8 Nowhere to Run to, Baby

Chapter Eight Nowhere to Run to, Baby The four explorers ran as fast as they could toward their explorer pod. They were lucky that the robots chasing them weren't particularly speedy. "If we climb in there," shouted Abigail, pointing at the pod, "those robots will just pry the ship open. They could really damage it." "Okay," said Finn. "Then let's run past it and make our way to the next building. We can try to lose them over there." The explorers all ran straight past their ship to the village of small buildings just beyond it. Finn had spied it from the explorer pod but hadn't thought of it again until now. They ran through the narrow alleys of the town—robots apparently

didn't need cars, so there were no streets—and tried their best to go unnoticed. The alleys were teeming with robots of every different shape and size. Finn accidentally stepped on a few tiny ones, but they seemed designed to recover quickly. "Sorry!" Finn would shout, but the tiny robots would just pop back up into their proper form and wave their hands. It was like Finn stomping on them was nothing more than a bit of rain. The guards spotted them, and the explorers dove deeper into the maze of alleys in this village. Vale noticed a bucket full of black goop and knocked it over as they ran past.

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The guards slowed down and walked carefully through the goop, like it was glue that was going to dry and trap them in place. "Okay," said Finn as they dodged around another corner. "I think we've lost them." "What are you?" asked a round robot flying just over the explorers' heads. "We're robots!" shouted Elias, stepping forward. "Newest models. Never seen anything like it. Can't keep us on the shelves!" "Robots?" said the flying bot. It stuck out a small stone wand and poked Vale in the shoulder. "You're awfully squishy." Vale grabbed the wand out of the robot's hand and poked it back. "And you're a little too pokey!" shouted Vale. The bot spun away from the explorers and caught sight of the three tall robots making their way through the crowded alleys. "Over here!" shouted the flying bot. "Guards, guards! They're over here!"

"Snitch," said Vale. "Squishy," said the flying bot. The explorers turned down an alley. It was a dead end. Nothing but smooth, shiny stone walls. Behind them, the guards blocked the only way out. "What have you done to Queen 2111222111122121222?" asked the first guard to step into the alley. "She's your queen?" asked Abigail. "So the robot who was frazzing out back there wa... your... queen?"

"Answer us!" shouted the second guard bot as they stalked closer to the kids. Finn, Elias, Abigail, and Vale pressed their backs against the wall. "Yeah!" said the third guard. "Cough cough puke blech blurp." The guard fell over, a drip of oil spilling from his mouth. The other two guards made equally gross sounds and keeled over, forming a guard pile in the middle of the alleyway.