I could already hear the answering cries coming from the other direction. We bolted out of there, turning back into prey as we dodged yet another spray of bullets. Would this ever end? I wondered. There wasn’t much more I could take before I would collapse from absolute exhaustion.
Just as this thought reached my mind, we finally broke through into a small clearing. About twenty yards away, shards of sunlight splintered off the glossy walls of a house. We had reached the Headmaster’s Mansion.
Sacrifice
WE WERE ALMOST there. I used the last ounce of my strength to push myself to keep moving until we reached the lavish house, but we were stopped short.
True materialized out of nowhere, standing right in front of a back door that hadn’t been there a few seconds ago. Nearly the entire house was made of a strange kind of glass, but the spectacular display of its contents was obviously a facade, set up to trick people into seeing things that weren’t there. We hadn’t seen True coming until she was already outside, blocking our way.
Dustin and I only paused for a second before continuing for the mansion. True was one girl. We could get past her easily. She smiled, holding up a hand and fluttering her fingers as if to say hello. In a matter of minutes, we realized what her strange gesture had really meant. On her signal, guards came marching out from behind the surrounding trees. Others came from the mansion, moving to stand in front of True, blocking our view of her.
The boulder-like team of men and women made a solid line in front of us, making it impossible to pass. There was something off about their harsh features, a blankness I recognized from the child soldiers. Backs straight and hands held stiffly at their sides, they strongly resembled robots. My stomach somersaulted about a thousand times before settling back down, creating a sick feeling that crept through my body like a slow deadly disease. Dr. Wacko hadn’t made drones out of just his students.
Dustin’s jaw set into a tense line. He hadn’t seen this coming. Just how were we going to get out of this one? My ears perked up to the tune of yet another set of marching boots. This time it was coming from behind us. Dread taking hold of my throat, I turned to see that it was our own protective drones slipping through the trees to take a stand in front of me and Dustin. An addition had been made to our original team of five soldiers. Ten of them now served as our personal human wall. The new members must have followed us after defeating the guards back at the cabin.
In perfect synchronization, they all pulled out foot-long metal rods from their left pockets. With the press of a button, the metal rods elongated into large staffs. Sharp cage-like spearheads cradling a strange blue electrical energy sat at the end of the rods, transforming the metal tools into weapons of death. The blue electricity crackled and spit from within each cage.
The older, scarier human-robot hybrids had their own weapons of choice, double-edged swords with glowing green tips. I had a hunch that the weird green stuff was some kind of poison. Even if it wasn’t, I sure didn’t want to be on the other side of that blade.
Dustin and I pushed through our human shields and stood in front, refusing to hide. They were here to protect us, but they were not going to die for us. They seemed to understand this to some degree, tensing for battle.
“You ready?” Dustin asked, speaking in a muted tone so only I could hear.
I turned my attention to the soldier closest to me. It was the boy who had alerted us about our pursuers back in the forest. He stared straight ahead, determination squaring his broad shoulders.
“Do you happen to have an extra weapon in one of those pockets?” Wordlessly, he automatically pulled another metal rod from his pocket and handed it to me. This time, it transformed into something a little smaller, but just as effective. I thanked him, and his answering salute actually made me smile a little.
I turned back to face the human wall. “I am now.”
Dustin slipped his own dagger out of his jacket pocket. “Attack!”
There was no hesitation as they charged silently for the other side, their feet hammering the ground the only sound. Dustin and I weren’t far behind, adding a little more drama with our own battle cries.
We collided with the drone guards at top speed, wielding our new dangerous toys. I faced my first opponent almost immediately. He swung at me with his scary sword. I ducked, jabbing at him with my electric spear. He dodged this as well, coming at me again, this time aiming for my head. I jumped out of the way, but not fast enough. The sharp edge cut through the front bodice of my dress, disintegrating the fabric and exposing a patch of skin. Screaming with a mixture of anger and disbelief, I swung the metal rod, clocking the guy in the head. He was disoriented for a split second, giving me the chance to drive the spear right into his chest.
The reaction was immediate. Shuddering violently, he fell to the ground. Writhing with the jerky movements of a malfunctioning robot, he started muttering meaningless drivel, eyes rolling back in his head. The scene had an uncanny resemblance to what had happened to Benjamin during our training. I almost felt sorry I had caused it.
However, the thought soon left me when another adult drone came grabbing for me. This one had lost her sword. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dustin fighting off a guy about two times his size. He had lost his tuxedo jacket; his white shirt was in tatters. He had ditched the dagger and picked up a sword from one of the fallen, jamming it right into the leg of his attacker.
I finished off the burly woman with another jab to the chest. Like the other guy, she was immediately disabled, eyes twitching. Sweat drenching whatever clothes I had left on my body, I ran blindly, expecting the relentless attacks now, having an almost automatic response.
Finally I had reached the back door to the sparkling mansion. I didn’t even look behind me to see if the others had gotten through; my soul purpose was getting into that building.
Something heavy slammed into the back of my head, throwing me to the ground. Spots filled my vision for a few seconds before I was able to focus again.
