The Fable of Marcus

by Sajjad Tameez

  Chapter 11

  Battle of the Dark-Tec Army

  ‘Where do we start?’ Churchill asked.

  ‘I’m not sure... I can’t voice command it to flash itself. How am I supposed to hack it

  without a computer? Do they have any computers around here?’

  ‘You must be joking... once it was spread that computers were the cause of all of this

  then, every computer, whatever kind, was considered a spy and was destroyed. They

  wouldn’t let me keep one to do my research.’ Churchill complained.

  ‘It was probably for the best... anyway, I think I got an idea. Where is your wonderful

  bag of goodies?’ Marcus asked.

  ‘Two of the men are looking after it inside, what’s the plan?’

  ‘I need you get it!’ Marcus asked the robot where its main circuit board was and the

  robot explained that it was on its back under a metal plate. Marcus climbed up the two

  legged man made out of metal and found the plate.

  ‘Marcus!’ Churchill called from below.

  ‘I need something to open this with.’ Churchill reached into his bag and removed a

  long screwdriver and threw it up. Marcus nearly lost his balance when trying to catch

  the tool from his ridiculous throw.

  ‘Sorry...’

  Marcus spent a few seconds trying to open the heavy flap which came crashing down

  to the ground and made Churchill leap out of his body.

  ‘So... you never told me the plan...’

  ‘I need you up here!’

  ‘I’m not climbing up there... no way!’

  ‘Come on stop being a wimp!’

  ‘I said no and that’s final!’

  ‘XJ!’ Marcus shouted, and within moments XJ2 was there, still looking a little

  damaged from being launched into the building earlier.

  ‘Churchill, find XJ’s main board and look to see if you can find something to connect

  to its output feed!’

  ‘You mine like a cable of some sort?’

  ‘Exactly.’ Marcus asked the Robot that he was stood on to crouch down so he could

  get down and have the main board at reaching distance.

  ‘So, what do you have in mind?’ Churchill asked, rummaging through his stuff for the

  cable with the right type of connection.

  ‘Because we can’t shut them down, we are going to short-circuit their boards and

  when it is in boot mode, we are going to use XJ to reprogram these things.’

  ‘Will that work?’

  ‘I guess there’s only one way of finding out!’

  Churchill smiled, ‘I guess so...’

  ‘Any luck?’

  ‘No...no...no... ah, yes!’

  ‘You found it?’

  ‘No, but I was looking for that!’ He picked out a rubber band and placed it in his

  pocket. Marcus sighed.

  ‘Ok...ok, I’m looking.’ After another few seconds of rummaging around, Churchill

  found a cable, ‘yes!’

  ‘You found one?’

  ‘I think so, it’s not exactly the same but adjusting a few of these pins should do it.’

  Churchill took a few moments amending the ends so they fit on both the robots. While

  Marcus studied the main board, trying to figure out how was going to do this without

  damaging the board itself.

  Inside, Nicole sat in the room with Ryan and Louise – she sat silently with a

  mischievous look pasted on her face, as she gazed into the air.

  ‘What?’ Louise asked.

  ‘What?’ Nicole replied, playing innocent.

  ‘No, don’t give me that! I’ve seen that look before... what are you up to?’

  ‘Nothing!’

  ‘Nicole... don’t lie to me!’

  ‘Ok... it’s just that I don’t fancy riding in the cargo section!’

  Ryan and Louise smiled, ‘and what exactly did you have in mind?’ Ryan asked.

  ‘I was thinking maybe we could take one those vehicles to ourselves... I mean they

  won’t even notice one missing!’

  Ryan, now bored in his bid to try to annoy Louise, was thrilled at the idea, ‘Let’s do

  it!’

  ‘But do you even know how to drive one of those things?’ Louise asked.

  ‘No, but I’m a fast learner!’

  ‘Ok, I’m game!’ Louise nodded.

  They snuck out of the building and as usual, managed to get out undetected. Outside,

  they saw the row of vehicles. Their bodies were shiny and curvy and Louise wanted to

  take the red one because she thought it looked like a beautiful lady bird and that it

  would suit her. And as expected, Ryan had a few clever remarks to say about that.

