The Human Inside

Chapter 22

Hours Later

Pennsylvania

    "You know 6 that was probably a strange but brilliant idea."

    "What is your current power level?"

    "I am functioning way beyond my normal capacity."

    "I can see that 5. Put the car down."

    5 immediately shot 6 a look of desperation. He was holding a wrecked car above his head with both hands with no difficulty at all. Although it looked impressive, she wasn't at all amused. 6 was standing alongside him with her arms crossed and staring him down as one would look at a badly behaved dog. Looking around, the streets had never been emptier with trails of destruction everywhere. 117 had mentioned earlier that it reminded him a lot of Los Angeles.

    Having left the battlefield of the Academy, it was now almost midday. Only one day earlier, they had been in Texas, then Seattle and diverted to the largest school campus in the country. By the time the battle had wrapped up, it was practically dawn when the U.S. Forces had regained control, cleared the school of hostiles, and the amborgs had fully recharged. Unfortunately, the result was that Pennsylvania's defenses had been left vulnerable. A large number of forces hidden in the capital took the military forces there by surprise. With the amborgs stuck out west, establishing a foothold was very difficult. They had spent the last hours searching for any other student survivors from the surprise attack. When the sun began to peak in the sky, they knew they had been worked to the point that they had lost track of time. But the fight at the Academy was over and now they were in the middle of retaking the capitol.

    The fight at Independence Hall had been a swift and sudden turn of events now that the U.S. Army was no longer fighting alone. The amborgs had arrived here for one thing only. To see the final battle through on the doorsteps of where they knew would be the base of operations for their greatest adversary ever. They had divided up into pairs since they were all functioning at full power but several of them were beginning to feel side-effects to the recharge. 5 in particular was being carefully monitored by 6.

    "But I want to throw another car at the bad guys," he whined so loudly that 6 had to hold back a laugh.

    She stepped in front of him and placed her arms around his neck.

    "A car was actually not what I had in mind."

    5 looked back at her in surprise. He dropped the car behind the two of them and put his arms on her waist as it landed with a loud crash.

    "You want me to throw you?" he asked raising his eyebrows. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek which meant he had guessed correctly. "Is that really a good idea?"

    "Yes. Just make sure not to miss."

    5 nodded as he backed up and lifted her by the waist. 6 looked over his head at where she wanted to be thrown. She was already calculating the right trajectory and transmitting the variables to 5. Getting ready for a potential body-slam, she hardened her nerves as he lifted her up.

    "What was that kiss for?"

    6 looked down at 5 as he was preparing to leap backwards. He lifted an eyebrow with curiosity.

    "Just in case I never get the chance to do that again," she replied with a teasing grin. "After all, who else is around for me to give a kiss too?"

    "So I was the only one conveniently near you?"

    "Well, there is one other reason," she hinted.