Fantopia

13

The group slowly headed toward the gate. It took ten to twenty minutes if you went without interruption but a group this big would take much longer. The bimans were quickly attracted to the smell of normal humans and came quickly, hoping to kill them.

"Here they come," Drake informed them, looking at a swarm of people rushing toward them using the scope on his sniper rifle. He started shooting them each in the head one at a time.

Dolly pulled out ten knives, one for each finger, and circled around the group. She threw blades at any crazy person who got too close.

"I've got the front!" Elliot called and drove his vehicle through five bimans near the front of the group. It never occurred to him that putting the humans IN the car would be a good idea. But, even if they did, his horrible driving would probably end up harming them inside.

One of the girls screamed when an unnoticed biman stumbled toward her, reaching out for her back. Dolly ran past her and drove a weapon into its back. "Who here is willing to help me?" Dolly yelled, holding up some long, metal boards she'd seen lying on the ground. A few men stepped up and she threw the weapons at them.

"Keep them moving!" Drake ordered as he continued shooting the enemies. "We just need to reach the turrets at the gate and we'll be safe!"

"I got it!" Dolly called back, annoyed, and ran ahead, urging the people to continue forward. "Those who fall behind will be left behind!" she yelled. The group started shuffling forward, looking around fearfully as more and more bimans surrounded them.

"There's too many of them!" Dolly yelled as she leapt on top of a man and dug a knife into its skull. She went to reach for more blades but had run out. Pulling her long knife out of her back, she growled and leapt into a group of bimans, mowing them all down singlehandedly.

"There's a mob coming in from the North," Elliot commented. "I think Jolene and Caleb should be able to reach you before IT does." But, despite his attempt to be encouraging, the two soldiers never showed up.

One of the survivors freaked out when he saw the giant mob coming over a building toward them. The mayor was leading the group, her red eyes burning in the sunlight.

Dolly stopped and stared at the massive group. "We're dead," she whispered. They would be severely outnumbered. Lucy, the mayor, grinned back and licked her lips as she leapt off a roof toward Drake. He was distracted and didn't see her. It would be an easy kill.

Drake saw the mob out of the corner of his eyes and turned. He attempted to aim his gun at Lucy but knew he'd be too late.

At that moment, Papa leapt off another building to the right and grabbed Lucy, dragging her to the ground. Cindy, who had been standing on Papa's head, leapt into the mob, holding a large, sharp billboard. She spun around in the group of bimans, cutting them apart.

Everyone watched in shock as she landed on the ground before them, surrounded by the slain bodies. Papa came to join her, leaving Lucy's limp body on the ground. No one noticed when she weakly crawled away.

"Nice!" Dolly called to Cindy before she started fighting again.

"Hey!" Caleb and Jolene ran down the street toward them, waving. "Are we late?" Jolene asked, reloading her shotgun. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"No, miraculously," Drake said and started shoving the people forward. "But you WERE late."

00

The turrets started up when two bimans ran past. In three seconds, their lasers brought the men down. Smoke flew up from their burnt clothes. A moment later, the group of survivors ran up to the gate. The people clambered up to it, anxiously waiting for it to open.

"Okay." Elliot stared at them through the cameras, so nervous he was sweating. "You six have to guard the gates with your lives. If anyone gets out who shouldn't, they could kill all the survivors and even get into other cities."

"All right." Drake set up his rifle and waited.

Cindy looked at the group as they stood around nervously, refusing to look her in the eye. She walked into the crowd when she saw Max standing among them. When he saw her approaching, he forced a smile.

"You're leaving?" she asked quietly, the child in her emerging. He was the closest thing to a friend that she had.

"Yeah." Max scratched his head awkwardly. "I mean, if I stay here any longer, I'll die." He chuckled.

Cindy looked down sadly. "But what about--"

"I can't stay here, kid!" he interrupted her, getting annoyed. "I can't survive with you freaks!"

The girl stepped back when his tone turned dark. He glared at her until she turned and ran into Papa's arms. The robot stared at him blankly as he lifted her onto its shoulders.

"All right!" Elliot called. "I'm opening the doors in ten seconds. Get ready for it."

The soldiers turned toward the city. All of the bimans were hiding from the guns, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

"Okay." Elliot slowly opened the gate. He turned on the door's speaker and addressed the people of Fantopia. "Head to Glauni," he told them. "Do not tell anyone about what transpired here. We can't have people trying to get in. If the war ends, we will contact the army ourselves. That's all."

The humans ran out of the gates onto the long, rocky road, cheering and breathing the fresh air. The soldiers watched silently as they charged down the path, refusing to look back. Max was at the front of the group, eager to escape.

"I'm shutting the doors," Elliot warned as the metal gate slammed shut. The bimans stayed hidden in the shadows, still afraid of the turrets.

"We did it!" Dolly yelled cheerfully, high fiving Caleb. "They're all free!"

Drake looked back at the ruined city, watching the bimans dart in and out of the buildings. "What now?"

"We just wait until they all die of starvation," Jolene suggested. "They'll have to run out of food eventually."

"And we can live off of the canned food," Caleb added. "They probably won't eat that."

"It's the only thing we can do," Elliot said. "The army can't help us. They're too busy fighting their pointless war."

Drake shook his head. "Fine." He threw up his arms in surrender. "Let's do it." He glanced at Cindy, who was nodding agreement.

"All right!" Dolly pulled out her long knife. "Let's go join Elliot."

They all turned and walked down the empty street, excited about the new adventure ahead of them and depressed that they were now confined her until every last biman had died.

END OF PART 1