Unbreakable Storm

by Patrick Dugan

  We had just gotten to the garden when Mom ran in. “Oh, I hoped you guys were coming this way.” Sweat stood out on her forehead, and her breathing had a ragged edge to it.

  “What’s wrong?” Dad asked.

  Mom took a deep breath. “None of the vehicles in the escape bay work. The engines had corroded to the point where they’ll need to be rebuilt. We have the van and the jeep in the main garage. That’s it.”

  Dad hit his leg. “Damn, if we hold out until dark, can we make it down the mountain from the escape bay?”

  “You, Tommy, Boulder, Mimi, and maybe Marcel and Abby could.” Mom let out a long breath of frustration. “Do we leave Oliver and Eugene to die?”

  “No, we can take them with us.” I bulled ahead with my idea. “We can carry them down until we find transportation.”

  “I don’t think so, honey.” Mom rubbed my arm. “Abby is hurt, and we can’t carry them both.”

  “We need to go and get an update on the situation. Where are the others?”

  “They are in the main garage, loaded in the van.” Mom moved toward the stairwell, wistfully looking around the garden that had provided us with food and her a place to unwind. “It’s the only way we are getting everyone out of here.”

  “Good thinking, babe.”

  We went up the stairwell. What a mess this had become.

  You will try to save Blaze, won’t you? I can’t bear to think of him dying when there might be a way to help him at Harker.

  I silently wondered if any of us would make it out alive, but Pepper had been through so much, I didn’t want to crush the little hope she had left. If anyone can get us out of here, it will be Dad. He’s a great tactician, and Marcel will have some trick up his sleeve. You’ll see. It’s not as bad as it seems.

  You don’t believe it. Don’t lie to the person sharing headspace with you.

  Sorry, this is as bad as we’ve faced, and Alyx won’t be dropping in to save us. I have no way to contact the Council for help.

  I know, but we’ll give the Reclaimers a black eye before we go.

  My parents both looked at me like I had three heads when I laughed. “Sorry, Pepper said something funny.”

  “Oh,” was all I got from them. We finished the walk in silence.

  Marcel had a mutant R2-D2 unit sitting in the middle of the floor. “So, I can control this with my tablet, and it will roll over and push the button.” The case protecting the red button had been duct taped, so the button was exposed.

  “Duct tape?” Dad asked in a sarcastic tone. “Couldn’t you take the cover off?”

  “Duct tape fixes everything. Besides, the cover is unbreakable, and I couldn’t budge it.” Marcel eyed the floor while he spoke. “It only needs to work once.”

  “True. What’s the situation outside?” Dad scanned through the camera feeds, his face reflecting his diminishing hope. “They’ve got us surrounded.”

  Marcel sighed deeply. “Yeah, but the good news is they found the escape bay.”

  “What?” Mom sounded incredulous. “How is that a good thing?”

  I reviewed the feeds, and Marcel had it right. Half of the Reclaimers had moved into position around the escape bay doors.

  “When you told me we couldn’t use the vehicles to escape, I opened the doors long enough for them to notice. They moved half their forces to cover the door, and more are headed down the mountain in case we had fled. That leaves only three squads guarding the main exit.”

  Dad clapped Marcel on the shoulder. “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant, Marcel. I wish I knew how they found us. We were so careful.”

  Marcel glanced at me. “Um, they hacked one of the helmet comm-links and traced the signal back to the source.”

  If Marcel had dropped me in acid, I couldn’t have felt any rawer. It all made sense now: Turk wasn’t trying to kill me, he had been after my helmet. I put my hands over my face trying to hide my anguish. “Turk took my helmet. This is all my fault.”

  Dad moved over and put his arm around my shoulder. Mom took my hand in hers. “Tommy,” Dad said, his tone serious, “we don’t know that.”

  But we did. Turk had run off with my helmet and cut a deal with the Protectorate. Tears welled up in my eyes. Everyone was going to die because of me.

  “Honey, Abby lost her helmet, and your Dad’s broke on the way to the translocator. Three helmets aren’t accounted for.”

  My head came up. “Oh. I didn’t know.”

