E day iii dark moon, p.1
E-DAY III ~ Dark Moon, page 1
Published by Great Wave Ink Publishing
E-Day 3: Dark Moon
By Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Copyright © March 2022 by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events locales or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.
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Books by New York Times Bestselling Author
Nicholas Sansbury Smith
E-Day Series
E-Day
E-Day II: Burning Earth
E-Day III: Dark Moon
The Sons of War Series (From Blackstone Publishing)
Sons of War
Sons of War 2: Saints
Sons of War 3: Sinners
Sons of War 4: Soldiers (Coming soon)
The Hell Divers Series (From Blackstone Publishing)
Hell Divers
Hell Divers II: Ghosts
Hell Divers III: Deliverance
Hell Divers IV: Wolves
Hell Divers V: Captives
Hell Divers VI: Allegiance
Hell Divers VII: Warriors
Hell Divers VIII: King of the Wastes
Hell Divers IX: Radioactive (Coming Summer 2022)
Hell Divers X: (Coming Winter 2023)
The Extinction Cycle (Season One) (From Orbit Books)
Extinction Horizon
Extinction Edge
Extinction Age
Extinction Evolution
Extinction End
Extinction Aftermath
Extinction Lost (A Team Ghost short story)
Extinction War
From Great Wave Ink Publishing
The Extinction Cycle: Dark Age (Season Two)
Extinction Shadow
Extinction Inferno
Extinction Ashes
Extinction Darkness
The Trackers Series
Trackers
Trackers 2: The Hunted
Trackers 3: The Storm
Trackers 4: The Damned
New Frontier Series (Trackers Season Two—Launching 2022)
New Frontier: Wild Fire
New Frontier 2: Wild Lands
New Frontier 3: Wild Warriors
The Orbs Series
Solar Storms (An Orbs Prequel)
White Sands (An Orbs Prequel)
Red Sands (An Orbs Prequel)
Orbs
Orbs II: Stranded
Orbs III: Redemption
Orbs IV: Exodus
Contents
— 1 —
— 2 —
— 3 —
— 4 —
— 5 —
— 6 —
— 7 —
— 8 —
— 9 —
— 10 —
— 11 —
— 12 —
— 13 —
— 14 —
— 15 —
— 16 —
— 17 —
— 18 —
— 19 —
— 20 —
— 21 —
— 22 —
— 23 —
— 24 —
— 25 —
— 26 —
— 27 —
— 28 —
— 29 —
— Epilogue —
About the Author
To my editing team: Ziggy, Lynn, Yalonda, Tony, and everyone else. Thank you for your assistance and encouragement. You helped me bring this saga to life.
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
—Sun Tzu
— 1 —
Rattling echoed through the caverns.
Engine Lieutenant Andy Jackson crouched behind a rock wall with two Coalition soldiers, holding his energy axe while he tried to pinpoint the location of the advancing Canebrakes. The click and hiss of their electronic communications ricocheted from every direction.
The island was crawling with the metal monsters.
Jackson was somewhere on the eastern side of Cat Ba Island, deep inside the cave system of the mountains. He couldn’t say exactly where. For the past few hours, he had pushed deeper inside the labyrinthine tunnels, trying to find a place of refuge to ride out the attack.
The two Coalition soldiers he had linked up with were just behind Jackson, their antlered helmets moving through the darkness like two blind deer. Neither had night vision optics, but they weren’t stupid enough to turn on their flashlights.
He guided them through the black corridors using his infrared night vision sights (INVS). It was too dark to make out much other than rough shapes, even with his augmented vision, but his other senses helped him navigate the treacherous environment.
Jackson listened to the drip of water, clink of metal against stone, and the distant rattle of the machines. Sweat dripped down his face as his heartbeat quickened.
Over the last month, in the face of death and danger, it had continued to beat for only one thing—fighting.
That time had come. Even so, as the clawed feet and blades of Canebrakes scuttling through the caverns got closer, the seven-foot tall and two-hundred-and-sixty-pound Engine felt a trickle of fear.
He still couldn’t tell which direction they were coming from.
The Coalition fighters heard it too, and ducked in response, their armor clanking against each other. Jackson turned and brought a finger to his helmet.
The soldiers froze, silent, while Jackson kept listening. The clatter of the Canebrakes faded away, melting back into the caves.
After another few minutes of silence, Jackson was comfortable enough to turn on the data-pad screen built into his armored wrist. He brought it up to the Coalition Commandos. Both removed their helmets to have a good look.
