Chapter 28

“What are they doing?” A soft voice whispered worryingly.

“I don’t know,” Emma said as she surveyed their surroundings. “They don’t seem to have noticed us.” The machines busied themselves with menial tasks. Some swept the ground while others trimmed the long withered hedges.

From a distance away from the hospital, the two sheltered themselves within the confines of a nearby building.

“Get down! They’re looking this way!” The two ducked before the approaching machine was able to detect them.

“Do you think they’ll attack us if they see us?” Anya asked.

“We can’t afford to take that risk right now.” The woman’s eyes glimpsed the child’s legs and saw the loosening bandages right above the girl’s ankle. “Let’s get those bandages changed first.”

“No, it’s fine. It doesn’t hurt or anything.”

“If it gets infected, we’ll have to cut your leg off.”

Anya gulped, then she remained silent.

“I thought so. Lay your leg flat on the floor.” The woman withdrew a small satchel with a red cross sewn in front.

The child did as she was told. Slowly, she stretched out her leg. Emma retrieved a knife from her combat boot and carefully severed the cloth bandages from the inside out. With each cut, more and more of the bandaging fell apart, revealing the blood-stained but smooth skin underneath.

“It’s… healed.” Although shocked by the bizarre sight, Emma’s voice remained fairly calm.

“It is?!” The girl, remembering her abnormal healing abilities, attempted to explain herself. “Oh, umm… I’m a fast healer!”

“Ah-hmm…” Emma expressions showed clear confusion as she carefully inspected the child’s leg. “I’ll still need to clean off the dried blood.” She covered the mouth of a clear bottle with a cotton ball before turning it over, drenching the fibers with alcohol. Then, she dabbed away at dark red stains. “Tell me if it stings.”

“O-Okay…”

With the gentlest of touch, the splotches were wiped away.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing...”

“Hmm, is that so? Looks like it’s completely healed.”

Anya frowned. The girl knew that she was no longer human, but every reminder still pained her.

“...”

“Do… you think I’m weird…?” The child mumbled.

“No more than I did before.” Emma performed a few final swipes before packing up the first aid kit. “Let’s go, we’ll move out through the back.”

As Emma stood up, Anya grasped tightly onto her sleeve.

“Anya?”

The girl stayed silent with her head held low.

“You… you won’t leave me… would you?”

“Leave you? Why would I do that?”

“Because I’m weird…”

Sigh. “Anya…” Emma said as she rubbed the girl’s head. “I’ll need more of a reason than that.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah, so let’s get going.” Emma grabbed onto Anya’s arm and pulled her up.

Anya dusted herself with her free hand before the two explored the structure’s interior. The layout was fairly simple, ensuring that the exit was quickly found.

They opened the door slightly, enough for Emma to poke her head out and peek. Once the alleyway was deemed safe for travel, the two made their exit and cautiously advanced in the direction of the clock tower.

The path they trod was filthy: the walls stained with wear while random bits of trash scattered all about. An unpleasant but tolerable stench reeked every step. In a way, that provided some assurance that they were safe from the caretakers of the city.

Soon, they arrived at the end of their passage. In front of them was an opening to the exposed roads that they must pass. From what Emma was able to observe, the city was designed in blocks, clusters of buildings separated by pavements. Each grouping of structures remained roughly the same height. As they advanced further and further away from the perceived city center, the altitude of the buildings decreased gradually, creating an overall downward slope starting from the heart of the municipality.

“Stay quiet.” Emma slowly approached the boundary of their cover, hiding within the shadows cast by the surrounding constructs.

Between their alley and the next, a machine patrolled, scanning the ground for trash to deposit in the basket it wore on its back.

“We’ll have to get past it,” Emma muttered as she bit on her thumb.

“Can’t you just shoot it?”

The woman silently contemplated the idea.

“No, that would alert the other machines around us. We have to go about this as quietly as possible.” She examined the immediate vicinity around them. “Anya, get me that bottle.”

Hearing her orders, the girl fetched the requested item without hesitation and handed it over.

