Carmody and the Electric Dragon
Chapter 22

Sarah and Carmody dragged themselves onto the platform, soaked to the skin and tired from swimming in their new coveralls and boots.

“If the Emissary wants to kill us, he is taking his time in getting here” Sarah complained and helped haul Carmody to her feet.

“Maybe the others have found him first and rescued Angelina already?” ventured Carmody with a hopeful air.

With a grinding of metal gears the huge door that overlooked the platform began to rise upwards. In the space beyond could be seen something moving, something that hissed and clanked like metal on metal.

“Has the Emissary stolen a big construction robot?” Sarah wondered in alarm. The door rose higher and higher, then locked into place. Lights flickered on, one by one to illuminate the workshop that lay inside.

Rising high over the heads of the girls the Emissary’s pet was revealed. It was ten meters tall and three times as long. Two huge legs supported the rear of the body, with two smaller arms near the chest. Wings unfolded, touching either side of the workshop. Gleaming red eyes shone from a long head, the jaws opening to show ranks of sharp teeth.

“It’s a Dragon” breathed a terror struck Carmody. “He’s built himself a bloody dragon from all those stolen robots!”

The mechanical colossus screamed at the two girls and a thin, terrified scream was added to the onslaught on their ears. Strapped to the metal plated chest of the monster was Angelina, her arms and legs held fast as a living shield for the beast. Her face was pale and drawn, her eyes rimmed in red from tears.

“Angelina! Are you alright?” Sarah shouted to their friend, but the girl did not reply and slumped limply against her restraints.

“She is alive, Dracoris” said a human voice from somewhere behind the massive machine. “I made sure of that. What good would she be as a shield if she was already dead?”

“You bastard!” screamed Carmody and would have charged in, fists raised, if Sarah had not held her back.

“Look, we can’t just rush in” Sarah said to her urgently. “We need to find a way to stop this thing without risking Angelina’s life.” Carmody nodded her reluctant agreement and addressed the hidden speaker once again.

“So what do you want from us?” she called out.

“That is very simple. I need both of you to die!” the voice said and the dragon opened its mouth once more. A long barrelled weapon slid forwards from between its jaws, aiming down at the two girls.

“Hell no, that is a Rail Gun!” Carmody shouted in sudden recognition.

There was a loud crack and flash as it fired, then the concrete platform was shattered as the Depleted Uranium tipped bullet ripped through everything in its path.

=====

“We’ve got multiple data signals ahead and to the left” Achmed whispered to Eric as they paused at another tunnel junction. “The biggest concentration is dead ahead. That is the source of the original stream that attacked the school”

Eric was weighing up his options and nodded his thanks.

“Time to break radio silence” he said and pulled a phone from his coveralls. He selected a contact number and waited only seconds before the call was connected.

“Hi Nata, its Eric” he said into the phone.

“Hi little birdy!” the Sister replied. It sounded to Eric like she was running as she spoke, her breathing coming in loudly over the phone. “You made contact, right?”

“Affirmative” he answered. “My team will advance on the main group shown by the arrow. I need your team to handle a flanking force to our left. I’ll mark it with an X as before”

“X marks the spot. Copy that, little birdy” she said and Eric could feel her smiling at him down the phone. “We’ll join you once we make sure nothing comes up from the rear”

“Thanks” he responded and terminated the call.

“Is there another team helping us out?” Lilly asked Eric. She had been right next to the boy and overheard both sides of the conversation.

“Not as such. More like some concerned citizens doing their civic duty”

Eric made a gesture to Deuce and the clone duly spray painted another arrow on the floor then an X on the left hand tunnel.

“Are they the same ‘citizens’ we saw fighting Sentinels at the festival?” Lilly asked Eric as they began their cautious advance.

“It’s hard to tell” Eric lied smoothly. “It was after dusk so that could have been anybody”

=====

Miss Abrams and Fiona had never seen the full power of a Dracoris Vapora before. Fiona had seen the attack on the Black Dragon at the school, since she was the sniper who had delivered the killing shot with a Rail Gun. Yet even then, Stanley had held back as there had been so many humans close to the enemy dragon.

