“Showtime!” Amy said.
In the mainframe room, three young people kept their fingers crossed.
“Thank God for no-breaks!” Tara said cheerfully. “The system is rebooting!”
“Don’t forget we just have fifteen minutes before the generators start.” Mate reminded her.
“No problemo.” Tara replied. “My mosquito bite will itch any time now.”
“Good job!” Mate said.
“As soon as I take control of the oil-rig, I might be able to…”
Tara swallowed the rest of the speech and gazed at her tablet.
“Oh no!” She cried. “OH NO!”
Price ran to her and also fixed eyes on her tablet.
“Jesus!” He said.
“What’s going on?” Mate queried.
Tara slowly turned to face Clarkson, somber eyes wide open, as if she had seen the grim reaper.
“The oil-rig mainframe is the master, not this one.” She said, nearly whispering.
“And?” Mate asked.
Tara tried to say something, but she choked on her own words.
“The data in the oil-rig mainframe will be copied to this one and not the other way around.” Price had to answer for her. “Such data will erase and replace all content of this database.”
“And that means…?” Mate questioned.
“That means we are going to lose everything we did, including the virus.” Price murmured. “It’s like we did nothing.”
They remained silent for a while, as if heavy clouds were hovering over their hearts.
“Guys…” Mate said with a trembling voice. “I don’t mean to be rude, but how come you didn’t know the oil-rig mainframe was the master and this one here was the slave?”
“Because when I first accessed the system, it said otherwise!” Tara said, almost weeping.
All of a sudden, Mate Clarkson stared at nothing, eyes lost in bewilderment.
“Oh my God!” He said.
“What?” Price asked.
“It’s a trap!”
“Bravo! Bravo!” Allison Forrester entered the room, clapping sarcastically.
She used the door that connected the hangar to the rest of the building. Several men in suits with machine guns went into the mainframe room through the exterior door. Other guards followed Allison inside, all carrying weapons.
The youngsters were surrounded on all sides. One of the men took their tablets and threw them harshly on the floor, reducing them to a pile of useless circuits.
In the main building, many other people in military outfits seemed to come out of nowhere and easily surrendered the rest of the teenagers.
“I got to hand it to you, guys.” Allison said. “Nobody will ever accuse you of not trying too hard.”
“This mainframe here should be the master, right?” Mate said. “You changed it.”
“I had them switched yes,” Allison replied “as a security measure, part of a little backup plan I came up with. I know I’m young, but I must tell you, this is the most poorly conceived strategy I’ve ever seen. You boys and girls are so naïve that sometimes it’s even laughable. We were expecting something like that. You really thought I wouldn’t be prepared. Now, if you could please step outside.”
All teenagers that had invaded the building were also escorted out by men with machine guns.
“Easy does it.” The gorgeous secretary said and winked at the youngster who had threatened her with the Swiss pocket knife.
The entire group gathered in a big patio located behind the main building. Mate, Price, Tara and the other teens stood in rows, while guards and soldiers spread in front of them, pointing weapons in firing squad mode.
“Where’s Lily?” Allison asked. “I assume she’s the mastermind behind this endeavor.”
The strong roar of a diesel engine resounded in the near distance. Everybody in the patio turned around and found the big truck facing them. The engine again roared like a lion.
“Come on, Lily!” Mate screamed. “Run over these bastards!”
“You do that and my men will fire!” Allison also shouted to the truck. “Your friends will be dead before you can move an inch!”
“Do what you have to, Lily!” Mate continued. “Finish this! Don’t mind us!”
The huge truck bellowed another loud, threatening warning. It seemed ready to advance and obliterate everything in its path.
“Do it!” Mate screamed again.
Allison signaled to her guards and soldiers. They had fingers on the triggers to shoot and annihilate the mob of young people standing before them.
Everybody watched the truck in anticipation.
Lily’s vehicle silenced. Headlights went out.
The whole park got so quiet that it was possible to hear the beat of many hearts.
“What?” Tara mumbled. “What is she doing? Is she surrendering?”
Mate Clarkson lowered his head, bearing the weight of disappointment.
“She can’t do that!” Price said.
“Game’s over.” Allison spoke in triumph.
Mate could not utter a single word.
The Australian woman appeared all of a sudden in front of Allison. Lots of machine guns turned and pointed at Lily, all at once. Forrester stood her ground.
“I’m here.” Lily said. “Let them go.”
“Hello there again!” Allison replied.
Forrester fixed eyes on Lily for a few seconds, as if studying her so dedicated opponent.
