Chapter 21

Am I falling?

Dwindling was the sky as the wind gusted against her back. Howls of the fervent gale blasted the little girl’s ears, rendering her ignorant of her companions’ cries.

I’m falling…

As the sound of sirens hushed and the ravaging ringing weakened, her once absent awareness returned. To her side, through the gaps between her hair, she saw smooth pillars of dark gray rushing past her. Hues of blue, evenly spaced, blinked as they traveled with the towering mass. Around her, she spotted rocks of irregular shapes and sizes seemingly floating with her in midair. It was then she realized…

I’m falling!

Anya’s heart dropped with the feeling of weightlessness, likes of which she had never experienced before. Droplets of tears rolled, not down her cheeks but up and away from her eyes. Her dress fluttered violently, adding to the dread of her descent. Though she could not see it, the ground quickly approached. Unable to act, the girl screamed and called for help.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Unbeknownst to her, a creature quickly approached. With one of its two tails, it grasped Anya around her waist and twisted its own body. The motion allowed for the creature to swing the girl around its torso, swaying her in a semi-circle before flinging her in the other direction. The experience of free falling had already terrified her, coupled with the notion of becoming a projectile, Anya became petrified. Against her better judgment, she glanced toward the direction of her flight and saw the impending slanted wall. Desperately attempting to change her trajectory, the girl flung her arms and legs wildly in every conceivable direction but to no effect. With just seconds before the collision, she closed her eyes and braced herself for impact.

Just then, she felt a familiar pressure wrapping around her waist as her body slammed against a firm surface. Although the occurrence was painful, it was nowhere near what she had expected to feel crashing into a solid wall. Hesitantly, Anya opened one eye.

An infester, with one of its tails firmly wrapped around her body and the other gripping on the berserkers, acted as a cushion. With its teeth gritted, the creature desperately clawed against the surface of the slanted wall, searching for a grip. The berserker attempted to do the same, repeatedly banging its blades into the unwavering material. Even with all their efforts, their speed remained the same as they slid down the metal surface. Seeing as the bottom loomed near, the two creatures positioned themselves to offer maximum padding for the panicked girl.

SPLASH!

The three faced an abrupt stop. Shaken and confused by the shock, Anya lost all sense of direction. A stinging sensation befell her eyes as they opened. Bearing with the irritation, the girl surveyed around herself, but she could not see past the countless tiny bubbles that surrounded her. With her mouth wide open, she began to gasp for air, which was a decision filled with instant regret as the water flooded her lungs. Her instincts took over and she frantically paddled her limbs in all directions, not knowing which way was up or down. Her throat began to contract forcefully, creating a burning pain worse than that of fire. Tightly holding onto her sweltering neck, Anya began to instinctively cough, further deteriorating her situation. Slowly while suffering, her consciousness began to fade.

“…”

Suddenly, a tug at her waistline jolted the girl out of the water and onto the nearby ground. No longer submerged in liquid, she immediately vomited the fluids from her system through her mouth and nose, all the meanwhile coughing furiously.

Nearby, were the berserker and the infester that slid with her, alert and on guard.

“Are-”

Cough-cough

“Are you gu-”

Cough-cough-cough

“Okay?”

The creatures did not respond. Instead, they continued to check the immediate area while the girl expelled more liquid.

Still panting, Anya sat back and indulged on air, a luxury she had never appreciated up until now. Once her body began to settle, Anya examined the ground surrounding her. The first thing that caught her attention was the excellent lighting. Bright and well lit, an illumination of such magnitude was rarely found indoors, much less out. Glancing around, lamps of all sorts emitted a welcoming white light. Looking up, she saw a distant gray splotch that signaled the hole from which they fell. All around her, massive structures graced the darkness above, each mimicking some form of a prism shape. Windows lined each level of the towering buildings and allowed for a peek of the well-furnished rooms within. Small and innumerable flashing blue lights adorned the sides of each construct, blinking randomly and independently from one another.

EEEEEEIIIIIIIII-EIIIIIIIIIII-EEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A painful screech emanated from nearby. With haste, the girl rose up and dashed toward the source of the noise as the two other creatures closely followed. Debris of all sizes was scattered around the perimeter. Having to carefully watch her steps, Anya avoided tripping as she proceeded. Not far from the body of water where she had landed, an infester squealed. Large lesions covered the creature as metal rods and stones impaled its body. With its one functioning limb, the creature attempted to crawl but could not, for a dense beam of solid steel crushed the creature from its midriff to its legs.

