Chapter Two

The weekend came and went without any sign from Silas that anyone was coming to collect my workout log. On Monday, I went through the same routine that I always went through. There was something about the routine that was comforting. I pulled into my normal parking spot and was surprised to see a blue motorcycle that I couldn't identify with pink fenders pull into the spot on my right. I dismounted and took my helmet off. The other rider did the same and I was shocked to see that it was Jack. "When did you get a motorcycle?" I asked looking the motorcycle up and down.

"Friday." Jack answered rubbing the back of his head. He turned and set his helmet on the dash and grabbed his backpack off of the seat.

"How much did it cost you?" I asked still inspecting the bike.

"Umm, fifteen hundred." Jack answered.

I whistled and shook my head. "Man that's cheap."

"It's a project bike."

"I could help you out with it if you'd like," I offered. "I know a lot about engines and motorcycles in general."

"Umm, thanks," Jack said. "If I need anything I'll ask you."

"Okay," I said. "See you sixth hour."

"All right, see ya." Jack said as I walked away.

Something seemed off the more I thought about Jack and his new bike. That bike didn't seem like a project bike I thought during lunch as I ate my ham and cheese sandwich, far from that actually. The thoughts bugged me the rest of the day until I got back home and worked out.

Six hour passed and I sat up in shock in the library when I heard an explosion. What the hell was that? I got up from where I was sitting and signed myself out of the library and walked through the hallways. I ended up reaching a certain room, Room 122, and saw that there was smoke in the room. I was tempted to step into the room, but I decided against it and just walked past it. I exited the building and walked towards my Ducati.

"I can't believe that Raf blew a hole in the ceiling!" a kid exclaimed.

I turned around and looked at the kid in disbelief. He was talking to a group of high schoolers and middle schoolers and I listened in.

"Did he really?" another kid asked.

"Yeah, didn't you see the smoke in room one-twenty-two?" the first kid that had spoken asked.

"How did he do that? Is he in trouble?" someone piped up.

"He made a type of volcano and it erupted through the ceiling and then the roof of the school!" kid one replied excitedly. "I don't think that he'll get in any trouble though."

I stopped tuning into the conversation at that point and put my helmet on. I mounted my motorcycle and started the engine. I backed out of the parking space after starting the engine, and I could have sworn that one of the mirrors on Jack's bike moved by itself. I stopped my bike and blinked in confusion. Shaking my head, I convinced myself that it was just a figment of my imagination. I rode towards my new home and entered the garage. I left the garage door open as I shut the engine off and dismounted. I removed my helmet and set it on its hook. I then removed my leather jacket and placed it on a table on the wall across from the door that led into the house. I was about to go and close the garage door when my phone started to vibrate in my left pants pocket. I pulled the phone out and answered it, "Hello?"

"Hello, Beau, you don't have to workout today," came a female voice. "Silas is pleased with your results so far and has told me to inform you that you have earned the day off."
"Thanks." I said. That was the only thing that I could come up with at the time.

The connection went dead and I put my phone away. A Monday afternoon and nothing to do now, what a better idea than to go for a nice ride in the desert?

Feeling the wind from the ride tugging at my jacket was a surreal experience as I rode through the desert of Jasper, Nevada. The road that I was riding on was completely abandoned, except for me of course, and I absolutely loved it. I was all the way in seventh gear and going 100 mph steadily and the blur of the landscape around me was one of the best things that I could ever experience. I slowed down and shifted down through the gears until I was back down in first gear and doing fifteen mph. I eventually slowed down to a stop and put the bike into neutral before shutting the bike off and putting the kickstand down. It was a relatively hot day out and I removed my jacket and placed it under the seat compartment so that I could cool off. I decided to just rest at the spot I was at for a while and removed my helmet as well. I leaned against my bike and wondered what my life would have been like if my parents were still alive. I brought my hand to the dog tags underneath my shirt and I clasped them. It's been ten years now since they died, I thought closing my eyes. I haven't been to their graves in over five, I wonder if I could get Leland's permission to go there some day.

I was back at my house three hours later and resting when my phone vibrated once, indicating that I had a text message. I looked at it and saw that it was from an unknown number. The text read: Be ready, in 3 days time we will be coming for you. No more weights, we need you fresh. You may condition, but do not lift!

I knew better than to respond to the text, so I just locked my phone and made myself dinner. After I ate my dinner, I finished what little homework that I had left and listened to some music. I finished with the homework and put it back into my backpack before heading off to bed.

The day finally came for me to be picked up by Silas and his followers and I was ready. I was outside and a green looking car pulled up. The door opened and I walked forward. "Ready kid?" a man in a mask asked me.

