18
The door rolled and the sound of the chaos rushed in.
Sirens, alarms and screaming filled the night as panic washed over the city. The smell of a thousand fires wafted into the garage and stung their eyes. The city services were on the grid. Everything was on the grid. And the grid wasn’t working.
Traffic still filled the streets and the self-piloted cars sped by at full throttle with terrified passengers glued to the windows praying for the batteries to run dry.
Night had fallen and the city lights weren’t helping with the darkness. They flashed in seizure-inducing sequences, switching from one color to the next with no apparent pattern. They painted the streets in a rainbow strobe that made everything appear jerky.
Kat fed the Beast four barrels full of fuel and the truck lurched out onto the street. Glitch bounced in the hole behind the IMP while Savant slid back and forth across the bench seat manning the passenger windows.
Hailey gunned the black SUV into the road behind them with Jake and Mason each covering a window in the rear.
The ride hadn’t improved since Hailey and Jake had arrived earlier. The streets were in complete chaos and the cars were piling up as they plowed into already substantial wrecks that lined the roads.
A cab shot across the road in front of the Beast, forcing Kat to stomp on the brakes. Hailey swerved to the right and came alongside the red SUV. The two trucks rode side by side down the road.
“You want me to start shooting now, Jake?” Glitch asked over the radio from the top of the Beast.
“Only if someone’s in danger. Don’t draw their attention. If they’re content to ignore us, let’s keep it that way.”
Savant scoffed. “I told you idiots already, they’re just being overwhelmed to the point of confusion. They’re following their base programming. They are not, I repeat, they are not being directed.”
“Good. Let’s hope it stays that way.”
“Of course it’s going to stay that way. It’s been that way for hours and it probably took quite a lot to pull this off. Why would it change now? Think, Jake. You never think.”
Jake dropped the mic and just shook his head.
“Why do you keep him around?” Hailey asked.
“Because—as much as it sucks—he’s always right.”
The radio snapped on again and Savant sighed. “Hey, Jake?”
“What is it, Savant?”
“The code just changed. They, uh, they’re being directed now.”
“What?!”
“But they weren’t before and I want to be clear on that.”
A HomeBot 4000 Domestic Assistant charged across the street and leapt onto the black SUV’s running board.
Jake grabbed the handle to roll down the window just as the machine ripped the door off and threw it into the street.
He pulled the trigger on his disruptor and the robot shook as the current enveloped it and shut down its systems. Jake kicked the dead machine from the side of the truck as traffic started steering toward them.
“Kat!” he yelled into the mic. “Get in front of us and have Glitch start clearing a path. Don’t hurt anyone.”
The Beast cut back in front of the SUV. The bloop of the IMP was inaudible to Jake over the sound of the engines and wind rushing by his open door, but the effect was obvious. Vehicles that had swung toward them fizzed and popped as the massive EMP blast ripped through their motors and melted their hoods.
Glitch whooped as he pulled the trigger over and over again. “I don’t know what Mason did to this, but it is hot!”
The street was no longer filled with random vehicles and machines. It was now flooding with cars and bots from across the city. And they were all heading straight for the team.
Glitch’s IMP took out cars as fast as he could pull the trigger and the women behind the wheels avoided the rest, but the smaller machines were getting through.
Jake, Mason and Savant fired out the windows as the machines rushed from apartments and storefronts. BettyCrockerbots ran from the bakeries swinging rolling pins. LawnBots chased after them with hedge clippers. Mary Bottins ran down the street flinging soiled diapers that thwacked against the car in disgusting smears that the windshield wipers were powerless against.
The cobbled-together disruptors held as the team fired at each of the attackers. A Grease Monkey XJ dropped its wrenches and clattered to the ground in a blast of blue current, while its supervisor fell a moment later as Mason unloaded on the AutoBot.
Working together, the teams kept the threat at bay with little more than a few bumps and bangs from the larger traffic on the road. This all changed when they passed the massage parlor.
Rub-It-Out Massage Parlor’s front window exploded and two dozen Masseusenators dashed toward them blaring, “Tell us where you’re tense.” The men fired repeatedly and managed to stop several, but there were too many.
The Masseusenators crawled over the SUVs, their pneumatic hands pounding against metal. The Beast held but Hailey’s SUV was soon rattling from loose body panels.
One of the bots crawled on top of Glitch and began pounding the giant in the back. The cyborg screamed and grabbed the slender robot in his big hands. With one squeeze he crushed its head and tossed it onto the road.
“There’re too many of them,” Hailey yelled as the windshield cracked in a massive spider web. “I can’t see.”
The radio squawked as Savant yelled into the mic. “Activate the Savant cage.”
Mason reached over the back seat and grabbed the makeshift switch. “That’s what we’re calling it?”
“Does it matter?” Jake pulled the disruptor trigger as a Masseusenator reached into the cab. The disruptor sizzled and smoked but did not discharge.
“I refuse to call it that.”
“Just hit it!”
Mason flipped the switch and the SUV was instantly enveloped in the smell of ozone and sparks. The generators pumped their current through the wire cage affixed to the SUV’s exterior and through the Masseusenators.
