Revenge of the Giant Robot Chickens

by Alex McCall

  “There’s only one thing we can do,” Jesse said reassuringly. “We’ve got to go on with the plan.”

  I laughed a bit. “The plan,” I said. “The plan that you can’t tell me about because there might be a spy in our group.”

  “Yeah, that plan.” He gave me a crooked smile, which grew serious. “So who do you think it is?”

  “Well, it’s got to be either Blake or Percy, hasn’t it?” I asked. “They’re the only two left that are on the council. Unless it really was Hazel. Or Kyle?”

  “Technically Percy isn’t on the council.”

  “Yeah, but you know he does everything Cody asks him to do, and he’s always there in meetings at Cody’s side. If Cody’s the traitor then Percy might as well be. I mean, why else send him? He’s too useful to Cody to risk him on a mission like this.”

  “I guess,” Jesse mused. “Unless that wasn’t the point.”

  I had risen to my feet and started pacing. At Jesse’s words I turned towards him. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, look at our group.” Jesse spread his hands. “We’ve got Blake and his best chicken hunters. We’ve got Kyle, who’s fantastic at organising, rationing and cooking. We had the Brotherhood, who knew everything there was to know about chickens. Maybe Cody didn’t select this group just to try and free the people in the barn. Maybe he put us together so that if everything goes wrong, if the Catchers take Aberdeen, our group will still survive.”

  “So you’re saying he didn’t put Percy in our group to keep an eye on us, he did it so Percy would be safe?”

  “Makes the most sense to me.”

  I thought it over. “Jesse—” I began, but before I could finish there was a scratching at the door. There must be someone on the other side.

  Jesse put a finger to his lips. “There’s one good thing that we know,” he told me.

  I knew what he was thinking. What if the spy was on the other side of the door, listening in to our conversation?

  “What is it?” I asked.

  He tiptoed over to the door, all the while still talking. “Well, we didn’t see any patrols today. None whatsoever. And you know what that means?”

  “The spy can’t have reported in yet.”

  “Yup.” He took a tight hold of the door handle. “Otherwise they would have come for us. Now, if the spy was in Aberdeen there’s a pretty good chance they would have reported in by now. Which means the spy might be someone in our group who just hasn’t had a chance yet.”

  He pulled the door open in a sudden quick heave and someone tumbled in. Someone who must have been leaning against it, able to hear every word.

  “Hello, Blake,” Jesse said calmly. “Did you hear everything OK? Any questions?”

  Blake scrambled to his feet, his face red. “I just wanted to know what’s going on,” he said. “I want to know the plan once we get to the chickens’ headquarters. Is there any reason why I can’t know that?”

  “Yes, lots of reasons,” Jesse replied. “For one, we wouldn’t want you reporting back to the chickens. If you were the spy.”

  Blake’s face turned a darker shade of red and he took a step towards Jesse. Fearing a repeat of last night I put a hand on his arm and held him back. Forcefully.

  “Come on, Blake,” I muttered. “You’ve been caught and you have to admit it looks suspicious. Just ignore Jesse and get over it.”

  I thought for a moment he wasn’t going to listen to my advice, but then he took a deep breath and exhaled. Turning to me, he nodded.

  “You’re right, Ambassador,” he said respectfully. “I’m sorry.”

  Then he turned away and walked off to get some sleep, leaving me more than a little confused.

  CHAPTER 23

  We turned in early, and all got what sleep we could, which wasn’t much. I spent most of the night wondering who the spy could be. It had to be someone among us. Could it really be Blake? He always seemed to be around when I needed him. I had come to trust him and I somehow couldn’t see him betraying us.

  When Jesse woke me up I was stiff and grumpy. “What?” I moaned at him, still mostly asleep.

  “Come on, it’s time to go,” he said then handed me something brown and hot. I took a big gulp and found it was tea, milky and sweet. “Kyle made it.”