They were young men, maybe eighteen, perhaps younger. Hardly older than boys. Not a surprise to Jackson. He was used to fighting against kids in his career. The Coalition didn’t have an age requirement, and anyone could join.
He would never forget seeing a ten-year-old try and lift a pulse cannon in Egypt three years ago. It did not end well for the kid when he fired at a Piston squad.
But while these young men were young, the tattoos across their face and antlers on their helmets indicated they had experienced combat. Death and killing was no stranger to them. Chances were good they had even brought down someone Jackson knew.
It didn’t matter now.
Not with the Canebrakes and the behemoth walking towers of metal.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend…
Jackson raised the data-pad to get a better view of the young men’s faces. Blood seeped from both their ears. Their eardrums had likely ruptured when the superstructure machine let out one of its high-pitched screaming sonar bursts.
Jackson and the other Engines were protected by their helmets and augmented ears, but these soldiers had suffered painful injuries and likely hearing loss.
That made communicating hard, especially when he wanted to ask them how the hell to get out of here. He tapped out the message on his screen.
The two kids exchanged a glance, then shook their heads, unsure.
“I’m a guard, not a scout,” said one in a scratchy voice, a little too loud. He was overcompensating for his damaged hearing.
“Too dark to know where we are,” said the other, just as loudly.
Jackson raised a finger to his lips again, signaling them to talk quieter.
“Please… don’t leave us behind,” said the first kid.
Jackson almost felt bad for them.
A glance at their antlers reminded him they had killed his brothers and sisters in the war with the Nova Alliance. All sense of empathy vanished.
Stay close to me, he typed on his pad. Then he shut it off and turned his back to them, another unthinkable thing before E-Day. Before then, these boys would have jumped at the chance to thrust their energy spears into his spine.
Now he was hoping if they did encounter the machines, these kids would fight side-by-side with him.
The tunnel sloped ahead, taking them down into a cavern with standing water. Jackson crouched down, noticing paintings on the walls from ancient natives right next to him.
Another violent tremor shook the mountain. Chunks of painted rock rained down, crashing into the water with violent splashes.
These quakes were distant, but there was no doubt the massive towers of moving metal were causing them. Jackson thought back to the moment he had bro
Hold them back, Jackson thought, restraining a laugh.
He was lucky to be alive. The giant machine had almost captured him on that beach. He escaped only thanks to a distraction from the Coalition fighters.
Jackson had hoped to help buy time for Shadow Squad and the civilians to flee. Maybe he did. Maybe the group had made it back to Neptune Station to regroup and come up with their next plan to fight back.
For that, Jackson was glad.
He searched the darkness of the rocky tunnel, seeing only jagged shapes along the walls and floor. Nothing moved in the black.
He turned again, using his data-pad to communicate.
Stay here, he typed.
Jackson got up and started through the cavern, skirting around the water and trying to keep his footsteps as silent as possible.
He made it all the way to a connecting tunnel before he stopped again. Faint moonlight pierced the darkness at the end of the snaking rock corridor. They were close to an exit.
Jackson twisted back to the young commandos when he heard the shriek of metal on rocks. The damn kids just couldn’t figure out how to be quiet.
The shriek came again just as Jackson began the trek back to their position.
His heart leapt into his throat.
This wasn’t armor scraping rock…
It was from claws scratching against the cavern floor!
But Jackson didn’t see anything moving in the darkness.
Where the hell was it coming from?
Craning his neck, he finally saw it.
Scrambling upside down along the stalactites above was a Canebrake. The fanned head cut through the darkness, the eyes dark as it hunted for prey. Two segmented arms reached out, finding new holds as it moved like a grotesque monstrous spider.
Jackson had no time to warn the kids crouched across the room as two hooked blades glowed to life.
Both blades shot from the Canebrake and ripped into the kids’ backs, yanking them into the air. Horrified yells of pain echoed as they flailed against the mechanical abomination.
A static-filled roar exploded through the chamber, drowning out their wild cries.
Jackson prepared to activate his energy axe but hesitated as one of the kids was ripped in half. It was already too late. The other was tossed against a boulder, his spine shattering with a deafening crack.
A shrill whimper of pain followed, along with a plea that chilled Jackson to his core.
“Mama, mama, help me!”
The Canebrake skittered overhead, dropping to the ground over the kid. Leaning down, it clamped a jaw of serrated teeth around his screaming face.
Another crunch resonated through the chamber, silencing the lad.
Not five seconds had passed since Jackson first saw the beast. He stood there ready to fight, but it didn’t seem to detect him. The cool-suit and his armor masked his heat signature and heartbeat. But if he activated his energy axe, there would be no escaping the monster’s fury.
