Well...time moved quickly. A month since I last posted last? Wow. Hope this makes up for it. Cheers!

Chapter Sixteen: The Hunt

Waking up was kind of a mistake.

Three rescues, five minutes in between each other. One broken arm, three broken ribs, three sprained ankles, and four idiots playing with fireworks without reading the instructions. The last one made me realize just how nasty some wounds could get...yuck.

On top of that, Sky was hovering over me the entire time and getting in the way, Kade was being even more hot-headed than usual, and if Dani had mentioned the dance one more time, I would have stitched her mouth shut.

So...overall, I was just excited to get this over and done with.

It was about 3:00 when Dani started to get us ready, helping us with our clothes, hair, and this weird stuff called "make-up". When we were all done, I felt more uncomfortable than I had ever been in my life. I felt exposed, dirty from having goo on my face, and I felt defenseless without any weapons or tools I could bring with me.

We got done getting ready at about 4:30. I pointed out the dance didn't start until 6:00, and Dani gave me a half jibberish response about how we were going early. I figured I would just leave it at that and find out why when we got there.

When we were finally allowed to meet up with the others ("because it needs to be a surprise!"), we discussed our plan.

"Chase, Siren, Boulder, and Star will be on the outskirts of the plaza, making sure nothing and no one gets in or out. Sky, Blades, Chief, and Cody will be checking people in and making sure that everyone gets here. Kade and Dani are going to sweep the surrounding buildings and make sure they locked down and Graham will install the entrances with security cameras and the perimeter with an EMP generator. That way if anything goes down, we have an easy out. And Ricochet and I are going to check and keep surveillance on the actual plaza. When all of your tasks are done, you can join the party, but stay on alert." Heatwave ordered before we all pinned our comms on, got into our alts, and drove to the plaza.

Another thing that made me want this party to wrap up quick? The summer hot day had cooled down significantly as the sun made its way toward the horizon. I was shivering when I got out of my alt...and Dani had refused to let us "cover up her work".

I got that she was excited, but I thought that was taking it a little too far.

Everyone immediately set to work when we got there. I memorized every person already there, their face, their name, what they were wearing...etc.

I memorized the area, making sure I could spot if something was out of place or wrong. The plaza was smack dab in the middle of the park. Lanterns hung from trees, streamers wrapped around bushes, and real roses were wrapped around decorative pillars. The dance floor was a wooden platform that looked like it was sturdy enough for maybe a few hundred pounds, but not the tons that were coming. And attached to that, there was a little stand cut out for the person working the music and lights.

Overall, it was a decent setup...for something that only took an hour or two to set up.

I also memorized all of the worrisome tech there...which only consisted of the Robo-waiters.

There were 18 of them, each spotless white with black wheels for peds. They had two arms with treys attached to them, some carrying glasses of...something...and others carrying very odd-looking food items.

They kind of reminded me of my station cleaner, Sqweeks. He was a little thing, about the size of a human, but that made him the best bot to take shrapnel out of sedated patients. And since he was a dedicated little fellow, he would help by making sure all of my tools were sterile and fixed before I needed to use them again.

I hoped that these...things...would stay out of trouble, unlike Sqweeks. He would always steal Ratchet's wrenches whenever he was bored. He didn't make it long as our...my...assistant doing that.

The mayor must have seen me smiling at the memory as he sauntered over because he made it his mission to talk to me...about anything and everything. The only way I knew was the mayor was because of the fake hair he was obviously wearing. Kade had told me there was only one person that did.

Not long after I was trapped, guests started to arrive in droves. Some had come in by limousine, some had walked here, and some had apparently walked out of the walls. I tried to talk my way out of the conversation, but the mayor wouldn't let me go.

I was just about to shove his 12-inch "kebabs" down his throat when Heatwave stepped in and asked me if I could help him find something. He looked like he was about to just burst out laughing at the situation I was in, but somehow he held it together. I quickly excused myself from the mayor and grabbed Heatwave's arm.

"And what could I possibly help you with?" I asked sarcastically.

"I think I lost my balance from laughing so hard. Can you help me find it?" He finally couldn't help but laugh. I blushed and slapped his chest. He continued to laugh. Once he finally got it all out (but still preceded to smile like a lunatic), we made our way over to the "bar" where the music wasn't as loud and where people were talking about the party and the latest gossip. We both got water and sat down, our eyes never moving off of the plaza.

