Fire: Matches-a tiny seed of chaos hidden in chemicals affixed to wood or stiff paper, waiting to be struck and slid against rough immutability. The first recorded attempt at a match mentioned in history was in 577 in China, home of gunpowder and fireworks. It was called "light-bringing slave," but it was no slave. Centuries of attempts could not tame the flame waiting to flare from sulfur or phosphorus, acid, sugar...many ways did humans try to contain the uncontainable. In 1828, the Promethean match, involved crushing a small pustule of glass. Outdoor matches of this type were called Vesuvian or flamer. Always the power of flame was likened to a tool that only came from gods, and the bringing of it to humanity always seen as a theft, a betrayal of the divine. But like the soul within man, it could never be tamed, not completely. Early matches were banned because they tended to explode. The word 'match' bespeaks the reunion of gunpowder and flame. Used as cord to light muskets and cannons, gave humans the ultimate killing ability, the fire shattering flesh gathering souls. Hungry and never satisfied, the fire within man turned guns upon each freeing primal chaos, lighting the cord of their final destruction. In the early 20th century, matches became known as Lucifers.
Phosphorous, the breath of the devil himself huddles inside the eggshell of tiny powders, igniting without provocation. Still like war they tried to contain it within metal, within empty husks, delusions of purity and goodness. But even indifferent metal glows with fire, with soul when it is burnt hot enough. It glows with the remembered fire within the deepest heart of earth. Humanity has always believed they control creation, the making and breaking of all things, the chaos swirling around them, within them. But fire is the Trixter, never ending, never predictable, life itself.
Man assumes fire bows to them, they have matches in junk drawers, survival kits, candles burn in almost every home, stoves run with blue hot propane flames. But always chaos waits, perching, hungry, insatiable-and one mistake, a cigarette dropped in leaves, an unseen ember in a camping fire, a child playing, a cord fraying and it's claws shred worlds, lives. Hot primal teeth swallow small homes, vast cities, miles of forests that have taken centuries to grow. Death walking along side life, as it always has been. Like man himself a perfect balance of fuel and oxygen, fire is the foundation of the universe itself. Man has even returned fire to space, but find it already there in many suns, many worlds, countless souls.
I know fire, I have felt it crawl into my lungs, nibble the muscle of my heart, lick every bone, and sear flesh into bands of scars, unmoving and unfeeling as metal. I am the child of life and death. I watched all I love vanish into black fecal smoke. It reshaped my clay, remade my soul.I know death as others know life, as once I knew life. I know what awaits everything. I know I can not control flames as I can not control souls. But I can save them, set them free.
One by one, my offering to the eternal I bring them through the fire. I recreate them with the unbreakable depths of the earth, mechanics I have been shown by revelation. Machines immune to the painful touch of my Lady. Empty shells waiting for their flames return, the return of their souls. My children. I am life giver, I control and lose myself to the uncontrollable. I know every person, every carrier of the bones in the pit, every soul I released, just as I know every metal form I have created for them. This is their true and eternal Haven, forever united with the primal heartbeat of the universe. Fire, my mother and Death, my father, hold the hands of my loved ones, who have gone before, who wait to grasp my very being and lift me to their side. Once my soul joins the inferno, I will return my children's souls to them purified by eternal flame, even as I shed mine and the divine consumes me. I am the match, igniting infinity, bringing salvation.
Mac weakly watched Henry as he preached to the inner ring of his followers. They all wore the identical expression of adoration. Mac tried to swallow but felt like every drop of water in him had been leached away. He could see the drips of his blood splattering the bones beneath him. He closed his eyes to keep from vomiting. If he understood the mad mumbo jumbo, Henry had lured his friends, his followers here, killed them, probably burned them alive and built androids to take their places. Mac had seen some crazy in his time, but this was really fucked up.
Mac looked up at the cage he was locked in. It didn't take a lot of imagination to guess what the inner ring was going to do with the flaming torches they held. He tuned out the lunatic preaching hoping Henry still was as long-winded as he used to be. Mac gripped the bars wincing at the creosote that rubbed onto his hands. He slowly pulled himself upright closing against dizziness caused by the rocking of the cage as he moved. He had a whole new sympathy for parakeets.
He blinked sweat out of his eyes and studied the top of the cage. Michael and another big android had lifted the entire cage by holding a thick black bar, probably iron, between them. Mac had been carried up a rickety metal ladder and the bar was set in braces that left him hanging about twenty feet over the deep, half full pit beneath him. The ladders had been removed. Mac leaned toward the lock studying it. It would be simple enough and he could cross the bar and slide down the cross beams.
