The Defiant (35 page)

“Let's get back inside!” Cass yells.

But I'm transfixed by this strange aircraft.

As I watch, the bomb doors open, and I see black objects tumbling out of them.

Liam grabs my arm. “Let's go!” He says.

We all start moving back into the hotel.

And then the guns on the aircraft open up. At first I think they're going to fire at the people, but instead they fire directly at the approaching helicopter.

The helicopter is struck by a barrage of bullets. The bombardment is so fierce that the helicopter's blade is hit and destroyed almost instantly. The helicopter veers sideways and starts falling out of the sky.

Bullets continue to hit it precisely, as though the aircraft has locked on to it with some kind of tracking system.

“No!” Gadya yells, as the helicopter plunges downward.

It strikes the side of a skyscraper and bursts into flames. The crowd starts running, as bits of burning metal and glass rain down on them.

Then the aircraft turns its guns on the crowd, as it slowly moves forward down the street. Bullets rain down like hail. I see people get hit and fall face-first, dead.

We race up the stone steps and to the front doors of the hotel. When I look back, I see the strange black objects continuing to fall from the bomb bay doors.

I assume that they're bombs, but none of them are exploding yet.

Liam raises his gun and tries to fire at the aircraft, but it's too high up for him to hit. Gadya fires off some rounds too.

And then we reach the glass doors of the hotel and plunge back inside.

Citizens and rebels are racing around everywhere.

I'm stunned. But in my heart I knew that something bad would happen. Nothing is ever easy. The UNA somehow predicted our plans.

“What do we do now?” Gadya is yelling.

Cass looks shocked.

Liam grabs me. “Are you okay?”

I nod. “Yes.”

Outside, more gunfire blasts the street, blowing out windows.

“I saw bombs—or something—falling from the plane.”

“Me too. We better get deeper into the hotel.”

“It has a basement,” Cass says. “We can take shelter there if we need to.”

But right then, I see something out the window, and I have a horrific realization. The plane was not dropping bombs on us after all. It was dropping something else entirely.

I can't even find the words. I just gesture out the windows for Liam and the others to look.

Cass yelps in surprise. I realize that unlike me, Gadya, and Liam, she hasn't seen these things before.

They are the small electronic spiders. The things called MIODs.
Like the kind that burst out of Rika's friend.

“How did they survive the EMP?” Gadya asks.

“They must have been kept underground in some sort of lead-lined container,” I say. And now hundreds—maybe thousands—of them are being dropped from the aircraft.

For a moment, we watch from the hotel lobby as the small metal creatures explode down the street, leaping onto people.

The rebels open up their guns, blasting at them. But more keep coming. The MIODs go for people's faces, trying to get inside their mouths and burrow their way into their bodies.

“We have to go and help!” I yell.

I start moving forward, and Liam does too, right at my side.

Gadya raises her gun. “Let's go!”

The four of us rush toward the hotel doors, ready to fight.

But two armed rebels step into our path.

“You can't go back out there,” one of them says. “We've locked the doors. The doors and windows of this building are
all bulletproof. That's why we chose it. We're safe in here.”

“But what about the people in the street?” I yell. Outside it's becoming a brutal battle between the machines and the humans. On top of everything, the airship continues to fire down at the rebels with an endless barrage of bullets. “We're the rebels. We're supposed to be organizing everything! We can't abandon them!”

“We need to fight!” Gadya yells at the rebel, raising her gun.

“It's too risky to open these doors. You could put all of us in danger.”

“Too bad!” Cass says.

Liam eyes the rebels. “Let us out,” he says softly. “If we die, then at least we die fighting, and not hiding.”

The two rebels look at each other. “Fine. But don't expect that we'll let you back in.”

I nod. “That's a deal.”

The rebels unlock the doors for a moment and Liam, Gadya, Cass, and I rush out of the hotel. The doors are instantly bolted behind us. There is no way to turn back now.

