Chapter 4: We Run?

I kept running with Rex at my side and I was aware of the fact that every active Nanite in the area was shutting down. Well, not really. See, the Nanites were just being put in a sleep mode.

"What is going one?" Rex shouted as we race through the trees. I heard the sound of something running, no doubt Biowulf and maybe Sheldon, but it was hard to tell.

"SHUT UP AND RUN!" I screamed angrily at him as I bounded down a hill.

"Why run when you can ride?" Rex questioned and he stopped. I turned to see blue markings appear on his arms and legs. Then they faded and disappeared. "What the…?"

"Just run!"

He quickly caught up to me and said shocked, "Why can't I build anything? How were you able to throw that ball at Breach? How did…?"

"If you're going to keep asking questions, we're going to get captured!"

And so we ran for about ten minutes. We managed to lose whatever or whoever had been tailing us, but we were still in Pack territory. My lungs were heaving and Rex looked winded, too, so we stopped and sat down heavily against a tree. I touched the rough bark to check that its Nanites were still shut down. I gave a sigh of relief and took out the machine that had just saved our lives.

The device itself wasn't so impressive. It was a square piece of metal covered with dents, lines, and the little nick that could switch it on and off. It was a steel gray color while the lines etched into it were bright green, like Cool-Aid. I turned it over in my hands, the humming echoing slightly in the silent woods.

"Hey, what's that?" Rex looked very interested in the machine and said, "Sasha, what is that thing? Why is it humming?" His hand touched the top section, but not the nick, and blue lines appeared on his hand and the cube. His eyes widened and his mouth turned into a surprised O. "Who created this?"

"My sister Violet made this machine," I said and I stowed it back in my jacket. I tapped my baseball bat against the ground, debating whether or not to tell Rex any more. I shrugged and said, "This little piece of metal can create an electric field, like mine, but it can shut down every active Nanite in a mile range."

"…How did she build this? Why did she build it?"

"Vi's…good with machines. She built it to help Sheldon be…normal. This is the first time its' actually worked."

"Wait…When did you activate it?"

"Back in the castle, right before I hit Breach with my baseball."

"That's fast acting. But how do we get out of here now?"

"Good question…I think we should get out of Abysus' borders, then I'll switch the machine off, and you can build something to get us out of here."

"Good plan, but what about the Pack?"

"Breach can't make her portals too close so we should be able to stay out of their reach for a while. Let's get moving."

We started walking. Neither Rex nor I had any idea where the borders ended and how far away they were, but we were going to try.

"Hey…What did you mean by 'this is the first time it's actually worked?'"

"Last week, one of the prototypes my sister made blew up and created a hole in the wall the size of my fist."

"…What happens if this thing blows?" His face looked fearful, like he already knew the answer.

"You can build your machines; but the Pack can get to us them, too." And on that happy note, we turned and started to walk away, away from the castle that still loomed behind us.

"How much farther?" I groaned at this complaint. Rex and I had been walking for the last half-hour and we hadn't made too much progress. The castle was farther away, but it could still be seen and I seriously doubted that we were close enough to the border.

"Rex, if you ask me that question one more time…I swear I'm going to turn this machine off."

"Geez…Someone's in a bad mood."

I snorted and said, "No da…We're out here in the Pack's borders, with my brother and his friends after us, and we have no Nanites or help to get us out of here." I slumped against a tree. I wasn't much of a quitter, but this whole experience was a little too much for me.

"Don't be like that, Sasha," Rex said as he sat down next to me. "Look, I've dealt with these guys before and I know the borders are over those mountains, somewhere. We can do it, I know it."

"Thanks Rex. I'm not very good in these kinds of situations. This is the first time I'm actually up against EVOs and one of them is my big brother. I don't know this area and I'm pretty sure we're on our own out here."

"Please," Rex snorted. "I'm Providence's biggest weapon. Last time I got brought here, a rescue party showed up."

"Then why isn't there a search party going on?"

Rex shrugged his shoulders and expressed, "Even though Bobo saw us get snatched, Providence can't exactly find us in the wide ranges of Abysus. The time when they came to rescue Noah, Bobo, and me…They sent an army and only six found us." His voice went softer at this and he bowed his head.

"…That's how bad Van Kliess is?" I said softly. Out of a whole army only six people made it to him? Scary.

"Yup," Rex said sadly. Then he perked up. "Wait a sec…Bobo saw us get snatched, right?"

"Right."

"So therefor, Providence can track us through my Nanites!"

"But the machine shuts down Nanites, remember?

