by Jon S. Lewis
The roof fell, trapping Koenig’s bodyguard inside as alarms sounded and the sprinkler system spit out water. Colt landed clumsily and fell forward, dumping Danielle on the ground. Her head bounced off the carpet as Colt flipped over. The engines of his jet pack were still engaged, sending him reeling into the wall. He double clicked the red button and the engines shut down.
“Are you okay?” Oz asked from across the hall. He was running toward them as water fell from the ceiling.
“Yeah. Fine,” Colt said, though he felt dizzy. “Dani’s not conscious—can you shut her biochip down?”
“I don’t know. The stupid remote isn’t in English.”
Danielle’s eyes popped open and her hand shot out to grab Oz around the throat. Before he could react, she kicked him in the ribs. He fell back and she turned her attention to Colt.
“Dani, what are you doing?” Colt asked. She was walking toward him, her eyes glowing red.
Oz ran up behind her and snaked his arms beneath hers, locking his fingers behind her neck. “I’ll take care of her. You go to the control room and shut them down.”
“Don’t hurt her!”
“Go!”
Danielle fought to break free, but Oz held tight. She slammed the back of her head against his nose and there was a loud crack. Blood flew. Oz staggered back, his eyes tearing up as Danielle walked toward Colt again.
“I said get out of here!” Oz shouted. He launched at Danielle, tackling her around the knees. She fell, but scrambled around so she was lying on her back. Oz tried to pin her, but she kicked at him with both feet and he flew backward, smashing into the wall, breaking the drywall.
Colt fled.
Guilt gripped at Colt as he made his way through the halls. It took every ounce of concentration to move forward. He wanted to go back and help Oz, though as he thought about it, if he wanted to be honest, Colt really just wanted to make sure that Oz didn’t hurt Dani.
He hoped that Koenig’s bodyguard truly was trapped, but even if he was, that still left Koenig. With each step toward the control room, anger grew inside of him, all of it focused on the president of Trident Biotech.
Reaching the control room undetected wasn’t easy. With the alarms sounding, the halls were wild with activity. Most of the employees were running for the stairs, hoping to get out of the building before it burned down. Colt looked in a few rooms to see if he could find Koenig, but they were all empty.
When he finally got to the control room, there was a touch pad hanging on the wall near the door. Colt lifted his fingertips to the screen, and green circles lit up. The door clicked open.
Inside, the room was empty. Colt couldn’t stop thinking that something was off. He glanced around the room, though he had no idea what he was looking for . . . Koenig’s bodyguard . . . one of the Thule . . . maybe even Koenig himself. There was nothing, so Colt sat down at a control console.
He reached into his pocket to pull out the flash drive with the virus, then placed it into a USB port. A folder popped up on the screen and Colt double clicked on the icon. As he activated the virus, the door opened behind him. Instead of Koenig’s bodyguard, another crimson Sentry, just like the robot near the stairwell, burst into the room holding a gun. It took aim at Colt and pulled the trigger, releasing a ball of energy that burst from the barrel.
Colt ducked and dove off the chair before rolling on his shoulder across the floor. Boom! A monitor blew up. Colt came up on one knee before reaching into a pouch to pull out a grenade. As he punched the sequence, the robot came after him, tossing chairs aside and leaping over a console filled with monitors.
Colt ran, trying to activate the grenade, but it slipped out of his hands. The robot was closing in and Colt pushed a rolling chair in front of it.
“Stop!” the robot commanded as it leveled its gun. Colt ducked and the shot flew past him to shatter a window. He reached into his pouch to pull out another concussion grenade, and this time he was able to set it. He rolled it toward the robot before reaching for another.
Waves of energy shot from the robot’s weapon. Colt looked at the open window, knowing there was only one way out. He hoped the virus was done uploading, but there was no way he could check—not without getting his head blown off. He set two more grenades, tossed them over his shoulder, and ran toward the broken window. Blasts from the robot’s energy weapon burst against the wall as the first grenade exploded.
Colt looked over his shoulder. The blast had sent the robot hurtling into the air.
