The Fable of Marcus

by Sajjad Tameez

  Chapter 14

  The Great Escape

  The Dark-Tec Towers

  For the first time in many years, there was an element of panic in the Dark-Tec

  Towers. The chilling silence was now replaced with thunderous sounds of machinery.

  The ground shook vigorously, metal screamed continuously and the frightening

  footsteps of Darcy Taylor echoed endlessly.

  It was strange concept, even for Darcy that a boy could stir up so much trouble – a

  boy that has led an army into battle and although the army was defeated, escaped unharmed.

  Even Darcy began thinking about the stories that were carried through the

  ages about this boy.

  ‘I am confused Maxwell, so confused!’ Darcy said unable to stand in one place, ‘bring

  up the images of the boy.’

  Maxwell brought up footage of Marcus on the large glass screen on the wall. Darcy

  stared carefully at the boy, ‘Maxwell, what is it about this boy? There’s something

  very familiar about him.’

  ‘Yes, I ran his image through a bone and eye analyser and the results were most

  peculiar...’

  ‘Well?’

  ‘Yes... strangely, his bone structure and eyes are very similar to yours.’

  ‘Why is that?’

  ‘I am not quite sure, but the chances that he is a relative of the original Darcy Taylor,

  is over ninety-percent.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘He is perhaps the offspring of Darcy Taylor from many years back.’

  ‘You mean he is my son?’ Darcy’s eyes were glued on the image on the screen.

  ‘Probably.’

  ‘But I never had a son, ever!’

  ‘Well, this is not true... when you were exiled from the labs and went into hiding,

  your wife was expecting.’

  ‘Why was this hidden from me?’ He yelled so loud that his voice echoed over and

  over.

  ‘At the time, it was perceived best to not to inform you, as knowledge of this may

  have influenced your judgement and jeopardised the mission. It was most likely, your

  team that found out about your offspring and chose to place him in a cryogenic

  facility, so that he could influence you better than anyone else. A brilliant strategy of

  emotional warfare. It is, however, important that you do not let this fact affect you!’

  ‘This doesn’t make sense... she was pregnant? – she never told me!’ His face looked

  menacing; his eyes were glowing in rage and his fists clenched so tight that there was

  a loud crackling. But just as he looked like he was about to explode, the ring on his

  finger began to glow a subtle red and he soon began to calm down.

  ‘Shall we continue to find the boy and kill him?’ Maxwell asked.

  ‘Yes find him... and... kill him...’ Darcy said and sat down on his large chair.

  ‘Fredrick has sent word – the boy and his friends are in London, it appears that they

  have been captured by the government.’

  ‘How interesting... patch me through to the Mayor.’ Darcy smiled. Maxwell

  connected a video stream to the Mayor’s office.

  ‘Ah, the great Mayor of London.’ Darcy spoke in his usual creepy manner.

  ‘What can I do for you Darcy?’ The Mayor replied.

  ‘Well, as it happens, you have a boy in your custody – give me the boy!’

  ‘You’re referring to the boy with no wrist-lock?’

  ‘That’ll be the one.’

  ‘Well, I don’t know... he seems to be worth something to a lot of people!’

  ‘Let’s just put it this way, you give me the boy or I terminate our little agreement and

  squash that little paradise you have there!’

  ‘Ok, calm down, I was just kidding...’

  ‘If you’d like we can get rid of the boy!’

  ‘No! I want him alive.’

  Maxwell interrupted, sir, I think it would be best to terminate the boy now!’

  ‘Shut up Maxwell, you’ve done enough! I want that boy now. Send Fredrick to get the

  boy!’

  ‘You know that even if we find the place, it’s going to be heavily guarded. They have

  guns!’ Albert said, looking at the crazy look in Arthur’s eyes.

  ‘Yeah, so did those guys!’

  ‘Good point!’

  Albert’s phone began to ring.

  ‘Hey Albert, check this out! You guys are right above the place now!’ Mike spoke

  excitedly.

  ‘Ok... how the hell do we get down there?’

  ‘The entrance is in through the building to the left of you now.’

  ‘That building looks dead!’

  ‘No, that is an intelligence agency – it has a very strict access control and is heavily

  guarded.’

  ‘There must be another way in!’

  Arthur looked more and more impatient, ‘stop the car! I’ll make a way in!

  ‘No, I got a better idea,’ Albert put his foot down and drove two roads down.

  ‘Mike, I know this is asking for a lot but I need you to create a diversion.’

  ‘What did you have in mind?’ Mike asked.

  ‘I need you to get the fire brigade busy.’

  ‘Ok, give me a sec!’ Mike placed Albert on hold. Albert parked outside the Fire

  brigade and watched as the metal shutters rolled up and two fire engines roared out

  like raging bulls.

  ‘What are we doing here?’ Arthur asked as they snuck into the building.

  Albert glared at the bright red fire engine. It looked like it had been polished for

  hours, it was gleaming.

  ‘Quickly, put these on.’ Albert handed Arthur a fire fighter suit and helmet.

  ‘Mike, I need you set the fire alarm in the intelligence building now!’

  ‘Really? I could go to jail for this!’

  ‘And you know I would get you back out! Now do it!’

  Albert had a hunch that the fire engine would have the key for ignition already

  wedged inside for emergencies.

  ‘Let’s crank this baby up!’ Albert said, all the while, smiling like a child who just

  received his first train set. Albert had always been an adventure seeker and had

  embarked on many fantastic journeys, but this one really brought the fun side of him

  out. He floored the pedal and they rocketed out of the building, swerving and

  screeching, tormenting the roads. It left a trail of smoke, a ringing in everyone’s ears

  from the piercing sirens and the unpleasant smell of burning rubber loomed in the air

  like a bad odour.

  As they approached the intelligence building, they noticed people swarming out.

  Albert rushed out, ‘is there anyone left in the building?’ He asked in an assertive

  voice.

