Revolution (23 page)

   
This place looks pretty intense.

    The line moved quickly down a long metal tunnel. They reached a checkpoint manned by a Shock Trooper.

    “Your wrist code please, sir,” the Trooper said to Joe.

     Joe rolled up his suit sleeve halfway and extended his arm. The Trooper ran a scanner over it and told him to proceed. Rayne did the same.

     “Hello officer,” Peter said, forcing a smile.

    He was disconcerted by his pale image reflected in the Trooper’s black faceplate. The Trooper scanned his arm and went on to the next person in line.

    They entered a branching corridor where a much smaller line was in place. Only six people were ahead of them. A uniformed attendant stood at a control console, punching unseen buttons. A set of double doors slid open behind him.

    “You may now enter the attraction,” the attendant instructed the group ahead of them.

    The room beyond the double doors was completely dark. The group entered as the silver metal doors slid quietly shut behind them.

    “Looks like we’re next,” Joe’s wife said, grinning nervously.

    “Is everybody psyched up?” Joe asked the group like a coach before a football game.

    “We’re ready to kick some robot ass,” Jessica replied, grinning and winking at Joe.

    The short, dark haired man, Dave, still looked distracted as he stared at the attendant’s control panel.  

    “So what happens first?” Peter asked his improvised host.

    “You’ll be fine. Just stick with us and follow our lead,” Joe advised. “Instead of guns, we’ll be using swords. Our swords are fairly sharp so we can slice through the robot’s joints. The androids are constructed with vulnerable joints at their necks, shoulders, elbows, and knees. One well-aimed slice is all it should take to knock off one of their arms or heads.”

    “What about their swords? Won’t they be able to slice us up?” Peter asked as he felt his heartbeat accelerate.

    “No, that’s not possible. All their weapons are blunt and lightweight. The only thing you have to watch out for is the nerve gel that drips from the tips. It will knock you out just as effectively as the pellets from the guns in Crime World.”

    “Just one more question,” Peter said.

    “Shoot,” Joe replied.

    “Is it possible for us to slice up someone in our own group if we misplace a jab or thrust?”

    “No, there’s a failsafe mechanism built into the swords. They may look ancient, but they’re actually highly sophisticated electronic devices. A force field activates when the sword is in proximity to a biological organism, meaning us. They only work on our metal opponents.”

    “Okay, sounds like fun,” Rayne said, rolling his eyes again.

    They waited about ten minutes until a light flashed on the attendant’s console.

    “You may now enter the attraction,” the attendant said as the silver double doors slid open.

    Peter followed the others into the dark and the doors slid shut behind them. He could hear the others moving ahead, so he followed their voices. Reaching out his hand, he felt a cold steel wall to his right.

    Suddenly, bright light streamed into the hallway as a set of steel doors opened ahead. They followed the long, silver, steel-walled corridor toward the bright opening. Passing through the opening, they entered a small well-lit room resembling a rich man’s closet. Row upon row of ancient clothing, armor, helmets, and weapons lined the walls. Peter examined some of the armor and discovered it was constructed of a lightweight plastic substance. The pseudo armor was painted a shiny metallic gray color to resemble steel.

    “Find something that fits and change as quickly as you can,” Joe instructed the rest of the group.

    Peter ignored the medieval clothing and went right for the armor.

    “Hey, what are you doing? You’re supposed to dress up in these clothes,” Joe said as he pulled off his own dress shirt and fumbled with a dark purple medieval vest.

    “Joe, I’m going to stick with my original duds,” Peter said. “Besides, you can’t really tell the difference under the armor anyway.”

    “Okay, have it your way. You’re the one missing out on the experience,” Joe muttered. “All you have to do is remove your clothes, put them in one of these chutes, and they’ll be waiting for you in the changing room when we’re finished with the attraction.”

    “No thanks, Joe. I think I’ll pass. These medieval clothes are just not my style.”

    Joe scowled as he stripped off his suit pants and pulled on long black medieval stockings. The rows of armor were labeled, making it easy for Peter to find his size. He stripped off his black suit jacket, folded it, and placed it in a suction chute.

    Peter grabbed a heavy-looking metallic chest-plate off its hook on the wall and was amazed by its lightweight feel. The chest-plate was connected to a back-plate by two thick straps. He pulled the plates over his shoulders and fastened the smaller straps on the sides. He found shoulder pieces that could be snapped into place with fasteners. He did the same with pelvis, arm, and leg pieces. He had no problem strapping on the fake armor over his normal dress clothes.

