Freelancer

by Jake Lingwall

  “No. She’s right.” Kari heard Udarh’s faint voice as she was about to order the auto-auto to stop so David’s family could run.

  “What?” Henderson screamed. He sounded rabid.

  “I’m redropping the communication bubble. There’s no way to send the order. I’m sorry, Ka—” Udarh’s voice was cut off as the communication bubble severed all transmissions from the prison.

  Bless you, Udarh! I always liked you.

  David’s siblings cheered, but his parents looked sick. David himself looked a little faint, but his face implied he had known this was going to happen. Kari hated that look.

  “We did it!” the kids yelled. Not quite yet. Kari refocused her attention into one of her drones traveling above the auto-auto. She immediately noticed a military blockade forming down the road. She was still a few miles away from the official border.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “Hold on,” Kari said. She ordered the auto-auto to a halt, causing it to skid to stop. Up ahead, a wave of soldiers had blocked the road. Each of them was supported by several drones, which Kari suspected were of her own invention. Behind the soldiers stood two full-size combat mechs. They were scary looking in her simulations; in real life, they were absolutely terrifying. They had enough firepower to blow her auto-auto to pieces a hundred times over.

  “What is it?” Stacy Pratt asked, trying to be brave.

  “Some . . . turbulence,” Kari said. This is insane.

  Kari ordered her drones to fly high above the mechs and soldiers and wait in the air. If those soldiers’ drones find my hacking drones, they’ll tear them to pieces with their stingers. I suppose I need a distraction.

  Kari sent her dozen cheetahs charging in at full speed. The mechs raised their giant, mechanical blaster arms and unleashed fire. Kari could see the ground tear apart beneath several cheetahs as they exploded into fragments. Inside the auto-auto, the sound of the fight was clear and ominous, and the light from the explosions flashed a deep orange in the windows. David’s siblings started crying again. The remaining cheetahs returned fire, focusing on the ground soldiers. The bullets and energy weapons illuminated the dark, night sky.

  Kari’s hacking drones, which had been hovering above the soldiers, descended to meet the cheetahs that were falling quickly to the mech fire. Now! Kari sent her drones to target the mechs.

  “What’s going on out there?” David asked. Kari watched as the cheetahs dodged the mechs’ explosions and the soldiers’ fire. Several cheetahs dived into the front lines of the soldiers, even as enemy drones that Kari had designed were swarming them and striking them with stinger attacks.

  Her hacking drones made it to the mechs and latched on. Come on . . . come on. Her cheetahs were almost depleted, and most of the drones that had been controlling them had gone down with their hosts. Kari sent the armored vans forward. She wanted to keep the soldiers’ attention distracted.

  “We’ve reached the border,” Kari said between sending orders. The auto-auto was far enough away that they couldn’t make out most of the explosions and gunfire through its tinted windows, just the flashes of light and combat noises.

  “Are we going to be able to make it through if they’re already fighting?” David asked. His confidence in her seemed to waver a little more with each explosion.

  A mech came online for Kari to control.

  “Yes!” Kari cheered, unable to contain her excitement. She ordered the mech to turn and blast the blockade ahead of her to pieces. It lowered its guns and opened fire directly in front of itself. The explosion sent chunks of cement barriers flying through the air. A second later, the other mech came under Kari’s control.

  “What’s going on?” David’s parents asked. The soldiers in front of the barriers scattered, running for cover. Kari ordered the auto-auto forward. We have to get through now before they regroup.

  “Kari,” David said, “promise me my family will be OK.”

  “I’ll do everything I can,” Kari responded, unable to shift her attention back to the car. She couldn’t see his face and was sure her response didn’t have the emotion she felt. She was busy giving orders as fast as she could. One of the SWAT vans had been destroyed, but the other had crossed the barrier in front of their auto-auto. The mechs were firing shots behind the soldiers, close enough to scare them off but not close enough to kill them. With the mechs’ firepower at Kari’s disposal, not killing them was proving to be difficult.