We raise our guns. In front of us is a sea of destruction. The MIODs are attacking the throngs of people. The rebels are firing back. Bullets destroy the MIODs, but there are just too many of them.

“Here they come!” Liam says, as a wave of MIODs rushes in our direction.

I aim and start firing. Like the rebel warned me, the gun has a huge kick. I almost lose control of it for a second as it rams against my shoulder. Then I manage to wrestle it back.

The four of us fire at as many of the MIODs as we can. They are hard to hit, but when we do hit them, they are blasted into little pieces.

“Take that!” Gadya screams as she unleashes a nonstop onslaught of bullets, spraying a row of MIODs. They disintegrate, spraying the roiling crowds with debris.

“Duck!” Liam suddenly yells at me.

I do what he says as bullets fire past our heads.

The aircraft is strafing us. We have to move.

As a group we rush down the steps at the hotel entrance and out to the street. Here we have less of a vantage point, but we are safer from the airship's guns because we are moving in the crowd.

“My gun's jammed!” Cass yells. She keeps pulling the trigger but nothing is happening.

Liam yanks out his spare pistol and tosses it to her.

“Thanks!” she calls back.

We keep moving forward.

I remember what it was like when the MIOD tried to get inside my mouth in the car. I'm not going to let any of those things come near me. I shoot sparingly but with precise aim. So does Liam.

We blast the MIODs into bits, working as a team.

I hear more noises in the sky and fear the worst.

But when I look up, I see another rebel helicopter up there. It's approaching the aircraft that hovers in the sky.

The aircraft begins to turn, but the helicopter is moving too fast.

For some reason the rebel helicopter isn't firing. It's just zooming through the air at top speed, right at the aircraft.

Then I understand what's going to happen.

It's a suicide mission.

The helicopter is going to fly directly into the aircraft.

The aircraft tries to pull back, but its size makes it unwieldy. MIODs keep falling from it, but it stops firing.

And then, a second later, the helicopter collides with it. There's a flash of white light, and a massive orange explosion.

I can't even see the helicopter anymore. It has just disappeared. But the aircraft has a huge burning, smoking hole in it. More explosions start happening as the aircraft begins to list sideways and disintegrate. It's going to crash.

I realize that whoever was piloting the helicopter just sacrificed their own life for all of us fighting down below.

Then an MIOD rushes toward me. I've been distracted. I raise my gun. But it's too late. I can't get it up in time. There's no room to fire.

Then there's a burst of light and the machine suddenly flies sideways, in pieces. I realize that Liam has shot it.

“Thanks,” I say, exhaling shakily. For once I'm glad that Liam is looking out for me and protecting me, so I don't get killed. But I'm not going to admit that to him.

Then we hear the noise of destruction overhead as the huge aircraft sails into some nearby buildings and detonates. I crouch down. The ground shakes. The noise is unbearable for a moment, but then it quiets down. The UNA aircraft has been destroyed.

A cheer rises up from the remaining rebels and everyone else in the streets. The MIODs are still attacking them, but the tide is turning.

Liam, Gadya, Cass, and I keep shooting.

“We're gonna win!” Gadya yells.

“I hope so,” I call back.

Another MIOD gets near us, and I blast it into a million pieces. There are bodies lying on the street. Some are wounded and some are dead. Once we've defeated these machines, then we're going to have to help all of these fallen fighters. I'm hoping this is the last battle I will ever have to fight.

I keep firing. We move forward, farther down the city street. The MIODs keep attacking, but the bullets keep them at bay. Now that the aircraft has been destroyed, their numbers are limited. We will be able to take them out, one by one.

I feel terrified but optimistic.

And that's when I see the first mutant, at the end of the street, heading straight in our direction.

“W
HAT THE HELL IS
that?” Gadya asks, as we stare at the huge, lumbering creature. Other people in the crowd have seen it too, and they've started firing in its direction. But for some reason, the bullets don't seem to hit it. Or if they do, they don't seem to cause it any pain. It just keeps moving.

