It was a beautiful sunny day. The Vojensky 2nd academy building stood high, erected majestically. As majestic as it seemed, I read on a pamphlet that they constructed the place efficiently. The company that supervises the academy was known to optimize the budget and flexibility. So, they made the structures from a composite of carbon fibre-concrete. Mixed with a steel frame as foundations, it was strong yet brittle at the same time. The advantage would be the resistance, resilience. Strong enough to stand against earthquakes or storms coming. Even if artillery attacks them, it will stay upright. The walls and roofs might get blown away, but they designed the structure to stay intact and easy to reconstruct. Those were some standard knowledge that I learned at the elementary school. I could prove that. I witnessed it myself.
Right after I reached the animal husbandry facility. Exactly as I passed a corner of the building, I saw the bull rammed himself into the facility. A slight dust exploded as the wall broke through by the beast's momentum. I saw Kevin and Sarah jumped out of the way by a hair’s breadth. She got Biely in her hands. They made it in time!
The distance between me and them was about 100 meters. I had to come up with some well thought out plans. Fast. Since the bull had just regained composure after all that mess. Reasonable, how tough the beast was. We’re talking about a couple tons of muscle. Over 2 meters tall monster. An enormous bulldozer.
Kevin and Sarah took a few steps back. They made some safe distance from the bull. But it was only a matter of time until it started to attack again. There was no time, I had to do my half built plan. The beast was already stomping his right front hoof on the ground, warming up for his next ram.
”Kevin, Sarah!” I shouted as I raised my hand high. They scanned their surroundings, looking right and left until our eyes met.
“Archie!” They finally realized my existence and called me back. Couldn’t miss the racketing sound of the trash chariot. The noises drew so much attention. Alerting the bull, forced him to be on guard, scouting his surroundings. Finally found it. Gazing into me, rushing in closer, riding a trash chariot. A peculiar creature, he probably thought. Pulled by a weird metallic monkey. Thankfully, we startled him. Forced the bull into a halt, reevaluating his situation.
”Guys! Throw Biely to me!” I opened my hand in the air, asking the weirdest thing at the worst moment.
”What?” They both dropped their jaws in confusion.
”Trust me!” I insisted. They froze, bewildered. “Kevin, just do it!” I specifically asked Kevin to do it. Sarah seemed to be exhausted, couldn’t expect her to do much. Kevin was weak physically, but he’s better than nothing. It took them another few seconds of looking at each other to nod in agreement.
”Here, Kevin. Be gentle with him.” Sarah handed Biely into Kevin. You could see how that bunny face was paling, riddled with mysterious grim feelings. The bull was still focused on me. Great.
”Sorry, I can’t promise you that.” Kevin realistically replied.
Then in a flash, Kevin prepared himself. Committing a throwing pose. He held the bunny with both of his hands and pulled it really backwards. Like 45 degrees behind his head. The bull realized what was happening and finally reacted. He stared at the bunny. Perplexed at what Kevin was about to do. But it was too late.
”Archie, catch!” With all of his might he threw the poor little white fluff 10 meters into the air. Just like a dandelion being blown by the wind, that a speck of white ball was moving at a speed of a hawk. I kind of felt terrible as I saw Biely rolled his eyes white, almost losing consciousness. Sorry boy, just hang on. Literally.
”Great! Frankie, do a U-turn and hold!” I commanded my mech-warhorse Frankie to do the European-drift with the trash chariot and change course. “*BEEP Affirmative, Student Armen. . . . .No wait, am I even programmed to do that?” Frankie responded while switching back and forth from his usual self and the protocol.
The chariot was drifting like crazy as if we had a hand brake. The inertia almost had me thrown off the cart. But I held myself real tight and stayed there with a slight loss of balance. Some trash flew out. Leaves, paper, some rubble and dirt clouded our tracks. With a 180-degree turn, the cart has finally stopped. There was no time to rest. I looked into Biely and used all my telekinetic power to catch him in the air. This bunny probably weighed around 3 kilos. He was one of a thick fluff. That was beyond my telekinetic limit, so I had to use more power than I ever used today. I remembered my training once again. I got to wrap him with my invisible telekinetic field. Because controlling the body directly would be risky. I could make him sick. Even worse, killing him in the process.
I raised both of my hands, pointed them into that bunny. I held my breath, flexing all the muscles in my body. If Kevin could see my head popped with blood veins, he probably laughed so hard. But as much as I would laugh at myself, the situation was serious. I could feel the weight of the bunny overwhelm my mental threshold. It felt like my invisible hands were carrying a bear instead of a bunny. But I didn’t have to carry him, guiding his fall into my hand would be enough.
