Prodigy (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Just as Mara had suspected, the rumblings came from three, ten-foot tall, bipedal robots known as RT 2100s that had descended from the sky and slammed into the ground. Now with each heavy step, the RTs were patrolling the streets above the tunnels. It was obvious what they were looking for.

The RTs stomped the grounds with each heavy step, scanning the perimeter and creating a digital schematic of the topography. Once the scan was complete, they would be even that much more dangerous.

The robots mildly resembled the human form, but were much more advanced. Their eyes could see through walls and map targets. Their hands were affixed with flexible sensors that were a combination of gold nanoparticles covered with organic connector molecules. This electronic skin was capable of detecting pressure, temperature, and humidity. Their frames were reinforced with thick metallic exoskeletons that protected them from bullets and small blasts. They were also armed with various guns, explosives, and sophisticated gyroscopic stabilizing sensors, making them nearly impossible to topple. Defeating them would be no small task.

The RTs were not autonomous though – the various sensors relayed data in real time to an agent who remained in a safe and undisclosed location. That was their weakness. The robots were only as intelligent as the agents piloting them.

Mara lowered herself back down to inform the others of what she had seen.

 “There are three RTs in a triangular pattern scanning every building,” she whispered. “We cannot risk them finding the entrance to the subway.”

“So what’s the plan?” Alex asked.

Mara informed them of a quick plan, and they wasted no time putting it into action. One by one, they ran up the remainder of the stairs and into plain view, but only for a second. Mara disappeared behind a building before the robots turned in her direction, and Alex and Milo took to their separate positions, also obscured from view.

Alex crouched down behind a large slab of concrete, most likely a piece of a building that had collapsed from the war. She calculated the slope, velocity, and angle, then determined when and where would be the optimal place and moment to strike. As the large robot shuffled toward her, Alex placed a precision shot that blasted the base of an old street lamp. The lamp toppled over and came crashing down on the RT with enough force to severely damage the head, rendering the rest of it inoperable. In a spectacular hail of sparks and thunderous echoes, Alex had single-handily brought down one of the colossal war machines. She paused for a moment of quick celebration before darting off.

The other two robots reacted to the destruction of their fallen cohort and scuttled over to investigate further. With guns drawn, they established a safe zone.

Milo was nowhere in sight, but could hear the loud crash and the mechanical gyrations of the moving robots. The sounds were unnerving and caused his legs to shake uncontrollably with trepidation. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the machine guns go off. The rattling of hundreds of rounds of ammunition and the sounds of bullets ricocheting off glass, stone, and metal made him feel like he was in the middle of a war zone. He could only imagine what was happening at ground zero, which made it even worse.

He took a couple of deep breaths before running toward an old firehouse that was a few blocks away. When he reached the building, he was gasping for breath and coughing up mucous from his lungs. With barely enough time to gather his composure, Milo stood in front of the large wooden gate and did what Mara had instructed him to do. He hoisted the rifle up to his eye and tried to steady his aim. When he felt stable, he fired a single round. The bullet completely missed its intended target and ricocheted back at him. Milo took a few deep breaths to calm his heart rate before trying again. This time, he tried holding his breath. As he raised the large rifle, he aligned the sights and took aim once more. When he pulled the trigger, the bullet pierced through the lock and shattered it to pieces.

“Bullseye!” he said to himself in celebration.

Milo knew his job was not done so he quickly opened the gate just enough to allow his body to squeeze through. The inside of fire hall’s garage was dark, but through the sliver of light let in from the gate, he could see a behemoth vehicle towering over him. The large fire engine seemed a bit old fashion, like most of the technology around Incarus, but he was told it still worked.

Once behind the wheel, Milo searched for the keys. Just as Mara had stated, they were in the sun visor. Much to his surprise, the rig started up with ease, but soon after it stalled. Milo’s frustration grew.

“Come on you clumsy thing!” he shouted.

He started the engine again and pumped the accelerator. The gears ground together before finding their mark and the truck jolted forward. Milo let out an exhilarating laugh. It was the largest vehicle he had ever driven, but it was also the only vehicle he had ever driven, so to him the size was inconsequential.

“Hold on guys, here I come!” he exclaimed.

Milo charged out of the firehouse with vengeance, causing the large wooden doors on the fire hall to break apart and litter the street with debris. The momentum of the truck was hard to handle as he manoeuvered the heavy machinery into the street. Milo fumbled with the archaic gearbox as the speed of the truck increased.

Now approaching a corner, Milo cranked the wheel aggressively, which compressed the suspension on one side of the truck and sent him flying across the seat. He slammed against the thick metal door and hurt his elbow. Once he rounded the corner, he straightened out the wheel and stomped his foot on the accelerator. The truck picked up speed as Milo drove straight toward his targets. With the RTs in sight, Milo gritted his teeth and let out a ferocious roar.

“AAAAHHHH!”

The sensors on the RTs alerted them of the imminent danger, but they could not react in time. By the time they turned around, Milo was heading toward them at full speed. The large truck bashed into the robots, causing them to crumple on impact. The RTs hit the ground with a thud and became wedged underneath the truck. The violent sounds of crunching metal could be heard as a shower of sparks poured out from beneath the rig. Milo slammed on the brakes, bringing the large truck to a stop.

Alex and Mara, who had been engaged in a firefight with the robots, congratulated Milo as soon as he stepped out of the vehicle.

“Nice work, Milo!” Alex said, as she ran over toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Well done, Milo,” Mara said, offering him a simple nod and a smile.

Milo accepted the gesture and basked in the glory of executing a triumphant plan.

“It was a team effort. I couldn’t have done it without you guys.”

“How soon before they send in a whole army of these things?” Alex asked.

“If I had to guess, a fleet is probably already on their way.”

“We must move quickly then. Let’s see what we can salvage from these bots. I can probably reconfigure their AI processors and use them for our dream machine.”