his titanium armor flap to deflect the gunfire.

Shielding himself with his right arm, he assembled the Gatling gun on his left arm and gave them a taste of their own medicine.

Shrieks and screams echoed in the tunnel as he mowed down the Raiders hiding inside the train. Their light Kevlar vests provided little protection as the 7.62mm bullets shattered the train windows and drilled them full of holes.

Kevin walked up to the train and climbed onboard. All the Raiders inside were dead, their dismembered corpses laced with bullets. Since both of Kevin's primary weapons were recharging now, he picked up a compact SMG from one of the dead Raiders.

Traversing the entire length of the zap train, he made sure no one was breathing, before making his way outside through the rear gate.

As soon as Kevin stepped outside he heard a sharp shrieking noise. He barely managed to jump out of the way as a rocket blew up the train behind him.

The one holding the shoulder-mounted rocket launcher was a child, barely 10 to 12 years old.

Kevin stared at the boy in disbelief as he prepared to load another rocket into the launcher. He pointed his compact SMG at the boy and yelled, "Don't do it! Drop your weapon!"

But the boy continued loading his weapon, completely ignoring Kevin's words. Kevin's fingers lingered on the trigger as he reconsidered his decision.

This little boy had fired the rocket with the intention of killing him. He would grow up to become another mindless Raider, just like the people around him. And Kevin had sworn to kill them all!