Right now, all he knew was that his two best friends in the entire world were trapped beneath a metal hatch. Only he had the strength to open that door and reach them.

Unseen by the eyes of Fiona or Miss Abrams, the Steam Dragon rise high into the night sky, higher than the tallest towers that surrounded the park. Deep within his gut boiler he gathered heat and water, creating a pressure that far exceeded anything found in the surface world. These were the kinds of temperatures and pressures that existed in the depths of the Earth’s crust, causing his blue and white belly to glow with a fiery red intensity.

At the top of his flight he paused, twisted and dropped from the sky like a bullet fired from the heavens. The air screamed as he dived, vapour trails marking his descent until he was a bare hundred meters above the wood and thin metal gazebo. Finally he unleashed the full power of his Vapora upon the flimsy structure and the metal hatch beneath it.

Brilliant white hot vapour gushed in a straight line into the rooftop, blasting it away in less than a second. The stream hit the metal hatch and it exploded apart, clouds of steam mixed with fragments of gazebo and hatch flying out across the grassy surrounds.

With a boom like thunder he crashed through the remaining pieces of gazebo and splashed into the huge reservoir of water that lay beneath it. Water fountained high into the air, spraying out from the ruined hatch and raining down on the grass and trees of the park.

“Oh my god!” gasped Miss Abrams as water and bits of shattered gazebo pattered to the ground around her. “Was that Stanley?”

“It was either the dragon or an Orbital Strike from Archimedes” Fiona observed calmly. “Probably the dragon”

Miss Abrams gripped the bulky clone woman in her arms and lifted them both into the air. With the extra weight she was already carrying and the big mass of the Guard she was a lot slower than usual. Yet they did not need to go far so she poured power into her levitation and sent them flying towards the still steaming hole in the park’s centre.

“If we just wanted to blow it up, I could have used my Rail Gun” she muttered to herself.

=====

The Emissary watched with a thrill of excitement as his creation fired upon the Dracoris children. It was only fitting that they be destroyed by a Dragon in service to the Abyss, even if its heart was electric.

Its Rail Gun shell had pulverised the concrete platform they had been standing on, sending dust and clouds of vaporised water into the air. Even the Sentinel sensors mounted in its head were having trouble finding their bodies after the blast.

“Go forward and locate them” he commanded the machine via his internal computer link. “If they are still alive, hunt them down and destroy them!” His mechanical dragon screamed in acknowledgement and strode forwards, the massive metal clawed feet gouging meter long tracks in the floor.

He had turned to deal with the other interlopers in his domain, the annoying Avatar and his Guard clones, when a massive blast rocked the chambers. For a moment he thought his pet had somehow been destroyed, then he saw a flash of blue and white rising from the watery depths of the reservoir. It was the Dracoris Vapora, hunting for its fallen master!

“You may destroy that one as well” he commanded and triggered the workshop doors to close. The heavy metal door slid downwards, leaving the Electric Dragon to finish off the last of the Dracoris in this world.

Reports had started coming in, his robots and drones showing a small force of Guards and humans trying to enter the far end of his workshop. He smiled with glee, knowing they were few in number while he had a veritable army of mechanical servants to hurl at them.

This was not quite how he had planned things, but it would do. He was close to wiping out the Dracoris and if he could capture one of the Guards or the Avatar with a functioning Quantum Processor it would be perfect!

“To battle, my loyal servants!” he sent via his command link and as one his army surged to the attack.

=====

A scarce minute earlier the whole tunnel complex had rocked violently twice in close succession. Dust had shaken from the walls and roof, showering over the advancing group of Guards and the AURA team. The lights along the ceiling had flickered then came back on at half strength.

“What was that!” Lilly asked her companions, recovering her balance after the mini-quake had knocked her against the wall.

