Revenge of the Giant Robot Chickens Read Online Free Page B

acted. Percy punched up at the giant creature but its beak hit him in the shoulder. Percy bounced off, flying away and crashing into the wall. Cody hit the floor and rolled under the table.
    By this point the others were beginning to move. Most followed Cody’s lead and dived beneath the table. Jeremy and Hazel ran towards the door, desperate to get away from that awful, grasping beak. I noticed that Blake had gone with them and I frowned. Maybe he wasn’t as brave as I thought he was.
    Well, if he didn’t stop the intruder I’d have to.
    “Hey, Featherface,” I yelled, diving further into the room, drawing my shock-stick as I went. “Come get some!”
    “Get down, Rayna,” Noah whispered from under the table, but I gestured for him to be quiet. The chicken had already seen me, but it didn’t seem to have noticed them yet. I just had to distract it until the guards arrived – which should be any moment now.
    The second invention the Brotherhood had made for us, after the big lasers, were shock-sticks. They were exactly like they sounded: long staffs that emitted an electric shock when they hit something. They were created to help us fight Commandos: just bigger than life-size robot chickens. They wouldn’t do anything to a huge Catcher. Nothing but get its attention. And that was exactly what the people under the table needed me to do.
    The Catcher was stuck. The room we were in was partly underground, so it had smashed straight in from above. Its body and head were dangling into the room, but its huge wings were trapped on the floor above. It lashed razor-sharp claws as its head lurched towards me, pecking viciously. It shouldn’t be able to stay there for much longer. The guards surrounding the building must already have noticed something was wrong, but as long as the giant chicken was in this confined space it was a danger to everyone. And we wouldn’t be able to deal with it as effectively if it had a kid inside it.
    I hit it with the stick and watched the current flow through it. That certainly got its attention. Hopefully it would see me as more of a threat.
    Its eyes glowed briefly red, though it didn’t fire its laser, and it turned towards me, enraged.
    I hit it again then hopped to the side as it snapped in my direction. I’d hoped to be able to just back out the door, but there was stuff in my way so I squashed up against the wall.
    “What’s the matter, a bit too plump?” I groaned. Then I had to dart away sharpish as it tried to hurl itself after me. It pushed further into the room, causing plaster to rain from the ceiling and thump against the table. I heard squealing from beneath.
    So did the chicken. It turned its attention back to those trapped below and I had to jump in and smack it again. It snaked its neck at me and I spun to one side then hit it several more times.
    Surely it wouldn’t be long now before the guards came running?
    Percy began scrambling to his feet, groaning. The chicken must have knocked him dizzy because he looked wobbly and didn’t seem to know where he was – or that there was a giant chicken just behind him.
    The chicken heard the groan and turned back, snapping at him.
    I did the only thing I could. I dived across the table, sliding on the slick wood, and got to the two of them just in time. I flung out my arm before me and somehow managed to wedge the shock-stick in the chicken’s mouth. It looked surprised for a moment then jerked its head sharply.
    I fell back, knocking Percy down with me. The chicken looked at me steadily for a moment, enjoying the power it had. Then it slowly and methodically closed its mouth, snapping the stick in two.
    I could only watch, helpless, as it bent down towards me, beak gaping wider and wider.
    This was it. After all the months of fighting, afterall the effort and pain I’d gone through, it was going to end like this. Just one small scuffle in a hotel basement. I would be pecked up like an insect and taken to serve the chicken