The only problems of course were the torches ready to ignite into deadly flame, not to mention the growing conflagration outside the cement pile they all stood in, and his own failing strength. Oh and he needed a distraction. Mac closed his eyes, forcing calm into his gut. He shoved the fear and weakness firmly into a cage to be felt later and bent, working the fork into an impromptu master key. He kept glancing up at the lock trying to get it the right size and shape. Mac gritted his teeth working around the shaking in his hands and slipperiness of sweat soaking his entire body. If he dropped the fork...Mac forced himself to focus. Mac collapsed against the side of the cage, breathing hard. He gathered his strength and looked down. Henry was still ranting at his unmoving followers. He had a hysterical edge to his voice. Mac frowned wondering if he was working himself up into believing his own crap.
Mac put the fork in his mouth and slowly climbed the bars until he could reach the lock. His body shook and he gasped in agony as he clung to the black bars. It took a few tries but he was rewarded with a soft click. The door opened and Mac almost fell out of the door. He managed to roll to the side of the door, pulling it shut as Henry and the others turned to look at him. He held his breath closing his eyes.
"Well, my children, the time of the Joining is here." Without ceremony, Henry dropped his torch into the pit. The others followed suit. The flame whooshed at first blue then changing to a steady orange, yellow. Obviously an accelerant, Mac absently told himself. He could feel the heat immediately. The smell of burning leaves made Mac look down. His eyes went wide as he saw the clothes start to smoke. Natural fibers, definitely not cotton. Mac put his feet on the bottom of the cage and swung it open, he held on for dear life as the cage tilted him toward the flames. Mac refused to give up.
Desperation fueled tenacity as he slowly inch wormed his way up the door to the roof of the cage. He pulled himself up onto the top and almost passed out, feeling himself hit the roof of the cage, barely able to focus. He blinked and saw Michael and the other huge android bringing back the ladders. Through the smoky haze of the fire below him, Mac could see Henry yelling at his followers. Mac had never been religious, but with the man's disfigured skin and insane ranting, and the devoted blank-faced followers whose plastic faces had started to melt Mac could understand what religions meant by Hell and Satan.
Mac forced himself to his knees, glad the swaying cage had stilled to only a mild rocking. The two androids were reaching the top of the ladders and stood waiting. Mac frowned. He would have to get by one of them to get out of the fire. Judging by the increasing smoke around him and feeling the singing of his hairs, he didn't have any time to debate it. He coughed, almost doubling over with pain. He braced himself, crawled over to the bar and wrapping his arms and legs around it inch wormed himself feet first toward Michael. He ignored everything focusing on holding onto the bar and forcing his aching body to keep functioning.
Mac had fallen into a haze and actually jumped when his foot brushed the cooler metal of the platform. He pulled it back, but not before Michael grabbed his ankle and pulled. Mac was shaken off the bar and screamed as he swung by his leg, hitting the metal of the platform hard enough to stun him. A whole new agony shot through his hip, leg and side. He felt his stitches rip open like cloth and blood began to freely run down his side. As he hung over the edge of the pit, he closed his eyes accepting the inevitable. He had nothing left and knew sure fiery death was a mere breath away.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Being the last one in line, Riley saw Jack and the father and son pair get sucked into the swirling angry mass of robotic limbs and plastic flesh. Riley bit her lip, she had to get to Mac, but Jack….?
"Dammit!" Riley snarled. She stayed to the edges of the fray and ran toward the inside of the temple. She desperately clung to the hope that Jack Dalton could take care of himself. "He better." Riley muttered ducking behind the unmoving outer circle. They seemed to be lost in whatever the robot's equivalent of the Rapture. Riley stayed to the shadows and moved along the robots that seemed less sophisticated, and less violent.
Riley finally managed to reach one of the large window openings. Riley peered in and gasped in horror seeing a bloody and unmoving Mac being dangled over the fire like a rag doll. She crept over the broken cement ignoring the cuts and scrapes as she scrambled into the temple. She winced at the sound of cement grinding against cement as she scrambled over the pile.
She landed awkwardly and crouched. No one seemed to notice her. Riley looked around the open temple but saw no way to make a distraction. A scream made her and every other head turn to the entrance way. Riley's eyes widened. A bloody Derek staggered toward his father.
"Hello, Father…" The man sounded drunk, he was pale almost completely white. With his shellaced hair, he looked like dracula if dracula had a rough night with his vampire bride. Henry turned to his son and they started shouting back and forth. Riley tuned them out creeping closer to Mac. Riley smiled. Michael lifted Mac back up and dumped him on the small platform descending to help Henry in the confrontation with his son. It was now or never.
Riley scurried over to the pit, wincing at the heat from the growing fire. Rile climbed the ladder and tried to ignore how it swayed under her weight. She bent over Mac.
