by Darrell Pitt
I put my hands up in the air.
“Come on,” I tell Chad. “It’s time to play ball.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
It’s almost a pleasure when the alarm goes off the next morning. The fluorescent light flickers into life. We shower with time to spare. We dress and make our way to the dining hall in silence.
Twelve allowed us to return to our dorm room after our surrender. I’m not sure what made him rethink his strategy. Maybe he realized he was dealing with a pair of teenage boys who could cause mayhem if we wanted. Maybe he came to the conclusion that he needed us more than we needed him.
Whatever his reasoning, we’re back with the others and it feels good. Dan says nothing while he accompanies us to the dining hall. Then as Brodie and Ebony look up in surprise he jerks a thumb back at us and says, “The jailbirds are free.”
The girls jump up and hug us both. We sit down and start eating and talking at the same time. After a while I notice Ebony goes quiet. Her face turns more pale than ever and red spots appear in her cheeks.
Chad finally notices too. “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You were just going to abandon me.” Her quiet voice is shaking with fury. “You were going to run away and leave me.”
“No, wasn’t -.”
“What else do you call it?”
“I call it fun.”
“Fun?” Her voice rises in fury.
I know Chad’s the one with the ice powers, but right now Ebony is doing a great job of making the temperature drop.
She continues. “Abandoning your sister so -.”
“I wasn’t abandoning -.”
“Are you a jerk? You could have gotten yourself killed. I don’t -.”
The argument continues till the end of breakfast. We’re ready to resume training – which you may interpret as ‘doing as we’re told’ – but it turns out there’s a change in plan. Mr Brown turns up with the other trainers and leads us to a truck. We travel underground for about an hour until we reach a metal door. It groans open and instantly cold, salty air washes over us. We’re looking at the ocean.
“It’s a great day for the beach,” Chad comments.
Dan looks at the assembled trainers. “Something tells me there won’t be any time for sun baking.”
Mr Brown takes the lead. “You will be learning a new skill set today,” he explains. “Up till now you have worked individually to hone your abilities. Today all that is going to change. Today you are going to work as a team.
“You will pass through a training mission, facing a number of obstacles until you reach the end. You will only have yourselves to rely upon.”
“Sounds tough,” Chad smirks.
Brown gives him a look. “Today you will be facing live ammunition.” He steps up to Chad until he’s only inches away from his face. “It will be tough.”
He produces a map that shows our position in relation to an island. We can actually see it from where we’re standing. It lies a short distance off the coast. He explains our mission. We have to get from here to the island – hopefully without being detected – then break into a compound and destroy an obelisk situated at the heart of the facility.
“We are throwing you in the deep end. Have no doubt about that. We are forcing you to sink or swim. We want you to think for yourselves.” He lets this sink in. “The war game will only come to an end once your objective is achieved. You have three hours to complete your mission.”
“Uh,” Chad holds up his hand. “What happens if we don’t want to achieve our mission?”
Brown’s eyes narrow. “Say again.”
“What happens if we should decide to go for a burger and fries instead?”
Oh Chad, I groan internally.
The seconds pass slowly. A gentle morning breeze washes over the beach. A solitary seagull cries and soars away into the distance. The waves crash, race up the beach and drain into the sand.
Finally Brown’s eyes move to each of us. “If you should succeed in today’s mission you will be rewarded with a twenty-four hour furlough.” He lets that thought sink in. “If you should decide you are incapable of following orders you will be considered an enemy of The Agency and you will be treated as such.”
His eyes settle once again on Chad.
I’ll say one thing for Chad. He might be a tough guy, but even he knows when he’s met his match. Finally he looks to the island. “Looks like we party tomorrow.”
Mr Brown nods and leads the other trainers back through the metal doors. He turns back one final time and looks at me.
“You remember the exercises we conducted regarding flight shapes?”
I do. “Yes.”
“The wedge should get you to the island without being detected. It’s the most like a stealth bomber. Stay low and fast.” He turns to the rest of us. “Remember. It’s live ammunition. You are on your own. You can die if you make a mistake.” The metal doors start to slide shut. “Good luck.”
The doors slam shut with an ominous boom.
“Live ammunition,” Brodie says. “Uh, where’s that burger place?”
“We’ll be okay,” I say, although I don’t feel as confident as I sound. “Mr Brown’s right, though. We’ll need to work together.”
“You’re such a hero,” Chad shakes his head in mock admiration. “Such a leader.”
I turn to him angrily. “Is there something wrong with your brain?”
“No. Is there something wrong with yours?”
“What the hell is your problem?”
“I don’t recall anyone making you leader -.”
“I’m not the leader, stupid. I’m just -.”
Brodie comes between us. “Boys, switch off your glands. We need to get moving.” She checks her watch. “We’ve got two hours and forty-five minutes.”
I create a wedge as Brown instructed and the others climb on. A week ago I could not have imagined building a flying device for us to fly on, but now I do it with ease. It even has a hand rail and everything. With enough practice I could probably even give it really cool fins and make the wings -.