The window was only a few feet away and Colt didn’t stop. He leapt through the broken window and his stomach lurched as he fell. He hit the ignition switch on the jet pack, but it sputtered. Flames leapt out of the jets as Colt shot into the night . . . but it wasn’t far enough.
There were two more explosions, and the force from the blasts sent him flying head over heels. The jet pack sputtered and then stalled. Colt fell, punching the ignition switch in desperation before it sputtered again.
: : CHAPTER 53 : :
Sparks flew out of the jets, but they didn’t start. Colt hit the ignition switch once more, and it sputtered again. The ground was closing in and he tried again. There were more sparks, and then, with a whoosh, the jets ignited. Colt was heading toward the pavement.
He arched his back and braced for an impact that never happened. As he shot back into the sky, he risked a glance and saw the world growing smaller below him. He spun and whooped as the rush of wind pulled at his cheeks and whipped through his hair.
Then he remembered Danielle, and elation turned to fear. Colt circled back toward the main tower, hoping that Oz had found a way to shut her biochip down.
One explosion followed another as flares of light lit up the sky. The corporate headquarters of Trident Biotech had turned into a war zone. Smoke billowed from the guard tower at the front entry as a convoy of black trucks sped through the gate and toward the main building.
People were running across the lawn, trying to get as far away as they could. White lights flashed like dotted lines in the darkness as men fired strange weapons. Colt looked for Koenig, but from that altitude everyone looked like tiny dots.
All that Colt could see in detail were a pair of machines that were at least twenty feet tall. He recognized them from the hologram game at Oz’s house. They were called Trackers, and the Thule used them to round up humans that had escaped from internment camps.
The Trackers were rough like relics from the Second World War, with dents and scratches. Still they were menacing as they towered over the lawn. Inside, Colt knew, a team of mechanics, engineers, drivers, and soldiers manned each machine. The Trackers’ enormous eyes shone like floodlights as men fired at them, the ammunition bouncing off their iron hides.
Each Tracker had a gun turret with a cannon mounted on top. One took aim at an approaching truck. There was an explosion as the truck was blown off the road. The battered vehicle spun as it flew into the lawn, rolling before it smashed into a tree.
The second Tracker took aim at another truck. Its first shot missed, but not the second. The front end of the truck burst into flame as the windshield shattered. Its back end lifted off the ground before it bounced on the pavement. Somehow the driver managed to open his door and stumble into the circular drive. He took three steps before he fell.
Colt could see that the men in those trucks were CHAOS agents. It was an impressive response time, but they were outgunned. Trident assassins were pouring out of the building, joining the Trackers. Colt thought that he saw one of the Thule, and he wondered if Koenig’s assistant had escaped from the wreckage in his office. Then he saw another, running amidst a horde of corporate employees. The janitor who nearly spotted Colt and Oz in the rest room was there as well, and they all looked terrified.
As Colt scanned the bedlam looking for Oz and Danielle, he saw a CHAOS agent take aim at a Sentry. The blast from his pulse rifle hit the robot in the chest. It stumbled back but kept its footing and raised a clawed hand. A s
phere of crackling energy formed between the prongs. Then it fired. The plasma charge enveloped the CHAOS agent before expanding. In a flash it was gone, and so was the agent.
Bolts of light burst in the sky all around Colt. He looked down to see another Sentry shooting at him. He spun like a corkscrew as he climbed in the air, trying to get out of range. The Sentry turned its attention to easier prey.
Not far away, smoke was streaming from the windows of the control center where Colt had detonated the concussion grenades. He thought about going back in through the window to look for his friends, but the roar of helicopter blades distracted him.
Colt turned to see the airship that Agent Richmond had used to rescue them from the highway patrolman. The gun that jutted out from under its belly opened fire, chewing up the ground around one of the Trackers. The robot’s gun turret swiveled before it took aim. Bolts of energy raced toward the airship, but none found a target.
One by one, CHAOS agents dove from an open door in the side of the airship, igniting their jet packs. The glow from their exhaust dotted the sky like fireflies on a summer’s night. Then the propellers on the airship rotated forty-five degrees until it was hovering in place.
