Hybrid 3, Chapter 32: The Hunger Games

Chapter 32:
The Hunger Games

    The Resistance got on the tanks and warthogs as the hanger door opened up. Alexander sprinted out of the ship as they followed him. The hot air of the tropical environment sticks to his face as he began to put his helmet on. Rain poured down on them as if the shower head was turned up to full power.

    They hurried out of the clearing and deep into the jungle. Driving down, the trees were double the height of the trees from the Amazon. The floor blackened by the shading of the canopy. Each leave poured rain droplets into the muddy floor as Alexander’s feet suck in. One tree had its roots highly exposed and they drove under it. More other trees had exposed roots and a few marines decided to climb on and venture further without touching the muddy floor.      

    Alexander looked up and parrots flew down through the understory, plucked off a few berries and nuts from the trees. Monkeys swung from tree to tree as they performed acrobatics. The rain stopped and light beamed through the cracks of the canopy. Flowers on the branches and vines bloomed. Butterflies and bees buzzed around to feed on nectar.

    After a couple of hours of driving through this jungle, Alexander stopped as they approached a metallic structure that resembled a Mayan pyramid. Trees grown on the pyramid with roots wrap around. Streams of water flew down to the base of the jungle. There was a stairway to walk up to the top.

    Alexander asked, “Alpha, is that the teleportation platform?”

    Alpha hovered to the pyramid and spun around as he scanned.  Then he came back and said, “Yes Alexander, this is one of the teleporting platforms.”

    Alexander said, “Let’s get on that and find out how this works.”

    They group drove up the stairs. At the top, there was a huge blue glass circle floating above the floor. Alexander looked around for a control panel. Alpha scanned around doing the same. The rest stayed put as the two try to figure out how this works.

    “Alexander, it seems that you have to be on the platform to activate the control panel,” said Alpha.

    Alexander hesitated and stepped onto the platform. The platform glowed and a holographic image of garden appeared behind him. There were four platforms showing in the image. One petal blinked rapidly, which tells them they were on that petal.

    Each petal had different legends of certain structures with Mechanoid writing labeled below them. Alpha scanned the writing and translated them. One of the legends was labeled Library.

    “The petal with the Library is the one we must go,” said Alpha.

    “Ok, there would be a lot of Helbots,” Alexander warned everyone. “I’ll go ahead first and call you once it is clear.”

    “Good luck,” said Alpha and pushed the button.

    Alexander froze and began to shred into pieces and bits. The glass circle became a vortex and his remains got sucked in. The vortex then changed back into a circle. He blinked just as his body was rearranged at the other platform. Moving his limbs around and his armor and body was unharmed.

    He found himself on the peak of a mountain covered in grass and dirt. Walking down the pyramid, he looked down as there was a river that goes towards a jungle covered canyon. Goats trotted down the slopes as they began to have a fight of their own. Pteranodons flew around the peak like vultures. The holographic sun started to set behind as the wind blew at the side of him.

    “This is Alexander, can anyone hear me?” he asked.

    “Alexander is it safe to enter?” Alpha asked.

    “So far so good,” he nodded. “I’m going down the slope to make sure.”

    He started walking down a dirt road when he spotted a cloaked Helbot. He ducked behind a crack in a rock wall. The Helbot was carrying a sniper rifle. Red rays waved around as it was looking for a target. Alexander took out his electro-rod and held it firmly as he waited for it. It got closer and closer until it got to the side of him. Alexander jumped out of the crack and jabbed the rod into the Helbot’s neck. He dragged it into the crack and took the sniper rifle. Looking in the cloak, he found a silencer and inserted into the end of the rifle.

    He lay on his stomach flat to the road and scoped around looking for more Helbots. Through the scope, he found a couple more cloaked Helbots looking around. He pulled the trigger and a bolt of laser shot out without a sound. It hit the Helbot’s head and flipped backwards as it crashed. The other Helbot aimed at Alexander, but it too was shot down.

    He moved the rifle around and found more Helbots marching up the slope, not knowing he took out three of their own. Through the scope, he counted ten Helbots. One of them had a napalm tank on it. He fired and hit the tank. The Helbots turned around and the tank exploded. Most of them shattered to bits and the remaining charged after him. They too were shot down.

    This might attract other Helbots, he thought. We got to remain hidden as much as possible. He touched his helmet. “Ok, proceed into the platform.”

    He stayed lying down as his men came out of the platform. Aoife took out her rifle and lay next to him hoping to shoot more Helbots. Howie turned his turret around eager to get into the action. David took out binoculars to look down at the bottom of the valley.
    “Alex, where do we have to go?” David asked.