"Mac?" She whispered. Riley breathed in relief, feeling a pulse. She looked around her, there was no easy way to get off the small platform. Riley's heart jumped in her chest as Michael paused in his dash to Henry and Derek and turned looking right at her. Shit! The robot pivoted and ran back up the rickety ladder, reaching out for Riley. Riley dragged Mac back and kicked Michael in the face.
The man, robot Riley corrected herself, reeled back with the force of the blow. Riley leaned forward and raised both boots to hit Michael's face again. The momentum sent Michael reeling backward, unfortunately it also broke the fragile ladder and sent all three of them plunging toward the ground. Michael, of course, was up in seconds. Riley was knocked flat on her back and tried to suck in air. She looked up as Michael, now with half of his plastic face hanging off stood over her.
Michael took one step forward before a sharp spike of metal impaled his right knee. Riley finally sucked in a breath and rolled to her feet. She looked over at Mac who had fallen beside the broken wreckage of the ladder. Mac was on his side gasping for air. He let go of the metal and offered Riley a wobbly smile.
Michael's knee sparked and he tilted unable to pull out the metal spike. Riley saw her chance. She dashed over to Mac reached over him and with a howl yanked free a longer piece of metal. Using her momentum and all of her weight she jammed the metal through the robot's head. Her swing was so strong that it went through Michael's forehead and pinned him to a crack in the wall surrounding the pit. Michael's arms still waved as he tried to remove the spear.
Riley didn't waste time, she ran to Mac's side and tried pulling him to his feet. Mac moaned weakly, but was completely unable to offer any help. He pushed at her hands.
"Go!" He hissed falling back painfully. Mac's bleary blue eyes met Riley's. "Go...you promised...please…"
"Like hell!" Riley growled stepping forward. A hand around her throat made her pause, this time she didn't hesitate, before the arm could grab a solid hold she bent forward and threw the figure over her head. Derek gave a cry of pain as he smashed into the pile of broken metal. He looked up, reaching out a hand. With tears in his eyes, he cried
"Father! Father!" Riley spun to see Henry Travers staring at her, his eyes blazed like coals in the smoky haze of the pit. He looked at Riley and screamed, coming after her. Rile bent and lashed out with her right foot catching the taller man in the side. Henry doubled over and tilted toward the pit. Riley felt herself pushed aside as Derek threw himself after his father. They both plunged into the fire. Riley stared after them stunned, watching the fire flare brighter and smoke darker as they burned as oddly silent as their robotic followers.
The robots all froze and turned. Riley stepped back edging to Mac's side. She crouched beside him and took his hand. Dimly she winced at how cold his hand was.
"Wh...wh...what happens now?" She stuttered.
"No clue." Mac gasped.
"Father!" The huge android that had been stepping down the other rickety ladder. In eerie mechanical monotone the others all began to chant it, the closest robots stepped forward into the pit. Then the row after them followed.
"We...have...to go...plastic...poison…" Mac gasped. Riley shook herself, reached down under Mac's arms and began to drag him back to the window she'd come in from. The robots had stopped fighting, but were now pressed together fighting to get into the fire pit. Riley winced at the heavy blood trail Mac was making as she dragged him.
"Hold on, Mac. Don't you give up on me. We're getting out of here…" Riley gritted. Mac didn't answer, his head hung limp. Riley kept pulling until she tripped over something and found herself falling ass first into the pile of cement that formed the window. Riley looked around her desperately. She crept up the pile and peeped out. Riley two red-headed firemen were crouched beside a dazed Jack Dalton.
"Jack!" Riley screamed. He turned his head, and she winced taking in the monster bruise and gush of blood coming from the side of his head.
"Riley," Jack cried trying to get to his feet. He fell back to the ground. The older red head bent to tell him something then he and the taller man ran to her side. She crept back. They quickly scurried over the cement to Mac's side. Freddie checked for a pulse and his eyes widened with surprise when he found one. He bent grabbing Mac by the front of the shirt and sat him up, bending to haul the smaller man over his shoulder. Between both Flints, they managed to help Riley work Mac over the pile of broken cement and over to Jack. Jack looked up at Mac panic in his eyes. Riley bent down.
"He's still alive, Jack. We have to go." Jack nodded and Riley helped him up. "This way." Riley decided their best chance was back in the quonset huts, at least there was food there, and maybe something to help them survive. She ran blindly through thick smoke and ash, coughing as she felt her way along the metal walls, Jack leaned on her and kept his other hand on the carved stone of the canyon.