  ‘No... I don’t think so.’ A man in a grey suit said.

  ‘Ok, I don’t want anyone coming back in until we give the go ahead!’ Albert said,

  really playing the part and loving every second of it.

  ‘Wait. There are only two of you?’ The man asked.

  ‘Well, what did you expect? The army?’ Albert said sarcastically, ‘now, move back –

  everyone, move back!’

  As they rushed into the building, Arthur didn’t know whether he was more impressed

  about successfully getting in or Albert’s convincing acting.

  ‘This way...’ Albert said, still wearing his game face.

  ‘What now?’ Kate asked, looking around at the fifteen or so men pointing their

  weapons directly at them.

  ‘Put your hands on your heads now!’ One of the men shouted, not swayed by the loud

&nbs
p; sirens of fire alarm. They all put their hands up and the men with the guns pressed

  forward, ‘move, back to the cells!’ But before they turned around, the lights suddenly

  went off and there were some loud noises – noises of people screaming, some gun

  shots, flashing lights and lots of thuds as the bodies of the men holding the guns hit

  the ground. Louise finally found the light switch and turned the lights on, and to their

  utter shock, they noticed the men on the ground, lying unconscious.

  And a fire man still standing in fighting position, looking around to make sure they

  were all down and out. Arthur removed his helmet and fire-fighter suit, he looked at

  Marcus and the others, who were still staring in astonishment.

  ‘Marcus, thank God!’ He said and moved towards, but Marcus and the others had an

  empty look.

  ‘Guys what’s up?’ He said as he noticed their worried faces. Nicole moved forward

  and looked more carefully, ‘Arthur?’

  ‘Yes... who else did you think it was?’ They could not believe their eyes, he looked

  nothing like the Arthur that they had spent years with on the outside, he had

  transformed into someone completely different. His stubble was tidy, his clothes were

  elegant, his hair was silk and he smelt like sweet musk.

  ‘Arthur!’ They all shouted and ran towards him and hugged on to him.

  ‘We thought you were dead!’ Nicole said with tears rolling down her cheek

  ‘I nearly was!’

  ‘I’m so glad you’re here! Let’s get out of this place.’ Arthur smiled thinking the exact

  same thing.

  ‘Oh, this is Kate and Professor Hussein.’ Marcus mentioned.

  ‘It’s great to meet you, but we really need to get out of here!’ And Arthur began

  rushing back towards the entrance.

  ‘Charming fella isn’t he!’ Albert said, ‘Hi, I’m Albert.’ He introduced himself. They

  all smiled and ran, following Arthur.

  ‘How are we going to do this?’ Arthur said to himself, knowing that there is a herd of

  people outside that would see them come out.

  ‘Leave it to me... wait here!’ Albert said and ran out. He approached the men and

  women standing outside, ‘I need you to move back, the fire is out of control and I

  need to get the truck closer!’

  ‘Everyone move back!’ One of the women in a black suit shouted with a panicked

  look.

  Albert moved the fire engine sideways blocking any view to the entrance and they all

  snuck out of the building and into the fire engine and without hesitation, Albert soared

  off.

  ‘Ah... does that mean its ok to go back in?’ One of the men from the crowd of people

  outside said, looking puzzled.

  There was a loud cheer from in the fire engine and a feeling of relief and excitement

  floated around.

  ‘I can’t believe that actually worked!’ Albert smiled, swerving from side to side.

  ‘I knew you were still alive! Thanks for coming back for us.’ Marcus said to Arthur.

  ‘Of course, it’ll take more than bullets to kill me. But I need to get out of this place,

  it’s driving me nuts!’

  ‘What’s the plan?’ The Professor asked.

  ‘We’re not gonna get any help from these guys in London – we need to get out of

  here.’

  ‘Oh dear...’ Albert said.

  ‘What’s oh dear?’ Arthur asked.

  ‘We got company!’ Albert remarked, looking into the rear view mirror. There were

  four large black vehicles – identical to the ones they have been having encounters

  with, so they knew exactly what was coming.

  There was a loud crash and everyone was thrown to the other side of fire engine as

  Albert swerved to regain control.

  ‘They hit us!’ Albert shouted. ‘Brace yourselves!’ There was another loud crash as

  another of the vehicles crashed into the other side.

  ‘Put your foot down!’ Arthur shouted.

  ‘I’m trying – hold on!’ Albert shouted as he approached a sharp bend at high speed.

  The wheels on the fire engine screeched and he struggled to keep all four wheels on

  the ground, he quickly spun the steering wheel back, only just preventing them from

  tipping over. There was another painful thud. Everyone began feeling the

  uncomfortable but familiar feeling of whiplash.

  Kate looked into the large side mirror, ‘here it comes again!’ She screamed.

  Albert, with a look of determination, turned his head and faced everyone, ‘everyone

  hold on tight!’ He slammed on the brakes as hard as he could, a cloud of misty blue

  smoke emerged from the screeching tyres and the black vehicle, unable to stop,

  impacted so hard on the back of the solid fire engine that it was totalled. The front of

  the black vehicle had squashed up all the way to its windscreen and it had instantly

  caught on fire.

  In the fire engine, although everyone was suffering from slight muscle stiffness, they

  were pleased with the result. But the other vehicles were still on them like hawks.

  Two of the vehicles got back on either side of the fire engine, one crashing into the

  right and one crashing into the left.

  ‘I think it’s time for me to drive!’ Arthur shouted and pulled Albert out of the driver

  seat. Instantly, he slammed on the brake pedal and spun the wheel, smashing into the

  vehicle on the right and sent it crashing into a building. He slammed the accelerator

  pedal and spun the wheel the other way, smashing the other vehicle and almost

  running it over completely.

  ‘He’s a fast learner!’ Albert commented.

  ‘He’s the best!’ Nicole smiled.

