by Marty Chan
“How do you know?”
“We captured Farrier,” he said. “He told us everything.”
“If Ba Tian secures the portal, there will be no stopping his army. We have to get to the island.”
The others agreed, but Tesla pointed out, “We can’t take the exoskeletons with us. They’ll slow us down.”
Amina nodded. “We can’t waste time. Leave them.”
“What’s the fastest way to the Island?” Hexacate asked.
“The train is out. We can’t return to Manhattan. We’d have to sail up the East River.”
Dash beamed. “I know where there are boats.”
Gur-Rahim perked up. “And my mom is the best sailor I know.”
“Would you help us, Hexacate?” Ehrich asked.
“I hate the thought of having to relocate to a new dimension.”
“Then let’s go to the boathouse.”
.
Ehrich sprinted to the nearest boathouse as Amina and the others followed suit. Along the way, Ehrich signalled Charlie, Dash, and Bess to meet him at the pier. When they reached the boathouse, Hexacate and a small group of her travellers prepped three boats for take-off. She swung the boom around, checked the sail, and helped tighten the ropes on the main boat.
Ehrich stood outside watching for his friends and Dash. When he spotted them, Bess was struggling to push the wheelchair through the sand while Dash walked ahead of them. Ehrich ran to help her.
“I’ll take over,” Ehrich said. He gripped the handles on the back of the chair and pushed. The chair dug into the sand.
“Dash, give us a hand,” Ehrich said.
His brother trudged behind the chair.
“Let’s do it together,” Bess said, taking one of the other handles.
As the trio pushed Charlie to the boathouse, Bess eyed Ehrich. “You don’t look any worse for wear. Battle seems to suit you.”
He grinned. “I would rather make coins disappear than this.”
“Well, you weren’t very good at that. I could always see your windows.”
He feigned disgust. “I kept my fingers tight.”
“Not tight enough. You always flashed the coin through these two fingers.” She held up her first and middle fingers, parting them slightly to show Ehrich the mistake he had made.
“Well, that’s because you know what you’re looking for.”
“Either that or you’re a terrible magician.”
Dash quipped. “He’s a terrible magician.”
“You think you can do better, Bess?” Ehrich asked.
“Without a doubt.”
Charlie covered his ears and groaned. “Enough. Enough already. Why don’t you just kiss and get it over with?”
Ehrich and Bess gasped, “What?”
“The way you two go on, it’s obvious there’s something between you. Ehrich, you haven’t taken your eyes off Bess since you found her. And Bess, you’ve talked about him until my ears nearly bled. Just admit you like each other.”
“I do not,” Bess said.
“You don’t?” Ehrich said, before catching himself. “I mean, I don’t … It’s not … Well …”
Dash laughed. “Ehrich likes Bess. Ehrich likes Bess.”
“What … no … I mean …”
Charlie laughed. “Easy there, smooth talker. I’m not judging you. I’m just saying life’s too short to play coy.”
Ehrich and Bess said nothing more. When they arrived at the boathouse, Amina and Tesla rushed out to help them. Charlie’s condition was going to be a problem if they had to move quickly on the island.
Amina shot a look at Ehrich. He mouthed, “I know.”
Bess struggled to push the chair through the narrow doorway of the boathouse while Dash directed the chair forward.
“Charlie, I’m sorry about this, but we need stealth on the island,” Ehrich said. “You’re going to have to sit this one out.”
“There is no blasted way you’re keeping me out of this fight. Now that I have the taste for battle again, I want more. I can help you. Maybe not with the actual fighting, but I can report positions and advantages to you.” He held up the communicator.
“On the island, we’ll have to move fast to get to Demon Gate. I don’t want you to slow us down.”
“I’ll be the best help you’ll ever have. The hunters aren’t just going to let you waltz down to Demon Gate. They know me. I can lead you down there. They see you, they’re going to clap you in irons.”
Tesla nodded. “We are still on their wanted list, Ehrich. The boy does have a point.”