Brodie looks at me. “Are you ready?”
I rouse myself from my dreams of becoming a flight engineer and we start across the water. It’s quite an exhilarating experience. From my training with Mr Brown I know that keeping us close to the water decreases our chance of being picked up by radar. I glance over at the others. They all look so happy it’s hard to believe we’re heading off on a dangerous mission.
Live ammunition, I think. Let’s hope it doesn’t leave one of us dead.
Chapter Twenty-Six
We reach the island without incident. The others started studying the map on the way here. Now as we huddle in a small cave I look at the piece of laminated paper. The island is essentially a large isosceles triangle with the base at the centre of the thick end. We’re at the opposite end. I ask everyone what they think.
The good news is: everyone’s got a plan.
The bad news is: everyone’s got a different plan.
“We need to hit them with everything we’ve got,” Chad says. “A full frontal assault where we annihilate anything that moves.”
“I think we need to creep up on the compound,” Brodie suggests. “Then create a diversion by blowing something up and attacking-”
“We can tunnel under,” Dan says thoughtfully. “Or leave a wooden horse out the front like they did with Troy -.”
Okay, now it’s getting weird.
I hold up a hand. “There are some good ideas here. Can anyone suggest a single coordinated plan?”
No-one says anything.
Chad looks to each of us like we’re stupid and marches out of the cave.
“What are you doing?” I follow him.
“You people are fools,” he says. “I’ll have this whole mission completed by the time you’ve worked out north from south.”
He exits from view. I shake my head in amazement.
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“What is his problem?” I ask.
Ebony glares at me. “That’s my brother you’re talking about.”
“Look, I didn’t mean -.”
She’s already out of the cave. The rest of us follow her just in time to see Chad starting up the cliff face. It’s an easy climb and he’s most of the way up by the time we start after him. When we reach the top he’s already following a trail through the thick foliage.
I get a bad feeling about this.
Why is there a trail through the undergrowth unless its -.
Unless it’s a trap.
At that same instant I see the wire spread out across the path.
“Chad!” I scream. “Stop!”
He turns at the last second, but it’s too late. A bolt of electricity, a blue and white jagged line of fire, arcs out of nowhere. It catches him full in the chest. The impact throws him twenty feet into the jungle.
“No!” Ebony screams.
Everyone starts forward in panic, but I’m able to stop myself. One injured person is enough. I work out the location of the generator and take it out with a single invisible ball of energy. Now it can’t hurt anyone else.
Chad is motionless and pale by the time we reach him. There is a burnt, black hole scarring the middle of his chest. Brodie is checking his pulse. She looks up at me, her face filled with dismay.
“He’s not breathing,” she says. “I think he’s dead.”
Under any normal circumstances any of us would produce a phone and ring for help. Unfortunately none of us own phones. Plus we have no idea as to our location.
We start CPR. Ebony presses down rhythmically on his chest as I deliver mouth to mouth. The last person on Earth I would normally want to suck face with is Chad, but right now I’m prepared to sacrifice my macho image. The minutes pass slowly. At first I think we’ve lost him. It’s like his body has given up completely. Maybe his heart has been destroyed by the bolt of electricity. Ebony is crying. Even Dan has tears in his eyes.
How could The Agency do something like this? Have they no idea of right and wrong? Then I think of Twelve. He’s not even human. If his people have been here on Earth for hundreds – or thousands – of years they would have seen millions of humans grow old and die.
Killing a teenager would be no big deal at all.
Would it?
Then Chad groans. He reaches up blindly with one hand and pushes me away. It takes him a few seconds to focus on the circle of faces around him. Finally he stares directly at me.
“You’re damn ugly,” he says.
“I think he’s going to be okay,” I tell the others.
No sooner is Chad on his feet than Ebony slaps him. The sound is like a bullet in the silent jungle.
“You are an idiot,” she says furiously.
Chad’s chin quakes. For a moment I think he’s going to cry. Then he dips his head. “I’m sorry, sis. Really sorry.”
She throws her arms around him and bursts into tears. We let the family reunion continue for another minute before Brodie finally clears her throat.
“This is all very well and good, but -.”
“But we’ve got to get going,” Chad says. “How long was I out?”
“Too long.” Brodie checks her watch. “We have less than two hours to reach the complex.”
“Okay,” he says, looking up at me. “I think we need to decide on a single plan.”
“Agreed.”
“What do you think we should do?” he asks.
It takes me a moment to realize he’s asking my opinion. Maybe the electricity has jolted some sense into him. I produce the map again. Everyone had some good ideas and I think we can merge a few of them together to produce a successful strategy.
“Here’s what I think we should do,” I tell them. “We split into two groups. Group one will create a diversion at the far end of the island. Hopefully that will draw forces away from the base.
“The other group will circle around and move in from the point closest to the compound at the short end of the triangle. From there to the obelisk should only be a few hundred feet.”
“Sure,” Brodie raises an eyebrow. “Sounds easy.”
