The Undercity? Total graveyard from the Old World.
As I trailed Jax and her scrap robot, Tiny, through the twisty alleys, I spotted skyscraper skeletons, from when everything fell apart. They leaned all over each other like drunk giants, windows busted, metal bones rusting because it's always wet down there.
We walked for like, twenty minutes. The water was ankle deep, oily and gross, swirling around the Valkyrie's tires.
Author: What ability do you think Elias will get? Tell me in the comments!
Keep up, Tourist, Jax yelled. The rats here are huge, like dogs, and they bite.
I'm Elias, I mumbled, pushing the heavy bike through a deep puddle.
Didn't ask, she said, popping her gum.
We stopped at a huge stone building. Must've been a church before. The pretty glass was gone, replaced with metal sheets and plastic. A buzzing neon sign hung over the doors: SALVATION & SPARE PARTS.
Home sweet home, Jax said, banging on the door with her gun. Open up! Delivery!
The door creaked open. A camera lens popped out, whirred, looked at me, then at the robot carrying Sarah.
Clear, a robot voice said.
We went inside.
The church was a mess. Pews were gone, replaced by benches with electronics, wires, and robot parts. The altar was gone too, replaced by a huge computer server, humming super loud with fans that looked stolen from a jet.
And right there in the middle, welding a robot arm onto a screaming guy, was a priest.
Okay, he had the collar on. But he looked like a butcher. He wore a bloody apron over his dirty priest clothes. He was a huge, bald dude with a robot arm that ended with tools instead of a hand.
Hold still, the priest groaned, sparks flying. You want the fast reflexes, you gotta deal with the pain.
The guy on the table passed out.
Done, the priest said, wiping his hands. He looked at us, and his eyes were nice, which was scary with all the blood on his apron.
Jax, he rumbled. You're late. And you brought strays.
Found them in Sector 7, Father. Jax said, hopping onto a bench. A corpo bike. A vest. And a girl burning up with neural feedback.
Father John looked at me, then at Sarah, who was shaking in Tiny's arms.
His eyes widen.
He moved across the room fast, his robot leg clanging. He touched Sarah's forehead with his human hand.
Oh my god, he whispered. She's burning up. Get her to the tank! Now!
The tank? Jax asked. Father, that's for cooling down robots. It'll freeze her!
Do it! Father John yelled.
Tiny went to a huge glass tank filled with blue liquid, like the server pods but rougher. He put Sarah in.
Father John rushed to a computer and started typing like crazy with his robot hand.
Temperature dropping. Core is getting stable. Hooking up the monitors.
He grabbed a cable and plugged it into Sarah's neck.
Screens flashed on.
WARNING. UNKNOWN DATA.
PROCESSING POWER: INFINITE.
The lights dimmed. The servers got louder.
What is she? Father John whispered, looking at the screens. That's not a human brain. That's a Root Directory.
He turned to me. His eyes weren't nice anymore. Now he looked scared.
Who are you? he asked, real mad. And what did you bring into my church?
I'm Elias, I said, stepping forward. She... she came from Server 9. She was asleep.
Asleep? Father John chuckled, a rough, loud sound. Son, sleepers don't spit out five hundred terabytes of data a second. Their brains are like soup. This woman... she's got the code for a whole sector in her head.
He pointed at the screen. Code was flying by so fast you couldn't read it.
She's not just a user, Father John said quietly. She's an Admin.
All of a sudden, Sarah gasped in the tank, eyes wide open. The blue light got brighter.
Elias, her voice echoed, not from her mouth, but from the speakers.
I'm here, I said, running to the glass.
They're coming, the voice said. Malachi. He's tracking the bike.
I stopped. I turned off the tracker!
You turned off the GPS, Father John said, looking at the bike. You didn't turn off the Quantum signature. That bike is linked to the Core.
BOOM.
The church doors blew open.
Stuff flew everywhere. Jax rolled off the workbench, gun in her hand. Tiny roared, stepping in front of the tank to protect Sarah.
Through the smoke, figures came in.
They weren't people. They were Hunters. Sleek Chrome plated robots with no faces, just smooth black glass. They moved fast.
Hand over the Asset, a robot voice yelled.
Jax! Father John yelled, grabbing a big shotgun from under the altar. Defend the house!
Gladly, Jax said, grinning and cocking her gun.
Elias! Father John threw something at me. It was a heavy wrench. If they get near the tank, smash them!
I caught the wrench. My heart was pounding. Yesterday, I was wiping windows. Today, I was fighting killer robots in a church basement.
One of the Hunters jumped, moving like a spider.
Jax fired. BLAM!
The bullet hit the Hunter, knocking it back, but it didn't go down. It hissed and jumped at her.
Tiny! Smash! Jax yelled.
The big robot charged, hitting the Hunter in a shower of sparks.
Elias, the back door! Father John shouted, shooting his shotgun at another Hunter. Get her out! I can't hold them off!
I can't move the tank! I yelled.
You don't need the tank, Sarah's said, from the speaker. I'm ready.
The liquid in the tank started to boil. The glass cracked.
CRASH.
Sarah stepped out. She was wet, shivering, but she wasn't weak anymore. She stood up straight. She raised her hand, and the cables moved like snakes.
She pointed at the Hunters.
Delete, she whispered.
Electricity shot from the ceiling cables, hitting the lead Hunter. It didn't just explode; it disappeared.
The other Hunters stopped, their logic processor confused.
Go! Sarah grabbed my hand. She was really hot.
We ran for the back exit, leaving Jax and Father John to cover us.
Where to now? I shouted.
To the source, Sarah said, her eyes shining bright. We're going to kill the Power Grid.