Chapter 13

Jack raced through the forest, leaping from tree to tree as he headed towards the waterfall. Behind him were the sounds of machine gunfire and trees being shredded and blown apart. Gritting his teeth, he had to force himself to keep moving forward. Tanner was doing his part and he would do his. He was promised ten minutes of uninterrupted prep time and he was going to use every last second to make a trap that would blow that goddamn Exo up.

The forest around him got thinner as Jack pushed his way forward. The trees were growing sparser and he could hear the sound of rushing water. It was a dull roar that was steadily getting louder as he made his way towards the waterfall.

The trees around him cleared and Jack burst out of the forest and the full sound of the cascading waters hit him. It drowned out everything around him and Jack stood transfixed watching the waterfall drop down from a cliff face that seemed to be stabbed straight through the crown of the hill. Something about the entire terrain screamed artificial. It seemed unnatural.

The waterfall crashed down the near vertical cliff and dropped down into a large plunge pool the size of a small lake. Right in the middle of the lake, Jack spotted the Exo. The metal giant’s grey defensive plating were dented and cracked but the machine still looked alive. It stood there like a silent sentinel as a witness to their final confrontation.

“Soja,” he muttered under his breath as he scanned the area. The lake was surrounded by boulders that framed its edges. The giant rocks littered the area and a small clearing had formed around the lake, after which the forest gained its footing to form an endless green ocean.

Looking around, Jack spotted a head poking out from behind a large boulder. Soja was sneaking a peek at the newcomer that had entered the clearing. The plump boy panicked a little seeing Jack, but quickly recovered when he recognized who it was.

“Jack!” he waved excitedly. Soja looked alright considering the circumstances. In his hands were large dark disklike objects that had a glossy metallic surface. Jack just hoped that the plump boy managed to grab something useful from the broken Exo in the lake. He was ready to work with anything at this point as long it managed to crack the defenses of the red monster that had been chasing them.

“Soja, What's that you got there?” Jack asked, pointing towards the disklike objects in Soja's hands as he walked towards him.

“Mines. Explosives,” he said excitedly as he presented them for Jack’s examination. “Don’t know what else! I grabbed whatever I could.”

“Excellent.” Jack’s face brightened up. This was the first piece of good news he had heard all day. He reached out for the explosives Soja had in hand when he was hit in the face with a sweet, metallic smell. The confusing stench sent Jack back reeling.

“Good lord. You reek.”

The plump boy grimaced as he sniffed himself. “I can’t even smell it anymore. I didn't notice the Exo leaking fuel. Swam right into it.”

Jack took a step back, trying to clear the air and looked out towards the lake. A continuous stream of fuel was dripping out of the Exo, covering the lake in a film of oil, giving it a reddish tinge. The fuel had yet to cover the plunge pool fully as it was constantly being washed out of the lake by a river on the far side.

Looking back towards Soja, Jack spotted the dark stains on his clothes. The little fatty was the equivalent of a stubby candle now.

“You need to get rid of that shirt ASAP,” said Jack pointing at the oil stained clothes. “Anyway let’s see those mines.”

Soja handed off the large dislike objects and Jack began examining them. They were shaped like saucers and had the color of dark obsidian. On the top center of the device was an old circular display that had a concentric control dial on its outer edge. Jack rotated it and the control menu appeared on the screen.

“This is a smart bomb.”

Soja nodded. “I tried to keep them out of the water as much as possible. Don’t know if they are still usable.”

“These are fine. The others I’m not so sure,” said Jack pointing at the standard mines that Soja had. They were palm sized circular disks with a pressure plate on top. All three of the mines that Soja had looked wet.

“Jack, there is something else,” began Soja but he was interrupted by a hail of gunfire in the distance. Both boys turned towards the forest looking worried.

“Tanner still out there?” the plump boy asked.

“He will be fine. He will make it.” Jack spoke with gritted teeth, comforting himself more than Soja. Fishing his phone out of his pocket, Jack checked the clock.

“We have seven more minutes to finish our prep. We have to move quickly.”

“Wait, there is something more,” said Soja, waving his arms. “The Exo is still on and running.”

“What?”

“It was still warm to the touch. I could still hear the engine core. I tried to get up the hatch but it was hard to reach.”

Jack's eyes widened, hearing the new information. His mind whirled as he considered the problem. He looked at the mines in his hands and then at the Exo. After which he checked his phone once again to confirm the time.

Finally coming to a decision, he spoke. “Alright here is what we do. I’ll go and rig the mines. It should take about two minutes tops.”

“Alright.” Soja nodded.

“You're the better swimmer, Soj. Plug up the hole in the fuel tank.”

“With what?”