  ‘Shh! Guys come on focus, ok, it’s like a lady bird and... you’re like a lady bird... or

  whatever! Let’s just get it!’ Nicole said crouching and creeping towards the vehicle.

  As they got closer, they noticed the doors had no keyholes or handles. There was just

  a little round circle on the door, it was black and stood out from the glossy red. They

  had no idea that it had fingerprint recognition and accidently touched it and it opened.

  Luckily for them, it had not been configured to anyone and gave them access.

  ‘Great! Let’s get in.’ Nicole climbed in and sat in the driver’s side, Louise jumped in

  the back and Ryan in the front passenger’s side.

  The interior was black with bits of red, matching the exterior; and in an odd way, it

  did bear a strange resemblance to a lady bird. The seats were like huge black leather

  buckets, which they sunk into – comfortable but cold.

  ‘So, what now?’ Ryan asked, looking at the stylish dash and the digital screen.

  ‘I don’t have a clue!’ Nicole replied.

  ‘Really?’

  ‘No... I overheard them talking inside, these things are run by voice commands and in

  that compartment over there, ‘she reached over and opened a compartment just below

  the dash, ‘and here it is... the commands.’ She smiled.

  ‘Well go on then!’ Louise getting inpatient.

  ‘Ok, you just have to say the vehicle’s name then the instruction,’ Nicole took a deep

  breath and then read out the first instruction, ‘Tecra, engine start...’ and they cheered

  when it started up. The vehicle began to heat up instantly; the cold leather became

  warm and soothing.

  ‘According to this, it has auto-drive.’ Nicole said.

  ‘That’s great, that’ll make things a lot easier, right?’ Ryan remarked.

  ‘Yeah... but where would the fun be in that?’ Nicole said, ‘Tecra, bring up the manual

  controls and display the instructions.’ Nicole was shocked when the interior began to

  transform. The dash began to split as a, not quite round, steering wheel crept out, it

  had a few different coloured buttons on it and a couple of small leavers behind it. The

  vehicle gave off a gentle siren and the word CAUTION in capital letter was blinking

  on the screen. And then the computerised voice spoke, ‘caution! Tecra does not

  recommend manual driving and it is illegal to drive on the motorway in manual-drive

  – according to statistics for 2020 till 2025, auto-drive reduced accidents by 99.9%.

  Have a safe journey and Tecra will now auto adjust the seats and pedals. And

  instantly, the driver seat began to raise and the pedals crept up and Nicole could now

  see out of the windscreen and reach the pedals easily.

  ‘Tecra, Can you tell me how to drive this vehicle?’

  ‘Tecra, steering will give the control to navigate and the right pedal
is to accelerate

  and the one on the left is to brake.’

  ‘Do you really think this is a good idea?’ Ryan said, clearly agreeing with the

  vehicle’s notion to stick to auto-drive. But Nicole smiled, rebelliously and put her foot

  down on the acceleration pedal as hard as she could. They all braced themselves for

  the take off, but nothing happened and the siren went off again. ‘The Tecra will not

  move until it has been put into gear.’

  ‘Where are the gears?’ Nicole asked, but there was no reply, ‘oh yeah, Tecra, where

  are the gears?’

  ‘The gears are located behind the steering, but you can also use voice commands for

  the gears. The commands are now being displayed on screen.’

  ‘Ok... great! Tecra, drive!’

  ‘Ah... I think you might have to press on the accelerator... duh!’ Louise commented,

  by now she was feeling so warm and comfortable, her eyes were closing and she felt

  like drifting off.

  ‘Oh...’ Nicole pressed on the pedal and they all screamed as the vehicle roared

  forward. Nicole turned the steering harshly to avoid the vehicle that was parked in

  front.

  ‘Let go of the accelerator! Louise shouted, ‘and hit the brakes!’

  Nicole hit the brakes hard, the tyres screeched and they were all launched forward.

  Louise hit the back of the seat; Nicole banged her head lightly on the wheel. They all

  sat frozen in shock, having had their lives flash in front of them, they remained

  speechless.

  ‘It might be an idea to not slam on the pedals!’ Nicole said, moving her hair out of her

  face. Nicole nodded and took some deep breaths, ‘ok, let’s try this again.’ She let go

  of the brake and gently pressed on the accelerator and they pulled off slowly. Nicole

  was, in fact, an incredibly fast learner and got the hang of driving in moments.

