Death Stranding--Death Stranding Read online

  Sam had seen it up close and personal when he had thrown the nuke into the lake. He couldn’t forget how the tar absorbed the enormous energy of that blast.

  “We set up some research shelters there before the tar started bubbling up, and even built a distribution center out there. Some relay equipment for the Chiral Network, too.”

  The map displayed what Heartman described in chronological order.

  On the map, the tiny black specks on the map that had been small only one year prior suddenly expanded into an extensive belt shape. It showed that when Amelie and the rest of Bridges I had first arrived, it could probably still have been circumvented. It was just after she arrived in Edge Knot City when the tar began to well up and the scale of the erosion expanded. Something about it felt intentional. In fact, the timing probably matched up with when Amelie was first captured. The only person Sam could think of who could pull off such a stunt was Higgs.

  “Then how the hell am I supposed to hook the west up to the network?” Sam asked.

  It seemed like Heartman had been anticipating Sam’s question, as he gave yet another thumbs up.

  “I’m asking you for your help in building a new one. It won’t be much, given the handful of equipment we’ve managed to scrape together. Nothing like the Knot Cities, that’s for sure. But a knot is still a knot. Sam, I want you to use the Q-pid to put the scientists on the network, then go to Amelie. Afterward, we can get back to the important job of researching the Death—”

  Heartman collapsed like the strings on a mannequin had been cut, and his body crumpled to the floor. Sam attempted to spring to Heartman’s aid, but the floor reacted first. It expanded to absorb the shock of Heartman’s fall and cushioned his landing. The AED on Heartman’s chest began to count down until resuscitation. Exasperated by the fact that he would have to wait another three minutes, Sam went to sit himself down on the sofa. But before he made it, Sam’s cuff link began to vibrate, indicating an incoming call.

  It was from Die-Hardman, only this time Sam couldn’t see him. Sam’s cuff links had been set to sound only. Sam didn’t remember doing that. Then he remembered the look Heartman had given him when he took out the umbilical cord. When Sam checked the cuff link, he could see that the communications were going through the lab’s firewall. That meant that Heartman didn’t want Die-Hardman to see the cord. That could also explain why Sam had been made to bring it here in secret.

 

  Perhaps it was because Sam knew Heartman was hiding something from Die-Hardman, and because of what Deadman had told Sam during their own secret discussion, but the director’s tone felt colder to Sam than before. It was a little late to consider now, but it seemed like Bridges had changed a lot since the Bridges he knew ten years ago. Deadman, Mama, and Heartman had all joined after Sam had left. And now that Bridget was dead, there weren’t that many members left who even knew America as it once was. Die-Hardman was probably the only member remaining who was there when Bridges was first established. Sam had been born some years later, so even he wasn’t sure how it was first formed.

  Bridges wasn’t one thick rope, but rather numerous fine threads bundled together, each with their own motivations. Sam was one of those strands, too.

  Sam descended the outer stairs of the snow-covered lab and turned around. He didn’t like leaving Heartman like that. It may have been routine for him, but to Sam, he was leaving behind a corpse that had gone into cardiac arrest. What if the AED didn’t restart his heart properly? Wouldn’t his body necrotize? Sam began to worry.

  But Sam had his own routine to get back to now. Sam had to carry on doing his duty without letting on about his misgivings toward Bridges and Die-Hardman. As he began to climb a mountain, Sam activated the Active Skeleton that he had equipped in Heartman’s lab. It was a piece of equipment that attached itself to both of Sam’s legs, and improved his walking and stability. He felt so light! Once he had climbed the slope a little, the heart-shaped lake came into view.

  * * *

  Every time he took a step into the snow, the strap of his backpack dug painfully into his shoulder. Even though he was wading through sub-zero temperatures, he had to wipe the sweat from his face more than once. A whole day had passed since Sam had left Heartman’s lab. It was only one more peak and then the rest of the journey would be smooth sailing. His legs may have had the help of the Active Skeleton, but it didn’t do so much for his back. The weight of the cargo on it was making him want to admit defeat, but it was just a little farther. Once he had connected this area to the Chiral Network and made it to Edge Knot City, he’d be able to put this pack down once and for all. Then the UCA would be rebuilt, he could save Amelie, and he could free Lou. He would finally be able to confront his past self who had failed to save Lucy and Lou, and make peace with it. What’s more, once the whole Chiral Network was up and running, Heartman could make even more discoveries about the Beach and extinction. And once they fully understood the Beach, then maybe, just maybe, Sam would be able to set Lou free from the Beach and himself free from the Seam. If he could untangle life and death in this world then they’d finally be free.

  Sam caressed the pod, but Lou showed no reaction whatsoever. More than ten days had passed since Deadman had tinkered with the pod and they still weren’t communicating as they had before. Lou spent most of the day asleep. But maybe that was to be expected. They hadn’t approached any BT-occupied territory or experienced any spikes in chiral density lately. Babies were supposed to sleep a lot anyway. Besides, if regular babies needed so much sleep, then what about babies that hadn’t even been born yet? It would have been selfish to wake Lou for no reason. Wait… wasn’t he intending to reforge their relationship from the beginning after Lou’s memories had been wiped? Calling this kid Lou was so self-centered of him. This kid could have been called by a different name when it was in its mother’s womb. All Sam had done was project his past onto this poor baby. He was basically repeating what Bridget had done to him when she left America in his hands. He recalled her voice inside his head.