  I didn’t really like tea. Mum had never let me have any at home, saying it stunted your growth, so I had never developed a taste for it. But as I drank deeply I could feel energy flowing back into my limbs. It woke me up. I didn’t enjoy it, but at least it woke me up.

  Everyone else was similarly roused and eventually we got on our way. Most of us were half asleep and tousle-headed. All except Percy, who looked geared up for action as usual, and Jesse, who was beginning to look nervous. I really hoped his plan worked, whatever it was. If it didn’t then we’d probably all be gobbled up.

  It was a good hour before we got near to the barn. Jesse took us through the woods, walking confidently ahead. I’m pretty sure we got lost at least once and passed the same pine tree about four times but eventually we got there.

  Finally our target was in our sights. Jesse wasn’t kidding. It was just an enormous barn. It felt kind of odd, seeing it over there, beyond the wide, golden fields of corn. Beside the barn was a small farmyard cluttered with equipment of various sorts, and the buildings sat in a large field. Surrounding the field was a high-wire fence. Take out the prison-style fence and it could be a farm scene from a toddler’s picture book. It did not look like the place where huge metal monsters held our parents and friends captive.

  “OK, here’s the plan.” Jesse gathered us all together at the edge of the wood where we were hiding. “We’ll split into two teams. Percy will lead one and go round to the other side of the compound. The Ambassador, Blake and I will lead the other and attack from the front. Percy’s team will cut through the fence then spread out and hide in the cornfield. My team will wait by the front gates. That way we’ll hit the chickens in a pincer move. Once the diversion starts, most of the chickens should take off and head towards Aberdeen. There should only be a few left after that. I’ve got some of those egg grenades that the chickens gave the Brotherhood. I’ll use them to blow the doors off the barn so we can get everyone out – and there should be enough to take out any remaining Catchers and Commandos too. Percy, you’ve got your gloves.”

  There was a pause. “Well, aren’t you going to give us some grenades?” Blake asked.

  Jesse shook his head. “No. I can’t trust you with them. I really don’t want a traitor with a grenade. Any more questions?”

  No one replied, but they didn’t look happy. Percy took his team of five and disappeared round the back of the compound. Jesse took us even deeper into the woods and ordered our five to keep watch. I drew him aside.

  “Jesse, this plan sucks,” I told him.

  He looked at me innocently. “What do you mean?”

  “You know what I mean. We’re hoping the spy hasn’t already told the chickens what we’re doing. We’re hoping their defences will be weak enough for us to break in there. Even if there are three Catchers left that’ll be enough to finish us. And what about all their Commandos? The plan is totally useless.”

  He sighed. “Look, I can’t risk anything more complex. This is the best we can do.”

  “But this is insane! We can’t hope to succeed like this!”

  “This is the best we’ve got, Rayna. It might work. This could be our only chance to get our families back. Do you understand? I need this. Just trust me—”

  He stopped abruptly. He’d got so impassioned, he was almost yelling. He lowered his voice. “Come on. We don’t want to miss our opportunity.”

  The conversation was clearly over. We walked back over to join our team.

  Almost an hour passed before anything started to happen. One long hour to think over what Jesse had said.

  I had a terrible feeling about this. It wouldn’t take much for everything to go wrong. Jesse had been right yesterday
. Kyle, Percy, Blake and his hunters. We had a lot of good people with us. Enough to keep our group going. But we could just as easily be grabbed by the chickens. I was tempted to call off the mission—

  Then all at once there was movement. Catchers came pouring out of the barn, running and flapping their wings. In minutes they were in the air. Their droning made the ground shake and the trees quake.

  “I guess Cody’s got his broadcast underway,” Jesse shouted to me above the roar.

  It took about a quarter of an hour for all the chickens to pass overhead. I was surprised to see so many of them. I hoped Cody’s defences would stay strong.

  Finally they stopped coming. Jesse waited for a moment then raised his head.

  “Come on,” he hissed. “Let’s do it.”