  “That’s not good enough,” David said.

  “I promise you I’ll do everything I can, David,” Kari said while monitoring the fight in front of them. The army base behind the barricade was starting to wake up from its sleep. From her view from her command drone, she could see thousands of soldiers assembling just beyond the barricade. She wouldn’t be able to fight her way through.

  David’s parents argued on the other side of the car. Kari couldn’t blame them. She ordered the mechs to turn around and open fire down the road. She then looked over the camp through the eyes of her command drone. Countless tents and freshly printed buildings were lining both sides of the road. There must be tens of thousands of soldiers here! This was supposed to be a lightly defended zone! Some of the soldiers from the camp were returning fire toward the mechs and her cheetahs. I’m outgunned. I can’t retreat. I’ve failed again.

  “Kari,” David said as he grabbed her arm.

  “David, I’m trying! If you can’t let me focus, we’re all dead!” Kari said harshly. This caused his little sisters to burst anew into tears and his parents to protest.

  “Leave her alone!”

  “Did she say dead?” David’s little brother Daniel asked timidly amid the drama.

  “I believe you can do this,” David said loudly, obviously trying to give his family some courage. “You can do anything.” Well, at least you still believe this is possible, David.

  “I’m trying. I just need a little time to figure this out,” Kari said.

  “Time?” David’s father was incredulous. “You need time to figure this out? This is why we don’t follow the plans of foolish girls!” What was I thinking? There’s no way we can make it through the border with only a handful of drones. Even if we make it through the camp, they’ll shoot us down once we are past it and exposed. For the second time in her life, Kari felt truly trapped.

  “She’s not foolish! And I know you want to be in charge and make the decisions Dad, but right now we need to follow Kari.”

  “David, she’s just a teenage girl, there’s no way she knows what she’s doing!”

  “It doesn’t matter how old she is. She’s brilliant and she’s going save us instead of sitting back and doing nothing. You’re going to have to accept the fact that she’s young and that she’s our only hope.” The passion in David’s voice silenced his father and quieted everyone in the auto-auto.

  “David,” Kari whispered. “We’ve reached the border. We aren’t going to be able to make it through.” It hurt to admit it after the speech he just gave.

  “No,” David said. “I don’t believe it. We didn’t come this far to fail. You want to know why I was upset that day when we fought after school? It wasn’t because you made me look stupid in class; it was because I knew you let me win in the drone fight. I knew you were capable of so much more, and I was so angry that you seemed happy to settle for being like everyone else. Everyone else is awful, but you were always different, and it hurt to see you try so hard to blend in. In prison, I knew it was only a matter of time until you came for us. And now I know you can get us through this.”

  “How?”

  “I’ve been a fan of you since we were young, Kari. I remember when you weren’t afraid to show your brilliance.” David’s words struck her harder than enforcement had ever hit her.

  “You don’t understand.” Kari attempted to explain their impending doom. “They—”

  “You can do it,” David said. “Now, stop talking and figure this out.” Fine. You can do this, Kari.
It’s just another puzzle.

  Puzzle . . .

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Get out of the car.” Kari ordered David’s family unceremoniously.

  “Why?” David’s mother Stacy, asked.

  “Do it now. We’re going to have run part of the way,” Kari said. She ordered her cheetahs and mechs to fire all over the camp. She called back several of her drones that were not currently controlling any other hardware, as well as a single cheetah.

  Kari was the last one to leave the auto-auto. David’s family was huddled outside the car. His parents were trying hard to shield their children’s eyes from the looking down the road, where the battle was still being fought.

  “Follow me,” Kari said. She immediately went running off the road diagonally toward the military camp. David’s family followed behind her. David was still carrying his smallest sister, and his father carried the older girl. One of the mechs under Kari’s control went offline as the barrage of soldier fire finally subdued it. Kari ordered the drones that she had been controlling to fly high over the camp and search for something else to control. Sending orders to her drones while walking through the woods was difficult. She stumbled once or twice but managed to keep herself upright.

