Summer Crash (Zerralon 1.1)

Part 7: Raid In Progress

Kevin flung his weight against the door of the hovercar.

It flipped open suddenly, dumping both of them on the hard ground. The Vordac raiding robot’s arms extended out over their heads, barely missing them.

Christy reached for her doll Boo. Kevin grabbed her and rolled her over his own body towards the underside of the hovercar.

He couldn’t keep rolling. Not without hurting Christy. He made so much noise wriggling under the hovering vehicle. It wouldn’t do any good. He knew it, and yet he did it anyway.

He breathed hard, waiting for the robot to move the hovercar. To grab one or both of them out from under by the feet. He angled himself lengthwise under it, keeping Christy pulled close with his hand over her mouth.

The hum of the robot changed direction. Through the space towards the front of the vehicle he saw feet pounding along a sidewalk. A white burst, and the feet lifted from the ground, encased by the bottom of a bubble.

A siren started sounding again, but this time in the distance. Other screams, thuds, pounding steps. And the constant hum of the Vordac robots as they moved through the area, looking for biological cargo.

Kevin flinched at all of it, but kept his mouth clamped shut. No sign of the Morde yet, but that didn’t matter. Not with the other robots running around. No one here could fight them off. No way to defend themselves. Even if one of the police were here, there would be too many to fight off.

Could they stay underneath? Hide there until they left?

Christy put a hand up to his, tugging down on it. Only then did he realize he’d been pressing down so tight on her mouth.

She rolled to her stomach with Boo still grasped in one arm. With barely a whisper, she asked, “What do we do?”

He only shook his head, putting a finger up to her lips to shush her. He didn’t know what to do.

This sort of thing happened on other worlds, not Earth. And in the city closest to Galactic Patrol headquarters? How could they allow this to happen? Why weren’t they out here stopping it?

So few sounds outside anymore. His hyperactive imagination told him why. Either the people in the park had escaped by now, or were prisoners of the Vordac, on their way to the hovering mothership.

If they didn’t keep hiding, they would end up inside it, too.

The small rocks on the pavement bit into the palms of his hands and belly. Stay quiet. Stay still. Maybe they could still manage to get home tonight.

The ground shook. Just a little, but easy to feel with their bodies laid out over it.

Then a stronger thump.

An explosion? Something landing?

The shape-shifting Morde on the rampage?

He jerked at the sound of a sniff. He reached around Christy to cover her mouth again.

She took the movement as that of a hug, sliding closer to him. Her eyes filled with tears, spilling out to make tracks down both cheeks.

She leaned against him. He could tell by the way she covered her own mouth and the subdued sniffles that she was trying to stay quiet.

But, in the quiet of the park, it wasn’t quiet enough. Not with robots on the hunt.

“What do we do?” she whispered again, then clapped her hand over her mouth again. More tears.

Tears from brave little Christy. The little red-headed tornado in dresses, who could take on all three of her older brothers if she wanted. Who was game to do anything with them.

Crying, and asking him what to do. Looking to him to make the decision.

Kevin took a deep breath, pushing down on his own fears. Willing his own tearing eyes to remain clear. For Christy he would figure something out. There must be a way to get away. The Vordac weren’t invincible.

He glanced up at the bottom of the hovercar. His frozen brain slowly started to work again. Going over the possibilities.

What would he have a character in a video game do? What were the options? What had the best possibility of success? Other questions formed, and he automatically sorted them into priority. Just as he would when playing a game. Something so familiar to him.

Right. He could do this.

TO BE CONTINUED…