The gap year, p.47
The Gap Year, page 47
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On Xerxes’ huge palanquin, none of the generals or advisers surrounding the emperor spoke in anything but measured tones, or in any way implied that a Persian victory was less than inevitable. But from their fixed expressions and rigid postures, Anna could tell that they knew exactly how much trouble they were in.
Hylas was looking around the battlefield, no doubt trying to locate his family’s troops. He was distracted, but he still held Anna’s rolled cloak under one arm.
No point in trying to hide anymore. Anna steeled herself. Alixa, please activate my fly-drones and send them off to the uncovered parts of the army. No matter how this comes out, at least that’ll be done.
Her cloak began to buzz and writhe, and Hylas dropped it with a startled curse. It twisted about on the wooden floor of the palanquin until the ripped corner flopped free. Then a steady stream of fly-drones began to pour out, heading for the skies.
Anna squatted down and reached for the cloak to retrieve her equipment, but a recovered Hylas kicked the bundle back behind him, away from her grasp. It slid across the floor, still buzzing with escaping fly-drones, and stopped in front of Xerxes’ throne. The emperor leaned back instinctively, hands going up to swat the tiny drones away from his face.
“Keep it out of her hands!” Hylas called back over his shoulder to the emperor’s guards, then turned back to Anna. “I have your game figured out now. As soon as we break free of this melee, we will see how—”
Alixa, call my shield to me!
Behind Hylas, Anna’s cloak rose from the floor like a ghost, draped over the shield generator underneath. The generator shook its way free of the heavy fabric, tumbling Anna’s phone and stunner out onto the floor of the platform. Then it zoomed around Hylas and into Anna’s outstretched hands.
Yes! Anna hurriedly shoved the flat metal box under the back of her belt, barely dodging Hylas as he dove for her. She raised her hands, engaging her shield directly now, and her phone and stunner smacked into her palms an instant later. She tucked them into the front of her belt and dove over the palanquin’s railing into the sea of soldiers below, just inches in front of Hylas’ grasping hands.
Alixa, engage slippery mode.
Anna had been thinking about this and a few other tricks since their encounter with the pirates a few weeks ago. But obviously there had been no way to test anything out in anger. As she dropped to the ground, she mentally crossed her fingers. She landed with a jolt, her bruised stomach throbbing with renewed pain, and started running.
“Get her!” Hylas called out from the edge of the palanquin.
The nearest Persian soldiers turned in her direction, reaching out to lay hands on her. But their fingers slid off the smooth, invisible surface of her shield as she jinked this way and that, never running into anyone head-on, always at an oblique angle. She slid through their ranks like an eel, taking advantage of the noise and confusion of battle to outrun the cries for her capture.
In moments, her field of view had narrowed to a shifting sea of armored backs and surprised faces as she darted along. The soldiers were all taller than her, so she couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead no matter which way she turned. Her only hope was to keep moving fast.
Alixa, guide me out! Which way to hit the fewest soldiers?
She accelerated, Alixa’s voice calling out directions in her mind, and suddenly she was diving through the Persian front line, sliding out from between the legs of a surprised infantryman and into the sandals of Leonidas’ Spartans. The first one drew back reflexively at her unexpected appearance. Then he jabbed his sword down at her chest.
Her shield slid the point of the sword aside without resistance, and it sank into the ground beside her. She rose to her hands and knees and scuttled forward, soldiers’ clawing hands slipping fruitlessly away from her as she dodged deeper into the Spartan line, then through it and out the back. In a few more breathless moments, she was running along the tree line at the base of the hills, the Spartan ambush left behind her and streams of fleeing Persians off to her right, between her and the shore.
Guys, I’m out! But I’m gonna be coming in hot, Anna said over the open link. Alixa’s guiding me to you, but it sounds like it’s a couple of miles along some back trails once I turn off. She was panting heavily already, but fought to maintain her pace. A few of the Persian soldiers watched her pass from just a dozen yards away, but she wasn’t armed or armored, and they looked too preoccupied with their own flight to worry about one lone girl fleeing along with them.