  ‘So, shouldn’t we wait for the others and go with them?’ Louise said, still fiddling

  with her hair.

  ‘Yeah, I just wanted to get out of the area and hide this thing, so when they set off, we

  could get it and follow!’ They drove for a few more minutes and Ryan, getting bored,

  began playing with the touch screen computer.

  ‘This thing is awesome, I’ve never seen anything like it; hey Louise, check this out,

  it’s even got cameras all around it, and there’s a zoom! Look at how far I can see.

  ‘Wow! That’s so cool! Louise remarked sarcastically. Ryan zoomed as far as he could

  and suddenly jumped back, sitting completely still.

  ‘Guys... look at this!’ He pointed at the screen. They all sat with their eyes almost

  bulging out of their sockets and Nicole stopped the vehicle.

  ‘What the hell is that?’ Louise said as they stared at a thick grey mushroom of smoke

  in the distance. The smoke split apart like humongous gates opening, unleashing

  something so frightening that they all sat holding their breath – a huge army of

  hideous looking robots emerged, violently torturing the ground beneath them. They

  were all a terrifying black colour and looked bloodcurdling as they tore forward. All

  of them appeared two or three times the size of any of the robots that Marcus had and

  there was so many of them that Nicole could not see the back of the army! They

  ripped the trees out of the ground and broke through rubble and buildings; nothing

  was standing in their way. And like evaporating water, any forms of courage and

  bravery had disappeared from the car.

  ‘We... need to get back and let them know!’ Nicole stuttered. Ryan and Louise

  nodded, not being able to speak.

  ‘Ok... Churchill, we’re only gonna have twenty or thirty seconds and most likely, one

  chance! So let’s try to get this right!’ Marcus said plugging one side of the cable into

  XJ’s main board. Churchill, using another cable, managed to short circuit the other

  robot. And, for a split-second, it shutdown and then began to reboot.

  ‘Marcus, now, quickly!’ Churchill plugged the cable in.

  ‘XJ, override the boot process with these instructions: disable internal Wi-Fi and only

  manual instructions from human engineer accepted; if non-human engineer gives

  instructions then reject.’

  XJ did as he was told and gave the instructions. And after a few moments, the robot

  booted up and stood straight.

  ‘XJ, did it work?’

  ‘Yes, it has. RV1 has accepted the instructions.’

  Marcus and Churchill cheered and jumped up and down in excitement. ‘Ok, one down

  just another nine to go!’ Marcus commented, knowing they could do it, but clearly

  had their work cut out for them.

  ‘Well we better get on then!’ Churchill gathered all his bits.

  ‘Come on XJ, let’s do this!’

  Amy had spent some time inside talking to the people that were staying behind and

  organising where they would stay. Elaina organised the security that was staying

  behind to hold the forte. They both ran into each other as they headed outside to join

  the army outside, who had been training nonstop for hours. Arthur never took breaks

  or gave breaks, especially when it came down to training or preparing for battle.

  When Amy and Elaina came outside, Arthur ran up to them and said, ‘ok, this is it!’

  The rest of the men stopped and felt confident.

  ‘Prepare your weapons and we are ready!’ Arthur shouted.

  ‘We are going to have wait on Marcus – you guys know what do here; make sure that

  nothing gets into the town.’ Arthur said to Amy and Elaina.

  ‘What do you mean? I’m coming with you!’ Amy said angrily.

  ‘Yeah me too!’ Elaina said in a similar tone.

  ‘No way! It’s too dangerous.’

  ‘And you think we can’t handle it because we’re women?’ Amy argued.

  ‘No... we need some strong people to remain behind.’ Khan rushed and butted in, not

  keen on Elaina coming along.

  ‘Nice try but you’re leaving some of the robots, so there’s no need for us here!

  Besides, you’re gonna need everyone you can spare out there.’ Elaina said.

  ‘We could beat any of those guys you got out there!’ Amy said confidently, ‘do I need

  to prove it? Pick anyone and I’ll beat him right now!’

  ‘I don’t think that’ll be necessary.’ Khan said, admiring her tenacity.

  ‘Wait... you think you can beat anyone here?’

