Foundry of the Gods (Corrosive Knights Book 6)

by E. R. Torre

  Laverna was trapped between them.

  38

  Keep still, the voice within Laverna’s head urged.

  “They’re so close,” she whispered.

  Stay still. And by all that’s holy, keep quiet!

  The creature nearest to her kept swiveling its head faster and faster until it was a metallic blur.

  Abruptly, the movement stopped and the creature stared directly at Laverna.

  You haven’t been spotted, the voice in her head insisted. It doesn’t see you.

  The creature took a step closer.

  Despite her terror, Laverna kept still. Despite every instinct in her body telling her to move, she kept so very—

  Suddenly, the creature walked toward her. It sped up. Its walk turned into a run. It took three steps before jumping.

  It flew directly over Laverna and its claws locked into the wall of the building behind her. It climbed that wall in moments and disappeared.

  Move, now!

  Laverna hit the hovercycle’s accelerator.

  In almost complete silence and under a distorted visual field she raced down the Bordertown streets and away from the three remaining creatures.

  The hovercycle approached one of the city’s western exits.

  Laverna struggled to make out what lay before her even as she searched for more of the machine creatures.

  How many are there? she wondered.

  As it turned out, at least two more.

  They moved along the rooftops of the buildings beside her and converged on a common point, the Bordertown exit she hoped to use to get out.

  Shit.

  The creatures –however many of them there were– were closing the town off and making sure anyone within would not escape.

  Laverna looked back to see if any of them followed.

  The voice in her head again spoke.

  Head north.

  Laverna pulled the hovercycle’s handlebars to her left.

  She did as told.

  Laverna found a narrow alley and made a sharp turn into it. Around her was inky darkness and she could see no more than a few feet ahead. Despite this, she didn’t dare turn the hovercycle’s lights on.

  She slowed considerably while dodging garbage cans, boxes, and other debris. Halfway through the alley she slammed on her brakes. Her stop was abrupt and the bottom of the hover cycle scraped the trash-filled road. This action created a small shower of sparks.

  Before her were two more of those metallic creatures.

  “By the Gods,” Laverna muttered.

  She tried to back up but stopped. Another creature appeared at the alley’s entrance and directly behind her.

  Though she was trapped between them, the creatures did not attack. If anything, they appeared confused. They sensed movement between them and heard the scraping of metal against road but the hovercycle’s Camouflage Unit didn’t give them a clear picture of who, or what, lay between.

  Nonetheless they approached each other. Blind as they were to Laverna’s presence, they were determined to investigate. Laverna kept her vehicle pointed forward.

  All I need is a little space to get past them. A little space…

  Another noise came from behind the two creatures before her. Instantly, all three of them looked that way.

  Someone stepped into the alley and stood at its end.

  Though mostly hidden in darkness, Laverna could tell it was a single man.

  Not just any man. Someone she was familiar with.

  The metallic creatures raised their arms and internal machinery within came to fearsome life. Weapons emerged from their arms’ smooth surfaces.

  Sensing opportunity, Laverna pressed down hard on the hovercycle’s throttle. Her engine roared despite the Camouflage cover and the cycle shot forward. Laverna tried making it past the two creatures before her and the man beyond them but there wasn’t enough space.

  Laverna clipped the creature to her right and sent it flying against the alley wall. It slammed hard and sent sand and debris all over the place. Laverna spun her hovercycle to her right and, for a horrifying moment, thought she would run into the opposite wall with the same force.

  Laverna hit her brakes.

  A blinding flash of light suddenly illuminated the alley and, almost instantly, Laverna detected the acrid smell of burnt circuitry. She looked back and found the second creature she tried to dodge stood frozen in place. Its shiny metallic body was charred black. Wisps of smoke rose from its chest.

  Laverna didn’t know what happened to it but wasn’t about to waste any time figuring it out.

  She aimed the hovercycle forward, doing her best to avoid the still standing but now immobile creature.

  There still wasn’t enough space.

  She bumped the creature as she passed and it fell.

  Laverna was amazed to see that when it hit the ground it shattered as if it were made of glass. Dark, toxic smoke rose from the fractured pieces while sparks and small flames ate away at what was left of its interior.

  Who or what did that to the creature didn’t matter.

  Laverna sped through the rest of the alley.

  Just as she neared its exit, a heavy form landed on the back of her cycle and a pair of arms locked around her waist. Laverna was about to fight her stowaway when he said:

  “Move!”

  Laverna didn’t need the encouragement. She kept the accelerator pressed and the hovercycle emerged onto a very dark street. She took a sharp left turn and, as she did, nearly ran into the military transport. Its lights blazed, illuminating everything around them.

  “They can’t see us!” her stowaway yelled. “Move!”

  Despite everything going on around her, Laverna recognized the man’s voice.

  Even so, she tried not to think about that and focused on the danger before them. When she looked back, at the alley they emerged from, she spotted ruby red eyes shine through the darkness. The two surviving metallic creatures emerged from the alley and ran forward at blinding speeds.

