The Secret Seekers Society and the Beast of Bladenboro

by J. Hickey

  Chapter 11

  Anarchy

  The massive automaton Plato waited patiently underneath the large stage in a secret passageway until he heard his cue. He was the first glimpse of the ‘unknown' the children were to see during the Orientation. It had been somewhat of a tradition since his arrival at the estate. Plato was the perfect baby step into the mysterious world the estate would inevitably open up for the kids. He was a giant, lovable android with a heart of gold-the perfect icebreaker.

  At first, Plato declined Professor Calenstine's invitation to the Orientations. Even though he was a massive robot with a highly advanced artificial intelligence (A.I.) system, he was very shy when it came to meeting new people. Well, as shy as an automaton could emulate using his human emotion shadowing mainframe. However, after much coercing from Professor Calenstine, and a simple promise stating that with every Orientation that Plato participated in, his shyness would decrease, Plato finally agreed. It only took three Orientations for Plato's human emotion shadowing mainframe to kick in and conquer his fear of public speaking. Of course, that translated to three human generations.

  Now, Plato loved the attention he received when he was cued for his big entrance. He knew that for these children, robots like him were merely fictional characters in books and movies. He loved their faces when he popped out from behind Professor Calenstine. Some children screamed, others cheered, most gasped in awe at his mighty size, but it always ended the same-a room full of smiling faces and new friends.

  Plato knew right away this night was vastly different from any other Orientation he had ever been to. There were screams, real screams, and a menacing growl. He ran a quick search through his core mainframe engine to find any known matches to the howl. He quickly found a match with the recorded noises of the Beast of Bladenboro. Plato knew his signal wasn't coming to make a grand entrance. Something was greatly wrong. Without hesitation, he burst through the hidden trapdoor from underneath the stage; the very same trapdoor they had constructed for his grand surprise entrance.

  The crowd was in a sheer panic mode, already stricken with fear, and once they caught sight of a mighty robot bursting from beneath the stage, it only added to the chaos. Of course, the new children had no idea Plato was there to help, and for them, the sight was horrific. Plato took a second to survey his surroundings. He zoomed in on the Beast of Bladenboro as it tore into Joe, who lay lifeless on the cold, wooden floor of the stage.

  "Master Joseph?" Plato's monotone voice said.

  The beast suddenly looked back at the automaton's immense body, now overshadowing its own. Plato swung its mighty arm, striking the beast away like a mere fly. The vile monster flew across the stage as if it were weightless. Its body crashed with a sickening thud into the far cement wall at the other end of the stage, leaving a large crater-like indentation. Hunter and Elly ducked to avoid getting hit by the airborne creature.

  Their eyes reddened from tears, they turned back around to make their way over to their uncle in hopes of dragging him to safety.

  "Please, we have to run!" Liv pleaded, grabbing Hunter's hand and forcing him away from their uncle.

  "She's right," Alistair added, doing the same with Elly.

  "Please evacuate." Plato looked back at the children, who were still fearful of his presence. "Master Joseph is a friend. I will protect him. He shall not fall to any more harm."

  Plato reached down with his mighty metal arm and lifted Joe's motionless body with ease. "Weakened pulse. Alive, yet unstable," Plato said, hoping to give Hunter and Elly some relief. It didn't. Both looked on frozen in fear for their uncle's wellbeing. They couldn't find the strength to move on their own. Both Alistair and Liv pushed them towards safety.

  The beast regained its composure. It stood upright now, snarling at the massive automaton, who clutched its potential meal in its protective arms. It circled Plato cautiously, ignoring everything around it. It stalked and waited for the right moment to strike, not showing any fear of Plato's sheer size and strength. Plato in turn stood steadfast, waiting for the beast to strike. Plato tapped into its A.I. system and ran calculations and algorithms through his core mainframe, attempting to figure out the beast's next move.

  It was in a sense, a stalemate. The auditorium had now been evacuated. All the children were broken up into groups and sent to the safety of separate rooms.

  The beast wouldn't surrender, nor would Plato surrender Joe's body to the vile creature. Suddenly it pounced at Joe's unconscious body, which was held up and out of harm's way by Plato's awesome strength. But the fierce cat-like beast was smarter than to try and stand toe to toe with Plato. Instead, it jumped on Plato's left leg and crawled its way up and around the robot's large frame, swiping at Joe's body with every chance it got.

  Plato swung its two-ton arms in a fury to knock the beast off, but he couldn't manage to free himself of the beast's mighty claws. Suddenly, Joe's body fell to the floor, landing hard on his right shoulder. He made a loud, sickening thump, yet he made no noise or movement. It was like a lifeless doll had fallen to the ground in a heap of a broken body.

  The beast quickly jumped off Plato and grabbed Joe by his tattered shirt, starting to drag him off stage. Plato closed in on the beast, but he didn't strike for fear of hitting Joe as well. Plato was a massive robot, powerful beyond any human, but he was slow and not very agile. He worried about doing more damage to his friend.

  "Release him!" Plato demanded.

  The beast snarled back, pulling Joe's body closer towards the exit.

  Suddenly a large dart struck the beast in its hindquarters. It yelped and turned quickly towards the direction of the strike. Across the large auditorium stood Dominick and his partner, Agent Roberts. Dominick held up a large rifle with a scope, a wicked smile was hidden behind the weapon.

  "Got you!" He grinned.

  "Nice shot, boss," Roberts added. "That pup should be asleep any minute."