“Not so fast.” Pulling me by the collar, True yanked me to my feet, holding a knife to my throat.
“Just what’s so important about that mansion, huh?” she spat, pressing the blade into my jugular until it drew blood.
“None of your business,” I growled, eyeing the spear lying a few feet away.
She laughed, shoving me in front of her. I whirled around to face her, my eyes still wandering over to my fallen weapon. True smiled, kicking it away.
“Come on Lily. Let’s go. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” Throwing her knife to the ground, she slipped into a fighting stance.
I stared at her, confused. She wanted to fight me, girl-to-girl? Why? We circled each other, waiting for the right time to throw the first punch. All the while the same question flashed through my mind. What had I ever done to her to make her so mad?
True lunged at me, dragging me down. We were already kicking and punching each other before we even hit the ground. She was startlingly strong, pinning me down with her hands wrapped around my throat. I rammed my fist right across her jaw, throwing her off me just long enough for me to jump back to my feet. I made sure she stayed down with a swift roundhouse kick before running for the spear.
She grabbed my ankle, giving it a hard yank. My chin hit the ground hard, teeth cutting into my lip from the momentum. Spitting out blood, I reluctantly turned my attention back to True, jabbing my heel into her face. Her grip loosened a little, but she refused to let go, digging her nails into my skin.
I fought back an anguished cry, realizing that this was probably what she wanted to hear.
“Why are you doing this?” I screeched, struggling to wriggle out of her clutches.
She let out a wild cackle, sounding like a maniac. “I can’t believe you never saw it. For someone so smart, you can be really dense. Everything was always about you, wasn’t it? The Girl, destined to join the headmaster’s son in ruling the Wackerson kingdom. Well, guess what, Lily? No one
factored in another variable. A smarter, faster, stronger, better variable. A sister.”
I stopped fighting for a second to stare at her. “A sister?” She grinned, removing a knife from her right pant leg. (Was it me, or did everyone seem to love using blades around here?) “That’s right, Lilith. Dustin and I are brother and sister. Well, half siblings, to be exact. I’d explain, but I think the concept would be a little too mature for your innocent ears.”
True shoved me down to the ground, pressing her knee against my chest. She continued to add pressure until I could hardly breathe. Gasping desperately for the air that no longer filled my lungs, I could only stare at her with wide eyes as she brought the knife high over her head. I tried to move, but the girl was stronger than she looked. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this, having all the power for once.
In that moment, with that crazy smile spreading across her face, I caught a glimpse of Dr. Wacko. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t been able to detect it. She looked just like him.
“Lily!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a boy running straight for us, his shirt in tatters. He shouted something else, but I had started to go unconscious. I wondered why True didn’t just stab me already. It would be better than this slow painful suffocation.
The pressure suddenly left my chest, sending the oxygen rushing back to my deprived lungs. I rolled over to my side, absolutely dizzy with coughing spells. Someone gathered me up into their arms, cradling me like a baby. I looked up to see who was carrying me. It was the boy I had borrowed the weapon from. He stared straight ahead, walking swiftly to the hidden back door to the mansion. But where was Dustin? I twisted in his arms to look behind me. Dustin and True were fighting now, Dustin wielding his sword and True holding her own with just a dagger. In one magnificent motion, True knocked the sword out of his hand, throwing him to the ground. He was getting up, but it didn’t look like he was going to be fast enough. His sister had already taken his sword and was about to use it on its previous owner.
“Put me down, now,” I demanded.
The boy pretended he didn’t hear me, continuing to open the door.
“I said, put me down. I command you to put me down!” I screamed, beating against his chest and nearly breaking my hand in the process. It was as hard as a metal plate.
“My orders are to take you to the security center. No stopping.”
He threw me over his back like a potato sack. We entered the shimmering house. From inside, the scene outside seemed like it was underwater. Most of the guard drones had been defeated, their bodies twitching on the ground. Two figures had not yet finished their battle, but it appeared to be almost over. One had beaten the other down with a fury of punches and kicks to all the important places. The opponent fell to his knees, his tattered shirt completely gone now.
“Please, I’m begging you to put me down. You have to save Dustin. Your commander. He’s in danger. Do you hear me?” I was screaming at the top of my lungs, not caring if we got caught anymore.
The boy soldier paused for a second, giving me the chance to jump out of his arms and go crashing through the glass door. True dropped the sword altogether, grabbing her trusty dagger instead for a more personal kill. Using the rest of his strength, Dustin grabbed her hand, trying to stop her. She kneed him in the stomach, forcing him to double over in pain, and stabbed him in the arm. He cried out, falling back. However, she wasn’t done yet. She stabbed him again in the abdomen, kicking him to the ground to finish him off.
My legs weren’t as fast as the boy soldier’s. He was on True in a second. Finally, someone who was stronger than her. I didn’t pay attention to the fight. My eyes were only on the boy bleeding out on the ground. His face was covered in cuts and bruises, and one of his eyes was already starting to swell shut. There was blood everywhere, mixing with the sweat and dirt glistening on his chest.
“Dustin!” I shrieked, falling to my knees beside him.
