The Sleeping City

Mather Just hugged the shadow of the rocks like an ardent lover but all his attention was on the field of mirror-shine below. Row upon row of solar panels sidling up to a serpent's tangle of pipes that filled the valley with an electric hum. The sleeping city, thought Mather, grinding his jaw. He stood up in the bright, hot desert sun and faced the hill behind him. His holy warriors were there, unseen behind the rocks and sand. Mather made the alls-clear sign and motioned them forward.

Down the hill they slid, bellies pressed to the grit, his band of fearless men. Die-well, Tenacity, Cherubin, and Enoch, all four goodly young men with a fire in their hearts. They beheld the sleeping city with all of Mather's hatred and then some, as it should be. This was the home of Covenant, the frauds that stole mankind's future. 

Mather waited until his men were tucked into the shadows and whispered to them in carrying tones. "The valley's empty of the living, but you'll see Covenant sensors up on poles, about two hands high and spaced ten or so paces apart." He pointed to the nearest ones, red lights gleaming dully under the hot sun like the angry red eyes of vermin. "You set those off, we'll be swarmed. You'll be under before you can swat the first 'bot." 

Tenacity raised a hand as if he was still in a school room. "Can we hit 'em with rocks, Mather?"

"That would have to be one big rock. They may look frail as a cactus blossom, but those poles can take a pounding. No rocks, son. To take them out, we need to dig." Mather grinned, teeth white and sharp. He'd scoped this valley months ago when the sleepers took his wife and baby away. Felicity and Joy. They were down there somewhere under the sands, as good as dead. Worse. 

The boys followed Mather around the valley's edge, staying against the rock ledge and moving slow. It took a good, sweaty while to make it to the nexus, the point where all those poles and their hidden wires led to a buried panel. It was pure luck the first time Mather found it. A gleam out of place, a tangle of red and green and black burrowing into the sand. There was a pole near the panel too, red gaze flickering across the buried treasure. That was alright though.

Planning this raid, Mather had figured the poles had a blind spot near two hands tall right along the ground, and the sensors wouldn't pick up a slow careful slide. At least, Mather didn't think they would. He was a bit too big around the middle to fit the space, but then, that was why he'd brought Die-well along. The boy was thin as a rail and smooth as a snake. If anybody could get to the nexus, it was him.

A few minutes in whispered discussion and Mather's intent was made clear. Enoch tied a rope to Die-well's leg and held it fast, ready to pull his friend out if the sensors triggered. Die-well tucked a wooden spade and a stone knife into the back of his pants and laid out, ready to move. Tenacity scooted aways back to watch and run if things went bad, and Cherubin prayed. Cherub was good at that. Whenever the boy prayed from his heart, things went his way. Fires burned out a few feet from his family farm, wild animals laid down at his feet, and sickness passed him by. Lord willing, that gift held for today.

Mather stood ready for the second part of his plan. Once the nexus was dug up and the wires sliced, he would run in and smash the solar panels. They looked like flimsy things, no more than shiny paper really. It was a gamble, and Mather knew it, but to his thinking, once the power was gone, the whole thing would shut down. No more 'bots meant no more attacks.

He tried not to think too much on the people Covenant stole. Bodies entombed in metal graves, their souls kept back from heaven. It was worse than dying. With the city shut down, all those taken would be swept to their final rest and praise the Lord, or they'd come stumbling from their cold beds and out into life again. Felicity and Joy among them. Mather and the boys would be heroes. 

"Pride goeth before a fall, Mather Just," he reminded himself sternly.

Cherubin overheard and gave the man a smile. "It's alright, Mather. The Lord knows what's in your heart. You'll be a huggin' and kissin' Felicity and the baby before it's all done." 

"That's right, Mather. We gonna get your girls back and everybody else the sleepers stole," Enoch agreed, eyes bright with unleashed fury. 

