He had one shiny eye in the middle of his forehead, and his skin looked like hardened leather. He carried a short-barreled rifle like he knew what to do with it and had a mouth that looked as if someone had glued a handful of random fangs to its face.
As I peered at the rest of the buildings, I began to notice shadows and little movements from similar-shaped creatures. It appeared I’d found the slavers.
And I knew what to do with slavers.
Chapter Four
It would be hours before sunrise. We had more than enough time to slowly set up a plan, and I was not one to thoughtlessly squander an opportunity like that.
“Skrew,” I said, drawing the vrak’s attention. “Your part of the plan will be to head into the woods and around to the other end of the plant. I need you to cause a distraction. Make some noise. Start a fire. Anything you can to get the guards focused on you. But I don’t want you to get yourself killed. You think you can do that?”
Skrew thought about it as he tapped his chin with the first finger of three of his hands. “Easier if Skrew had pew-pew gun. Maybe throw rock at guard? Maybe scream help?”
If he didn’t come up with a way to draw the guards’ attention, my plan to make it past the heavily fortified defenses was worthless. He didn’t seem very creative today.
“Do you know how to start a fire without any tools?” I asked as I thought about some of the ancient videos I’d watched about early Earthlings.
“Yes,” he said hesitantly. “Skrew in trouble four times for making the fire. But was long time back, many big cycles. No have so much fun making fires now.”
I almost laughed. I should have known he’d be a pyromaniac. “Here’s the plan. I want you to tap into your past, think about how much you used to enjoy making fires, and start a few in the woods. Be careful, though. If these guards know anything about fire, they’ll know their operation would be permanently shut down if fire reached the quarry and ignited the coal. Not only that,t it’s likely the fire would burn for at least 10 big cycles.”
Skrew’s eyes opened wide as he stared into space with disturbing delight.
“There’s more,” I continued. “The conveyor system leading into the building likely drops the coal on the other side. That creates a lot of dust. If the dust touches a spark—boom!
“Undoubtedly, the presence of a nearby fire will alarm the guards. The presence of two or three fires should send them into a panic. It doesn’t look like they’ve done any mining in the woods, those trees look old. The rest of the coal should be safe if they get the fires out in time.
“Try to find spots in the woods that will ensure the guards can see the flames, but not so close that they can see you. And watch out for their red-eyed guard dogs. I have a feeling they can see in the dark better than any of us.”
Skrew rubbed his hands together. “Skrew will set fires, yes. Fires to make Jacob proud. Like when little, but better.”
Beatrix’s face confirmed there was something off about sending a pyromaniac to start fired, one who was so glad to do it too. It was a dangerous plan, but it was the only one we had.
“Skrew,” I whispered, “when you’re done, make your way back to this area. We’ll use the quarry as our escape route. The guards would do anything to avoid igniting it, let alone firing their own energy weapons into it. And so would we. Once a fire like that starts, it could burn for a hundred years. There’s no way to put it out, and every ounce of coal will be consumed.
“But the people will need it after we free the planet. They’ll need every bit of energy they can get their hands on, and it will be a resource they can use for trade. Do you understand?”
The vrak nodded, squinted his eyes in what probably counted for mischief, and snuck away to go cause mayhem.
There were three coal piles. The one close to the silent conveyor looked strong enough to support our weight.
A thunderous explosion rocked the ground as a bright orange glow illuminated the night sky and the sparse clouds. I was worried the vrak had killed himself, until a second explosion tore through the atmosphere and sent the guards and four red-eyed robots charging toward the noise.
A third explosion almost knocked the guard in the nearby tower from his post. It was time, and since the guard was leaning out from under the roof of his tower, I could clearly see his head. Reaver snatched a rock from the coal pile and threw it. The projectile slammed into the guard’s head, and he toppled over, impaling himself on the fence.
“Let’s go,” I whispered as I drew Ebon and hopped onto the conveyor with my team behind me.
A quick glance to my right confirmed that Skrew’s plan was working. The fires were about a hundred yards from the fenceline but were growing rapidly. It would take everything the guards had to put them out.
As the conveyor carried us toward the main building, the two white spotlights illuminated a fire the guards were attempting to put out. If only the machine with the spotlights came close enough to the fires for me to see its silhouette… but I couldn’t risk falling off, I had to concentrate on our rickety transport. I gritted my teeth and let the conveyor carry me and my team into the building.
The air inside was sweltering. Two huge boilers took up almost half the space with pipes and