"Yes, but since the soil around here is just plain fused with this stuff…"

"They'll discover the lack of Nanites in a sector," I said with a shining bit of hope.

"…They get interested and they'll find us."

Then my smile disappeared. "Rex, if Providence can track us through the shut-down Nanites, doesn't that mean the Pack can find us, too?"

He took a quick glance around and said, "Let's get going." We got up and started walking towards the mountains. I couldn't help but clutch my baseball bat close. This territory was dangerous, and who knows what other kinds of EVOs lived around here.

I vaguely felt something behind us, something running, it's Nanites just starting to shut down. The Nanites were of three people…sorry, EVOs I knew: Breach, Biowulf, Circe, and…Sheldon.

"Crap!" I muttered as I grabbed Rex's arm and we raced away. He didn't even need to ask who was following us, since shards of green crystal blasted into the tree next to us. I whimpered slightly and nearly tripped over some roots. Rex pulled me to the right and we ducked into the brush.

Heavy panty sounded next to us and a scratchy, synthesized voice said, "I can't find them! My sensors shut down!" He growled and wacked a tree with so much force it snapped into two. I wanted to scream in fear, but Rex had thankfully placed his gloved hand over my mouth, blocking my panicked cry. "How the heck did Sasha even shut down this entire sector of Nanites?"

"Really B?" a raspy voice asked. My heart beat faster as I saw Sheldon step up to him and pointed him with his crystal club of an arm. "I know my sister, and she could NEVER do something like this. My other sis Violet probably backed her up with some tech to keep her safe and Sash activated it or something."

"…And you neglected to tell Van Kliess this? Why?"

"Do you think I WANT my entire family to join the Pack? No, I don't. Violet may make some cool tech, but it's pretty minor usually."

"Usually?" questioned Circe as she glanced around the area.

"Apparently, she made a small fuse bomb that destroyed a junkyard," Sheldon replied, "And another time, she built a remote activated device that made the announcement system blare rock music for two hours straight."

Rex was about to burst out laughing when I clamped my hand over his mouth. But a slight snort managed to escape.

"Wait," Biowulf said carefully. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Circe questioned.

Biowulf gave a metal sniff then turned to the bush were Rex and I was hiding. I quivered with fear. "Can you turn the machine off for a min?" Rex asked me quietly. I nodded and pressed the nick of the machine, ever so slightly.

Rex nodded to me and I grasped my baseball close. A simple plan ran through my mind. If the Pack saw us jump out they'd probably think we didn't have out Nanites online and they wouldn't either.

"Knock out Breach first," I whispered to Rex. "I'll take her down. You handle my brother. DON'T hurt him too bad." He nodded and together we leaped out of the bush.

"AIIIEEE!" Breach shouted as I rammed into her with my baseball bat. Rex had tackled Sheldon and was grappling with him. Sheldon couldn't shoot his crystals, or so he thought, you he tried to swipe at Rex with his club. Rex grinned at me and built his giant metal fist and smashed my brother with it, successfully knocking him out.

"What the…" Biowulf said before Rex bashed him in the face.

Rex gave me a look and I nodded. Then I slammed Breach into a tree and grasped her arm. I was not expecting what came next. My Nanites suddenly streamed out into Breach and returned…And I had not allowed them to do that. I gasped and let go. I grabbed my stomach like I was on the Tilt-A-Whorl and watched as my vision flooded with black spots. I shuddered and saw Rex rush to me, but Circe blasted him with her sonic scream, keeping him at bay.

As quickly as it had started, my dizzy spell was over. I shook my head then returned to fighting Breach. She opened numerous portals, but I evaded them. She fired one and I easily dodged. "Missed me!"

"Not aiming for you," she said happily. I froze and saw the portal streak for Rex. I called out a warning, but he was too busy dodging Circe's attacks. I have no idea what happened next, but as the red-black portal was about to swallow Rex, another portal, this one a green-blue, opened up in front of it and swallowed it.

"What the…" Breach started to ask, but I rammed her into a tree. She fell over and groaned. I turned back to Rex and Circe who were looking at me funny.

"What?" I asked them. "Aren't you two supposed to be fighting?" The two blushed at this and I quickly joined the fight with Rex. In a little bit, we were racing away from a passed out Pack.

"Where did that portal come from?" Rex asked me as I switched on the machine.

"No clue," I expressed, stowing the piece of metal back in my jacket. "How much farther 'till the mountains?"

Any clue where that other portal came from? I know, but I'm not telling…Yet!