I ignore her. “I suggest Chad and Dan create the diversion.”
“What makes you think I’m capable of causing trouble?” Chad asks with a straight face.
I ignore him too. “Ebony, Brodie and I will head to the compound. I think we can reach the obelisk between the three of us.”
We synchronize watches. I remind everyone that Mr Brown warned us that live ammunition is being used. Just before we part ways, I turn to Chad. “And watch out for trip wires.”
He laughs. “You too.”
We have an hour to make our way around the circumference of the island. It’s tough going. Not only do we have to climb over the rocky coastline, but we have to watch out for traps and cameras. By the time we reach our position on the coast, we’re hot and sticky in the late morning sun.
The cliff rising up from the shore is steep as compared to the other sections of the island. I even wonder if it’s been purpose built by The Agency to deter attacks during exercises such as this. We climb up the cliff carefully and make our way into the thick vegetation.
It looks impenetrable. It’s no surprise that Chad got zapped. Any sensible person would take a path. Of course, they would almost certainly be killed, but their last moments would be spent on a pleasant trail as opposed to a hot, insect infested woodland.
“We need to hurry,” Brodie whispers.
The jungle takes another fifteen minutes to navigate. We discover three trip wires on the way. One is attached to a massive blade poised to swing down and slice the innocent victim in half.
I shake my head in disbelief when I see the device. Mr Brown wasn’t kidding when he said they were using live ammunition, but surely this is a little too serious for a training exercise. What are they trying to do? Get us killed?
This is a sobering thought. I remember the warning Doctor Richards gave me about not being able to trust everyone within The Agency. Could all this just be an elaborate way to get rid of us?
No. It’s ridiculous. These people actually want us to survive.
They’ve just got a strange way of showing it.
We push through some bushes and find a metal fence in front of us. It’s obviously not there to welcome visitors. It’s about twelve feet high with barbed wire running across it at one foot intervals. My first concern is that it’s electrified.
Brodie tilts her head. “Do you hear that?”
“It’s electricity.” I was right. “We need to disconnect the power.”
“How long till Chad and Dan create the diversion?” Ebony asks.
Before I get a chance to reply, I hear a sound like a mighty wind sweeping through the forest.
I look up to see the sky falling.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I’ll say one thing for Chad.
He doesn’t know the meaning of the word subtle. When I told him we needed a diversion I envisioned a fire in the jungle or a block of ice falling out of the sky. Instead, we’re confronted with a full scale bombardment.
I’m not even sure we’ll survive it.
Fire balls reign down from the sky like meteorites and slam into the ground. They seem to be landing all over the island. Some are even landing in the compound. Explosions are occurring throughout the jungle. Obviously traps are springing all over the place, detonating explosives meant to kill us. At the same time rocks are falling from the sky.
I can’t work this out. Chad creates fire and ice. Dan can manipulate metals. So where are the rocks coming from?
Brodie has the answer. “There must be a high metal content in those rocks.”
Of course.
Our ears are ringing from the multitude of explosions. So much so that I don’t notice the change in the fence until Ebony grabs my arms.
“The electricity’s off,” she says.
“Ar
e you sure?”
She reaches out and grabs the fence. She doesn’t turn into a barbecued chicken. Turning to me, she smiles. “Pretty sure.”
I realize it’s one of the few times I’ve seen her smile. She has such a pretty face. I wonder if -.
Brodie digs me in the ribs. “Will we keep moving?”
I nod. Ebony touches each of the strands of barbed wire. Each evaporates to a dry chemical within her grasp and is carried away by the wind. When there’s a large enough gap, we climb through and hurry across a short distance to take refuge behind a building. From here we can easily see the obelisk. In the back of my mind I’ve got a vague idea to get Ebony to turn it into helium or something, but we’ve got to get to it first.
Two soldiers appear from around a corner.
The surprising news is they’re not human. They’re some sort of battle droid. Man height. Covered in a battle suit composed of rubber and Kevlar. Armed with rifles. Before they can raise them, Brodie covers the short distance and smashes one of them in the neck. The other she flings over her left shoulder and rips its arm off.
They lay sparking and crackling in the midday sun.
Unfortunately they must have some sort of back to base alarm because a door suddenly bursts open and more of them start to pour through. I throw a boulder at them and it takes out a bunch, but this seems to cause some sort of avalanche; more start appearing from buildings all over the compound.
They start shooting and I throw up a shield. Bullets fly in all directions as we make our way through the group. Every opportunity Brodie gets, she grabs a robot and breaks him apart. Ebony turns several to gas. Finally she turns to me.
“We’re almost there,” she yells above the sound of gunfire.
There’s something more than a little strange in the way she’s communicated this information to me. She sounds like a chipmunk.
“Sorry,” she says. “Helium.”
I nod.
We’re only a few feet from the obelisk when the ground shakes beneath us. At first I think it’s just more of the continuing barrage from Chad and Dan. Then I realize we’re sinking.