THE CRACKDOWN
1098 Words
The helicopters came at dawn.
Elliot was in the command center, drinking coffee, when Adam's voice crackled through the speaker.
"Incoming. Multiple aircraft. Military."
Elliot set down his cup. "How many?"
"Six. Maybe more."
Frank ran into the room, his rifle raised. "They're surrounding the base."
"Can we fight them?"
"We can try."
Elliot looked at the map. At the blinking lights approaching from every direction.
"They're not here to negotiate."
The copies gathered in the common room.
Fear was thick in the air. Children cried. Adults whispered.
Elliot stood at the front of the room. "The military is here. They want to take the copies. Register them. Control them."
David spoke. "What are we going to do?"
"We're going to fight. If we have to."
Maria shook her head. "We can't fight the military. They have helicopters. Tanks. Weapons."
"We have something they don't."
"What?"
"Right."
Frank walked into the room. "The general is on the line. He wants to talk."
Elliot walked to the command center.
General Harris's face filled the screen.
"Elliot Reed. You've caused me a great deal of trouble."
"Your trouble is your own making."
"Perhaps. But now I'm here to clean it up."
"What do you want?"
"The copies. All of them. Surrender them, and your people go free."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then we take them by force."
Elliot looked at the map. At the blinking lights.
"You'll kill innocent people."
"Collateral damage."
The screen went dark.
Frank stood beside Elliot. "What now?"
"We fight."
"We can't win."
"Then we make sure they can't win either."
Elliot walked to the armory.
The copies armed themselves.
Rifles. Pistols. Knives. Whatever they could find.
Elliot stood at the gate, watching the military advance.
Frank stood beside him. "They're coming."
"I know."
"Any last words?"
Elliot smiled. "Plenty. But I'll save them for later."
The first wave hit at 7 AM.
Soldiers poured from the helicopters, their weapons raised. Frank fired, dropping two. Marcus engaged from the east.
Elliot ran to the north ridge, his rifle barking.
"Adam, where are the reinforcements?"
"Ten minutes out."
"We don't have ten minutes."
A bullet whizzed past his ear.
The battle was chaos.
Elliot lost count of how many times he fired. His ears rang. His eyes burned. The air smelled like gunpowder and blood.
David took a bullet to the arm but kept fighting. Maria dragged him behind cover.
Lily held the south ridge, her rifle steady.
"How many?" Elliot shouted.
Frank checked his count. "Too many."
"We need to retreat."
"Where?"
"The sub-basement. We can hold them there."
They ran.
The sub-basement was dark and cold.
Elliot pressed against the wall, his rifle trained on the door. Frank reloaded beside him. Marcus checked his wounds.
"How many did we lose?" Elliot asked.
Marcus shook his head. "Too many."
The soldiers didn't follow. The door remained closed.
"Why aren't they coming?" Frank asked.
"Because they don't need to."
Adam's voice came through. "They're bringing in tear gas. You need to get out."
"We can't. The exits are sealed."
"Then find another way."
Elliot looked at the ventilation shaft.
"There."
The shaft was narrow and dark.
Elliot crawled through the metal tunnel, his elbows scraping against the walls. Frank followed. Marcus brought up the rear.
The shaft ended at a grate. Elliot kicked it open.
They were outside.
The base was burning.
Elliot stood in the courtyard, watching the flames. The helicopters were gone. The soldiers were gone.
But so were the copies.
"How many?" he asked.
Frank checked the count. "We lost thirty. Maybe more."
Elliot's heart sank.
"The others?"
"Scattered. Hiding. We'll find them."
Elliot looked at the sky. At the smoke.
"We need to rebuild."
"Again."
"Again."
The survivors gathered in the forest.
Tents were pitched. Fires were lit. The wounded were treated.
Elliot walked among them, checking on each one.
Hope found him by the campfire.
"Are we going to be okay?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Leo says we're not."
"Leo worries too much."
Hope hugged him. "I'm scared."
"So am I. But we're going to get through this. Together."
Frank found Elliot at the edge of the camp.
"We need to move. The military knows where we are."
"Where can we go?"
"There's an old mining town in the mountains. Abandoned. Hard to reach."
"How far?"
"A day's drive."
"Then we leave at dawn."
The convoy drove through the night.
Elliot sat in the back of the van, staring out the window. The copies were in the other vans, silent, scared.
Daphne took his hand. "We're going to be okay."
"How do you know?"
"Because we always are."
Elliot smiled. It was a weak sound.
"When did you get so wise?"
"About the time someone drilled into my skull and pulled out pieces of my brain."
Elliot laughed. "I love you."
Daphne kissed his cheek. "I love you too."
The mining town was hidden in a canyon.
Buildings crumbled. Streets cracked. But the walls were thick, and the roofs were intact.
Elliot stood in the middle of Main Street, looking at the town.
"It's not much," Frank said.
"It's home."
The copies settled in.
Rooms were cleaned. Beds were made. Gardens were planted.
Elliot worked alongside them, his hands calloused, his back aching.
Daphne joined him in the evenings, watching the sunset.
"You're thinking again," she said.
"I'm always thinking."
"About what?"
"About the future. What comes next."
"The same thing that's always come next. More fights. More rescues. More rebuilding."
Elliot shook his head. "I'm tired."
"I know."
"But I can't stop."
"Then don't. But let us help."
Elliot looked at the town. At the homes, the gardens, the people.
"I will."
That night, Elliot dreamed of the garden.
Echo was there, sitting on the bench beneath the tree.
"You survived," Echo said.
"We survived."
"You lost people."
"Too many."
Echo put a hand on his shoulder. "That's the cost of freedom."
Elliot looked at the flowers. At the sky.
"Is it worth it?"
"I don't know. But you have to keep going."
"Why?"
"Because they need you."
Elliot closed his eyes.
When he opened them, the garden was gone.
The next morning, a messenger arrived at the edge of town.
A young woman, her face pale, her hands shaking.
"Are you Elliot Reed?"
"Yes."
"I have a message. From the government."
Elliot's blood ran cold. "What kind of message?"
The woman handed him a tablet.
The screen glowed with a single sentence.
"We're not done."
Elliot looked at Frank.
"Here we go again," Frank said.
Elliot nodded.
"Here we go again."
- Writer
