Chapter 133

133 The Decision

Okay, okay, okay, this was working. It’s working, it’s working!

I turned around and grabbed a computer chair and placed it against the side of the console as well as another one in front of the console for good measure. The loading screen continued, so I took a look around, finding a couple of computer monitors nearby that were still running through their loading process as well as the chairs, and began to wonder what could happen next.

I placed one of the chairs up against a computer monitor as well as another one beside it.

But all of a sudden, my radio crackled. I picked it up, but froze once I heard the voice.

“Hello young boy.”

I almost dropped my radio in shock, hearing Rocke’s voice through the radio. “So, I see you’ve found a very important thing that connects to the Cybertron. Figures we could call that robot with the Cybermade, but of course you have it too.”

“Yeah, too bad I guess,” I said, swallowing hard and feeling my heart pounding against my chest. I glanced at one of the monitors where a message was now appearing: “The access key has been accepted.”

“So from what I see, you’ve gotten the access key accepted. Now if you press continue, I’ll kill all your friends that are here with me,” he said, and my heart dropped, before picking back up again as soon as I heard his voice again.

“You wouldn’t dare,” I said confidently.

.....

“Oh, I would,” he said. “Now if you press Cancel, then you can save your friends.”

Stress completely befell my entire body, making it feel like my muscles were on fire as sweat dripped down from my face. What do I do? Do I press Cancel? No...no...no...he won’t kill them...I know he won’t kill them... He wouldn’t kill them...

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down as I tried to think of what to do.

“You can’t,” I said.

“No, I can’t?” he asked. “I can’t kill them? Or is it that I can’t kill them unless you press cancel?”

“No,” I said, “you can’t kill them unless you press cancel.”

“Oh really?” he asked. “I don’t know about that.”

I wasn’t amused by any chance, but he did say that he wouldn’t kill them so that meant that he was going to let them go, right? I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, as my heart started to beat at an accelerated rate again.

I needed to keep him talking.

I walked over to the other computer monitor that had a loading message on it. It was probably downloading some information or something, and it would give me time to think of something to say.

Rocke’s voice continued to fill my ears: “I don’t know about that,” he repeated. “They look ready to die.”

I stammered in worry, before looking around quickly at my surroundings before continuing on.

“They look ready to die,” he said again.

“Okay, how long do I have to decide?” I asked, trying to sound confident in my voice.

I heard a chuckle before his voice replied again: “Why are you so curious about that?”

“Okay, okay, what if I were to-”

“Choose to bring me the Cybermade. You have ten seconds.”

Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no! Oh no! Oh no!

My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest as I stood there for a moment with my mouth wide open in shock and fear before finally he said, “Nine.”

“Wait no please no!” I shouted, tears filling my eyes.

“Eight.”

“No no no no no!” I shouted, tears streaming down my face.

“Seven.”

“Please, Please!” I shouted, dropping to my knees, begging him not to do this. “No please no please no!”

“Six.”

“No please, I can help-”

“Five!!!” Rocke said, now shouting, as if he wanted to hear himself more than he wanted to hear me. “Four!!!”

“No, no no no!” I shouted. “You can’t do this! You can’t!” Anger and fear, hurt and confusion, sadness and hopelessness ran through my veins as I collapsed onto the ground on my hands and knees while screaming out at him in pain. I banged my fist on the ground as regret began to roll in, fear converted, anger turned into hopelessness.

But then suddenly I heard his voice again:

“Three!!”

I snapped my head up and looked around, seeing nothing but black and white squares on the screen, turning into gray ones until I could see the whole screen again. “Please...Rocke, please...” I begged.

“Two,” he said, and I knew there was no hope, no chance, nothing at all of saving anyone at all.

“One.”

The screen went black and the lights in the room slowly came on again, as if everything had turned back to normal. My heart started beating at an accelerated pace once more and my legs began shaking again with fear. “Okay, okay, okay, I’ll get you the Cybermade,” I said.

“There we go, took a some time,” Rocke said with a chuckle, “but that’s what you get for trying to act smart.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” I heard Fulton say through my radio before the radio clicked off.

I pulled my radio back and looked at it, seeing Fulton’s face through the screen. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Nothing,” I responded. “Everything’s well so far.”

I got up onto my feet, trying to calm myself down before walking over to the console once more to look at the message that was still on the screen. I grabbed the mouse and I clicked Cancel, which brought up another loading message on the other monitor that had a bunch of words in it again.

This time it was longer and longer before finally another message appeared: The access key has been denied.

“I’m coming Rocke,” I said on the radio, after Fulton asked me what was going on through my radio again. “I’m coming for you.”

“To me actually,” Fulton said with a chuckle. “Incorrect grammar.”

I rolled my eyes, grabbing the Cybermade. “Where are you?” I asked, as I started walking out of the door towards the other rooms. I didn’t want to waste any more time than I had to so I moved out into the hallway. “Where were you?” Rocke asked. “Control room,” I responded, without bothering to even look at him or anything else along the way. He could just wait.

I kept walking down the hallways of the control room until I reached one of the doors leading outside to the hall, then stepped out of it and started running down the hall towards another door, moving as fast as I could.

“Two rights left,” Rocke said, getting me thinking of something else as I came close enough for me to see the other door that led outside in front of me. I sped through the door, and moved the last right, seeing that it lead outside as well. Then I stepped outside into the dark night air where Rocke stood waiting for me.

I could see him, with September, Tisiah, Nikki, Vicki, and Malachi all on their knees tied up, with a bunch of guards standing over them. Tears built in my eyes, not knowing what to do as I heard Rocke laugh once more: “That’s more like it.”

“Here!” I shouted, holding the Cybermade up high to get his attention, before tossing it onto the ground in front of him. He caught it with ease and then looked at me.

“Glad is doing business with ya,” he said with a chuckle, “and just so you know...” He paused before saying: “I really don’t care if you live or die. So might as well.”

He raised his gun up at me, as shock went through my entire body, but then I heard another gun cock behind me. Who was that? I turned around, seeing someone I never expected to see.

Preview:

“Don’t you dare touch him,” Fulton said to Rocke, his eyes burning with rage, but also relief and joy at the same time.

“It looks like you’re not taking orders anymore,” Rocke said, pointing his gun at Fulton who quickly aimed his own gun at Rocke. “So you betrayed me.”

“You betrayed me a long time ago,” Fulton said. Rocke sighed and shook his head, “And you wonder why.”

Malachi’s eyes widened with his jaw open.

Fulton’s eyes mellowed into anger. “Was that why you killed my adoptive parents, who loved me? Is that why you killed my mother, because I’m trying to get revenge for those that I love?!” he shouted, glaring straight at Rocke.

“Yes,” Rocke answered simply.

All of us gasped.

“You act as if I care. You were a child that always kept me from doing the work of what I believe. You were simply a roadblock in my life, and I plowed through it,” Rocke said, looking at Fulton dead in the eyes. Fulton’s eyes grew wider with anger.

“No,” he said softly, lowering his gun slowly and letting it hang loosely in his hands, his face showing disappointment at his own words.

Rocke nodded his head slowly, “You are right. I did betray you a long time ago, but for the better. And I’m not afraid to plow through you again.”

He raised his gun at Fulton, and my eyes widened. I needed to save him, but how? How could I save him? How could I save everyone?