AL Clark, Jonathan G. Meyer [the little red hen ebook .TXT] 📗

Please—I want to live—so I can do what I can to help this colony survive and grow.”

The defense and prosecution made their closing statements, and the jury retired to one of the classrooms to deliberate. Tammy’s fate was now in the hands of the jury.

Sunset came, and the rain got harder, and louder. So loud, in fact, that it began to get hard to hear inside the courtroom. Al retreated from the noise and stepped outside onto the porch to await the verdict.

The watchers were excellent surveillance tools, with only a few limitations. The Riktors were a species of cold-blooded dinosaur, and the drone’s night vision had trouble tracking an animal that took on the heat signatures of its surroundings. The added restriction that the high-tech drones could see little in a downpour compounded the problem. It was pitch black and raining cats and dogs, and the Watchers were pretty much useless.

“There is a break in the fence,” Robot Nine reported, “Multiple tracks leading to the confinement facility. I am pursuing.”

A silent alarm went off in Al’s head to match the screeching from his pocket. He pulled out his pad and said, “I need to know how many there are and where. Report quickly Robot Nine; we don’t have much time.”

Al had considered this scenario. Unfortunately, it didn’t include the rain. He turned and ran back into the building yelling into his communicator, “Everybody inside! You officers outside round everybody up and get inside quickly.”

He stopped in front of the captain and yelled over the rain, “Can you fly in this Tobias?”

His friend replied confidently, “Son—I can fly in anything—what is it you need?”

“Follow me. I’ll explain once we are in the shuttle.”

They made their way to the back, exited the building, and ran to the nearest shuttle. The captain worked the door lock in record time, and they climbed in. Sixty seconds after receiving the alarm and Al was closing the shuttle door to the pouring rain.

“They have split up, sir,” the robot’s voice reported, “The tracks indicate at least four...possibly more. The intruders appear to be headed for the community center. I am following the tracks of two reptiles moving to the east side of the settlement. Be advised; I am having trouble navigating the soft ground, and my forward velocities have decreased considerably.”

Al realized the situation was quickly becoming serious.

“Tobias, can you see well enough to stay fifteen feet off the ground?”

“We may not be able to see what’s directly below us, but I can use the instruments to keep us at whatever height you want,” replied the captain.

“I need you to say the phrase to enhance my abilities. It seems I can’t make it work alone. Believe me; I have tried.”

“What do we do then?”

“You’re gonna fly over them, and then I’m gonna shoot-em.”

The captain trusted Al’s judgment, and he didn’t have any better ideas. His simple reply was a rising, “O...kay.”

He started the shuttle while Al grabbed the two rifles he had stashed under a seat—just in case. He was determined not to be caught unprepared again.

“Are you ready Mister Clark?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be...I guess.”

Tobias spoke the phrase: “The metal of a man is judged by what is inside.”

For the second time, Al repeated the phrase and felt his systems ramp up. The feeling of power filled his senses, his hearing rose sharply and then settled down, and his sight became equivalent to the eyes of an eagle. Once again, he was an enhanced human.

Tobias asked, “Are you all right, Al?”

“I have never felt so right. Let’s go and find us some dinosaurs.”

Al threw the shuttle door open, and the captain lifted off, swerving in the direction of the marauding predators. Al wrapped his leg around a pole and leaned out of the opening in the aircraft to find a target for his rifle.

“Can you see anything Captain?” Al yelled.

“I can see enough. Something is going on ahead—be ready.”

Something flashed by under the shuttle, and the captain performed the sweetest one-eighty that Al had ever seen. Five seconds later, Al was above a full-sized adult Riktor running full-tilt towards the community center, with the shuttle only feet above its head.

From his vantage point, it was an easy shot. He fired three times as fast as the rifle would allow and the creature fell hard; disappearing in the mist behind them.

Captain Effinger was one with his machine, and the amazing little craft did everything he asked of it. Tobias used his instruments and data pad to find them, while Al shot the beasts from above. The pouring rain with the almost silent shuttle flying above made them easy targets. They didn’t even know what hit them.

The third beast caught on, though, and stopped his rampage to watch the spacecraft fly over his head. Al reminded himself these were not stupid creatures. Al motioned for the captain to lower the shuttle, and he jumped six feet to the ground. The Riktor was livid, and when it advanced on him he shot it several times in the head, and it went down for the final time. The captain brought the shuttle back down; Al jumped in, and they went looking for more targets.