“Don’t worry. I’m…fine. Just flesh wounds,” Dustin wheezed, his eyes unfocused. “The mansion. Everyone’s in the mansion. Candy and her friends. Basement.”
Thinking fast, I grabbed the bloody knife now lying next to him and cut at the ends of my already tattered dress until I had a good strip of fabric. Then I separated this into two smaller strips. First I looked at the less scary wound at the shoulder. It was not a pretty sight. So much blood. Fast as lightning, I wrapped a fabric strip around the wound, tying it tightly. The more pressure the better. Dustin winced and coughed, but otherwise remained silent. Then I examined the stab wound on his side. Despite Dustin’s claims, it looked deep. Of course there was no way of knowing how deep it was with all of that blood in the way. Trying hard not to gag, I lifted him a little to get the fabric around his waist. To make sure both of the lacerations had enough pressure, I hacked off more of my dress and tied on more layers of fabric. Realizing that this wasn’t the most sanitary way of dealing with his wounds, I knew he needed professional help and he needed it now.
By now the boy soldier had True in a headlock on the ground. She frantically grabbed at his arm, but to no avail. There was no way he was letting go. Her face was growing red. Her eyes locked with mine, filled with such rage and hatred it scared the crap out of me.
“Let her go!” I shouted, using my strongest Commander voice. “Help me with Dustin.”
The boy immediately dropped her. True crumpled, already unconscious. The other soldiers had finished with their battles as well. Eyes sweeping over the fallen, I counted four of our own twitching on the ground with the others.
The others came over to where I sat next to Dustin. He was trying hard to keep his eyes open, wincing with every intake of breath.
“I need you to watch him for me until I get back. Do whatever you have to do to make sure he stays alive.” I pointed to four of the soldiers. “You guys come with me. There are still some people we need to rescue.”
I gave Dustin’s hand a squeeze. “Stay awake, OK? I’m going to get you help.”
He could barely nod, flashing me a weak smile.
I gave his hand one more squeeze before heading for the mansion door. Nobody paid attention to the unconscious girl on the ground, simply stepping around her as we made our way through.
The basement of the mansion resembled a prison. With cement floors and dim florescent lights hanging from a cracked ceiling, it formed a harsh contrast to the rest of the building. Cells lined the pathway, thick irons bars allowing only a centimeter of spacing between them. The smell of wet dirt mixed with a different unpleasant odor filled my nostrils. The whole place remained eerily silent. If anyone was down here, they were either asleep, unconscious, or worse.
It hadn’t been easy getting down here. The mansion had its own security system, complete with booby traps and lasers. All five of us were covered in cuts and burns, but we had finally made it. The entrance had been cleverly concealed behind one of the many creepy paintings of Dr. Wackerson. Luckily the soldiers had been programmed to know their way around this place, their clever brains detecting every trap door. They even had built in flashlights on the lapels of their jackets, leading the way down the winding steel stairwell. I could really get used to these guys.
The soldiers silently followed as I made my way down the pathway, eyes scanning the cells for any sign of life. They all seemed to have been uninhabited for a long time. As we almost made it to the end of the line, I started to wonder if Dustin had made a mistake by sending me down here.
A crashing sound turned my attention to the very last cell. Tendrils of smoke seeped out between the iron bars. I hurried to find out who or what had caused the commotion, struggling to see through the smoke.
When it finally cleared some, Jack was doubled over on the floor, coughing up a storm. His clothes were filthy and ripped in several places. A dirty white patch of gauze had been wrapped around his arm, another one peaking out from under the collar of his bloodstained shirt. A long cut had formed above his left eye, dried bl
ood matting his eyebrow.
“Jack,” I pressed my face up against the iron bars. “Where are the others?”
It took him a few minutes to form a coherent sentence between coughing spells, but he was finally able to straighten up. “Don’t know. They took Candy away a few hours ago.
She was in a cell further down the line, I think. I never saw the others. They kept us separate.”
I noticed a small cylinder the size of a pen rolling on the ground a few inches away from Jack’s feet. It was still smoking. “What is that?”
He followed my gaze. “I was able to lift it from one of the guards. Not without getting this, though.” He pointed to the gash over his eye. “I just figured out how to use it when you showed up. Unfortunately, it wasn’t powerful enough to do anything to those bars. They’re indestructible.”
I backed away from the cell. “We’ll see about that.” I turned my attention to my robotic companions, who had been standing motionless behind me, waiting for orders. “Can you get him out of there?”
Wordlessly, they all pulled out yet another gadget from one of their many pockets. This time it was a small blue tinted gun. Together, they pointed their weapons at the iron bars. Jack silently moved out of the way, watching them with interest. Red hot lasers shot out of the nozzles as they all pulled the trigger at the same time, cutting through the bars as if they were made of Swiss cheese.
Incredulous, Jack waited until the bars had completely melted before stepping out of the prison cell.
“Amazing, aren’t they?” I asked, thanking the soldiers with a nod of acknowledgement.
They merely put the laser guns back into their pockets before standing to attention, hands clasped in front of them.
“That’s one word for it.” Jack agreed, eyeing them warily.
Camp Wacko: The Drones of Summer Page 14
