“Is that it?” asked Buck, sounding disappointed.
Pai had just hit the last key, sending the tight beam signal.
“What did you expect?” she countered. “Fireworks?”
Welcome to the Omicron Protocol Story Blog, where we’ll periodically reveal and post new stories about the world and its character through a series of blog posts. Through this blog, you’ll get to know the precarious situation that our heroes (and villains) are in, and what they need to do to survive and get out of San Lazaro. You’ll also get background stories that help you understand why your favorite (and most hated) characters are who they are today.
Gadget had been disturbed by the beeping, but was even more disturbed when it stopped. Pai’s Firewall program was now without power, and he feared they were without hope. Even more CyMS seemed to be coming their way and they could see nothing of their allies. It seemed they were all very busy, because none of his calls were getting through.
As Goddess approached Ryder and the enormous robot, Lady Rose gestured for Crimson and Jenny to follow her in the opposite direction. A man called Kuznetzov — apparently a Cynfo engineer — came hurrying up rambling about something, but Crimson shut him down. Lady Rose met Rhino and the gunmen behind the convertible and they all looked on as Goddess appealed to her former employer.
Are you sure about this, Walter? asked Jugger.
I’m sure, replied the chimp, before opening a very wide door at the rear of the store. See — even you can get inside. This is the best supply of food we’ve found. We have to take it while we can.
Jugger aimed her trunk at the nearby sacks of food. Isn’t this enough?
It’s just cereal, replied Walter. The good stuff is all inside.
Sometimes, the search for food seemed endless. Athena didn’t do it for herself; she could pick off smaller birds any time she wanted. She did it for her friends, but, unfortunately, elephants, wolves and bears always seemed to be hungry. Athena had noticed there were certain buildings where humans kept a lot of food; some of it just animal food. And it seemed she’d found another one.
‘Impressive creature.’
Ryder “El Jefe” Arcadia peered through the reinforced glass at the Komodo dragon. The lizard was eight feet from nose to tail; currently tearing a deer carcass apart and gorging on the bloody flesh.
Winston ‘Winner’ Malik was sitting on a stool outside the cell, studying his laptop. ‘This one’s more impressive than most, El Jefe.’
Walter ran along the fence and dropped down beside Jugger. The elephant was standing on one of the main zoo paths, stripping bark from a tree with her tusks then eating it.
I didn’t know you liked that stuff.
It’s not bad, replied Jugger miserably. And there’s nothing else left.
Walter had done his best to help the group find food but it was especially difficult for the larger animals. He thought chimpanzees ate a lot but their appetites were small compared to Jugger or Bob the bear.
The Hungry Donuts store was on fire. The flames seemed to be emanating from the kitchen and some kind of blast had blown out the windows. Lucky happened to be passing by and he realized this was a chance to grab some complex carbs for his ever-hungry group of friends. Armed as ever with his recurve bow, he approached carefully, worried that the noise might draw CyMS or other dangers.
Walter awoke to the sound of Jugger’s roar. He swung down from the branch he’d been sleeping on and dropped to the ground. Even though he could now sleep anywhere in the zoo, he liked his old home in the ape house, especially the outside section. Looking at the sky, he reckoned the sun hadn’t been up long. He expected Jugger wanted him to do something; she usually did.
The animals had decided that they needed to keep watch. It made sense that Howl and Athena – with their exceptional eyesight – should guard them during the night. On this particular night, Howl took the first watch. He sat on a small hill above where the other animals slept, close to Jugger’s enclosure. Before the Awakening and all the humans had left, the hill was a place where they gathered at tables to sit and eat food. To keep himself awake, Howl would regularly lope around to get different views of the area. His eyes were so good that he could occasionally even make out the humans far beyond the zoo.
Bob wasn’t quite sure what to do with his freedom. It had taken a day and a night for him to realize his handlers weren’t coming back. He’d always wondered if he could just reach through the bars, grab the key from the hook with his special paw, put the key in the lock and turn it. It was easy. Everything seemed easier now for some reason. In fact, over the last few days he’d even been able to understand what the handlers were discussing. He knew that something was very, very wrong.