She tried to spit at him. It was a feeble attempt, the gob barely clearing her mouth. He threw her on top of Tyler and the boy screamed. Torben went down on one knee and took one of Tyler’s arms. He raised it up.
“Where in the water is the gate?” Torben asked.
Brendan grabbed a spear that was propped up by a rack of other crude weapons. The guards hadn’t been expecting it. One tried to take it away, but Brendan dodged him. The women scattered. Brendan swiped the spear in the guard’s direction. The guard hesitated and looked at Torben.
Torben sighed. “You were amusing before. Now you make me tired.”
Before Brendan could do anything, a buzzing sound filled the tent. Cries from the other villagers erupted just outside. One of the black drones came hovering in through the entrance. Others followed. They came to an abrupt halt and hung in the air.
“How dare you,” Torben said to the machines.
For a moment the drones didn’t move. Then, as one, they attacked.
18. Intervention
Torben was strong and fast, but the drones were faster. They swarmed the giant, some darting forward to strike him at any random opportunity. They hit his head, his face, his back, and he swatted at them angrily. The guards and the other women fled the tent.
Brendan tightened his grip on the spear. This was his chance. Torben as a target was too big to miss. The spear was sharp. Yet he hesitated.
“Get him,” Lucille said.
One of the drones knocked Torben solidly in the forehead. It left a red gash that bled into his eyes. Brendan turned the spear and put it in the space between Torben’s legs. With a heave, he made the warlord stumble. The drones did the rest, bringing the large man down. Torben fell onto a table, sending bowls of fruit and trinkets flying. The drones kept darting in, striking him with a series of resounding smacks and thunks.
Torben roared and groaned. Then he caught one of the drones and crushed it.
“Ha!” he shouted. But his victory was brief. The other machines attacked, one after another, pelting him in an unrelenting barrage.
“He can be hurt,” Lucille said.
“Help me with Tyler.”
But Lucille wasn’t taking her eyes off the warlord. She took Brendan’s spear.
“They tried that,” he said. “He can’t be cut.”
“Who told you that? Kim? She’s been lying to us.”
Torben was protecting his face. He tried to sit up but was knocked back. The tiny machines made tight circles in the air, rising, turning, and flying down with amazing speed, never landing a blow in the same spot. Torben snatched up a silver tray and struck a pair of drones with it in rapid succession, sending them off into the hut’s walls where they didn’t recover. Only half a dozen remained.
The warlord was getting up. He had the tray poised, and the drones held back. One suddenly flew at Brendan. It glanced off his shoulder and hesitated, hanging just behind him. It bobbed up and down with purpose and jerked towards the entrance.
Brendan picked up one end of the end of the stretcher. Tyler nodded at him and hung on. Brendan began to drag him outside.
“Lucille, come on.”
“How long do you think your toys will stop me?” Torben said.
“Long enough,” Lucille hissed.
She charged forward and rammed the spear into his belly. The blade plunged in, sending a gout of blood spilling to the floor. She yanked the spear back, but not before Torben grabbed it and pulled it from her grip. His gritted teeth split into a leer.
“My pretty one has fight.”
Another drone smacked him in the head. He ignored it and began to rise. His hand was on the wound in his stomach, red seeping between his fingers. He began to move forward towards Lucille but stumbled. He fell to a knee.
Brendan paused. The warlord was about to fall. Another drone zipped towards him and Torben caught it with his hand. With a pop, he crushed it like an egg, sending bits of plastic crumbling to the sand.
“You won’t get far,” Torben said.
Lucille began backing away.
“Pick up the other end,” Brendan said.
She did as he asked and they carried Tyler outside. None of the other villagers were in sight. The drone kept bobbing nearby, trying to lead Brendan on. It knocked him in the shoulder any time he diverged from the path that led them towards the old city hall.
“Where are we going?” Lucille asked.
“I don’t know. Charlotte is leading us, but doesn’t seem to want us to head towards the gate.”
“This is stupid. We need to go back in there and finish him off.”
At first Brendan thought she might drop her end of the stretcher, but she continued carrying her end. They were approaching the sand-engulfed center of what had once been Dutchman Springs. When they made it to the steps of city hall, Charlotte came out from the shadows of the front overhang. She tucked a tablet into a shoulder bag. The guiding drone settled into a steady hover.
“Get inside.”
They put Tyler down in the hallway. He was twisting on the litter and trying to see his surroundings. Sweat coated his face. “Are we going home?” he asked.
Lucille crouched next to him and stroked his cheek. She shushed him, and he quickly relaxed.
“It’s a good question,” Brendan said. “How do we get out of here? We can’t carry Tyler up those rocks if it means Torben will catch us again.”
Lucille rose and closed in on Charlotte. “How could you send us here?”
“I didn’t. I didn’t want any of you to come here. Do you have any idea what kind of danger you’ve put us all in?”
“Us? That psycho killed Paul and crushed Tyler’s leg. And look what he did to me.” Lucille showed her neck and chest where her skin was swollen around the partially completed tattoo.
“I know. I saw Paul’s body. I’ve been watching what’s happening.”
“Just watching? He tattooed me!”
