Slyder held Jackie close as they sheltered behind giant stacks of ammunition. It wa his fault that he tripped over a booby trap and set off the loudest alarm in the region. Quickly learning how to use the tech watch, he scanned the perimeter on a mini-map and counted the number of drones were looking for them; six. He saw two more appear in the distance and knew immediately he had no chance of holding them off. All he could do is hide and hope Inez and Matt got the message clear.
"Did you see them No. 273?" The drone asked.
"No, but something set off this booby trap. It wasn't any of us." Drone 273 said. "Any unidentified forms will be subject to immediate extermination."
"Objective." Another drone agreed. Slyder held Jackie's hand and tried to think fast what he could do to get out.
/
Matt and Inez darted through the dusty plains, covering the same distance from when the squad first split from the group. They checked their watches.
"They should be just beyond that cliff." Inez said. They halted to a stop at the edge of the cliff; looking down at the base that was soon surrounded by seven foot drones. Matt eyed the bottom of the cliff not saying a word.
"At this rate..." Inez zoomed in on the base; analyzing the drones closing in on the red dots; signifying Jackie and Slyder, "Those two won't have any time to get out without getting noticed."
Matt felt under stressed, knowing there's got to be a way to draw the drones' attention away. He wanted to pull out the old yo-yo and brainstorm some ideas.
And then it hit him, realizing he really didn't have to brainstorm as much as he thought. He stared at the old yo-yo, and a snark remark he made to his math teacher Mr. Ewing came to him:
This is the least lethal thing you'll ever see from me.
He smiled as the examined the ultra-sturdy metallic wire now gripping the yo-yo together. Slyder had recently add it; seeing that Matt didn't want to get rid of it. It was like an old lucky charm and remembrance of his father; who he hadn't seen in years.
"Stay here." Was all Matt said as he jumped down the cliff. Inez stared at where Matt was standing in awe and confusion. She didn't quite process what just happened, but was certain she would be giving Matt a mouthful of scolding later...hopefully.
Matt landed at the bottom of the cliff, eyeing the drone surrounding the base, swearing he won't let them take Jacks and Slyder. The squad always looked out for each other.
As he unwind the yo-yo, he held the 3-ft long ultra-strong wire towards the base of the yo-yo with his thumb and index, and held the rest with his fist, tossing it in the air like a lasso, and creating a sonic wave that alerted the drone. They stopped moving towards the base, pinpointing the direction the sound was coming from and turned to the direction of Matt. For a moment, Matt could tell they were hypnotized and if he could spin the lasso long enough, he would be able to draw the drones away from the base.
When all eight drones had exit the base and long forgotten the sound of the alarm, they continued to follow Matt at a slow pace. He smiled, thinking how is plan half-succeeded.
When he stop the yo-yo, the drones froze again, and their eyes lit up red. They began to suit-up and reveal their weaponry. Matt grimaced.
Now I should probably run as he turned and ran in the open plain.
/
A frantic Inez watched as Matt ran towards the horizon away from the drones that had their eyes set on their target. Then her watch lit up.
"Inez!" Slyder called, "Where's Matt?"
"Running...so he could create a distraction." Her shoulders sagged. She felt utterly useless, watching as a helpless Matt ran from the small army of drones that looked like a fierce herd of cattle.
"Well while you're moping, we could use you down here to help hotwire this ship!" Jackie grimaced as she cut the conversation between her and Slyder. She nodded.
"I'm on my way." As she glanced once more at the dust storm and jumped down the cliff towards the base. She made it inside, cutting the alarm with a few snips of the wire. Slyder was under the ship, starting the engine as Jackie handed Inez an old lazor pistol.
"I thought you guys needed me to hotwire the ship." She observed.
"No, Jackie helped out. Instead you're in charge of shooting." Slyder said as he got up.
"I'm trusting you with this." Jackie looked at her. "Let's go get Matt back!" Inez nodded.
"Right!" Inez said as she sat in the passenger's seat as Jackie took the wheel. Slyder sat in the back working on fixing a harpoon; seeing if he could aid Inez if it was needed.
The old ship started to hover; a low humming and dusted windshield as the power started up lighting the deck. Jackie pressed three buttons and the ship's engine deepened. She pulled back the wheel and the ship pulled up as they flew out the hangar and followed the army of drone chasing Matt.
/
Matt wasn't sure how much longer he could keep running. His chest burned, and his calves ached; almost wishing he stayed longer on the track team. He looked behind to see the drones ready to fire. He ran more to the left and barely missed a bullet.
He heard something else as well; a humming sound. His heart leaped as he prayed that a shadow of Hacker's ship wouldn't engulf him as well as a cold iron claw snatching him up. The worst case scenario he could've thought.
No. He looked back and saw an old red hovercraft catching up beside the running drones. A harpoon shot at the drone; piercing its side and causing it to fall. Matt watched as he continued to look ahead and made sure he was covering good ground.
"MATT!" Someone called from the ship. Slyder sat on the roof of the ship as Matt nodded. The squad came to rescue him. Matt gained enough courage to eventually stop; which had him in a tight spot: the edge of a canyon that led to an endless pit. Surrounded by seven drones, they all looked at him with red glowing eyes.
"Unidentified specie, you are hereby due to immediate extermination. Drop all of your belongings." The drone stepped forward with their arm cannon aiming for Matt's face. Matt had grip the yo-yo in his pocket. He slowly, but carefully started to remove the junk in his pockets. He dialed Inez on his watch, standing with his arms up.
"Wait a moment No. 192, I think that is..." One of the drones examined Matt as he smacked it head-on with his yo-yo, stunning it as he stepped back on the edge of the cliff.
"Save me." Matt whispered as he jumped backwards and fell into the pit.