The machine tilted its fanned head, the blue pupils glowing to life as it scanned the chamber. Jackson could practically feel its robotic eyes tracing his body. He willed his heartbeat to slow, trying to fade into the black.
Then suddenly, the machine skittered away, vanishing into a twisting corridor.
A thunderous rumble shook the rocks.
Jackson stiffened while streams of grit pelted his helmet and clanked off the sides.
As the tremor settled, it was replaced by the rattling of Canebrakes lurching through the passages. Those sounds soon faded. This might be Jackson’s only chance to escape.
He took one last look at the mangled bodies shadowed by pools of blood. There was nothing he could do for them now.
I’m sorry.
Hearing the kid call for his mother brought out a side of Jackson that he normally buried in battle.
No one deserved to die like this. Not even Coalition scum.
He started down the tunnel when a loud rattle boomed.
It seemed to be coming from the same location as just seconds before, almost as if the source of the sound hadn’t moved. Was the Canebrake responsible trapped under a pile of scree from the shaking earth?
Maybe the machine was calling out for help.
Ah, bad luck, you piece of metal shit.
Jackson hurried into the tunnel the murderous Canebrake had taken. He sprinted ahead, activating his energy axe with an electric hum. Not two minutes later, he saw his gut feeling was right. The murderous machine lay in a heap of rubble.
Other jagged rocks had fallen on limbs and torso. Usually, a six-hundred-pound beast like this could free itself, but when the ceiling collapsed, a boulder had crushed the fanned head.
Still, it wasn’t completely harmless. Two glowing blades stuck out of the scree.
He approached cautiously as his axe blade burned with a fiery crimson glow.
The beast was probably letting out a distress signal that would call others to help. He had to act fast.
He scaled the pile of rocks, one of the Canebrake’s blue pupils following him, still glowing in the flattened head.
“Night, asshole,” he said.
Jackson brought the axe down on the exposed part of the face, cleaving off a filet of slagged metal.
The blue pupil dimmed, as did the hooked blades protruding from its arms.
One less Canebrake in the world.
That was a total of eight he had killed since E-Day.
For the next fifteen minutes, he ran hard, back the way he came, to the chamber that promised an exit.
Another quake gripped the caverns, violent shaking bringing down a section of wall. Rocks tumbled from the ceiling ahead, sending up a cloud of dust.
He pushed through the haze and climbed over the pile.
Down the corridor, he saw moonlight.
Jackson advanced slowly again, cautious on the way out of the corridor to an overlook above the jungle canopy.
A light drizzle of rain tapped over the leaves, spraying Jackson when the wind shifted.
Jackson slung his axe over his shoulder, securing it to his back. He drew his pulse rifle and crouched to scan the jungle.
The entire mountain suddenly seemed serene. Peaceful.
No rattling of Canebrakes. No more quakes or explosions.
The dark sky was absent of Praying Mantis fighters.
Suddenly, he felt alone.
An odd and terrifying feeling. Worse almost than being attacked by the machines.
Jackson started down a trail with his rifle shouldered. He made it under the cover of the trees where he found deep gouges in the mud, each filling with rain. Definitely Canebrakes. Judging by how messy and waterlogged they were, he guessed they were old.
Pushing through the foliage, he continued his trek until the sound of crashing waves hit his ears. He peeled back a few stray branches to reveal a glimpse of the bay past a clearing. Keeping his rifle up, he stalked through the dark until he spotted a Piston partially covered in mud.
The man was face down and the bottom half of his body was completely gone.
Jackson recoiled slightly, shifting his gaze as he surveyed his surroundings. The rest of the man, roping intestines and broken legs, were hanging from a tree branch ten feet above him.
Jackson kept going toward the water. He passed four more dead Pistons forming a halo around a downed Canebrake at the top of a slight hill.
On the other side were the remains of more human soldiers, but there wasn’t much left. Just piles of gore.
Jackson crossed a field and stopped at a cliff overlooking Ha Long Bay. Movement in the gray haze of rain over the water caught his eye. He crouched.
Far out into the bay, a superstructure plowed through the murky depths, the box-shaped head still above the water.
It wasn’t alone.
Chasing it were dozens of Canebrakes, all swimming after the mammoth metal creature. Maybe they were leaving the island after thinking they had finished massacring everyone here. They were probably moving onto their next prey.
Jackson put his rifle over his shoulder and started down toward the beach. The only way he would find anyone was to follow them.
He started wading out into the surf when a voice called out.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Jackson swung around. There were three Coalition commandos and two Pistons hiding in the brush.
The one that called out started to jog over.