“I hope you understand. “Allison finally spoke. “I’ll have to do now what I should’ve done right from the start. When you have a troublemaker in your midst, just kill her. It was my mistake to give you a chance. And you’ll also drag a bunch of kids to the grave with you.”
“It doesn't have to be this way.” Lily said. “Let them all go and I stay. Your beef is with me.”
“No. We have to make an example out of you.”
“That’s Shane talking, not you.”
Allison faced Lily for a few seconds.
“Fine, your friends may go.” Allison decided “Far from me to be anything like Shane. Their minds will be mine in a very short while anyway. The only thing I didn’t anticipate was this blackout. How did you do it?”
Lily did not answer.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.” Allison said. “The generators will take care of this problem.”
As a prophecy coming true, all lights, lampposts and systems came back to life, up and running again all over the industrial complex.
“There you have it.” Allison spoke. “So, Lily, if you please do the honors…”
Lily walked to her group.
“Go!” She said.
None of them moved.
“Get out of here!” Lily insisted. “What are you doing?”
“We stay!” Price declared.
“This is not brave! It’s just plain stupid!” Lily retorted. “You got nothing to prove!”
“We won’t live to be puppets to those jerks.” Tara said. “Like I told you, we lost everything, and you’re all we got. You die, we die with you.”
“Everything comes with a price.” The young man spoke.
“No!” Lily replied. “You get out of my sight right now!”
“Try and make us.” Price smiled.
“This is a foolish mistake!” Lily said and turned to Mate Clarkson. “I suppose you’re staying too and there’s nothing I can do to change your mind.”
“Well, I would just waste my life with videogames.” Clark responded.
Lily turned and faced Forrester, but remained silent.
“Very well, then.” Allison said. “Have it your way. I leave you to your pointless gallantry.”
Forrester turned to the leader of her security team and said:
“Wait until I’m gone before you do it, Perry. I don’t want to see this.”
“Yes, Ally.”
“Now, if excuse me, I got a signal to send.”
Alliso
n turned her back on the crowd and walked away.
When she was out of sight, Perry raised his machine gun and screamed to his men:
“READY!”
They all pointed their weapons at Lily, Mate and the teenagers.
“FIRE!”
Allison was about to enter the dome when she heard the shots.
“What a waste.” She sighed and went in.
25th MOVEMENT
“READY!”
They all pointed their weapons at Lily, Mate and the teenagers.
“FIRE!”
Many guards fell down, shot by Brokenville residents that jumped from everywhere.
“Follow me!” Lily screamed.
She led Mate and the teens behind a short, long wall that separated the building property from the square. A man with a rifle and a sheath strapped to his back ran to meet them.
“Right on time, Major.” Lily spoke to the man.
“And in the last possible second!” Mate said.
“Like I always say” Major responded. “Never let kids do grownups’ work.”
“I can see you brought my stuff.” Lily observed.
“Oh, there it is.” Major replied.
He gave the sheath with the hockey stick to Lily. He also reached into his pockets to produce a boomerang and two little knives. He gave them all to Lily.
“Those are yours.” Lily gave the knives to Mate.
“No offense, but can I have the rifle instead?” He asked.
“You won’t need it, boy.” Major answered.
The battle roared wildly in the patio. Guards and men in suits shot at Brokenville residents, which tried to return fire. Many tumbled down in both armies.
“CHARGE!” Sergeant Michaels screamed to his troops.
He and his entire platoon advanced to contain the rebels’ attack.
“It’s time.” Lily said.
Major grabbed his walkie-talkie.
“Release the pretty ones.” He said on the radio.
The order was heard by a man standing by a truck parked just outside the limits of the industrial complex, and he passed the message along. He and other drivers opened the rear of their trucks and ran inside their respective cabins.
Major and his allies from Brokenville fired their rifles over the short wall. Other rebels were taking cover behind statues, trees and pillars, shooting as well. But the Undertaking armed forces outnumbered them by far.
The army of doom commanded by Sergeant Michaels marched to obliterate the rebels and put an end to the invasion. However, they were attacked by a horde of reanimated corpses that came from all directions. Soldiers had to open fire to defend themselves. Many did not seem to know they had to shoot the cadavers in the head.
“Damn it!” Michaels cursed. “Not again! PULL BACK! PULL BACK!”
Brokenville residents climbed trees, statues and fountains to escape the undead fury.
“Okay, time for a walk in the park.” Lily said and reached for the hockey stick inside the sheath on her back.
To her surprise, it was already mounted.
“This is cheating!” Lily complained.
“Sorry, lady” Major spoke “I know you like strong emotions, but this is not the time to play rock around the clock. By the way, it jams sometimes.”