The parlor bots collapsed to the top of the truck and rolled into the street to be crushed beneath the truck’s wheels.
The Beast sparked a moment later with the same result and dropped another five machines beneath Hailey’s wheels.
They were getting close when a fire truck’s lights lit up the street in front of them. Red strobes flooded their windshields as the service vehicle sped toward them with the sirens blaring. The massive hook and ladder turned sharply across the street and drove through a glass storefront, while the bot on the back cranked the wheel and brought the rear of the truck up onto the opposite sidewalk blocking the entire street.
Hailey and Kat slammed on the brakes that didn’t work so well.
Several F1RST brand SafetyMan 100s stepped from the engine. The powerful machines were built thick. Their servos were strong enough to lift girders. Their skeletons were durable enough to survive a structural collapse. And their skin was built to withstand the most intense heat and shielded from electrical charges.
They came with axes. They came with hoses. One moved toward them with the Jaws of Life chomping at a rate never intended by the manufacturer. Their faces flashed in sync with the emergency lights on the truck as they painted the darkened street a horrifying red.
The bloop of the IMP sounded with no meaningful response. It did knock the helmet from one machine, but that wasn’t enough to stop it. It didn’t even go back for the hat.
It was heartbreaking to see such an iconic and heroic figure moving toward them in such a menacing manner. Firefighters had been heroes since childhood. Everyone’s childhood. It caused Jake to hesitate.
The Beast’s backup lights popped on and the truck shot into reverse.
One of the machines dashed around the red goliath and stood behind it.
Kat slammed into the machine.
It hardly moved an inch. The SafetyMan’s feet were dug into the asphalt and its hands were braced against the Beast�
��s rear.
The Travelall’s tire began to spin and smoke. It wasn’t going anywhere.
Jake grabbed a shotgun and jumped through the hole where his door used to be. He pumped a slug into the chamber. He pulled the stock to his shoulder and swung the barrel toward the SafetyMan 100 behind the Beast.
The first shot knocked the helmet from the machine’s head. He pumped another slug into the shotgun. The second shot went straight into the air as Jake jumped backward. He caught motion out of the corner of his eye and stepped away just as the ax spun past his face and embedded itself in the SUV’s hood.
Jake turned to fire at the ax-throwing first responder.
It was too close. It charged through the street and was almost upon him when it jerked back and the report from Mason’s shotgun sounded.
The SafetyMan reacquired its target quickly and charged once more.
This time a slug caught it in the side as Kat stepped from the Beast with a smoking gun.
The SafetyMan recovered from Kat’s shot and stood. Hailey’s finished it off.
Glitch dropped from the roof and grabbed another machine by the throat in mid-stride as it ran to join the fight. He slammed it against the ground until it stopped moving.
The rest of the engine’s members turned their attention away from the vehicles and focused on the humans that were dumb enough to get out of their cars.
Jake and his team gathered in the middle of the street and frantically reloaded. All except for the computer scientist.
Jake pulled the stock to his shoulder and yelled toward the Beast, “Savant! You want to help us out here?”
“I’m helping just fine from in here thank you.”
“We could really use your help out here!”
“You need it in here more.”
“I think I know better than you what I need!”
“Yeah, you’d think so.”
Kat pumped a shell into her gun. “I really hate him, Jake. So much.”
“And you’re right to hate him, Kat.”
The SafetyMen charged and the team opened up. Shotgun blasts filled the canyon-like street with a thunderous chaos that reigned over the truck’s sirens.
The team pumped slug after slug into the oncoming machines but the firebots did not fall easy. It took seven shots to stop one and though it fell to the ground, the Jaws of Life chomped on.
They were driving another one back when the water started. The blast knocked Hailey from her feet and threw Mason back against the SUV’s hood.
The fire team turned the hose on Kat and she braced herself for the force.
Glitch screamed and jumped in front of the mechanic. His massive chest took the blast of water as he planted his feet.
The firefighters turned up the pressure and Glitch began to struggle with his footing. He growled against the water and found his traction once more. He screamed at the machines, “You leave her alone!”
Piston driven steps propelled the cyborg forward against the insane pressure from the hose. The stream burst across his chest and soaked the streets until water ran into the storm sewers.
The pressure increased once more as a second SafetyMan helped brace the hose as Glitch slowed. But he did not stop. He reached the end of the hose and placed one of his giant hands over the nozzle.
The water stopped.
He reached out with the other hand and grabbed the firebot by the face. He threw the machine aside and let go of the nozzle. It shot away from his palm like a bullet, carrying the other SafetyMan with it back over the truck.
Kat screamed for Glitch as the rest of the team was overrun.
The shotgun blasts were less frequent now as they tried to reload between shots.
The firefighter squad came at them with axes and bare hands that were no less lethal.
An ax came for Jake’s head and he raised the shotgun to block it. He stopped the blade from cleaving his head open but the swing drove him to the ground. The machines were just too strong.
The SafetyMan pulled back to swing again.
Jake dropped the shotgun and drew his pistol. He placed three shots in the machine’s face and it did nothing to stop it.
