Chapter 7

As Asher and Zack kept moving through the neighborhood on foot, Ruby continued through the downtown area on her truck. Urbana, Illinois had not just college communities, but a friendly elegant downtown with formerly lively restaurants. Ruby's eyes wandered as she drove through the empty streets. Her eyes caught a glimpse of an old dumpling restaurant, where she would go to get takeout during long study sessions. Her face, for the first time in weeks, showed a genuine smile.

Ruby eventually reached an empty plaza, with several abandoned cars in the parking lots, and small businesses which would never see the light of day again. Ruby shifted her car into park and turned the engine off. As she opened the door, she felt the cold air rush inside the truck. 

"Oooooo!" She yelped. "It's cold!" She opened up the back seat door, revealing the blanket Zack used to sleep with as well as a jacket for the winter wind. Ruby then pulled a lever, opening up the seats' bottom cushions, revealing a large hammer. The head has a six-by-six-inch face on both ends along with a handle around a meter long. There were many scratches, dents, and even a little bit of paint stains on the hammer. Ruby grabbed the hammer with ease, lifting it onto her shoulder, and closing the door.

"There you are," Ruby whispered to her hammer. "Oh how I've missed using you against the tough metal!" She continued on her way, walking up to an old garage. There was an old rope connected to the bottom of the large garage door. Ruby grabbed the rope and pulled up, causing the door to slide up and curl into the building. The entrance was now exposed. Ruby then pulled out her car keys, and with the press of a button, put her car in neutral, causing it to slide down the parking lot and into the garage. Inside the garage were two handles on the side. On the other side were two hooks. Ruby grabbed the handles, pulling them onto the hooks and exposing a net. The truck slid into the garage and caught onto the net, slowing to a halt. Ruby took another peek outside. With no zevers in sight, she closed the door, hiding her and her truck. 

The garage was now pitch black, with no windows for light. There was a small chain that hung from the ceiling. Ruby reached up, grabbed the chain, and pulled it down. The lights flickered before turning on. Now that the lights were on, everything was visible. The truck, along with the bike in the bed, was still in neutral. Ruby reached her arm out and used magic to pull a stone tray to her. Several tools were lying on the tray. There were screwdrivers, wrenches, hammers, and other small tools. Ruby took out a wrench and knelt to one of the wheels.

"What would I give to control metal!" Ruby thought to herself. She began loosening the nuts and bolts of the wheel, before eventually tugging on the wheel. She then looked down and realized the truck was still sitting on the ground.

"I can't believe I didn't jack the car up!" Ruby expressed with her hand on her forehead. She then kicked the wheel, which did nothing. Ruby walked over to a switch and flicked it. Four metal poles lifted the truck off the ground. With the wheel now suspended, Ruby tugged on the wheel, allowing it to fall off the axle and onto the ground. Ruby proceeded to roll it to the back of the garage, where there was another door. Ruby opened the large door to reveal boxes and boxes of parts, including several spare tires. The tires inside looked new and clean, unlike the one Ruby was holding, which had several scratches and even a puncture. She replaced the tire, rolling it back to the axle and reattaching the wheel and bolts.

As she got up to admire her handiwork, she noticed and remembered Asher's bike in the bed. She pulled it out and set it aside. The bike fell onto the ground, denting in several spots.

"Oh well!" Ruby thought without care. "There has to be SOME collateral damage in an alien invasion!" She continued around her garage, looking around for something. She kept opening drawer after drawer until she eventually found a room key.

"YES!" She exclaimed joyously. "I can't believe I lost it!" She grabbed her key and immediately left the garage on foot. Ruby made sure that she shut the door tightly before leaving.

"Like I'd ever leave my truck at the college auto shop," Ruby scoffed. Ruby pulled out her hammer and began on foot towards the campus, which was even closer to her position than Asher and Zack were. Ruby traveled on foot stealthily. Her lack of company and her ability to think, instead of continuously talking to herself like Asher, allowed her to keep quiet easily. The continued through the empty streets as if she were going for a leisurely stroll, which she would rarely do pre-invasion. Ruby eventually decides to go inside one of the homes. The front door said "Brock and Asher's residence" in bright yellow.

