to throw the ball to Legs.
But the buildings behind the fountain were clear.
Another wave of bullets scoured the square. The wall of bots was marching forward.
I ran for the nearest building, crashing through its ancient wooden door into a plaster room covered in dust. It was empty except—
I panic-fired three shots before I realized I’d come face to face with a mirror. Shards flew everywhere from the impact of the energized bullets.
The room only had one other doorway, so I took it. I worked my way back through the building—some kind of retail front from long ago—and exited into an alley.
My breath rasped as my lungs ached for oxygen. My poor heart pounded in my chest and I fought off a wave of dizziness. The bots scraped and clomped closer, circling around the building and moving through. There wasn’t anywhere else to go.
I looked down at the ball.
It looked back up at me.
An idea worked its way into my thick skull. There wasn’t any time to decide if it was a good idea, so I went with it. I stuffed the ball under my shirt. The bots were targeting eyes and that thing had a pair. I dropped the bot that I had been carrying as a shield and used my metal hand to rip the sleeve off of my shirt to make a makeshift blindfold. Once I was blind, I picked up the bot again, rubbed its face in the dirt as best I could, and then held it as far away from my body as I could.
I rounded the corner of the building by sticking the bot out first. The twang of bullets tugged at it a few dozen times. Good. They would target the makeshift decoy. Hopefully they would ignore me if they couldn’t properly see my face.
The bots were close, and I pushed past the first wave of them. They’d shoot again soon, and I needed to move.
Another round of shots hit the bot, some missing and ricocheting off of my black metal arm. Others must have slammed into the bots behind me, because I could hear several of them start to flail and malfunction.
Fear kept me moving. It was impossible to know what their programming would make them do. Running might trigger more bullets. Maybe they got smarter as I got closer. Talking might trigger an attack.
“Hey, Sheriff,” shouted Legs from the rooftops. “Toss it up here!”
Dozens of gunshots rang out and Legs screamed and dropped somewhere into the darkness.
I walked, ears guiding me. All of the bots were behind me now, so I turned and walked backwards so that I could hold the bot up where everything could get a good look at its pretty eyes. They were good eyes. Good for seeing; good for shooting.
Then they got shot.
I felt the bullet thunk into my bot’s head, then there was the whump of an explosion.
My ears rang and my big metal hand was empty. The wide expanse of the street no longer felt all that comforting.
I turned, whipped off the blindfold, and ran. Ten meters to go, I knew my timing was bad. They’d shoot before I made it.
I pulled the ball out from under my shirt, cupped it in my hand, and tossed it.
It lobbed through the air in a lazy arc.
The bots raised their pistols.
My left leg caught behind my right, and I went down in a great cowboy heap.
Shots rang out, whizzing above me.
The ball hit the bucket and went in.
Silence.
Pistols dropped.
I rolled over onto my back and didn’t move until a somewhat pained-looking Legs stood over me.
“Good game,” he said. He had a grin that damn near split his head in half. “You sure aren’t much of a team player, are you?”
Rosa said to me, “He’s been looking for a sucker to play that with him since he got Jared killed. I don’t think he’s ever won.”
Legs offered a hand, and I took it. He hauled me up to my feet.
“Mind if I talk to Court now?” I asked.
“She’s inside.” Legs slapped me on the back. “Play another time, eh, pendejo ?”
“No,” I said. “No, I don’t think so.”
Chapter 14
Stepping into the church was like stepping into the blinding light of day after an eternity in darkness.
But the buildings behind the fountain were clear.
Another wave of bullets scoured the square. The wall of bots was marching forward.
I ran for the nearest building, crashing through its ancient wooden door into a plaster room covered in dust. It was empty except—
I panic-fired three shots before I realized I’d come face to face with a mirror. Shards flew everywhere from the impact of the energized bullets.
The room only had one other doorway, so I took it. I worked my way back through the building—some kind of retail front from long ago—and exited into an alley.
My breath rasped as my lungs ached for oxygen. My poor heart pounded in my chest and I fought off a wave of dizziness. The bots scraped and clomped closer, circling around the building and moving through. There wasn’t anywhere else to go.
I looked down at the ball.
It looked back up at me.
An idea worked its way into my thick skull. There wasn’t any time to decide if it was a good idea, so I went with it. I stuffed the ball under my shirt. The bots were targeting eyes and that thing had a pair. I dropped the bot that I had been carrying as a shield and used my metal hand to rip the sleeve off of my shirt to make a makeshift blindfold. Once I was blind, I picked up the bot again, rubbed its face in the dirt as best I could, and then held it as far away from my body as I could.
I rounded the corner of the building by sticking the bot out first. The twang of bullets tugged at it a few dozen times. Good. They would target the makeshift decoy. Hopefully they would ignore me if they couldn’t properly see my face.
The bots were close, and I pushed past the first wave of them. They’d shoot again soon, and I needed to move.
Another round of shots hit the bot, some missing and ricocheting off of my black metal arm. Others must have slammed into the bots behind me, because I could hear several of them start to flail and malfunction.
Fear kept me moving. It was impossible to know what their programming would make them do. Running might trigger more bullets. Maybe they got smarter as I got closer. Talking might trigger an attack.
“Hey, Sheriff,” shouted Legs from the rooftops. “Toss it up here!”
Dozens of gunshots rang out and Legs screamed and dropped somewhere into the darkness.
I walked, ears guiding me. All of the bots were behind me now, so I turned and walked backwards so that I could hold the bot up where everything could get a good look at its pretty eyes. They were good eyes. Good for seeing; good for shooting.
Then they got shot.
I felt the bullet thunk into my bot’s head, then there was the whump of an explosion.
My ears rang and my big metal hand was empty. The wide expanse of the street no longer felt all that comforting.
I turned, whipped off the blindfold, and ran. Ten meters to go, I knew my timing was bad. They’d shoot before I made it.
I pulled the ball out from under my shirt, cupped it in my hand, and tossed it.
It lobbed through the air in a lazy arc.
The bots raised their pistols.
My left leg caught behind my right, and I went down in a great cowboy heap.
Shots rang out, whizzing above me.
The ball hit the bucket and went in.
Silence.
Pistols dropped.
I rolled over onto my back and didn’t move until a somewhat pained-looking Legs stood over me.
“Good game,” he said. He had a grin that damn near split his head in half. “You sure aren’t much of a team player, are you?”
Rosa said to me, “He’s been looking for a sucker to play that with him since he got Jared killed. I don’t think he’s ever won.”
Legs offered a hand, and I took it. He hauled me up to my feet.
“Mind if I talk to Court now?” I asked.
“She’s inside.” Legs slapped me on the back. “Play another time, eh, pendejo ?”
“No,” I said. “No, I don’t think so.”
Chapter 14
Stepping into the church was like stepping into the blinding light of day after an eternity in darkness.
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