Alliance by Timothy L. Cerepaka Read Free Book Online Page B

I doubt it will take much of my strength
to free myself from this simple trap.
    I strain against the straps, which hold
tight against my resistance. These must be new because they barely
budge against my efforts, but even new leather can be broken with
enough effort, so I keep trying. Sooner or later, I will break
free, because unlike organic beings, I do not tire at all.
    But despite putting all of my effort into
straining against these straps, they seem to be getting tighter,
not lighter. This makes no sense at all, because that would imply
that these straps are somehow aware that I am trying to break free.
They are simply inanimate objects. Perhaps they are magically
enchanted to become tighter if met with resistance, a common tactic
I have heard certain Delanian witches and wizards do.
Unfortunately, my sensors cannot tell for sure.
    Whatever the case, I will not give up that
easily. All I need to do is use my laser vision—a feature that all
J bots have, although one I do not use regularly due to its
dangerous nature—to cut through the straps. While dwarfish leather
may be the strongest leather in the two worlds, that does not mean
it can survive a laser.
    Twin lasers, red in color, shoot from my
optics and strike the straps holding down my body to the ground. As
I predicted, the straps snap instantly, allowing me to sit up and
move my limbs freely. While I cannot get cramped arms or legs like
organic beings can, I do prefer having the freedom to move my
limbs, because it means I can find out where I am and how I got
here.
    I stand up, dusting off my body. I twist
and turn my left leg to assure myself one last time that it does
indeed still work, and then step forward with it. When I do not
fall forward on my face, I walk up to the door, thinking that this
is much easier than I originally thought. I find it strange how the
Foundation members leave me unguarded, but perhaps the door is
locked.
    I analyze the door and discover that,
unlike most of the doors back on Xeeo, this one does not slide
open. I am reminded again that I am in Dela, a technologically
primitive world in comparison to Xeeo, but this is not a problem. I
know how to operate Delanian doors, so I reach for the
doorknob.
    That is when the leather straps from
before wrap around my legs and pull. Taken by surprise, I fall to
the floor as the straps try to drag me back to my original
position, but I am not stunned by this fall. Instead, I twist my
head over my shoulder to gain a better understanding of what is
happening.
    The leather straps that I split earlier
are much longer now than they once were. They move like snakes,
wrapped so tightly around my legs that I do not see any way I can
force them off.
    My logical mind wonders how this is even
possible. I did not detect any skyras energy channeling through
them earlier. This is clearly an example of Delanian magic at work,
however, which makes me wonder how I missed it. Maybe Delanian
magic is far subtler than I can detect with my sensors.
    In any case, I do not intend to be held
down again. I fire another set of lasers at the straps, cutting
through them again. Now that my legs are free again, I stand up and
back up toward the door, while the straps hover toward me again. I
see no reason why they should, as I have already cut them down to
size twice. Analysis suggests that Delanian magic is responsible
for their increasing length, although that does not explain exactly
how it works. Perhaps the extra length is hidden under the
floor
    In any case, it does not matter how it
works, because the straps are coming at me and do not seem likely
to give up anytime soon. Considering how ineffective my lasers have
proven against them, I conclude that the only way out of this
situation is to escape from this room.
    I turn around and reach for the doorknob,
but before I can grab it, the door opens and I find myself
face-to-face with a Delanian human who I do not recognize. He is a
bulky human, with five skyras rings