  A few more cheetahs went offline; her small force was simply too outgunned. Kari ordered her dwindling army to retreat slightly down the road to where the auto-auto was. She needed the fight to last a little longer. She pushed her way through some bushes and froze. Just beyond her was the edge of the camp. A single soldier was watching the woods, searching for any other attackers. The rest of his comrades appeared to have rushed off to join the battle at the barricade. Perfect.

  Kari ordered the cheetah she had brought with them to attack the soldier. It leaped out of the bush and fired on the lone sentry before he was able to respond. His body absorbed the blast and went limp as he crumbled to the ground. David covered his little sister’s mouth as she tried to scream.

  “Mr. Pratt, I need you to go put on the uniform of that fallen soldier,” Kari said. Before David’s father could protest, she said, “Do it now.” Dutifully, he crept out of the woods and started to take the clothes from the unconscious coastal soldier. Back at the auto-auto, Kari had lost control of all her equipment except for a single cheetah and half a mech. One arm of the mech was completely disabled, whereas the other continued to fire toward the camp.

  Kari checked the camera feed from the drones she had sent searching for new recruits. Not too far in front of them, flying above the camp, was a fully loaded gunship. Gold mine! Kari wasn’t sure if the few drones she had left would be able to take complete control of the gunship, but it was her only chance. She ordered the drones to attack.

  “OK!” David’s father quietly shouted back to Kari and the rest of his family. Kari waved them forward, and they pushed their way through the brush to meet him, who was holding his new weapon and looking for any other soldiers. Kari ordered her drones to fly ahead and scout the area. She kept the last cheetah close to the group in case they needed some protection.

  Kari flipped through her screens. Her army at the barricade was completely destroyed. She ordered her auto-auto to charge toward the border, hoping it would confuse the soldiers for another minute. The drones had landed on the gunship and were currently trying to take control of it. Up ahead, several of her drones found an outdated military truck that was guarded by a single soldier. Kari ordered her cheetah to approach it slowly and then attack the soldier when it was within range.

  “Follow the cheetah,” Kari whispered ahead to David’s father, who was leading the group deeper into the camp. So far, no soldiers had seen their small party. The group inched forward as Kari received the notification that she had lost control of her auto-auto back at the barricade. Another casualty. Suddenly, the gunship came online for Kari to control.

  Hallelujah! The gunship was powerful enough that Kari now believed they had a fighting chance. The group rounded the corner as the cheetah fired on the vehicle guard.

  “Take his weapon, David. Your dad drives,” Kari said. “Everyone else get in the back.” Kari got as close to Jim Pratt as she could and whispered her final instructions.

  “I know you’re not happy about all of this and I know you don’t like me but right now your family needs your help. When we get to whatever gate separates us and the other states, I need you to get us through. Tell them you’re taking troops out on orders to hunt for some Middle Staters who escaped through the camp.”

  He looked Kari over; the veins in his neck and forehead were pulsing which told Kari he was scared. He breathed in deeply, in what Kari assumed was an attempt to calm himself. “I’ll try.”

  “No, you will. This is up to you now. I’ve done all I can.” Kari climbed into the back of the vehicle, sat down next to David, and maximized her view from the gunship. I lied; I haven’t done everything yet.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  The gunship was an astounding piece of technology. It scanned the military camp and its surroundings in seconds, identifying threats and assessing them. Kari didn’t need that information to find her first target; another gunship was already over the ruined barricade, looking for additional enemies.

  The truck lurched forward as David’s father started to drive it manually. I hope those rumors that David’s family has a manual car are true, because I sure have no idea how to drive this thing. Sure enough, the truck moved forward steadily, heading over the rough camp roads toward the Middle States.