Die-well nodded and began to slowly writhe across the sand. Time slowed to a held breath, gelid and hot. Sweat beaded, dripping in rapid counter-point as the boy moved closer to his goal. Once Die-Well lay nearly on top the buried nexus of cables and wrapped wire, he began to dig. The sand scraped loudly against his wooden spade. Mather couldn't help but count each scoop. It was thirty two when the steady whisk of sand gave way to a dull thud. 

"Found it." The boy gave a grit filled grin and cast his eyes down the small hole. Enoch got ready to pull as Die-well took out his blade. This was the part Mather couldn't predict. One knick in the thick sensor cables would tell them if the 'bots were triggered. Cherubin's whispered entreaties grew frantic and poor Tenacity looked set to flee at the drop of a hat.

Mather tensed for a run, but not away. Even if the hell-spawned sleeper 'bots triggered, he would try to take a few of the solar panels down before they got to him. It might be enough to keep them from dragging him into the depths and turning him into one of them. 

Die-well pried the panel open slowly, alert for any reaction. Once the cables were bare, he easily parted the plastic casing. The knife edge bit into the copper and gold wiring with a shriek. For a moment, the red eye above him blazed and Tenacity, quick as a whip, darted away. The pole emitted a flat, bone jarring tone and then went dead, light and all. The boys set up a cheer, which brought Tenacity running right back, red faced and sweaty already.

Mather Just didn't wait on the boys; he rushed forward full of righteous vengeance. The solar panels were sturdier than he expected, but nothing he couldn't smash with a rock. Cherubin and Enoch came running after, howling and smashing right along with him. Tenacity stayed back, rightly nervous and holding to his duty, but Die-Well joined in once he got the rope off his legs. They tore through the silver field like a storm, rending everything in their path. 

The ground beneath them began to tremble and somewhere under the sand, a high pitch wail rose to an ear piercing shriek. Small grey 'bots with a myriad of repair arms sprang from hidden hatches, like desert spiders after a rain. Mather stomped one into a whining mess of wires and plates, but there were too many to stop.

The 'bots ignored the men, rushing instead to the twisted remains of the solar panels and moisture pans. Whirring and beeping, they set upon the glass and metal scraps and began to clean and repair. "Smash them!" He shouted, waving his arms wildly. "We can't let them fix it!" Not yet, he prayed, knowing this was not enough.

"Not yet," Cherubin echoed, eyes cast up to the heavens as he dropped a heavy stone on another 'bot.

It was a mad rush, move and stomp, crush and run. The sand was littered with debris and still the little 'bots came on like a plague. The sight put a hole right in Mather's heart. He was near to tears with frustration, his energy spent. The boys were wearing down too. Die-Well's tan skin was sweat-slicked, hair hanging in lank strands. Enoch's big brown eyes were drooping and tired, his motions slow and clumsy. Even Cherubin had resorted to more prayer and less destruction.

A large metal hatch began to open across the field of battle and from under it came the steady hum of insectile sleeper 'bots. It couldn't end like this, thought Mather, hot tears stinging his eyes. The boys stood stock still, too tired to flee. This was it.

The lid opened wide, and a man's head appeared. His hair was thin and graying, eyes covered by reflective lenses. He rose from the sand like a spirit in white coveralls with the blood red word Covenant written over his heart.

Covenant. Mather Just gave voice to a lifetime of rage, the hurt of betrayal as fresh today as it was forty years ago. He rushed the man without a second thought, bringing a heavy stone down on his balding head. It sounded like a melon, and the blood spray hit his face, hot and sticky. Die-well and Enoch were beside him, kicking and punching the man, relentless. He thought the man from Covenant would curse him or scream. Some confirmation he was the evil Mather fought against, but there was nothing. Grunts and groans of pain, whistling, burbling breaths. 

The holy warriors were still beating the body when the sleeper 'bots swarmed from underground. Mather Just spun around to run, but his legs collapsed beneath him, numb and useless. He was drowning in a sea of crawling metal. For the space of a held breath, he struggled, swatting the tiny insectile 'bots away, but he could not fight their poison. His hands fell still and his face relaxed into a parody of sleep. In the prison of his flesh, Mather's soul fought on.