  “Keep moving!” the stowaway implored.

  “Who are you?” Laverna asked.

  “You really want to talk about this now?” he replied.

  For that moment, Laverna said nothing more. She didn’t need to.

  She recognized the man’s voice. She knew who he was.

  He was the stranger who entered Max’s Bar earlier that night. The man who gave her that drink.

  His was also the voice she heard in her mind.

  39

  The military transport’s engine roared. It jumped forward and headed toward the alley entrance.

  “They know they lost one of theirs,” Laverna’s stowaway said. “Keep moving. They haven’t detected us.”

  Despite the whirlwind surrounding them, his voice was remarkably calm.

  “How did you see me?” Laverna said. “The Camouflage Unit—”

  “Camouflage Units are great provided those you’re hiding from haven’t figured out their resonance frequency. Otherwise, anyone can see you clear as day.”

  “How do you know my frequency?”

  Instead of answering, the man pressed a button on Laverna’s jacket controls. The distorted view she had of her hovercycle and herself was gone.

  “Did you just turn off the Camouflage Unit?” Laverna yelled.

  “No,” the man said. “Just set your helmet’s visual field to the right frequency. Now you can see through the Camouflage Unit’s distortion just like I can.”

  The military transport’s wheels spun. The two creatures at the alley’s entrance moved to their right and left and, together with the truck, attempted to create a containment zone.

  Laverna was all too familiar with their technique.

  She drove to the right and flew down the street. Her hovercycle kicked up sand and the creatures and military transport noticed.

  “They may not see us, but they see our wake,” the man said.

  “What do we do about that?”


  “A distraction.”

  “I’m fresh out of thermal grenades,” Laverna said.

  “There are other possibilities.”

  The stowaway looked at the dark street and the structures surrounding them.

  “Over there,” he said and pointed.

  Laverna followed the stowaway’s finger and spotted an old cargo truck sitting abandoned next to a curb. It was a brute of a vehicle, larger than the Military Transport and standing well over two stories high. It had thick, twelve foot tall rubber tires and was covered in desert sand. Its windows were cracked and its paint dull.

  “What do you want to—” Laverna began.

  The stowaway’s arm, still locked around Laverna’s waist, suddenly felt very warm.

  Laverna’s eyes locked on the truck. She stared at it and, in that moment, her pursuers faded from her thoughts. Her eyes were upon each and every corner and curve of the truck’s structure. Its tires, its doors, its dark cabin and then, somehow, she was within the cabin and exploring the truck’s control panel. She saw through that panel and inside the truck and to its… to its…

  …engine.

  Reality slipped away and Laverna floated through the truck’s ancient circuitry. She saw every link and connection, every gauge and…

  She felt a connection. She concentrated on it.

  Start up.

  She felt a shift, a movement. A spark.

  The ancient truck’s engine coughed once.

  “What—?” Laverna began.

  “Focus,” the stowaway said.

  The truck’s engine coughed a second time.

  It roared to life.

  “Slow down,” the stowaway said. “Now!”

  Laverna emerged from her trance. She was no longer within the truck but back on her hovercycle and riding toward the enormous vehicle she had somehow merged with. She fought off a sense of vertigo and said:

  “Wh… What happened?”

  “Slow down!” the stowaway repeated.

  Laverna did as told, slowing when they were only feet away from the cargo truck. The stowaway jumped.

  Laverna looked back and saw him hit the road and roll. Now outside the Camouflage Unit’s distortion field, the man was fully exposed. He was instantly on his feet and climbed into the ancient vehicle.

  What in Hades are you doing? she thought.

  There was no time to worry about it. Her pursuers were gaining.

  Laverna picked up speed and was determined to ignore the madness behind her. That determination didn’t last.

  She heard the ancient truck’s engine roar louder than before and had to look back. She was shocked to find it was now moving.

  Equally incredibly, many of the truck’s lights came on and flooded the road around it. The forward lights then dimmed considerably but offered enough illumination to give Laverna a clear view of the road before her. She looked back and spotted her stowaway in the truck’s cabin. He waved and made forward motions before pressing a couple of buttons in the control panel. The truck’s rear lights brightened even more, blinding those behind them.

  He’s covering for me, Laverna thought.

  Because the military transport was blocked by the ancient cargo truck, Laverna knew her dust trail would be hidden.

  At least that’s what I hope.

  The stowaway poured on the speed but the truck’s engine sounded ragged. It nonetheless kept moving forward while drawing closer to Laverna.

  Laverna pulled hard to the right, momentarily sending the hovercycle away from the truck. Despite the vehicle’s bulky size, it followed her tight turn and kept pace. The truck’s tires flaked and large chips flew into the air.

  Laverna poured on more speed while the ancient truck’s engines continued their unholy roar. Incredibly, it sped up even more and gained on Laverna and her hovercycle. Its jagged metal structure came only inches from her rear.

  “The alley!” the stowaway screamed.

  Laverna spotted the alley opening. It ran diagonally and would require a sharp left turn.

  She took it.

