The Astral Hacker (Cryptopunk Revolution Book 1) by Brian Terenna (best ebook reader .txt) 📗

I know she’s right, but I can barely stand on my shaky legs, let alone run.

Nav pulls me to her face. “StarFeather. Let’s go!”

I snap out of it and feel energy re-invigorate me. We surge forward with renewed determination.

Drones suddenly buzz behind us like a huge swarm of killer bees. Only these can shoot.

“Surrender, or we’ll open fire,” says one of the drones.

Sunny points ahead to a sleek convertible. “There it is.”

We’re ten feet from the car when one of the drones zips down and peppers it with bullets. The hydrogen cell bursts into flames, and the hood explodes open, spewing out thick smoke and fire.

Hell. I skid to a stop and sprint down the other direction. Nav follows at my heels. A few people scream and run away.

“Nav, we’ve got to hack the drones.”

“Cube, bring up the nearest drone’s infrastructure,” she says, holding Sunny in one hand and selecting code with the other.

I connect to a different one to begin my own hack. The code appears before me, synchronized to my wild run. It’s not too unlike what I just cracked.

A spray of bullets pelts the road to the left of Nav, sending up mini plumes of gravel. She grips Sunny tighter and pulls ahead of me. I frantically attack the firewall as I try to push out the image of bullets ripping me apart.

I find an exploit and crack the drone’s code. “Chim, make it target the other drones.” I glance over my shoulder to see it turn on its companions.

Two explosions erupt behind me as my drone does its work. After a few seconds, there’s another explosion, and the guns stop.

That must be it for my drone. “Nav, turn right. I’m going to project a holographic wall behind us so they don’t see. Are you close to cracking a drone?”

“I’m almost through.”

As she zips down the alley, I project the hologram and follow her. It only takes the drones a moment to see through the ruse and pursue us. I put all I have into my sprint until I realize that a real wall blocks our escape. Nav slows to a jog.

Diablo. “Take cover.”

She dives behind a dumpster, Sunny still in her arms. I follow at her heels. The smell of trash reminds me of the last time I ran. That sure didn’t turn out well, but at least I wasn’t caught.

Nav gasps next to me. “The code just updated itself. It’s got to be twice as difficult now.”

Hell. “Let me hack. Take the rifle and hold them off.”

Nav tugs the rifle from my bag. Sunny presses against the dumpster, looking like he hopes to pass inside. I gulp in air as I access the nearest drone. I skim the code like a speed-reader, and a pattern forms in my brain.

One of the drones zips around the corner. Nav shoots it before it can target us, and it explodes. The other drones pull back cautiously. It gives me time to finish my hack. I crash through a drone’s defenses and program an attack pattern.

It flies around chaotically while piercing the other drones with bullets. One drone sparks and dives into another before crashing to the ground.

“Chim, target the next drone.”

The defensive code is even more complex now.

My drone still maneuvers around until a lucky bullet tears through it. It flames and smashes into the street. I’ve almost corrupted another drone as it whirls around the corner. It targets me, and its mini-gun spins. I have no time to react as a bullet rips through my shoulder.

I scream.

Nav’s metal arm speeds in front of me. Sparks of light flash as bullets ricochet off it. I want to hold my wound and slow the bleeding, but there’s no time.

The remaining drones zip around the corner as a unit. Nav raises the rifle and lays down on the trigger. The smell of gun smoke puffs around us. Several drones crash to the ground, but there are still too many when the rifle is empty. They target us, their red sensors shining like demons’ eyes.

“Chim, initiate cloaking program. Extend it to Sunny and Nav.” It will just hide our fronts but should buy us a little time. “Chim, access all of the drones,” I say as warm blood drips down my arm.

Ten or so updated codes materialize.

I switch between them, trying to break them all, but choke on their increased complexity. I swear I could do it with a better q-link and more time, but I have neither. If only I could split my mind into ten cores like a computer, but that’s not possible. I consider other options, but my mind is foggy from blood loss or shock. Maybe I could… No. Or… No, it won’t work.

And then an idea strikes me like a flashbang grenade. I need to create a network between the drones and then break the link to whoever is controlling them. It’s no small feat, but I’ll have access to all of them. I begin the hack.

The drones hover around as they try to locate us. I rotate to keep our invisible fronts toward them, as I desperately code. After a few moments, the drones split up and finds us.

My time is done. I grab Sunny’s little metal hand and Nav’s warm human one. I’d need to be ten times better to save us. Maybe if I had the Evo…but no, I’d never do that. It killed my mother and Barbra. Even if it didn’t, I swore an oath.

Everything slows down, and I catch Nav’s kind brown eyes. She holds my gaze, and I feel energy connect us. I can’t imagine a better way to die than with my friends.

  CHAPTER 7

INSANITY

A gunshot crashes through the air, and the nearest drone shatters. I