“What does this tank have for firepower?” I ask.
“What?” Paul swivels his head to stare at me. “We can’t fire on our own troops. That’s my uncle up there!”
“Not take him out, just to get him off their backs.”
He peers at the road ahead as the Scrambler, androids, and cruiser chase the hybrids.
I examine the buttons and displays in front of me, seeing a joystick display on my side. Punching a switch next to it, the machine lights up and reveals a missile launcher. To my right, on the hood, a compartment opens and the launcher emerges. “Looks like I use this to aim and…Does this button fire?”
“You have got to be kidding me.” Drops of sweat trickle down Paul’s forehead. “Please don’t hurt him. He’s family.”
“I won’t.” I sigh and think, I’ll hurt him all right, just not today.
Ahead, the street winds to the right. The Colonel’s cruiser glides along, pursuing the hybrids, gun canisters shredding the streets below. I pull the missile display closer, so I can view the scene in infrared. A target appears, and I carefully aim the bullseye, first at the cruiser’s wing. No. That might take his craft down.
Yes, do it. Hurt him.
I close one eye, feeling a cold tingle shoot through my arms and into my fingers. Vance’s force takes hold, then floods into my hands and the finger that rests on the trigger button.
“No,” yells Paul as he shoves my controller to the right the instant Vance makes me push the button.
A missile rips out of the launcher and slams into the side of a building just ahead of the cruiser, sending broken glass and debris shattering in all directions. Hunter’s cruiser veers to one side, dangerously close to colliding into another tower.
Vance’s force is gone suddenly. I aim and fire again, this time taking out a Scrambler. Black smoke erupts as the massive robot explodes, flames consuming the metal husk. Our armored tank careens past, crushing three androids tossed aside in the blast.
A blaring alarm erupts from the cruiser. Then Hunter’s voice floods our tank. “Surrender your vehicle and weapons. Now.”
“Punch it,” yells Lucy. “Let’s get out of here.”
Paul’s gaze darts around wildly.
“The hybrids will take us in,” I say. “Head to Section H.”
“But—”
“Paul,” Hunter’s voice intrudes again. “Are they holding you against your will? Forcing you to fire on me and your fellow soldiers? Give up now, and your friends will be safe. You have my guarantee.”
“Hey, you hear that?” asks Paul. “Maybe we should do what he says.”
My stomach lurches at the thought of Hunter detaining us. If he really is behind the medical labs, then he’s not going to keep his promises. And if he lays hands on Lucy, I’ll kill him.
Before we can answer, a panel on the side of Hunter’s cruiser opens.
A missile launcher like mine pops up.
Hunter aims at us and locks on our tank.
Twenty-Two
“Oh, shit,” yells Lucy. “He’s aiming right for us!”
Paul grips the steering controller like a vise. “He wouldn’t…he’s bluffing.”
The cruiser hovers in the airspace above, its missile launcher still pointed at us.
I dig my nails into my chair’s armrests. “Paul, drive before he fires!”
“My uncle would never hurt us.” His voice shakes.
The car’s AI starts blinking. “Caution, caution,” it says in an obscenely mellow voice given our circumstances. “Incoming missile is locked. Strike imminent.”
“Paul.” I grab the “oh shit” handle again. “Get us out of here.”
“Drive!” shouts Lucy.
Paul shakes his head. “But…no, he—”
“Attack in three, two…”
Paul punches the accelerator, lurching us forward at intense speed. Our bodies press back against our seats as he blasts under Hunter’s cruiser into the glass canyon streets beyond.
Paul expertly maneuvers through the narrow streets, passing cars and motorbikes at high speed. Slamming on the brakes, he skids and takes a right into a side alley that has fewer vehicles.
I scan the rear cameras to see whether we’re being followed. In the distance, the enemy cruiser glides slowly in the opposite direction, back toward HQ.
“You can slow down, now. Looks like Hunter gave up chasing us.”
“Who knew this car was so fast?” says Lucy.