  Marcel added. “Besides, with the way you break gear, I doubt it worked by the time he got it.”

  Leave it to Marcel to know just the right thing to say. I rolled my eyes at him even though it did help.

  Marcel made a face at me. “It doesn’t matter, because we don’t have long before we have company.”

  The two outside cameras at the exits showed portable rocket launchers being set up. In a couple of minutes, the doors would be blown open, and no one in the garage beside Boulder could fight.

  “Marcel, is this thing ready?” Dad pointed at the robot contraption.

  “Yeah, and I rigged a camera to steer it by.” It rolled so it was two feet from the button, a piece of steel aligned to push the button when it moved forward.

  “Let’s go; we need to get to the garage and fast.”

  Dad slung Mom over his shoulder as we ran for the door.

  Do you think we can get out of here? Pepper asked.

  If we don’t, none of us will be alive to care.

  39

  Up the stairs we went, Mom squawking indignantly to be put down. The two vehicles were sitting just inside the entrance, poised to flee. Dad swung Mom off his shoulder; she punched him in the arm. “Don’t do that again, at least not in front of the children.”

  Gross!!!

  Aww, it’s sweet.

  They aren’t your parents. Mom and Dad deserved to be happy after all the years they’d been separated, but I didn’t want to know anything about it.

  Boulder and Mimi joined us at the rear of the garage. They looked as tired as I felt, and we still had a long way to go.

  “I pulled the cars back in case we need a running start to get out of here,” Mom said as she adjusted her combat suit. “Eugene is in the van, and Oliver is in the jeep.”

  Dad nodded. “Makes sense. We’ll put Tommy and Boulder in the jeep, and you and I will take the van and...” He stopped talking as Abby approached.

  Her right hand had blood on it. She held it out and dropped a bright red slug that bounced off the floor. “I took care of my leg.”

  Mom paled. “You did what? You need a doctor.”

  “No, I don’t. The wound is already healing. We’ve got to fight our way out, and I can’t be limping around.”

  Man, she’s got steel balls, Pepper said admiringly. Doing your own surgery; that’s bad-ass.

  “Glad to have you. We’ll need all the help we can get.” Dad didn’t get to add anything else as a huge boom echoed through the cavernous garage.

  The reinforced door shook but held. A second and third blast hit quickly after that. The rocket launcher had started its assault on the outer entry. Marcel checked his tablet. “They are breaching both doors. We don’t have long.”

  The next volley broke part of the door away from the industrial hinges. I realized the vehicles were in the line of fire. I ran to the jeep and shook Waxenby. “Commander Gravity. You need to protect these two cars.” No response.

  A hand settled on my shoulder; it was Mimi. “Let me try.” She sat in the seat next to Waxenby and held his hand. “Head back to the others, Sport. I’ll see if I can get through to him.” She winked at me.

  “Thanks, Mimi.” I returned to the group and heard a gasp of surprise from Mom. A translucent bubble appeared over the two cars, shielding them. Just in time, it turned out, as the last set of projectiles tore the door off the hinges, sending shrapnel flying everywhere. The shield lit up like a pinball machine, but it didn’t break.

  Dad launched into the air;
the garage ceiling might have been twenty feet high, allowing him room to maneuver. Reclaimers shouted orders as their soldiers moved to the edge of the doorway and opened fire. I ran at them, inviting the bullets that would energize me. A piece of rock struck me from behind, knocking me to the ground as energy flooded through my depleted system. I looked back, angry that Boulder had hit me, but saw the blue of a disruptor band about ten feet from where I laid on the concrete floor. I gave a thumbs-up to Boulder, who lifted his chin in acknowledgment.

  Abby grew as she charged, her injured leg barely noticeable. I laid down a fan blast of electricity to make the soldiers take cover and give Abby a chance to close the distance.

  I heard Mom’s sniper rifle firing and saw two soldiers drop in rapid succession. More stone flew, impacting against the walls and soldiers in equal measure.

  “They’ve breached the inner doorways of Castle. We need to blow it soon,” Marcel yelled over the clatter of machine gun fire.

