The Quillan Games (40 page)

I hadn't trained for this. Battling robots wasn't part of Loor's warrior course.

I pulled the black wand into my chest and did a back somersault, landing on my feet. I quickly stood, holding the weapon ready, for what, I didn't know. I could whack away at these machines until doomsday, and they'd still keep coming. But I wasn't going to give up without trying. One dado came at me. His gun was out, ready to fire. I faked a swing of the metal wand, he flinched, I ducked, rolled to my right, and came up swinging on his unsuspecting friend. The second dado didn't see me coming and didn't know what hit him, literally. I knocked the robot off his feet and he crashed to the floor. I sidestepped and jammed the end of the weapon into his back. I wasn't prepared for what happened next. The wand pierced the back of the robot's body! I felt a slight tingle in the weapon, and the dado stopped moving. I had killed him! If I'd stopped to analyze it, I probably would have been grossed out. But this wasn't a person, it was a machine. It wasn't alive. Whatever this metal weapon was, it could pierce the fabric that covered these robots and knock them out of commission.

I was in business.

I realized it wasn't about knocking them down, it was
about getting through the outside layer and damaging the works. These simple weapons were more than just batons to be used like the staves on Zadaa. These were dado killers.

The dados may have been robots, but they weren't dumb. They saw that I had their number, and they became more cautious. The robot I had first knocked to the ground went for his gun on the floor. I lunged at him and plunged the metal rod into his arm before he got to it. The wand was so powerful that it actually jammed itself into the hard floor of the mall as if the surface were loose dirt. It stuck there like I had planted a flag on a mountaintop. Whatever material that thing was made out of, it was awesome. The dado's arm gave a slight shiver and went dead. But the dado was still functioning. His gun was out of reach so he grabbed at me with his other hand. I made sure I was out of reach too.

The next dado attacked. He grabbed my shoulders, pulled me away, and threw me across the floor like a limp doll. If that weren't bad enough, I lost my grip on the dado-killing wand. The dado who'd just tossed me aside didn't go for it. I thought for sure he would pull it out of his buddy's arm to free him, but he didn't. Instead he took his own gun out of its holster and fired at me.
Fum!

I felt the energy of the charge raise the hair on my neck as it barely missed me. I knew I wouldn't be that lucky again so I scrambled to my feet and ran into a store across the aisle from the empty bookstore. The place was a junkyard of old displays from the mall. Dust covered everything. When I first jumped inside, what I saw made me freeze. It was a sea of people! I thought they were mummies, or maybe inactive dados. It took me a second to realize they were mannequins. There must have been a couple hundred of them in all sizes, colors, and poses. Some had distinct features that made them look real. Others only had
the vague shape of a face. It was one of the creepiest things I had ever seen in my life. I probably would have been scared, if it weren't for the fact that I was in the middle of something a lot scarier.

Fum. Fum.

I felt the energy pulses of the stun gun fly past my head, crackling the air. I dove into the rows of mannequins, trying to lose myself amid the lifeless forms.

Fum!
A mannequin exploded next to me, covering me with a wash of dummy muck.
Fum!
An arm blew off another one. I crouched down low, hoping to get out of the dado's line of sight. I didn't know how many shots that golden gun had. Six? Ten? A thousand? Several seconds went by. The dado didn't fire. I didn't think he had given up. No way. He was getting smart and listening for me. Somehow I had to make my way back to the front of that store, get outside, and either grab the dado-killing weapon, or the gun that was on the ground. I stayed low and crept forward. My sneakers had soft soles. Soft meant silent. I looked through the tangle of mannequin arms and legs to try to get a glimpse of the dado, but the jumble was too dense. I couldn't see a thing. Maybe that was good. It might mean he couldn't see me, either. I took a few more cautious steps.

Peering through the mannequins, I saw the front of the store. The dado wasn't there. I could only hope that he had gone deeper into the store hunting for me, never thinking I'd double back and go out the exact same way I came in. I peered around a tall mannequin and looked down a long, empty aisle. No dado. Sweet. I was getting closer to the front door, and weapons, with every step.