  ‘Yes!’

  ‘Anyone?’

  ‘Yes. I said anyone!’

  ‘Ok, you got it! Get ready.’ Arthur handed Amy a sword and she smiled at the

  challenge. She stretched her muscles and swung the sword a few times to warm up.

  She walked further into where the men were gathered and they stepped back and

  made a circle around her forming a ring.

  ‘So, who’s the unlucky guy?’ She sneered. But to her complete devastation, Arthur

  emerged out from the crowd, unarmed. She lowered her sword and looked confused.

  ‘What? You said anyone... I am anyone.’

  ‘But...’

  ‘But nothing, you got your chance to prove yourself!’

  ‘That’s not fair!’

  ‘And you think that it’s gonna be fair out there, with those things?’ He struck her

  sword with his, sending hers falling to the ground, ‘I am nothing in comparison to

  what is out there! This is not a game!’ He turned to the crowd of people i
n anger,

  ‘anyone who thinks that this is a bravery contest needs to wake up! If you want to stay

  alive, then leave your egos behind. We don’t need heroes; this is not about proving

  yourselves. If we fight together, we may stand a chance.’ As he was speaking, they all

  became distracted with the sound of the roaring vehicle rushing towards them. Arthur

  stared in shock as the wheels screeched and it came to halt.

  ‘Who the hell is that?’ Arthur asked himself.

  The car door opened and Nicole ran out with Louise and Ryan following behind, all

  of them looking like ghosts.

  ‘What the hell are you playing at?’ Arthur shouted and walked towards them.

  ‘Something’s wrong!’

  ‘Yeah, you’re damn right! We got kids driving around like lunatics!’

  ‘They’re coming! We saw them! There are hundreds of them!’ Nicole shouted.

  ‘Slow down... now, this better not be some kind of joke!’ Arthur said, with a look that

  could intimidate anyone.

  ‘No... it’s true, we saw them, and they’re coming!’ Ryan confirmed. Arthur braced

  himself, before turning to Amy, ‘find Marcus and tell him they’re coming and ready

  or not, it’s time!’ There was a lot of muttering from the anxious crowd as they

  prepared to move.

  ‘Khan, get your men ready to move in the next five minutes. Karina, do the same.’

  After a few moments, Marcus came running to Arthur, ‘is it true?’

  ‘Yes, Nicole and the others have seen them.’

  ‘We need to go now – we need to keep them away from the town and the people

  here!’ Marcus emphasised, looking paler than ever.

  After a short time, they all gathered outside – both human and robot, ready to fight

  side-by-side. It was strange for everyone, in that this was the first time that they had

  this much power, strong characters from different towns, huge fighting robots, yet

  they felt at their weakest – knowing that what monstrosities lay ahead for them were

  beyond their imagination. But they all had faith in Marcus and knew that this was

  their only chance of freedom and Arthur always had a way of motivating everyone he

  spoke to.

  ‘Ok, people... you all know what’s out there, so don’t breakdown and start crying

  when you see them and don’t shy away. We’re only strong if we stand together!

  But I am not going to lie to you, don’t expect to come back! I don’t! But I’m not

  fighting for me; I’m fighting for them in there and for those who will come after them

  – into a free world! Arthur shouted and rode his horse, in the direction that Nicole

  mentioned, as fast as he could. The small, yet brave, army followed, including Nicole

  and the gang, who were trailing behind in the borrowed vehicle.

  The Dark-Tec army

  The army was huge, to the extent that it made the ground shake in fear. The terrifying

  sounds that the army was making slashed through the air and echoed forcefully. No

  tree, no rock, nothing could stand in its way and like a hurricane it left a trail of

  destruction behind. The robots that formed it were different sizes, some on four legs

  and resembled tigers, and some on two, resembling tall, strong, men made out of

  shinning black metal. They stormed forward like an ocean of glimmering black

  monsters, flooding on to land and covering it all in darkness. The robots huddled in

  perfect synchronisation, not one moving ahead of another, in faultless uniform; their

  glowing red eyes pierced though the thick grey mist. Their footsteps pounded the

  ground in the most terrifying rhythm.