“Stay close behind me.” After Anya responded with a nod, Emma tossed the bottle a foot away from the machine. The shattering of the bottle caught the machine’s attention as the mechanical creature looked around before it began to clean up the mess.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the two shuffled across the empty road and onto the next corridor.

“M-My arms are shaking, I can’t hold them still!” The child whispered. “It didn’t see us, did it?”

“It didn’t,” Emma responded quietly after checking. “And take deep breaths, Anya. It’s just your blood pumping.”

They proceeded to the next opening.

“Clear.” The woman whispered before they continued.

“P-P-Please preSENT y-y-your identification?”

Halfway past the road, they were met with an unsettling noise. One of which both were very familiar with. Emma turned her head toward the left and saw that one of the machines had arrived from the corner, leaving the two in plain view of their would-be assailant.

While pulling out her pistol, Emma authoritated her command to the child. “Anya, run straight down and don-”

PING!

A soft whistle pierced the skies, then it was followed by the sharp noise of clashing metal. The machine collapsed to the ground as its head crumbled apart.

Emma, without a moment of delay, pulled Anya into the next alleyway. When she felt that they were safe, she pulled the handheld radio out from beneath her cloak.

“W-What was that?” The child questioned, panicked by the encounter.

“A sniper, someone’s covering us.” Holding the radio close to her mouth, Emma spoke. “This is Emma, is anyone out there?”

“...” Again, only static responded until...

“Good to hear you, tovarishch. This is good hunt, no?” The voice of an old man replied.

“Who are you and why are you helping us?”

“Now? Not good time for introduction. We meet for drinks then talk.”

“Then tell me where you are.”

“Good sniper move after firing. Keep straight to large building. Udachi tovarishch.”

The radio went silent.

“W-Who was that?” The girl questioned.

“I don’t know, but we need to keep moving. Anya, hold onto my hand and follow my lead.”

More tentatively than before, they checked both sides of the road before frantically dashing to the other side, limiting their duration of exposure. At times they would come across stragglers, who attended to their mundane obligations. A simple diversion proved enough for the two to evade their opposition.

Finally, they had reached the outskirts of their destination: a massive three story building at the center of the field. Countless machines cleaved at the large plots of dirt surrounding the structure as if cutting the non-existent plants. They seemed almost zealous in their senseless behavior as if carrying out a degree dictated by their god. Besides that, several of the areas were paved and parked full of varied vehicles. These priceless unaltered relics of the past glimmered by the light shined upon them, frozen in the river of time. Standing amongst them were towering behemoths. Roughly two stories tall, they stood on six massive, heavily plated legs arranged in a fashion mimicking that of a spider’s. An equally well-armored turret sat on a circular platform. On one side, a large barrel protruded from a sloped bulge while on the other side, a series of smaller barrels arranged to form a cylinder exited from a similarly shaped, sloped bulge.

“I’m here, just outside of the facility.” Emma voiced with the handheld radio close to her face. “Where are you?”

“Tall building, right to you. I clear path for you, then I meet you inside.”

Immediately following the transmission, a streak of continuous gunshots emanated from the tall structure with flashes accompanying every round. With each hiss of the bullet, a machine that stood between Emma and the building became nothing more than scrap metal. The pathway was now sufficiently clear of hostiles, thus Emma and Anya began their move.

“He’s a really good shot.” The girl complimented, “is he one of the mercenaries your client hired?”

“Maybe, but I don’t know for sure.”

The two moved from cover to cover, avoiding detection to the best of their abilities.

“We’re almost there, Any-”

A sudden but loud mechanical hum interrupted Emma. Accompanied by the low rumbles of a vigorous engine and the unpleasant squealing of unoiled joints, the colossal walker awoken from its idle slumber.

“Umm, Emma…?” Anya was frightened as she stared at the behemoth that steadily turned its body toward her. The many spherical eyes in between its two menacing armaments all pointed at the little girl.

“UNIT 342, ONLINE. PLEASE PRESENT YOUR IDENTIFICATION.”

“W-W-What do I do?!” The fearful child pleaded for advice.

“Anya, slowly back away.”

Anya did just that, however, the machine was quick to respond.

