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  “Ooh-yah!”

  The men and women sounded their approval. Missy and Mike ducked into Merlin, the door closing behind them. Harrison, Orlando, and I followed behind as the boring machine rolled toward the tunnel. I marveled at the structural integrity of the sloped spiral leading up.

  Scout: Any reply, Merlin?

  Merlin: They’ll meet us topside, Scout. Anything else?

  Scout: Did you tell them to hurry?

  Merlin: I did. They will.

  Scout: Thanks

  I turned to Harrison. “You get that?”

  He nodded, not saying anything as he gripped his plasma rifle. We marched behind Merlin with hundreds of troops behind us walking five abreast. The trail of us would be long, but we had the advantage of stealth and surprise. We kept marching.

  Minor Defensive Shield: 37% power

  MDS will fail in 1.5 hours

  While I could put together units and arm my troops, they controlled their own actions. The training I’d given them plus their experience from other battles would help the big battle to not turn into an absolute slaughter. I wondered what type of weapons the strangers would bring. The ones by the group of raiders attacking our shelter weren’t too powerful. Would the ones we got be more powerful or turn out to be useless? I still wasn’t even sure if we could trust Orlando and his new friends completely. With that in mind, I sent Harrison a note.

  Scout: Keep your eyes on Orlando

  Harrison: Did he do something?

  Scout: Not yet, but I’m not sure if we can trust him.

  Harrison: Roger that…

  I glanced over at Orlando, remembering the time he’d whipped me. Would he shave his Mohawk and take off that ridiculous mask if I asked him? I wondered. And, more importantly, what was under it? I’d heard he lost his nose to frostbite, but was the rest of it that bad too? He brought up so many doubts and questions it felt right to not trust him.

  “One, two, three, four,” the troops behind us chanted as they marched. “Kill the others more! Five, six, seven, eight; we will retaliate.”

  They came up with several other verses, keeping their morale up as we marched double-speed up the sloping tunnel. Around and around we went, climbing ever closer to the surface. Would the others even reach us in time? And if they didn’t reach us before the shields fell, would I attack anyway? I hated making the tough decisions.

  Leadership wasn’t easy. Being responsible for so many people’s lives wasn’t easy when I cared about them all. They deserved the truth. After the battle, I’d give it to them. With their memories intact, we’d take the next steps in getting out of the game or at least making it a tolerable place to live. I had a dream, a vision of the future, and I wouldn’t stop until I’d achieved it. Thoughts of Missy’s daughter still in her womb floated through my mind.

  I pushed everything else aside and concentrated on the battle ahead.

  Chapter 26

  With just under an hour to spare before the shields failed, the cross-world travelers met us near the top of the spiral tunnel leading up from the lowest floor of the shelter. Merlin sat motionless near the end, ready to dig out the rest, allowing us to spill out and overwhelm the enemy. At least that’s how I hoped the plan would go. I’d paid attention in all my history classes, and wars could get ugly quickly.

  I watched as a stranger walked through the troops behind me. He appeared like the rest of us but had a darker skin tone. I stared at him with a blank face as he stopped in front of Harrison, Orlando, and me. His dull, orange robes had frayed edges on the bottom. Dirt covered him from head to toe, including his dark brown hair. I waited for him to speak first. According to my men in the back of the line, he had a dozen people with him.

  “Sorry we took so long,” he said. “The gravity on this world differs greatly from ours. My name is Malachi, and I offer you help to defeat the other raiders who have come into your world.”

  “What’s your world like?” I asked.

  “I cannot give you specifics,” he said. “Do you accept our offer?”

  “What’s the catch?” I asked, still suspicious.

  He smiled. “They say you’re smart.”

  “Who’s they?” Harrison asked.

  “Maybe you’ll learn someday,” Malachi said. “For now, you need my weapons to pierce the armor of your opponents. Your basic plasma rifles will not do the job.”

  “That’s good to know,” I said, side-glancing at Orlando.

  He lowered his head to avoid my eyes.

  Minor Defensive Shield: 12% power

  MDS will fail in 30 minutes

  “Time’s ticking,” I said. “What’s your offer?”

  Malachi reached into his robes. Harrison raised his rifle.

  “Careful, big guy,” the newcomer said. “It’s another beacon.”

  He pulled out a black box like the one that had shown us the experimental shelter containing Merlin.

  “I want to see if you can activate it,” Malachi said, holding it out.

  “Activate it how?” I asked, not reaching for it. “What is it?”

  “It won’t hurt,” he said. “I promise.”

  Running out of time, I grabbed the beacon without telling him we had one of our own. A red light blinked as soon as I touched it.

  “That’s great!” Malachi exclaimed, clapping his hands. “This is great news. Have you seen another one like it on your world?”

  “No,” I said before the others could speak up.

  The crossworlders didn’t need to know we had a beacon of our own, at least not until I knew more about them and whether we could trust them. He’d helped us, but that could be because he wanted something from us — our beacon. Was it even more powerful than we thought?

  “Shame,” Malachi said. “That would make everything so much easier.”