  —You’re the one I wanted to send, Sam.

  No, America’s finished! Bridget, you’re the president of jack shit!

  Sam thought back to the hospital room that had been transformed with holograms to turn it into a fake Oval Office. It felt like the weight of Bridget after she fell on him back then had been added onto his back. The children always carry the baggage that their parents leave behind. Whether it’s debt or fortune, the parents force them to bear it whether they like it or not. Parents liked to preach that this was the baton of life and the succession of history. Their kids were even forced to grieve their deaths and usher their souls onward. (Was that why you carried Bridget’s corpse?) But what were parents who outlived their children supposed to do?

  A strong wind struck Sam straight on. It roared like an animal and blew past him. The snows thickened and all Sam could see was white. He got down on his knees to give his legs a rest and readjust his cargo. A pain shot through him and he let out a grunt. The wound he had sustained from a stray bullet on that battlefield still hadn’t healed.

  Sam heard a muffled cry from the pod. It seemed that Lou had reacted to Sam’s pain. Maybe he was mistaken. Maybe he had arbitrarily de
termined that to be the case. Maybe he was being arrogant. It didn’t matter. What did matter was that Sam felt the connection between him and Lou repairing itself. He stroked the pod. Then he let out a sigh and got back up. The wind had only blown strongly for a moment, but the snow was still falling and his surroundings had grown silent again. Everything was back to normal, except for one thing.

  Something flashed in front of him.

  Sam fell to his injured knee again, and then onto his ass. He pulled off the straps of his pack and set it on the ground. Then he removed the Odradek, thrust it into the snow, and switched it on. Sam’s cargo was immediately blanketed in white and now resembled one of the many boulders strewn across the landscape. It was all thanks to his hologram projector. It was one of the new functions included in the upgrade the equipment underwent in Mountain Knot City.

  Sam hid in its shadow. Unless he was mistaken, the light had bounced off something manmade.

  Then the light flashed once again, adding weight to his theory. Now it was moving. Maybe it was some MULEs? The hologram should have blinded them to his presence, as well as invalidated any sensors. As long as he remained quiet, there was no threat.

  But maybe Sam had been too optimistic, because the group had now plainly changed course and were heading this way.

  Lou’s fists were clenched tight in sympathy with Sam’s nervousness. Sam could make out five people so far, each of them spreading out in a different direction. It seemed to Sam that they were trying to surround him and they were slowly but surely closing in. They were clad from head to toe in what looked like thick gray cloaks. Each one had a gun in their hand. These weren’t MULEs. This was an armed group. If Sam had to guess, they were probably after the relay equipment he was carrying. But he had to wonder how they knew he would be delivering this equipment and how they had guessed the route he would take. Sam kept an eye on the five’s movements as he quickly took out his bola gun from his backpack and assembled it. If his assailants had been MULEs, he probably could have distracted them with some spare cargo, but it didn’t look like that tactic would do him any good here. They probably wanted to destroy the equipment. He also had to consider the possibility that these five were just the vanguard, and that Higgs was lurking around somewhere. A battle with the BTs could be imminent.

  First and foremost, Sam had to protect his cargo. Putting his faith in the protection afforded by the hologram cloaking, Sam decided to try and draw the group’s attention toward him. To his right was the slope he had just descended, and although his left was open, there were likely numerous crevasses lying ahead.

  Sam dropped down and retreated. The group’s reaction was swift. Every single one of them at once moved to Sam’s left flank. They were trying to drive him toward the slope.

  The guns they held were most likely loaded with normal lethal bullets, but all Sam had was his bola gun, which was intended to apprehend and immobilize and only fired binding bola wires from both ends. It wasn’t deadly in the slightest. The enemy continued to close in. Sam flattened himself against the snow-covered rocks to use them as a shield, but the five enemies circled ever closer.

  An uncomfortable feeling, like his organs were being squeezed hard, suddenly came over Sam. It was like someone had plunged their hand inside his abdomen and was churning his guts around inside. Sam felt like he was going to vomit. Lou was frightened.

  There was no crying, but Lou was curled up as stiff as a dead body, eyes squeezed tightly shut. That’s when Sam realized that it wasn’t his fear that was being transmitted to Lou, but the other way around. Lou’s fear was gnawing away at Sam. He hadn’t had the same violent reaction when he was transported to Cliff’s battlefield. He hadn’t even felt this way before when he was crossing BT territory.

  Lou’s emotions were coursing into Sam like a raging river, and since Lou didn’t know how to express them in words, they were doing a number on Sam’s insides instead. BBs had no way to express themselves in words, which is why they needed to be connected to their host via an umbilical cord and use of the Odradek interface. It was actually because they didn’t articulate the world in words that they could sense the world of the dead.

