Then everyone burst into action.
Stewart spun around and started to sprint, without much grace, out of Karl’s line of sight. He kept his head bowed as he ran, preparing for another shot to ring out.
The Leddites fumbled with their weapons, which they seemed to have become unaware of when Karl fired. One nearly dropped his, but it was only a couple seconds before they had all barrels pointing toward the intruder.
“Karl, run!” Maynard shouted.
The psychologist ducked down low as he tried to reverse his footing. Without aiming, he fired off two more shots in the general direction of the townspeople, then stumbled a little as he jumped back behind the dumpster.
A barrage of gunfire tore through the air, some bullets punching dents and holes into Karl’s cover. The sound rapped on his eardrums like a chain on a steel barrel, piercing into his mind and even causing the I.I. some distress.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Maynard bellowed. “What are we going to do now? You’ve killed us!”
I know, Karl said.
Maynard growled. “What’s the plan? Wait for them to come around and shoot you in the head?”
I thought that’s what I wanted, but now… I don’t know. I don’t feel that way anymore.
“Well you should have thought about that before you jumped out and started a firefight!”
There was a break in the gunshots. Karl hoped it meant that they were reloading, or even out of ammo altogether, but he knew it was more likely a realization on their part that they outnumbered him. Flanking him would be effortless.
Isn’t there something you can do? Karl asked. You got us out of the lab. You got us out of prison. Can you get us out of this?
“I’m certainly open to suggestions,” Maynard said. “I’d jump in their C.C.s if they were implanted, but they’re cavemen, so we’re outta luck.”
Isn’t there anything else you could jump into?
Maynard was quiet for a moment. It was less than a second, but it was still longer than Karl was comfortable with.
He could hear the Leddites approaching him, their feet scraping over the concrete. The gunfire had stopped entirely at this point.
Maynard!
“Aren’t their guns computerized?” the I.I. said.
Their guns?
“Like yours,” Maynard said. “Your gun has a computer in it that identifies your biometric data and controls whether or not it can fire. Theirs probably do, too.”
They hate technology—why would they have smartguns? They probably have old pre-Connectivity weapons that work for whoever squeezes the trigger.
“But they get their supplies from Stewart, and he wouldn’t go through all the legal trouble to get them illegal antiques. He probably gave them smartguns, assigned to them just like yours was to you.”
But we don’t know that, Karl argued. I can’t remember what kind of guns they had. I wasn’t really paying attention.
“Well, it’s our only chance!” Maynard insisted.
Alesha shouted to her two companions, “Move in!”
“Karl!”
Alright! Karl thought. What do I have to do?
“You’ve got to peek out and look at their guns,” Maynard replied. “We need to get them all in one shot.”
Oh God.
Karl squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel the blood pound its way across his temples. Sweat had accumulated just under his bottom lip, giving him the impression that he was drooling.
He tried to listen for the Leddites, to tune out all other sound and hear even their breathing. They were getting close, and starting to split up so they could come around both sides of his cover. Soon, it would be impossible to see all the guns in one gaze without getting a hole blown through his head.
With a quick jolt, he spun out of cover and faced the Leddites.
Surprise stole their faces and they stopped in their tracks. It was clear they hadn’t expected Karl to expose himself so deliberately. But the delay was minor. Their expressions straightened out and they took aim with their weapons.
And nothing happened.
Karl could hear the guns clicking as the Leddites squeezed the triggers over and over. The surprise returned to their faces.
The psychologist raised his own gun to eye level. All three of the townspeople ducked or jumped aside as he opened fire.
He let loose six shots at the fleeing Leddites, but none of them hit. He wasn’t aiming to shoot them, though he doubted he’d be able to even if he wanted.
The Leddites turned into an alleyway, their arms over their ducked heads, and out of sight.
Stewart peeked out from the recessed doorway in which he had taken cover. His face was still contorted in terror, but his eyebrows were cocked. The silence followed by a few gunshots lulled him into a sense of safety. He must have thought the Leddites had gotten the drop on Karl.
When he realized how wrong he was, all of the color drained from his face. He hesitated for only a second before bolting out of cover and toward his parked car.
“Stewart!” Karl cried out as he adjusted his aim.
He squeezed the trigger another two times, but his aim hadn’t improved.
There wasn’t much cover between Stewart and his vehicle, so he ran in a sort of zig-zag manner.
Karl fired again, and on the third pull of the trigger, his gun clicked. He didn’t have a spare magazine, and Stewart was reaching his car. He wouldn’t have enough time to reload the magazine with the loose bullets he had before Stewart would escape.
He started to run after the traitor.
“What are you doing?” Maynard said. “Why are you chasing him? Let’s get out of here!”
No, Karl said. I’m not letting him get away.
As he ran, he noticed a pickup truck parked on the edge of town square. The bed was packed with camping and hunting supplies, which he guessed the Leddites used when Stewart’s supplies were delayed. It looked old, maybe even without a computer inside.
Stewart threw open the driver-side door