  ‘Come on Fredrick, I thought you would be enjoying this!’ The man, they referred to

  as master, said with an evil smile. Fredrick sat silently, giving off the odd tremble, in

  the large monster-truck type vehicle. The inside of it was very similar to the man’s

  creepy room back at the Towers, it had the exact same design of chair, the colour and

  lack of decoration was an exact replica; the only exception was in the vehicle he had

  three large screens, side by side, facing him and showing him images of what was in

  front, like a digital windscreen. There were no other controls and the vehicle was

  driving itself, its body like a tank and its huge wheels crushing everything around it.

  ‘Maxwell!’ He shouted. And Maxwell’s face popped up on the middle screen.

  ‘You call...’ but before he could finish, the man interrupted, ‘shut up Maxwell, I’m

  growing tired of your butler-type approach to life! Now, is it ready?’

  ‘No... it’s not ready yet?’

  ‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ The man screamed furiously. ‘I gave you a simple

  instruction and you couldn’t even do that!’

  ‘Sir, you should not be out there. You should have sent the army but remained

  behind.’

  ‘Do not tell me what to do! You artificially unintelligent dim-wit! I give the orders

  around here!’

  ‘Sir, was it really that important for you to leave the Towers? We could have captured

  the boy.’

  ‘Firstly, I needed the air,’ he laughed lightly, ‘secondly, I can’t trust you to do it, I

  can’t trust anyone else to do it! I mean... where the hell is Hex? You guys don’t get it

  do you? This boy is no ordinary boy, in just a few days, he has accomplished so

  much, and frankly, he’s really getting on my nerves!’

  ‘I must warn you, the area you are approaching has minimum signal strength, and it is

  dangerous!’

  ‘Well, thank you for the concern, I didn’t think you cared.’ He said sarcastically, ‘this

  is exactly why I need you to do as you’re told!’ The man was now looking paler than

  usual and he began breathing heavier. Fredrick dared not ask him if he was ok. The

  man seemed to be getting weaker and weaker, his eyes began to droop and he could

  not sit up straight on the seat.

  ‘Do it now! Maxwell, now!’

  ‘It is not yet stable.’

  ‘Now, Maxwell, you idiot!’

  And in a split second, it was like the entire world had stopped spinning, a haunting

  silence spread with the exception of a high pitched sound that echoed everywhere.

  Arthur and Marcus could now see the terrifying army. Marcus jumped off DK and

  looked like he was going to be sick. He could hardly speak and his face was blue in

  fear.

  ‘What is that?’ Arthur asked.

  ‘The system... it’s the system, it’s online.’ Marcus said in a faint voice. The rest of the

  men and robots caught up with Marcus and stopped next to them, petrified when they

  saw the monster of an army. It was like fighting a huge sword with a match-stick –

  they all knew that they had no chance of winning this but still put their brave faces on

  and held their ground, what little of it that they had.

  ‘This isn’t right!’ Marcus said.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Arthur unable to tear his eyes away from the huge army

  approaching.

  ‘I don’t know... but... something’s wrong here.’

  ‘Ok, Marcus, we have to keep it together.’

  As the darkness of night crept in, for the first time Arthur and everyone else witnessed

  the entire area begin to light up – there were street lights, some lights in the buildings

  in the town behind and sounds of motors and generators.

  ‘What�
��s going on?’ Arthur turned to Marcus for answers.

  ‘The system is online!’ But before anything else could be said or even another breath

  could be taken, the army stopped just meters in front of them. The dust and smoke

  that they carried continued on and spread like mist. There was an alarming silence

  that lasted a few minutes as the two armies stared each other out. The chilling silence

  broke as the huge vehicle carrying Fredrick and his master crawled forward, crushing

  the rubble of a building under its wheels. There was a loud hiss and a gust of warm air

  and smoke as the vehicle’s door slid open. Everyone stared contently as the man

  stepped out slowly.

  ‘Who is that?’ Arthur asked.

  ‘That’s Darcy Tyler!’ Marcus stuttered.

  ‘It can’t be! He is an old man and wouldn’t come out here!’

  ‘Trust me it is him.’

  The confusion was understandable, Darcy looked even younger than before; when the

  system came online, his face was freed from veins and wrinkles and his back

  straightened. He walked towards them with his ghostly cloak dragging behind him.