  With one of our team left behind on lookout duty, the rest of us scuttled towards the gate. Once there, Blake pulled a set of wire cutters out of his bag and started chopping through the gate. After a tense few moments we were done and through. A road wound up through the cornfield but we couldn’t follow it for fear of being seen. So we hunched down and stalked through the plants alongside it. Inch by inch we edged towards the barn.

  “This is what I’m talking about,” Blake hissed excitedly. “Finally showing the chickens who rules the roost.”

  And that’s when everything started to go wrong.

  A Catcher rounded the corner of the barn. We instantly flattened ourselves against the ground, waiting with bated breath until it moved on.

  But then a figure appeared in the distance, yelling and waving. “They’re over here! And over there! They’re trying to free the grown-ups.”

  It was Percy. The traitor.

  I shot upright and sprinted towards him, hoping somehow to reach him before the chicken noticed. My sprint ended in a lunge for Percy, but he sidestepped out of the way. My outstretched fingers brushed the leg of his trousers, but I landed on the ground with a hard thump and he slipped away, still running towards the Catcher, still yelling. Jesse leapt up and raced after him, hoping to get to him before the Catcher heard.

  He was too late.

  I saw, as if in awful slow motion, it turn its head and regard the two of them. It let out a loud squawk and more Catchers thudded out of the barn. Jesse saw them and turned around, trying frantically to back-pedal. I heard Blake shouting at his hunters to attack the Catchers. I ignored them.

  “Jesse!” I screamed, reaching out a hand to him.

  He turned to look at me, and another Catcher came screeching out of the sky. It landed hard, taking a few bouncing steps to reach his side. I recognised it as the same one that had taken Eric. Its head came up, it looked around briefly and then it struck.

  Its beak plunged down, the sharp tips sinking into the dark earth and digging furrows as it closed with a snap. I tried running towards it but the Catcher’s eyes flashed, and I stumbled to the side to avoid the laser blast. Then its head was rising, leaving behind the small hole we all recognised. Up and up its head went, further and further out of my reach. Then with a single fluid motion it swallowed with an abrupt gulp.

  I stared at it, bewildered for a moment. All that was left were beak marks in the ground.

  Jesse had been caught.

  CHAPTER 24

  My best friend was currently trapped in a metal chicken’s gut and there was a very good chance I’d never see him again. In that moment I was back, seeing Hazel, Sam and so many others I’d known being taken. I wanted nothing more than to sink to my knees and surrender. Give up the fight.

  But that wasn’t how we would survive. The screams and cries of panic coming from the woods reminded me of the others in our group, the ones I could save. With some organisation and a lot of luck some of us might be able to escape.

  I could give up later. To quote Jesse, Right now there were some feathers to ruffle.

  As I turned back to the woods I saw Percy standing there, gloating. He ran into the trees. With a liquid burst of anger I sprinted after him.

  I followed him into a nearby patch of trees. The branches whipped past my face and I almost thought I’d lost him, but when I charged into a clearing he was standing there, looking at me smugly.

  “Well hello, Ambassador. Ready for the rematch?”

  “Are you kidding?” I stopped in disbelief. “All this, just because I once beat you in the chair-wrestling match?”

  He shook his head. “Oh no. This is just an added bonus.”

  “What were you thinking?” I snarled, stalking towards him. “What does Cody think he can gain from this?”

  Percy’s expression turned ugly. “Cody has nothing to do with this. I’m not his slave, no matter what the rest of you think. I’m his friend but I don’t have to do every little thing he tells me to.”

  “So you betrayed him? Why?” I kept walking forward, getting closer and closer.

  “I didn’t betray him. I’ll get out of this, the chickens promised me that. I’ll return to Aberdeen a hero, the only one to survive. Finally people will know my name.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. “That’s what this is all about? You just want people to think you’re a big deal?”

  “Yeah, maybe it is.” He stepped towards me as well. My hand tightened on my shock-stick. Just a little closer.

  Blake burst into the clearing. “You’ve got him?” he asked. “We need to move. The chickens are heading into the woods.”

