Ok guys, I'm going to try and finish the book today so a few things: 1. The ending is great and is a cliffhanger (duh it's a suspense!) there will also be an epilogue. 2. Don't worry because I'm already working on the other books, and 3. Pease review the last chapter!
CHAPTER 27: FLYING HIGHAll the stitches gaped at the thing high above them.
"That's a machine!" one of the F-series yelled, the voice was female, but 9 didn't know if it was one of the twins or F8.
"No! A machine's just piloting it!" 9 recognized that was Dylan. The boy's voice was free of pain, the human enzyme called adrenaline coursing through him. The human continued,
"It's flight patterns are to controlled, and a machine wouldn't fly that high."
These were all good points, but as Dylan finished his sentence an item seemed to become dislodged from the plane. The group watched as the object fell a little way away creating an explosion as it collided with the earth.
"Bombs! I-It's got bombs!" 9 could recognize 5's fear anytime.
"It probably has machine guns too," It was Dylan again. 9 realized that the boy had stood up, and was towering over the stitches once again. 9 couldn't understand why the boy would stand, but then he saw Dylan run back to the first house. About a minute later Dylan came running back out with Caleb behind him. The dog was very lucky, not only to have not been abandoned in the underground, but because just as Dylan and the dog ran back out another bomb landed on the old building, destroying the place of their birth.
But there was no time to greave.
"We need to destroy it before we are all killed!" 1 yelled, pointing to the plane.
"We can't destroy it!" 9 retaliated, "That plane is the only way to get to America! If we destroy it, we surely won't be able to make one before the O.V.E.R.M.I.N.D. comes with its army!"
1 backed off, he knew 9 was correct. After another bomb landed, causing the group to jump, he added,
"So you expect us to board it? How do you propose to do that?"
9 had a plan, but smiled. He knew how everyone would react to his plan.
"We get to the roof of that building," 9 pointed to the building of which he spoke of, rising much higher than the buildings surrounding it.
"Obviously the machine isn't accurate with the bombs, so once we're up there, it'll need to get in close to use the machine guns."
"Yes? So then we get riddled with bullets!" 1 always acted like this in these situations, and 9 had learned to deal with it.
"No we won't, because that's when we jump."
The entire group seemed to gasp at once. The only ones who didn't were the 6s who nodded, knowing that it was the right thing, the 7s, who seemed to light up at the chance for the adventure, and Dylan, who remained expressionless.
"That has to be the most ridicules, most un-thought-about, stupid-"
"But…." 9 interupted 1, putting an emphasis on the "U" sound of the word
"But…" 1 repeated, taking in a deep breath, "It's the only plan we have. You better know what you're doing…"
With those words, the stitches climbed onto Caleb and Dylan led the group to the building. After a few more minutes of bomb-dropping and stair-climbing, the group found themselves on the roof. As the plane came in for a machine gun run, Dylan asked,
"So 9, how do we get on it?"
"Ummm…. I don't know."
No one seemed angry at 9, since they all had expected it.
"Great, so we're just winging it then?" The boy asked.
F7 spoke for the first time, he had a fitting gruff voice.
"Nope, me and the lady here," he pointed to 7-who returned it with a playful stare at being called 'lady'- then continued, "Got ourselves a plan."
The plane was getting closer, and F7 and 7 stood at the edge of the building. 7 held 5's crossbow, a needle with thread loaded into it. F7 had his claws out fully, they were a surprising inch and a half of metal. As the plane fired the machine gun, the group took a sigh of relief as the bullets struck low. F7 jumped first, piercing his claws into the side, beginning to climb.
"I like him," 7 said jokingly, and fired the crossbow, following her counterpart.
9 didn't know why, but the way that 7 looked at her counterpart, and the way she said those last words, made something in his chest burn. The plane was beginning to turn, 9 turned to Dylan and yelled,
"Dylan throw me!"
The boy's face was one of confusion,
"What?"
"There's no time to explain, throw me now!"
Dylan had learned to trust 9's gut just as all the others had, and so he picked up the stitch and threw him as hard as he could at the plane.
9 was able to get his fingers into a crack in one of the windowsills of the plane, just below the two 7's.
"9! What are you- oh forget it!" 7 repelled off the plane, kicking herself thru the window. F7 followed, and pulled 9 inside as well. Now they stood inside the plane in the aisle, roughly in the middle section of the plane. The 7s explained to 9 that they were going to force open the emergency door to allow the others an easy way to get in. They found the door quickly, and were even happier when they saw that a ladder had been attached to kick out the door incase the humans had needed a hasty pickup. As the plane made it's second pass at the rest still left on the roof, the stitches opened the door.
Caleb, carrying the stitches, jumped first. The dog easily made the jump, landing inside the plane. Dylan jumped a little shorter, but caught the ladder just as bullets riddled the rooftop of the building. Dylan closed the door, and the two 7's and 9 climbed on Caleb.
"We're going to talk about what you did," was all 7 said to 9 as they got on. Dylan almost comically walked down the aisle to the door to the cockpit, then kicked the door in. The machine had not been designed to fight, so when it attempted to attack Dylan with it's claws the human easily grabbed it by the neck. Dylan was able to "convince" the machine to put the plane on auto-pilot, course set for the ruins of California. Dylan then carried the machine over back to the door and forced it open.
"Sorry, your flight has been rescheduled," the boy said with a smile, then flung the machine out the door, closing it soon after.