Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

Chapter Forty-Three

With Glitch helping the others, Alex’s crew was down to five. They carried on to the upper levels, this time with a little more urgency. There were only three more levels to go before reaching the top so they moved quickly.

Once on the top floor, Milo kept an eye on his access pod, and instructed the crew where to go. They crept slowly down the dark hallway until they met up with the other group.

“Mara should be on the other side of this door,” Milo said, approaching the door.

“Milo, wait!” Curik called out. “It may not be safe, let me go first.”

Milo stepped aside to allow Curik to enter. He opened the door a crack and shone his light inside, but could not see Mara anywhere. Motioning for the others to follow, Curik entered the abandoned apartment. The tension was high as the crew funneled in and began to search the place. They scoured from floor to ceiling, expecting there to be a bomb or something even worse, but there was nothing of the sort. In one of the bedrooms, Mara was found passed out on a dirty mattress.

“She’s in here!” Curik called out.

Curik approached Mara with caution. She was unresponsive, but still breathing. Curik gently lifted up her blood-stained shirt to inspect the bullet wound, and saw a thick bandage had been placed just below her ribcage.

“Mum!” Alex called out, running to her mother.

The rest of the crew gathered around to make sure Mara was okay. Milo scanned her accountability chip and instantly obtained her bio stats.

“Her body is severely dehydrated… probably hasn’t eaten anything in days… and I’m detecting an overwhelming amount of chemicals in her blood… most likely her immune system responding to sepsis.”

“Looks like The Fox had a momentary change of heart,” Aris said. “Does that seem right to anybody?”

“No, it doesn’t… unless…” Curik pondered. “This may be a trap. We have to get her out of here.”

Alex was giving Mara some water and injected her with a shot of adrenalin. She put the epi-pen back in her pocket and then tried to communicate with her mum. “Can you hear me?”

“Mara, honey, please wake up,” Curik said, holding up Mara’s head. Mara slowly opened her eyes and attempted to speak.

“We need to get you out of here. Can you walk on your own?”

Curik and some others helped Mara to her feet. As the medicine circulated her bloodstream, the group exited the apartment and headed for the roof. Mara was a bit wobbly at first, but became more stable with time.

 “What’s on the roof?” Aris asked.

“Our ride.”

Curik led their group through the rooftop door and a dozen people spilled out, bracing themselves from the heavy rain and intense wind. He then instructed everyone to head to the north side of the building.

“Do you guys hear that?” Aris asked, learning over the ledge. “It sounds like…”

Through the fog, the sound grew nearer. Then, punching through the mist, three RTs flew overhead, causing Aris to lose his balance and fall backward. Now on his butt, Aris followed the trajectory of the metallic robots as they arched over the squad of rebels and landed on the roof. Their heavy feet slammed into the building, causing the concrete below to crack. The force sent a shockwave to the group, who were standing twenty feet away.

Aris picked himself up and said, “I thought the building would be rigged with explosives, but I guess we’re going to die another way.”

“Nobody’s going to die,” Curik said, standing in front of the group.

The RTs were terrifying, and the squad couldn’t see a way to defeat them. The robots had blocked the only exit and were approaching with each mechanical step.

“Looks like this is the end for you,” one of the robots said with its ominous voice.

“Arlon, you coward!” Curik shouted over the downpour of rain. “Leave these people alone, they mean nothing to you!”

“You are quite right, they mean nothing to me. That makes it easier for me to kill them. Each of you has some vendetta against me, and left unchecked, you could grow to become a real nuisance.

“I’m truly sorry Alex, I wish I could have spent more time with you and unlocked your secrets, but unfortunately fate has not dictated those circumstances.”

Curik raised his weapon, and the RTs raised theirs. With each of their arms locking onto a different target, it was only a matter of seconds before they would be blasted to bits.

Milo stood in front of Alex with his back toward the robots.

“I love you, Alex.”

“I love you too, Milo.”

With rain pouring down their faces, they shared one final kiss. They were brave in the face of death as neither one of them showed fear. Despite their short lives, they were satisfied with what they had accomplished. Living without regret, Alex had come to terms with her inevitable demise. She had seen what the world had to offer, even having gone beyond the terrestrial confines of Earth. She had reunited with her family and had experienced true love. She was ready to die.

Seeing no way out, Alex and Milo remained together until the end. Milo wrapped his arms around Alex and closed his eyes. Then, a loud crash caused him to flinch. Unexpectedly, the robots collapsed with a loud crunching impact. After a second, he opened his eyes and turned around. Standing behind the defeated robots was Glitch.

“I hate stairs!” he said, looking exhausted.

Dalia ran to him and threw her arms around him. Just then, a large craft emerged through the fog and manoeuvered into position. Hovering a few feet above the rooftop, one of the doors opened to reveal more of Mara’s crew, waiting with open arms.

“Come on, get in!”