“That will be Sarah and Carmody!” Eric declared. “I guess they found the Emissary first. We need to hurry up!”

They had run the last fifty meters and stopped in front of a large door painted white with a Maintenance Workshop sign emblazoned across the middle.

The door to the final chamber had been electronically locked. Eric’s internal maps of the underground tunnels indicated it was a major repair and storage facility for the Water Utilities, adjacent to a massive below ground reservoir for reclaimed water.

“This is the place” Achmed stated confidently. “The command signals all originate from the other side of this door”

Eric went up to the broad, metal reinforced door and laid his ear against it.

“There is a lot of noise on the other side” he said softly. “Are you sure it is mechanicals?” he addressed to Achmed.

“Positive” he replied. Eric nodded and looked at Lilly.

“Can you send them a surprise package?” he asked her. “Maybe deliver it ten meters directly in front of this door?”

Lilly smiled and held up one of the EMP Grenades. She quickly set the timer for a five second delay and laid it carefully on her palm. Eric gave her the nod and in a blink the metal sphere vanished from her open hand.

“Brace for Pulse!” Eric called out calmly to the Guards and they all knelt on the floor, heads bowed. With the door shielding them, the pulse barely registered on the team other than another brief dimming of the lights.

“Okay, Achmed, open the door!” Eric ordered. “Lilly, stay behind me and get ready with another grenade!

Achmed reached out with his Scanner senses and found the coding that held the door closed. With contemptuous ease he released the locks and the door slid open. Beyond lay a semicircle of collapsed machines, some still twitching feebly.

The interior of the workshop was big, at least fifty meters wide and double that in length. From what Achmed could see, crouched behind Nero the Guard, the place was filled with robots, drones and Sentinels of all kinds. The EMP Grenade had dropped a number of them but at least three times as many were still standing, all of them looking at the small group of intruders.

“Holy crap!” he shouted, then anything else he might have said was lost as the guns started firing.

=====

Sarah was lying half out of the water on a big chunk of broken concrete. Her head was ringing from two big explosions, one after the other. She shook her head to clear it, her short blonde hair sending drops of water flying.

“Sarah” boomed a familiar voice in her head and she looked up to see Stanley racing around the circumference of the reservoir. She stood on unsteady feet and waved and yelled to get his attention in the dim light shining on them from above.

She only realised this was a mistake when to her left a metallic scream echoed loudly. The mechanical dragon was perched on the edge of the water and its mouth was open and pointing right at her!

Sheer adrenalin fuelled her as she jumped desperately into the dark water at her feet. The Rail Gun boomed and the thick concrete wall where she had been standing exploded, sending water and concrete shards flying everywhere.

The leaping girl felt a vicious series of stings across her shoulder and backside then she landed in the water. She dropped like a stone into the murky depths then something grappled her with powerful arms.

Stanley erupted from the water and flew straight upwards, the other dragon seeming to ignore them as they exited the hole in the roof. Her dragon carried her to the grassed surrounds next to the shattered gazebo and laid her gently down.

“You are safe now, Sarah Evermore” Stanley said to her as she coughed up some water.

“What about Carmody and Angelina!” she yelled at him. “Where are they?”

Stanley looked ashamed and his head drooped.

“I only wanted to make sure you were safe” he said quietly into her mind. “You were in danger and you matter the most to me!”

Sarah seethed at her friend, her eyes blazing and her fists clenched.

“That’s not how it works, Stanley!. We are going to save everyone!”

She marched resolutely towards the gaping hole at the centre of the park, limping a little as she realised her suit had been torn over her right leg. Stanley easily overtook her and placed himself in front of the girl, blocking her from moving forwards.

“If I lose you Sarah, I lose not only my best friend but any chance of getting home again”

“What do you mean?” she demanded.

Stanley grew quiet again, refusing to meet her angry glare.

