Cultwick: The Sweeper Bot Plague Read Online Free Page B

frequently using them, and then shoved them into the heavy metal box.
    Rowland dragged the case down the stairs, one loud clunk at a time. When he arrived at the bottom step, he glanced up to see Tern staring at him, holding a hammer, spanner, a toolbox, and various undergarments.
    “Good enough, I suppose,” he said mostly to himself. “Put them in the case, Tern.”
    “Affirmative,” replied the automaton, opening the case and placing the procured items inside.
    “Once Germ gets back with her weapons, we will--oh!” the professor stopped, “Gerald!”
    He ran into the downstairs lab to find that Gerald, the carnivorous potato wasn’t in fact deceased, but Ms. Petunia’s cat from across the street most certainly was. Gerald had managed to wrap his tentacle-like sprouts around the cat’s corpse, and it gnawed at the cat’s organs spewed out on the lab floor.
    “Gerald!” he announced happily.
    The spud’s eyes momentarily glanced up at the beaming professor, before it continued to eat away at the cat’s remains.
    “We will have to find something to carry you in, Gerald.” Rowland looked around his lab before finding a large, enclosed jar with the remains of a human brain inside. Opening the container, he dislodged the organ and poured out the viscous, green liquid inside. Running over to the nearby sink, he ran water into the jar, filling it up about half way.
    “Okay, Gerald. I have prepared a lovely little home for you. Be a nice tuber and get inside.” The professor laid the jar down on the ground near the spud, and he picked Gerald up with his gauntleted hand. When he lifted the potato, the cat fell apart in two distinct pieces and Gerald growled a bit, having lost his meal.
    The potato tried to wrap its tendrils around the professor’s gauntlet, but Rowland quickly tossed it into the jar, closing the lid on top of it. Gerald continued to splash around inside his jar while the professor tightened the container.
    At the front door an out of breath Germ came bursting in, Erynn’s rifle slung around his back and her pistol sticking awkwardly out of his pocket. He also carried a small bag of her tools and supplies, which he gave to an idle Tern, who then placed it inside the larger case.
    Rowland came into the foyer carrying Gerald. “Look Germ, Gerald survived!”
    Still attempting to catch his breath, Germ responded, “That’s... wonder... ful... sir.”
    Rowland continued, “Oh, and do not worry I made sure to pack your things. I think you will be quite pleased.”
    “Oh, thank... you, sir,” the rat said. “That’s... quite kind of you.”
    “I think we are ready to go now,” the professor stated. “Tern, take the suitcase and Gerald here and put them down the sewer. We will pick them back up after we get Ryn.” He grabbed the pistol out of Germ’s pocket and stated, “We have two corpsmen to hunt down.”
    With ease, Tern, pulled the cover off a nearby manhole and dropped the metal box down inside it. Then he also dropped Gerald, the carnivorous potato, onto the top of the suitcase.
    Walking by the sewer hole, Rowland added, “You watch our things, Gerald. We will be back soon.”
    The potato growled from inside its new glass home, and Tern replaced the manhole cover.
    “Where are we going to find corps members at this hour?” Germ asked the others, locking up the house from the outside.
    “Processing... Highest Probability--” Tern began.
    “The slums,” the professor finished.
    “Affirmative,” he concurred.
    The trio headed toward the slums, and it took them less than half an hour to come upon a pair of corpsmen. Rowland stopped at a thin alleyway and spotted the two men accosting a young woman who appeared to be making her way home from work.
    “No, please, don’t hurt me,” begged the woman.
    “You’ve got it all wrong, dear,” one of the corpsmen said to the woman. “We’re not going to hurt you... until we’re done with you.”
    The second man grabbed the woman