EEEEEEIIIIIII-EEEEIIII-EIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The creature continued to scream as its smashed entrails leaked blood rapidly. Trying with all her might, Anya firmly held onto the steel beam and attempted to lift it. The metal did not budge a single inch.

“Help me!” she ordered. The berserker quickly approached the girl and grasped the beam while the infester held onto the downed creature’s shoulders.

The two combined their strength, but it was still not enough. Witnessing the dire state of the squirming creature, the girl resorted to desperate measures. She tightened her muscles and screamed, drawing power from every inch of her body. What started as a small tingle soon became a soreness and pain that spread throughout her entire body. It was not for naught, however, as the debris lifted by a tiny distance. The moment enough space was created, the injured infester was immediately pulled out. Both Anya and the berserker released the beam at the same time just nearly avoiding injuring themselves.

EIIIIIII-EIIIIIIIIIIII-EIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Shrill and piercing, the creature’s screech did not cease. Anya stared blankly at the horrifying scenes. The fatally wounded creature suffered devastating injuries. Half of its body flattened and its organs squeezed out of the gashes within its skin. The bleeding did not stop but instead worsened tremendously.

Anya was frozen solid, not knowing what else she could do. The creature’s limbs and lacerations attempted to heal themselves, but the hemorrhage disallowed it. She could see parts of its body break itself down in an attempt reallocate its cells, which only added to the infester’s suffering. The girl wanted to help, but she could not.

Next to her, the berserker slowly advanced past her and raised one of its muscular legs.

CRUSH

With one stomp, the berserker smashed the fallen creature’s head, ending its agony.

The girl’s eyes widened.

“W-Why did…?” Her eyes met that of the berserker’s and without even a single word, Anya understood that there was nothing else they could have done.

Hastily, the remaining infester scurried off only to return moments after, dragging along a limp body. The corpse had landed and died far from the others, for it had flung itself away from the slanted walls in an attempt to save Anya. Without a sloped surface to reduce its speed and a pool of water to cushion its fall, the creature crashed into the concrete ground at terminal velocity and died instantly. Its body contorted and its insides hung out as it slid across the floor.

Clenching her jaw, Anya tightened her fists. Ridden with guilt, she felt that this catastrophe was entirely her fault. The detour was her idea and the death of her companions was her doing.

“I-I’m sorry…” She muttered to the unmoving corpses.

Clonk-clonk-clonk

Sounds of heavy steps neared their position, accompanied with an audible mechanical noise. Turning to face the source, she spotted a strange figure walking toward them in a very irregular and sporadic manner. Her remaining escorts faced the unknown being and poised themselves, ready to strike at any moment.

Once near, Anya was able to distinguish its details. Its face was pure white, smooth and featureless. A light blue glow emitted from beneath the surface where the eyes should've been. Its body had a similar texture, but the gaps between its limbs and torso exposed the bewildering combination of tubes and wires that laid underneath. Small cracks and fractures were present, but nothing that threatened to shatter its form.

What… what is that?  Is… is that a machine?

“Hello?” She waved at the humanoid machine, not sure how to properly communicate with it.

The machine stopped and directed its featureless face toward Anya’s group.

“Wel-Wel-Welcome TO our beautiful-BEAUTIFUL MEtro-p-p-p-PLIS, citizen. PLEase p-p-RESENT your ID-D-D-D-D-d-d-d-ddentiFICAtion. SIR YOU AR-R-R-RE In danger! ViolAtioN of CITY-city ord-d-d-dinance 3-3-Please-PLEASE p-p-present your ID-Dan-Danger.”

Taken aback by the machine’s strange way of speaking, Anya stepped back and attempted dialogue once more.

“I-I don’t understand what you’re saying!”

“P-Pleas-s-s-s-s-sed to MAKE you I-I-I-I 4-3-3-4-3 VioLation friendly assistance u-unit. P-P-Danger. Sir you ARE in-in-in D-Dan-WELCOME TO our Beau-u-utiful METROplis-s-S-s.”

As the machine spoke, it twitched its head nonsensically. Straightening its posture, the machine walked toward Anya. Then, without warning, its steady stroll morphed into a full-on sprint.