  ‘Albert!’ Arthur yelled.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Where am I going?’

  ‘Oh... yes, we’re near the gates – take a left at the roundabout!’ But as Albert finished

  his sentence, they could hear the sound of bullets piercing the back of the fire engine’s

  metal body.

  ‘Everybody down!’ Arthur shouted and swerved side to side – trying to avoid the

  spray of bullets.

  ‘We’re nearly there!’ Albert shouted. But Arthur slammed on the brakes as he looked

  out of the windscreen in panic. There was a row of men standing in front of the great

  gates, with their guns pointing at the fire engine.

  Arthur grabbed Albert and threw him into the driver’s seat. Put your foot down and

  when I say, hit the brakes and turn to the left. Arthur ran and tried to open the shutter

  door, but it was bent and wouldn’t budge.

  ‘Umm... I hate to rush you but...’ Albert remarked as got closer to the men, who had

  now begun firing. Arthur kicked the shutter as hard as he could until the shutter

  eventually broke open. Arthur grabbed hold of the long yellow hose.

  ‘Ryan turn that red wheel!’ Arthur shouted, ‘Albert hit it!’ Albert hit the brakes and

  spun it to the side, Arthur struggled to not fall out. It became even more difficult when

  the intense pressure from the hose started. Ryan and Marcus rushed and helped Arthur

  aim the high pressured hose at the men holding the guns.

  The forceful pressure of the water sent the men and their guns flying and skidding

  across the ground, but it wasn’t long before they re-grouped and hid behind the walls

  and eagerly waited for the water in the vehicles tank to run out. The men rushed ou
t

  and began firing a few shots at the fire engine.

  ‘Get down!’ Arthur shouted. Arthur ran out and kicked one of the men to the ground,

  snatching his weapon; he somersaulted into the air and shot a few of the men. As the

  men focused their aims at Arthur, Ryan sneaked out and struck one of the men from

  behind, hitting his with his fist and sending him to the ground. Ryan picked his

  weapon up, a silver hand gun and he began firing recklessly at the other men. It

  wasn’t long before more vehicles with many more armed men came rushing to the

  scene. They were outnumbered and taking refuge behind the trashed fire engine,

  which had now caught on fire.

  The men stopped firing as their huge steel gates were blasted open, the ground began

  to tremble. There was a sudden and loud voice that emerged from behind the men,

  ‘Stop! We need them alive!’ It was Fredrick accompanied by a small army of

  menacing looking robots. They looked like panthers with glowing eyes, ready to

  attack anything that moved. The men with the guns moved back in fear, and the man

  that looked like he was in charge, nodded at one of the other men who snuck off.

  ‘The master has requested the boy, only the boy! Kill the rest!’ Fredrick shouted. But

  before the robots got the chance to pounce on them, the man that snuck off, came

  running back holding a large metal contraption, he pointed it at the robots and fired

  out huge blue ray. Fredrick clapped and giggled, ‘Oh, you guys really are pathetic –

  EMP machines? Really? We’re way past that, as you will learn. My master is nearly

  ready and soon you will all regret having ever challenged him. Get the boy and kill

  the rest!’ The men began shooting their weapons at the robots, giving Marcus and the

  others a few seconds to make a break for it.

  ‘This way!’ Arthur shouted and ran towards the gates but before they got close, there

  was a loud thud and the ground shook so vigorously that they lost balance. They all

  iced-over as they were stood face-to-face with one the most terrifying robots they had

  ever seen. Its chunky four legs were like black, shining towers standing tall and when

  it crouched, its glass like claws dug into the ground. Its monstrous face was like that

  of a beast that people only read about in fictional stories. And when it roared,

  everyone felt like their eardrums had exploded. Arthur and Ryan began shooting at it,

  but the bullets were deflecting off. It rushed towards them like a raging bull and hit

  Arthur, sending him flying across the gravely ground.

  ‘Run Marcus!’ Nicole shouted as she noticed its eyes focusing on him. Marcus ran as

  fast as he could but within seconds he was surrounded by the robots.

  Arthur, regaining consciousness, looked around at the men on the floor and Marcus

  being surrounded. It was like a déjà vu, the robots were undefeatable.

  Fredrick walked, looking like he was almost skipping towards Marcus, delighted that

  he had defeated Arthur and captured the boy – knowing how pleased Darcy would be

  with him.

  ‘I did it – I told him that I was smarter and better than Hex and his goons!’ He

  chanted to himself, in a tune.

  ‘Hello little boy... don’t worry no one’s going to hurt you...’ he smiled and grabbed

  Marcus’s arm.

  Arthur rose to his feet and stumbled towards Marcus.

  ‘Why don’t you die!’ Fredrick shouted when he noticed Arthur. ‘Can someone please

  kill him?’ Two of the robots rushed towards him, and although Arthur kept his brave

  face, in the back of his head, Arthur knew he had no chance of surviving this one. But

  to his and everyone else’s utter astonishment, there was a piercing sound as a small

  rocket ripped through the air and impacted one of the robots. There was a huge back

  draft and an enormous flash of light and a thick cloud of smoke – although it didn’t

  appear to have caused too much damage to the robot, certainly knocked it off its feet.

  Fredrick looked in the direction from where the rocket was launched and noticed an

  army of men on horses, all carrying weapons, wearing armoured helmets and face

  protection and all dressed in white. They rushed in and began shooting at the robots

  rapidly. The sky was covered with rockets and beams of red and blue from some

  extraordinary weapons. One of the horses rushed towards Arthur and the man lifted

  him and threw him on the back of his horse and rode behind the wall.

  The man took of his silver face protection and smiled.

  ‘Ahmed!’ Arthur shouted in excitement, ‘what happened to the whole no weapons

  and silent footsteps and...’

  ‘Yeah, sometimes you gotta get with the times and just kick some ass!’ Ahmed

  handed Arthur his gun and removed a huge silver sword, ‘now, this is how we roll!