    “Don’t bother with the helmets,” Joe advised. “They interfere with your peripheral vision.”

    Peter glanced over at Joe, who looked ridiculous fastening his armor over his purple shirt and black stockings. Returning his attention to his own outfit, Peter looked at the size and fit of the metal boots and opted to keep his dress shoes. He glanced around and saw the women strapping on armor that was specifically designed to accommodate their shapely forms.

   
Wow, they really thought of everything here.

   
He noticed the women were also wearing strange medieval garb under their armor.

   
I guess it’s a free country.

   
Rayne walked to a section of the wall containing shields and weapons. He selected a circular shield constructed of the same sturdy, but lightweight, substance as the armor. His eyes riveted suddenly to a formidable-looking broadsword. Pulling it down, he found it was much heavier than the armor, constructed of real metal with sharp edges.

   
I hope these force fields work because I don’t want to accidentally decapitate anyone.

    Peter found an authentic-looking leather scabbard matching the size and shape of the sword and strapped it around his waist. He noticed that Dave and Jessica were brandishing impressive-looking crossbows in addition to their swords. Peter pulled a crossbow from a hook and felt its weight, but decided it was too cumbersome to carry in addition to his sword.

    He checked to make sure his lucky lighter, which had assisted him so well in the sewers, was still in his pants pocket.

  
After all, the place is called Dark World.

   When everyone was suited and armed, Joe addressed the group.

   “Is everyone ready?” Joe asked, brandishing a deadly looking two-sided battle-axe.

    “I think so,” Lisa replied as she pulled a long curved blade from the wall and slid it securely into a leather scabbard.

    “Then follow me,” Joe said, pushing a button that activated the automatic doors of the attraction.

Chapter 19

    They entered a dark, spacious cavern with flickering torches set in the black stone walls. The torches cast wavering shadows from sharp stalactites and stalagmites jutting from the ceiling and floor. A rough stone path led forward into the darkness.

    “Be ready for anything,” Joe said. “I’ve never come this way before.”

    Rayne clenched his sword hilt in a clammy grip as he observed the shadows for any movement. The group advanced through the cavern until they reached a sheer precipice dropping down into total blackness. A long, narrow wooden bridge led across the chasm.

    “I don’t think we have any choice. We have to go across,” Joe said as he eyed the tenuous bridge as if it was a path leading to oblivion.

    The decrepit wooden bridge traveled across the chasm for fifty feet before fading into darkness. It looked barely wide enough for two people to cross side-by-side. Just to be safe, they went in single file.

    Joe and Lisa took the lead, Peter the middle, Dave and Jessica the rear. The bridge creaked and groaned as they stepped across the rickety boards. Peter peered over the side and saw the chasm disappearing into darkness, apparently bottomless. After trudging forward fifty feet, they spotted the end of the bridge on the far side of the hundred-foot-wide abyss. Joe quickened his pace and the others followed.

    “Hold up!” he shouted, motioning for the group to halt. “There’s something up ahead.”

    Rayne strained his eyes in the darkness, trying to see past the heads of the people in front of him. What he saw chilled him to the bone. A group of dark, hunched humanoid shapes were gathering on the far edge of the chasm. Their eyes glowed like red coals and they appeared to be armed with clubs.

    One of the shapes shambled onto the bridge with the gait of an ape and the others followed. Looking over his shoulder, he saw more hunched forms coming from the opposite direction behind Dave and Jessica. The creatures’ red eyes glowed like jewels in the darkness.

    “They’re coming at us from both sides!” Rayne informed the group.

    “What the hell are they?” Jessica asked from the back of the line as the hunched creatures shambled closer.

    “Cave trolls!” Joe exclaimed from the front of the line. “Get ready!”

    “We need to put some distance between ourselves so we can maneuver,” Peter warned as the group bunched up in the center of the bridge.

    Rayne’s eyes widened as he watched a hunched, apish figure with gleaming white fangs at the vanguard of the attackers swing a club at Joe. He saw Joe parry the blow with his axe and kick the brute over the precipice. The creature let out an inhuman scream as it fell into darkness.

    Looking over his shoulder, he saw another robot troll attacking Jessica. She screamed as she parried a club blow with the shaft of her crossbow. The dark figure with glowing red eyes pressed its attack and she screamed again as she was shoved off the bridge into the abyss. Peter was shocked as he watched her writhing body disappear into the blackness.