She grabbed for Charlotte. Charlotte put up a defensive hand, but Lucille slapped it away and closed on her.
“You’re going to take us back now,” Lucille said. Charlotte shoved her back with ease.
“I know what I need to do,” Charlotte said. “But we’re not playing some game, as hopefully you now understand. You were trying to find your way here because of the food I gave you. I realize now it was a mistake, and I never should have trusted you. Some of this is my fault, I know that. But Torben isn’t just a local problem.”
“What do mean?” Brendan asked.
“I mean that he’s not alone here. He’s one of a group from his world that came over during whatever disaster struck this one. I’m still trying to piece it together. Technology like my father’s did this, maybe my father several worlds removed. Torben and his kind realize the power they have as they step downstream. My Earth is next, or yours, if they can find the gates. Each step downstream will make them stronger. Torben on your Earth would be almost unstoppable. The upstream effect could remain with him for years being so far removed from his own world, and his people may even have a supply of food and drink stashed somewhere to sustain their abilities.”
“And that’s why he wants the gate.”
“We can’t let that happen. That’s more important than getting you home.”
“But how do we do that?”
Charlotte offered a dim smile. “I need the ring.”
Tyler was making a panicked sound, his breath catching in his throat. He was staring at the doorway. Brendan turned and saw someone approaching from the darkness. It was Kim.
He stabbed a finger in her direction. “You gave us up to Torben. We would have escaped. Why did you do that?”
“Because he already knew you were going to leave,” Kim said. “I was trying to save our lives. All you had to do was tell him where the gate is. But now he knows it’s close. How’s Tyler?”
“In a lot of pain, like you care. He almost got killed.”
“You can’t stay here.�
� She looked back into the night. “He’ll come after you. You actually hurt him. He’ll look for the gate later and will no doubt find it. But now you’ve made him angry, and he’s not going to be playing with you first. If you come with me, I know of a place you can hide where he probably won’t find you. He’ll look. But the temptation of the gate will soon distract him.”
“There’s no way we’re trusting you.”
Charlotte put a hand on Brendan. He realized his hands were fists and he had stepped closer to Kim.
“You said we hurt him?” Charlotte asked. “Did it work?”
“He’s weaker than before,” Kim said. “Lucille drove a spear into him. He’s injured but getting treated. Even with the blood he lost, he’s recovering by the minute.”
“I hurt him?” Lucille asked. “Good.”
“Wait a minute,” Brendan said. “Did what work? How well do you two know each other?”
“It was right after our fight with my father that I found the gate here,” Charlotte said. “I knew it had to be somewhere in Nurse Dreyfus’s house. She would never show it to me, but I knew she would go back home regularly. She had a replenishing supply of her special food and water she would sometimes share with me when your world was making me sick. This place was the source. While Nurse Dreyfus was at work, I finally discovered the gate in her pool. Then I found the village and met Kim. She told me about Torben and what the situation on this world was. I began bringing over produce and other food items from our Earth that Kim could give to Torben. Meat and fruit. My theory was that it would weaken him over time.”
“Did Nurse Dreyfus ever know about this?”
“She would have stopped me. The only thing I got out of her was that her world was dangerous, and that I should never try to go there.”
Lucille went to kneel by Tyler. “She wasn’t kidding. Maybe you should have stayed here and saved us a truckload of grief.”
Brendan looked at Kim. “But if the nurse comes from here, then you knew her.”
“Not well,” Kim said. “I met Nurse Dreyfus at a faculty planning function for the academy just before the disaster. She vanished, and I assumed she had died like so many others. But she must have been the source of the medical supplies and other goods we would sometimes find by the garden. Torben never noticed these things, but those in the village who did didn’t question it when some fruit went missing if it meant someone was providing us with these necessities. She would even take notes we would leave requesting specific medicines, even insulin. Every little bit helped even though it was never enough. When I ran into Charlotte, I thought she was the one bringing us the supplies.”
“Then where’s Nurse Dreyfus?” Brendan asked.
“I don’t know,” Charlotte said. “She came home and then vanished. I think she’s here somewhere. I thought I could search for her with the drones, but I never got the chance.”
He shook his head. “Charlotte, if you would have shared some of this with me instead of starting all this trouble, we would have avoided the situation we’re in.”
“If you had just let me have the ring, I wouldn’t have needed to get any of you involved.”
“Paul is dead! Look at Tyler. And do you even know where you sent Tina? We’re in real trouble here.”
Charlotte sighed. “I didn’t want any of this to happen. This is bigger than you or Paul or any of us. Torben and his kind enslaved the survivors here. What chance do you think your world will have if they gain access?”
“Maybe we could have done something if you had just talked to me. Now Torben knows there’s a gate to find, and we might not make it back alive.”
Kim was looking more nervous. “The sun will be up soon. Please, there’s little time. He’ll catch you here. Let me take you to a hiding place I know, and you can figure out where to go from there. For my daughter’s sake, he can’t see me actually helping you.”
“Torben has her?” Charlotte asked.
“No. One of the other warlords in the ruins of Los Angeles. She was traded for a bottle of whiskey.”
“Good lord.”
Charlotte pulled off her backpack and took out the glove.