  Kari felt David slide his hand on top of hers. Without thinking, she interlaced her fingers with his. What’s happening right now? She didn’t have time to think about it as she ordered her gunship to unleash its full arsenal on the other gunship. She was breathless as she watched the display of sheer force open across the sky. She squeezed David’s hand as the attack landed, causing a massive explosion that echoed across the camp. It was an epic scene that Kari was sure would draw the attention of all the soldiers in the camp.

  The early morning sky was suddenly filled with gunfire all aimed at Kari’s gunship. Kari ordered it to evade the attacks as best as it could while firing at any large equipment it could target, such as mechs. She was trying to use up all the weaponry the gunship had before it was shot down. Judging by the amount of gunfire heading its way, it wasn’t going to last long.

  David rubbed his thumb against Kari’s hand, which caused her to lose focus on the gunship for a split second. I’m in the middle of a military camp fighting for my life, and I’m focused on holding hands? A bump in the road jostled everyone in the back of the truck. For some reason, David’s oldest sister started to laugh. Kari had landed awkwardly, and she was now slightly leaning on David’s side. She didn’t move.

  Kari ordered the gunship to attack the small wall that marked the official border to the Middle States. It unleashed its final barrage, blowing wide-open holes in the border. A well-aimed mech attack then overwhelmed the gunship. Soon, it blinked offline and fell to earth in a blaze of glory.

  Kari returned her full attention to the back of the covered truck, where she found herself snuggled up with David. This isn’t how I pictured life going a few weeks ago. She had only a single cheetah and a single hacking drone, which both followed outside the truck. It wasn’t much, but she decided to focus on them. The view from the drone revealed that they had reached the exit gate a moment before the truck slowed to a stop. This is it. We’ve got to make it through here.

  Kari waved to David and his mother to make sure the girls were silent. David let go of Kari’s hand and gave his little sister to his younger brother. Kari was surprised that she felt more vulnerable without David holding her hand. David picked up the gun he had taken off the soldier who had been guarding the truck and tucked it under his arm in firing position.

  “I’m taking troops out to search for Middle Staters who just made it through our borders,” Kari heard Jim say from the front of the truck. He sounded fairly convincing to her, bu
t she didn’t have much experience talking to soldiers.

  Kari focused on the view from her drone that hovered around the old military truck they were huddled in. The early morning was getting lighter already. Kari should have been exhausted, but her adrenaline was carrying her now.

  “The general’s orders.” David’s father sounded much less confident already. David looked at Kari with concern. She knew what he was thinking already: they weren’t going to open the gates for them. She searched for anything nearby that her lone hacking drone could take control of to help the situation, but there was nothing in sight.

  “You want to see my ID? I want to see your ID!” David’s father’s voice was clearly audible to everyone in the back.

  “Daddy!” David’s youngest sister managed to yell before his brother could cover her mouth.

  David reached over and pushed his mother and sister down and out of the way. Kari ordered the cheetah to open fire on the gate that separated them from freedom. The truck lurched forward as David’s father accelerated to ram through the gate. David opened fire at the unseen enemy outside the truck, shooting wildly, causing Kari to flinch with each gunshot.

  Kari tried to scream for everyone to brace themselves, but she couldn’t hear her own voice over the noise of the gunfire. The truck hit the gate and surged briefly into the air as it smashed its way through. Kari and everyone in the back were thrown forward.

  Kari hit her already-injured head on the side of the truck. Her vision went fuzzy as she tried to figure out what was happening. David had stopped firing his weapon before the impact, so the gunfire was no longer disorienting her ears. The truck rumbled forward, dragging part of the metal gate behind it, as all of David’s siblings screamed. Kari was pretty sure she was screaming as well, but it was hard to be sure.

  Kari tried to check the status of her cheetah, but it was offline. It must have been shot down as they rammed their way through the gate. Kari had nothing left but a single hacking drone and had nothing for it to control. She’d managed to sit back up when the truck lurched forward again, and then it suddenly stopped and fell into a ditch, sending David’s family crashing into each other.