A circular disc-sized cut in the roof was enough for the Scavenger to pass through. He put the blade back in its case and slowly slid the lid off. Placing his hands on the edges, the Scavenger pulled himself up to the roof.
The Scavenger held the lid on the opening and pressed a button on the FLICK. A laser shot out, releasing intense heat that sealed the edges of the lid.
The Scavenger felt relieved. He pressed a shining green button on the hand panel of the FLICK and started to run towards the edge of the roof. As he neared the edge, he prayed that the advanced technology of the FLICK would work without any glitch.
He closed his eyes and leapt off the roof.
With a slight whooshing sound, the thrusters activated in the armour.
The FLICK’s best feature revealed itself. Two black wings unfolded from its sides. The Scavenger flew like a bird.
The highly risky operation had gone off successfully without a glitch. As the Scavenger flew high over the Library compound, he looked down and saw the guards patrolling the area.
“Goodbye,” he whispered, smiling. “See you soon!”
16
It was pitch dark when the Scavenger returned to the Chariot. As he landed, he gave a thumbs up to his friends who were waiting for him with bated breath. Archer, Daniel and James jumped, clapping with joy. Pyros smiled.
After removing the over-heated FLICK, the Scavenger narrated the entire sequence of events. The children had expressions of disbelief as they had never expected the Scavenger to be so smart as to avoid any violence. They admired the Scavenger for successfully undertaking this dangerous survey operation.
Everyone spent the entire night going through the photos and videos that the FLICK’s camera had captured.
Pyros bowed to the Scavenger. “I must admit, I have never heard of such a brave act by anyone before. Please accept a bow.”
“We are proud of you,” James said.
The Scavenger didn’t know how to take the compliments so he just smiled.
Archer said, “Osay will soon come to know about the guard trapped on the tree. And he will immediately connect the dots. Maybe he can hide the ‘Book of the Universe’ or something. We need to act real fast.”
Pyros shook his head. “The ‘Book of the Universe’ is fixed in its place. No worries on that count. But, we have a bigger problem at hand, which is the Brentinute. We now know that it is going to be attacked any time.”
The Scavenger felt a sudden sense of urgency. “Pyros, let’s move to the Brentinute. We will keep planning on the way. We owe a lot to the people at the Brentinute. We can’t let them die.”
The fact that they had not slept the whole night didn’t deter them. Soon, their chariot was moving at lightning speed towards the Brentinute.
The Scavenger put the chariot on auto-pilot mode and said, “We don’t know when Osay will attack the Brentinute. Either we wait for Osay’s attack and fight his army off, or we move the people to a safe place before Osay attacks.”
“Fighting is not an option,” Pyros said firmly. “We don’t have allies yet. We will be outnumbered hands down.”
James nodded. “I second that. In fact, I have an idea. Why don’t we take Staler, the scientists and everyone at the Brentinute to the Island of the Humans? This consolidation would help us strengthen our side in the coming war.”
James’s idea was, as usual, brilliant. Everyone agreed to it almost instantly. They discussed and planned the evacuation of the Brentinute.
On reaching the Brentinute, Staler welcomed them. “It is a pleasant surprise to see you all again. I wasn’t expecting you guys so early here.”
“The situation demanded it, Staler.” The Scavenger sighed. “The Brentinute could be attacked any moment.”
Staler’s eyes had a steely glint. “You don’t need to worry. Our scientists have a lot of advanced weaponry, and though our guards are few, we can...”
“Staler, no,” the Scavenger said. “It’s not that your weapons aren’t effective. The problem is that the enemy is far too strong. We can’t allow you all to die here. We are all moving to the Island of Humans.”
Staler shook his head. “NO! I am not going anywhere. I have given my life to the Brentinute. I chose to die protecting it.”
The Scavenger argued back. “Staler, please! Don’t be emotional. It is a war. We need to be alive first.”
Staler calmed himself and thought for a while.
“All right,” Staler said. “So be it. But, it will not be easy for the enemy. The Brentinute will go out with a bang.”
Staler shared an incredible plan that left everyone gasping. They all were surprised at Staler’s ability to adapt to the changing circumstances.
Next, Staler expressed his concern about moving the scientists, machinery and guards in such a short time.
Pyros butted in, “Don’t worry. My magic can teleport as many things as possible to the Island of Humans. Just tell your people to bring their things outside the Brentinute in an open space.”
The Scavenger got up. “Let me alert Thomas about our plans.” He took out a small rectangular device.
“Is that a phone?” Archer asked incredulously.
“I don’t know what it is,” the Scavenger said. “The scientists at the Island of the Humans gave it to me saying that I can directly contact Thomas through it.”
The Scavenger tapped some numbers and pressed an icon on the device.
“It’s like a video call,” Daniel said. “That’s a phone all right.”
Thomas’s face appeared on the screen. The Scavenger briefed him about the plan to shift the men and machinery at the Brentinute to the Island.
“Thomas, we need hundreds of tents,” the Scavenger said. “The people are coming in large numbers. Tell your builders to arrange adequate accommodation and ready the storage for heavy equipment and machinery. We will be teleporting them very soon. The Chariot of Destruction needs maintenance. Please arrange for that as well.”
After the Scavenger spoke to Thomas,