  ‘So it is true... you really do exist.’ The man said in a creepy and hushed voice.

  Marcus stepped back and hid behind Arthur.

  ‘What do you want?’ Arthur said, not backing down or breaking eye contact and

  noticing that Darcy had a strange resemblance to Marcus. He wasn’t the only one to

  feel like this, Darcy could not take his eyes off Marcus.

  ‘Give me the boy and I give you my word that I will spare all of your lives.’

  ‘Never!’

  ‘Ah, you must be the legendary Arthur... you have caused me a lot grief over the

  years. You and that friend of yours, what’s his name again, Richard? Funny, I

  imagined you a lot bigger.’

  ‘Yeah I get that a lot! And it’s funny, coz I imagined you a lot uglier!’

  ‘I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, I would love to stay and chat but I must dash –

  give me the boy! I will not ask you again.’ His eyes now glowing in rage as his

  patience began to wear thin. ‘I am sure by now, you are all feeling a tingling sensation

  on your wrists.’ Which although Arthur didn’t admit, he was feeling it, ‘what do you

  think that means? Don’t be a fool. Think of all your people, they will all die!’

  ‘I would rather die!’

  ‘So be it.’ Darcy walked back slowly and his army rushed forward in rage.

  ‘Marcus, get back now!’ Arthur pushed Marcus back and removed his arrow gun and

  began firing. XJ2 and the rest of the robots brawled with the Dark-Tec army. The men

  and the few women rushed in, firing their weapons and fighting valiantly with their

  swords. The bright lights, from the explosions, lit-up the dark sky and the horrendous

  sounds of battle echoed for miles. The Dark-Tec army was ferocious, their weapons

  were advanced and powerful and although, they took a good beating, it was not long

  before most of Marcus’s robots were destroyed, many of the men killed and hope had

  been obliterated. Marcus was taken into a rundown building close by and told to hide.

  DK was dead and Arthur was badly injured – blood trickled down his face but he

  clenched his sword tight and continued to fight. After a few short moments, he looked

  around and saw the men of his army, some lay dead, some lay screaming pain and a

  handful, including Khan, still fighting. Khan, who was also badly injured, looked at

  Arthur and shouted, ‘to the death!’ and ran swinging his sword and knocking back

  some of the robots. Arthur couldn’t hear what he said because of the loud ringing in

  his ears – he couldn’t hear anything.

  Khan ran towards Darcy’s vehicle and threw his sword which pierced the vehicle but

  only slightly. Inside, Fredrick jumped as the saw the sword on the screen but Darcy

  didn’t flinch and smiled as one of the robots shot out a red glowing beam that sent

  Khan flying.

  ‘No!’ Arthur shouted as the robot stamped on him and crushed the life out him, like

  he was just like a piece of rubble and his life was worth nothing. Arthur leapt onto the

  robot, which still had its leg on Khans body, and pierced his sword into its head,

  sending it crashing to the ground. Arthur fell off and landed on the ground, hurt and

  exhausted. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that there was no one left standing;

  they had lost, not having defeated even half of the Dark-Tec army. Hope of ever being

  free was now officially dead.

  One of the robots picked Arthur up and took him to Darcy’s vehicle. Darcy stepped

  out and stretched his arms, ‘well that was mildly entertaining, but I’m afraid I am

  getting bored. Where is the boy? Tell me now and the rest of you have a chance to

  limp away from this.’

  ‘I’ll tell you... wait... I’ll tell you...’ Arthur said and a huge smiled emerged on

  Darcy’s face.

  ‘Go on... I’m listening...’

  ‘I’ll tell you... but first you’re gonna have to kill me!’ Arthur used his last bit of

  strength to wriggle and remove a dagger, he stabbed it in the robots glowing eye and

  fell to the ground. Blood poured out of his mouth and he was finding it hard to breath.

  Marcus watching all of this from a broken window in the building, couldn’t bear it

  anymore. He had just witnessed all these people die because of him and decided

  enough was enough. He stormed out and shouted, ‘Stop! I’m here, let him go! I’m the

  one that you want!’ Darcy smiled and said, ‘kill Arthur and get the boy!’ But before

  the robots had a chance to do anything, a long spear cut through the air and hit the

  robot holding Arthur, sending it to the crashing and Arthur rolling across the ground.