It sent two missiles rocketing toward one of the giant robots. The first hit the Tracker in one of its eyes. An explosion sent glass flying and the second missile caught the Tracker on the knee. There was a loud pop followed by a bang. The leg crumpled and the Tracker fell.
The cannon on top of the second Tracker unleashed a relentless volley at the airship. Sparks flew from its iron hide, and the cockpit windows shattered. One of the engines burst into flame before it started to fall. One propeller wasn’t enough to keep the airship afloat. More CHAOS agents jumped as the airship started to spin.
The body of the airship crumpled as it crashed into the lawn. Colt flew toward the wreck as someone emerged from the flames. It was D3X, with Agent Richmond limping at his side. One of the Thule took aim at them with two plasma rifles. D3X pushed Agent Richmond to the ground before absorbing the punishment. The energy blasts hit the robot’s shoulder, then its chest. D3X raised an arm and a beam of light shot out from its palm, knocking the Thule to the ground. It didn’t get up.
CHAOS agents in jet packs swarmed around the last Tracker like bees attacking a grizzly, but their weapons were useless. Its iron hide was too thick. Without the airship, there wasn’t much they could do. The cannon on the robot’s turret erupted and trucks exploded as asphalt and metal shot into the air.
Colt spotted two figures on the front steps of the tower. They were tucked behind a pillar, hiding. Oz was holding Danielle in his arms.
Colt sped toward them. A Sentry robot took aim, releasing a volley that followed Colt across the sky, but nothing connected. Colt risked a glance just as a CHAOS agent shot a grenade launcher. The Sentry exploded in a cloud of metal and circuitry.
Colt lost track of where he was, and when he turned back around he had to cut the engine of his jetpack. He was going too fast and the landing was hard. Something popped in his ankle before he fell, sliding across the pavement. His shoulder took the brunt of the punishment, but his ankle flared when he tried to stand. Colt had to hop on one foot until he could keep his balance.
Danielle’s head was flopped back, and her arms and legs were dangling. “Is she . . . ?” Colt didn’t dare finish the sentence.
“She’s alive,” Oz said. His face was grim and his arms were shaking as he set her down.
“What happened?”
“I have no idea. I just kept hitting buttons until her eyes faded.”
“Have you seen Koenig?”
Oz shook his head, but his eyes lit up when he spotted the Tracker.
Colt followed his gaze.
“That’s not supposed to be on our side of the gateway,” Oz said.
“Do you think Trident found another opening?”
“I didn’t think they could tear the fabric enough to let stuff that big cross over.”
“Wait, do you think they reopened the bridge between our worlds?”
“Let’s hope not,” Oz said. “Or this might be our last night on Earth.”
An errant blast struck the building above where they were standing. Oz hunched protectively over Danielle as they were showered with debris.
“We have to get you out of here,” Colt said.
Oz was looking past Colt, to the sky. At first his eyes were narrowed, but then he smiled. The Phantom Flyer was descending into the mayhem.
: : CHAPTER 54 : :
Just like when he appeared in his comic books, the Phantom Flyer was clad in army green with a white star on the front of his helmet and a green gas mask covering his face. He took aim with his pulse rifle at one of the Sentries and with one shot, the robot was obliterated.
“I wish I had a video camera,” Oz said.
A Trident assassin shot at the Phantom Flyer, hitting one of the tanks on his jet pack. Sparks flew as the wartime hero was knocked off course. He tumbled through the air, but quickly gained control. When he spotted the assassin, he dove.
The assassin fired again, but the Phantom Flyer dipped to the left and the shot went errant. As he flew past the assassin, he brought the butt of his rifle down on the man’s head. The Trident assassin fell to the ground, unconscious.
Two crimson ultralights came into view. Their guns fired at the Phantom Flyer, but missed. The errant shots tore into the ground as the Phantom Flyer burst straight up. The Trident assassins gave chase.
Colt could see the glow of the Phantom Flyer’s jet pack as it cut through the night. The ultralights spat rounds of ammunition, but the Phantom Flyer kept going. Left then right. Up then down. It was an erratic pattern, but the ultralights kept pace.
