Chapter 2: On the menu, a new toy, quick speech, and wicked robots
My throat was dry. I could feel all the hairs on my body curl up and my heartbeat like a drum in my chest as I watched the towering figures slowly descend from the sky. But I felt something else deep inside me, something different…
- "JESSE!!!"
Leslie's voice calling out my name bringing me back to reality, I turned my head to my right to find her at the end of the hall, her wings of light half-extended. His hair was scorched in a few places and his face showed obvious hitting marks. In his right hand rested in a black scabbard finely decorated with silvery briar-shaped designs a double-edged longsword with a cylindrical white hilt segmented by silvery filaments and a bat wing-shaped hilt. She must have been in bed when this chaos started as she was wearing black silk shorts and an equally black t-shirt with 'Death to MPLA' written on it in red.
- "Jesse, we have to move. Now!"
- "Leslie what's going on? Who are these guys?"
- "No time to explain. We are under attack. Myers is rounding up the other children for safety. He's gonna need a backup."
She throws the sword at me, which I catch in flight. I could tell she was lighter than her appearance suggested. I didn't have time to study the characteristics of the sword further as the castle was seized with another shake.
- "You can admire your new toy later! We have to go!"
Leslie rushed for the stairs, her footsteps followed by mine. We arrived at the entrance to the inner courtyard which showed no sign of destruction even though we could clearly hear the raging fire and the ominous chirping of our unwanted guests.
- "How come they haven't always tried to enter?" I asked.
Leslie took out of her cleavage a small black remote control with ten gray buttons and a small screen on it and gave me the look of someone who had done a bad joke.
- "Oh they must be trying. But when they entered the barrier, they set off the alarm on the orphanage's security system. It is programmed to magnetically lock entry and exit routes and reinforce doors, walls, and roofs by molecular freezing. They cannot enter by force with standard means. Luckily, I always keep a remote for the system on me otherwise I was stuck outside with them," she said laughing.
- "Wait...What were you doing outside at such a late hour?"
Immediately his expression darkened then assumed a thoughtful air:"I was outside to...let's see...water my roses maybe...or read a book under the stars...Or maybe be alone to cry because of the nastiness that a boy told me a few hours earlier...or maybe…"
- "Ok ok okay listen I'm sorry, I'm really sorry for what I told you and Myers. I shouldn't have reacted like I did and…" I stopped dead when I heard her chuckles and her smile indicating that she was laughing at me.
- "I know little wolf, I understand perfectly…"
She looked at me tenderly, to the point where one would have thought that the events which had occurred a few hours earlier had never happened. It was a strange but pleasant moment of respite from what seemed like a potential life and death situation.
- "Listen Jesse, neither the walls nor the doors will hold back our attackers indefinitely she said to me her expression became serious again. And given our geographical location asking for help may be difficult."
- "So what's the plan?"
She pointed at the weapon in my hand.
- "It's simple, we keep these big scoundrels busy until Myers has finished sheltering the little ones."
- "You talk about it as if it were going to be gardening."
- "Rather like a hunt for pests. These heaps of scrap are in reality only strength in numbers."
- "But I have no real experience of combat," I could not help but reply.
- "Don't forget that I trained you by myself. Everything I taught you, it all prepared you for this day." And then she put her fist against my chest.
- "Nothing is stronger than someone who fights to protect others, little wolf," she said to me with her most beautiful smile.
At this point, Leslie seemed to have started a fire in me. A blaze that nothing in this world could extinguish. I wanted to protect my home. As well as those who live there. Purged of all fear, I pulled the blade out of its sheath. The pristine white blade with a sharp edge seemed designed for thrusting and mowing techniques. When I took it in hand I had the sensation of holding up an extension of my body.
- "Ready when you are."
- "So it's time to go, but first we have to put out that damn fire," said Leslie, pressing a button on her remote control from which a disembodied voice was heard: [Fire-fighting system activated].
- "Remember, don't hit randomly, never focus on a single opponent, and above all, be careful."
We exchanged a nod before she pressed another button on the remote and the disembodied voice said the words: [Door unlocked: inner courtyard accessible.] And with both hands, she opened the massive doors wide as if they were made of paper. Upon entering the courtyard it took only a few seconds for our visitors to move around to surround us and I saw them clearly for the first time.
The first striking detail was that each of them was a perfect copy of the others. Leslie had called them «heaps of scrap» earlier and I thought the term was kinda nice. Massive bodies easily measuring around 2 meters, a scarlet breastplate covering to the contours of their cylindrical heads, blank, expressionless faces covered in intricate geometric patterns andbred eyes glistening like fireflies.
- "Well, well, is that a way of behaving towards his hosts ? Leslie said in a mock pained tone.
One of them slowly approached us:
- "You are deemed as criminals. Surrender here and now. Any resistance is fu—"
- "HIYAA!!!"
SHBUM!!!
He would never have the possibility of finishing his sentence because Leslie beheaded him with a return kick and his head was going to lodge violently in the chest of one of his brothers. With that blow, Leslie had just kicked off the battle that would determine our fate.
Sorry for the late. Thanks to Horizon42 for editing. Please enjoy and give opinions on the commentary section. This help to improve my work.