  The red car with Nicole, Louise and Ryan came screeching forward and Ryan leapt

  out and dragged Arthur into the car. Arthur looked out of the car and saw Hex running

  and removing his spear from the robot and launching it into another one. He fought

  courageously for a few moments but was overpowered by the robots, ‘kill him and get

  the boy! You idiots. It seems as though I can’t trust anyone. Nicole drove the vehicle

  as fast as she could and stopped in front of Marcus, ‘get in now!’ Marcus jumped in

  and they sped off. Arthur’s face sunk as he watched Hex being killed from the rear

  screen.

  ‘Step on it!’ Louise shouted as she noticed a robot, that resembled a tiger by shape

  and movement, giving them chase.

  ‘He’s gaining on us! Ryan shouted.

  ‘Hold on!’ Nicole swerved from side to side, trying to avoid it but it was still gaining.

  Louise screamed as it leapt into the air, ready to pounce on the vehicle but then

  suddenly, XJ came out of nowhere and sprung up, catching it in the air and they both

  crashed down on the ground. This gave the vehicle a clean break.

  ‘Louise, don’t go back to the town, they’ll follow us – we need to lead them away.’

  Arthur whispered, unable to speak. Louise found a first aid kit in the car and tried to

  patch Arthur up as best as she could. And considering the severity of the wounds and

  the amount of blood he had lost, he ignored his ego and accepted the help.

  Marcus sat frozen, feeling sick at what he had just witnessed, possessed by guilt. A

  tear rolled down his cheek and his mouth trembled. ‘This is
all my fault!

  ‘Marcus, get some rest.’ Nicole said, not knowing what else to say.

  ‘What the hell just happened?’ Darcy shouted, his voice echoing in the distance.

  ‘I want Hex’s friends found and killed, just in case they have any funny ideas!’ He

  climbed back into the vehicle and shouted, ‘Maxwell!’ When Maxwell popped on the

  screen, he didn’t get a chance to greet anyone, ‘what the hell happened?’ Darcy

  screamed.

  ‘The system is not ready. I am working on it, but the wrist-locks are not functioning,

  the system is repetitively sending the transmissions but they won’t accept.’

  ‘The wrist-lock? How is this happening you idiot?’

  ‘The wrist-lock is attached to the natural human system and it seems as though the

  human mind may be conquering the signals.’

  ‘How is this possible?’ He shouted and banged the arm rest of his chair, making

  Fredrick jump.

  ‘According to my knowledge of human behaviour and emotion, it appears that the boy

  has raised their hopes and thus strengthened their minds and beliefs. And the fact that

  the wrist-lock has been detached for so long, the human neurons may have created

  some kind of immunity to it.’

  Darcy sat staring at the ring on his finger and could not believe what he had just

  heard. ‘The human body is adapting... ah, but to something it is used to... Maxwell,

  what if we sent out a virus?’

  ‘This would probably result in the eventual extinction of the entire human race.’

  Darcy sat, with a psychotic look on his face, ‘I will do whatever it takes to stop this

  boy.’

  ‘But...’

  ‘Shut up Maxwell, you’re boring me, ‘make the virus – the worst one you’ve ever

  made. And let’s hope that we find the boy before we have to use it.’

  ‘The virus could affect you as well; it could be fatal for you.’ Maxwell said.

  ‘Fredrick!’

  ‘Yes master,’ Fredrick ran out, still not making eye contact.

  ‘I want you to follow their tracks and find them! Although your incompetence never

  fails to amaze me, I need someone I can trust and won’t let me down.’ His eyes gave a

  penetrating look, ‘I can trust you can’t I?’ Fredrick nodded, ‘and you won’t let me

  down will you?’ Fredrick shook his head slowly.

  ‘Good! Now go, and take some of these useless metal pieces of junk with you.’

  Fredrick ran out of the vehicle.

  ‘Maxwell, how far have you got on the new X types?’

  ‘They are ready.’

  ‘Well at least that’s something! And have you ensured that they can run perfectly

  offline?’

  ‘Yes, as you requested, they will function with a pilot.’

  ‘Ok, we’re heading back to the Towers, I’m pretty sure our friends will be heading

  there soon enough.’