“Only an experienced Dracoris Familia can open a portal to my world. You need to grow older and stronger, Sarah Evermore, if I am ever to see my family again”

The girl and the dragon looked at each other as battle raged below their feet.

“Don’t make me fight alone, Stanley” she begged her friend. “Don’t let me lose people I care about” Tears had formed in her eyes and she dashed them away with a wet sleeve. She reached out her hand and gently touched the scaled neck of the Steam Dragon.

“You come from a long line of brave Dracoris Vapora” she whispered to him, running her hands down his long neck. “When we fight together, there is nothing that can stand against us”

“I am sorry for being a selfish coward, Sarah Evermore” he apologised, humbled by the bravery of such a young girl. “Climb on my back and together we will defeat the Emissary and his electric Dragon”

“Thanks, Stanley” she cried and settled herself in position behind his shoulders, her hands reaching forward to grasp his long black horns.

Together the Dracoris Vapora and Familia took off from the ground. At that moment the concrete surrounding the destroyed hatch flew apart in chunks as a massive metal shape hurtled up into the sky.

The pair of them reared back in alarm, then saw a second shape dart out from the depths. It was Miss Abrams and it looked like she had Carmody in her arms!

=====

The school teacher could not believe her eyes as she descended into the reservoir chamber. It was huge, but the enormous dragon shaped machine within made it seem tiny. Her suit sensors detected scores of salvaged robots, drones and even vehicles cannibalised to build the monstrosity.

Threat displays in her visor showed a head mounted Rail Gun, a twin to the one she had mounted over her right shoulder. The thermal displays revealed an even more horrible discovery – a young girl, undoubtedly Angelina, was splayed across its massive chest.

“We can’t risk shooting at the dragon” she signalled to Fiona whom she was still carrying. “There is a hostage tied to the front of the body”

There was a violent screaming noise from the dragon, a harsh electronic assault on the ears that chilled the blood, then it fired at the wall of the reservoir. Sofia saw one of the girls, Sarah she guessed by the blonde hair, leap away at the last second into the water.

“We need to get down there” Fiona called to her. “Drop me on that ledge and then look for the girls!”

Sofia flew down through a veritable storm of water and debris being hurled around the chamber then deposited the Guard woman on a ledge that ran around the main pool. She lifted away just in time as a Rail Gun shell slammed into the wall behind her. Chunks of the wall collapsed into the water, throwing up more spray.

“Are you Okay?” she yelled in her communicator to Fiona.

“I’m fine, I will draw its fire while you get the girls!” the clone replied. She quickly braced her long rifle against a metal guard rail and fired at the metal beast, aiming low at the legs and tail. Her bullets would kill a man and destroy a Sentinel, but against this monster it was like throwing pebbles at a wild bull.

“You can’t hurt it, but you can certainly get its attention!” Sofia thought to herself.

While the dragon was focussing on the sniper, Sofia flew around the chamber, using the suit sensors to try and find Carmody. She had almost given up when she spied a small, grey suited body only barely out of the water.

With a strangled cry she dove down and landed next to the girl. It was definitely Carmody, her long brown hair strewn about her as she lay half submerged. Gently she reached out and lifted the girl into her arms.

“Mum?” she said groggily and Miss Abrams had to chuckle. It happened at least once or twice a year that a student called her that.

“It’s Miss Abrams, Carmody. I am going to get you out of here”

The girl struggled and opened her eyes wide, becoming fully aware of where she was in an instant.

“No! I need to rescue Angelina” She saw the dragon stalking around the edge of the body of water, Fiona still pecking at its feet with her rifle shots. Again the Rail Gun boomed and the sniper staggered away from a near miss. Sooner or later, the dragon would not miss and Carmody knew the armour vest that Fiona wore had no chance of saving her life.

“Miss Abrams, I need you to get me onto the back of that dragon!” she decided. “We can’t risk shooting it, but if I can punch it I won’t hit Angelina by mistake”

“You are kidding, Carmody!” Sofia said in disbelief. “That thing is made from metal and Ceramite and you can’t just smack it on the head with your fist!”

