Previously: As Digger sped to the site of a super-battle in a rented car, a giant robot stepped out in front of him. And now…
Digger hit the brake, but there was no way he could stop in time. He yanked the wheel hard left, his foot mashing the brake pedal to the ground as his right hand yanked up on the emergency brake.
The wheels locked up with a screech, and suddenly the car was tumbling in mid-air, as if it had leapt off the ground to pounce on its enemy. Time seemed to slow down; it almost seemed as if a part of Digger were watching from outside his body as his left hand cranked on the window handle and his right hand opened the driver’s side door.
The car struck the robot’s legs with a deafening crunch. Digger was thrown violently to the right, but the seat belt held him securely. There were a couple more minor bumps and crunches, and then the car came to rest.
Digger opened his eyes and looked around; he might have blacked out for a moment, but he wasn’t quite sure. The robot was on its back on the ground with the car resting on its legs. Suddenly, the robot’s legs began to buck, trying to kick the car off, but the broken set of knees kept the force from transferring fully. The car rocked and shimmied with hideous scraping noises against the robot’s legs.
[blockquote type=”blockquote_quotes” align=”right”]The flame died down. The robot looked up at Digger’s car, and once again, Digger saw and heard the robot building power for another shot…[/blockquote]And then the robot sat up slightly, its domelike eyes aimed at Digger. Where the thing’s mouth should have been was a round nozzle with a small jet of flame visible inside like the afterburner on a jet. A glow arose deep within the nozzle as Digger heard the sound of a turbine building up thrust.
Digger slapped at the seatbelt lock and shoved at the car door. Surprisingly, both opened readily. Digger lunged for the opening, but barely got his head and shoulders out the door when the car lurched under him, scooping him back inside. The car tilted up at a 90 degree angle and shot straight up into the air. Digger fell down against the passenger door.
Through the window, he saw the robot down below shoot a jet of white-hot flame from its nozzle-mouth. Even fifty feet up, he could feel the heat from that jet of fire. The flame died down. The robot looked up at Digger’s car, and once again, Digger saw and heard the robot building power for another shot.
The nozzle crumpled as if squeezed by an invisible hand, and then twisted closed like the foil enclosing a Hershey’s Kiss. The whine of the turbine was overridden by the loud whistle of superheated gas escaping through a very tiny opening at the end of that twisted nozzle. And then the robot’s head exploded.
Shrapnel pattered against the car, spanging off the fenders and chipping the windows. The car lowered slowly down to street level and settled to the ground on flat tires. Steam hissed from the broken radiator.
As Digger sat up, an ominous figure in black metal armor descended quietly to earth.
Is this good news or bad news? Or maybe both? Be here tomorrow for the next episode of Run, Digger, Run!
To read from the beginning, click here…