”Come on! Argh!” I shouted so hard, encouraging every cell of my body to get even a little bit stronger. The bunny was falling and losing momentum fast. He was around 6 meters high in the air and had to travel 60 meters further. The chances were terrible. I had to pull it twice as far. Muscle twitched hard in my forearm and biceps. Passed 30 meter. Then the muscle in my neck popped, turning me into a tree stump. 15 meter left. Took a deep breath and roared one more time. 7 meters. Sweat soaked my back. 3 meters. It came faster than I thought.
“Gotcha! Ouch!” The 3 kilogram thick bunny gave a tough impact on my chest, thus I fell into the trash. Might be bruised, but the thick fur saved me. Still, I felt a slight pain in the middle of my chest. Next, I had to check up on the little skydiver. I could see the bunny rolling his eyes and foaming. Well, telekinetic on a living being is a bit harsh on the internal organs. If you’re not fully enveloping your target properly, you could have pulled his intestines instead of the entire body. Hence the feeling of discomfort. The worst that could happen would be: I ripped the internal organ. Lucky not in this case, he was alive. The journey, however, was only halfway to go. A bit too early to feel relieved.
The bull watched the whole attraction and got confused for a second. Then he finally decided. Rushing after the bunny at full speed. Stomping with fury, ramming the surviving fence into the void. That beast was so focused on his food that he completely ignored Kevin and Sarah. I did it! They’re saved!
”Frankie, go!” I ordered the droid to move as I hold the bunny securely.
“No! What the hell of a mess have you brought me into?” He snapped. The emoji in his eyes turned red in anger. “Oh yeah, right. Janitor droid, please go to the academy track and sports field, now!” Should’ve said this from the start. “*BEEP... Affirmative.” The protocol replied. His actual personality refused, but his body was willing. So, the robot held the handle tight. He pulled the trash cart immediately as fast as possible. The acceleration dropped me off guard and almost made me fall. Got myself fell on my back, head bumping into one of the trash sacks. We’re on a blazing turbo. The cart rattled hard. I tried to raise my head and look back, realizing some hard facts. I could see the bull chasing. Fast, faster. Our speed was slightly slower than his. If we kept moving on that pace, the bull would eventually catch up and rammed the rear. I’ve got to fix the situation.
”Frankie, can you go any faster? At this rate that beast will catch up to us!” I asked him. “No way, this is the optimum speed!” He replied with a slight angry tone.
”If we go any faster, my servo will overheat from friction and my battery will run out soon.” He added.
True, but we don’t have a choice.
“Frankie—, umm... Janitor droid, how fast are we now?” I had to ask. We needed more information on our current situation. “Does that matter!?” He growled. “*BEEP ... we’re currently traveling at 22km/hr” The protocol took over and replied. Okay, we got our numbers. Now about the bull, I got to figure out his speed. I could only estimate it from the rate of how fast he’s closing on us. Probably around a few kilometers/hour faster. Maybe we could optimize our pace to go just a bit faster. However, knowing Frankie would refuse, I just went ahead and asked the droid’s protocol directly.
“Janitor Droid. This is an emergency, please travel at 25km/hr.” I asked.
“No! I told you—” He refused. “*BEEP emergency situation confirmed, I will travel at 25km/hr. Servos and joints overheat imminent.” But impossible. The droid confirmed my request and picked up the pace. “Battery inefficiency, low energy.” He added.
We had no choice. Only to step up the gas or die. We sped up and galloped faster. It was a success. We gained some distance. The bull was looking angry. Eyes bulging, muscle veins popping, breath roaring. He was speeding up and rushing faster. Crashing through stalls, bushes, benches, anything stood in this way. Fortunately, not that fast to gain significant distance from us. 15 meter of distance was enough. We almost arrived at the sports field.
A few seconds later I could see the sports field upon us. It was a vast sand and synthetic grass land, surrounded by the track field. You could rally 2 thousand people in there, do 3 simultaneous football games, or land a squad of VTOL aircraft. One problem, though. Silly me, I kind of forgot. The field was on a lower ground than we were. Around 5 meters lower, and we would have to cross it through the stairs. The ramp with a comfortable slope was on the far eastern side of the field. No time for a roundabout. I couldn’t think of any other way and there was no time to slow down, Frankie just went through the stairs at full speed. I could feel the gravity left me. The trash inside floated. I used both of my legs, spreading like scissors to stick myself into the cart. The bunny was there unconscious. I grasped him with both my arms into my chest. A rough bang ringed in my ears. I could feel my spine was crying, butt cheeks throbbing. The bunny woke up from its slumber out of shock. Some trash went out of the cart causing a bit of mess. I thought we would have a few seconds to rest, but I was wrong. The bull showed no hesitation to stop or reduce his speed. That massive sack of meat rushed, getting ready to jump.
