The Ruins of Arlandia Complete Series
Page 29
“What kind of modifications?” Dev asked.
“They wanted to make them smarter, so they worked extensively on their brains,” Astra said. “I think that’s why they lost control of them. The Terrors went insane.”
“What happened?” Calvin asked.
“There was an accident, and the Terrors got out. The Myantes were forced to evacuate the planet.”
“I wonder why they didn’t use the army of robots to defend themselves,” Calvin said.
“They did.” Astra quickly corrected him. “They fought for days. That’s how the city was destroyed.”
“And they destroyed themselves,” Dev shook his head. “They should have made sure their creation was a little more stable before they made fourteen thousand of them.”
“Fourteen thousand?” Astra said. “No, they didn’t make fourteen thousand. According to this, they made over three hundred thousand.”
Her last statement hung in the air. The pleasantness of the sun and sky was suddenly gone. The shadow of the Terrors descended on them again. Calvin quickened his pace.
They walked all day under the shade of the trees, taking short breaks whenever they needed to. Calvin looked back a dozen times. Each time he expected to see Terrors rushing toward them.
Six hours after they crashed, they reached the top of a small hill and emerged from the trees. Calvin helped Astra down, but before she was on the ground the antigravity device popped, and she fell the last few inches. Fortunately she landed on her feet.
“Whoa,” she said. “I guess I’ll have to walk the rest of the way.” She leaned against him for a second, her head against his chest. They sat down on a rock, and Calvin gave her a bottle of water. They were running low on water, but he didn’t stop her. He let her drink as much as she wanted. Calvin was exhausted. He stretched his legs. Dev stood next to them and admired the view. They were at the top of a hill overlooking the star port below, which was in the middle of a wide valley.
Miles of concrete stretched out before them. In the middle of the concrete sea were rows of glass buildings. A deep chasm circled the star port, like a moat. There was only one bridge visible. Several large spaceships were parked on the ground near the buildings. There were also several hundred smaller ships.
“Only one bridge?” Calvin asked.
“There must be another one on the other side,” Dev guessed. “Behind those buildings, maybe.” He pointed to several tall glass buildings that blocked their view of the canyon.
The wind blew on them, and now that they were out of the shade, it was becoming hot. On the wind, Calvin heard a distant scream. He wasn’t sure. It could have been a bird. Or a Terror. He was going to ask Astra, but her expression told him everything he needed to know. Without a word, she was up.
“Time to go,” she said. Calvin jumped up. He took a drink of water and tossed the empty bottle. Dev was already up. Astra sat on the log and looked at Calvin as if she were trying to send him messages with her thoughts.
Calvin thought he knew what she was thinking and tried to imagine how she must feel. She didn’t feel very good and wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to make it all the way to the space port.
Calvin, Astra, and Dev walked down the hill. Dev jogged straight down to the bottom and got there first. Calvin and Astra walked slower and crisscrossed their way. When they got to the bottom, Calvin desperately wanted to take another break, but he knew it would not be a smart thing to do. It was a long, grueling walk. The sun beat on them mercilessly. Calvin was drained. Each step took more effort, strength that was rapidly failing. Astra held on to him. He couldn’t wait to find a cool place to rest.
Finally, tired and thirsty, they reached the bridge. Astra sat down on the grass. Dev sat down next to the edge of the canyon and looked down. Calvin slowly and cautiously approached the bridge. It looked solid. He put his foot on the first step up and put some of his weight on it. It felt solid. It was metal and had grated floors. A cool wind hit him in the face when he stepped out over the edge, which felt very good. He smiled and took a deep breath.
“Astra,” Calvin called. “You need to feel this air, it feels really good.” He walked back and helped her stand.
“I’m so tired,” she said. “And hot.”
“It’s nice and cool over here,” he said. “Come on.” He helped her to walk to the bridge. She closed her eyes when the air engulfed her.
“Wow, you’re right,” she said. Instead of stopping, Calvin kept walking with her. Dev looked up and saw them crossing the bridge. Reluctantly, he followed. Halfway across, Calvin stopped and looked over the side. It was a long way down, and it was hard to see the bottom, but it looked like there was a small stream. Several birds circled around. Calvin could see their nests in between the rocks.
Suddenly a loud familiar sound shattered the quiet. It was the scream of a monster, and it sounded close. It was followed by a super loud chorus of screams, from many monsters. Calvin was instantly terrified. Astra grabbed on to his hand and squeezed. He looked into her eyes, and he could see the fear in them. Her expression reflected desperation and hopelessness. In her current condition, would she be able to run away? Calvin didn’t think so. He frantically tried to think and came up with only one option.
“We have to blow up this bridge,” he said quickly. They hurried to the other side and put down their gear. Calvin pulled a small block of explosives out of his backpack.
“Calvin,” Astra said. “That’s Borenite; we use it to blow open doors, or small holes. It won’t be enough to take down the bridge.”
“It’s all we have,” Calvin said. He didn’t wait for a reply. He and Dev ran to the center of the bridge.