Paul maintains his death grip on the steering controller, his arms extended, his spine rigid against the seat.
“You, okay?” I ask, nudging his arm. “Relax. Slow down.”
He’s shaking as he eases off the accelerator. Exhaling deeply, he slams his fist into the roof. “What the…? That’s my uncle. He was ready to take us out—kill us.”
“I know, Paul. I’m sorry it happened like that.”
“Your uncle sucks.” Lucy leans forward. “That bastard’s gonna go down.”
I glare at her to knock it off, and she slumps back in her seat.
“I’m his nephew. The only family he has left, and he didn’t give a shit. He wanted to erase me from existence.”
My hand rests on his arm. “Sorry, Paul.” Never having known family, I can’t fathom how someone would so willingly throw it away.
“What now?” asks Lucy.
I scan the skies over the battle scene. “They seem to have given up for now, but that probably means Hunter is regrouping. He’ll most likely launch a full city-wide search for us.”
“He won’t give up. He’ll do anything to find us,” says Paul through clenched teeth.
“So…we go to the one place that’s off limits to the military?” says Lucy.
I nod. “The hybrids got a head start on us once we distracted the robots. They should be in H by now. I only hope Pilar realizes we tried to save their asses and not the other way around.”
“Go into Section H?” asks a pale-faced Paul.
“What other choice do we have when the Colonel is out to kill us?”
As he glides the car through meandering streets, we glimpse the fortified gates of Section H ahead. A tall archway looms over heavy steel barricades. He speeds forward, edging far to the right side of the road to avoid slower driverless cars.
Then a police android sprints out of an alleyway, headed straight for us. I gasp as Paul swerves to miss it. The right front wheel catches on something, and we’re suddenly airborne.
As Paul loses control, a wave of emotions hits me in an instant. We’re screwed. At least we’re wearing seatbelt harnesses.
The first time the car’s roof hits the ground, all the windows splinter as if the frame of the vehicle was compressed.
Inside our metal cage, we flip again and crash to the ground. Each impact stuns my body, making it feel like I’m being hit by a semi-truck.
Beside me, Paul’s body jostles like he’s on a runaway roller coaster. Lucy’s backpack slams into the roof and sides of the car like clothes carelessly tossed in a tumble dryer.
We roll, and each time the car hits a surface, a sound like an explosion rocks me. Over and over.
Finally, the vehicle stops flipping and lands on its roof, still sliding. Metal grinds and screeches across pavement. A horrible sound.
I smell the metal growing hot as its ground down by concrete.
And then we stop.
Hanging upside down from my seat belt, a wave of relief washes through me. First, the car stopped flipping, Second, I’m alive.
One of us groans. Paul hangs beside me, passed out or dead, I’m not sure which.
I reach over and tug at his arm. “Paul, wake up! Lucy? Are you all right?” Please God, let Lucy be alive.
I push the button to release my seat belt, but it’s stuck. Too much tension from my suspended body. Pressing a hand on the roof now below me, I push enough for my body to get the weight off the belt and then unfasten it.
Smoke fills the cabin. We�
�ve got to escape before a spark ignites and chars us alive. Easing myself down, I’m on all fours and shaking Paul. He comes to and flails around, trapped above me.
“Paul, calm down. Hang on, I’m going to get you down.”
He stills and grabs my shoulder to support his weight as I press the release button to bring him down.
In the backseat, Lucy, unscathed, has already climbed down. But she coughs in the now thickening smoke; she’s breathing the worst of it.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” I push the button to slide the tank’s door open, but nothing happens. Pounding my fist against the control panel, I try to knock it, make it functional again.
Nothing. It won’t budge.
“Computer, open.” No response.
The windows are too small to crawl through. I cough as the interior fills with smoke. Hot air blasts us inside the tank.
We’re trapped.
Twenty-Three
We sputter and struggle to breathe, especially Lucy. “Get down, low,” I say. “Cover your mouth and nose.”