“Use the capture foam. Exo’s usually have those to handle civis.” Jack clenched his fists. “No time to lose. Let's get this done before Tanner gets here.”

Soja nodded and took off, leaving Jack with all the munitions. Jack watched the plump boy swan dive into the lake with surprising gracefulness as he began swimming towards the Exo.

Tearing his eyes away from Soja, Jack scanned the surrounding terrain. He quickly analyzed the possible places he could arm the mines. Judging by the number of bombs he had, he could rig up two locations. The mines were dud at the moment, so he had to rewire the trigger mechanism to set off the smart bombs which in turn will cause the explosions of the mines once it sets off. It was a tricky challenge but Jack was up for it.

Grabbing a screwdriver from his torn up vest, Jack jogged towards the edge of the forest. His first location was an area of the forest where the trees were sparse. It seemed like an ideal location for an Exo to break through.

Crouching down he grabbed a sharp piece of rock and began digging into the soft loamy soil. The dirt came apart easily as Jack labored to make a sizable hole for his trap. He arranged the mines in the hole in front of him and began dismantling them. Popping the pressure plate off of the mine Jack fished out its wires and began hooking it up with the smart bomb. The obsidian saucer beeped as it began interfacing with the mines it was connected to. Jack let out a nervous breath and cracked his neck before he began. Running his aura through his hands he began working on his Frankenstein bomb.

Gunfire erupted in the background but Jack determinedly kept his focus on his work. Tanner had promised him ten minutes and he had to finish as quickly as possible. Finishing up the rewiring, the devices were finally armed. His heart was beating fast as Jack gingerly covered up the hole. Cleaning up the soil a little, the trap site soon looked no different than its surroundings.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Jack sneaked a glance at the lake. Soja had reached the Exo in record time and was now hanging off of its metal frame as he scrambled to get to its fuel tank. With a grim smile, Jack turned his attention back to the mines he had armed and slowly backed away from it until he was about six feet away.

“Now for number two,” he muttered. He jogged towards his second target while checking his phone. They had six minutes left to finish up everything. Stuffing his phone back in his vest, Jack raced towards an area that had a small animal trail leading into the forest. The Exo’s had a high likelihood of using this path.

Without wasting time, Jack crouched down and began digging. There was a rumble in the distance. More gunfire was heard and he spotted a red smoke cloud drifting above the trees. The fighting was getting more intense as time passed. Gritting his teeth, Jack began working faster.

The soil gave away as he used the rock to bash the earth into submission. There was a soft crack as the rock he had been using crumbled under his fingers. Cursing, he used his hands to scoop out the dirt. The gunfire in the distance was getting louder and more frequent.

Jack looked up with his eyes wide. “Com’on Tanner!”

An explosion rocked the clearing and Jack felt the shake through the forest floor. The sound of gunfire was getting louder and a screech of metal clashing against metal was heard. The sound of battle was getting closer by the second.

“Shit!” A sudden realization hit Jack. Tanner was bringing the fight here. He scrambled for the mines and began working on the rewiring.

It had barely been five minutes. It looked like the Exo had been getting increasingly desperate as Tanner kept evading capture and decided to play for keeps.

An intense explosion shook the earth and Jack saw a mushroom cloud billowing above the treeline. Titanic sounds of bending and twisting of Durosteel came from within the forest as the battle grew ever closer to the clearing.

Jack had a frown on his face as he stood up, smart bomb in hand. The mines laid forgotten in the hole. There was another boom. The sound of two giants clashing against each other, trying to tear each other apart.

The din was very loud. The sound of metal against metal was so shrill that Jack had to cover his ears. There was something wrong here. These sounds could never come from an Exo chasing a student.

The sounds got closer and he saw trees shake in the distance. Sensing the change in the situation, Jack looked down at the broken mines on the ground and turned to the Exo in the middle of the lake.

Several evergreens toppled over as two scarlet metallic blurs crashed into each other, tearing up everything in their warpath. Eyes wide, Jack turned tail and ran without hesitation, dodging a tree that was sent flying towards him. Looking back he saw two metal titans burst into the clearing, crushing the area where he had been moments ago.

The two metallic blurs rolled around the earth, mauling each other with the ferocity of a pair of wild animals. A tiny scarlet Mech with a bear embossed on its chest was wrestling with the giant red Exo that had been chasing them all this time. Gunfire echoed in the clearing as both of them tried to shoot each other's face off. Jack dove behind a large rock, taking cover from the stray shots that shot past him. Crouching low behind the boulder, a rain of bullets fell around him.

Heart beating out of his chest, he turned his head towards the center of the lake. It was their only salvation. They needed an Exo.