"As ready as I'll every be." I answered.

"Good," the man answered. "We're going after a power source and it might be heavily guarded."

I nodded my understanding as I too was handed a mask and a similar uniform that everyone was wearing. I put the uniform on and then the mask. "Where's Silas?" I asked.

"In his chopper."

I nodded and we drove to some remote destination. Our radios came online and Silas' voice came on, They're using unarmed civilian transports, send in the ground troops.

We pulled ahead on the highway and I saw a green SUV. We cut the SUV off from the semi and its trailer, and then we pulled forward. The other vehicles kept around the SUV while we inched closer to the trailer. "Get ready kid," the man said.

Beau is not to go out there, repeat, Beau is not to go out there unless absolutely necessary and all other options are exhausted!

The man sighed and looked at me, "Sorry kid, you heard the boss man."

I shrugged; I was all right with it. I then watched as one of our cars was flipping down the road and my eyes went wide behind my mask. I hope that they're okay. I thought as we sped past them.

We drove onto a curvy part of the road and all of a sudden, another one of our vehicles went down the cliff. "My god!" I whispered.

"It's part of the job, kid!" the driver said.

We pulled forward and the sunroof opened, or something similar. The man I had talked to stood up and fired three rounds at the trailer of the semi. "Get me closer!"

All of a sudden a motorcycle that looked suspiciously like Jack's came out of the trailer and I have no idea what happened next. I was only aware of the car rolling and then the car wasn't. I looked over at the other two in the car and saw that they were unconscious. I checked their pulses just to make sure and I breathed a sigh of relief. I exited the car and the chopper threw down a rope that I grabbed onto and climbed up as they flew after the trailer. I got in and removed my mask and shook my head to clear what was left of the cobwebs.

"You all right, Beau?" Silas asked me.

"Yeah, I think that I'll be alright." I answered.

"You better put that back on." Silas said indicating my mask.

I nodded slightly and did as I was told. We followed the semi and I was wondering if this was really worth all of the casualties that we were taking. The other runs that I had been on never inflicted this many. The semi and its convoy drove into a tunnel and Silas smiled.

"Tactical error, only one way out." he said.

We saw the convoy emerge from the tunnel and then a train. We were then surrounded by six odd looking planes and then they flew towards the convoy. "Ours or theirs?" I asked.

"It isn't ours." The pilot replied.

Then they fired at the convoy. "I don't think it's theirs." I muttered.

"The military fired at its own?" Silas questioned.

The trailer came unhitched and the pilot said, "Sir the DINGIS!"

The trailer then exploded and I was waiting for the nuclear mushroom cloud to envelope. "Sir, I'm not reading any radiation, the DINGIS didn't melt down." The pilot said.

"No, it did not." Silas replied.

The planes then transformed and my eyes widened. "What the…?"

"So the rumors are true, living technology stands before us, though perhaps not for very long." Silas said sounding pleased.

I looked at him and if those things were alive, then was he thinking about capturing one and then killing it for his game of whatever? We flew around the ensuing fight and the pilot eventually asked, "Sir if the DINGIS wasn't in the truck…?"

"Yes that," Silas said. He then reached for his radio and said, "Special Agent Fowler, you lead a charmed life walking among titans."

Fowler, did he just say Fowler? My eyes widened and I was no longer paying attention to the conversation that was happening. He was the one that delivered the news to my grandmother and me that my parents had been killed! I remembered.

"Get ready, Beau." Silas said.

"What?" I asked snapping out of my thoughts.

"We're approaching the train that contains the DINGIS, you're up." Silas said.

"Yes, sir."

"Immobilize them!" I nodded and grabbed a gun. I fired a shot and the train started to slow down. I then was thrown back as the train tried to land and Silas looked livid. "What happened!" he demanded.

"Hacker," the pilot answered. "Former hacker."

We started the process again and this time we successfully landed on top of the train. I started to cut through the roof of the train car and when it fell through I nodded with satisfaction. I was shocked to see Jack in the car with Miko. "Do you want a slice of this?" Miko demanded holding an ax. "Well, do ya?"

I glanced over at my other two companions and then Jack said, "What she said!"

I raised my eyebrows. A fire extinguisher? Really Jack? "Retreat." Silas said through our coms. We fell back to the chopper and took off. We flew ahead of the train and Silas destroyed the track. I was about to tell him about Jack and Miko, but then I decided against it. I decided right then and there that I was finished. I was finished with MECH and I wouldn't do another run with them. If they were willing to butcher innocents to get what they wanted, then I would have no part in it.

Authors Note:

Still need a femme name, I'm desperate for one!

I can't think of any!

Please R&R