Paul climbs into the back, tears off part of his T-shirt, and wraps it around her mouth and head like a bandanna. Her red eyes blink through tears, pleading with me.
Vance says, Think fast, woman.
I crawl to the pilot dashboard and push buttons. The AI has been damaged. A red flashing light on the screen reads “Service disabled.” I kick at the front door with all my might. “Come on.” I fall onto the seat, barely able to breathe.
“Lucy’s passed out,” yells Paul from the rear.
My vision starts to fade to black when I hear a noise like a flame thrower, followed by a loud whirring noise. Suddenly, I’m blinded by a bright light and sparks cascading from the pilot door. Someone is slicing open the door to rescue us. Thank God. But who? The hybrids? It must be. I pray we don’t get seized by Hunter’s forces.
I lean forward and try to see who’s on the other side, but the thick smoke in the cabin clouds my eyes. I draw back, the heat from the blowtorch warning me away.
“Paul,” I yell. “This way. Someone’s cutting open the door.” I scramble toward them on all fours. I slap Lucy’s face gently, but she’s groggy. “Let’s pull her. Grab a shoulder.”
As our rescuers finish slicing through the door, Paul and I drag Lucy to the front. We’re close when suddenly, flames burst from the dashboard. A siren sounds, flashes on. I scan below the dash for a fire extinguisher but can’t find any.
Outside, someone pulls the heavy metal door off its frame. Daylight pours in through the opening. “Help,” I yell. “Fire on the dash. There’s three of us. One is injured.”
In answer, a stream of water floods the front cabin from outside, stamping out the flames within seconds.
“Whoever you are, I owe you a beer,” I say as I push Paul ahead of me.
He halts. “Ida, it’s an android.”
“What?” I push past him for a view. Sure enough, a military bot blocks our exit. The red light in its black helmet scans from side to side. Below the visor, the angular chin resembles a human’s, but it’s made of steel.
“Fire extinguished,” it announces. “Trapped passengers freed.”
“I’ll go first,” I whisper to Paul. Grabbing the rifle with my right arm, I squirm my way out of the vehicle where I face the android. Lifting the barrel, I aim at its chest. “Let us pass or I’ll blow you away.”
The droid tilts its head as it scans me. Then it steps back five feet.
I keep my rifle trained on the robot and motion for Paul to come out. He exits and pulls Lucy out, carrying her in his arms. She coughs and sputters.
“Where are the others?” I ask the droid.
“I am on rescue duty.”
“But you signaled the others, didn’t you? Told them our location.” I peer at the sky above, expecting cruisers to show up any second.
“No.”
Interesting. Seems to have a screw loose, echoes Vance in my head. I was a magnificent coder, but I suppose a mistake or two could have crept in.
“Ida, we need to get help for Lucy.” Paul’s voice shakes.
Miraculously, the damaged tank car managed to slide down the street in the direction we were headed. We’re practically at the Section H gate.
He approaches with Lucy. Her breathing is rapid and shallow as if she can’t catch her breath. “Ida, you’re bleeding from your forehead,” he says.
I reach up and feel wetness at my hairline. Wiping it away with my sleeve, I say, “Section H. I think they’ll help us.” But now that humans just gunned them down? They’re our only hope.
Voices emerge from the street behind us. A group of hybrids advance, aiming their guns on us and the droid. “Weapons down,” one of them shouts.
I lower the rifle slowly to the ground. “I mean no harm, I was aiming at the bot.”
Pilar stands before me, eyes the tank’s wreckage. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
“Please.” Paul stumbles toward her. “She inhaled too much smoke. Can you help her?”
“Secure the android and bring it in,” Pilar barks at her troops. “Check for weapons and escort the humans inside.” She eyes me. “We’ll help your friend, give her medical treatment, but know this: We don’t trust you.”
I lower my head. “I tried to convince them. Hunter wouldn’t—”
“Enough,” she says.
