Chapter eight
From the Nursery into War
When they got out of the station, there were soldiers everywhere.
Robot soldiers They were in the middle of a war!
Jessica lay in the hot sun next to her crashed gypsystick. One side of her face was bloody from the crash and her eyes were dosed. She didn't see the fourteen bright eyes that were looking down at her. She didn't hear the soft sounds of their voices. "Ooh... pretty," said the little voices. Seven small children stood around her.
"What's this? Is it a person? So big! Person tired," they said. They felt her hair, her soft face. Then they pulled her slowly toward the Nursery, their home.
They placed her in a small bed. The bed felt her pain and put synthaskin on her face and leg. The cuts disappeared in seconds and Jessica slept well. The children stayed with her for hours, watching.
DAKOTA STATE NURSERY AREA K
Logan stood under the sign and looked through a space in the wall. He could see Jessica's crashed gypsystick in the Nursery playground. She must be in there but he had to be careful. Robotmoms guarded the Nurseries. They sounded the alarm if they saw runners. He walked along the wall until he found a tall tree. He climbed it and dropped down into the playground. He had to be careful not to touch the wall: electricity ran through it.
He crossed the playground. Lights shone from the windows on the first floor of the building but the second floor was dark. He climbed up to the second floor and tried all the windows. He found an unlocked one, pushed it open, climbed in, and dropped to the floor. He was in a small room with boxes in it. He opened the door and looked out. No one was around and it was quiet. He walked toward a Playroom and opened the door. The toys weren't moving or talking. The children must be in bed. The next room, a Birthroom, was also quiet.
His life began in a Nursery like this - and now he was standing in this place at the end of his life. He didn't have time to feel sad. There was no time to feel anything. He had to find Jessica. He left the room and continued through the building.
Suddenly he heard a noise. He knew that noise. A Robotmom was coming. He ran into the next room and quietly closed the door.
It was dark inside.
"Come now, my love," a soft voice said. "Come, my baby. " "But - I can't!" Logan said. He tried to escape but the room held him tightly. "I can't stay here. I have to... have to find..." "Don't cry, my child. Sleep now..." said the Loveroom softly. Logan suddenly needed his mother badly. He was so tired, so tired.
"Mama loves you..." "But... I have to... I..." "Sleep. " "I... sleep..." Logan fell into a deep sleep. In Bedroom L-16, during her hourly tour of the Nursery, Robotmom K-110 discovered a young women asleep in one of the beds. She calmly left the room and switched on the alarm.
The sound woke Jessica up. Doors and windows started shutting everywhere. A computerized voice shouted: Runner! Protect! Defend! KILL!
Jessica jumped up and ran outside the room.
"Jessica! " Logan was suddenly there. "Run! " They raced out of a side door just before it crashed shut, and across the playground toward the main gate. It was closed. Logan broke the glass and pulled a big black switch. The gate slowly opened. A Robotguard came up behind them but Logan was too fast for it. He pulled Jessica behind him and they ran down a hill and into a forest.
Hours later, they were standing in the middle of a station in Rapid City, Dakota. Logan had his gun again, hidden inside his shirt. Jessica kept her right hand closed to hide her black flower. But Maze cars always knew the color of people's flowers. "Keep right behind me," Logan said to Jessica. They walked together through the crowds of people. Logan came to a callbox on another Maze platform. When no one was looking, he cut the alarm. Then he took Jessica's hand and took her toward the Maze car. But Jessica started to fall in the crowd. She put her right hand up to protect herself. A woman saw her flower and screamed.
"Runner! " People started running toward Jessica and Logan. Logan pushed a man out of their way and they jumped into the Maze car. They left the angry crowds of people behind as the car raced down into a dark tunnel. The car suddenly slowed down... then stopped. The doors opened.
"Where are we?" asked Jessica.
"Sandmen have stopped the train. Hurry!" shouted Logan.
When they got out of the station, there were soldiers everywhere.
Robot soldiers. Some were riding robot horses. They were in the middle of a war!
Some robots were wearing blue coats and some were wearing gray coats. It was the Civil War! Union robots were fighting Confederate robots. The air was filled with smoke. Jessica and Logan couldn't hear because of the noise of the guns. Jessica started to scream but Logan put his hand over her mouth.
Then Logan and Jessica saw the tourists. They were watching the fight and shouting with excitement. The Union robots were shooting across the river, trying to destroy the town of Fredericksburg on the other side. They wanted to get the Confederates out of Fredericksburg. Some of the robots were pulling heavy guns onto boats. A loud computerized voice spoke to the crowds.
"Today you are watching brave young men. They are dying for their country, to save it. Watch this fight, as it happened 254 years ago! And remember, there were no runners at Fredericksburg! " Logan and Jessica moved through the fighting. They didn't have to worry about the robot soldiers. The robots' computers were only prepared for the fight. They found two of them, unmoving, in a tent. Logan took the robots' coats from them and threw one at Jessica. "Put this on," he said. "We have to get to Marye's Heights, on the other side of the river. There's a Maze tunnel there. I know it really well. I played there when I was a boy. " Then they took the robots' guns and climbed into one of the boats. "Follow me, men!" the Union officer shouted when the boat got to the other side of the river. "Let's show them! " On both sides of the river the excited crowds watched. They were shouting and waving their arms. But wait! Was that a black coat in the crowds? Francis! How did he find them?
"We have to lose him," said Logan. "We'll have to go through the middle of the fighting. He won't see us if we move with the Union men. " The Union soldiers started moving up the hill. But the Confederate officer and his soldiers were waiting for them at the top. The Union officer was taking his men to their death.
Silence. Then the guns started, The noise was terrifying. There were explosions and fires all around them.
"Don stop now!" shouted a Union robot from his horse. The scream of metal flew through the air and he was cut in half.
Logan couldn't see anything through the smoke. He couldn't hear. He was suddenly pushed onto the ground.
"Jessica! Jessica!" He couldn't hear himself. Gould Jessica hear him?
He continued moving up the hill, along the ground, until he came to a wall. He climbed over it and rested for a minute on the other side. He then took off his Union jacket and threw it away. He looked over the wall and finally saw Jessica below. She was trying to move but the soldiers were running away from the fighting now. They were pushing her back down the hill. There were too many of them, all pushing, farther and farther back down the hill, toward the crowds of tourists.
Toward Francis.