I crept slow and low down the aisle. Still no dado. I turned to look back over my shoulder . . . and there he was, taking aim! He was right behind me! Without thinking, I
launched myself at the robot and drilled him in the chest with my shoulder.

Fum. Fum.

He fired harmlessly at the ceiling, blasting out pieces of tile that shattered and fell down on us. The force of my tackle sent the two of us tumbling into a group of mannequins. We landed in a jumble of arms and legs and hands. It felt as if I were being grabbed at by a dozen different people. That was fine, so long as none of them was the dado. I rolled off the pile, bounced up, and dove over the next row of mannequins.

Fum!
The dado had gotten himself back together and was firing away. The time for finesse was over. I had to get out of there. I crashed over a bunch more mannequins, barely keeping my feet under me. With a final leap I landed on the floor, slamming my shoulder into the ground. I had landed in the doorway back out to the mall. Yes! I got right back to my feet and sprinted toward the other dados. One was dead, or whatever you call it when a robot goes belly up. I'll use “dead.” The other was still pinned down by the metal rod I had stabbed into his arm. I wondered why he didn't just pull it out. I spotted the golden gun that I had knocked onto the floor, and I sprinted for it.

Fum!

The other dado was out of the store and taking aim. I dove forward, head first, arms stretched out in front. I hit the floor on my belly and continued sliding. Half a second later I scooped up the gun.

Fum! Fum!

I rolled to get out of the line of fire as I fumbled to hold the weapon. I had never fired a gun at anybody in my life. I wasn't even sure of how to aim. I rolled onto my back to see the dado was closing in on me. That was okay. Aim wasn't going to be a problem. I was going to nail this guy, point
blank. I brought the pistol up, held it with both hands, and pulled the trigger.

Fum!

There was no kick or recoil. I felt the slight sensation of an electrical charge. I nailed the dado dead on.

But nothing happened. The dado pulled up and stood there, no worse for wear. The charge from the gun had done nothing! The dados were impervious. Now he had me. The robot knew it too. He stood not more then a few yards away, his feet spread apart. Slowly he raised his gun at me. I wasn't afraid. I knew I wasn't about to die. But I was beaten. The dado took aim, making sure I was perfectly in his sights . . . and pulled the trigger.

The gun didn't fire. It was empty.

I had life. Before the dado could react, I rolled toward the other robot whose arm was pinned to the floor. I needed that weapon. I jumped to my feet, grabbed the wand, yanked it out of the floor, and with one quick move I heaved it at the other dado like a spear. The deadly missile nailed him right in the chest. I heard a sharp, crackling electrical sound. A moment later the robot shuddered, and crumpled to the ground like one of those dusty mannequins from the store. Dead. Out of commission. Whatever. I thought it was over.

It wasn't. I had made a critical mistake. When I pulled the wand out of the arm of the other dado, I had freed him. Oops. I sensed him before I saw him. I spun around to see he had gotten the gun from the holster of the first dado I had killed. The weapon was raised and ready to fire . . . at me. I was about to dive out of the way in a desperate attempt to ruin his aim, when the robot made an odd shudder. I heard the electrical
zap
sound again too. The dado's gun hand dropped to his side. What had happened? The robot lurched forward and
fell flat on his face. Dead. Sticking out of his back was another wand. Behind him was Nevva Winter.

“That's all of them, I believe,” she said matter-of-factly, as if making another efficient report to her bosses.

I heard a single person clapping from somewhere overhead. Looking up I saw the other four revivers looking down on me from the level above. The person clapping was Tylee Magna.

“There's another guy in that store,” I said. “I don't think he's hurt, but he was shot.”

“He'll be fine,” Tylee said. “We saw how you tried to save him.”

“Tried,” I said. “That's about as far as I got.”

Tylee looked to Nevva and said, “Maybe this Pendragon person can help us after all.”

I looked to Nevva. She gave me a smile of satisfaction and said, “I never had a doubt.”