    Alexander said, “I don’t know. Alpha, where do we need to go?”

    Alpha pointed to the canyon. “We need to get across the canyon to reach the coast and descend 100.6 feet below the ocean surface.”

    “The Library is underwater?” Alexander asked.

    “Yes,” said Alpha. “There is a tunnel that would lead us into the Library.”

    “Let’s hope the Helbots are not there,” Alexander got up. He got onto the lead warthog and they continued down the mountain. He continued to look up just to make sure that there were no Helbot ships flying above them.

    They followed a narrow river and halted as they got to the edge of a waterfall. The water flowed into a mist as it fell into the cliffs of the canyon. Alexander looked around to find a way for them to get to the bottom of the canyon.

    “Alexander, I’ve detected multiple Helbot forces at the bottom of this canyon,” Moses warned him.

    “We need to get through it if we can get to the Library,” said Alexander. “Alpha, do you see a way to get to the bottom?”

    Alpha scanned around. “There is an open karst the leads to the canyon’s bottom.”

    Yuya looked through the binoculars. “Alex, there are 6 Helbot tanks down there. We only have two.”

    “Then we get more tanks,” Alexander smiled. “I’ll fly down and take them down. Everyone wait at the exit of the cave until further instructions.”

    “Yes sir,” everyone nodded.

    His wings grew out and dived down into the canyon. He glided off the waterfall and eyed at a Helbot behind a tank. He took out his electro-rod and landed on it as he stabbed it in the back. The wings disappeared and he looked around for more Helbots. Three of them above him started shooting at him. He took out his rifle and fired at them.

    They flew and he got inside the tank. There were no other Helbots inside the tank. He sprint to the driver seat and began to drive it. “Guys, I’m got us another tank. I’ll drive up to your location.”

    The tank hovered above the muddy waters within the canyon. He spotted a cave and his team was waiting for him. As he stopped the tank, he jumped out of it.

    “Excellent work,” Alpha congratulated him.

    “I have a plan,” Alexander explained. “I will need a small team to get to the other tanks to commandeer. The rest of you must use this tank, but don’t fire yet. We need to have the Helbots think we are part of them.”

    “I’ll go,” David said along with Vyla, Aoife, Howie, Moses, and Yuya.

    “Alright,” said Alexander. “Remember don’t attract them when we get those tanks.”

    The other soldiers got into the tank as Alexander’s group followed him. He ran ahead and spotted a few Helbots on a vine covered plateau. They halted and Alexander flew to the top. Spinning and dodging, he was able to shoot them down with his rifle. He looked down the river and two Helbot Brutes charged after his group. Jumping down, he landed behind them and sliced one of them with his laser katana. He sprinted to the second brute and sliced its head off.

    The tank behind him hovered away and he leaped onto it. He ripped open the door and jumped in. Three Helbots piloting the tank caught off-guard and they pulled out their rifles. He pulled the ionic rifle off of one and fired at two. The third one pulled out two laser katanas and swung them around at him. Their blades clashed as they fought inside the tank. Swinging, dodging, and striking, Alexander sliced the Helbot’s hands off and impaled the head.

    As the second tank was secured, Alexander jumped out with his group as other men drove it. Aoife said, “This is fucking awesome! These assholes don’t know what would hit them yet!”

    Moses said, “The next tank is moving below us in another cave heading west to the other section of the canyon.”

    Alexander asked, “How do we get in that cave?”

    Moses explained, “The entrance to the cave is at the end of this river about 1.1 miles from us. This river splits into two. The entrance is at the left with a long drop-off, which would not be good for our vehicles. A ramp at the right river is just 2.3 miles would also take us to the cave.”

    “My group will head to the closest entrance,” said Alexander. “The rest of you will follow to the ramp.”

    His team reached the entrance and the water falls into the drop-off. He flew down and landed in a deep pond. Moses turned his hands into medical tools, drilled into the rock wall, and slid down. As he joined Alexander, David hovered down while Vyla used a hook to slide down. His marines lowered down with hooks of their own. They swam out of the pond and proceed deep into the cave.

    Running down the corridor, they came upon a chamber with green covered water. Around this body of water was a narrow walkway for them to get to the other side. Moses scanned the water and said, “This substance contains 60% hydrogen fluoride, 35% antimony fluoride, and 5% water.”

    “Lovely,” Vyla said sarcastically. “Remind me to step into ocean water after this.”