“But we can barely get him in the boat.”
Bess put her foot down. “We’re running out of time arguing. Either load him in the boat or don’t, but this talk isn’t doing any of us any good.”
Ehrich relented and loaded Charlie and his wheelchair onto the boat. They pushed off and set sail. Hexacate steered the tiller, turning the boat into the choppy water. She unfurled the sail as they left the boathouse and angled it to catch a strong wind. The boat surged ahead, rocking up and down as it skirted the ocean waves. Behind them, the other travellers manned the two smaller boats and kept pace.
.
A half-hour later, they were heading around the bend of Coney Island and toward the mouth of the East River. As the boat travelled up the river, Ehrich made his way to the prow and clung to the gunwale. The choppy waters threatened to buck the boat over at any time, but Hexacate didn’t seem to be panicked. Ehrich took this as a good sign as he scanned the horizon ahead.
Bess slid in beside him and crossed her arms over her chest against the biting wind. He offered her his jacket but she waved him off. “I’m fine. The cold air is keeping me alert.”
“You don’t have to be part of this battle, Bess. We could drop you off at any point.”
“I’ve committed myself. I can’t back away now.”
“Yes, but you’ve done more than enough for us.”
“Don’t be patronizing, Ehrich. You’ve kept me out of harm’s way for most of this, and I should remind you that I can take care of myself.”
He smiled. “Yes, I don’t doubt that for a minute. I don’t want to take any more chances.”
“Listen to me, Ehrich. Protecting me like I’m some delicate flower is the surest way to lose me.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that since I lost Dash to Kifo, I’ve been overcautious with the people I care about.”
She stopped for a minute. “You care about me?”
Silence. He hadn’t expected to talk to Bess about his feelings right before launching into the final battle, but now he found himself sinking in the mire of a serious discussion, and he wasn’t even sure how he felt himself. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to be with Bess, but he was torn.
The only way to be with her was to remain in this dimension, and he had already promised Dash that he would get his brother home. With all that Dash had suffered, Ehrich couldn’t even consider asking the boy to give up more. He needed to return Dash home to their own world and their parents. In order to do that, Ehrich would have to put his brother ahead of Bess, and he wasn’t able to bring himself to admit that just yet.
Suddenly, a hard punch to his arm shook him out of his thoughts. “You’re not slipping away that easily, Ehrich. I care about you as well, but I’m not about to shove you behind me so I can protect you. I don’t need a knight. I need to help.”
“Ow, you pack a mean punch.”
“Don’t you forget it. I can add a lot to this team if you stop seeing me as a girl and start seeing me the way you see Amina.”
Ehrich cut short a laugh. “You know that Amina is a girl.”
She shook her head. “That’s not the point. I mean you treat her more like an equal. A warrior. You’re not afraid when she goes int
o battle. It’s like you trust her to take care of herself, but you don’t trust me.”
“She’s seen more fights than either of us combined, Bess. She’s used to this.”
“I might not have seen as many fights, but I know how to keep my eyes open. If I get into anything I can’t handle, I can back off. I don’t need you to be looking over my shoulder or getting distracted from what you’re doing because you think I need to be rescued.”
“I’m sorry, Bess. I didn’t realize that’s how I’ve been treating you. What can I do?”
“You can stop worrying about me like a dog looking out for its master. You need to focus. I’m not about to be the reason you lose this war.”
He slowly nodded. “I’ve got to keep my head on straight.”
“Exactly.”
To that end, Ehrich turned his attention to the river and Devil’s Island in the distance. At first he thought a thunderstorm was blowing into New York. Flashes lit up the sky, but they were low on the horizon. He turned back to Tesla. “Sir, does that look like a storm to you?”
Tesla craned his neck to get a better view. He shook his head. “That’s not a storm. That’s a firefight.”
Charlie nodded. “Yes, I’d recognize Teslatron fire anywhere. Looks like Ba Tian’s forces have reached the island.”
