Automatons ✔

Chapter XXIV

Washington, D.C. Capital of the United States of America

The broken street lights flickered like a firefly living its last hours. They marched towards the White House quietly, but the abnormal silence around the city could not be trusted. The sun's solitude ended once gray clouds started forming, covering its rays in a warm embrace. Their footsteps murmured on the ground like drizzle, but Yoel still thought they made too much noise. 

The White House's gate was already open, as if it was inviting them in. Their army suddenly stopped to stare at it, some of them held stony faces, some of them raged with a thrill of the kill, and some were too tired from the long journey that they took to come here. 

"I am not sure our plan will work." Yoel said to The Tsar, "they left the gate open, that's a signal that they are far more prepared than what we may have expected."

"What do you suggest? To come up with a last minute plan while we stand in front of the house of our enemies?" The Tsar rolled his eyes.

"No matter how prepared they are, they will not dare to hurt us. The President is under my mercy, if anything happens to me or us he will die." Demetrius joined their conversation.

"He's right, it doesn't matter how prepared they are," Nerezza agreed with Demetrius, "their security cameras seem to still be functioning and for we all know, someone from the Anti-Automaton regime is watching us right now and preparing a trap for us. We need to move fast!"

"This is my army, not Yoel's. I will give the command to start the plan now." The Tsar turned to look at the massive army behind him, and he put his hand up in a peace sign.

Some of his soldiers entered the White House and moved swiftly through its dense garden, putting automatic bombs on every corner. They then ran back to where The Tsar and the rest of the Pro-Automaton group were, with hands covering their ears from the explosion that was about to happen. Few seconds after they mingled with the group, the bombs sang their last tick and exploded only around the White House walls, leaving the gates where they stood untouched. 

They lingered there for awhile, waiting for the President's soldiers to come out but the silence still reigned and it worried Yoel. He knew something was fishy but he could not control The Tsar as he walked towards the main door. With their guns in their hands, they ambled as a cold wind whispered through the trees like a seer, predicting the tragedy that was about to happen. But before their feet could even kiss the great floor of the White House, a tank came from the side and drove into him. 

Yoel's eyes widened in fear, "withdraw, now!" He commanded everyone.

He grabbed both Éloa and Nerezza's hands and dragged them as he ran as fast as he could. Tanks came from all directions, their laser main guns moved at the speed of light which made it harder for The Tsar's army to escape from the deadly shots. 

"I need to shoot the laser pointer, that will stop them from targeting us!" Éloa said in a loud voice, hoping Yoel would hear her amidst the loud chaos.

"Are you crazy? You will have to be near their tanks to shoot it with precision!" Yoel's breathless voice yelled back.

"I would rather sacrifice myself now to give you a chance to fulfill your promise to me, than have us all die!"