The creature looks like the thing I saw in Minister Hiram's office, and the thing we saw out in the forest. But what it is—or why it's here—I have no idea. I fear that we are about to find out.

Then a familiar voice crackles out. It's loud enough to cut through the noises of the crowd. It's coming from all the government speakers lining the street. I thought they would be totally dead, but somehow they are functioning. Maybe they run on a protected power system, in case of emergencies.

“All rebels will be put to the death,” the voice says through the speaker.

“It sounds like Minister Hiram,” I say to Liam.

“And Minister Harka,” Gadya points out.

All of us are confused. We stand there with the crowd of people and rebels. The mutant stands still too. Nobody is firing right now. All the MIODs have been destroyed, or have skittered off down
side streets. Everyone wants to hear what the voice says.

“This is a temporary disruption, not a rebellion. The UNA is still in control of this nation, and this city. Put down your weapons. Or else you will be killed.”

“He's bluffing. Whoever it is,” Cass says.

“It's probably the minister who controls the city. The main one,” I say. “You think he's still here?”

“Maybe,” Liam replies. “But it could be remotely broadcast.”

“If you do not surrender, then an army will be unleashed,” the voice continues. “One that cannot be defeated. One that has a very different genetic code from yours. An army that does not need air, or sleep, or food. That is unaffected by radiation. It thirsts only for your death. It is the ultimate result of our genetic experiments. A perfect creature with eternal life.”

“Great,” Gadya mutters.

I raise my gun. There is no way we're going to surrender. In fact, more New Chicago residents are taking to the crowded streets. They are preparing to join the battle.

“These mutants are an unstoppable army. They are the future of the UNA. You are the past . . . unless you work with us, in harmony.”

I remember all too well what happened when we surrendered to Meira on Island Alpha, right after the airships landed. There is no way I am going to make that mistake again.

Not a single person puts down their weapons. We all just stand there, waiting to hear if the voice says anything more.

“This is your last chance,” it finally says. “And then your apoca­lypse begins.”

“Go for it!” Gadya screams. She raises her weapon. We both aim at the mutant.

“Let's put this thing to sleep,” I tell her. Other people in the crowd around us begin raising their old guns, knives, and homemade weapons as well and taking aim.

I hear the voice laugh. “You have done exactly what I thought you would. You have given me the perfect chance to test these mutants in a live environment.” The voice pauses. “Today is your final day on earth. . . .”

With those words, we begin to fire.

The mutant rushes forward down the street.

It's only when it starts moving that I start to understand how fast it is. The bullets do nothing to stop it. Its rippling, bulging skin seems to absorb them, or perhaps repel them.

Even from a distance, I see that its face is contorted. Metal devices are locked on to its head. I wonder if it is being controlled without its knowledge, like a puppet made of flesh.

Everyone is screaming and yelling, as they continue to fire on the creature. It snarls and lashes out, trampling people and ripping them apart with its clawed hands.

And then I hear the sound of a stampede.

I turn and look as other, similar mutants emerge from the side streets. Some of them are as large and bulky as cars. They converge on the crowd, in a rabid frenzy of destruction.

I keep firing at them. I watch my bullets disappear into their nearly translucent flesh.

I'm suddenly reminded of the barrier on Island Alpha. The one we had to crawl through to get into the gray zone. It's like the skin of these creatures is coated with—or perhaps even made from—the same substance. Their flesh seems to slow everything down, like some sticky viscous fluid.

More mutants race into the streets. We are being overrun.

“We have to go back inside the hotel!” Cass yells.

There are now about thirty giant creatures on the street with us. Our weapons are useless against them for some reason. There are a couple thousand of us—a combination of citizens and rebels—but we are going to get massacred.

I see other people starting to flee. The crowd is going to disperse. We can't let the UNA win. But at the same time, we can't just get killed. Not after we've come so far.