  The sword glimmered brightly and was so clean that Arthur could see his reflection in

  it clearly. ‘Arthur, get the boy, we’ll keep them busy!’ Arthur grabbed his arm, ‘thank

  you Ahmed, for everything!’

  ‘There’s no time for this, now go!’ Ahmed rushed forward and began striking the

  robots with his sword – the combination of the sharpness of that great sword and his

  might, made more effect on the robots than most of the other weapons. Arthur ran

  shooting at the robots and found Marcus and the others who were desperately trying

  to escape. ‘Come on, we gotta get out of here!’ Arthur dragged Marcus and they all

  ran towards the gates.

  As they approached the gates, Arthur looked back and noticed that Ahmed was

  cornered by the robots, he was still fighting but Arthur knew he didn’t stand a chance.

  ‘I gotto go back!’ Arthur said stopping just before they approached the broken gates.

  ‘No, we need to get Marcus out of here!’ Nicole urged.

  ‘But they’re going to kill him!’ Before Arthur had a chance to think a black horse

  barged through the gates. The horse was both beautiful and menacing; it reminded

  Arthur of Dark Knight. The man riding the horse, although could only be part of

  Ahmed’s crew, looked different – black clothes instead of white and black armour

  instead of silver. The man took of his face protection, and they saw the face of a boy,

  it was Imran, Ahmed’s son. ‘Go! Now!’ He shouted and galloped in as fast as he

  could.

  As he got closer, he threw a metal spear at one of the robots which was attacking his

  father. The spear wedged into its leg and made it trip onto the ground. He removed

  two swords and valiantly began fighting the robots beside his father. Ahmed smiled

  and nodded. Within a few moments, Ahmed was struck by one of the robots and fell

  to the ground.

  ‘No!’ Imran shouted as he watched helplessly – the robot stamped on Ahmed and a

  gush of blood spurted out of his mouth. Imran rushed towards his father when he saw

  the robot lift its leg in preparation for another blow.

  ‘Get after the boy! You idiots!’ Fredrick shouted as he noticed Marcus and the others

  making a break for it. The robots including the one that was about to stamp of Ahmed

  again, stopped and rushed towards Marcus.

  ‘Father!’ Imran put his arm under his father’s head.

  ‘Ah, Imran... my son, I... knew you would come... defying my orders again.’ Ahmed

  spoke slowly and looked li
ke he was in unbearable pain.

  ‘Father... I... am so sorry!’ Imran’s eyes began to fill.

  ‘Imran... listen to me, you have nothing to be sorry about and do not let those tears

  roll, because if they do, they may never stop! I miss your mother more than you know

  and now...’ Ahmed began struggling to speak. A few of his father’s close friends

  came running and stared in anguish.

  ‘No, father, I will not lose you as well! You’re going to be fine.’

  Ahmed smiled faintly, ‘Imran, I am going; nothing can change that. But that means

  you’re ready – I could have never chosen a better leader for my people. You are great

  son and will be a great leader, better than I. Lead the people, do not let them fall into...

  into the trap of the materialistic world – guide them to the truth, with the truth.’

  Ahmed’s eyes began to close.

  ‘Father! No!’ Imran shouted. But there was nothing he could say or do that could stop

  his eyes from closing. Ahmed’s head became heavy on Imran’s arm, more blood

  began dripping out of his half open mouth. Imran’s heart began to tear as he felt his

  father’s last breath touch his neck – Imran held him tightly for a few seconds, hoping

  that this was all a bad dream and he would soon awake. But as the cold rain began

  falling from the grey, weighty clouds, and the fat drops hit the back of his neck,

  sending shivers down his spine, he knew that he was alone. He looked at his father’s

  great sword; his reflection stared back at him in rage. He gently placed his father’s

  head down and tore the sleeve of his own top and placed it gently over his father’s

  face. He grabbed his father’s sword, raised it in the air and screamed in rage. Ahmed’s

  friends that had gathered nodded and also raised their swords – they ran after Marcus

  and the others who were being chased by the robots. Weapons began to emerge from

  the robot’s bodies and they began shooting out blue and red beams, causing huge

  explosions. Even with Arthur, Imran and his friends, they were no match for the

  robots and it was not long before the robots had them cornered. There was nowhere to

  run and nowhere to hide, and it was like the beating rain had washed hope away.

  ‘Stop!’ Marcus shouted, ‘I will give myself up – let these guys go!’

  ‘What are you doing?’ Arthur held onto Marcus’s arm, pulling him back behind him.

  ‘You are in no position to negotiate! But I will accept your offer – come to me and I

  will spare your friends!’ Fredrick said, still excited to see his master’s reaction when

  he brings back the boy.

  ‘No way – you’ll have to go through me first!’ Arthur shouted.

  ‘So be it then!’ But before anyone could move, there was a piercing sound cutting

  through the sky. At first, it sounded like thunder, but it was not stopping and it was

  getting louder and louder. They all looked up at the sky and noticed the sky filled with

  huge birds made from glimmering dark metal. They were flying flocked together in a

  triangle shape. The fleet of fighter planes roared towards them in anger.

  ‘What the hell?’ Fredrick stared at the sky in horror and ran out of the way as the

  planes launched huge rockets from the sky; they soared at great speeds, hitting the

  robots and some hitting the great walls of London. The robots could not take the

  intense hits, one by one, they began collapsing to the ground.

  ‘What are those?’ Arthur asked.

  ‘They are fighter planes!’ The Professor said, ‘and it looks like they are on our side!’

  The robots began attacking back, shooting their powerful beams into the sky. Most of

  the planes moved swiftly and skilfully and avoided impact and a few came

  plummeting down and exploded on the ground. After a few moments of intense

  fighting, the robots were dropping like flies and Fredrick, noticing this, made a sneaky

  escape, hopping through the huge puddles caused by the heavy rain and within

  moments, was nowhere to be seen.