I saw Sky and Blades talking with a bunch of people, laughing at jokes and looking like they were having a good time. Star and Boulder looked like they were the fanciest security guards, looking for any signs of trouble and not looking like they were having any luck...or fun. Siren, Chase, and Chief all looked pleased with themselves and looked like they were in the middle of a good conversation.

But as the people started to fill the dance floor, I could see less and less. I felt blind.

"This is going to work right?" I asked out of the blue. "Do you think we have it wrong? What if this was just a distraction?"

"I think you said it best when you said 'property can be replaced'. We both know people can't be."

Now I could only see strangers. All of them blissfully unaware of what was going to happen to them if this plan didn't work. Blissfully unaware and innocent people.

"We should have had the team split up. Half be on patrol and the other half making sure everything was alright here."

He didn't say anything. A slight breeze swept over the plaza and I shivered. I crossed my arms and wished the party would just end.

"You know, you look very nice," He said, changing the subject.

"I've never been this uncomfortable before." I shifted in my seat, trying to see in and around the crowd.

He stood up suddenly and held out his hand.

"Let's go dance." I looked at him with confusion.

"No. I'm good." I didn't feel like making an even bigger fool of myself. Before I could turn around and ask for a warm drink, he grabbed my hand and swept me into his arms and onto the dance floor.

"Heatwave!"

He just looked at me with a smirk, like he knew something I didn't.

"The only way we can see around the crowd is if we become a part of it." He whispered into my ear, his warm breath against my cool skin made me shiver again. He laced his fingers with mine and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I was blushing like crazy now, and I suddenly didn't feel cold anymore. Whether it was because of his body temperature or because of my embarrassment, I would never know.

I stayed put though, not wanting to cause a scene...and because I realized he was right.

"Fine...but if you do that again, I'll-"

"Lose in another fight with me?" He cut in. I shook my head and tried to stop myself from smiling.

"I won't be afraid to throw something at you." He chuckled. "I'm serious! You can ask Sky how good I am at it. I've had a lot of practice."

"I don't doubt it." He said seriously.

We scanned everything, turning in a circle to make sure that we didn't miss anything and checking each other's observations.

Another slow song played, and some people got off of the dance floor, clearly spent. After a few people left, I could see the robot waiters through the gap they made.

The waiters were lining up to refill their treys on the other side of the plaza, where some food trucks were parked. A robotic arm came out of a van and placed steaming hot food onto the waiter's tray. Then, the arm retracted back and the waiter rolled away with a little squeal of the tires.

They didn't look out of the ordinary, but there was something...off about them to me.

Call me crazy, but they just looked...too robotic. Like they didn't have any sort of fluid motion. They moved their treys to the side then down instead of moving it diagonally, when they moved they started and stopped abruptly instead of accelerating and decelerating, and they spoke in monotone voices instead of sounding like someone was reading a script. Monotone voices.

"On your 6," I whispered. He suddenly let go of my waist and made me twirl. Then he pulled me back into his arms and continued to dance. He had turned us so he could see what I was talking about.

"What about them?" He stopped spinning us and just swayed. "You're talking about the servers right?"

"Yeah. They just seem so...stiff."

"That's normal for human technology."

"So humans don't know how to program robots to move their servos diagonally...or to monitor their speed?"

After a few more minutes with my back turned to them, he started to spin us again.

"You're right...they do look...off."

Suddenly, both of our comms lit up. It was Star.

"Hey guys, we have a visual on the bug. I repeat, we have a visual."

Heatwave immediately let go and we both dashed to where Star and Boulder were stationed. We startled a few people with our urgency to get there, but for now, we didn't spook anyone. Or anything.

We didn't even need to ask where they were talking about. It so obvious I was embarrassed I hadn't seen it before.

The stainless white robot looked like it had been in a fight with a can of red paint, the blue optics were flickering on and off, and the wheels were spinning and slipping on the drinks it spilled.

"You think it's infected or just malfunctioning from the beverages?" Siren asked.

Just when she said it, the robot stopped seizing. It froze as if someone had just its pause button. Its optics flashed.

On.

Off.

On.

Off.

Blue.

Black.

Blue.

Black.

Red.

Last night's dream played in my head. The roaring fire that incinerated buildings, swallowed people whole, and spit out only ashes. The suffocating hold of the darkness. The devastated face of a child...seeing his world crumble at his feet.

"You promised Ricochet…"

I promised.

Aaaaannnnd another one bites the dust! OW! I loved writing this and I hoped you loved reading this! And even if you didn't, have a great day/night. Peace be upon you, lovely mortal.