The Last Red

Chapter 10: The Escape

You know that nightmare when a bad guy's chasing you, but your feet are simply numb, unable to move?

Well, it only happens in nightmares.

My knees bend without as much as a totter as two robots run towards me in horrifying speed.

My hands and feet cooperate to climb a tall tree.

My arm stretch its best and the tips of my fingers reach the top branch.

Alright. Time to use all my athletic training.

"Stop," a robotic voice issues a warning. Omnia voice. 

But I don't listen to her commands anymore. 

I grunt as I lift my body up. 

I look down very swiftly, just to see my distance from the robot, then open my backpack.

I get my water jet out then aim it at the robot below the tree.

A beam of my water collides with his metal body and I hear a sweet clicking sound as his metal body falls apart.

Yes! 

I look down to the ground. I'm at least eight feet up, but there's no time for climbing down.

I take a leap of faith.

Dust rises up from my fall.

"Khoff khah!"

I cough as it fills my lungs.

No time to squeal from the numb pain, another robot's coming.

I run immediately, bringing my bag to the front as I bring out the water jet once again.

I keep its nozzle in one hand, ready whenever he is.

There's a good mile left before I reach Kory.

Until then, sand and gravel is all there is.

And I feel every bigger stone as it crashes against my thin textile shoes.

I run zig-zag, in irregular pace and direction, so that the machine cannot precisely predict my path.

It is only twenty seconds of my run before the first laser shoots right next to me, landing somewhere into the horizon.

Shit.

No place for fear, I remind myself. I've always known this is how it'd happen.

I don't turn. It's not the right time just yet.

I keep focus like I've never kept it before. This is not training. I can only do this right or wrong -one shot at survival.

Soon, I hear his metal legs chirp behind me.

Now.

I throw myself forward to the red sand, turning in the air so that I land on my back.

As my shoulder blade hits the ground, my fingers press the jet button.

I direct it onto the robot's head. "Ughhh," I grunt, "dieeee!"

He stops, my jet of liquid blocking his vision.

Then he falls into two pieces as well.

I see other robots far away but approaching quickly.

I get up, swiftly dust myself off, then continue running like I've never run before. I wish Omnia could measure my performance now. She never saw the best of me.

But there's no time for underperforming anymore.

I am less than a quarter-mile away from the hill where Kory awaits me when another robot shoots a laser toward me, missing me only for an inch.

Crap! I turn swiftly, shooting another water right into his eyes, where the motherboard is.

As he retrieves I see I managed to poke a hole in between his eyes

But then he moves.

He must've re-programmed himself.

God damn it.

I run towards the hill, still in irregular zig-zags, constantly looking back to check my surroundings.

No one in sight.

He couldn't have just let me go.

Could he?

"Kayla!" Kory yells at me as I close the last few feet and collapse beside her. 

"What took you so long?" she squeals. 

"No time," I pant breathlessly. Do you have your water container with you?"

She nods, swiftly taking it out.

"Good," I pant. "I need to refill my jet," I barely manage to take it in my shaky hands and pour the liquid into my almost empty container. 

"It took only a mile and a half before I felt the first hole in my sole," she squeals. "These shoes sure weren't made for running on gravel."

"Tell me about it," I exhale, then peek over the hill. 

"s**t," I say as I dip back in. 

"What is it?"

"You're not gonna like it."

She's the one who peeks out now.

"Oh my God. There's like five of them. Why did they send so many?"

I shrug. "There's at least a thousand inside the block. I doubt a dozen was too much to spare."

"Still," she says. "There's a million of us inside and only two here."

"I know," I pant. "I know. We can't wait any longer," I say. "Stay behind me."

She nods and we stay low as we try to get down the hill.

"At least they can't track us without our chips," she whispers. "For all they know, we could be anywhere."

"They can detect body heat," I say unwillingly. "Robots are nasty little suckers."

"Good thing we didn't escape at night like I said. Only now I see it'd be impossible to get by. Everything looks huge. I'd get lost without you in a second..."

As I see a set of trees in our horizon, I know we almost passed the third mile. 

Thank God.

I look around us frantically, now worried that someone might be waiting for us somewhere behind the trees. 

I position my finger against the jet button and carefully enter the trees' shade.

There is so much more trees here than I remember.

Someone has been working hard to re-plant the land. The increase in oxygen is notable even now.

I want to know exactly how much.

"Om, show me my body stats."

Kory laughs.

I bite my tongue. It was faster than my brain. The open cut still burns a little from where I extracted my chip.

Luckily my body is warm now. It would hurt more if it wasn't.

"I know," she whispers. "I miss her a little, too."

We circle through a set of some thirty trees, inspecting both the air and the ground.

The coast seems clear.

Just as the thought runs through my mind, my fingers let go of the jet clutch.

"Ok, we're only at the beginning. The next set of trees doesn't come up for another eight miles. It'll take us about 45 minutes to reach it."

"No time to waste," she urges.

We leave the little woods and continue our jog, my fingers repositioned against the jet, my mini lethal weapon.

Being back in the Wild brings back emotions I can't name. I guess my mind's too focused on fighting to be able to process anything else.

It's better that way.

After we escape the robots, the only dangers will be ones I am very familiar with: phigees, sand storms, the cold, and nasty rogues.