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”Janitor droid Frankie! Run around the tracks, now!” I ordered the droid. “Of course! Like we have a choice—*BEEP... Affirmative.” True, we had no choice but to push forward. At least we have a huge area to run in this field.
Just as we started to move, the bull took a giant leap. That monstrosity was flying like a demon. Only a second later he fell right into where we once paused. That was a close one. We could’ve got squashed. Such a heavy blow into the ground. His momentum was immense, causing him to lose balance and fell. Dusts followed his trail. When we thought he would at least stop to take a breath, the bull was already on his feet, scanning his horizon. Only took a few moments for him to find us and started running again. Tough bastard, but at least we had a few seconds ahead. Now, onto my next plan!
“Hey Biely, you woke up?” I looked into the white bunny that I have been carrying. He trembled, confused in fear. Two round glassy eyes looking up to me. “I need you to hold on to my feet. I will need my hand.” I added. “Kyu.” He replied. I guessed he understands.
I put the bunny near my feet. He embraced my ankle dearly and bit into my trousers. Then I inspect the trash inside the cart. It was a great luck that most of the things I needed were still there. A few bundles of used arrows, 3 training swords, a wooden club, and the coat like costume. I didn’t expect to do much. This should suffice just to buy us some time. As the bull grew closer, I opened those trash bags loose. The moment to strike back was there.
”First, take this!” I threw the coat up high. Flapping like a jellyfish. The bull didn’t seem to flinch, just keep on stampeding his way. “Now, wrap on!” With both hands raised, using my telekinetic ability, I pulled the coat into the bull’s face. His eyes were both covered nicely. He was struggling to get it off, shaking his head right and left and roared.
”I’m not done yet.” I pulled a used wooden bat. It was to heavy for my current level of telekinetic ability. So I threw it into the air. Then, using my telekinetic ability, I properly adjust its trajectory into the bull. A loud cracking sound emerges from the breaking point. Splinters flying, the bat breaking and split in two. Stupid me was aiming for his head and forgot that he had a pair of sturdy horns. That attack only scratched the coat. While he got almost no damage.
”Ginger head, you idiot! Aim for his weak spot! Or anything besides his hard head!” That startled me. Frankie with his head twisted 180 degrees has been watching the action. Then he commented on my effort with such spicy critics. “Shut up, my bad! Just focus on the road, please. Eh, Mr. janitor?” I replied. “BEEP... affirmative, focus on the road.” The droid agreed. Rotating his head back to the front.
The bull was still running fast while he was shaking the coat off his head. I still had the opportunity to do more attacks. Thus. I prepared the next part of the plan. I pulled out the three training swords, they were bent and dull. Three messed up piles of rusted iron. 70cm long, a gladius model of two blunted blade edges. Got nothing else, this should do!
Those swords were heavier than the forks, obviously. So I have to do it just like the wooden club. I held 3 of them with both of my hands and threw them into the bull.
”Now, how about this!” With the telekinetic ability, I adjusted their trajectory to hit both eyes and the snout. As they were covered with the coat, I had to guess their exact location. Then, a few stabbing sounds could be heard. Sounded satisfying, like a meat stabbed by a steak knife. Though, I couldn’t be sure if those swords were hitting their target perfectly. One thing was certain, those impacts were tearing the coat apart and the bull finally managed to shake it off. I could see the damage now. One hit bruised his right cheek, one cut hit above his left eye, and the last one were a total miss on the snout. The situation wasn’t that favorable, but the wound above his left eye gave him a bleed and those blood probably hindered his vision a little. No sign of the bull stopping, he’s actually become angrier instead.
It wasn’t a complete defeat, I still had around 3 bundles of used arrows. Probably a dozen per bundle. 36 shots, I hoped this would be enough for our last stand. Then without further delay I unwrapped their bindings and prepared to throw them. I started with 3 of them. I could feel these arrows were out of shape, their feathers were unbalanced and the edges were dulled. But I throw them anyway. Just like before, into his weak spot. Eyes and snout, I would get them this time!
The 3 arrows were flying at top speed just like this morning practice. I had my confidence in their firepower, they just had to hit their target. Into my surprise the bull instinctively ducked and those 3 arrows were deflected. They hit the horn, the hardest parts of his head instead.
What? Did he adapt to my attacks? "Kurwa!” I just couldn’t believe what I saw and snapped. Since the situation had changed, I could only shoot in a barrage, hoping it would hit his legs or any softer part of his body. I shot 3 arrows at once, with multiple directions and feints.