  “How so?” I asked, still examining his beacon.

  “Give it back,” Malachi snapped, snatching it from me.

  “Calm down,” I scolded.

  “It’s mine,” he said, clutching it in his hands like a baby. “I need to protect it.”

  “This is way too nuts,” Harrison said. “We need to do something.”

  “Is that all you wanted from me?” I asked.

  Malachi nodded, still smiling. “Good luck with your fight.”

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  “Back to the next world,” he said. “We have another person who can activate the beacon for us, but I needed to test that it would work for someone who hasn’t traveled through a portal.”

  “Um...okay?”

  Malachi continued smiling. “The weapons are yours. Come see us sometime if you can.”

  He turned and walked through the crowd, still cradling the beacon close to his chest. I looked over at Harrison. He shrugged, as clueless as me.

  “Let’s go check out these weapons,” I said, making my way through the crowd.

  When I reached the chests, I lifted the top of one open and saw a stack of exotic rifles. As I picked one up, its stats appeared before me.

  ARGON Rifle (100 charges):

  This ARGON based energy weapon is effective against various shields. Able to hold a hundred shots at a time, the weapon must be recharged when empty.

  “There’s no way for you to recharge them here,” Malachi said. “Sorry, but we can’t leave powerful weapons in your hands. Not on this backwards world.”

  “Hey,” I protested. “We’re turning things around.”

  “That remains to be seen,” Malachi said. “We’ll be watching you.”

  And we’ll be watching you, I thought, smiling and not saying anything.

  “Everyone line up,” I said. “One rifle per person.”

  I stepped beside Harrison, Malachi, and Orlando as the other men and women shuffled past the chests, each grabbing one of the smooth, black metal guns. They looked nice enough, but I hoped they worked against the armor the crossworlders used.

  “Save the ammo!” I shouted. �
�We don’t have a lot. And keep your plasma rifles as a backup. We’ll give them everything we’ve got and wipe them off our world!”

  The men and women who trusted me to lead them chanted my name.

  “Scout! Scout! Scout! Scout…”

  I raised my hands to get them to quiet down.

  Minor Defensive Shield: 4% power

  MDS will fail in 10 minutes

  “This is it!” I started. “We have ten minutes until they breach the shields. After Merlin finishes the tunnel, we’ll pour out in our squads and work to surround the enemy. Be CAREFUL with these new weapons. They’re powerful.”

  Someone in the crowd shot one of the ARGON rifles, sending a bright blue burst of energy at the top of the tunnel. Dirt and sparks fell as people fled in all directions.

  “Who fired?” I asked, looking around. “Don’t make me check all these weapons before battle.”

  Missy stepped out of the crowd and lowered her head.

  “What are you doing out here?” I asked, walking up to her. “You’re supposed to be inside Merlin.”

  “This fight is too important,” she said. “I’m sorry I shot it off, but I got nervous.”

  “You shouldn’t be fighting,” I insisted. “You’re pregnant.”

  “If we don’t win this fight, that won’t matter,” she said.

  “Okay, but I don’t like it…”

  “Yes!” Missy shouted then hugged me.

  The troops all around us went wild. I squeezed my friend, thinking in the back of my mind it would be good for morale to let her fight. She was only a couple months along.

  “You stay in the back near Merlin,” I whispered in her ear before pulling away.

  She nodded as Mike walked up beside her.

  “And you keep an eye on her,” I commanded.

  “Yes, ma’am…”

  “Don’t call me ma’am. Makes me sound old.” I smiled. “You two ready?”

  They both nodded. I walked over to Merlin and climbed atop him. My head almost reached the top of the tunnel, but I wanted everyone to see me as I finished my speech.

  “We’ve come a long way,” I started, my gaze moving from one face to another. “We’re not about to give up. After repelling these invaders from another world, we’ll concentrate on making our world better for everyone!”

  The people cheered, energizing me.

  “Scout! Scout! Scout!”

  I raised a hand before continuing.

  This will be a tough battle and some of you may sacrifice your lives for the community, but it’s a battle we need to win before other raiders arrive to boss us around.” I glanced at Orlando. “The time of tyrants is over!”

  “Scout! Scout! Scout!”

  Minor Defensive Shield: 2% power

  MDS will fail in 5 minutes

  “Let’s do this!” I yelled. “Merlin, breach the earth!”

  “As you wish,” the most interesting boring machine in the world replied.

  I stood behind him with Harrison and Orlando at my side.

  Time to kick some ass and take all the names.

  Chapter 27

  Merlin dug through the last layer of earth, opening a way for us to reach the surface. Wearing enviro-suits and armed to the teeth, we spilled out right behind the invading force. Both sides fired. The smell of burnt flesh and high energy bolts hit my nose as I ducked behind Merlin with Harrison and Orlando at my side. Everyone else ran for cover behind boulders strewn about. I peeked out and saw the enemy setting up a mechanical device.