“I’m not an expert,” Dev said. “But I think we need to put this on the bottom of the bridge for this to work.”
Several monsters emerged from the tree line. They immediately saw them on the bridge and began sprinting toward them. A steady stream of Terrors followed.
“We don’t have time,” Calvin said. “We have to put it in the middle of the bridge and hope it’s enough to bring it down.” The monsters were getting closer.
“Hurry,” Astra called to them.
Calvin set the timer at five seconds, and then the two of them ran back away from the bridge. They grabbed their stuff. Calvin tried to ignore the shrieks from the monsters. He helped Astra to her feet, and they ran as fast as they could in the direction of the glass buildings.
There was a bright flash and a loud boom. The force of the explosion threw them both to the ground. Calvin landed on his stomach. Debris flew over his head. Small pieces of rock and stone rained all around them. Calvin rolled over and sat up. A cloud of smoke hovered over the bridge. Calvin and Dev were on their feet quickly.
“Did it work?” Calvin asked.
“I can’t see anything,” Dev said.
The ground shook, and the screaming got louder.
“We need to get away from here,” Calvin said. “Fast!”
They turned and ran to where Astra was waiting. Calvin looked back and saw that the smoke had cleared. The bridge was not destroyed. There was a large hole in the middle, and several cracks running through it in both directions. Calvin was certain they were going to die. There was no way they could outrun the Terrors, and the star port was too far away. There was only one thing they could do.
Calvin took the weapon off his belt and pointed it toward the bridge.
“We’re not going to run,” he said. “We’re not going to die without a fight. We’re going to stand our ground!” Astra and Dev stood next to Calvin, their weapons ready also. A mass of screaming monsters charged onto the damaged bridge.
Calvin opened fire first. His first shots missed. He forced himself to relax and focus on his aim. His next set hit the lead monsters directly. Astra and Dev began firing, but none of their shots seemed to do anything. It only seemed to make the monsters angry. The monsters crowded onto the narrow bridge. That’s when Calvin got an idea.
“Either they are looking for another way to get across, or they already know there is one, and that’s where they are going.”
“That’s not a very comforting thought,” Astra said. “Let’s hurry and get out of here.”
It may not have been a pleasant thought, but it gave them, even Astra, the motivation to escape and a burst of energy. They began a slow jog toward the nearest spaceship. It looked closer than it was, but it was not a short walk. Halfway there, Astra stumbled and fell. Calvin picked her up, put his arm around her, and helped her to keep going.
It was a relief when they finally made it. The ship was big, silver, and had a rounded hull. They jogged the whole way there, two miles across the concrete landing pad. So many things had gone wrong since the dreadful accident on the Frost. Calvin was expecting the worst when they got to the spaceships. He was sure that they would all be too damaged to fly, or they would be sealed shut, so they would not be able to get in. He was surprised to find the boarding ramp on the first ship was down, and the main door was open. Calvin had a very bad feeling, but he chose to ignore it.
They rushed up the ramp and jumped over a small gap at the top. Before he went into the ship, Calvin turned and looked back the way they had come and scanned the area. Off in the distance, he heard a scream.
“Calvin, come on,” Astra pleaded.
Once inside, they found themselves in a very long corridor that seemed to run the length of the ship. Dev and Astra were leaving him behind. Calvin hurried after them.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Calvin asked.
“The bridge, hopefully,” Astra answered. “I’m guessing the bridge must be at the front of the ship.” She was right. At the end of the corridor was an open door.
The layout felt familiar. Then Calvin realized what it was. It looked like the bridge on the Frost, only bigger. There were two chairs in the front for pilot and copilot, which were surrounded by banks of computers, screens and controls. In the back were four other computer stations. Calvin went to the front and sat down in the left chair. Astra sat next to him. Dev stood by the door and faced down the hallway.
“I don’t like this,” Dev said. “Something isn’t right.” He aimed his laser pistol down the corridor, ready just in case.
Calvin turned on the computer and was shocked when the screens came to life.
“This is an Alerian ship,” Astra commented. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” Calvin said. “I’m wondering why there is still power. Not that I’m complaining.”
The controls were laid out the way that Calvin was familiar with and understood. He turned on the compressors, and then the engines roared to life.
Astra thought she heard a noise and looked into the shadows behind her. There was a small door, which was open. That wasn’t too unusual, but what was unusual was that the door was still moving, as if it had just been opened.
Calvin looked back too, but he didn’t see anything. He went back to what he was doing. The engines were running at full power now. He was just about to take off, when he heard Astra say, “Hello, there.”
Calvin turned and looked back again. There was a small robot standing in the middle of the room, looking at them with wide eyes. It looked scared. It wasn’t very big, only three feet tall.
“It’s all right,” Astra said. “We won’t hurt you.”
The little robot looked back and forth from Calvin to Astra. Dev turned around and started to walk toward it. When the robot saw Dev, it jumped back.