Ehrich yelled back at Hexacate and her son. “Is there any way you can get us there faster?”
She shook her head. “I can only go as fast as the wind can carry us.”
“Then we had better hope the hunters can hold off the exoskeletons,” Ehrich said.
He gripped the sides of the boat and gritted his teeth. He had hoped Edison’s fighters might be able to defend the island against the exoskeletons. As long as he could see flashes of light, it meant the hunters were still fighting. Maybe it was his imagination, but the flashes seemed to dwindle.
.
Finally, the boat landed on Devil’s Island. Ehrich hopped out first. He could see the extent of the damage. Ba Tian’s exoskeleton forces seemed to have been split between the main compound and the hunter barracks. There were more machines here than on Coney Island. Ehrich counted at least 60 units spread across the field. The bulk of the hunter defenses had fallen back to the compound. Most of the exoskeletons were marching on the compound while twenty split off to the right to engage a smaller group of hunters trying to defend the barracks.
The others joined Ehrich and surveyed the battlefield. He turned to Amina. “What do you think?”
“Demon Gate is his goal, but his forces are too strong for us to take down with these handheld weapons. We’d be better off taking down the exoskeletons at the barracks and using them to attack the other forces.”
Bess shook her head. “We’d still be outnumbered.”
Tesla pointed out, “It seems to me that we don’t need to defeat the exoskeleton machines out here. They are too large to get into the lower depths of Demon Gate. Ba Tian will have to leave behind the exoskeletons. We just need to go down there before he and his forces do.”
Amina agreed, “We need to find a way to keep most of his units occupied up here.”
“There are too many of them,” Dash pointed out.
“Then we go with Amina’s idea. Take control of the units attacking the barracks,” Bess said. “Misdirection.”
Ehrich beamed. “Yes. If we can convince the hunters we’re on their side, we might have the distraction we need.”
Charlie’s Day
The group moved on the exoskeletons at the barracks. The two-storey building lit up with lights as hunters took positions at the windows and fired down on the exoskeletons. The twenty units were advancing on the building, forcing back the ten hunters who defended the front entrance. Ehrich directed Hexacate and her travellers to sneak behind the exoskeletons. He signalled the coordinated attack.
One striker yanked open the hatch while the other fired into the cockpit, knocking out the pilot. They repeated this ploy six times, securing half a dozen of the units.
Ehrich climbed into his unit and hauled his brother up to join him. He closed the hatch, then operated the controls to aim the weapon turret at the servo of the unit in front of him. He waited until the others were in position. Then he raised the machine arm and signalled for everyone to fire at their targets. Five explosions rocked the area as the next row of exoskeletons went down. Ehrich then adjusted the aim and fired upon the next unit. They’d have enough time to take down at least another three or four units before the rest turned around.
He hit his mark as did Bess and Amina. The others missed, leaving nine units left to face them. The exoskeletons turned to meet the new enemy. Ehrich and his group used the inert units as cover. He hopped out of his cockpit, leaving Dash to pilot it. Amina and Bess joined him on the ground.
“We need to get behind them,” Ehrich said.
“The hunters will fire on us,” Amina pointed out.
“Not if Charlie is with us,” Bess said.
“She’s right. We need Charlie.”
They rushed to the edge of the battlefield. Bess led the way while Ehrich and Amina pushed Charlie ahead. Hexacate’s forces met head-on with the remaining exoskeletons. Farrier’s men were too busy concentrating their fire on the attacking exoskeletons to notice Ehrich and his group slip past.
Charlie ordered, “I need one of you to get me to the hunters.”
“I’ll do it,” Bess said. “You two are probably still on the most wanted list.”
Ehrich cracked a smile and grabbed Amina. They headed to the nearest attacking unit so they could climb into the cockpit. Energy beams lit up the air, forcing them to duck. They had to retreat from the Teslatron rifles firing at them.
Bess wheeled Charlie to the barracks. He waved and screamed, “Cease fire! We’re on your side. Hold your fire!”