  The planes began to land close by. The walls of London, not being able to handle the

  impact, began to crumble to the ground.

  Fredrick, after reaching a safe distance, used a communication device that he had

  strapped to his arm and contacted Darcy at the DarkTec Towers.

  ‘Master... master...’ he gasped.

  ‘Shut up! You idiot, I know... I saw the whole thing from the eyes. I knew you

  couldn’t handle this! I have sent reinforcements, not even their stupid flying toys will

  be able to help them now! I will make the mountains collapse on them, tear the

  ground from beneath them and bury them in the deepest parts of this miserable

  planet!’ He yelled, becoming short of breath as a result of his uncontrollable anger.

  ‘And I will deal with you later!’

  Fredrick swallowed nervously and sulked as his great plan fell apart.

  When the smoke began to clear from in front of the planes, Arthur could not believe

  his eyes when he saw Churchill, Amy and Elaina walking through it. Behind them

  were many other ladies and a few boys from the town

  Amy came running and hugged onto Arthur, ‘thank God you guys are still alive!’

  Amy said, almost in tears.

  ‘You know me, I have an terrible habit of staying alive.’ He giggled.

  ‘Hey...’ Elaina said smiling.

  ‘Hey...’ Arthur said with an equally goofy smile.

  ‘I like the new look.’ Elaina looked at his new hair and torn suit.

  ‘It worked! It actually worked!’ Churchill shouted in excitement, ‘all those notes you

  scribbled on the walls, they made perfect sense!’

  Marcus looked around at the all the planes scattered around in amazement, ‘you built

  these?’

  ‘Don’t be daft, I found these in an old war museum – they just needed fuel. But your

  instructions for the engine and body construction did make sense.’ Churchill moved

  closer to Marcus and whispered in his ear, ‘and luckily they all have auto-pilot and

  voice-navigation – could you imagine these ladies flying these things!’

  ‘We can hear you!’ Both Amy and Elaina stared at him with eyebrows raised.

  Churchill smiled back nervously/

  ‘What’s the plan?’ Arthur asked Marcus.

  ‘I... don’t know...’ Marcus muttered looking confused.

  ‘Aren’t we like going to the Dark-Tec Towers and all that?’ Arthur mumbled.

  ‘With what? What we faced here, I can imagine, was not even a fraction of what will

  be waiting for us there!’

  ‘We have these planes... and us!’ Arthur desperately trying to keep hope alive.

  ‘It won’t be enough – we can’t win this war!’

  ‘But look how far we have come!’

  ‘And look at what it has cost us – how many lives have been lost and how many more

  will die because of me – I won’t let this happen!’

  ‘Marcus! We have not come this far to give up now! All these people have not died

  for nothing. Now get hold of yourself.’ Arthur shouted, making the chattering among

  people completely stop. Marcus looked at Arthur knowing that he had a point and the

  fact that everyone was willing to risk their lives for this had to count for something.

  ‘I can build them!’ Marcus said.

  ‘You can build what?’ Arthur asked.

  ‘I can build the robots and program them – it’s
all in my head, I know how to do it!’

  ‘That’s great, right?’

  ‘But I need parts; we could probably salvage bits and bobs from these robots.’

  ‘If I may interrupt...’ the Professor interrupted, ‘there is a salvage yard of robot bits

  inside London.’

  ‘That’s perfect!’ Marcus said.

  But Arthur didn’t share in their excitement; he looked in the distance, lost.

  ‘What is it Arthur?’ Amy asked, knowing that look.

  ‘Something tells me we’re not going to have the time to make anything.’

  In the distance, they could all see a huge army of robots storming towards them. The

  ground began to tremble as they approached closer. The army looked bigger and

  meaner than the one that they just faced before.

  ‘Get in the planes!’ Arthur shouted and the ladies jumped back into the planes. Arthur

  looked over at Marcus, then he looked at Imran and his men and nodded – Imran

  nodded back and they all valiantly rushed towards the army.

  The planes were the only hope that they had; as the flock flew over to the robots, they

  began rapidly firing the rockets, causing some huge explosions and sending some of

  the robots flying across the ground. Among the army of robots there were over twenty

  huge armoured vehicles. They turned their weapons towards the planes and began

  firing rapidly. The fighter planes, although flew spectacularly to avoid impact, could

  not keep up with the pace. Soon the sky was covered with rockets and missiles – the

  planes began dropping dramatically.

  ‘We don’t stand a chance!’ Marcus shouted, sitting on the back of Arthur’s horse.

  ‘Well then we die trying!’ Imran shouted as he raced past them.

  But Marcus was right, soon most of the planes were down, some of the pilots

  parachuted out and others didn’t make it. On the ground it was the same story, they

  couldn’t even scratch the robots and everyone, except Arthur and Imran were almost

  ready to accept defeat.

  Darcy did not accompany this army – he sent them with strict instructions, so there

  would be no negotiating – their mission was to get the boy and kill everything else!

  Elaina, Churchill and Amy managed to escape the planes and rushed in to help. Even

  the Professor and Kate picked up weapons that were lying on the floor, and tried to

  fight, not that this changed anything.

  The robots fired at everything that moved and crushed anything that came in their

  way. A group of large black robots, all identical in size, shape and colour, circled

  Arthur. They looked different from the rest, they were much bigger and had two large

  weapons attached to their arms, and they did not look interested in anyone accept

  Arthur. Like giant men with a metallic shine and rectangular, red glowing eyes, they

  stood together unshakably. Imran snuck into the circle and stood by Arthur, ‘let’s not

  go down without a fight!’ He said and struck one of the robots with his father’s huge

  sward. There was a huge spark on impact, but this just enraged the robot and it spun

  its arm and struck Imran, sending him tumbling across the ground and eventually

  landing unconscious on the ground. The robots all aimed their weapons at Arthur.