“You-You-You are IN danger! Littering is in-in-in violation of city-WELCOME CItIZEn!”

Sensing the upcoming threat, the berserker positioned itself in front of Anya as a shield while the infester leaped at the sprinting menace, knocking it over. Once on the ground, the infester attempted to pierce the machine using its bladed tails. With precision and speed, the creature struck the machine but barely managed to crack the surface.

“D-Damage of pub-blic P-P-propriety is-IS-is in Violation of oRDi-N-N-Nance 1-1-HELLO.”

Seeing the futility of its strikes, the infester then prioritized to striking the gaps between the joints, cutting a few wires and tubes in its left shoulder before the machine could respond.

“Hello-HELLO Welcome to our-OUR beautiful-YOU are in-in DA-DA-DANGER!”

In one swift and savage punch, the machine shattered the infester’s jaw with its fist, removing the creature’s hold on itself. With flesh dangling and blood dripping, the infester distanced itself from the machine and prepared for another attack.

The machine quickly stood up and oriented its chest towards the infester, its left arm dangling without motion. Not willing to allow the machine to strike first, the creature charged again, this time aiming for the right shoulder.

“Sir-SIR-s-s-s-sir-r-r-r you are injured! Please pro-c-c-ceed to a neAR BY-by-BY medical-cal-cal center-r-r-Protocol 5-5-3-2-8.”

With the machine seemingly wide open to an attack, the infester thrusted both of its tails at the shoulder joints.

Clink-Clack

One of the blades imbued itself into the machine’s right shoulder while the other missed and struck the upper right portion of the chest. Retracting the blade from the chest proved to be slightly difficult, unfortunately, the creature could not pull its other blade from the machine’s shoulders.

CRASH

Although some wires were cut, the machine’s right arm still remained functional. When the infester could not distance itself after its attack, the machine plowed its metallic fist into the side of the creature’s face, breaking bones and scraping off skin while sending the infester flying. Dazed by the punch, the infester collapsed momentarily. The sheer force of the impact dislodged the creature’s tail. Before the infester was able to regain its posture, the machine had stomped its foot onto the creature’s back, nearly shattering its spine.

“S-s-SIR you-you-you are in d-d-dIStreSS. P-P-Ple-”

uuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUURRRRRAAAAAGGGGGGGGGG!

CLUNK

Leaping at incredible speeds, the berserker smashed into the machine, knocking it over and onto the ground. Then, without a moment of delay, it battered its enormous blades into its enemy’s chest, piercing straight through the outer shell.

“S-S-System ErROr. Pro-prOCeed to the neARest se-seVicE St-t-tatioN.”

UUUUUURRRRRAAAAAGGGGGGGGGG!

With a deafening roar, the berserker slammed its blades into the machine’s forehead, silencing it permanently.

UUUUUURRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGG!

Arms stretched to its side, the creature howled as it relished in its kill.

As the echoes of their engagement faded, Anya rushed to the wounded infester.

“Are you okay?” The little girl asked as she glanced at the creature’s heavily deformed face. “That… that looked like it really hurts…”

The creature nodded as it stumbled while attempting to get up. Anya wanted to help, but her body was still extremely sore from previously expending her strength. Walking was already proving to be a difficult task. Eventually, the creature returned to its feet and scanned the area.

Cautiously, the girl approached to the expended carcass of the deceased machine. Damage plagued every inch its body as the once pristine casing laid partially shattered. Underneath its shell contained countless wires and tubing attached to the various mechanical parts. Strongly scented fluids of yellow and black dripped from cracks that existed on the tubes.

“Why… did it attack us…?” Anya questioned but received no answer.

Clonk-clonk… Clonk-clonk-clonk…Clonk

Immediately upon hearing the noise, the two creatures surrounded her in a protective formation.

Clonk-clonk-clonk… Clonk…Clonk-clonk

With a quick glance around her, Anya’s body froze, for what she saw made her tremble with fear.

In the same eerie tone and voice, they spoke, disorganized and all to their own rhythm. In numbers too many to count, they casually wandered closer, all spouting the same senseless line.

“H-H-HELLO I-I-I am your fRiendlY a-a-a-aSIstance unIT. You-YOU-you ar-ar-are in da-da-DANger!”