Anna, look out! Indy shouted over the link. He’s right—
“Got you!” Hylas and a small group of his Greek turncoats burst out from among the Persian deserters, so close that she had to swerve uphill into the bushes to avoid them. They must have cut through the Persian side of the battle line to get around the front of the Spartan phalanx and intercept her.
She put on another burst of speed, looking back over one shoulder at the men chasing her. They were all armored, but some of them lightly, and they all looked distressingly fit and healthy. Anna put her head down, running faster than she ever had in her life. Then, as she turned left up into a narrow canyon, she played her final card.
Alixa! Kangaroo mode!
Anna wobbled as her shield put a spring into her step, boosting her speed. The clanking of men running in armor receded behind her, but it didn’t disappear, even though each of her uphill bounds was launching her forward six feet or more.
Three minutes remaining at this velocity. Alixa didn’t sound at all terrified at Anna’s dire situation. Maybe her threat assessment algorithm was confused, now that she’d run straight through a battlefield.
Anna snatched another look behind her. The fastest of the men was still in sight, but the rest had strung out further back. Hylas, in his heavier armor, was nowhere to be seen. She slowed as much as she dared, but kept pushing herself, turning down her kangaroo assist and working her legs harder to conserve energy. Her lungs burned as she climbed into the steep hills.
Anna, you need to get out of there. Indy’s voice was no longer a shout, but still sounded worried.
“I’m! Trying!” she said out loud, too distracted by running to remember to use her link.
I mean it. There was a pause, where Indy must have consulted her collar. The whole Persian army’s breaking up behind you. Xerxes and his heavy infantry are cut off and surrounded by the Greeks, but everyone else is either running back the way they came, or taking to the hills. Her voice paused again. That canyon you’re in is too narrow for our drone to be totally sure, but it looks like Hylas is a good ways behind you now. You can probably lose him if you just keep running.
Easy for you to say. Anna felt her shield heating up at her back, and dialed down the kangaroo assist still further. Her run had slowed to barely more than a jog. Even mortal danger wasn’t enough to enable her to sprint this far uphill at top speed, shield assist or no.
It’s only a few more minutes until you hit the crest of the pass, Indy said. We’ll head your way and meet you on the other side.
No! I don’t want anyone running into danger. Anna’s head swam with exertion, but the thought gave her another jolt of adrenaline. I’ll catch up. You guys need to start moving.
There was a long silence from Indy’s side. Just hurry.
Anna finally felt the path begin to slope down in front of her, and turned back for one last look toward Thermopylae. From this height and distance, soldiers from both sides blended into tiny milling figures, like an enormous kicked anthill, and Xerxes’ palanquin was lost amid the seething confusion of the battlefield. But from somewhere closer, she could hear men’s voices calling out. Whether in search or in flight, she couldn’t tell.
She worked her dry mouth and kept running.
80
A few exhausted minutes later, Anna rounded one last bend in the narrowing canyon and could finally see Indy and the rest of the party waiting for her. Argos ran out to her and circled, barking in welcome until she shushed him with parched lips. Indy trotted out more slowly, but her lazily wagging tail gave her away. She stood up briefly on her hind legs to put both paws on Anna’s shoulders.
“I’m so glad you made it out of there safely.” Then Indy shoved off hard enough to make Anna take a step back. “But don’t ever do that again! I was about to have a heart attack, watching you slither your way through a battle, then bound off like a jackrabbit.”
“Pretty cool, eh?” Anna looked unrepentant. “I worked that out—” She paused, panting heavily. “I worked that out with Alixa after what happened with those pirates near Corinth. It just doesn’t last long.” She pulled her shield projector from under her belt and pressed it against her phone to recharge, her hands shaking with fatigue and adrenaline. “My shield’s about tapped.” She looked back over her shoulder. “And we need to keep moving. I left Hylas’ men some way back, but who knows how fast they can run.”