  Marcus looked over at Arthur and shook his head, ‘no... no one else is going to die for

  me!’ He ran into the circle and stood in front of Arthur. Miraculously, one of the

  robots stood in front of Marcus and took the shots fired from the other robots. Marcus

  opened his eyes slowly, imaging that would be dead, but he was far from it.

  ‘What the...’ Churchill stared, not believing his eyes. The robots began fighting one

  another. Marcus looked at the robots and raised his arms in front of him, ‘move back!’

  He shouted and the robots began stumbling back. Some of the robots from further

  back rushed forward but Marcus stepped forward and stared at them angrily and

  incredibly, they stopped in their tracks.

  ‘But how is this possible?’ Churchill asked, looking amazed.

  ‘Of course!’ The Professor came rushing forward, ‘it wasn’t that you were meant to

  make the robots but you were meant to control them!’ The people that placed you in

  the cryogenic state must have installed a very powerful chip in you.’

  ‘But how am I doing this?’ Marcus, not sure what was really going on.

  ‘Marcus, all those things in your head, that was the information from the chip and

  now... now Marcus, your mind has made the connection to the chip – the chip is

  functioning as a remote for the robots, most Artificial Intelligence when designed,

  was designed to take instructions from human engineers. You are the last human

  engineer. You mind can control the chip and thus you are able to give instructions.’

  ‘Do you believe now Marcus? This is your destiny – this is why you are here.’ Arthur

  said, his palms on Marcus’s shoulders. Marcus, although still in disbelief, nodded.

  For most, it was simply an illusion – the magnificent army that stormed to kill them

  was now submitting, submitting to a boy. He walked through the robots and they

  moved out of the way, clearing a path.

  ‘Marcus! Where are you going?’ Arthur shouted.

  Marcus smiled faintly, ‘you were right... this is my destiny – this path will lead me to

  Darcy and it is up to me to finish this!’

  ‘Not without me! We’re in this together!’ Arthur walked briskly towards him.

  ‘Me too!’ Imran said, still holding his father’s sword tightly. And within moments,

  everyone stepped forward, standing by Marcus. Marcus although overwhelmed, did

  not think it was a great idea, ‘Listen to me... Darcy can control these things as well,

  and probably a lot better than me, so let me go alone – I will not let anyone else die

  for me!’

  ‘I’m not giving you a choice – this path was destined for me as well!’ Arthur said, not

  backing down.

  ‘Professor, take the kids and Kate back into London; when this is all over, London

  will need real leaders that will fight for freedom and the rights of the people! The rest

  of you are coming with us – let’s finish this!’

  The Professor nodded and walked with Churchill, Kate and the exhausted children

  back towards London.

  ‘What now?’ Kate asked, looking at Professor Hussein.

  ‘I’m not quite sure, but we are all witnesses for probably the greatest event to go

  down in history. The day that a young boy, a stranger, came and brought down the

  great walls of London and changed the world forever.

  The Dark-Tec Empires

  Darcy and Maxwell had their eyes glued to the projected video feed of Marcus and his

  phenomenal actions, they shared the expression of utter disbelief and remained silent

  for a few moments, but the awkward silence was soon broken when Darcy shouted at

  the top of his voice, ‘what the hell is going on? They are my robots, mine! How is he

  doing this? Maxwell, answer me before I pull your plug and stick your microchip in

  the microwave!’

  ‘Sir, it seems as though our hypothesis of this being your offspring is now verified, he

  is not from this time, he has a chip programmed to instruct the robots – it seems as

  though the robots they think that the boy is you.’

  ‘I need to stop him!’ Darcy shouted banging the a
rm rest of his chair.

  ‘What are your instructions?’

  ‘Put the Towers in high defence – pull every resource we have left!’

  ‘You think he’s going to come here?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why do you think that?’

  ‘Because that’s exactly what I would do! And boot up the Elite-Tec!’

  ‘They are not ready and will probably conflict with the system.’

  ‘No it will not and I can guarantee that!’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Because my inquisitive little friend, we are going off line – we’re going old school

  on their asses!’

  ‘I would strongly disagree with this decision.’

  ‘But of course you would and that’s precisely why I didn’t ask for your input! It has

  already been initiated; it will shut down automatically within two hours!’

  ‘This can change everything! You included.’ Maxwell warned.

  ‘If I can change and influence the system then so can he – he can change everything!

  The system must go off line temporarily – at least until this is all over!’

  ‘You mustn’t do this it is...’ Maxwell repeated over and over. Soon Darcy’s hand

  went completely numb and his head began to spin.

  ‘I... I can’t override it, it’s too late! It has began the shutdown process and can only be

  re-booted after it has finished.’

  ‘What about the backups?’ Maxwell began to panic and bought up his hologram

  computer screen. He flicked through, desperately looking for a solution but failed to

  find one. In a blink, Maxwell disappeared and left Darcy slouching in his chair and

  breathing heavy. His skin was gradually getting paler and the strands of veins began

  reappearing under his skin. Eye bags formed and he began looking like an old man

  who hadn’t slept in weeks.

  Marcus did not want to wait, he was tired of preparing and exhausted of the great

  speeches. He began walking briskly through the robots, which began following him.

  ‘They will take us to the Towers and we will end this today!’ Marcus shouted over the

  thuds and the loud screeching of metal. Arthur nodded and had his game face on.

  They walked briskly into the distance – the most unusual army to ever have walked

  together. Humans and robots fighting together to free humankind and give them back

  a world where they had the right to choose their own path and make their own

  decisions.

  And so the fable was in fact true but with the exception of how things ended, there

  were hundreds, if not, thousands of different versions of how the story ended and

  that’s because no one knew how this would end, so they only said what they hoped –

  it was hope that kept the fairytale alive.

