Chapter 11

The robot wavered in the air, widening its beam to cover both him and Jalea. It moved its blaster back and forth to keep aim on both of them. Then it started making a high-pitched noise.

It’s calling for help, Lobo guessed. It doesn’t want to kill us, but it needs reinforcements.

He still had the gravity wand tucked in the crook of his arm. While the robot was looking at Jalea, Lobo shifted the gravity wand and grasped the handle. The robot turned back, its lens telescoping and searching him. He froze in exactly the same posture as before, hoping it wouldn’t notice the difference.

“Hey, robot!” Jalea shouted. The robot shifted its attention back to her. With one gesture, Lobo raised the gravity wand and pushed the button on the handle. He grabbed the robot with the wand’s force and hurled it as quickly as he could. The sphere crashed against the hard wall and fell to the floor.

“You forgot to anchor yourself,” he said.

“Let’s go!” Jalea ordered, but Lobo didn’t need to be told. He was already kicking the door open and running through the dark along the wall.

“Follow me!” he shouted. “I know the way.”

“Remember who’s commander here,” Jaela snapped, but she did stay with him. Lobo body-checked another guard aside and opened the gate. The light from the hallway spilled into the dark room.

I’m at a high risk for getting disanimated right about now, Lobo realized. He used the wand to toss a nearby crate at the closest tower. The tower toppled, colliding with another tower. That one fell and hit a third. Soon crates were crashing like a row of dominoes. Lobo ran through the hall with Jalea hot on his heels. He waved the key at the first door he saw and ducked inside, pulling Jalea after him. A moment later a troop of aliens stormed by.

He’d almost forgotten about the levels of the game until the familiar words appeared:

Third achievement unlocked: Rescued commander