I had impressed them. Like Nevva, the revivers now believed I could help them. It would have been nice to know what exactly it was they wanted me to do.

I was about to find out.

(CONTINUED)

W
e had to get out of that mall. It was explained to me that this was one of the many secret locations the revivers used as a meeting place. Now that the dados had discovered it, it was no longer safe. I feared it was no coincidence that the place had been a total secret, until I showed up. Tylee agreed that my being there probably had something to do with the discovery, but she didn't blame me. I was an escaped challenger, after all. I was being hunted. They figured that someone, somewhere, must have recognized me and alerted the security dados. Luckily, the only causualty of the dado attack was the reviver who had been shot with the stun gun, and he was going to be fine. The other revivers had been able to pick off the rest of the dados, one by one, using those amazing dado-killing wands. Each of the other revivers had been chased by only one dado. Three of them had come after me. There was no question. The raid had been about me. The trustees of Blok wanted me back. Veego and LaBerge wanted me back. Saint Dane wanted me back. I was a popular guy.

We took turns carrying the unconscious reviver through the deserted mall. I didn't ask where we were going. I figured it had to be someplace safe. We came upon two small vehicles that reminded me of golf carts. I got in one with Nevva, Tylee, and the older guy. The rest took the unconscious reviver in the other car. What followed was a fast trip through an incredible underground mall system. The cars gave off a low hum as we sped along. We were quiet and quick. I discovered that the abandoned mall was only one of many malls that were connected by tunnels under the city of Rune. I kept thinking we would reach the end of the line, but with each turn we came upon yet another wide-open mall full of empty stores. I couldn't begin to tell you how many empty storefronts we passed. It was definitely well into the thousands.

Nevva must have read my mind, because she said, “It's sad, isn't it?”

“It's unbelievable,” I replied. “How long have these stores been empty?”

Nevva answered, “No one can say for sure; there isn't a person alive with firsthand knowledge of what it was like. But there are stories. The winters are harsh here in Rune. As I've heard it told, these underground shops were built so that people could stay out of the cold and still have access to everything they might need. There are amazing stories of shops that had a variety of different foods, and repair centers for every item in your home. I've heard it said that you could visit your doctor, buy a pair of shoes, eat a meal at a place where they actually cooked it and served it to you, and then see a dramatic theatrical performance, all within walking distance. It all seems so impossible.”

Impossible? It sounded pretty much like Second Earth to me.

“Why is it all so empty?” I asked. “I saw the overcrowding in the buildings up top. People could come down here just to get a little breathing room.”

“At first it was forbidden,” Tylee answered. “But so much time has passed that most don't even know these places exist. There are no entryways. Everything has been sealed and forgotten—by everyone but the revivers.”

We traveled for at least half an hour. As we sped into one large mall area, I started seeing signs of life. There were people dressed in the black clothing of the revivers. Several appeared from out of doorways, holding golden guns. Some held the familiar black wands, ready to deal with unwanted visitors.

“Guards,” Nevva said, reading my mind.

Question was, what were they guarding? I wondered if we would have to give some kind of password, but once the guards saw Tylee, they gave a quick salute, which meant they grabbed their left biceps. We sped past without incident. These guys looked pretty dangerous, but it didn't seem like there were enough of them to repel an army of dados.

Farther along I saw that in spite of what Tylee had explained, there actually were people living down here in the mall. We passed several families huddled together in storefronts. Some were eating, some sleeping. To be honest, they reminded me of homeless people back on Second Earth.

Tylee said, “We discourage people from living down here. This is where we base our operations, and the more people who come and go, the more chance there is for us to be discovered.”

The old guy added, “Some people simply can't be refused. Many of these poor people would be sent to the tarz if we didn't give them sanctuary. Others are unable to provide for their families. It's tough deciding on who can stay and who can't, but we do what we can.”

“Guards are stationed throughout,” Tylee said. “If a security dado, or even a stranger, should approach, we can disappear into a different section immediately.”