Stanley Duncan's Robot: Genesis David III (english reading book .TXT) 📖

The war-hammer came crashing down.

Twisting to his right, he barely avoided the blow. A quick follow-up punch landed at the edge of his rib cage, which would have shattered his bones had it not been for the special armor he was wearing. The war hammer was in the air again, and he barely managed to roll out of the way. Concrete exploded out of the floor.

Too drunk and disoriented to recognize the danger he was in, an older man pushed himself to his knees and then took a swig of alcohol.

“Nobody move — or you’re dead!” Dan dove for a pistol, wrenching it out of the still-warm hands of a man whose head had been crushed beyond recognition. With Brutus charging after him, Dan squeezed out a shot.

No effect.

Aiming for his neck and eyes, Dan fired shot after shot. Crushed bullets ricocheted off of Brutus’s body. Even when Dan managed to hit his eye, Brutus ripped off the flattened steel like it was a small piece of dirt — and still he ran toward him. Dan barely avoided being crushed by the war-hammer as it slammed down and impaled the dead man.

Dan backed away from the indestructible android. “Does anyone know how to stop him?” While Brutus untangled his weapon from the web of intestines, Dan ran into the torture chamber. The man he had knocked out had regained consciousness and was squirming on the floor, demanding to be untied.

Scanning the room, Dan wasn’t sure what would work against that impenetrable armor. The blowtorch could do it, but only if he could restrain him for enough time. “How do I stop Brutus?”

“You can’t.”

Dan ran his hands over a claymore. “There must be an off switch.”

“I hope you die.” The man grabbed a knife and sloppily sawed at his bindings. Blood dripped down to the floor.

“Are you serious? He’s going to kill everyone out there. All humans.”

“Screw them. As long as he gets you, too, it’ll be worth it.” With his hands free untied, the man jabbed the knife toward Dan.

Dan dodged and punched him hard in the face, knocking him out. The door burst open, and Brutus rushed in. Dan swung the claymore as hard as he could at Brutus’s neck. The giant android was unfazed, smashing the sword with his war-hammer and sending it flying across the cluttered room. Trapped into a corner, Dan’s exhausted body had little space to dodge. He wasn’t going to last another minute like this. Desperate, he grabbed a knife and tossed it at him, but it bounced off like a rubber ball. Brutus lifted the war-hammer high into the air, ready to bring it down and crush Dan in an instant.

This was it. He was going to die.

Stanley gazed down at the attentive students. None of them were afraid of him. “Dan is a — ”

“Abomination,” shouted Evan, walking toward him and tapping a pair of cuffs against his hand. “And you are under arrest for the murder of Officer Michaels.”

Chapter 20

Ever since he’d first became conscious, Dan had enjoyed life. Every step of this journey, Stanley had been there for him. Between their conversations over tea and coffee, the countless movies they watched together, and their adventures with Machines with Dreams, Dan had felt his love. He had been blessed with this opportunity, through good times and bad, but he never told Stanley how much he —

The table thumped loudly.

The rope-bound man had stumbled from the floor and was running for the hall. Brutus chased him down, tearing his arm off with one swing of his weapon and crushing his spine with a squeeze of his powerful hand. The poor man lay in a pool of blood, two sections of spine jutting out of a nauseating hole in his back.

Brutus turned toward Dan.

There was no way out. The claymore had been Dan’s best chance of fighting him off, but it had no more impact than swatting the demon-cat with a broom. A can of black spray-paint was lying on a nearby counter. Dan scanned the table and shelf tops for a lighter to make a flamethrower but found none. If he could get to the room where he’d found Teddy, he could use the blowtorch and melt Brutus’s CPU — but getting past him seemed impossible. The dented claymore was on the other side of the room. He could sprint and make one more attempt at cutting Brutus down, but it had already proven itself useless. Brutus must have a weak spot, Dan thought. That juggernaut’s eyes were tougher than steel. There was no way he was going to be able to cut through them, but maybe he didn’t have to.

Praying that it wasn’t empty, Dan grabbed the spray-paint, giving it two shakes before spraying a black mist in Brutus’s face, blackening it like death. The war-hammer crashed through a wooden shelf, exploding it into splintered pieces.

Taking a step back, Dan knocked into the counter.

Brutus charged forward, swinging wildly.

Dan froze, and the two stood there for minutes without moving. Somehow, he had to distract him so that he could escape.

“What the hell’s taking so long?” said Teddy, appearing at the door.

Brutus rushed toward him but ran into a table.

“He’s blind, but he can still hear!” shouted Dan, dodging the incoming swing of the hammer — but it connected with the helmet, ripping it and the gas mask off Dan’s face and sending them into a shelf. Brutus followed up with another swing and shattered the bulletproof helmet.

Dan’s neck and head hurt, but nothing felt broken. He held his breath, noiselessly thanking Stanley for his never-ending insistence. When he looked toward the door, Teddy was already gone. Word must have gotten out by now about what had happened at the Coliseum, and half the police force were, no doubt, on their way. Staying still was not an option — it was a death sentence.

As quietly as he could,