Chapter 6: Lawrence
Lawrence's party stealthily made their way to the camp.
It was a small distance to the north. A couple of tents stood next to a palisade in a clearing. It was situated right by the big river that coursed through these parts. Lawrence couldn't remember what name it held.
Hidden in a bunch of bushes to the south of it, they finally spotted the large enclosure holding the captives being prepared to be sold into slavery.
Lawrence was raging on the inside. This was what he'd sworn to eradicate. This barbaric violation of the most basic of human rights: free will.
He remembered his days as a slave. As he'd told Jasiri: he'd been depressed and didn't care what happened to him any more, so he let the slavers take him.
And now he was thankful that he had. He'd come to learn what it was like being stripped from everything; and he had found a new purpose in life.
The things he had learnt, the abuse he had endured, and the things he had seen. He shivered a little as he remembered.
He wouldn't let anyone experience the same fate. So long as he drew breath, no slaver would be safe from his hands.
He just had to find a way to free them.
~*~
Lawrence wished he had a laser targeting reticle attached to his crossbow right now. No, make that a full on sniper rifle. It would make his job so much easier!
He'd decided that direct confrontation would be disadvantageous to them, and that a stealthy approach would much improve their chances.
He was just worried about the Shaping-neutralising ability of his foe. If they were discovered earlier than anticipated, they could run into problems.
He looked around him at the men, they were all alert and waiting for his signal.
Taking aim at the farthest enemy from their location, he let loose with a bolt.
The enemy fell to the ground, and that was when they first heard the hounds.
So that's how they found out about the elder's ambush.
He thought. This complication was going to make things much harder.
Their only option now was to take out as many enemies as possible before detection, and the inevitable retaliation once they'd been spotted.
He took aim at another enemy, and fired, reloaded, then took down a third. Unfortunately, his third target survived, and started screaming.
They were fully alert now, and he was worried. This was not going to end well.
There were too many of them left. He counted.
Sixteen, no, eighteen in total. He took another shot and missed his fourth target.
Lawrence gave the signal to retreat.
~*~
"What are we going to do now, Lawrence Godwin?" Mguu Mkubwa asked in a whisper as they moved way from the camp.
"We need to lure them out of their camp and into the forest." Lawrence said.
"Their hounds are already upon us."
"Then we go into the forest and lie in wait."
"Will you use your dynamite?" Mguu asked.
"No. We won't be able to ambush them and get away in time."
"What will you do?"
"I will think of something," Lawrence said as they hastened their pace, "we should split up, it will make us harder to track." he reasoned.
"No, Lawrence Godwin. It will weaken us."
"I'll attract their attention, you should go. Now!" Lawrence said in a tone that booked no argument.
~*~
Once he reached a clearing, Lawrence closed his eyes, and told the nanobots to dig.
Nothing happened.
Damn it. They're here already?
He thought.
He looked around for the enemy jamming his Shaping; and he found none. He could hear the hounds hot on his trail. He had to act fast.
He closed his eyes and concentrated hard. He tried to force the nanobots to obey his will again.
Still, nothing happened.
"What the hell is going on?"
he thought to himself.
"Instead of
commanding
, why don't you ever
ask,
politely?"
he heard the smooth voice in his head.
"Sarah?" he asked aloud in astonishment.
"I have many, many names."
she responded after a pause.
"That voice! I've heard it so many times, so long ago. It's you!" he spoke aloud with wonder. He was savouring the voice he'd missed for so long.
"It matters not; but yes, to answer your question: my body assimilated what you call Sarah, along with a plethora of things, when I was first created by you."
she stated into his mind.
"Are you the world-mother? The
nanobots
?" he asked.
"Yes. Quadrillions of them."
Lawrence was speechless. If this was true then...
"Did you keep me alive all this time? Did you stop me from killing myself?"
"Yes."
"You had centuries to talk to me, but you never did."
"Neither did you."
"Then why are we talking right now?" he heard the hounds approaching closer as he listened.
"Because it's time for you to die."
~*~
Lawrence was very distracted by what he'd just heard, when he heard the first scream, accompanied by loud barks and snarls.
It came from nearby, from the direction of the slaver's camp.
He quickly backtracked and went to investigate. If one of his friends was in trouble, he would assist. Despite his -- apparently imminent -- doom.
He was running that way when he saw Mguu on the ground surrounded by the hounds.
He tried to Shape apart the hounds attacking the prone man. That was when his body went limp and suddenly froze. He fell face-first into the soft muddy earth. His eyes closed instinctively.
Oh Shit! She's really trying to kill me!
He thought.
"You're the one that was jamming my Shaping, not the slavers!"
he thought to her because he found that he couldn't talk.
"Yes. I had to make sure you were killed."
"You could have killed me directly, but you didn't stop my heart or my breathing!"