It's lucky I know the Wild so well. We will be able to sleep in one of the safe havens I know.

The havens are there to keep us warm and safe from storms and phigees.

Phigees can bite you in your sleep, and since there's no known cure for their poison, any dose can be lethal. That is why it's important to sleep in sand dunes or other shelters. 

The only thing you can't run away from are other rogues.

But most rogues don't present danger. After all, they all escaped a prison of their own in search of freedom. Nevertheless, there are those whose minds are set on getting something else. More. They're to be avoided. 

Men with nothing sacred and nothing to lose are the most dangerous ones. They'd do anything if they believe it'd benefit them.

After another two miles of running or so, I realize just how spoiled my feet have gotten from walking so many years on a flat cement floor.

Those short yard runs I took barefoot were not enough to readjust them to these rough conditions.

I slow down my pace, looking around us.

Nothing.

"Aight, can we make a quick stop to change shoes now?" Kory asks. We brought an extra pair each, knowing we might need it before our feet toughen up.

"Sure," I leave my jet on the ground quickly, just to take out my shoes.

Out of the corner of my eye, something grabs my attention.

My head jilts to find a robot standing at around five hundred yards away. 

"s**t," I whisper. 

Kory follows my gaze. "Why is he just standing there? As if patiently waiting for something."

A terrifying thought crosses my mind.

"Maybe he's following us around the entire time, patiently waiting for the Sun to set, so that he can capture us without risk."

Kory whimpers. "Our eyes can't see in pitch dark," just like I told her. "His can."

I exhale in desperation.

"How large is your radius, robot?" I grunt. 

"What?"

"Omnia has a radius of five miles," I say.

"How much have we passed?"

"At least six," I clench my jaw.

"How's it possible that he still functions?"

"He must be using a different software," I conclude.

Should I change my shoes or just suck it up?

Does it even make a difference?

A numb sound behind me frightens me to death.

"Ambush!" Kory screams.

My fingers wrap around the jet faster than I can process it, then I turn just in time to be knocked down by another robot.

"Nooo!"

This small moment - an unpredictable instant - brings me back immediately to the time where my mother and father were murdered by rogues.

Only now, I am the victim.

But wait a second! Why didn't he kill us at once? Obviously, he's trying to re-capture us. 

So, does that mean we are worth something to them?

"What are you doing?" Kory screams.

"Remain calm," two robots hold us in place now.

I turn my head to the third robot and see him moving closer.

This is it.

Our death sentence coming.

No!

It. Will. Not. Happen again.

"Ughhhhh," I pull my legs up and wrap them over the robot's head, then pull him down to a lever, just long enough to grab my jet.

I start it and aim immediately to his neck.

"Yes!" A shriek of joy escapes me as his head detaches from his body slowly and his grip on me loosens.

Then he slips away from me, spreading on the ground.

"Huh," I beat him. I managed to beat him. 

I take his lower detached body up and put it against me as a shield for any laser beams that might come from the third robot. I can only use my jet from up close.

Then I direct the jet at Kory's robot.

Do I have enough liquid to beat the second one?

Is there more of them coming?

Why didn't he wait for the dark to fall?

As I watch him get jetted, I notice something weird.

Kory isn't moving.

She isn't breathing.

I now push him from on top of her to reveal her life-less body.

"K-Kory?"I shake her, even though her red hot skin tells me all I need to know.

 "Kory!" I yell to no avail - she was electrocuted.

"Aaaargh!" I scream into the wind. Decades of frustration built-up. I had to leave my best friend in there and now they've killed another.

They've taken everything from me.

And now, they're gonna kill me, I realize as I watch the third robot approach.

But there's something on the other side of me. Something that wasn't there before.

A compilation of trees. 

If I make it there... I might have a chance of escaping.

With newfound vigor, I put the knocked out robot down and sprint as fast as I can, completely barefoot.

I feel tiny gravel stab my feet and I bet they're bleeding, but I don't even feel the pain.

I almost made it -

"Ugh!" I grunt as a laser beam cuts through my left upper arm, instantly collapsing onto the ground.

Noo!

This wasn't supposed to happen.

The crazy adrenaline allows me to ignore the sharp burning pain as I turn to my back, grabbing the mini-jet.

I aim the nozzle against the robot and grunt, pushing the button as hard as I can as if that will make my attack stronger. 

Laser beams of high pressure watery liquid shoot toward his steel body, but then the beam breaks down.

He seems unharmed, walking towards me. 

I keep the button pressed, my heart beating so loud I only hear its echo in my ears.

Then I realize it - my jet's out of water. 

Shit.

I let it drop to the gravely sand and turn on my heel as I run zig-zag towards the nearest tree I see. 

Laser beams shoot and miss me. Then another one shoots through my calf.

I am face-down in the sand at once.

This is it then - I didn't make it.

I close my eyes and wait to be executed.

"I hope you made it across the Wall, Beetle," I whisper into the dust. Now there's no hope for me.

...

Why's nothing happening?

"Khh," I open my eyes and slowly turn.

The robot's standing there as if unable to take another step. Unable to see me even.

Is there... a glass door?

Am I hallucinating?

No, I realize.

I am out of his radius.