Chapter 4

"Hey, how far are we from Kankakee?" Asher asked.

"We're thirty kilometers from the town," Zack replied.

"So what are we going to do once we get there?" Asher asked. "I mean, what would we gain? It's just a checkpoint. We don't NEED to destroy it and it can be rebuilt quite easily.

"I was hoping some of your dad's military tactics would have rubbed off on you," Zack said disappointedly.

"Hey I was going to enlist!" Asher started. "But my dad was afraid I would die in space. So I decided to become an engineer."

"An engineer? Seriously?" Zack asked sarcastically. "Of all the things you could have done, you decided to sit in a room and build with metal?"

"My counselor in high school recommended I do engineering," Asher answered. "I was good at math and physics, and alright in chemistry. It was either engineering or astrophysics."

"Nerd," Zack taunted. Asher looked behind and gave Zack a look of annoyance. He then turns back to face the road.

"Oh shut up!" Asher joked. "I bet you couldn't find your brain if it wasn't inside your skull!"

"And what gave you that idea?" Zack asked.

"My dad would say that about his brigade," Asher stated. "He would go on about how they act stupid a lot. Probably a deterrent for me to not join."

"Probably," Zack said. "But it is true. You should've seen the weird stuff they do when they get drunk."

"Heh, that's funny to think about." Asher laughed. "Also, I think I see something on the interstate!" The object got closer and closer until it was only a few meters away. The object had four wheels on each side and a payload on its back. The object had two small hovering vehicles in front and behind.

"Should we check it out?" Asher asked. "It could have some useful tools."

"No," Zack said. "Let's stay on track and get to that checkpoint. This truck thing probably passed through it, meaning there could be others." 

"Alright, let's keep on going!" Asher enthusiastically said. He rode the bike off the road and into the forest, only deep enough to stay hidden, but still able to see the interstate. "Let's go faster!" Asher then sped through the forest and eventually got to the checkpoint with ease. 

"Okay, so I have a plan now," Asher started. "The checkpoint is on the interstate between the two exit ramps. The main booth for the checkpoint is on the west side of the interstate, where the town is. My guess is they are using the town to move supplies from small bases throughout the midwest to Chicago."

"So what do we do?" Zack asked.

"We don't do anything," Asher said. Asher then passed Zack a sheet of paper with detailed plans. "Let's get outta here," Asher said with a hint of sarcasm. Asher then took the device given by the zevers and went to the downtown of Kankakee. 

"Alright," Zack said to himself. "Let's go!"

Zack made his way into a nearby cemetery, where he hid behind a few gravestones. 

"So there's a grocery store a little more northwest," Zack told himself. "I'm willing to bet the zevers are using that to load and unload supplies." He looks forward and sees the Zevers using a pulley system to move materials onto trucks that are on the interstate.

"Damn, these zevers most likely have control over all the major highways and interstates," Zack said. He kept looking around, eventually finding an old gas station that never got demolished.

"That'll do!" He assured himself. Zack ran to the gas station, avoiding the zever patrols along the way. He eventually makes it to the gas station, where he sees several zever robots stationed. 

"What are they doing?" Zack asked himself. "What is the point in taking an old gas station?" Zack sneaks into the gas station, looking for what the zevers are attracted to. He hops a fence and scurries into the gas station, where he sees old long expired snacks. He looks at an old slurry machine, now a pile of junk. Zack sees some old brands of food that went bankrupt since people became self-sufficient. He sees old packets of creamy biscuits, cheddar popcorn, spicy potato chips, and even some beer. 

"My parents and grandparents really ate this stuff before?" He asked himself. "Looks disgusting. Then again, they also used to have metal on the outside of their phones. And the Zevers call us primitive." He goes to the register where he sees an old cup full of cola and a contact book. He decides to look through the book, out of curiosity.

"Okay let's see," He whispered to himself. "If you need the manager, call 815 3343-57812. P.S. Next time Kyle comes in, tell him his mom loves him - 2025." Zack thinks to himself. He knew a few Kyles. One of them was his uncle who moved to Illinois. Zack takes the book with him as well as an old satchel from the employee room. It wasn't the best, but it was all that was available. He decides to leave the gas station and figure out what the zevers wanted. He sees the zever robots near the gas pumps, where he then sees a truck pull up to one of them. The zevers begin loading gas into the truck. Zack figures they're using the trucks to supply a project in Chicago. He decides to follow the truck to the bridge, where he sees the payload being pulled up. Zack climbs up the bridge to get a closer look. He sees the payload is being loaded onto another truck. The truck then departs south.

