“Huh,” I said.
My reaction to this information was not normal. It didn’t feel real.I shouldn’t be shot,I thought.It doesn’t even hurt.
Sam, Tito, and Axel continued to drag me. As I watched, the back of the barn caved in. A four-armed mech with chain saw arms appeared, ripping through the wall planks. The mech cackled as it tore through the back of the building. It was painted pink, and it had a giant “5” spray-painted on the chest. A mech from the Thunder Thighs. A woman’s voice shouted in triumph as she saw us.
The Julie Experience.
“Fuck off, Julie!” I shouted.
“What?” I heard in my ears. “What’re you talking about?” That was Eli Opel.
“Not you, prick,” I said. “I’ll kill you in a second.” I muted the chat on the scout side.
“Hit the deck!” Lulu screamed as she stopped, swiveled, and shot a canister at the pink mech.
Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. I saw the canister spinning through the air.
That’s way too close,I thought as it slammed right into the chest of the charging chain saw mech.
Bam!
Suddenly we were all spinning, wood showering everywhere, despite the distance. I’d been dropped. I groaned as I sat up. Julie the mech had been knocked over and was screaming as the last remnants of the Belly-Rubbed Pug collapsed in on her. I had something stuck in my face. It’d pierced through my cheek. My neck felt hot. I reached up with my good arm and pulled. A broken drumstick. I coughed, and a tooth came out. It came out the hole in my cheek.
That’s not good,I thought.
Funny, it still didn’t hurt. Nothing hurt.
Smoke billowed everywhere, and I couldn’t see where any of the other mechs were.
Lulu was shouting my name.
“I’m good,” I lied, trying to stand, but my head started swimming.“Whoa, shit,” I said before someone grabbed me from behind. I was suddenly being dragged again.
Lulu’s eyes went huge when she saw my face. “Oh, my god, Ollie. I need a bandage! Someone bring me a bandage!”
I blinked, looking around. We were suddenly in a drainage ditch behind the wrecked barn-turned-bar. Smoke continued to fill the world. Wasn’t this ditch on the far side of the field? It was like time had jumped. Had I passed out for a moment?
We need to run. We need to get away.I need to get back to the ship.
This ditch was in the middle of a long stretch of empty fields. In every direction, it was just flatland. This was the only cover for a good half kilometer. Still, we’d filled all these fields with burn barrels ahead of time, and they were now all lit, obscuring everything.
We had nowhere to run. Where were the other mechs?
I shook my head, still feeling disoriented. I leaned up, looking for my friends. To my relief, everyone was here. Rosita hunched down to my left, shouting as she peered over the edge of the ditch. Sam was to my right, pressing something against my cheek. He, too, was bleeding in multiple places, like he’d taken a face-first blast of shattered glass. Just past him was everyone else. All except Tito.
“Tito,” I said. “Where’s Tito?”
But a pat on my shoulder made me realize he was the person I was sitting on. I was bleeding all over him. Why was I so lightheaded? I’d been fine just a minute ago.
“I think they’re all low on ammo and jump jet fuel,” Lulu said, panting as she peered over the edge. “That’s the only reason they haven’t blown us to hell. Ollie, if your plan didn’t work, we need to make a run for it.”
“Do they know where we are?” Rosita asked. “Damn. The chain saw mech is back on its feet. Looks like the chain saws are all wrecked, though.”
“This is literally the only place to hide around here,” Lulu said.“They’ll find us. If we run now, we can make the woods before they catch us.”
I coughed. “I have the bridge. I need to guard it for a bit,” I said. “We killed almost all of them, but I let Cordelia go. I don’t know how long it’ll take for Roger to come back, if it even works at all.”
“Ollie, you’re too injured to do anything,” Lulu said.
