Apocalyptic Princess

Chapter 10

      Rick was guided to a house across the street, and entered in through the back door. The drone with a speaker, followed him inside and led him to a locked chest, in the living room of the house, secured to the wall. When he entered the room, Rick was startled by a clothed dummy, lying limp in the corner. Confident that it wasn't a person, he turned his attention back to his task. Attached to the drone, was the key to the chest. Unlocking the chest, Rick opened it up to reveal his supplies inside. A funnel, six balloons, a jug of water, a shirt, a hat, and a bracelet were the tools provided.

      "This is funny," Rick said with a laugh. "What am I supposed to do with these?"

      "If the pilot light on the flamethrower is taken out, he can't burn you to a crisp," the voice from the drone informed Rick. "The bracelet, is to keep this drone tethered to your location to keep you informed on where not to be. The clothes are to disguise you. If you didn't notice, they are the same shirt and hat that the dummy is wearing. You are going to attach the dummy to the other drone. Fill up the balloons, using the funnel. When needed, try your best to knock out the pilot light."

      "So, I'm supposed to go up against these guys, armed with water balloons?"

      "You have guns. That's what you're armed with. Our plan is to catch their attention, and have them chase you...The truck never goes farther than in between the house. You'll lure them in and then proceed to run away, through the back yards. Their drone will follow you. The yards that we will position you in, have large hedges that make up a property line. When you jump through the hedges, the drone will lose sight of you, and that's when our drone will carry the dummy off. Hidden on the other side of the hedges, you will have a shot to take out the drone as it flies over head. When you are successful at that, you will run into the house that you are behind, make your way upstairs, and out on the roof. The dummy will catch the attention of the truck, and pull them in between the houses, next to you. From the rooftop you will have a shot to hit the tanks with a bullet. If all else fails, you can throw some balloons and hope you hit the pilot light. With the pilot light out, you can charge the truck, and get some shots off that way."

      Rick closed the chest, sat on top of it, and thought over the plan that was just laid out for him.

      "Why do I need to get to the roof," Rick asked.

      "The truck protects the fuel tanks, with metal plates. You'll have to hit them high. They don't chase large groups in between the houses, but they will go after a single person. They can get greedy at times."

      "How do you know so much?"

      "Because I've failed before. We've been watching them for a while now. I've watched other people fail. This might come as a surprise, but not a lot of people trust our help. That's why we saved you from harm. We hoped that it would help gain trust."

       "We?"

      "There's a group here, but we're in no shape to battle with armed gangs. We need clear passage to the river...We've lost people. We don't want to lose anymore."

       Staring at the carpet, Rick thought over the plan. This was the last obstacle standing between him and Amanda. He couldn't stand being away from her any longer. With the help of the drones, he felt like he had a chance to succeed. Making a decision, he opened the chest, and started to take out the items.

       Rick switched his hats, and put on the flannel button-up shirt over his own, leaving it unbuttoned in the front. After attaching the bracelet to his wrist, he started working on filling the balloons with water. Wrapping the balloons around the bottom of the funnel, one by one, he filled them up, and tied a knot in the end. Grabbing the dummy by the wire, that was connected to the top of its head, running through the hat, he drug it outside, and connected it to the other drone. Rick took clothes pins from the clothes line outside, and secured the water balloons to the edges of his unbuttoned shirt.