The next Riktor had a quarry of its own. A man and woman tried to make it to the community center and were caught by one of the enraged predators when Al and the captain came on the distressing scene. It was too late for the unfortunate colonists, but the captain and Al still had to deal with the murderous animal.

This time Al didn’t wait until the captain lowered the shuttle. As they flew over, he dropped his rifle into the shuttle and jumped on top of the rampaging animal. While he rode the beast neck, he pulled the always handy pistol from its holster—and shot it at close range. Al had to jump to keep from being crushed by its fall.

The captain picked up the blood splattered Al, and they resumed their hunt once again. There was nothing he could do for the two people who had given their lives to Avalon.

The fifth beast surprised them. It must have heard or seen his fellows fall, and overcome with rage, he hunkered down and jumped, grabbing the landing skid of the aircraft. The shuttle leaned so far over that Al slid out the door and fell to the ground fifteen feet below. Either by miracle or advanced technology, Al managed to land on his feet, roll, and bounce back up to run after the departing shuttle.

With the rain pounding on his head, and his feet slipping in the mud, he realized he could not catch up. Al could not help. Fortunately, the captain had an idea of his own. He slowly took the shuttle and the creature straight up forty feet or so and stopped. The shuttle was listing badly and was almost sideways under the weight of the beast when Al saw the captain lean out the door and shoot it. The animal screamed, let go, and fell to the muddy ground below, which caused the shuttle to roll almost all the way around until the gyroscopes could get it level again. After a moment, the captain popped his head out the pilot’s window, smiled, and gave the ‘Okay’ symbol.

They had taken out five adult intruders. Al thought, the beasts were trying to wipe us out and came in force.

Then he remembered that Riktors hunted in pairs. There was at least one more.

****

THE CREATURES SEEMED determined to make it to the human gathering place, and that is where they found what they hoped was the last assailant. When they landed, the massive wooden doors to the community center were splintered and laying on the floor just inside the auditorium. Standing at the hole in the wall was the back of a powerful creature advancing on two people in the middle of the room. He could not use his rifle. The community gathering place was full of people huddling at the top of the bleachers.

When Al stepped to the side, he realized the beast was threatening Chris and Tammy. Some idiot had handcuffed her to the table, and Chris was doing all he could to pull the table—and Tammy—away from the beast. Al realized, I need to get it outside where I can deal with it.

He decided that keeping his secret was secondary to saving his friend and the girl. The decision caused him to run up to the monster from behind—and kick it. With feeling. Hard enough to leave a good size wound in the Riktors leg with the intent of getting its attention and luring it back through the door. It looked around to see what had assaulted it and promptly knocked Al into the bleachers with a flip of its tail.

Al untangled himself from the wreckage of the bleacher seats and began screaming and yelling at the Riktor over the sound of the rain. He headed for the door with the thundering beast right behind him. On his way by, a quick thinking Officer Sid tossed Al his rifle, replacing the one Al dropped on his flight to the bleachers. It was an excellent throw, and it probably saved Al’s life.

Once outside, it was a simple matter of rolling to face the opposite direction and shooting the beast in the head several times before it had time to tear his head off. The creature fell into the mud with a final scream—and died too close for comfort. The apex predator was never threatened by death and died with a distinct look of puzzlement.

Al, covered in mud and dripping with blood, took a moment to collect himself. He walked back through the broken doorway into the auditorium and told his men to pair up and search the entire compound for more intruders and check for casualties.

They had managed to survive the worst attack yet. The only problem was that this time—everyone in the auditorium knew that Al Clark was not normal.

****

THE FIRST THING AL did was go over and shake Sid’s hand. He told him, “That was some throw, Sid. If I ever need someone to watch my back, you’ll be at the top of my list.”

Officer Sid looked down and smiled, “I didn’t take the time to think about it, it just happened—but I’m glad it worked. You did way more than I could have and better than any...person, I’ve ever seen. Don’t worry, sir, no matter what happens I’ve got your back.

“Thank you, Sid, I appreciate that. I might need all the friends I can find after this.”

Other than a few cuts on Tammy’s wrist from the stupid handcuffs, she and Chris were okay. Robot Nine was found lying in the mud with his arms broken, a significant dent in his body, and he was repeating, “Sorry...sorry,” over and over.

No one in the auditorium was injured, save for cuts and bruises from scrambling up the bleachers. A man and a woman were found just outside, slain as they tried to get to the community center. It was something Al and the captain would have to learn to accept. Other than that, the colony had survived relatively unscathed.

Now that the danger was over, the