“Hey, I am a Dragon Slayer” the girl declared proudly. “And that is just some knock off copy of a real Dracoris, some sort of Electric Dragon”

Sofia was going to refuse, then she heard a young girl crying for help. Angelina had come to her senses and was calling for someone to rescue her. It was why they had come on this mission after all.

“Okay, Carmody, hold on tight” she told the girl. “Let’s teach this dragon that you don’t mess with the 10th District Junior High!”

They leaped into the air, ready to begin a rescue, when Fiona’s luck ran out.

=====

Angelina was in terrible pain. She was strapped to the chest of this giant beast like some kind of barbaric decoration, her legs and arms pulled tight and her muscles aching from the strain. It reminded her of a story about William Wallace being executed by having four horses pull him apart a thousand years ago.

If she survived this, she swore she would never play tug of war again!

Gunfire boomed around her and the noise had roused her back to consciousness. From her position she thought she could see a Guard sniper taking pot-shots at the metal dragon. She guessed they were keeping the dragon distracted while someone else sneaked up on the beast. That was what she hoped anyway.

As it walked and jumped around the chamber, hunting the elusive shooter, she had a chance to look closely at her captor.

The machine was a hodge-podge of different robots all stitched together with welds and rivets. By stretching her neck left and right, up and down, she could tell the thing was solidly held together. It wouldn’t fall apart easily despite her best hopes.

Yet the beast was a collection of many different parts, all being made to work together. Which meant there were vulnerable openings and gaps in the body, ripe targets for a Telekinetic who was really angry right now. All she needed to do was to get her hands free, which was easier said than done.

Tremendous booming noises were coming from over her head and she could see a long barrelled weapon of some sort sticking out of the dragon’s mouth. It was firing at the lone Guard as the woman scrambled from one position to another and sooner or later it would eventually hit her. She had to do something about that gun!

It was painful, with her limbs being jerked in their sockets every time the machine moved, yet the girl wriggled her hands desperately in the tight bonds. Her right hand was securely held but suddenly her left hand slid forward in the restraints! The arm was held in place but she could move her fingers freely. With grim determination she focussed on the metal head looming above her, her eyes searching for any weak spot.

Time had run out for the brave Guard woman. The Rail Gun blasted across the chamber and she saw the woman’s right arm get completely severed in a splash of blood. Her rifle fell into the water and she collapsed against the outer wall, bleeding heavily from her shattered shoulder. Angelina shouted in anguish for the pain this woman must be feeling and turned that anger inside of herself.

Angelina focussed her Telekinetic power into her left hand and reached with her mind into the inner workings of the dragon’s head. As she had told Carmody, anyone can do the big, showy stuff. A true expert uses the small tricks to get what they need. Her Telekinetic fingers wormed into the gaps of its metal jaws, seeking the deadly gun mounted within. Desperately her mental hand grasped the long weapon and yanked with all her power on the cables she found there.

Across the chamber, the Guard woman watched the Rail Gun aim directly for her. She had her left hand clasping her right shoulder, stemming the flow of crimson that ran down her chest and legs. With resignation she accepted her time was ended and bowed her head.

Wrapped in Miss Abrams arms, Carmody saw the imminent death of her friend Fiona and screamed in heartfelt anguish.

Then the Rail Gun in the dragon’s mouth exploded, tearing off the lower jaw and sending pieces of metal and Ceramite bouncing off the walls and ledge, throwing up gouts of dirty water when they landed in the pool.

“The Rail Gun misfired!” Miss Abrams shouted in relief.

“No, it was Angelina!” Carmody realised. “She was able to use her Telekinesis on the creature”

Carmody focussed on the slender girl still strapped to the front of the dragon. Her head lifted and Angelina smiled bravely at her friend. Even with all the noise that filled the reservoir chamber, Carmody heard the words the girl spoke.

“Hey guys, I could really use some help about now”

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