And then it was done. The mech fell backward into the barn as we all scattered. Seconds later, the entire barn collapsed in on itself.
The house was now just gone. The woods were on fire, and heavy smoke rose into the night. Several plumes of smoke rose from every direction. All the mechs were down. It had ended just as quickly as it had started.
“The Heavy has been disabled,” Roger said in my ear. “Unfortunately, we lost the rhino in the process. I have visual confirmation that all enemy and RMI units have been destroyed. Your mission has been accomplished. Please hurry back to base. A Moderator is likely inbound to clear the scene.”
“Miguel! Miguel!” came the shout from Miguel 1. He stood over Miguel Mustache, who writhed on the ground, crying in pain.
“Shit,” I said, scrambling toward my friend.
“He got burned,” Miguel 1 said. “We hit a hose, and the fluid spewing from it caught on fire and flashed him.”
I looked down in horror to see half of Miguel’s face was nothing but black. His arm and neck, too. I clicked the flashlight on my bracelet, shining it down, and we all gasped at the severity of his wounds.
“What do we do?” Axel asked.
A group of three black drones rushed up. One of them produced a needle, and it jabbed Miguel, who immediately went unconscious.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
“We will rush the injured back to base,” Roger said calmly over my ear. “As long as we move swiftly, the medical unit will keep him alive. Move aside, please.”
And then two of the honeybee drones lifted him, each grabbing onto two limbs. The third honeybee, the one with the needle, moved underneath him. The back expanded, forming a stretcher. Miguel was placed carefully down, and two sets of straps appeared and were fastened in place by the other drones. He appeared to be held firmly in place. The six-legged drone made a little wobble, like Miguel was too heavy for it, and then it bounded off into the darkness, moving ridiculously fast.
“What the shit?” Sam asked, looking after the robot. “I didn’t know they could do that. Did you know they could do that? When you passed out a few nights ago, they dragged you away on the ground, though I guess those were the smaller scout ones.”
“This particular honeybee has the medic upgrade,” Roger said. “It is designed to carry the injured out of battle. The legs are enhanced to carry the weight. We have five such units.”
“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Miguel 1 asked worriedly. “His grandmother is going to kill me.”
“It didn’t look too bad,” I lied. “He’ll be fine.”
“The rest of you must retreat,” Roger said. “I will quickly sweep the battlefield for supplies, but you must return to base. Lulu, Lulu unqualified babysitter number one, and the others are already on their way back.”
For a moment, I just sat there, taking it all in. My heart wouldn’t stop beating. Under the tight armored jacket, the beat felt especially loud, insistent, like it was trying to punch through my chest, through the armor, like it knew it was being squeezed. My arms couldn’t stop shaking.
How is this real? How have things changed so fast?
I closed my eyes just for a second. I pictured myself in my space in the attic, staring up at the close ceiling. It was like that day whenmy mother had died all over again. There was no going back, and that was all there was to it. I had to keep moving.
“Come on, guys,” I finally said, turning and jogging away.
Behind us, the Gonzales farm was utterly destroyed, and the fight had literally taken seconds. They’d lived there for almost thirty years.There’s no going back.
I tried not to think about it, and I definitely didn’t look back.
As we moved away, that Julie woman’s voice echoed in my mind.
We’ll find you soon.
Chapter 20
About ten minutes after we left, Lulu, Rosita, and Ariceli caught up with us. All three were riding scooters, and they pulled to a stop next to us. Two of the scooters dragged trailers behind them. The first trailer heldseveralchickens, all squawking and fluttering their wings. In the second trailer sat Cindy the pig, who appeared to be straining the limits of the trailer’s weight capacity.
“How did you get her into the trailer?” Sam asked, leaning in to say hello to the old pig.
Cindy made an angry, indignant snort.
“I put some of her food in it, and she walked right up,” Lulu said.
