Prodigy Returns (book 3)

Chapter Fifty-Four

A small alien pod took Alex and Zeus to where they needed to go. The spherical transport vehicle hovered over the ground before slowly setting down, allowing them to step out.

Looking around at the former alien civilization was something to marvel. It was Alex's first time seeing it up close and personal. She wanted to study the astonishing engineering achievement, but without a lot of time to waste, she kept moving.

Alex knew every inch of the city of Syros Rio, including the best ways to get around. Cloaked in the aura of the Jacey stone and with the protection of a modified Earth-based war machine, Alex moved through the city grid undetected and without fear. She followed the smoke, which led to a path of destruction, and eventually to the sounds of a war that she wanted no part of.

Alex led the way, dipping beneath the surface to an underground tunnel. From there, the two ran in the darkness. The only light was from her glowing stone.

'This tunnel should lead us to the epicentre of the conflict.'

'How do we find your father?' Zeus asked.

'I'm not sure,' Alex replied 'I cannot communicate with him, but my brother can. I'll tell Kyo to relay a message for us.'

Using alien technology, Alex operated a small communication device locked on to Kyodin's frequency.

'Kyodin, do you copy?' she asked.

There was no answer.

'Kyodin, it's Alex, please come in,' she tried again.

Still, there was no answer.

'Your signal is getting blocked because we're underground,' Zeus said.

'You guys haven't figured out a solution to that problem either? We have that same issue on Earth.'

Alex kept moving as she knew that in less than a kilometre, there would be an opening that would allow her to safely get closer to the action. It was the best way to stay out of harm's way and avoid getting hit by any crossfire or rogue debris from exploding buildings.

As Alex and Zeus moved quickly through the long stretch of tunnel, a dozen sets of glowing red eyes suddenly became activated. They were on the walls and ceiling, as well as both in front and behind them. Alex may have been invisible to the bots, but she was still very vulnerable. She did not have any armour or force field with her, although she was carrying a blaster.

Stopping in their tracks, Alex and Zeus stood back to back. Alex fired first, hoping to randomly hit one of the bots. She continued to fire and on her third attempt managed to connect with one of the night-crawler bots. From the explosion, she could get a sense of just how many she was up against. Zeus had night-vision built in so he handled the threats with a little more precision.

They both took aim and continued to fire as the night-crawlers swarmed in around them. Finishing the threats on his side, Zeus spun around to help Alex. Fortunately, he was tall enough so that his extended arms were a few feet above hers. Together they blasted the remaining bots, causing the sound of the explosions to fill the tunnel. It was a bit strange for Alex to be fighting alongside an RT, but the thought left her mind soon after it had entered.

'Alex, go find Maxim.'

'What about you?'

'I'll be right behind you. I just want to ensure all the bots are taken care of and don't become a problem for us later.'

Dashing down the tunnel, Alex could still hear Zeus as he continued to fight. When she became close enough to the tunnel's opening, a new sound filled the air — the sound of destruction.

Now ascending the stairwell, she kept her back close to the wall to be more discreet. The sounds grew louder as she become closer to the surface. The sky was filled with smoke, and every so often, a pulse of electricity would jolt overhead and hit a target that was out of her field of view. She figured if the fight had been going on for this long, her father and Archimedes must be doing fairly well.

Alex leaped off the ground, grabbing a hold of the ledge that was several feet over her head, and muscled her way up with ease. With her feet dangling below, she surveyed the situation, but did not see her father anywhere. She saw about a half dozen RTs standing their ground amid a barrage of alien bots. It didn't make sense to her at first as to where the RTs had come from, but figured that Archimedes had recovered them from the ship and was somehow controlling them remotely.

Lowering herself back down, Alex knew that if she was going to look for her father, she could not go out there. It was far too dangerous and the possibility of getting killed or seriously injured was too great of a risk. She needed to find another way.

She remembered what Zeus said about the transmission and tried her brother again.

"Kyodin, can you hear me?" she said into a small alien device.

A moment later, Kyodin's voice came over the receiver.

"Yes, Alex, I can hear you. What's up?"

"How's everything going on your end?" she asked.

"Oh, you know, I'm 'taking care of business' as they say on Earth."

"Can you please contact father and let him know that I'm in the city looking for him."

"Yes, one second please."

Alex held tight as Kyodin communicated with Maxim. Overhead, an RT was thrown into a building causing the glass façade to shatter. The unexpected noise along with its proximity startled Alex and caused her to reel back. The head of the RT became dislodged and bounced down the oversized steps. It continued all the way down and disappeared in the dark tunnel. Alex decided she was too close to the action and took a few steps back, but still within range so that Kyodin's transmission could reach her.

Eventually, Kyodin's voice squawked back on the transmission device.

"I'm here," Alex said.

"Okay, father said he is with his friend. They are heading back to the cave and will send a flare in the sky. Look for it and follow them."

"Okay, thanks, Kyodin."

Moments after the transmission ceased, Alex looked high in the sky and saw an arching red flare sailing toward the clouds. Alex followed the trajectory, and determined where it had come from. Using her knowledge of the city, her brain sifted through countless streets, side alleys, and underground passageways to determine the best route to take. She looked back and saw Zeus emerge from the darkness.

'You're just in time,' Alex said, 'but we have to head back the way we came.'