"I can't believe my brother would decide to room with that idiot," Ruby thought. "What a freaking idiot!" She twisted the knob, but it wouldn't turn. Both the doorknob and the deadbolt were locked.

"Time to see if that door-kicking technique works," Ruby thought with concern. She used her heel to kick out the door. Her foot made contact with the area just beside the doorknob, destroying the deadbolt and the doorknob in a single swift kick. The door crumbled into squashed slabs of wood on the side of the door frame. Ruby entered the abandoned house, fully prepared to see some horrific things. 

The walls were nicely maintained. The floor was still decently clean, with just a small light layer of dust laying on the hardwood floor. The windows were crystal clear and the yard outside was even nicer. The only bits of trash were the pieces out and in the garbage disposal. Ruby looked around their main living room. Inside was a couch that could fit four people along with a table with a TV. The kitchen was right next to the living room. It was well kept, with dishes neatly arranged in the dishwasher. The sink was empty, with no dirty dishes inside.

Ruby glanced around at the well-kept interior. She was impressed that Brock and Asher could actually keep a house well-maintained. Ruby began to think about where Brock was most likely going to have hidden his spare parts. She knew Brock would never hide his stuff in the garage, deducting the location was his room. 

Ruby found the stairs and darted up. The stairs lead to a hall, with four doors, two on each side. The first door on the right had an orange nameplate that read Asher's name on it. The one across it had Brock's name on it. The door beside Asher's was a laundry room, with both a clothes washer and dryer. The last room was a small storage room full of towels, socks, shoes, and a vacuum cleaner. 

Ruby opened Asher's room first, glancing at the surprisingly well-kept room. The bed was nice and neat, with the blanket wrapped around nice and tight. The desk was a little disorganized, with several papers and models on it. She fully entered the room, where the suffocating smell of beans flooded her face.

"EWUUHG!" Ruby exclaimed with disgust. "Where is that coming from?" She looked under Asher's bed to find small boxes of Legos and a few cans of beans.

"This kid!" Ruby exclaimed with agony. She covered her face while she was in Asher's room, trying to ignore the horrendous smell of expired canned beans. The stench was almost intoxicating, with the air quality close to requiring a gas mask. Ruby scrounge around the rest of the room, finding nothing except for a trash can with empty takeout containers in it.

"This Asher kid must be one weird kid," Ruby thought to herself, still covering her mouth. With nothing of interest in Asher's room, she promptly left, shutting the door tightly behind her. She breathed a giant breath as she prepared to go into Brock's room. The room, oddly enough, smelled quite fragrant. There were two small katana racks in the back, completely empty.

"What a weeb! I can't believe he still collects this stuff." She dug around Brock's simplistic and empty room. She eventually noticed a panel on the ceiling that was removable. She pulled her hammer out and carefully slid it open. It led to the attic. Ruby lodged the hammer inside the attic, as she climbed up the handle. She reached the attic with ease, finding a scrap ton of metal parts, many of which had several joints welded on. 

"Finally!" Ruby exclaimed with delight. "I finally found it!" Ruby began to slowly dig through the pile of scrap metal, eventually finding a large sheet of metal. The metal was durable, and would not bend to conventional methods.

"Perfect!" Ruby yelled with glee. She quickly grabbed some old chains from the pile and wrapped them around her body, essentially making a backpack out of sheet metal. Without much worry, she decided to jump out of the second-story window after assuring there were no robots outside. She turned her back to the window, using the metal to protect herself. She dived into the ground, landing on a small car in the driveway. She landed on her feet, allowing her to land without much injury with an exception of a scratch on her shoulder.