The Phantom Flyer cut his engine. He started to fall, but when the ultralights blew past him, he reignited the engine and gave chase. The men on the ultralights looked over their shoulders, trying to spot their pursuer. One banked hard to the right while the other dipped to left with the Phantom Flyer following close behind.
When he caught up with the ultralight, the Phantom Flyer grabbed the pilot under his arms and lifted him into the air. The ultralight fell away as the Phantom Flyer let go. The pilot kicked his legs and waved his arms as he fell, but once the panic lifted, he pulled the rip cord on his parachute. The ultralight crashed into the ground in a fury of fire.
The second ultralight came back around, screaming toward the Phantom Flyer as bolts of energy shot from the guns beneath its wings. The Phantom Flyer hovered in place as it approached and somehow the bolts missed.
Then, at the last possible second, the Phantom Flyer shot straight up. The ultralight passed below him, but not before the Phantom Flyer grabbed the pilot by the straps of his parachute. In a burst, the Phantom Flyer shot toward the ground, where he let go of the pilot. The man tried to land on his feet, but he ended up tumbling before he came to a hard stop against a fence.
The Phantom Flyer pulled up, stopping to make sure the man was okay. Then he turned—and a blast from the Tracker’s cannon struck his jet pack. There was a spark of light as he lost control, flying erratically as smoke issued from his tanks. Then he fell.
Colt turned to Oz. “Can you carry Danielle to one of the CHAOS trucks?”
“I think so.”
“I’ll be there in a minute.” Colt ignited the engine on his jet pack and launched into the air. He spotted the smoke coming from the Phantom Flyer’s engine. Landing was going to be painful. He slowed, then hovered for a moment before he cut the engine.
Pain shot up his leg when he hit the ground. Colt lay there, holding his ankle as he gritted his teeth. Then he rolled over, deciding it would be easier to crawl than to walk.
Colt found the Phantom Flyer lying on his side in the grass. His helmet had fallen away and he had pulled off his leather mask, revealing silver hair. There was blood flowing from a cut above his eye and his gas mask was askew, but he was breathing.
The Phantom Fl
yer groaned as Colt reached to gently pull the gas mask away. “Grandpa?”
His grandfather opened his eyes and took Colt’s hand. “Did you find Dani?”
Colt nodded. There was a lump in his throat. He couldn’t speak.
“Good.” Grandpa McAlister coughed before wincing in pain.
“Grandpa . . .”
“I’ll be fine.”
The ground shook and Colt looked up to see the Tracker approaching. It took another step and the ground shook again as its bright eyes scanned the grounds like floodlights.
Grandpa McAlister tried to sit up, but he didn’t have the strength. “We have to take it out.”
“How?”
“Where’s my rifle?”
Colt strained, but it was too dark. He couldn’t see it.
“Here,” Grandpa said after reaching into a pouch on his ammunition belt. “It’s a magnetic grenade. Find my gun and load it into the launcher under the barrel. I only have one, so you need to make it count.”
Colt took the grenade in his hand. It looked like a giant bullet with a shiny metal casing. Then he looked at his grandpa, wondering if the doubt he felt was evident on his face.
“You’ll do just fine,” Grandpa McAlister said.
Colt tried to stand, but his ankle wouldn’t bear his weight. He crawled again, searching for the gun with his hands. The ground rattled as the Tracker drew near. It was close enough for Colt to see the rivets holding it together. He looked at his grandfather. “I’ll be right back.”
“Colt, wait!”
It was too late. Colt ignited the engine on his jet pack before he burst into the sky. Laser blasts followed him, each missing its target as Colt flew toward the Tracker. The gun turret turned toward him as the cannon lowered. Colt dipped down, and the cannon followed as a spray of energy bolts erupted from the barrel. Colt rolled away before banking hard to the right.
More gunfire shot at him from below and the sky was alive with ammunition. Colt gripped the magnetic grenade in his hand as he pulled up. The turret spun toward him once more and as Colt activated the grenade, the cannon took aim. Colt pulled his arm back. The turret stopped. Colt threw the grenade as the cannon fired.