The Quillan Games

QUILLAN

We were under attack.

“How did they find this place?” the old guy said, stunned.

Nobody hung around for an answer. The security dados were coming down right on our heads. It was like being descended on by commandos. They zipped down the lines with military-like precision and skill. There were about eight of them headed down the lines. Who knew how many more were waiting above? We were outnumbered. Worse. They had guns. My first instinct was to run. For all I knew, this was an assassination squad. The others had the same thought. Nobody wanted to stick around and fight these guys.

“Scatter!” Magna commanded. “They can’t get us all,”

The five revivers scampered off in different directions.

I looked at Nevva. Her eyes were wide and scared. “I’ll find you,” she said, and took off.

It was time for me to do the same. As the dados slid down their lines, I ran for the stairs up to the next level of the mall. taking them three at a time. I got to the top and took off running down one wide corridor. I was totally winging it because I had no idea where to go. My hope was that I’d find a doorway that led out, before the dados hit the ground and could follow. Of course my fear was that I’d find a door that led to a dead end and the dados would catch me and bring me back to the castle. Or worse. Running ahead of me was one of the revivers. I made the snap decision to follow him. I figured he had to know where he was going. Fum! Fum!

Too late. The dados were firing their golden guns before they even reached the ground. The running reviver was nailed by both shots. His head snapped back as he fell forward. I think he was unconscious before he hit the floor. I dove to the ground and slid on my belly across the hard marble floor. I wanted to make as small a target as possible. I looked back quickly to see the dados descending on their lines past the level I was on, down to the bottom, where we had been standing moments before. That meant I had a few seconds before they landed, ran up the stairs, and started shooting again. I spotted the metal wand that the reviver had dropped when he was shot. On instinct I scrambled over and grabbed it. The unconscious reviver had no more use for it. The thing was about six feet long. It was thin, but it had weight. It wasn’t as heavy as the wooden stave weapons from Zadaa, but I needed somiething to protect myself. It would have to do.

I was about to take off running, when it hit me that the unconscious reviver was at the mercy of the security dados. What if this really was an assassination squad? Or what if they captured the guy and made him give up more secrets about the revivers? I couldn’t leave the guy there helpless. So I dropped the black wand, grabbed his legs, and pulled him toward one of the empty stores.

Inside I saw row after row of empty racks that spanned from the front of the store all the way to the back. It was once a bookstore. The shelves were barren, except for a few sad and yellowed books. In that split second I imagined these empty rows to be full of colorful books. The idea that the heart and soul of an entire territory could be destroyed, forgotten, and cemented over by a blanket of gray was gut wrenching.

It was also gut wrenching to know that we were being hunted down by killer robots. I didn’t have time to hang around getting depressed over the loss of Quillan’s books. I grabbed the unconscious reviver guy by one arm and one leg, and awkwardly picked him up in a fireman’s carry. The guy was small and fairly light, but I have to admit, I was getting strong. All that work at the training camp on Zadaa had paid off. It also helped that I was scared to death. Like I’ve always said, adrenaline can be your friend. Once he was up on my shoulders, I knew I could move. At least for a little while. No way I could outrun anybody, but at least I could get the two of us to a safe place where we could hide. I took two steps toward the back of the store, when my big plan shattered… along with the front windows of the bookstore.

Fum. Fum. Fum.

Yeah, they saw us. I ducked down behind the first empty book rack as three dados jumped in through the smashed-out windows. I was operating more out of instinct than anything else. With the reviver guy still on my shoulders, I put my back against the book rack and pushed. The long rack fell on top of the attacking dados. I hoped it would slow them down long enough for me to get past them and out of the store. There was nothing more I could do for the unconscious reviver. If I tried to carry him, the dados would get us both. I had to let go of the poor guy and try to escape.

I leaped over the crashed book rack, past the flailing dados, through the broken window, and back out into the mall. I braced myself, expecting to feel the shock and shudder of getting shot by one of those stun guns. I told myself to keep moving until it happened. When I got through the window, I saw the metal wand was right where I’d left it. Without hesitation I scooped it up.

Those two seconds were costly. It gave the dados in the bookstore the chance to get their wits back. (Do robots have wits?) No sooner did I straighten up than one leaped at me through the shattered window with his gun drawn. I was done. Running was not an option. This mechanical robot would shoot me for sure at a range that was barely farther than point blank. When I was back on Zadaa, I made the decision that I no longer wanted to be a helpless victim who relied on others to protect himself. I had gone through grueling warrior training for situations just like this one. I now had the skills to defend myself. There was only one thing to do.

Use them.

I figured if I could keep them in close, I could keep them from shooting. Of course it was still three on one, and they were robots, but what the heck. Nothing I could do about that. All I knew for sure was that I did not want to go back to that castle. At least not easily.

The first dado came at me like a defensive back trying to make an open-field tackle. I spun out of the way and slashed at his gun hand with the black wand. The weapon made a nasty swoosh-crack sound as it cut through the air and slapped the dado’s outstretched hand, knocking the gun out of his grip. I quickly slashed with the other end, cracking the robot on the back of his head, sending him sprawling. I didn’t want to think what this simple but lethal weapon would do to flesh and bone.

The dado didn’t make a sound. He didn’t feel pain. Or if he did, he covered it well. I was about to go for the golden weapon when I saw the other two dados leap at me from the bookstore. I held the long wand out in front of me with both hands, parallel to the ground and my arms locked. I caught both the robots in the gut at the same time. If they had been people, they both would have doubled over in pain. They weren’t people. There was no doubling over and no pain. I was on one knee, holding the weapon out, with a dado on either end. The two stood there, looking down at me with their dead doll eyes as if nothing had happened.

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)