Prodigy Returns (book 3)

Chapter Twenty

Alex felt the blood drain from her face with the sudden realization that intelligent machines were after them.

Still running down the dark hallway, Kyodin blasted several more scout robots that had found their way into the underground tunnels. The scouts resembled large spiders the size of a compact car. They were not weaponized and had very little armour so they were easy to take down. The cause of fear lay more in what they represented. Scouts were there to survey and report. If they found signs of what they were programmed to look for, they would send the data back to the mainframe where a second squad would undoubtedly show up shortly after. These robots were the exterminators.

Reaching the entrance that led outside, Kyodin told Alex to remain where she was while he handled the rest of the bots. Kyodin activated the invisibility function on his suit and he disappeared right before her eyes.

From Alex's vantage point, she could see the ruffling leaves as Kyodin moved through the foliage, leaping through the tall trees like an orangutan. On the ground, the helpless scout-bots were quickly dispatched. There were over a dozen of them, all spread out, but one after another, they exploded in a hail of sparks and flames.

When the last bot was dispatched, Kyodin became visible once again. His mask flipped up and he had a large smile on his face. He holstered his weapon and began to walk toward his sister.

"Well, that was fun," he said. "But we should still get out of here."

"Do you mind explaining to me what that was all about?" Alex asked.

"We've seen them before, but they usually don't come out this far."

"Who are 'they'? Where did they come from? What do they want?" Alex had a thousand questions running through her mind and felt Kyodin was deliberately holding back. "What are you not telling me?"

Facing Kyodin, Alex saw his facial expression change from happy to concerned. There was something behind Alex that had caused him to sprint toward her. "Alex, look out!" Kyodin yelled as he shoved her out of the way just in time to save her from a burst of energy that would have blasted her to bits. Alex fell to the ground and out of harm's way. She was unsure what was happening, but saw Kyodin lying face down in the dirt.

"Kyodin?" she said in a panic as she scurried over to him. She looked over her shoulder to see what had incapacitated her brother and saw another dozen or so robots emerging over the hill, only these bots were different than the scouts. With their mechanical movements, the humanoid robots plodded forward with their shiny metallic exoskeletons and glowing eyes. They looked much more menacing and had weapons protruding out of their forearms and shoulders.

Alex called her brother's name once again and shook him, but he was still unresponsive. She then rolled him over and saw an expressionless look on his face that signified death. 

"No!" she shouted, as she placed two fingers on his carotid artery. There was no pulse. 

Almost as fast as Kyodin had entered her life, he exited. Alex's eyes welled up with tears as she felt a crippling sense of loss. Her heroic brother had just died saving her, and with every ounce of her being she wished she could somehow take it back. The sudden, jolting shock of his untimely departure almost didn't even register. He was just there seconds before — laughing and smiling — and now he was just gone.

Reeling from the traumatic demise of her brother, Alex knew it was no time to mourn. Several humanoid bots were fast approaching and she was completely exposed. Several of the bots had their weapons raised and were taking aim. Alex then remembered Kyodin showing her the force field device that was attached to his wrist. Unsure exactly how it worked, she frantically started pressing a series of buttons. She then draped herself over Kyodin's lifeless body and sobbed relentlessly. In that moment, she didn't care whether she lived or died. Death would have almost been a relief.

Eventually, several bots blasted her with their weapons, but the energy pulses splashed off the force field that enveloped her and her brother. Alex's sorrow quickly turned to rage. Her breathing became heavy and her eyes narrowed. Gripping Kyodin's blaster, she stood up and turned around to face her enemies. With a look of pure disdain, Alex began blasting the bots.

"Come and get me!"

The pulsating sounds of electricity reverberated throughout the land as Alex remained heavy on the trigger. The bots fought back, but could not penetrate the force field that encompassed Alex and her now deceased brother. Large clouds of smoke billowed out after each explosion as each of the bots collapsed into a heap of flaming rubble. One by one, they all eventually fell.

After single-handedly dismantling a small army of war machines, Alex entered a catatonic state where she was devoid of emotion and pain. Her tears had stopped, but her cheeks were still moist. She stood at the bottom of the hill, anticipating another batch of bots would emerge over the rolling mound. Staring ahead at the piles of metal scattered across the landscape, she felt proud to have avenged her brother's death.

Remaining by Kyodin's side, Alex hadn't moved from her position. The only sounds came from the wind as it whistled through the leaves. There was an eerie calmness that came over her as she kept a watchful eye on her surroundings. She let out a deep breath and tried to preserve her emotional state. She was in a state of shock and felt numb. This was actually an effective mentality given the situation since it would allow her to focus on the task at hand, which was survival.

Being at the bottom of the hill put her at a disadvantage so she wanted to get to higher ground as soon as possible where she would have a better vantage point. Unsure whether her legs would work amid an almost paralyzing feeling of numbness, Alex took a step.

With each step of her slow staggering pace, she created more distance between her and her brother. The stoic look on her face suggested she had nothing left to live for. She felt an incredible guilt as if his death was somehow her fault. As she marched further up the hill, she could see the treetops poking over the hill. The higher she climbed, the more of the jungle she could see. The part where she and Kyodin had exited was now in her field of view . When she panned to her right, she saw another two dozen bots emerge from the forest.

Like a seasoned killer, Alex did not hesitate. She raised her weapon and began blasting the targets at long-range. The blasts were getting weaker and weaker until the gun stopped working altogether. The gun was hot and needed time to cool. She figured the weapon only had a certain amount of power before it needed to be recharged. Her only option at this point was to run.

Alex skidded back down the hill and thought about hiding in the underground bunker. However, she did not have a light, and she saw how that strategy had turned out for the previous occupants. Instead, she ran to her brother and removed the sword from his suit of armour. By the time she stood up and turned around, the bots had already reached the ridge and were descending down the hill.