"Chicago is north from here," Zack said to himself. "Why would the zevers be sending things south." Zack sees another payload being pulled up. He decides to get close enough to put a tracker on it. Zack gets on the guardrail of the interstate bridge and holds on to one of the poles. The truck begins to accelerate forward when Zack throws the tracker on the undercarriage. The truck drives off and continues south. 

Zack then heads back to their meeting place. Zack finds the motorbike, but Asher was nowhere to be found. He also hadn't heard any explosions. "That kid still hasn't made it back here!" he angrily said to himself. Zack then picks up his helmet and decides to try riding it to the nearby meat packing facility to see if he was done with his part of the plan or not. 

Asher walks through the abandoned town, full of rubble and parts.

"There's no one here," He whispers to himself. "It's like those Terminator movies, only robots and robots as far as the eye can see!" Asher walks through the town looking through the rubble. He pulls his goggles in front of his face and snaps them on. "Aight, let's see where we should go," Asher sees a patrol of Zevers coming from the streets. "Oh boy, I have to stay hidden," he then hides behind a semi-truck trailer. He sees signs around him. One was at a truck repair center. Another was for a gymnastics area. The last was for a food packing facility. Rail tracks were visible next to the facilities.

"Hmm," he thinks to himself. "I think I might find something in the food packing place, but it's past too many robots." He decides to go through the gymnastics building instead and darts inside before the next patrol comes through. Asher jumps through a broken window and looks out, watching the zever patrol go past. Asher then sees something shimmer out of the corner of his eye. He sees a pair of eyes staring at him. The eyes were glowing, illuminating the room. He stared in horror, it was a zever. The zever came closer, and as it did, its figure became more defined. Its body was small, somehow smaller than Asher's. Its eyes were more vibrant than the other zever. The figure inched closer. The light from the lamp posts outside casts inward, showing the figure in all its color. The figure was indeed a zever, but it had dark navy blue flesh as opposed to the indigo of the other zever. Its eyes were also more of a warm yellow rather than a cool vibrant white. Its teeth were not as sharp as the other zever. 

"Suh-Stand where you are," the zever wimpily requested. "Or else I'll attack wi-with my su-su-super sharp tail!"

"HAAAAAAAAA!" Asher yelled out with laughter. "What's with that wimpy face!" Asher fell to the floor, rolling with laughter. His laugh gave away his location and soon several zever robots charged at him.

"Yeah g-get him!" the zever yelled. Asher glared at the zever for a moment before preparing to face the many patrols of zevers headed there. Asher sets his fists on fire, igniting his dark cherry-red flames once again. 

"Aight," Asher said to himself. "Time to get serious!" He then jumps out of the window, blasting a plume of fire ahead. Six zever robots fall to the ground, with the metal clattering against the asphalt. The clattering sounds begin to echo through the city. "Well so much for being stealthy," Asher said to himself. He then turns and sees the zever trying to escape out the window. Asher then sprints towards him. Asher grabs the zever's collar and holds his fist of flames to the zever's neck. "One step closer and this guy gets it!" Asher yells out. The zever robots stop but keep their weapons aimed at Asher. 

"Wha- What are you doing?" the zever asked, panicking. The zever begins to tear up and eventually begins bawling. 

"ZEVERS CAN CRY?" Asher asked with surprise.

"We're living things too," the zever said, now with a small puddle below him. Asher looks around for something he can use to get out of there. The tablet then begins to buzz. He takes it out of his pocket. The tablet then displayed the counter. The time then cuts from a few days to mere minutes. Asher's eyes begin to widen. He then figures he can use this to his advantage.

"Hey buddy!" Asher starts. "If you deactivate this tablet, and tell the robots to give me ten seconds to escape, I'll make sure you're safe." The zever's eyes widened with excitement. He nodded his head and took the tablet. The zever deactivates the tablet, disabling the location. The zever then excitedly motions for the robots to deactivate. The robots deactivated themselves one at a time until the last one lowered its head, and its lights turned off. Asher then lets the zever go.

"Ah finally I'm free-" the zever started before being grabbed by the collar. Asher then pulls the zever, taking him with him. "Y-You said I would be safe!" the zever cried.

"Yeah, you'll be safe…" Asher replied. "As long as you come with me and give me some answers!" Asher then darts off to the meat packing facility. The shutdown command allowed Asher plenty of time to escape. He sees that the zever has a communication device on his vest. Asher then yanks it off and disables it, shoving it in his pocket. 