  A shield wall burst into being, giving off a radiant blue energy. Even our ARGON rifles bounced off the wall harmlessly. The good news was that they couldn’t shoot through it either. I pulled out a grenade, plucked the pin, then threw it over the shield wall. As it exploded, killing two men, I sent out a message for everyone else to use their grenades until we found a way around the shield wall to attack them and end the fight. I retreated behind Merlin and crouched beside Harrison. Orlando sat on the other side of him, peering out around the boring machine. Explosions and yelling filled the air along with smoke and mist.

  “They’re putting something together,” Orlando said, sitting back down. “Something big.”

  “I wish Malachi would’ve stayed to help us,” I said.

  “Those ARGON rifles turned out to be rather useless,” Harrison noted.

  “I bet he’s back on his own world by now,” Orlando said. “This is our fight.”

  Merlin: Should I dig under the shield?

  Scout: Do it!

  I sent a message for everyone else to fall back and wait for further instructions. Harrison, Orlando, and I stood and stepped back as Merlin’s front drill twisted down and burrowed into the ice and snow. I peered through the blue shield and saw the others still struggling to complete what looked like a tall antenna.

  “Whatever they’re building, I bet it’s not good,” I said.

  Merlin had created a starter hole and backed up before burrowing into the ground even faster. I sent out another message for everyone still able to fight to come over and prepare to breach the wall from below. Dirt flew out of the back of Merlin, causing us to step aside to avoid getting covered. I peered through the shield.

  “They’ve almost got it up, whatever it is,” I said. “Everyone ready?”

  I glanced behind me at the hundreds of soldiers who remained. Only a dozen had died before the shield wall went up, but that was too many for my liking. A few minutes later, I saw Merlin bust out of the snow on the other side of the shield wall.

  “Let’s go! Move out!” I shouted, stepping aside.

  Men and women poured into the makeshift tunnel under the shield wall, emerging on the other side and firing at the crossworlders. They had retreated to the antenna they were building, surrounding it and protecting it with their lives. When about half my soldiers had gone through, I joined them with Harrison and Orlando next to me.

  On the other side, I saw a pile of bodies near what had become the front lines. Bursts of plasma energy filled the sky along with smoke, fog, and the acrid smell of burnt flesh. I stepped to the right, watching as they continued constructing the antenna. What would it do?

  “Go for the structure!” I shouted, pulling out another grenade.

  I pulled the pin then threw it toward the largest group of raiders near the almost complete antenna. The explosion took out a few of their soldiers guarding it, but the structure stayed up. Even worse, it looked nearly complete.

  “Cover me!” Harrison shouted then ran forward.

  I raised my rifle and fired off a few rounds to his left and right. He got closer, stopped, and lobbed two grenades at the base of the tower. They hit their mark, sending the entire metal structure crashing to the ground. A cheer went up from me and the rest of the troops as we fought the crossworlders back even more.

  “Keep moving! We’ve got this!” I shouted, waving for the others to follow me forward.

  As we gained on the raiders, a wall of flame a few feet over my head shot up out of the ice. It continued burning despite the frozen water melting.

  “They’re getting away!” I yelled, stepping back from the flames.

  Black smoke billowed into the sky, darkening everything around us more despite the light from the flickering flames. Harrison and Orlando stepped over.

  “Maybe we should just stay here at the shelter,” Orlando said.

  I shook my head. “No, this is too important. Let’s get this fire out.”

  “How?” Harrison asked. “It’s burning on top of ice and snow.”

  “Packing dirt near the base of the fire should put it out,” Merlin said as he rolled up. “From the data I’ve gathered, this method should work. I believe they’re using ice as fuel for the flames somehow.”

  “That sounds nuts, but let’s try it,” I said. “Can you help?”

  “Your wish is my command,” Merlin replied then rolled toward the wall of flames.

  I watched with the others as the b
oring machine transformed into more of a bulldozer before pushing a mound of dirt over a section of the walls. The flames went out, but a game notification told me the others had gotten away.

  Combat is Over!

  Leadership Experience: +100

  You get 1,000 Life Experience Points

  You have 5,400 LXP!

  Level Up!

  You’re now level 5!

  + 15 skill points

  + 13 health

  + 1 stat point

  Ooh. The leadership experience is new. It must have something to do with a big battle with multiple troops under my command? Leaving it for later, I scanned the battlefield and called up screens to figure out how many people we’d lost. Using my new stat and skill points would have to wait until I had the time.

  “Let’s get the rest of the fire out or enough to get through it safely,” I said. “Give me a few minutes.”

  Harrison nodded then left to get the others working. I pulled up the battle statistics.

  Deaths: 43

  Casualties: 93

  Not good, but it could’ve been worse. I assigned healers to take care of the wounded while ordering the others to get into formation. We needed to go after the crossworlders. I still had nearly five hundred fighting men and women. As I wondered how many to take along on the side excursion and how many to leave at the base, Harrison limped over with Orlando close behind.

  “That could’ve gone better,” the latter said.

  Harrison grunted but said nothing as he held his arm.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, ignoring Orlando.

  “I’ll be fine,” Harrison said. “We need to finish this and send a message we’re not an easy target. If we don’t, others are likely to come through the portal.”