Cridex

Chapter Thirty Six

I watched as incoming helicopters loomed over the square we were in, the shadow casting down on us. Screams and shrieks of citizens rang out, but I ignored them, still intent on reaching the platform to ensure Dane was safe.

Turning, I whirled around to see the helicopter doors open, and people in parachutes jumped out, landing swiftly on the ground. The terror of the people only intensified at the action, and I put my hands to my ears, trying to drown out the sounds that were threatening to give me a throbbing headache.

Trevor was still on the podium, the microphone held loosely in his slacked hand. I could tell that he was completely surprised by this sudden invasion. Then, as he regained his senses, his gaze narrowed the swept across the crowd, only to land on me and stay there.

I could tell that he was spinning up some sort of story to cover this up, to use me as a distraction, but Trevor remained quiet as he broke his gaze with me and squinted at the helicopters and the people who were out of them.

I was pretty sure they were cyborgs, but I couldn't tell as the figures moved around swiftly through the crowd. I couldn't see any sort of identification on the helicopters, either, and I knew that Trevor was thinking the same thing as me, Were these cyborgs or government officials?

We soon knew the answer as the people jumped onto the policemen, attacking swiftly. The cyborgs had come for us, just as Imogen said. And just as Imogen predicted, the people in here, along with Trevor, will soon regret their decisions. A small noise echoed through the space, and it was from a dropped microphone, courtsey of Trevor.

As I was distracted by Trevor and the cyborgs that came from the helicopters, I lost the sight of Dane, as well as Imogen, Jonas, and Camden. I could only hope that they took the confusion of the moment and ran, hopefully able to escape.

As much as I wanted to escape just like them, I had a different job to do first- I had to find Dane Archer, who was currently nowhere to be found. I decided to find him instead of turning myself in, now that Dane had also disappeared.

Finding an escape ladder, I quickly climbed down and started running towards the crowd, pushing and blending in immediately. More and more cyborgs descended from the helicopters, and they only added more chaos to the crowd. With another glance, I noticed how more cyborgs poured in from hidden alleyways, sewer gates, and roofs.

These were younger, less experienced, and probably from Gaige's army, but they attacked. I grinned at the sight of civillians dispersing, and lost track of my mission at the moment.

I just wanted to revel in the feeling of power for a second, power over Trevor and the humans who had created us and now wanted to wage war over us.

Nodding to myself, I looked back at Trevor, who was currently yelling something incoherently, pointing at something wildly as he barked orders to cops who were still standing. Trevor's eyes still roamed the crowd, most likely with the intention to find me and make me into a prototype as earlier planned.

Picking up my pace, I ran from one side too the other, scanning the crowd for Dane. He probably ran the other way, and I pushed past people to follow the same path. Sprinting down and away from the podium Trevor was still standing on, I finally caught a glimpse of someone I knew, though it wasn't Dane.

Jonas was on the side, his hand pulling Imogen's along as they ran to safety. They were on their feet, and their injuries hadn't slowed them down. My eyes widened when I realized Camden wasn't with them. I turned around and scanned the crowd, and since Camden was fairly tall, I hoped that I could find him soon.

Higher ground- I had to get to higher ground. I had to find Dane and Camden, and then I had to leave. Quickly pushing my way through the crowd, I ran to the alleyway and found another ladder, which was probably used for emergency escapes. Grabbing the rail, I tested it and pushed a foot on it, making sure it was sturdy. When I found it was strong, I hoisted myself up and carefully climbed to the top.

Surveying the crowd under me, I looked for Dane and Camden. My knees shook from being so high and I feared that I would fall. There was nothing for me to grip onto on the roof, and I slowly sat down, trying to not fall.

Finally, I saw a familiar black haired head as he ran in the dark alleyways, tripping occasionally. Dane. Thankfully, he was smart enough to take the hidden route, and I watched as he caught up to Jonas and Imogen, and followed them towards the horizon, where I hoped they would escape safely through.

Now for Camden. Either he was ahead of Jonas, Dane, and Imogen, or he was behind, still trapped in the crowd.

Most of the civillians were trying to escape, but since the square was so small, it was difficult, effectively building up. The cyborgs had long since gone, but the panic still remained. The helicopters were still hovering above the square, a looming threat that no one could do anything about.

I wasn't satisfied with the small battle we won in the large war, though. I still had to find Camden, and then leave as well. Trevor had found his microphone and was promising revenge, trying to use the fear and turn it into anger against us cyborgs.

"They have no rules, they have no boundaries. All they see are helpless citizens and they attacked. They want to instill fear and they want to kill," Trevor stated into the microphone. "We need to band together, we need to rid the city of these metal pests!"

All together, the crowd cheered at Trevor's words. He took the cheers as acceptance, and continued. "You saw how they attacked our children, our young. They have no mercy, and they will never have any mercy. The only way that we will ever be safe is to kill them all. We need to find Ellery Kent, we need to take her and make her into a prototype for the safer branch of cyborgs!"

I scrunched up my nose at his words and sighed, pressure building up in my chest at not finding Camden yet. "Find her, find Ellery Kent!" Trevor exclaimed into the microphone. "It is the only way we will be safe, we need to make her into a prototype," He repeated.

I ignored his words and finally found Camden, who was limping and running in the alleys, his blue eye flashing brightly as he tried to cover it. I located the alley where he was running in, and walked to the ladder and prepared to slide down.

"Find her, find her, find her! Find Ellery Kent!" The crowd chanted together as the officers scoured the alleys for me. I sucked in a breath, worried that they would find Camden instead. Deciding that I would follow Camden on the roofs, I abandoned the ladder and ran onto the next apartment roof.

Officers each had a gun and the Cridex in their hands, which they held like a weapon. Camden was slowly tiring as he stumbled through the alleys. I bit my lip as I saw the officers slowly catching up to him. I think he knew that too, because he picked up his pace as he tried to escape.

Yes, I internally screamed, Yes, escape! I was now running parallel with him on the roofs, but he didn't notice me yet. "Camden!" I screamed, and he turned, looking up at me and then his puzzled expression turned into a smiling one.

Then he suddenly crumpled to the ground, red blossoming in his shoulder as he was shot.