"What was that for?" the zever cried.

"Well you're my hostage, and as soon as this tablet becomes active, it'll destroy this town," Asher answered. He then brings the Zever inside the meat packing facility

"What are you doing?" the zever asked.

"Oh you stopped crying!" Asher said excitedly. "Well your friends have decided to make my home theirs and now I have to get it back! Destroying this meat packing facility will give me enough time to go where I wanna go."

"Where are you going to go?" the zever asked. The zever began to calm down, with his tears being soaked into his already dark blue skin.

"Well," Asher began. "When you come to our planet, you shouldn't expect us to just sit back quietly. If you wanna come here, and you don't plan on negotiating, expect us to put up a fight!"

"You humans are outnumbered severely!" the zever attempted to explain. "You should just surrender yourself and stay alive! You're part of the zever empire now. All you can do is work for us until your planet earns its freedom."

"Yeah right!" Asher retorted. "I'm willing to bet you zevers are going to either destroy or permanently enslave us!" Asher then goes up to the zever, grabbing his uniform and holding him up. "If you think we'll just sit by and let you take our freedom, then you must be clinically insane! A life without freedom isn't a life worth living! Every human on this planet is a living being that can't and shouldn't be tied down just because someone said so!"

"Yeah, well! What's one human going to do!" the zever yelled. "You're just one person! All you can do is fight, but for how long! Eventually, we'll overpower you and you'll plead for your life and regret fighting us!"

"That's not how I see it," Asher said calmly. "I'll continue fighting until either I die, or I win. There's no stopping us once we start fighting back. Even if we die, there will always be those that are willing to fight back. You zevers will never break all of our spirits. And I bet there are even some people in the alien bases just waiting for the right time to strike, while some hold out for hope."

"And you think you're their hope?" the zever taunted. "You're a single child. You can't defeat all of the millions of us by yourself!"

"When did I say I was gonna do it alone?" Asher yelled. "I'm not gonna fight you aliens by myself! I'm assembling a team, a rebellion. It may be a little at a time, but soon this entire continent will be free from your kind!"

"I'm sorry what?" the zever asked. "Do you really think that other humans share the same spirit you have? Your species must be dumber than I thought!"

"Do you want me to tie you up?" Asher asked with a glare. As Asher was talking, he was turning on the facility's furnace. The furnace was now at a steady 98 degrees Fahrenheit. "There, now I can leave!"

"Now where are you going?" the zever asked.

"I'm going to get outta here!" Asher responded. "This place is going to be under orbital bombardment in another few minutes!"

"Whaaaaaaat!" the zever gasped in shock. "You made the tablet into a bomb! You plan on the tablet activating, causing an orbital bombardment!"

"Yeah, I just said that," Asher said with annoyance. "Anyway, you're coming with me!" Asher then grabbed the zever and ran out of the meat packing facility.

"HEY WAIT!" the zever yelled in terror. "You said you'll leave me alone!"

"I never said that," Asher replied. "I said you'll be safe. For now, you stay with me until you give me some answers!" Asher sees a ladder to the roof and begins to climb, lugging the zever behind him. He blasts the panel above him, burning it to a crisp. He then reaches the roof, still pulling the zever behind him.

"Aight, let's see where we can go," Asher said to himself. He begins scanning around, looking for somewhere to run to. "There! That's perfect!" Asher began to run to a row of trees on the side of the road.

Asher and the zever eventually see a motorbike coming towards them. The zever begins to run when Asher grabs him. Zack was the one riding the motorbike, waving to Asher.

"There you are!" Zack yells to Asher. "Hey we need to get out of here"

"Yeah let's go!" Asher yells out. "I even got someone we can interrogate. We should leave for Urbana and interrogate him in the woods.

"Hey Asher," Zack begins

"Yeah!" Asher replies

"This guy doesn't look much younger than you!" Zack yells out.

"Well, how was I supposed to know!" Asher replied. "He just looked really really short!"

"Just like you?" Zack asked sarcastically.

"I'M NOT THAT SHORT!" Asher yelled. "Anyway, let's get outta here, there should be another rest stop nearby."

"Alright," Zack said. "Let's go!"

"What about me?" the zever asked.

"We still need answers," Asher said as he forced the zever onto the motorbike. The three left for the interstate, avoiding all the zevers in their path.