  I got to my feet and raced after Abby. She had dropped five or six soldiers, but they were flanking her, trying to take her out. Outside the entrance, a plateau of about fifty feet held the Reclaimer forces. They were in two groups, with the abandoned rocket launcher set up at the far edge. Off to the right, a gravel road ran through the ravine and held three trucks that had brought the Reclaimers up to fight.

  “Abby, down!” She dropped to one knee. I sped up, stepped on her back, and jumped for all I was worth. As I landed, I directed my punch into the ground, adding all the force I could to the blow. The impact rocked the ground like an earthquake, knocking the soldiers off their feet in the process; it was the break we needed. Dad swooped in, striking at the Reclaimers as they tried to right themselves. Boulder emerged, using his rock encrusted arm like a bludgeon, knocking people out or off the side of the landing. The drop was steep; once you went off, you bounced all the way to the bottom.

  I punched or threw Reclaimers out of the way. Within minutes, we were clear. Mom and Marcel joined us on the landing. Marcel poked at the tablet screen, cursing under his breath.

  “What is it, Marcel?” Dad asked as he landed next to us.

  The tapping became more frantic. “The case I taped up fell and the bot can’t push the button.”

  “So much for duct tape fixing everything,” Abby said sarcastically.

  Marcel’s face darkened. “Well, I’m sure you could have come with something better, Miss—”

  “Stow it!” Dad said, raising his voice. “Marcel, can you get the robot to open it?”

  “No, I built it to roll forward and push the button. The Reclaimers are almost to the center stairs. I’ve got to go back.”

  Dad shook his head. “No, I’ll go. I’ll open the case and return. You can set it off then.”

  “I’ll go.” Boulder had his hands up in front of him as if to stop any arguments. “I’ll run back, put a rock pillar in place so the cover can’t fall and return.”

  I caught his eye. “Boulder, you might not make it back. We need you.”

  “Tommy, I can block off the halls if need be. I’ll be back.” He turned and ran back through the garage.

  Mom stared after him for a moment before clicking into family field-trip mode, or field general mode in this case. “Abby, get Eugene and Oliver into the last Reclaimers’ truck. Tommy, you and your father load all the gear and the food into the back of the trucks. I’ll take care of the other two trucks. Go. When those charges go off, we need to be away from here.”

  Marcel leaned against the wall as we loaded people and gear into the Reclaimers’ troop transport. Each transport had eight huge tires and a metal shell over the rear of the bed, making it safer for the soldiers in the back. I pulled the latch that lowered the rear gate. Twelve white seats equipped with full body restraints stood ready to take us. My palms started to sweat, and I couldn’t breathe right. It looked like the buses we were forced on for our monthly trip to the Block.

  It’s okay, Tommy. Nobody is taking you back. Pepper’s voice soothed over my frayed nerves, lulling my panic attack as she spoke. We are going to get out of here and save Blaze.

  I nodded. Slowly, the panic receded as Pepper talked me through it. Would my memories ever stop haunting me? I didn’t know and wouldn’t until they stopped. Fear and pain linger. I needed to get Waxenby moved and standing here wasn’t doing it. I ran from the truck before it messed with me again.

  Mom shot out the tires for the other two and cut the wires under the dashboard to stop anyone from following. I climbed into the Jeep to get Waxenby moved over. Mimi had her head leaning against the headrest of the back seat. I touched her hand, amazed at the complexity of the tattoos that covered her arms.

  Her eyes snapped open with surprise. “Tiger, you scared me. Had a hell of a brain burn after the fight.” She blinked a few times before she continued. “Are we moving Ollie?”

  “Yeah, there is a military truck we are going to use to get down the mountain. We need to move him fast.”

  She did a seated bow. “Your wish and all that junk.” Her brows furrowed a bit before Waxenby’s eyes opened and he climbed out of the Jeep.

  “That’s...”

  She waved me off as she went in Waxenby’s wake, guiding him to the truck. Abby and Dad carried Blaze but stopped to watch the strange procession as Mimi took him up the ramp and into the seating. I could see Dad was freaked out. Once Waxenby settled in, she exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples with both hands. “Man, I feel like I’ve been kicked by a mule. I think it’d be easier to carry him.”