Brendan recoiled. “What are you doing?”
She nodded towards Tyler. “Sending him somewhere where at least he’ll get some medical attention.”
Lucille was up. “And where is that, exactly?”
“The Earth downstream from yours. It’s the only place where my gates lead. It’s where I sent the others and Tina. It takes more energy from here, but it works.”
Lucille’s brow furrowed. “That means you have a way out of here without having to go back to the gate.”
She rushed at Charlotte and grabbed for the glove, taking Charlotte by surprise. Lucille clung to her arm and wrenched the glove away even as Charlotte grabbed Lucille’s hair, pulling her head back. She screamed and squirmed as Charlotte tried to hold the glove.
“Let go of it,” Charlotte said.
Lucille’s red-painted fingernails dug into Charlotte’s wrist. “Let go of my hair first.”
“Ow! Stop it! Don’t damage it!”
Brendan snatched the glove from Lucille’s hand. He put it on. “Stop it, both of you. Just stop.”
Charlotte gave Lucille a hard push away. Lucille took a moment to straighten out her clothes. She looked as if she were going to launch herself at Charlotte again, the glove no longer holding any interest.
“Brendan, give that to me,” Charlotte said.
“This will send him to the next Earth down from ours?”
“Yes. If you let me…”
Brendan had watched her use it. He powered it up. Tyler was looking up at him, his brow wet with sweat.
“If you see Tina, tell her I’m going to get her back home soon.”
He knelt down and placed his gloved hand on Tyler’s chest. Tyler blinked away. The glove visibly powered down.
“Send me next,” Lucille said. “Tyler needs me.”
“Charlotte, give me another battery.”
“All my spares went dead,” Charlotte said. “Something about being here, or going through the gate killed them. Only the one in the glove was working.”
He eyed her for a moment. “Will this recharge?”
“It should, with time, but everything is weaker here. Hand it over, and I’ll check. You know I can take that from you.”
Brendan nodded. “I’m sure you can. But if you try, I’ll break it first. You may know more about what’s going on here than you’re saying. I know I can’t trust you. So for now I’m keeping it.” He looked at Kim. “You have a hiding place you can take us?”
“It’s too late,” she said. She was staring outside. “Torben’s here.”
19. Gate Crashers
Torben was limping. He held one hand to the wrapped wound on his abdomen. Blood stained his belly and hands. A group of villagers walked silently behind him, all of them giving him a wide berth. Some carried spears.
“Do we have any drones left?” Brendan asked.
“Two,” Charlotte said. She had the tablet out.
As if on cue, the second drone appeared. The villagers turned their heads and watched it fly overhead to join the first above the town hall’s entrance. Torben ignored it. Brendan could see the determination and anger on the warlord’s face as he approached. He wasn’t here to talk but to kill. Brendan tried to power the glove up. Nothing happened. He moved to the doorway.
“Brendan, no,” Charlotte said. “Don’t you dare send him away. You’re only going to make things worse. You need to run. Now.”
Lucille didn’t hesitate. She hurried past and down along the front of the building even as Torben came to a stop at the steps.
Torben grinned. “Don’t run too far, sweet thing.”
Kim went forward. “Lord Torben, they have a weap—” she started to say. He grabbed her and pitched her away. She tumbled into the sand and lay still.
“Useless woman,” Torben said.
Charlotte charged forward, surprising him. She clipped Torben, her fist finding his wounded abdomen. He bellowed as he fell back. She began punching at his midsection, and twisted away as he tried to grab her.
“Brendan, run,” Charlotte said.
“Don’t! He’ll kill you.”
But hadn’t she been eating the food and drinking the water from this Earth? That would only make her as strong as one of the natives, but Torben was weak and injured. Brendan hesitated. Maybe she did stand a chance. Maybe all of them did if he fought too.
He advanced on the warlord.
Torben was getting up. “It’s been years since I’ve had a true fight.” He assumed a low stance, his feet planted firm and both hands held out to either side as if trying to corral Brendan. Charlotte was keeping her distance, circling him. One of the old men stepped forward, a spear pointing in her direction.
“Back off, she’s mine,” Torben said.
Torben now had his back to Brendan, and Brendan rushed forward and with all his strength kicked up between the warlord’s legs. Torben grunted and turned. He was unfazed. Brendan tried to back up but Torben was too fast. He took hold of Brendan’s sweater and yanked him close. Brendan pried at the hand, but it was as if it were made of steel. His fingers went to the warlord’s face. Torben only laughed as Brendan pawed at him.
The glove’s LED blinked green. The battery had recharged.
A hand closed on Brendan’s neck. It started to squeeze. He saw cold joy in the warlord’s face. Charlotte was yelling something. Brendan could only gasp. Then he grabbed Torben’s arm and the warlord disappeared.
“No!” Charlotte screamed.
Brendan dropped to the ground. He could see the warlord’s footprints in the sand, as if a dancer had vanished mid-routine.
“You sent him away,” Charlotte said as she helped him up. She shook her head in disbelief. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
He rubbed at his throat. “He would have killed me.”
The Supervillain High Boxed Set: Books One - Three of the Supervillain High Series Page 38