The android’s visor glows red. It extends one of its polished steel arms. I shove Paul and Lucy behind me as five hybrids point rifles and surge forward. The bot targets the tank’s undercarriage, and blasts water from its arm, extinguishing another fire that flared up.
The hybrids keep their weapons steady, watching the machine’s every move. Finally, the android, satisfied the flames are smothered, marches off in front of its captors.
As they lead us past the gates of Section H, a thought nags at me.
Why didn’t the droid try to kill us?
Twenty-Four
We’re led to a small lightweight cruiser, and directed to hop onto an open flatbed in the rear. Paul gingerly places Lucy onto the cruiser bed. We scramble in next to her, guarding her. Pilar climbs up and perches next to me. Her people take the android in another cruiser, guarding it closely.
The flyer rises into the air. We’re flown deep inside Section H. Above crowded streets of hybrid pedestrians of all shapes and sizes. The smell of fried noodles and various vegetables hits me. Along the city walls, greenery winds its way between and into the buildings. Makes sense. Without any outside help, the hybrids grow their own crops, produce all their own sustenance. It smells a lot more appetizing than the mystery slop and protein packs most humans in Spark City subsist on. My stomach growls, and I can’t remember the last time I ate.
Pilar studies me. “I need you to be straight with me.”
I stare at the fine gray fur covering her face. High cheekbones frame her small pink nose. As she arches her eyebrows, her two round ears curl back revealing rows of metal piercings. The top of her head has been spiked and dyed fuchsia.
She whispers, “Is the nephew a spy?”
I grip the side of the cruiser bed as we soar through the air above the streets. “He’s no spy.”
“Gatz said nice things about you, but so far you’ve managed to get a lot of my people killed.”
I lower my head, flushed. “I’m so sorry.” How do I make her understand I’m on her side?
“Save it,” she mutters.
The cruiser descends, coming to a rest on a piece of road next to a sheer glass building shaped like a dome. We’re led inside an immense greenhouse. The crisp air smells strongly of fresh soil. Vines stretch over octagonal panes. Sunlight floods through the glass ceiling. White beams crisscross the ceiling and plants hang from containers, overflowing with flowers and green, healthy leaves.
Paul cradles Lucy in his arms.
“Let us take her.” Two reptilian hybrids with green patchwork skin and ridged foreheads approach Paul.
A female hybrid, half-rat like Pilar, appears with a stretcher. Can we trust Pilar and her people? Lucy struggles for air and her skin is tinged with blue. She needs oxygen or she’ll die. I have no other choice than to turn control over to Pilar. If only Gatz were here to smooth our way… But he’s not, and Lucy’s all that matters right now.
“Paul,” I grab his shoulder. “It’s okay. They’ll help her.”
He frowns, then places Lucy onto the stretcher, and watches as she’s wheeled away. “Where are you taking her?”
“Relax,” says Pilar. “She’s with our best doctors. Here, in this building.”
Paul’s shoulders relax, but his face remains long.
The android marches past us, guided by Pilar’s soldiers.
“What do you plan to do with the bot?” I want to find out why the hell it rescued us. Why did it go against its programming when every other android in the city seemed intent on destroying us?
Pilar narrows her eyes. “Don’t worry about it. It belongs to us now.”
“Can I speak with it?”
“You’re not serious, are you?”
I fold my arms. “For some reason, that thing rescued us instead of blowing up our tank.”
Her eyes brighten. “Go on.”
“Here’s the deal. The three of us fled from HQ because I was trying to help you escape. We thought we could create a distraction with the tank car.” I glance at Paul. “The distraction worked, and then some. The Scramblers and droids started chasing us, giving you time to get away. Colonel Hunter shot a missile at us.”
“At his own nephew? I don’t believe you,” she says.
“It’s true.” Paul strides forward. “My uncle tried to kill us.”
She chews her bottom lip, whiskers twitching. “If what you say is true, the military will be searching for you.”
“Right,” I say. “We’re in danger. All of us. Hunter will rain down his firepower on Section H if he has to.”
The Rogue Spark series Box Set Page 35