  ‘Thank you Arthur, if we don’t make it through this, I just... I just want to say...’

  ‘Hey, we will make it. We have to!’ Arthur smiled, ‘I just wish Richard was here to

  witness this. He believed in you more than anyone else.’

  ‘What about you?’

  ‘Well... I believed in him.’

  ‘Let’s try not to let him down.’ Marcus, for the first time in a while, smiled

  confidently.

  ‘I’d hate to interrupt but what’s the plan?’ Elaina said catching up to them.

  ‘Ah, the plan... well, to tell you the truth, I don’t have a plan!’

  ‘Well that’s reassuring!’ She smiled.

  They all knew that Darcy would have prepared everything he had, ready for the

  attack. His power over technology was immense; no one really knew what he was.

  Most assumed he was not even human and that he was an android – a piece of

  Artificial Intelligence that had spawned from other forms of A.I, evolved into a

  control freak and developed its own agenda.

  ‘We’ll know what to do when we get there.’ Marcus said confidently.

  ‘Yeah... I’m still not feeling much better about the whole thing.’

  ‘You’re always welcome to stay behind and let us handle the rough stuff!’ Arthur

  remarked. Elaina’s eyes opened wide, her eyebrows raised and her expression said it

  all. ‘You’re kidding right? Stay back and let you guys get all the glory... no way!’ She

  smirked cheekily.

  They trekked for a couple of miles and picked up a few more stray robots. It was a

  cold and deadly silent feeling. They sky was dark grey, the clouds could make their

  mind up on whether it was going to rain or not. They all began to slowdown when

  they looked ahead and could see the terrifying towers in the distance. No one had ever

  come this close to the Dar-Tec Towers, or if they had, they never lived to tell the tale.

  Inside the Towers, Darcy watched angrily at the monitors as he saw the army at his

  doorstep. He walked down to where his elite team of robots were booted and ready to

  go. They followed him as he walked to join the rest of his army, Maxwell appeared

  from out of nowhere, ‘the system is nearly off line, you need to keep away from the

  boy!’ Maxwell emphasised. Darcy ignored him and paced up and down, staring

  carefully at his huge army, perfectly aligned in the huge room. The robots, although

  all the same glimmering black, were all different in sizes and shapes. He rose out his

  hands and the army of robots rose, standing straight and facing him, their torch like

  eyes shining brightly.

  ‘I have no desire for prisoners – crush them all!’ His deep and low voice echoed

  lightly.

  As he walked the entire building began to split. The ground began to shake, huge

  cracks began to form on the earth outside the building and the shining walls split open

  like huge doors. The humongous army marched out, vibrating the earth as their heavy

  and congregated footsteps bashed down repetitively.

  Marcus nodded at Arthur and walked towards the menacing army. He knew there was

  nothing left to say. The robots followed Marcus, but Marcus began to feel weak and

  tired. He felt sick and faintish, what a time to be feeling like this! He thought, but he

  didn’t realise that because of the system being taken off line, the robots were using his

  natural energy to function. And Darcy wasn’t feeling much better. As the two armies

  got closer, they ran towards each other and began fighting. The sound of explosions

  and crashing metal echoed for miles. Arthur was using all his might and skill to avoid

  getting crushed, as were the rest – they eventually had to stand back and watch the

  robots battle it out. Trees were torn out of the trembling ground, bits of metal sprayed

  like a fountain in the air and smoke filled area. Marcus stepped forward and raised his

  arms and the robots fought valiantly. Darcy, not looking as tired as Marcus also

  stepped forward and raised his arms and his robots pushed faster and harder. After a

  laborious battle, Marcus was exhausted, his robots had begun to slow down and

  Darcy’s elite soldiers were destroying anything that came in their way. Imran and

  Arthur did not stop to rest even for a moment, they fought with all their energy and

  will. And like Imran’s father, Ahmed, mentioned, the swords were cutting deeper than

  any of the other weapons. Arthur used his immense skill, moving fast and hitting

  hard, but Darcy’s army was strong and soon, the row of Darcy’s elite’s stood together

  like a wall, stopping anyone or anything from coming through and Marcus fell to the
<
br />   ground, struggling to breathe. He raised his arms and a few of the robots tried to break

  the wall but it was no use. Arthur and others had no way of breaking the wall.

  Darcy emerged from behind the remainder of his robots and walked slowly towards

  Marcus. He put his pale hands around Marcus’s neck and lifted him into the air,

  holding him out to his own face height. His hands were cold, like ice and sent chills

  rippling through Marcus. Marcus stared deep into Darcy’s eyes and suddenly flashes

  of his memory came flying back to him. It was Darcy’s eyes that triggered it off – the

  eyes of a man he never knew but recognised instantly. Marcus remembered his

  mother, and the fact that the scientists that worked with his father found him and his

  mother and told them what they wanted him to do. He now knew for certain who he

  was and why he was here. But it was too late – he felt like he had failed.

  ‘Father...’ Marcus whispered, just about getting a faint sound out of his mouth.

  Darcy’s eyes began to soften but he didn’t know why.

  ‘Father... please, it is me, your son!’

  Darcy began to loosen his grip, allowing Marcus to breathe easier, ‘my... my son?’

  ‘Yes... father, you...’ but before Marcus could say anything else, Maxwell flickered

  and appeared. He looked at Darcy, ‘don’t let him get into your head; he is trying to

  trick you!’

  Darcy squeezed his grip again and Marcus began to go red in complexion, ‘no, I’m

  not tricking you, I remember now! You wanted to change things for the better – your

  work was to make this a better place for us, for humans. Look around you, is this what

  the great Darcy Tyler wanted... was this his vision?’ Darcy stood frozen, not knowing

  what to say and what to think; he released his grip and Marcus fell to the ground,

  gasping for air. Darcy turned around gazed into the air.

