The Inferno Slayer: Book Two- Charm

TWENTY-TWO: The SC Plan

Nebula Crown, once known as Morgan Bourne, rode in the backseat of Gignaco's Hovercar.

She could see the robots advancing, and her husband doing all he could to slow them down as much as possible. But still, the robots outnumbered the humans three to one, even after Hector's escapade.

Of the human force, thirty percent had a gun. Of those, ten percent knew how to use one properly.

So that meant the ones who were a real threat were about four hundred or so. The real robotic threat was a couple thousand.

Nebula's job was to shut down the power. Gignaco was driving as fast as the car would let him, speeding through the Skyscrapers and towards the power plant, on the far northwestern side of the city.

Making a mental note to remind Hector of the thousands, if not millions, of Infected that were now cured, Nebula made a vow to offer them shelter at the city. The only thing she would ask of them is to help the population, who were suffering terribly because of numbers.

Thousands would help the force a lot.

"Nebula, I'm going to set us down a few blocks away, all right? I see robots patrolling the power station."

"All right. But how are we going to get in?"

"We'll figure that out whenever that becomes a problem."

The Hovercar peacefully landed, and the two of them got out.

Gignaco took Nebula's arm and led her through the streets. Surprisingly, this side of town was empty of human life, because the resistance would have to know to shut down the power. But of course, maybe they had already failed.

Gignaco stopped suddenly before turning a corner and put a finger to his lips.

"Nebula, remember when Edgar told us to shut off the power? Well, I think he meant to do it right when the robots begin to lose the SC's control," Gignaco whispered. "Because if we shut it down too early, it will divert the SC's attention to the power and it will just power it on again through hacking the machinery behind the station. If Edgar gets to the vault and destroys the computer, the robots will lose their attacking instinct and will return to their normal states. That's when we kill the power."

Nebula nodded.

They went on, until Nebula stopped Gignaco.

"Be careful," she warned quietly, pointing ahead.

Gignaco followed her gaze and saw a dozen robots patrolling the entrance to the power station. Five of them held guns.

"I'll buy you some time. Get in there and hide. I'll meet up with you and we'll shut it down. I don't think the robots are allowed in there. As if the SC wants the power station to be completely deserted."

Nebula nodded and Gignaco swallowed, then burst from the corner and ran, screaming. Nebula peeked around the building and saw the robots following the technology geek. She hurried quickly but quietly into the power plant.

Gignaco was right: it was deserted. Nebula looked around quickly, and found a small ventilation hatch in the wall, at knee height. Nebula had always been scrawny and flexible.

She fit inside and pulled the vent grate shut, waiting quietly. Her breathing was the only thing she could hear, apart from the heart that was trying to pound its way out of her chest.

Nebula was sixty-eight years old, but she had always trained and worked hard, just like Hector. Her cover story as Morgan Bourne had only increased the risk, and Nebula had always stayed fit and strong and healthy. So had Hector, ever since the day Harrison, his brother, had been overpowered physically by an Infected human, and had been Infected himself.