    “Everyone, keep your backs pinned to the wall,” Alexander said as he slid his back along the wall.

    His team watched and began to follow him. Inch by inch, pebbles fell into the pool and the acid ate it like it was melting ice cubes. Yuya gulped as his implants began to feel irritated as the vapor hits them. Alexander jumped off and waited for his group to catch up. He took Vyla’s hand and she jumped off. Moses climbed across with ease. David hovered over the pool. Vyla helped get everyone else to the other side.

    They got to the next chamber and this time there was nothing to walk on or climb. The second pool was much larger than the last one. Moses scanned around and decided to climb to the other side. As he climbed, Helbot packs at the other side ran in and spotted them. They barked and fired their mini-guns at them. David fired his lightning bolts as Vyla shot her trident. Alexander took out his assault rifle and fired at more Helbots coming in. Moses got under them and jumped right at them. He sliced their armor and limbs apart with his medical tools and pushed the last one into the acid pool.

    “All clear,” said Moses.

    “Thanks,” said Alexander as he flew to him. The rest of the group swung their hooks across and Alexander and Moses got a hold of them as they made it.

    They finally proceeded into a larger corridor and the tank was ahead of them. Helbots ran after them and fired their guns. David charged and impaled the first on with his ice beam. Aoife and Howie fired their mini-guns at a Minotaur as two Helbot soldiers ran with bazookas. Alexander sprinted to the ones with the bazooka and blasted their heads. He grabbed the bazooka and shattered the Minotaur.

    The tank turned its gun and fired beams of plasma at them. They ran to the other side as the gun slowly turned. Moses and Alexander got on the tank and ripped open the door. Moses sliced the pilots’ heads off and Alexander got onto the driver seat. Then they wait and the rest of the Resistance came to them.

    “Alexander, we are just close to the coast,” said Alpha. “The last three tanks would be right at the exit.”

    Alexander said, “Let’s drive these tanks up to the other ones and commandeer them while they aren’t looking.”

    Alexander got into one of the Helbot tanks and his group jumped in. He drove it to the end of the cave where the other tanks were parked at the edge of the crashing ocean. The Helbots were just sitting around, probably waiting for orders. They waved as Alexander’s tanks drove in. He had his men turned the tanks parallel to the coastline so the Helbots would not see them come out.

    The group emerged out of the tanks and hid. Moses poked his head out and the Helbots still sitting around. Alexander instructed his group with hand signals to get ready and attack from behind those robots. They got to the end of the tanks and Alexander raised his hand up. He threw it down and they ran after them.

    Vyla impale one with her trident and Aoife shot the other with her shotgun. Moses drilled his hands through their chests. David froze three of them. And Alexander sliced the rest of their heads off with his laser katanas. He looked around if anyone was watching them. They hurried into the tanks and drove along the coast to the library.

    The ones in the Helbot tanks drove up as the others stayed behind to prevent detection. His tanks got up to the army marching on a narrow bridge at the same level as the sea. The bridge led them to a skinny rock sticking out of the water. These robots were marching into that rock, letting him know that was the entrance to the library.

    The tanks joined into the march. Helbot ships hovered over them as his team head into the entrance. Alexander ordered his men to move the same way as the others so that the Helbots wouldn’t be suspicious. They drove the tanks down the water bridge.

    Moses and Alpha scanned around to hear what the Helbots were saying. Alpha said, “Alexander, you have to listen to this!”

    As Alpha increased the volume on his monitor, someone spoke, “This is Cahan. Fabocusa entered the library. Use any weapons to stop him and retrieve the codex. Bring his head to me.”

    “Damn it!” Alexander shouted. “They got my father trapped in there. We have to get in there fast.”

    “Why don’t we fire our tanks now?” Aoife asked.

    Alexander explained, “We can’t until we get inside. If they find us right now, we would be destroyed. Once we get inside, we can then fire and seal the doors.”

    Moses added, “Depending on the structure of the library, we would have to find a quicker way to get to Fabocusa and escape with the codex.”

    “Very well, you and Alpha scan the structure as soon as we get inside the library,” said Alexander. “Let’s get ready for this.”

                                          **********

    The Helbots and Resistance got inside the rock which happened to be an elevator. Doors slid shut behind them and the dome room glow blue with light bulbs around. The floor shook and began to lower down. This elevator lowered deeper as they were heading down into the library. They follow a long trail of blue light during this decent. Five minutes passed, the elevator stopped which told them that they made to the bottom of the sea.