  “Could you give us a moment?” I said, not looking at him, eyes fixed on Percy. “There’s no way I’m letting this traitor get away.”

  “Fine.” Controlled anger edged Blake’s words. “We’ll hold the Catchers off but we can’t last long. There are too many of them.”

  “I won’t need long,” I said. Then in one quick movement I drew my shock-stick and lunged.

  Percy must have seen it coming. He sneered and batted the stick away with one of his gauntlets. “Finally. The rematch.”

  “Bring it. I can take you any day.”

  He moved forward, throwing a punch, but I skipped backwards. This would be over soon. One of us just had to tap the other and they’d be out cold.

  “So were the chickens expecting our attack?”

  “Well, they don’t seem to have left their headquarters unguarded, like you and Jesse stupidly assumed.”

  “So you stood behind Cody, behind your friend, at council meetings and then you went running to the chickens with everything, hoping for a pat on the back? All just to make sure you were OK, no one else.”

  My mind was ticking, putting everything together. “It all makes sense. Except one thing. How did you know Glen was going to be in Garthdee? I never even told you.”

  “I was in the hospital when you told Deborah. And then Cody told me you were going to Garthdee, but on a different day. It wasn’t hard to connect the dots. I just looked out for you leaving.” He lunged forward, fists jabbing but I stepped back and they just missed.

  “And you sold everyone out. Just to save your own sorry hide.”

  “I’m safe and so is Cody. They promised.”

  “They sent the Chickenator to take him out. They’re pretty lousy at keeping promises. And you must have told them where he was.”

  “He didn’t get taken, did he?”

  “Think he’s going to thank you? We’re so close to getting the adults back. That would have made us safe.”

  He spread his arms wide, gesturing around him. I stayed calm, waiting for my opening.

  “You think I’m doing this just for myself? Nah, I’m doing what’s right. The world is better without the adults. I like the way things are.”

  I blinked. “How could you believe that? The world is awful.”

  “For you maybe. I had nothing before all this. I couldn’t figure anything out at school; I kept getting in fights. No one looked up to me, no one called me a hero. But here? Here I’m a new person. Here I’m great.”

  And there was the opening. “Here you were great. And now you’re not. You’r
e just a traitor, a coward and once again you’ve messed up everything. And now you’re going to get beaten by a girl.”

  He gave a great roar of rage and charged towards me. I took three small steps to the side, ducked down and swept out. His fists just missed my head then my shock-stick whirled out and tapped him on the back of his legs. There was a spark, and then he crashed to the ground, like a toppled tree.

  I stood there, staring down at him. I’d won. I’d beaten the spy.

  But without Jesse there it all felt pointless.

  Blake ran back into the clearing, followed by some of his hunters. “That’s it, we can’t stop them any longer,” he gasped, out of breath. “We have to do something now.”

  I looked at him and nodded. “We run. There’s no way we can succeed. We just need to pull back.”

  He nodded and we were about to turn away when we felt the ground shake. A Catcher came bounding through the woods, forcing us back towards the farm, some lagging behind and getting dragged by their friends. We burst out of the woods in time to see another Catcher coming for us. We quickly changed direction, only to find another ahead.

  It was no use. We’d been corralled. Five Catchers surrounded us, blocking all possibility of escape. Four moved in, mouths clacking while one held back and observed. I recognised it as the one that had eaten Jesse and I fixed it with a hateful glare. Even as the others blocked my view I stepped to the side, determined to keep focusing my hatred on it until the very last moment.

  So I was in the perfect position to see its eyes glow red as it shot another Catcher in the back.

  There was a moment of confusion and the injured Catcher very slowly fell over with a clang like a giant bell. The rogue Catcher took the opportunity to shoot another one, its eyes scything through the Catcher’s legs.

  There was a sudden blaring of alarms from inside the barn and the doors swung wide open, Commandos pouring out. They surrounded the rogue Catcher, eyes glowing and lasers charging. I saw it setting its feet firm, ready to go down fighting. I grabbed Blake, pulling him away.