Waking Gods (Themis Files #2)(87)
—I’m … not OK. I flew into the wall when we hit the ground. My shoulder … I think I broke my arm. My right leg’s all … bent. It won’t move at all. Roll us on our back, will you? I can’t see anything.
—How do I do that? OK, I got it.
—I’ll get to the console and turn on the shield again. He’s coming at us.
—Can you get us up?
—No. I can’t get into the controls. Let me get my helmet on … He looks like he’s about to punch us in the face. He is punching us in the … AAARGH! Calver! Can you hit him too?
— …
—Eva! I know this is scary but you need to snap out of it. Can you hit him?
—Our left arm is pinned under his foot. I can hit him with the right.
—Hit him in the gut.
—I can’t reach his gut.
—Doesn’t matter, I’ll fire when you get close. Now! Ha! That hurt, didn’t it?
—Keep firing, Vincent! Again!
—That’s my kid kicking your ass! You messed with the wrong ten-year-old!
—Again! Again! Again! … Again! Vincent, keep firing! He’s still up!
—I’m—
—What?
—We’re out of juice. We discharged, and now we’ve drained whatever was left. She won’t fire.
—Themis won’t move with me anymore.
—I know. We can’t move. We can’t do anything.
—Then what?
—Then … I guess we wait.
—For how long?
—I don’t know. We’ve never drained her bef— —He’s coming back! He’s coming back! Vincent, there’s a … it looks like a disc of light in his hand.
—Shit.
—What is it?
—I’m pretty sure that’s what erased half of London.
—Do something!
—I can’t!
—Are we gonna die?
—Eva, I—
—I don’t wanna die … I wanna get out!
—Eva!
—HOW DO I GET OUT?
—EVA!
—GET ME OUT OF THIS THING!
—EVA, STOP!
— …
—You’re a good kid, Eva. I’m glad I got to meet you.
—Can you hold me again?
—I wish I could, Eva. You can’t imagine how much I want to, but I can’t get to you. Look at me.
— …
—I’m right here, Eva. Look at me.
—Dad …
— … Yes?
—I’m sorry.
—There’s nothing to—
—LOOK! He’s turning away from us!
—I can’t see. I took my helmet off.
—He’s looking at … There’s a pickup truck coming!
—Does he still have his disc thing in his hand?
—I don’t think so. Someone’s getting out of the truck. I think it’s Dr. Franklin.
—WAY TO GO, ROSE!
—There’s white gas coming out of … somewhere, everywhere.
—What do you see?
— …
—Eva! What do you see?!
—I see nothing. Nothing but white.
FILE NO. 1633
MISSION LOG—DR. ROSE FRANKLIN, HEAD OF SCIENCE DIVISION, EARTH DEFENSE CORPS
Location: Central Park, New York, NY
—General, I’m entering Central Park.
[Roger that. We’re ready when you are.]
This is awful. There are people lying on the grass … everywhere. It looks like they’re taking a nap. Cyclists on the side of the road. Someone should take care of them. I’ll stop here. I think that’s close enough. I must be … a thousand feet from the robot.
General, I’m getting off here.
[Very well. Rescue team is standing by. Holler if you need anything.]
Thank you. Wish me luck.
[Luck is believing you’re lucky. Go get ’em.]
I believe. I believe. So … I’m out of the vehicle. The robot is standing right in front of me. It is facing me but I don’t know if they’ve seen me or not. I must look like an ant from where they’re sitting. I’m getting the bacteria out of the vehicle. One … The containers are … really … heavy. I’ll have to carry them one at the time with the … dolly. Two … The pump and the hose are in my backpack. I also … brought … a small Army shovel. And that’s three.
I’m making my way towards the robot. I’ll turn on my projector in a second. I don’t know how they’ll react but I have to make sure they see me. They have to know that I’m responsible for whatever is happening to them, if anything happens. Shit. The robot’s feet are on East Drive. Part of the right foot is on the grass, but only for five or six feet. The rest is on asphalt. So much for my shovel. I hope there’s enough of a gap in the shield above ground for me to …
What the … ? Themis just appeared a hundred feet behind the alien robot.
{Rose! Are you there? It won’t work! You need to turn around!}
Vincent! What are you doing here?!
{Eva saw it. It won’t work! Get out of the way!}