The party started off at a quick walk, which was about all Anna could handle after running so far already. She gratefully swigged from Melas’ proffered waterskin as they went, catching her breath between swallows as Indy and Argos took the lead.
“I wish you had not gone off on your own.” The big man looked at her gravely as she handed him back the waterskin. “Our goal here is a worthy one, but not worth your life. You could easily have been killed down there.”
“You’re right.” Anna looked down. “And I’m sorry for blocking you guys earlier. I just couldn’t stand the thought of any of you getting yourselves killed coming after me.”
“Some of us have enough sense not to go for a joyride on freaking Xerxes’ own party platform.” Themis smiled sardonically, giving Anna a brief side-hug as they tried to keep up their pace. “Did it at least work?”
“As far as I know.” Anna worked her phone where it lay on top of her shield projector, holding the two together like a sandwich as the shield slowly recharged. “Alixa says that most of the fly-drones made it out of my cloak, so they should be hitting the far sides of the army pretty soon.”
Phaia held up her phone from Anna’s other side. “I know you had other things to worry about while you were getting out of there. But take a look. You made it just in time.”
She wound the video back to before Anna’s escape, then advanced it quickly. In jerky double-time the Persian vanguard was surrounded. Their retreat slowed, then halted entirely. The Immortals fought with suicidal bravery, but now they were cut off, hemmed in by sharp swords and spears that their armor couldn’t turn aside, and they died by the hundreds. Blood soaked the ground and ran out between the feet of the oncoming Greeks to stream down the marshy shore as the fight wore on, oozing more slowly now as the video caught back up to the present.
“Aren’t the Persians going to surrender?” Anna swallowed uneasily as she pushed herself to walk faster. “They’re never going to get out of there.”
“There is too much history behind this conflict,” Melas said, his longer legs making their brisk pace look easy. “When one side gets an advantage, they are unlikely to give it up, even if the other side sues for mercy.” His big shoulders drooped. “Remember, in your history, the Persians killed every Greek defender and burned Athens to the ground.” He paused. “Today, we may see the opposite happen.”
Anna scrolled around frantically on her own phone, looking for she didn’t know what. “There must be something we—”
“I’m sorry, little sister.” Indy didn’t look back, but her voice brimmed with regret. “The die is cast. There’s nothing we can do now but bear witness.”
On the screen of Anna’s phone, the distant armies continued their clash, the noises of battle tinny with distance, and dull since only one side fought with hard metal. She let the phone and shield projector sandwich drop to her side, stumbling as she tried to keep pace with the others.
“This will be hard to watch.” Indy cast a quick glance behind her to make sure everyone was staying close. “I believe we did the right thing, throwing in with the Greeks to prevent this invasion. But many men will die today. Men whose only crime was being drafted into Xerxes’ army.”
“I know.” Anna felt sick. “I know we made the best decision we could. It’s just…” She stopped walking for a moment, her exhausted body briefly shutting down. “It’s just hard knowing that all these people are dying because of us.” A tear tracked its way slowly down her cheek as she fought her way back into motion.
“We’ve got trouble.” Themis’ voice was tense, her eyes still locked to her phone as she walked. “Look at what’s happening back here.” She held up her phone to show a view of the bulk of the Persian army, back past where Xerxes’ guards were locked in their doomed last stand against the Greeks.
Red icons marked where the Persian forces, formerly concentrated, had burst apart in a disorganized rout. Many small groups had flung aside their useless, crumbling armor and were fleeing with desperate speed in all directions, crowding into every hidden pass and canyon, including the one they were fleeing along.
“Uh oh.” Anna scrolled around her map, fingers trembling with tension and weariness. “But the way we’re going already leads pretty straight inland. If we turn off of it, we might even end up behind the bad guys.”
“I agree.” Indy nodded after looking at the map. “Staying ahead of them looks like our only chance.” She gave Anna a worried look. “But you’re already tired.”
“You guys need to go ahead.” Anna guiltily sped her walk again, but she was almost done in. “If I hear someone coming, I’ll just hide in the trees or something.”
“Not going to happen,” Indy said. “Lean against me, I can take some of your weight.”