Two fighters took aim at Charlie and Bess, but a third one signalled them to lower their weapons. It was Elizabeth, one of the hunters who had visited Charlie at the home. “What in tarnation are you doing here?”
“Long story, but the short version is we’re here to help you take down those machines. Watch and learn.”
Now that the hunters had stopped firing, Ehrich and Amina sprinted to the unit. He pulled open the hatch and she fired inside. The unit went inert.
Charlie yelled, “Elizabeth, their weak spot is underneath the unit, but you can also take them down if you fire into the servo pack on their backs, but the pistols and rifles aren’t going to do the damage. The real impact is if you take the reins of these big bad giants and let loose.”
The hunters gathered around Charlie but Bess was impatient. “Better to show than to tell.” She hopped up into the cockpit and closed the hatch.
The machine swivelled around and took aim at the nearest unit. Bess gripped the toggle on the handle and fired into the back of the unit, igniting sparks and rendering the iron giant inert like so many of the others in the metal graveyard. She advanced on the next unit and repeated the action.
Below, Charlie directed the hunters to split up the other units and steal under them as Ehrich and Amina had done. They were quick to pick up on the trick and were able to incapacitate the pilots in the remaining units of the attack force.
Ehrich beamed at the successful raid as he waved Dash and Bess over. The younger Weisz climbed out of his cockpit and waited for Bess to come out of hers. Together, they jogged over and joined the others. As soon as the hunters saw the travellers, they raised their weapons.
Charlie wheeled over to them and waved his arms frantically. “No, no. They’re on our side. They’re all with me.”
“What are you doing with Dimensionals?” one fighter asked.
“They are here to help fight the invaders. You want to arrest the only people who can help you save Devil’s Island? Go ahead. I aim to keep the island from falling into enemy hands
. You with me or against me?”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He wheeled to the nearest operational unit and lifted his arm. Hexacate rushed over to help lift Charlie into the unit. He peeked out. “I can’t work the pedals. Who’s coming in to help me?”
The hunters glanced at each other. One slowly raised her hand and jogged over to climb into the unit. Ehrich and his companions directed the others into the remaining functional units and taught them the basics of the controls. Hexacate and her forces then returned to their units to prepare for the final attack.
Ehrich, Amina, Tesla, Bess, and Dash remained on the ground. Ehrich explained to the others, “We have to get down to Demon Gate and stop Ba Tian from using the portal. If we can get there before him, I might be able to destroy the controls. If he’s there, we might have to fight.”
Tesla picked up one of the rifles and eyed it. “I think I have a way to destroy the machinery. I can turn this into a bomb.”
Amina nodded. “Good idea. Let’s blow up the gate and make sure that Ba Tian never has a chance to use it.”
Dash argued, “But isn’t that our only way home?”
Ehrich hesitated. “I’m sure we can find another way back.”
“You promised you’d take me home.”
Ehrich glanced at the others, searching for an answer. “Dash, if there’s a way we can stop Ba Tian without destroying the portal, we’ll do it, but we need this bomb as a last resort.”
“Are you sure you want to go back home?”
“Why would you think that?”
Dash mumbled, “I saw you with Bess. You like her. I can see that. Everyone can see that.”
“I made a promise, Dash, and I will keep it. Trust me.”
Dash nodded.
Ehrich turned to the others. “Let’s get down there first and see what the situation is. I haven’t seen Ba Tian, Kifo, or Ole Lukoje among the exoskeletons, so maybe they’re directing the battle from the shore.”
The group made their way along the edge of the battle to the headquarters building. The fighting was fierce between the hunters and the larger force of exoskeletons. Charlie led his force of exoskeletons to attack from behind. Though they had smaller numbers, they had the element of surprise. A dozen units fell within the first attack, but the others swivelled around to match up against their counterparts. All Charlie had to do was distract the main forces long enough for Ehrich and his allies to slip past them.