With a single glance, Riley could see the tiny settlement was nothing more than thick black and red fires climbing burnt skeletons of bungalows. They only had minutes left, if that. Riley felt the door and turned Jack into the doorway. The other three followed her in. She slammed the door shut and locked it.
They sat panting a minute in surprise, Riley had not noticed how loud the chaos outside was until it was gone. Freddy gently laid Mac down. Oliver came over with the crumpled dining room table cloth he'd pulled off the table in the other room. Jack slumped beside his partner. He took a hand.
"Hey, kid. We went through a lot of work to get here, and we sure as hell didn't do it for you to sleep through the job and let us all get bar be qued." Freddy took the white cloth and shoved it hard into Mac's side. His eyes fluttered open and he gasped, arching his back to get away from the agony. Freddy expected this and held on, while Oliver held Mac down with a hand on his chest. "Well about time, bud." Jack said smiling. Mac looked over to Jack and smiled.
"...bout time...got...ere.." Mac wheezed. He blinked looking up at the others, his brain taking a tic to bring him up to date. He grabbed Jack's shirt and pulled him down. "Walk in...welding...O2...siding and aluminum...shelter…"Then Mac's eyes closed and he went completely limp.
"Mac?" Jack asked desperation slipping into his voice. He shook his partner and got no reaction. Jack looked up at the others. "I hope that made sense to you?"
"There's a walk in fridge back through there." Riley said, pointing to the far doorway. "And the welding stuff is there...does he want us to weld together a shelter?" Riley asked, she trailed off seeing Freddy and Oliver grinning at each other.
"Your friend is a genius!" Oliver gushed.
"Told you." Jack said confused. Freddy bent and lifted Jack's hand to take over his place at Mac's side. Jack scooted closer so he had a better angle. He lifted Mac's torso and cradled it in his lap as he pulled the younger man closer.
"You go and bring every oxygen tank you see over there into the walk in freezer." Oliver said pointing at Riley. She nodded and ran over to the long line of welding equipment. Oliver turned to Freddy, "there's another quonset hut through the back, I bet that's where they're keeping siding."
"And the kitchen has aluminum foil." Freddy added. Jack watched them leave then turned to Mac. Jack winced at the blood soaking his partner's side. The white cloth he held wasn't soaking through as fast as he'd expected. Jack hoped that meant the kid had stopped breathing. As it was, Mac looked like he'd all but bled out. Jack leaned his chin against Mac's forehead. It was damp and cool.
"Just us here, bro. I have to say, things really aren't looking too good right now." Jack whispered.
"J..k…" The almost silent whisper startled Jack. He looked down and grinned at Mac who quirked almost white lips in a semblance of a smile.
"Hey." Jack said not even trying to stop the tears from running out of his eyes. Mac leaned his head into Jack's chest then closed his eyes. Jack curled around his friend. If they were going to die here, at least they'd be together. Jack sighed. Really that's all he'd ever really wanted out of his death. Although, he admitted with a smile, he always it would be more like Butch and Sundance. Jack being Butch, of course. Still, they'd fought an army of killer robots. Jack figured that earned him the biggest 'I told you so' of all time. Jack looked up a few minutes later when the Flints ran to him and Mac. Without speaking or pausing, Oliver hauled Jack upright and dragged him toward the kitchen and Freddy stooped and lifted Mac in his arms followed.
Jack breathed in the cool air of the walk in. There was a single light bulb in a small metal cage hanging over them. The Flints and Riley had moved out all of the boxes of food to make way for three oxygen tanks and a stack of siding squared. Riley was shoving aluminum foil into the cracks of the refrigerator and lining the walls with it. She taped it together with duct tape. Jack sank down in the corner, and Freddy eased Mac onto his lap, allowing the older man to continue holding pressure on Mac's wound. While Riley sealed the cracks around the door. The Flints lined as much of the refrigerator's walls, ceilings, and floor with as much siding as they could.
They all sat hunched against the rough burgundy building sheets. They were hard and uncomfortable. Jack thought they felt like sandpaper.
"Ok, the power probably won't last much longer. When it goes we're going to have to use the oxygen, but only in small bursts so we don't get poisoned by it. Everyone lay as flat as you can, away from the door as you can. Lay face down. There can't be much fuel left in the town, so hopefully once she's had her fill, the fire will burn out. On my last call, " Oliver choked. Freddy put a hand on his father's shoulder. "uhmmm...Penny said that she'll keep sending in water planes until the canyon's clear. That should dispatch any cyanide or mercury gas that might have been stirred up." Riley looked at Jack. Jack nodded and gave her a nervous smile. Together they gently rolled Mac onto his side, and laid down on either side of him. Riley reached across Mac and took Jack's hand. They shared a deep look and nodded, needing to say nothing.