    “Now!” Alexander shouted.

    The guns on the tanks were turned to the Helbots and fired their photon beams by surprise. Helbots blew to pieces. Others took out their cannons and fired at the tanks. One torpedo hit Alexander’s tank and everyone was swung out of their seats. Shook by the impact, his tank took some damage and most of the armor was blown. Aoife crept her head out of the tank and fired a bazooka at them. One of them called onto his wrist. “The Resistance is here, send in reinforcements!”

    Helbots at the surface ripped open the elevator with their handsaws. Gunships and drop-ships flew in and dived down into Alexander’s group. Some of his men jumped out as Helbots ran out of the drop-ships. His tanks aimed at a gunship as it started firing at them. Howie fired his rocket launcher and blasted one of the turrets. David fired a lightning bolt at one of the thrusters and the gunship spun around. As it crashed, the elevator door opened and they rushed out.

    Then they found themselves in a three story glass tunnel below the ocean surface. The sides of the tunnel had walkways at each floor with Helbot tanks and brutes wondering around. Alexander drove his tank forward and fired at the first group of brutes. The firing attracted the others and sprint after them. Enemy tanks charged at him and rammed right at the front. He ordered his team to jump out. As they got out, he ran up to that tank and ripped open the hatch. Dropping two grenades, he flew up just as the tank exploded.

    David joined Alexander and fired fireballs at the army. Alexander carried a photon cannon and fired at a couple of brutes. Fire power was run out and he smashed it against another brute’s head. He pulled out a shotgun and charged up a hummer with Helbots firing with turrets. He took off and dived into the one in a turret. The Helbot fell flat on the roof and Alexander ripped its head off. They fired at him and he fired his shotgun. Each shot shoots out sparks of high levels of electricity out of themselves.

    Once they were down, his shield was gone and two tanks drove up to him. He sprinted away from them and they fired, nearly hitting him. The impact caused him to spin in the air and crashed against the wall. David swift to his rescue as the Helbots targeted them. He put his hands together and turned into a shadow figure. Those Helbots started firing and David spun around them. Their head spin as they tracked his movement and they spun in confusion. He got to the back of the tanks and fired lightning into the hatch.

    The tank exploded and Alexander got back up. He slid across the floor and fired last rounds on his shotgun. Bashing it against the head of a Helbot, he got behind it and moved the firing weapon against and other Helbots. Those got blasted away and he snapped the Helbot’s neck.

    He ran up to David and shouted, “What the hell you just did?”

    David explained, “I did a Caster foot technique called the Shadow Step. It gives me remarkable speed. Due to the fact that extended use will exhaust me, it is more often used for evasion than speedy transportation. The mechanics of this spell are a well-kept secret.”

    “Damn,” Alexander gave a thumb up.

    The two ran to the Resistance as they were being pinned. Aoife and Howie constantly fired bazookas at the packs and brutes. Packs pulled out their miniguns and fired mercilessly at the group. His tanks slowly turned their guns around to fire at the enemy. Yuya took out a machine gun as Moses carried a torn up turret to cover him.

    Vyla hid under a burning tank loading her crossbows. She slid out of there and ran as she fired one of them with ionized lasers at the Helbots. Pinning them, she took out her second crossbow rifle and shot them down. Two Helbots charged at her on both sides with laser katanas. She slid across the floor and the two Helbots collided with each other. She bumped into Moses as he fired Helbots from his front. She fired her trident, watching his back.

    His tanks continued to move down the tunnel while they continued to fight. Alexander ran down firing a solar assault rifle at the Helbots. The Resistance ran as fierce warriors, shooting any robot that tried to kill them. They had to get inside the library before they get to Fabocusa.

    Alexander looked behind and the Helbots started to retreat. He looked around and a Helbot battlecruiser dove into the water. The cannons glowed and Alexander panicked.

    “Run!” Alexander screamed. “Run now!”

     They looked up and got back on the tanks. The drivers hit the accelerator to full speed. A torpedo hit the roof of the glass tunnel. Water burst into the tunnel. The Resistance passed through a doorway as they reached the end of the tunnel. Alpha pushed a button to close the door as the glass tunnel continued to fall. The door lowered slowly and a tsunami rushed up to them. David and his Casters together froze the water just as it splashed in.

    His men had made it to the other end of the tunnel. But the Helbots destroyed it in hopes of taking Alexander down. They were trapped in this structure below the ocean surface.

    Alexander asked, “Where the hell are we?”

    Alpha said, “We are just at the entrance of the Library.”