“Yes, I have to work on that.” Lily admitted.
She turned to Mate and said:
“Take the boys and girls to my truck. You’ll be safe in there. The engine’s still running. When I give you the signal, drive straight to the pier.”
“Got it.”
“When you’re ready, Major.” Lily said.
“I’m not ready, but that never stopped me before.” He replied.
Major gave a hand signal to the other men behind the wall. Lily jumped to her feet and everybody followed her gesture, except for Mate and the teens.
The Australian woman, along with Major and his group, advanced toward the building, shooting their way through as best as they could. Mate Clarkson and his team of youngsters took advantage of that distraction and ran to Lily’s truck. They went inside the vehicle and closed the doors.
“Wow!” Price gasped. “What just happened?”
“Lily calculated that the Undertakers would anticipate our move and she worked a little backup plan of her own with Major and his townies.” Mate answered. “Lucky he went along with it. The problem of corporate executives is that they only plan for the near future.”
“This is cool, but next time, let us know, eh?” Tara complained.
“The less you knew the better, in case you were captured.” Mate replied. “Besides, you should have left when the flamboyant lady let you go. But I got to tell you, it was mighty brave of you.”
“If we are to represent the great Apocalily, we have to start acting like her.” Price said.
In the big square, Brokenville residents took care of the living while Lily handled the dead, five, ten, then twenty at a time. Lots of bullets and a boomerang flew around. Men and zombies fell down on the battle field.
The remaining guards and soldiers finally threw weapons on the floor and raised their hands to surrender. Major walked to the man in front.
“What’s your name, son?” He asked.
“P-Perry.”
“Alright, that’s the deal, Perry. You’re going to open that door for us nice and easy. What do you say?”
In the building entrance lobby, the secretary pushed the silent alarm button like crazy when she saw the many strangers getting into the premises.
“You can push this thing until your finger turns purple, lass.” Lily spoke to her. “So…” The Australian narrowed her eyes to the woman’s badge “Melinda, eh?”
The secretary nodded uncomfortably. She was not able to speak word.
“I saw a speedboat in that pier over there.” Lily continued. “Do you happen to have the keys for it, Melinda?”
Allison Forrester stormed into the shielded dome. The man in charge of internal security ran after her.
“Ally, we need to talk!” He said with urgency in his voice.
“Never mind, Hertz” Allison responded fiercely. “I don’t want to hear it! When the Tornado signal is out and we start receiving fresh new brain signatures, there’ll be nothing anybody can do.”
“Why is Amy alone in there?” Bonnie mumbled the question, gazing at the big screens attached to the ceiling.
“What?” Allison asked and looked up as well. “What the hell is happening?”
“I don’t know.”
The screens showed an empty Awakening room, except for Amy, sitting on her chair, a little octopus of tubes and needles. Suddenly, the girl’s face appeared in close. And once again Allison had the strange and distinct impression Amy was staring directly at her.
“Who’s handling that camera?” Allison asked.
“I don’t know.” Bonnie responded.
“Don’t launch the signal just yet.”
“It’s too late.” Bonnie announced.
“What do you mean it’s too late?”
“I sent the command to open the output buffers before the power shutdown. Now that the power is back, the buffers will execute the command and release the Tornado. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
“You have to stop this!” The head doctor urged. “Amy can’t take everything all by herself! The signal will fry her brain!”
The girl’s eyes were making Allison rather uncomfortable.
“What did you do?” Allison asked the screen, as if Amy could actually hear her. “WHAT DID YOU DO?”
Forrester frenetically pushed the emergency stop button over and over again.
“Why is it not working?” Allison asked nearly breathless.
“Amy must have cut the communication between here and the Awakening room somehow.” Bonnie replied.
The girl’s eyes seemed to be all over the room, but Allison could feel them even more intensely.
“You little… Whatever you’re trying
to…” Allison choked on her own words. “I’m going to win, you hear? I’M GOING TO WIN!”
The Tornado signal was launched and hit the Awakening room. Violent electric sparks spread through Amy’s body, most of them concentrated on her head. And she screamed and screamed in horrible pain while her entire body burned out of control.
“Mommy!” Amy shouted. “MOMMY!!!”
All of a sudden, all pain stopped. Amy found herself hovering somewhere in space again. Then, images changed. Amy was suddenly sitting on a boat, floating peacefully on the calm, crystal waters of a lake. Several spots of light reflected in the pleasant twilight.
She saw a young woman sitting on the other side of the boat, firmly holding a fishing stick.
Apocalily Series (Book 2): The Almighty Lady of Tomorrow Page 26