  Behind her, the ancient truck’s brakes momentarily locked. The machine skidded and simultaneously followed her turn. Its front end rammed the concrete building that was part of the alley and shattered its outer wall. Heavy concrete and metal rained down just behind Laverna.

  She again looked back.

  The truck’s exhaust released sickly black clouds while its engine howled in an almost animalistic rage. It continued forward, destroying all that stood in its way and leaving behind a debris wake.

  Following as closely as possible were the military transport and the running metallic creatures.

  The ancient truck slowed as its engine faltered. Laverna knew their pursuers would catch up soon. She too slowed.

  The ancient truck’s cabin was crushed from the buildings it rammed through. She could no longer see its driver and wondered if the stowaway still lived.

  Laverna bit her lip and swore.

  She slowed and allowed the truck to close in even more.

  Concrete and bricks rained down on the road. They landed near the hovercycle and threatened to choke off her thrusters.

  Get away!

  The stowaway’s voice was again in her head.

  Laverna ignored it. She drew closer still.

  As she did, one of the metallic creatures jumped from the military transport and onto the ancient truck’s empty rear bed. It climbed up and stood over the crushed cabin.

  Laverna gasped. Would it spot the driver? If so, what would it do to him?

  The creature reached down and with superhuman strength pulled the crushed metal sheet that had been the cabin’s roof.

  As it did, the truck suddenly thrashed from side to side and slammed into the other buildings beside it.

  A large chunk of concrete slammed the metallic creature and it fell back. It rolled across the truck’s bed and onto the road. The military transport, so close to the truck, tried to avoid the creature but was unable to. Its heavy metal treads ran it over. As the creature was flattened, its body released a blinding spark of energy.

  Laverna’s attention was back on the ancient truck’s smashed cabin. Incredibly, she spotted the stowaway. The man squeezed past the remains of the truck’s cabin and emerged onto its beaten hood.

  “Come on!” Laverna yelled.

  Behind them, the military transport had enough. A fusion cannon emerged from its roof and was aimed at the ancient vehicle it pursued.

  “Now!” Laverna shouted at the top of her voice.

  The man leaped just as a fiery blast roared from the military transport’s fusion cannon.

  The stowaway landed on the back of the hovercycle with incredible grace yet, as good as his landing was, his weight caused the vehicle to scrape concrete. He lost his balance, slipped, and fell. For a moment it seemed he too would be flattened by the vehicles pursuing them.

  Just then and mere inches from hitting the road, Laverna’s arm shot back and grabbed the man’s trench coat collar. She gritted her teeth and pulled as hard as she could, holding the stowaway steady until he grabbed Laverna’s waist and pulled himself up and onto the seat.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  His voice was muffled by a second blast from the military transport’s fusion cannon.

  It ripped through the ancient truck and sent a shower of sparks and shrapnel in all directions. The vehicle flew high into the air and seemed to float in a ball of fire before gravity pulled it down. When it did, the truck slammed onto the alley road with a sickening heavy metal crunch. It slid across the tarmac, ripping chunks of the street apart before ramming into a four story building. The truck was halfway through that building’s lobby before it finally stopped.

  All was eerily quiet for several seconds before a sharp groan pierced the silence and what was left of the building collapsed.

  The sudden burst of air, dust, and debris sent Laverna’s hovercycle momentarily out of control. It careened wildly, slidin
g left and right alongside the Bordertown road. By the time Laverna regained control, the dust and sand surrounded them.

  Laverna pulled at the hovercycle’s controls and steadied the vehicle.

  “Where to?” she asked.

  “Keep to the alleys,” the stowaway said.

  She drove into the nearest one. Before disappearing into its darkness, she took one last look at the destruction left behind.

  The military transport screeched to a halt next to the destroyed truck and building but no one emerged from it.

  Instead, the remaining metallic creatures entered the still crumbling structure and tore through the ancient truck’s remains.

  “Keep going,” Laverna’s stowaway said.

  “Just try to stop me,” Laverna responded.

  40

  The mechanical creatures within the building’s rubble were gone for several minutes while the military transport was parked.

  Within the transport four shadowy forms stared at their monitors and waited for the creatures to finish their search. Of the four, one stood away from the others and at the back of the cabin. Two of the three at the front of the cabin stood at either side of the fourth and guarded him. They were as still as statues. The remaining individual, the one seated in front of the transport’s monitors, looked hard at the images pouring in from the destruction.

  The man at the back of the transport cabin shuffled his feet and tried to see the monitors but his view was blocked by the others. Finally, he moved. He approached the front of the cabin and this immediately drew the attention of the two standing at either side of the man in the chair.

  “Take it easy,” the approaching man said while lifting his hands into the air. “I just wanted a better look.”

  The man sitting before the monitors swiveled in his chair.

  “You’d do well to remain where you are,” he said. “My soldiers will defend me at the least provocation.”

  “I just wanted to see what caused—”

  “All you had to do was ask,” the man in the chair said. “An electromagnetic pulsed flared and started the cargo truck up.”

  “It’s source?”

  “Unknown. For now.”