The six of them moved on for several more minutes. The humans in the party were sweating in the warm midday air, but Indy moved easily even while supporting Anna, and Argos spent most of his time waiting for the rest of them to catch up.
“Losing our lead.” Phaia frowned at her phone, gauging the distances involved. “Desperate men run fast.”
“Sorry Anna, but we need to pick up speed.” Indy was looking back up the canyon, toward Thermopylae. “And I’m pulling one of the drones in to shadow us more closely. We’re tracking dozens of little fleeing groups, but we’ve still got far too many blind spots back there.”
Anna gritted her teeth for one final effort as the humans broke into a trot, Themis tightening the straps of her pack so it didn’t slap against her back. Indy and Argos loped along, easily keeping pace.
Persian group 6-A will overtake our party in five minutes at current speed. Alixa’s voice sounded loud in Anna’s head, not masked at all by her strenuous breathing. She looked over at Indy, whose eyes showed that her collar net had just told her the same thing.
“These guys aren’t turning off.” Themis looked up from her phone, panting as she trotted. “And they’re gaining on us.”
“To stay ahead of running men, we would need to run ourselves.” Melas didn’t sound out of breath at all, despite his bulk.
“If we do, and they catch us anyway, we’ll be too tired to even put up a fight.” Phaia looked grim. “And Anna can’t make it much further.”
“You’re right.” Indy stopped abruptly, Argos pulling up beside her. “New plan.”
Anna looked as though she wanted to object, but was too winded to speak. She stood bent over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
Indy pulled her stunner from its holster with her mouth, flipped it in the air, and offered it to Phaia butt-first. “This is a weapon. Touch the metal end to someone, and they’ll be knocked unconscious.” She looked over at Anna. “Anna, give yours to Themis, so the weakest of us will have some defense if this goes wrong.”
“Hey, I’m not that weak.” But Themis took the proffered stunner despite her objection. She looked it over closely, taking care not to touch the business end.
“It knows… not to stun any of us.” Anna straightened up, still breathing heavily, and touched the end of the stunner in Themis’ hands to demonstrate. “It fires based on your body language. So make sure to… give it a good poke when you use it.” Themis nodded her understanding.
Indy pointed down the canyon a few yards, where a small stand of trees eked out a living in the rocky soil. “We’ll cower over there and let this group of Persians go past before we start running again. The drone says there are only eight or so of them, and they’re running for their lives without any metal weapons. They’ve got better things to do than stop and engage with Greek civilians.”
“What if they do decide to ‘engage’?” Melas might have been posing a geometry question back at their school for the lack of fear in his voice.
“They can’t stop for long, or they risk getting caught themselves by the Greeks that are chasing them. And Anna and I have hidden defenses that should be able to keep them away from us.” Indy paced over to the trees as she talked. “Just stay close and they won’t be able to touch us.”
Themis looked skeptically at Anna. “How the hell does that work?”
“This little box here.” Anna separated her shield projector from her phone and showed it to Themis before dropping it down the back of her sweaty chiton and awkwardly working it into its normal place above her belt. “It’s how I slipped through all those soldiers before. It can push things away from us.” Her brows knit with concern. “For a while. I used up most of its power getting away, and it’s only had a few minutes to charge.”
“One minute until Persian group 6-A overtakes this position.” Alixa’s voice came from Anna’s phone now, where she’d directed it so the Greeks could hear.
“We’re out of time.” Indy walked a few feet through the trees to stand against the canyon wall. “Anna, don’t waste your shield power holding anyone in place, just deflect them if they try to touch us. Everyone else, stay close.”
“One moment.” Melas stepped over to a dead tree, gripped a huge branch in his powerful hands, and wrenched it free, pulling down with all his considerable weight. He broke the narrow end off under one sandaled foot to shorten it, then smashed it against the canyon wall a few times to test its strength, muscles bunching under his chiton as he swung the formidable weapon. “Just in case.” Themis tapped her stunner against his makeshift club in a grim salute.