Ruby looked behind her at the house. She was amazed that Brock and Asher were somehow able to somewhat maintain a house. Ruby began her trek through the neighborhood when she heard Asher's voice from a few streets away.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Asher yelled. His voice echoed through the neighborhood. It was as loud as if it were Asher himself screaming into Ruby's ear.

"How the hell is this kid still alive!?" Ruby thought to herself. "And how was he the second smartest student in our class!? Seriously!" She facepalmed harder than a painter drying a paintbrush. Ruby soon heard footsteps echo through the streets again. This was also accompanied by the sound of a large armored vehicle rolling through the streets. The ground began to shake just slightly. A section of the neighborhood only a few streets away came to life, as lights began to shine. It was obvious that a large force was scarily close by.

"Oh now those two have done it!" Ruby groaned with gritted teeth. Her face was distorted in rage at the fact that an entire section of the neighborhood was now illuminated. Ruby attempted to continue onward to the main campus, but her gut insisted on dragging her to where the action was. She begrudgingly began running towards where the large zever force was, with no real motive behind her decision. 

Ruby darted into an alley between two houses. The neighborhood lawns were all filled with bushes and trees, making it slightly annoying to run between houses and through backyards, but Ruby made her way easily. A line of shrubs blocked the way into the backyard. Ruby whipped out her hammer and vaulted over the line of shrubs, creating an arch in the air with the head of the hammer at the axis of Ruby's rotation through the air. She used her legs a second time to land and immediately continued running. A large tree lay in the backyard of one of the houses. The abandoned branches of what Ruby suspected was red oak. There were still small dried-up leaves among the cold, damp soil. The grass was light shades of blue and white, frozen from the Illinois cold. The tree was tall, serving as a good vantage point. The tree was only a line of houses away from the illuminated street. Ruby ascended the tree quickly, eventually reaching a height above the trees. 

Ruby looked on, watching the zever robots march through the bright street. It was nothing short of terrifying. A large armored vehicle followed the rows and rows of robots. Ruby looks in shock, as she remembers again the tremendous power they were up against. The zevers eventually stopped, worrying Ruby. Ruby noticed a long cannon on the top of the armored zever vehicle. It swiveled, aiming at a tree. A blast then ejected out of the barrel of the cannon. The sound shattered all the glass around, and almost pushed Ruby off the tree. The fire that was launched with the cannon shell shone brighter than any of the other lights, like a miniature star. A tree was set ablaze in a ball of flames, burning all the pines off the former evergreen tree. The branches began to fall, still on fire. The small embers of the flames shone with the effect of fireflies. The fire soon dissipated, allowing the darkness of the cloudy sky to flood into the street once again. Ruby looked on as the zever robots and tank left the street, moving on to the next street.

"About time they left!" Ruby thought to herself. She began to climb down when she noticed movement from one of the trees on the street. Asher and Zack plopped out of the tree, landing on the ground below.

"So that's where those bozos hid," Ruby realized, "I guess they have some good survival senses." Ruby descended the tree, landing on her feet once again. The sheet of metal on her back was still intact, along with her hammer. Ruby looked around her surroundings, realizing she would have to trek back to the street she was at or continue through the abandoned backyards with all the bushes and trees in her path. Ruby glanced in the direction of the College, finding a small sewage tunnel hidden behind several small bushes and tall blades of grass.

"Bingo!" Ruby said with pleasure. She made her way to the tunnel, dropping into the sewage pipes below the houses. The sewage pipes were a maze of complex paths, with the added smell of rotting foods and excrement. The sewage water was no less as it was not just smelling terrible but was also flowing at rapid speeds, faster than normal.

"UHGGG!" Ruby groaned with disgust. "It's so bad!" She once again covered her nose and trekked along the slimy, smelly, path. Her eyes began to water from the bad smell. Ruby soon looked like she was chopping onions. She began to sweat extremely.

"How did those two get through these pipes!" Ruby wondered. "No way they didn't deal with this smell!" She continued through the sewage tunnels before finally reaching another manhole. She quickly went up the ladder and opened the cover, breathing a large sigh of relief that she was now out.