  Sam closed his eyes and placed his hand on the pod. Lou was unusually afraid of these particular assailants. Shattering the silence, a bullet grazed past Sam’s shoulder.

  Now they were directly under attack. Sam peeked out from behind the rock to assess the situation. Several armed men were approaching his hiding spot to surround him. He counted five so far. At first glance they looked like ordinary MULEs, but they were obviously out for blood. Was this what Lou was so scared of?

  Another gunshot rang out. This time the bullet scraped the rock shielding Sam. Then somebody raised their voice. Just like the MULEs, they spoke in a language that Sam didn’t recognize, with short screams that seemed to make up a code that only their comrades could decipher. It seemed to be coming from nearby. Sam knew that it would all be over if he stayed where he was, so he readied his bola gun and sprung out from behind the rock.

  The shooting continued, following him closely, but the Active Skeleton he was wearing helped him leap away. Sam threw some hematic grenades in an attempt to blind his attackers. He knew that showering terrorists in that precious blood of his was unlikely to do much, but the only weapons he really had at hand were supposed to be for the BTs, so they would have to do. At least if he left any corpses here, he would have the tools on hand to deal with them before they had the chance to turn.

  As the splatter of Sam’s blood blinded his pursuers, Sam ran at full speed for the snowfield.

  The pain in his left knee had now completely disappeared as the Active Skeleton forced his legs to move whether they hurt or not.

  An electromagnetic shot fired into the snow. MULEs used the same weaponry, so that meant these attackers must have been MULEs once. Having succumbed to their Porter Syndrome, they had transformed into Homo gestalts and were moving according to somebody else’s will. Sam threw himself into the shadow of the first boulder he found and caught his breath, but his attackers were already scanning the field and were soon moving in. Sam heard another voice. It belonged to a man equipped with different weaponry—an Odradek on his shoulder and a BB pod on his chest. He must have been the leader. If Sam could take him out then he might be able to escape.

  Sam felt another cramp in his gut. Lou was terrified. Clutching the pod close with one hand, Sam stared at the apparent leader. The umbilical cord connecting the man to his pod was emitting a heat like it was aflame. This was the man who Lou was so scared of.

  Once it had all clicked in Sam’s head, the man’s Odradek immediately burst to life, spinning wildly. At the same time, Lou began to scream. The man’s Odradek formed into a cross shape and pointed in Sam’s direction. It was like Sam and Lou were the BTs for once. Lou was twisting and turning inside the pod and kicking at its walls. Was Lou what they were after? The BB pod on the man’s chest began to emit a reddish-black light. It must have contained a BB. Did that mean that the BBs were resonating with one another?

  The man screamed an indescribable sound once more and burst into a sprint. The four others followed behind, plowing their way through the snow. Sam forgot about Lou for the moment and fired his bola gun. The bindings, which were double-ended with counterweights, flew through the air and wrapped themselves around the legs of the man in front. As the man fell face-first into the snow, the electric shock emitted by the bola bindings should have knocked him out.

  Sam set the output of his Active Skeleton legs to max and made another run for it. Jumping and dashing along the way, Sam aimed for the crevasse. It was like he wasn’t in his own body. He had no feeling in his legs at all. What if something was broken? He couldn’t stop now.

  The Active Skeleton only had a little bit of power left, so Sam needed to put as much distance between himself and the men as possible before they gave out.

  A belt of rocks came into view. The pinnacle-shaped boulders were around t
he same height as him and were huddled tightly together.

  Sam’s pursuers had called off the chase for the time being. Sam could still see where they were and they were no longer running. That being said, they were still closing in at a steady pace. They must have been homing in on Lou to detect the pair.

  Sam tried to take a step forward, but the Active Skeleton made a warning sound. The battery was completely depleted. As Sam released the legs, he was reminded of his own body weight and tried his hardest not to succumb to the pain in his knee. It felt like he was standing on a different planet. One with gravity several times stronger than Earth. Every step felt extraordinarily heavy compared to moments ago, and the distance he had tried so hard to put between him and Lou and their attackers was shrinking by the second. Sam dragged his heavy body, trying to convince himself with each passing inch not to panic.

  As he got closer to the rocks, he saw that the boulders were shaped like spirals, almost as if they had been twisted out of the ground by giants. Or maybe they were more like trees that just looked boulder-like on the surface. In any case, it felt like he was entering a rock forest.

  Sam felt a presence. Huddling behind a rock, he took a rope into his hand. It didn’t matter that it was supposed to be for packing cargo. If an assailant approached, he wouldn’t hesitate to use it on them, too. At least it would be more useful in close-quarter combat than any firearm would be.

  Sam focused all his attention on the sounds around him and awaited the enemy. His and Lou’s pursuers would have a hard time spotting him in here. He noticed as the approaching footsteps seemed to falter. Sam half-rose from behind the rock and sprung behind one of the men. Clutching each end of the rope, Sam slipped it around the man’s neck, tightening the pressure on the man’s carotid artery. Unable to fight back, the man slumped into unconsciousness.