Chapter 228: (Hesstla) (2/2)

”You're both Space Force? What do the bugs do?” Dambree asked. Tru kept pushing against her, trying to see the dataslate. The picture changed to show a cartoon car looking all sad. One of the insects, green and more delicate looking than the ones she had seen, scurried up holding a wrench. The insect flashed a happy face icon over its head, tapped the car with the wrench, and the car suddenly was gleaming and new looking and looked happy. The insect scurried away.

”They fix things? Cars and stuff?” Dambree asked.

The cartoon mewmew reappeared and sparkles shot out around it.

”Should we...” Dambree started to saw.

Mewmew hissed, turning to face the window. On the dataslate there was a pictures of Dambree, Tru, Elu, Punee, and the mewmew moving low across the floor on their fingers and toes to hide.

”Let's go,” Dambree said. She hurried over to the couch, grabbing Elu, who woke up with a startled outcry but shut his mouth when Tru hushed him. She scooped up Punee, who was asleep still, and hurried upstairs.

She led them past the room with the empty crib.

”Hide in the closet,” Dambree ordered. Another shock was that the her siblings didn't argue, just took Punee and hid in the closet, giving her a bottle of milky that Dambree had pulled the tab on. Dambree laid down by the bed, setting the dataslate next to her, holding the pistol with both hands.

She could hear the sounds of fliers, the thrusters stuttering. She had gotten a peek out of the window and seen stilters out in the grain, slowly approaching. She peeked over the bed and gasped.

There was dozens, maybe even hundreds, of stilters slowly moving toward the house, through the grain. Most of them had all of the their globes lit up blue, very few of them looked damaged. There were fliers moving in with them, most of their globes were blue too. There were other ones too, smaller, with only a single globe, that floated along on a single sputtering thruster.

put it right against the temple, she thought to herself, looking down at the pistol in her hand.

Hesstlin started exiting the grain, staggering, many of them weeping, trying to run but at the ragged edge of exhaustion.

There's no kids, Dambree realized.

The dataslate beeped and Dambree looked down at it. It showed a cartoon version of everyone getting in the car and driving away in a cloud of dust.

”Come on, we've gotta go,” Dambree said, standing up. The crowd was a third of the way across the huge back yard, getting close to the tractors.

Which suddenly started, raising whirling blades and clattering cutters.

The people coming out of the grain field shrank back with a cry of dismay that Dambree could hear even though she was busy picking up Punee and trying to get bit. She didn't have time to flick the baby's nose to teach her not to bite, but instead just tucked Punee under her armpit like a purse and hurried toward the stares.

There was a small sounding 'brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt' outside, along with sharp whistling noises followed by cracks.

Whatever was going on, Dambree didn't know. She just knew she had to get to the car before the crowd did. Had to get her siblings in the car and get far away from the Slorpys and the crowd both.

They thundered down the stairs, not bothering with being sneaky, and ran for the car. A big bug had just shut the hood when it raised the tube, aiming it above Dambree's head. The tube belched fire and a streak went over Dambree's head.

Something behind her blew up as she whipped open the door and slid in, getting behind the steering wheel. She set the baby on the floor as her little brother and sister got in and Mewmew jumped onto the floor boards.

The car started up as Tru pulled the door shut.

The insect, Dambree could see the Space Force logo on its back now, cocked the tube and leveled it again. Dambree looked over and saw one of the single-globe things, much smaller, level out and extend out two thinner tentacles.

The insect jumped off the hood, scurrying to side, and firing the tube again. Others must have been hiding in the grass, because at least four more rockets hit it, sending it spinning and crashing to the ground. Before it could move two of the black insects jumped on it, slashing at it with blades that looked like they were made of solid energy.

Dambree missed it, having pressed the accelerator to the floor. The electric engine caught and slammed Dambree against the seat as the tires bit and the car leaped forward. A female Hesstlin came around the corner of the house and bounced off the front fender as Dambree went to turn, lost traction, then overcorrected before overcorrecting again.

”WATCH OUT!” Tru yelled as the car slid around the side of the house and shot forward.

The wrong way.

”I KNOW!” Dambree yelled back as the car sped toward the stilters and fliers and the crowd.

One of the farm machines had somehow acquired heavy guns that were firing at the fliers, yellow-ish orange fire erupting from the fliers.

”THE CROWD!” Elu shouted.

”I KNOW!” Dambree yelled back, turning the wheel. She turned to sharp and the car went sideways, sliding toward the crowd. It got close enough that two people reached out, tried to grab Dambree. One missed, the other grabbed on and was dragged for several feet before they suddenly vanished and the car bumped over something.

”THE TRACTOR!” Elu yelled as Dambree swerved wildly, fishtailing in the grass.

”I KNOW!”

The huge tractor had the spinning blades up, guns on the roof of the cab and on the fenders firing at the Slorpys. As they shot by Dambree saw two of the insects wave from inside the cab.

Tru waved back.

The car, seemingly able to go a lot faster, sped by the house and Dambree was more careful with the turn, even then the car went sideways until Dambree got it back under control and sped down the dirt road. No longer raising a small cloud and barely keeping ahead of it, but going so fast it made Dambree's eyes tear up. The rain flew in the cab, soaking her and her siblings.

”Bree, here,” Elu said. When Dambree glanced over he was holding out a pair of sun blockers.

”Thanks,” Dambree said, putting them on her face, over her eyes. It dimmed the day a little, but now the rain and wind wasn't hitting her in the eyes. ”Hand me a bottle.”

”Mamma wouldn't... oh...” Tru said as Elu handed over a bottle.

”Eat a nibble and drink a sippy,” Dambree said, letting go of the wheel long enough to pop open the bottle. She took a long drink then put the bottle between her legs. She checked and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the pistol still next to her.

Her siblings didn't argue, just dug into the supplies, coming back with sweet nibbles and sippies.

”Where are we going?” Elu asked.

”I don't know. Where the Slorpys aren't,” Dambree answered.

”The fighting scares me,” Tru said.

”I know,” Dambree said.

”Mommy and Daddy aren't coming back,” Elu said softly.

”I know,” Dambree said, slowing down so she could weave around a large flier that was broken into at least three pieces.

”Are we going to die too?” Tru asked. Dambree glanced over as she took another drink of the fizzybrew and saw her sister was crying.

”We're going to try not to,” Dambree said.

The four children and the purrboi raced down the road, outrunning their own dust and the battle.