: The Dangerous Plan
Our plan was very risky: use Jax's knowledge
of secret ways to get near a tall tower far
away in our land. The trip was full of danger,
with the constant worry of government
soldiers and flying spy machines. The
problem was the never-ending danger outside
and the fear inside that we would fail. We
were all very tense as we got closer to where
we were going, the humming of the tall tower
getting louder and louder. We moved carefully
and quietly, every step feeling very dangerous.
My muscles hurt a lot, but I kept going. The
picture of the armored creature, its glowing
red eyes looking very smart and scary, stayed
in my mind. We had to make this work. We
had to stop them from controlling us. Jax,
surprisingly walking confidently even though
he was scared before, led us through a
confusing mix of overgrown paths and dry
riverbeds. Gareth, usually grumpy but even
more so because of the danger, looked at
the sky for spy machines, his quiet growls
reminding us of the danger. Silas, who
seemed to have endless energy, went ahead,
his good senses helping us know if there
was danger.
"Are you sure about this way, Jax?" Gareth's
voice was a low rumble. "It feels too… open."
Jax hesitated, his ears moving nervously. "It's
the fastest way to the spot where they can't
see us that I told you about. The trees there
are too thick for their sensors."
Blind spot. Those words gave us a little bit of
hope in the big feeling of fear. We were
trusting Jax's memory of how the humans
watched us, a weak shield against their
advanced machines. I argued with myself
inside, always doubting. What if Jax was
wrong? What if we were walking right into
another trap? The weight of our lives, of
everyone in our group, felt heavy on me.
Days turned into a tense pattern of quiet
whispers and quick movements. We drank
from hidden springs, ate whatever we could
find, and slept for short, restless times. The
humming of the tall tower was always with us,
a low shaking in the air that we could feel in
our bones, reminding us that it was silently
controlling us.
When we finally reached the thick patch of
old trees Jax had talked about, we all
breathed out in relief. The leaves above were
thick,
blocking most of the sky. The air felt different
here, quieter, less… watched.
"The tower should be just over this small hill,"
Jax whispered, pointing with his nose.
My heart beat very fast. This was it. The result
of Taina's work, our desperate hope
depending on Elara's changed machine.
We moved carefully up the small hill, staying
low to the ground. The tall tower was right in
front of us, a huge metal thing going up into
the sky, its humming now a deep, shaking
sound. It had a high fence around it and some
small buildings that probably had machines
and guards.
"Jax, where's the way in you mentioned?" I
asked, my voice very quiet.
Jax pointed to a part of the fence hidden by
thick bushes. "There's a panel there for fixing
things. If I can open the lock…"
Silas made a quiet, annoyed sound. "'If' being
the important word."
The air felt very tense. Jax crept towards the
fence, moving smoothly and quietly. He
looked at the panel, his face showing he was
thinking hard. After a few scary moments, he
took a small metal tool from a bag he carried
and started working on the lock.
We watched, holding our breath. Every second
felt like a long time. The humming of the
tower seemed to get stronger, pressing
against our minds.
Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed in the air. Jax
stopped moving, his head snapping up.
"What was that?" Gareth growled, his eyes
looking at the trees around us.
Before anyone could answer, a small, fast spy
machine flew out from behind the tower, its
camera making a whirring sound. It stayed in
one place for a moment, its red light blinking,
before quickly flying towards us.
"They saw us!" Silas whispered angrily. "Jax,
hurry!"
Jax's fingers worked quickly on the lock. The
spy machine was getting closer fast. I could
feel the familiar pressure of the weakening
starting to come into my thoughts.
"Almost… almost…" Jax mumbled, his face
looking stressed.
Just as the spy machine reached us, Jax
made a soft click, and a small part of the
fence swung open.
"Go!" he yelled, quickly going through the
opening.
We followed, feeling a rush of energy. We
were inside the fence, but now the real danger
started. We had to get to the bottom of the
tower, where the main power wires were.
We moved quickly, using the shadows of the
buildings to hide. We could hear human
voices nearby, shouting in alarm. They knew
we were here.
"The power wires should be in the main
building," Jax whispered, pointing to a large
building with no windows at the bottom of the
tower.
To get there, we had to cross a short but open
area. A bright light moved across the ground,
making us stop and hide in the shadows.
"We need to distract them," Silas growled, his
eyes shining.
Before anyone could say anything, Silas ran
from where we were hiding, letting out loud
howls. The bright light moved towards him,
and shouts came from the nearby buildings.
"Now!" Silas yelled back, getting the guards'
attention.
We ran across the open ground towards the
main building, Gareth and I on either side of
Elara, who held her machine tightly.
We reached the building and found a service
door open a little bit. We slipped inside,
finding ourselves in a dimly lit hallway filled
with humming machines.
"This way!" Jax whispered, leading us deeper
into the building.
We went through a confusing set of hallways,
the sounds of guards coming closer. Finally,
Jax stopped in front of a large metal door with
warning signs on it.
"This should be it," he whispered. "The main
power."
The door was locked. Gareth tried to force it
open, but it wouldn't move. We were running
out of time.
"Elara, your machine!" I urged.
Elara quickly connected her sound-making
thing to some wires she had taken from her
bag, her hands moving surprisingly fast.
"I need to find the right sound… Taina's
notes…" she mumbled, her face showing she
was thinking hard.
The sounds of the guards were just outside
the door. We could hear them shouting, their
weapons ready.
Suddenly, Elara gasped. "I think I have it!"
She turned on her machine. A high, changing
sound filled the hallway, almost hurting our
ears.
Nothing happened.
I started to panic. Had we come all this way to
fail at the last moment?
Then, the humming of the machines around
us started to change wildly. Lights blinked and
went out. A loud buzzing sound filled the air,
followed by small explosions from inside the
power room.
The metal door shook hard, then swung open,
showing a chaotic scene – sparking wires,
broken machines, and a strong smell of
something like burnt air.
"It worked!" Jax shouted, sounding very
relieved.
But our happiness didn't last long. A figure
came out of the shadows at the far end of the
hallway – the old werewolf, his white fur
stained with something that looked like oil or
blood, his eyes looking very serious.
"You shouldn't have come here," he said, his
voice low and dangerous. "They were
expecting you."
He raised his hand, and the armored creature,
unbelievably, stepped out from behind him, its
red eyes looking right at us, the green light on
its 'thought catcher' shining even brighter.
A cold feeling of understanding washed over
me. The old werewolf… he wasn't trying to
help us. He had led us here. Into a trap. And
the creature… it wasn't just a weapon. It was
somehow connected to the tall towers, a
control center that could move.
We were trapped, our dangerous plan had
failed badly, and the real enemy was now
showing himself.