  “How are you doing that? It’s wicked cool.” I thought back to Wendi’s mom, but she could erase memories or plant false ones.

  Now that would be a handy talent to have.

  No kidding, especially when I pissed off Mom.

  Dad and Abby slid Blaze into a seat, hooking up the restraints so he wouldn’t get hurt. Abby pulled the padding out of another seat and used it to protect Blaze.

  I felt a sob from Pepper. It’s like he’s cargo. He deserves better.

  Once we get him to Harker, the machine should be able to heal him. At least I hoped it would.

  Mom joined us, her sabotage of the other trucks completed. “How much longer until Boulder is back? We need to leave before they realize we’ve taken out their rearguard.”

  As if summoned, Marcel ran over. “We’ve got a big problem.” He held out the tablet, so that we could see. The camera in the control room was pulled up, showing Boulder standing by the button. A wall of stone had grown between him and a group of Reclaimers. He was trapped.

  “We have to go get him.” I looked around, but I didn’t like what I saw. No one moved to go.

  “Bruh, he did it on purpose. He led them to the control room. He never meant to come out.”

  Salvo. Boulder was convinced he’d killed his best friend, and he meant to die and take the Reclaimers with him. About fifty soldiers had entered through the escape hatch.

  “Load up,” Dad said softly.

  I stood rooted to the spot, refusing to give up on him. “We can save him.”

  Mom gripped my elbow. “Honey, he is trying to atone for Salvo’s death. We can’t waste his sacrifice.”

  I glanced at the screen again. Boulder shouted “go!” over and over at the camera. Bullets struck him in the leg and shoulder as we watched.

  “We need to go now!” Dad shouted. He ran to the driver’s door and climbed in. Mom got in the cab with him. Abby and I pushed Marcel up the ramp as Mimi strapped into the seat across from Blaze.

  The ramp closed with a dull thud. I dropped into a seat beside Marcel as the truck started up with a roar. I snatched the tablet; blood flowed from Boulder’s multiple wounds.

  “I’m sorry, Salvo!” he mouthed before reaching over and pushing the self-destruct button. Nothing happened. The soldiers closed on Boulder, firing non-stop, his body jerking like water dropped on a hot skillet.

  We started moving. I pulled myself to the front of the troop sect
ion and pounded on the metal panel. It slid open. Mom’s face popped into view. “The self-destruct didn’t work. Boulder is gone.”

  “Damn,” Dad said as he accelerated into the ravine. “Strap in; we’ve got company.”

  Ahead of us, I could see two trucks blocking the escape route. The engine roared as we tore over the gravel that stood between us and the trucks. I braced myself for impact. Bullets bounced off the front windshield as we crashed into the two vehicles. The one closest to the drop off spun around, sweeping the men behind it as it tumbled down the incline. The other hit the wall; a shower of rocks fell from the force of the impact. I slammed into the side of our truck before bouncing into the aisle. Abby grabbed my arm and threw me into a seat. I snapped the harness around me just in time. It probably saved all our lives; absorbing all the energy from being thrown around could have set me off like a bomb.

  We slowed but kept moving forward. We had made it past the blockade. I felt more than heard the shockwave when the base exploded. I couldn’t see what happened, but our transport arced sideways away from the base, tumbling down the mountainside with a deafening crash as we rolled over trees, rocks, and anything else that stood in its way. I don’t know how many times we flipped and twisted as the truck fell.

  We finally came to rest in a gully near the bottom of the mountain, well away from the Reclaimers. I unbuckled and fell to the roof since we landed upside down. It was just about pitch black; the electrical must have shorted out in the accident. I found the release, but the ramp didn’t budge. I punched as hard as I could, wrapping energy around my arm to increase the impact. The door shuddered and buckled. Two more strikes and the door had bent enough to exit. Abby and I got each of the others from their seats and out the impromptu exit.

  An outcropping of rock had stopped us and held the ramp closed. We sat at the bottom of a low gully; trees grew up on either side of us, except where the transport had knocked them down like bowling pins. Smoke and debris still fell from the explosion. The top of the mountain had been leveled. Nothing could have survived that.