Page 115 of Anarchy Missing

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE – LULU

“Sheila!” Molly yells into her phone. “We need another helicopter! Now!”

I don’t hear the answer because I’m transfixed with Lincoln, struggling to his feet. Rearming his—body weapons. I know one of them is damaged, but he must have more.

Just seconds later he sends another round of projectiles through another pane of glass. The cartoonish image of Steve with boar legs begins to flicker wildly. And Lincoln doesn’t stop. He sends one after another after another. Trying to destroy the SmartGlass.

When I look up all I see in the darkness is the red glow of Case, coming right towards me.

“Case!” I yell. “Stop!”

He’s talking to himself. His eyes trained on mine.

“Stop,” I say, putting both my hands up. I look around for help, but Lincoln is busy taking down the computer in the glass and Thomas is on the ground, writhing in pain. Molly is busy talking into her phone, standing near Lincoln.

“What are you doing?” I ask. Case never stops his march towards me. “Case? Please. What are you—”

He aims his weapon and, like a desperate child, I put my hands up to ward off whatever he’s going to use to take my life.

But it doesn’t help. Nothing helps once the dart pierces my skin. I drop, the electricity coursing through me.

He picks me up and starts running. I realize I’m not that hurt. Like he had that dart set to stun and not incapacitate. But there’s no way I can get out of his strong grip. He dumps me into the helicopter and then climbs over my slumped body and slides into the pilot’s seat.

“Where…” I try to ask him where he’s taking me, but the muscles in my throat are constricted.

I pass out and when I come to again, we’re already landing. I can’t lift my head, but I can think straight. I can open my eyes and try to look around, but all I see is the lights of the city, off in the distance.

Case grabs my body, throws me over his shoulder and starts running. I am dumped—not quite dropped, but definitely not set down gently—into a hard, cold pack of snow.

The cool ice on my constricting muscles is soothing, and a few moments later I open my eyes.

I’m on his roof, looking out at the city lights off in the distance.

Case is nearby, shooting things from the roof.

Not things, Lulu.

People.

Lincoln, Molly, and Thomas. He’s shooting them.

Do something!

I roll over and try to prop myself up on my hands. Another helicopter comes over the mountain behind the house, like the cavalry. Please be Sheila. Please be Sheila. It has to be Sheila. These crazy supervillains have to have more than one helicopter, right?

I don’t know what I expect her to do, but she has to be able to turn him off or something. It’s those nanites inside his body. They’re corrupted. And connected to the SmartGlass. And even though Lincoln is down there at ToyBox shooting it all to bits, this house is SmartGlass too. And if he’s still down there and we’re up here, he probably doesn’t know that.

Case launches something. Something big. Because moments later I hear—and see—a huge explosion from down the mountain.

They’re dead.

No. I am desperate to stop that voice in my head. No. They are not dead. If they’re dead, we’re all dead. The whole city is dead. They cannot be dead. There is only one way to stop this and that way is through Lincoln, Thomas, and Molly.

Get up!

I have successfully gotten to my knees, so I straighten my back, wait a few moments while my head clears, and when I open my eyes again I’m faced with the city again. The bright lights from a distance make it all look normal. Just another night. Until I see that woman in my head, slumped down on the sidewalk, clutching her baby to her chest and waiting for her husband to come pick her up so they can get out of the city.

They are probably all dead. Caught up in the riots. Or trampled by any of the fearful mobs of people who woke up to utter apocalypse and didn’t notice that they were stepping over bodies as they ran.