”Take this, and this, and this!” Some arrows hit his front hoof, his sides, and backs. I could feel his pace was slowing down. However, as if he was on drugs, the bull felt no pain and was still chasing us relentlessly.
I shot another two volleys, stabbing the ribs. I threw the last 3 arrows of the first bundle, struck hard. 1 broke half the shaft, leaving the tip stayed on his biceps. I opened the next bundle and threw the arrows one by one like a machine gun. Only 3 struck and stabbed well. Into his back and left stomach. The rest only added meaningless scratches. He went a lot slower, but fast enough to keep up with the cart. We might beat this thing! One bundle left!
”Frankie, we can do this! Just keep going a little more.” I shared the excellent news to my loyal mech-horse. “BEEP ... order not possible, low battery shutdown imminent.” He replied robotically.
“Dammit, how long can you maintain this speed?” I asked.
“Approximately in 5. . .” He then replied.
”Minutes?” I asked again.
”4, 3, 2, 1. . . Shutting down”.
At that moment I knew we screwed up. Our pace came into a halt until we finally stopped moving completely. My attention was busy with Frankie that I forgot about the bull for a moment. A fraction of a second later I turned back my priority into that monster that was chasing us. To my surprise, he was already there, 0,2 second before impact. He tucked his head in, preparing for a mega ram attack. A loud bang rings. As if a tank just hit this metal trash cart. The clash echoing the field. The next thing I realized, we were flying in the air. I became a bird, and the world slowed down. Everything was moving in a zero gravity slow motion. I could see that outside of the field people were gathering to witness the action. And within the crowd were Kevin and Sarah. have they been watching the entire time? Sorry guys, my plan failed.Then, my body rotated because of inertia, facing the stars, if there were any. Ah, the blue sky. Beautiful, I could see a cloud in the shape of a rabbit. Nope, that was a real bunny. It was Biely. I snapped out of the daydream. I got to do something.
I grabbed him in the air, holding him tightly. We’re around 12 meters above the ground. Falling from this height would hurt so much. I didn’t want that. I also saw Frankie. No emoticons, only a hibernate light sign beeping every second or two. The trash cart and some garbage bag floating. Spreading in a cluster of rubbles, paper, dry leaves and various other trash. If I could use my maximum brain processing power, that would be the perfect time. With all my might, I use the last juice of my telekinetic ability to gather the soft garbage around. I gathered them on my back. Forming a good thick of pillows. Impact time approaching, I have my back ready. A crack, and a hard beating sound. That was the only thing I could perceive. We slammed the ground cushioned by the garbage. We landed safely, or so I thought. The impact hurt my entire body tremendously and I could barely get up from the shock. Thankfully, Biely was safe in my embrace.
That was it. That was our last straw. I got nothing else. I ran out. Both physically and mentally. I couldn’t even lift a grain of sand with my telekinetic ability. I would get a headache instead. Both of my legs were shaking in shock. The bull however was just shaking his head, trying to clear his mind from the last bang. Then he was looking at me, stomping his bloody hoof. I could see rage and hunger in his eyes. Without further delay he accelerated towards me, looking forward to the finishing blow. I could only feel sorry and regret. Towards my friends, Kevin and Sarah. I owe them some apology. And Aunt Penny, I should have thanked her properly. I held the bunny tightly and tucked myself hard, prepared for the impact. Then something heavy, followed by the cracking sound of electricity appeared.
I could hear a sound of a hammer slamming really hard into a pile of meat. As I opened my eyes, a boot, no, a thick leg. Covered in tight trousers was kicking the bull right on his cheek. He screamed his warrior cry as the sole of his boots marked a grand history on the bull’s face. The kick was so hard that its momentum was enough to change the direction of the bull inertia and he fell passed through my side. The dust engulfed the sports field majestically. As the curtain of sand calmed in, I could see the person clearly.
”Good work, boy! You’ll be alright. Leave the rest to us, adults!” He said as he raised his thumbs up. Grinning widely and glancing through his shoulder. That was the muscle guy from the auditorium.
”Heh, even my lightning kick didn’t work, eh?” His focus was back into the cloud of dust where the bull fell. And just as he was expecting, the bull was already back on his hoof. A bit shaky, but determined. Ready to be back on his rampage.
”You look tired, beast. It’s time for you to take a nap!” The muscle guy was determined and prepared for the next bout. He raised his fighting stance and stood firmly. Meanwhile, the bull didn’t seem to care, and started stampeding once more.
I could only sit there, watching the fate unfold.