    This is some serious shit. These robots aren’t fucking around.

   Rayne readied his sword in front of him as he watched Dave raise his crossbow and fire at the monster that had just taken out his wife. A bright electrical surge erupted from the creature’s hairy chest as it was struck with a crossbow bolt. It roared like a wounded beast as it tumbled over the side and disappeared. Dave continued to unleash a flurry of bolts at the advancing attackers. One by one they fell, roaring, into the abyss.

    Rayne seized the opportunity to turn around and felt a surge of hope as he watched Joe and Lisa fighting their way through the hairy attackers. Without glancing back, he followed them across the bridge, leaving Dave to deal with the monsters at the rear.

Suddenly, he heard a shout behind him and turned to see Dave attacked simultaneously by two of the robotic beasts. Dave dropped his crossbow into the pit below as he fumbled to pull his sword from its sheath. It was halfway out when he was pushed over the edge into the darkness. He disappeared from sight, screaming. His screaming ended abruptly a short distance below.

   
This isn’t good. 

  
Rayne clenched his broadsword tightly in a two-handed grip as the monsters advanced towards him. As the creatures moved closer, more details of their savage forms became evident. They were half-man, half-ape creatures with hairy faces, flaring nostrils, gleaming fangs, and sharp claws.

    Peter swung his broadsword at the foremost attacker, striking off its hairy head. Realistic-looking blood spurted from the stump of its neck as body and head tumbled separately into the blackness.

    Rayne barely avoided a blow from the next creature as its club smashed into his left shoulder plate, knocking it into the blackness below.  He parried another blow and swung downward to slice off the monster’s right leg at the joint. Blood spurted from the stump of its knee as it fell onto the bridge, blocking the progress of the others behind it. Peter used the opportunity to glance over his shoulder again. Joe and Lisa had made it across the bridge and were busily fending off attackers on the other side.

    Peter didn’t have time to observe their handiwork as he heard a loud grunt emanate from behind him. He turned to see a cave troll leaping over the mutilated body of its fallen comrade. Rayne raised his sword and parried a downward blow from its club, but lost his footing on the narrow bridge. His sword flew from his hand as his arms waved wildly in the air. He tumbled over the side of the bridge and fell into the darkness.

    Rayne only fell a short distance before he struck something soft that felt like a large net spread across the base of the chasm. The straps on his chest plate snapped and he lost half his armor in the darkness. He tumbled down the sloping net and fell onto a slippery metal slide that shot him down into unknown depths. His body careened down the slide for a seemingly interminable amount of time before he struck a hard level surface. His leg plates were knocked off as his knees struck the ground.

    Peter lay on his back for a moment, trying to regain his equilibrium. As he attempted to get his bearings, he pulled off the remaining armor plates from his forearms and tossed them aside. Shaking, he stood in complete darkness. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed his lighter, fumbling with the mechanism as he stepped forward.

   
Where am I? 

    Rayne’s first step landed him on solid ground, but his second step encountered only empty air. Losing his balance, he fell forward into the darkness. His lighter flew from his hand as he struck the floor. The fall knocked the wind out of him, bruising his chest and hands.

    He swore when he realized he had lost his lighter and was now lying on a cold floor in complete darkness. Reaching out his hands, he felt an uneven stone surface like the floor of a cave.

    Reaching further out, Rayne felt his hand touch something wet and sticky. It felt like a small puddle of slimy water. He crawled forward several more feet, finding himself thoroughly soaked in the cold puddle.

    This just keeps getting better
.

    The chamber was cold. Rayne couldn’t comprehend why the temperature had dropped so dramatically from a comfortable level in the cavern above to a bone-chilling icebox here. The pitch-black chamber was eerily silent, broken only by an occasional liquid dripping. In the darkness, he couldn’t figure out where the dripping sound came from. His hands slid on the slick, slimy surface, causing a sudden flashback to the abhorrent sewers on the mainland several weeks before.

   
Am I lost? Did I somehow end up in the basement of the Powerdrome itself?

    Rayne crawled onward in the darkness. Reaching out his hand, he felt contact with a hard, tangible object.

    All right. This must be a wall.

    Rayne stood cautiously in the slime puddle. The surrounding wall had an uneven, ridged texture to it, as if the room had been carved out of rock with a hammer and chisel. He moved steadily along the uneven wall until he reached a flat wooden section that felt like a door.

