The Iron Hallway

Chapter 22

With a grunt, Aaron began to push Khemera's arm down. 45 more degrees, and he would achieve victory. Khemera closed his eye. He pushed back with a slow, but steady pressure. Little by little, Aaron's arm moved down, until only a 15 degree angle stood between him and the cot. He huffed and struggled to regain his advantage, but finally, his muscles gave way, and his arm lay pinned flat. 

Khemera nodded calmly, but refrained from any boasting of his victory. Aaron, on the other hand, eyed the old man, obviously quite perturbed. 

"The table's uneven, I think." Aaron commented. 

"Sure it is." I replied, but only to humor him. "Now, Sila, you caught that, right?" 

"Yes." 

"Well then, switch arms and let Sila have a go." 

Aaron grumbled something inaudible and moved to the other side of the cot. Hannah counted off again, and the second match began. The brawny inventor gritted his teeth even harder and pushed with all his might to overcome his own creation, even ignoring the fact that his strain was causing blood to trickle faster out of his bullet wound. The robot's lanky arm lowered little by little, and any comeback looked highly unlikely. 

Without warning, Sila jerked its metallic hand, and Aaron's wrist popped loudly. He yanked his arm away and roared in agony, grunting as he pushed it back into alignment. "Who taught you to do that?" 

"You." 

Aaron growled. "I should've never shown you that!" 

I smirked. "Not to be insensitive, but perhaps that's just what we need. I've got an idea." 

"What's that?" Aaron asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Oh, you'll see in due time." 

******************* 

Several minutes later, the low, droning hum of the juggernaut submarine's engines subsided. Not long later, footsteps echoed down the hallway, and our cell door slid open. A team of eight armed soldiers entered with grim faces. 

I rose to my feet first with a pasted-on grin. "Hello, gentlemen," I began pleasantly, "before you take us away, I have a special...challenge...for you." 

The soldier nearest me shook his head. "We don't do challenges. We do our jobs." 

"No?" I asked, "Well, that's a shame, because that means our speculations will never be resolved. You see, I was under the impression that Alcontean soldiers are the strongest, most disciplined, and best trained army this world has ever seen." 

"That we are." a second soldier answered, "But I fail to see where you're going with this." 

"Well, you see, Aaron here has made a remarkable robot here, Sila. Say hi, Sila!" 

"Hello." 

A few of the soldiers halfheartedly waved, the others too confused to oblige. 

"Now, Sila here is very strong, remarkably so. No man has beaten him yet. But to be fair, no Alcontean soldiers have tried so far. So...no pressure, but perhaps you could demonstrate your superiority for us, before you take us away?" 

Every one of the men eyed me suspiciously. This is gonna fail. I thought, Abigail's the actress, not me. 

"We were given orders to escort you out of this vessel to meet the extraction team down in Unterstat. We're not here to fulfill your foolish curiosities." 

"Aww, that's a shame!" Keira exclaimed dramatically, "I've always wanted to understand the appeal of Alcontean men, but I guess I'll have to pass up on that."