“No, Dev, don’t move,” Astra said quickly. “It won’t hurt you.”
Dev moved back slowly toward the door. “What is that?” he asked quietly.
“It’s an ‘N’ series robot,” Astra answered. “Nanny class.”
“Nanny class?” Dev said. “Really?”
“Yes.” Astra said. “There weren’t that many built. A lot of people didn’t like them. They were built for children to play with. But this one is all alone. I wonder what happened.”
The robot stared at Astra as she talked. Suddenly the robot smiled and said, “Teelala?” He slowly began to walk closer to Astra. “Teelala, oonna tay?”
“I don’t understand you,” Astra said.
Calvin decided it was time to take off. He closed the main door and increased the throttle to full. The ship slowly began to rise into the air. As they got higher, Calvin got a good view of the glass buildings and four wide bridges that crossed over the canyon. All of them were intact.
“Calvin, can you understand him?”
“No, I can’t,” Calvin said. “That is strange, now that you mention it. My translator can usually understand everyone.”
“Teelala!” The robot exclaimed, running up to Astra and hugging her.
“It likes you,” Calvin said.
The robot jumped into Astra’s lap and hugged her tightly.
“Yi anorna mi tronso,” the robot said. It sounded like it was crying.
She held onto the robot as they left the atmosphere. Calvin put them in orbit and started looking for the Frost using the sensors. During the whole trip into orbit, the little robot didn’t move.
“We’re in a stable orbit,” Calvin announced. “Are you OK?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “This is interesting.”
“It’s strange,” Calvin said, concerned. “Do you think it will hurt you?”
“I don’t think so,” Astra said. “I wonder what happened to the child it was taking care of.” Then a dark shadow passed over her, as a thought occurred to her. “I wonder if it died.”
“The robot thinks you are the child.”
“So it was a girl.”
“Must have been,” Calvin said. “That’s sad.”
The robot sat up and looked at Astra, smiling. “Torna Yi sona!” The robot said. A small panel on the side of the robot opened, and it pulled out a small pink bunny and held it out to Astra.
Astra sighed. “How cute.” She took it. The robot smiled a big smile.
“It looks like we have a new member of our crew,” Calvin said.
The robot took out a small notepad and a crayon and began to scribble something. After a moment it held it up to Astra.
“Oh, nice,” Astra said. The robot held it out to Astra. “What’s your name?” she asked it. The robot just stared at her.
“We should call it Fina,” Calvin said. “That’s what the writing looks like on the front.” Calvin pointed to its chest.
“No, I don’t think so.” Astra said, shaking her head. “You got to name the last robot.”
“That doesn’t count,” Calvin said. “You weren’t there when I named Ion.”
“Yeah, but I’m going to name this one. Besides, it likes me best. I think I’ll call you Scribbles.” When she said Scribbles, the robot smiled at her.
Calvin returned his focus to the ship’s computers. He decided to check the status of the ship’s systems. What he saw caused him to be instantly concerned.
“We have a problem,” Calvin said. “It may not be serious, but the internal sensors are not working. I wanted to make sure we are alone on the ship, but I can’t see anything.”
Dev walked back into the room. “That’s perfect,” he said sarcastically. “Can you use the external sensors and redirect them into the ship?”
There was a pause. “Hold on,�
�� Calvin said. He turned on the external sensors, which filled one of the monitors in front of him. It displayed the planet. It was surrounded by little red dots, which were moving. On the other side of the planet was one small black dot. Calvin clicked on the black dot, and it filled the screen. It was the Azure Frost!
“There’s the Frost!” Calvin said, excitedly. He ran a quick scan of it.
“There are no power readings. It’s just floating in space, dead,” he said sadly. He pulled back to the view of the planet. Then snow covered the screen. “Whoa,” Calvin said. “What’s this?”
Astra looked at the screen. “Either there’s a problem with the sensors, or we are being jammed.”
“Jammed?” Dev exclaimed. “Who would be jamming us?”
Suddenly the lights flickered, and the engine sounds died away.
“We have another problem,” Calvin said. “We just lost the engines.”
“What?” Dev asked, completely shocked.
“The computer is showing faults all over the ship,” Astra said, checking the computer. “This obviously wasn’t a good ship to take.”
Calvin took out his communicator and turned it on. “Ion, this is Calvin, can you hear me?”
Static was the only reply. He tried again, but did not get an answer.
“What now?” Dev asked, with a little bit of fear in his voice. “Are we ever going to get away from this planet?”
“Our orbit will decay, eventually,” Astra said. “We’re going to fall back into the atmosphere and burn up.” Suddenly the lights flickered again. This time they stayed off for several seconds.
Calvin looked at Astra. “I think we have a bigger problem than the ship falling apart.”
“Bigger than crashing into the planet?” Dev asked.
“I think we’ve got Terrors on board,” Calvin said. “They must have circled around and got on before we took off.” Astra and Dev looked at him. There was silence for several moments.
“I should have seen this coming,” Dev said. “The door was wide open.”