  ‘Darcy, what are you doing?’ Maxwell said, staring at the ring that was now subtly

  glowing. Darcy immediately turned and walked towards Marcus angrily, Maxwell

  smiled in relief. Darcy picked Marcus up by his shoulders and Marcus closed his eyes

  believing the battle to have been lost. But then the most peculiar thing happened,

  Darcy whispered into Marcus’s ear, ‘thank you...’

  Marcus opened his eyes in shock, Darcy had a look of determination in his face and

  looked like he was fighting with himself. He stumbled back and gazed over at

  Maxwell, ‘this is not what I wanted!’

  ‘You are not that Darcy, you are not! Now give the orders and finish this.’ Maxwell

  raised his voice.

  ‘No, you are wrong; I am Darcy... aren’t I?’

  ‘Father, listen to me... I know what you set out to do and it was noble but this is

  something completely different. It is Maxwell, he is controlling you – he needs you,

  this is why he is keeping you alive! You father, you designed the system to only act

  on your commands and it can’t overrule that. So it is using you!’

  ‘Don’t listen to him, he is lying.’ The ring on Darcy finger began to glow brighter.

  ‘That’s it, he is using the ring; it must be connected to your mind somehow.’ Marcus

  shouted.

  Darcy looked at the ring and smiled at Marcus, a smile that, when Marcus was young,

  he longed for. Darcy used his other hand and grabbed the ring firmly.

  ‘Stop! Don’t do it. Think about it, you take that off and you’re finished – you will

  die!’ Maxwell warned.

  ‘Maxwell... Maxwell, I died many years ago!’ He used all his strength and ripped the

  ring off his finger. There was a huge spark of light as Darcy flung the ring across the

  ground. Darcy stared at Marcus, smiling as his skin began to get so pale that he

  looked like a ghost. Wrinkles cracked across his face and he began to shrivel, until his

  skin began to disappear and all that was left was bone. He collapsed on the floor.

  Maxwell flickered a few times before fading to nothing. The army of robots stood

  completely frozen and looked like statues. Arthur and rest cautiously stepped through

  the small gaps in the wall of the robots, still scared that they may wake and crush

  them. Arthur ran up to Marcus who was lying on the ground unconscious.

  ‘Marcus, are you ok?’

  Marcus slowly opened his eyes, ‘I’ll be fine, is it over?’

  ‘Not quite!’ He removed his sword and nodded at Imran and Amy and they ran into

  the Dark-Tec Towers. They rushed into the room where all the servers were and

  began smashing everything. Arthur and Imran swung their swords, destroying

  everything they could see, the screens, the circuit boards and anything that looked

  electrical. Amy had a huge gun that fired repetitively. They had destroyed everything

  within fifteen minutes but stayed and continued to smash things until they ran out of

  juice.

  Amy put her hand on Arthur’s shoulder, ‘stop, it’s done, it’s over.’

  But Arthur still took a few more blows. ‘I only wish Richard was here to see this!’

  Amy smiled, ‘he did... he saw this moment soon as Marcus arrived. Come on let’s get

  out of here!’

  Marcus had regained his strength and looked at Arthur, ‘are we done here?’ Arthur

  nodded.

  ‘Great, coz I’m starved.’ Amy said.

  Marcus smiled and thought about the delicious food that he experienced in London, ‘I

  know just the place!’

  And so they made their way back to the others, having accomplished something that

  deep down didn’t really believe would ever happen. It was over, Darcy was no more

  and the servers were destroyed. Now it was time to rebuild the world, free from the

  robotic tyranny that ruled for so many years.

  ‘Marcus!’ Nicole shouted and ran towards him as they approached London, ‘I knew

  you would do it! I knew it!’ Marcus smiled, glad to see her and all the others, who

  were eagerly waiting and praying. Nicole hugged onto Marcus, ‘thank you... thank

  you all, for believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself.’ They all cheered in

  excitement.

  ‘What do we do now? Churchill asked. Arthur looked around, ‘now we start again.

  Learn from mistakes and do not let history repeat itself.’

  Arthur stood with Amy and Elaina but stood silently staring into the distance,

  clenching his jaw from time to time.

  ‘Hey, lighten up! It’s over now. It’s all over.’ Elaina said, putting her hands on his

  shoulder.

  ‘I know, but there’s something about that place that gives me creeps, we should have

  blown it to pieces before we left!’

  ‘You’re always so paranoid!’ Amy remarked.

  He clenched onto the handle of his sword strapped on his back, ‘maybe so, but I’ll be

  ready!’

  For the first time ever, birds flew around the Dark-Tec Towers, flowers began to grow

  and although Darcy was gone, it had never felt so full of life.

  The sound of a black vehicle came storming towards the towers. The tyres screeched

  as it came to a halt and mud spayed everywhere. The doors immediately opened and a

  short man hopped out, it was Fredrick. He rushed up to the remains of his master and

  screamed, ‘No! Master, no! What have they done to you?’ he knelt down and stared at

  the bones of his master who was still wrapped in his black
cloak. He couldn’t believe

  what he was seeing, the robots were statues, Darcy was dead and the towers

  destroyed. But he felt the strangest feeling, a feeling that something was drawing his

  attention, it was like something was silently calling him. He stood up and slowly

  walked towards some rubble. There was something glimmering from a gap in the

  rubble; he began moving the rocks frantically and then froze when he saw it. It was

  beautiful and the only thing left of his master. The ring, the ring that he never failed to

  wear, the thing that you noticed about him but the one thing that he never spoke about

  and no one asked about. Fredrick picked the ring up and looked at it, mesmerised. He

  thought carefully of what finger he would put it on before putting it onto his middle

  finger. Soon as he put it on his eyes glazed over and he looked around at the robots

  and subtly smiled. He walked up to Darcy’s remains and ripped off his black cloak, he

  put it around him tightly and calmly walked into the Dark-Tec Towers.