“IDENTIFICATION INVALID. DEFAULTING TO STATUS, CITIZEN. MARTIAL LAW IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT. UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL NOT PERMITTED ON PREMISE. PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR CURRENT PLACE OF RESIDENCE.”

“I’ll distract it, you run for building.” The man stated through the radio.

“Wait!” Emma’s warning was too late as the shot was already fired.

PING.

The sounds of the ricochets rang, as every shot bounced off the massive machine’s thick armor.

“UNIDENTIFIED AGGRESSION DETECTED. CONTACTING CENTRAL FOR SITUATIONAL RESPONSE. FAILED. DEFAULTING TO LAST UPDATED PROTOCOLS. WEAPONS PRIMED.”

It oriented its turret toward the tower where the shots originated from, and aimed its heavy cannon.

“Shit, I think it see-”

PWOOOOMB!

The thunderous roar shattered the nearby windshields as the shockwave formed a cloud of dust around its unwavering legs. Afar, fragments of the sniper’s nest crumpled while bits of rubble were damned to be pulverized against the solid ground below. To add to the misfortune, only the eerie sound of static could be heard on the radio.

“RUN!” Emma shouted. She held onto the child’s arm before she sprinted toward the building across the cluttered field.

“FINAL WARNING, YOU ARE TRESPASSING. LETHAL FORCE HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED.”

Emma could hear it: the sharp turn of its turret as its chainguns revved up its spin. They were still far from the building and she doubted the stationary vehicles would provide much cover in the face of the dreadnaught’s terrifying weapons. She knew that something had to be done or they would be shredded by a myriad of metal slugs. Emma pulled Anya behind one of the larger, more ponderous vehicles and aimed her modified .50 caliber rifle.

POOMB!

The first shot struck the slanted plating at the top of the turret, bouncing harmlessly off into the distance in a streak of light. The machine’s heavy steps quickened as its weapons aligned themselves with their target. Emma needed to be swift, for they were running out of time. After adjusting her aim slightly, she fired the last two remaining shots in quick succession.

POOMB-POOMB!

The first shell made contact with the flat armor near the center of its turret, exploding but resulting in no damage.

Luckily, the second round was much more effective. The round penetrated one of the dreadnaught’s eyes and detonated right below the surface, staggering its stance. Its turret jolted erratically when its gun began to fire, barely missing Emma and Anya. It was as she had thought, the destructive rounds of the chaingun ripped straight through the thin metal linings of the vehicles as if they were just sheets of paper.

PWOOOOMB!

With its sight hindered, the machine missed its cannon as well. Instead, it vaporized the unfortunate brick wall that was struck unintentionally. Emma grabbed Anya before she initiated her frantic dash for the safety, all the while being sprayed with bullets.

PPRRRRRRRRRUUUUUU!

The machine’s barrels sang its petrifying chorus as it strafed its target with a never-ending barrage of glowing hot tungsten. To avoid being hit, Emma ran in a zigzag pattern, randomly changing her trajectory in order to hamper the dreadnaught’s aim. Whenever the rain of bullets threatened to catch them, she would duck behind a solid obstacle of some sort before continuing her sprint in the opposite direction.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!

To Emma’s relief, the chaingun had jammed due to its continuous and rapid firing. She couldn’t let the opportunity go to waste. Using what remained of their strength, Emma dragged Anya with all her might straight toward the structure’s main entrance. The massive machine opened its chamber compartment and forcefully ejected the jammed rounds with impudence. Then, it revved its barrels up once more in an unceasing spin and fired before its weapons were properly aligned with its target. A stream of chipped metal and concrete followed the two desperate runners, inching closer by the second.

“ARRRRRRRRG!” The woman screamed as she pulled the child close to her chest in a tight embrace, then she leaped at the large glass panels of the double door. All the while, a hail of bullets blanketed them, demolishing the walls around them in a destructive blaze of orange ember.

CRASH!

The two soared through the window, shattering the glass, and collapsed onto the wooden floors within. A pool of blood slowly expanded around the bodies. Unable to detect its target, the machine ceased its aggression and moved on to secure the rest of the perimeter.