Hailey screamed as a machine grabbed her. Kat swore as she was knocked to the ground. Glitch screamed and raced back to the group and the firebot swung the ax again.
It stopped inches from his head.
Hailey stopped screaming. Kat kept swearing but with far less fear and much more anger. Glitch arrived in the center of it all.
He shoved one of the frozen machines and watched it topple to the ground. “What the hell happened?”
“I happened!” Savant stood in the turret of the Beast and gloated. “I told you that you wanted me in there.”
Jake pushed over another one of the machines. “What did you do?”
“Ha. I haven’t done anything yet.” Savant ducked back into the Beast to his workstation.
The SafetyMen sprang back to life but they did not attack. They backed away from the team with no threatening moves and gathered their dropped equipment. They then lined up shoulder-to-shoulder and saluted.
“Haha!” Savant was back on the roof.
“What is this?” Kat asked.
Savant was unbearable when he had no reason to gloat. Now he had a reason. “My code-fu is better than their code-fu.”
The fire truck cut its emergency light and silenced the siren. There was a crash of debris and falling glass as the hook and ladder truck backed out of the storefront. It straightened out with the engine pointing toward ZUMR headquarters. The SafetyMen jumped on the truck and settled in until ready to respond at their next destination.
“We’ve now got an escort,” Savant said. “Thanks to me. I just want to make that clear.”
19
The convoy continued to grow.
Whatever Savant had done—everyone wondered but no one cared enough to listen to the explanation—was having a pacifying effect on every machine they encountered.
Cars still swerved toward them and the machines still charged at them, but once they got close enough their aggressive nature disappeared. The machines simply turned to follow the Beast and the black SUV behind the massive fire truck.
By the time they reached ZUMR, more than two hundred and fifty cars and their passengers surrounded them.
“Savant, are you sure its safe to get out?” Jake asked over the radio.
“Duh,” Savant scolded over the radio.
Jake stepped out of the SUV. The cars made no move to charge. The machines that had followed made no move to attack. He turned slowly and saw the passengers looking back at him with questions on their faces and fear in their eyes.
The rest of the team joined him.
“This is eerie,” Hailey said as she looked at the idle machines surrounding them.
Glitch waved an arm at the assembled robots. There was no response. “They’re all just sitting there.”
“This is weird,” Kat said.
“I don’t like it,” Jake agreed.
“Glitch smells,” said Mason.
“I do not. Shut up, Mason.”
“Enough,” Jake silenced them. “As much as it pains us, we have to trust whatever Savant did.”
“Uh,” Savant’s voice filled the radio. “What I did was single handedly quell a robot uprising all by myself.”
Jake shook his head. “Fine. Next we need a plan to get Porter out of there. He’s going to be bunkered in. And he’s losing control, so he’s going to be desperate. There’s no telling how he may act.”
The doors to the ZUMR tower crashed open and Colton Porter came running down the stairs toward them. “Hailey. Oh, thank God you’re here.”
“This is a weird trick,” Kat muttered to Jake.
Colton ran wildly toward Hailey with outstretched arms.
Glitch stepped in front of her and stuck out one of his giant, new hands.
The momentum Colton had built and the force of the punch sent him fl
ipping to the ground.
“That’s for making my junk famous,” Glitch said.
Jake pulled the cyborg back and shouted at Colton. “Get up. Because I owe you one for the video, too.” Colton spit a mouth full of blood onto the street. “I didn’t do this! This isn’t me!”
“Yeah, right.”
“It wasn’t me!” Porter looked to Hailey for help. There was none coming from her.
Hailey made a fist of her own. “The signal is coming from here, Colton. We know you sent out the code to overwhelm the machines. We know when you started directing them to attack us. If it wasn’t for Savant, they’d still be after us.”
Savant stuck his head through the hole in the Beast’s roof. “That’s right.”
“No.” Porter sounded scared. He looked scared. “That… that wasn’t you. It changed from here.”
“Hardly,” Savant snorted.
Jake ignored him and kept his focus on Porter. “So you admit it? That’s a new level of stupid, even for you.”
“No, it wasn’t me, it…”
The front of the ZUMR building exploded into a rain of fire and glass.
The SafetyMan fire team sprang into action. The first truck jumped the curb and pulled onto the pavilion in front of the building. The machines dismounted and set to work with their hoses.
The towering flames faded quickly, and through the smoke and rising steam Jake and Hailey spotted the cause of the explosion at the same time.
“Project Cupcake,” they said together as the walking tank strode forward and kicked the fire truck to the curb.
More glass shattered and the steel window frames snapped as the military giant stepped out of ZUMR headquarters and into the street. The walking tank stood motionless for only a second before the guns on its arms starting spinning up.
“Spinny-gun!” Glitch shouted and ran back to the Beast.
“Everyone duck!” Jake grabbed Hailey and pulled her behind the Beast.
The team scattered as the guns blazed to life.
Chunks of asphalt leapt from the street as bullets buried themselves in the ground. They weren’t even close to where the team was standing. Project Cupcake shifted its feet as it attempted to fine tune its aim.
Junkers Page 13