    Peter’s foot collided with a small metal object as he felt along the wooden surface. Reaching down, he picked up his lost laser lighter.

  
What a lucky break
.

    Peter pressed the lighter’s side button and a bright white beam illuminated a small section of the chamber. He was in a circular cave that appeared to be made of solid rock. A solid wooden door stood before him. The door had a black metal handle shaped like a tiny curved skeleton.

   
Maybe I should explore the cave before I open the door.

    Rayne made his way back to the place where he fell and shined his light on the puddle he crawled through. The bright laser gleamed on water that had a thick, sticky red substance floating on its surface. He touched the floating red substance and recoiled with shock. He pulled his hand away as if he had just burned his palm on a hot stove. His hand turned completely numb while a slow, creeping numbness extended up his arm. In seconds, his arm wouldn’t move. When the numbness reached his left shoulder, it stopped spreading.

    That stuff must be the nerve gel Joe described.
I was lucky I only got a
small drop of it on me
.

    A drop of water struck the top of Rayne’s head. He lifted his lighter to see where it was coming from. It was dripping from a small crack in the cave ceiling. The water had mixed with a smaller puddle of nerve gel on the floor, diluting it.

   
But where did the nerve gel come from
?

    Circling around the puddle, he continued his exploration of the cave. A strange, shadowy object in the far corner caught his eye. Stepping cautiously forward, he held his lighter in front of him like an explorer.

   Peter was startled when his faint light revealed a human skeleton. The skeleton’s wrists hung from a pair of rusty iron chains imbedded in the rock wall. Moving closer to it, he shuddered at the sight of moldy shreds of dried skin hanging from its bones. Moving along the wall, he was startled again when he found a second skeleton hanging in chains. This particular one appeared to be wearing the remnants of rusty metal armor.

   
This just keeps getting better
. 

    Passing by the second skeleton, he found the rectangular opening he had originally entered through. He felt a mild air current rushing against his body.

  
Okay, I came in from that chute
.
But into where?
Where am I? What happened to the rest of my group?

    Circling the chamber, he found more skeletons chained to the walls, some wore rusted armor like their predecessor. A faint light gleamed on the floor next to one of them. Moving closer to it, Peter’s eyes widened as his lighter revealed a gleaming silver metal broadsword lying on the cold stone floor. Reaching down for it, he seized the hilt of the weapon and lifted it up. Examining the fine craftsmanship of the sharp blade, he was again impressed by the amazing detail of the Dark World props.

    Rayne heard the wooden door creak. Moving toward it, he watched it swing open as if pushed by an unseen force. Bright light flooded the chamber; a dark, human-shaped silhouette stood framed against the light. Two small glowing red dots hovered where a person’s eyes would have been. The silhouette stepped through the lighted doorway and the door swung shut behind it, returning the chamber to darkness. Moving toward the shadowy figure, Peter held his lighter in front of him while he lifted the sword over his shoulder.

    Peter stood frozen in mute terror as his lighter revealed a ghastly countenance. He was standing face-to-face with a grinning skull. He watched the skull’s jaw open and close, open and close. He felt like he had been paralyzed with a dose of nerve gel. The thing standing in the doorway was a human skeleton dressed in black chain-mail armor. It was carrying a sharp-looking battle-axe. A pulsing red glow emanated from its sunken sockets.

    My God. It’s a complete skeleton and not just a man wearing a skull facemask
.
I can see the thing’s bony wrists and hands protruding from the armor plates covering its forearms
.
I can also see the thing’s knee bones and shinbones between the plating. What the hell is it?
       

    Rayne’s terror prevented him from engaging in analytical thought. Instinctively, he knew he either had to run or prepare himself for an attack. Unfortunately, his legs were frozen, unable to obey his commands. Rayne was jolted out of his stasis as the armored skeleton took a clattering step forward and lifted its gleaming battle-axe high into the air.

    Rayne’s instincts took over. He swung his broadsword to meet the creature’s descending battle-axe. Sparks flew as the steel weapons clashed. The thing appeared thrown-off by his sudden defensive move. The undead warrior lowered its weapon, opening and closing its jaw with apparent frustration.

    Taking another step forward, it swung its battle-axe in a sidearm motion, racing the blade in a glittering arc toward Peter’s exposed mid-section. Peter parried the blow with his heavy broadsword and saw sparks shoot out as the weapons clashed.