“Hey,” Nate defended. “I got our purse.”
Finch looked at Rey. “Well, remember this page.” He pointed down to the logbook. “Let’s head back.”
Rey closed the book and stood up at the same time as Finch.
“Here,” Finch said, moving to Tucker. “Let me help you.” He grabbed the monitor, easing the load for Tucker.
“Oh I can see now,” Tucker said.
“You think you guys got enough stuff?” Finch asked as they walked back to the Omni.
“I think we have enough to piece things together,” Nate replied. “We’ll know tonight.”
They arrived at the ship as Sam emerged.
“You need help?” Sam asked. “Holy crap, guys. Do we want it inside or you leaving it out for the night?”
“In,” Nate replied. “I want to make sure I can get the drive working.”
“And look, Sam,” Tucker said, “a monitor. Touch screen.”
“Ha, ha, ha.” Sam took the box from Tucker.
“How’s Buster?” Tucker asked.
“In his glory. He’s examining that hard drive you got from their med bay,” Sam said.
“Oh shit.” Rey snapped her finger just as she started to enter the ship. “The dolly.”
“Do we need it right now?” Finch asked.
“Nah, we can grab it tomorrow,” Rey replied.
“You know what?” Nate said. “I’ll get it. I don’t want to take a chance on us forgetting it.” He stepped back.
“Oh, look at the geo guy doing something,” Tucker joked.
Nate laughed and walked with a brisk pace to the dolly.
It was already unfolded and he opted not to fold it back up. Instead, he pushed it at a leisurely pace.
A few steps into his return to the ship, it happened.
He was just pushing it along, hands on the handle, when a high-pitched whistling sound rang out a split second before something blasted through the left side of his belly. Sparks emerged from him and he flew forward a few feet, landing face-first on the ground.
The instant shock of the moment didn’t stop Finch from seeing it.
It stood tall in the doorway of the ARC. Red, metallic, and shiny.
It could only be one thing.
A Riser.
“Get in!” Finch ordered Rey. “Sam…” He pulled out his pistol. “Fire up the ship. Now!” He aimed outward at the Riser as it walked toward Nate. He fired at it as he ran.
The shots hit and ricocheted off of the robot. It jerked at each hit it took, but it still kept moving.
Then another appeared and another.
Finch ran, arriving at Nate the same time as Tucker. He kept firing until his clip was empty.
Tucker reached down for Nate.
Weapon still in hand, Finch helped Tucker quickly lift Nate to the dolly. Once he was on, Tucker ran fast and Finch grabbed another clip.
He was moving backwards, shooting as best as he could. But nothing he did made a difference.
Four of them kept coming. They kept firing whatever type of weapon they had but they weren’t aiming at Finch. They were aiming at Tucker and Nate.
Halfway down the stairs in front of the door to the ship, Rey waited.
They moved so fast, everything was a blur to Finch.
Before Finch could even lend a hand to his injured friend, Tucker had Nate over his shoulder, and with Rey’s help he was on the ship in seconds.
Finch made it up the stairs just as one of the Risers fired. A blast of what seemed like an explosive hit the edge of the door.
He leaped inside, grabbed the rope for the stairs, and pulled them up. “Tucker, the door!”
It was Rey who lunged forward and, using all of her body strength, slid the door closed.
“Latch it!” Finch ordered as he made his way to the front. He heard another shot hit the ship. He didn’t know what was happening with Nate, nor did he have time to think about it.
Finch raced to the front of the ship. The system was running, engines firing. He had to get them out and fast.
It was ridiculous for Nate to get the dolly, that was what Rey thought when he’d raced back to retrieve it. After all, at the time they weren’t leaving. But she supposed the area with the dolly would be too dark in the evening, and like Nate said, they did stand chance of forgetting it.
When she saw him run back, she’d taken the logbook inside.
Everything was good.
Normal.
In fact, she was thinking about what to make for dinner since it was her turn to cook. Contemplating that, laughing about Buster’s robotic enthusiasm for medical stuff, and thinking nothing out of the ordinary when it turned on a dime.
A single gunshot rang out followed by Finch shouting for Sam to fire up the ship.
It was an order Sam didn’t instantly follow. Before Rey could register more shots were fired, and Sam raced to the door.
“Oh my God, Nate’s been hit.”
At that second she expected Sam to run out, but instead he ran to the front of the ship to get it started.
There was a whirling sound as Buster moved behind Rey to the door.
“We cannot hesitate on treatment,” Buster said. “It must be done fast.”
Rey couldn’t even see what happened. By the time she had arrived at the door, they were racing with Nate on the dolly. She climbed down a couple steps to help Tucker.
Finch kept running backwards, firing and finally Rey saw.
They were frightening and still in circulation…the Risers.
It was happening fast.
Tucker carried Nate inside, Finch pulled the stairs, and Rey closed the door.
She could hear the Risers shooting at the ship.
By the time she stepped back from the door, the ship was moving quickly.
“Grab hold of something,” Finch ordered over the speaker.
Rey felt the pressure of the ship barreling full speed ahead.
Tucker was on the floor, one hand securing Nate while his leg extended to the wall, bracing himself.
Rey dropped down, pushing her back against the wall and held onto a seat. The ship jolted and bumped as it sped down the uneven path.
Rey closed her eyes when she felt the pressure in her chest as the ship shot upward, faster and at an angle it had never done before.
