Tommyinnit Oneshots

The Way of Survival

"Come on, we can't stop," A voice said, grabbing onto the hand of the other person running along with them. It was two children who ran across the back alleyways of the south side of the city. The half-moon illuminated certain sections of the cement sidewalks, but the broken chunks of concrete covered in dying grass and dirt didn't have anything making the path seeable. That was the problem, the kid who spoke determined. His brain was wired one way, to sense electricity in the air and an insatiable desire to press every button. He hadn't come across anything that truly irked his instincts. His companion, however, was wired to fret in the darkness. When the light levels fell below a certain point, tears would fall down her cheek as she begged for light. He didn't know how bad it was until she began pointing at random things, describing horrible monsters that just weren't there. He would have been surprised she hadn't broken down in fear yet considering how little light there was if he didn't know what instinct trapped them both. No matter what happened, no matter what they saw or did, they would have the strongest urge to survive. If they stopped, even for a few seconds, they would have been caught and killed. Neither child could let that happen even if they were tired and ready to give up.

These two children, Conner and Grace, were not humans. They weren't even part of the very rare hybrids. They were sentient Mobs. They had been created in a lab from test tubes and borrowed DNA, reprogrammed with traits unlike their predecessors. It would have been their job to protect humanity, to live amongst the guardsman in the barracks to protect the city from the rogue Mobs and the exiled Illagers. It could have been like that. It wasn't for the reason that not every Mob created with the intention to protect the people were allowed to live. The Villagers of the city vote every year during Update Festival on which Mob would be added to the roster of their protectors. There had been a big showcase to allow everyone to see the Mobs. Conner was a Copper Golem, different from his Iron companions from the fact that he was smaller, would instinctively press buttons like a toddler, and the fact that he had some control over electricity. Grace was a brand new one called a Glare that hid in a leafy blanket, with the ability to know when the darkness was enough to attract the attention of monsters and could float above the ground. The two of them had been favored until the introduction of the last Mob contender, the Allay. The Allay had been created from the genetic make-up of a Vex but tweaked to make it more helpful. The Allay had won the vote because she was considered adorable and was useful in the fact that she picked up anything given to her that was on the ground.  Really, that would have been fine, too, if it wasn't for the clause that if a Mob lost the vote, they were to be killed in secrecy. Upon finding out, Conner and Grace made a plan to escape. They did manage to escape the laboratory they had been created in, and were now running without direction in an unfamiliar city.

"I can't," Grace managed to say, yanking her hand from Conner's grasp. She wrapped her arms around her legs, burying her face in the space between her knees. Conner looked towards the end of the alleyway. They weren't that far from the outermost wall keeping the Villagers in, housing the Mob guards, and keeping rogue Mobs out. Conner didn't know if they could make it out there in the wild. All he knew is that there was a possibility out there, and the two of them had no chance at survival in that city. With that being said, Conner wasn't going to leave Grace. He didn't want to leave Alice, the Allay mob, but she had promised to distract the scientists while they escaped since her life was guaranteed. Conner had sworn as he watched Alice run in the opposite direction that he wouldn't leave Grace behind. He knew that she wouldn't be able to run all night, and he still hadn't left her. In another scenario, Conner would have held Grace in his arms until it was light enough for her to calm down. He probably would have tried to find an electrical current that way his body could emit a faint glow. In this case, they didn't have time. Conner really wished he could have comforted Grace.

"Grace! I know it's scary. I'm scared, too. I know that you just want to find some light, but you have to listen to me... the longer we stay here, the closer they are to finding us. You know what they'll do to us. They're going to kill us, Grace. If they find out Alice helped us escape, they might just torture her instead of killing her. We can't be here. We have to keep moving. We need to get to the other side of the outer wall," Conner said, dropping to his knee in front of Grace. The girl peeked up from the hood of the blanket that she constantly had tightly enveloping her. Her dull, rust red pupils were shaking with tears falling down her face. Conner knew that she wanted to sob, maybe even scream. He was actually proud of her for keeping it all held back. He was impressed she had made it this far without breaking down about the darkness. Grace took a shuddering breath before pulling herself onto her feet. She bit down on her lower lip as she grabbed Conner's hand again. She whimpered when she looked back at where they had come from, and Conner would have done anything in the world to take that pained expression off her face. As Mobs, they didn't age like Villagers, but they were children. No child should have experienced everything they had in their few months of sentience.

"Hey, is there someone back here?" A voice said as a light was shone on them. Conner squinted at the person approaching, stepping in front of Grace as he did so as if he could shield her. When the person was close enough, the beam from their flashlight dropped down to the dirt path beneath their feet. Conner stared up at the man. It didn't look like a Mob or even a guardsman. It was a teenager as far as Conner could tell. A blonde kid wearing a dark red jacket over a pair of jeans. He was skinny, almost frail looking, but there was something so brilliant in his cerulean eyes. Conner was almost convinced it was a Villager, but this teenager didn't share some of the attributes as a true Villager. Conner's eyes widened as he realized this was a hybrid.

When the Mob guards had first been introduced, they were mostly left alone due to fear. Most people didn't even consider Mobs an intelligent species that deserved humane treatment. This opinion was what influenced the first Mobs to defect, running loose in the wild, unkempt lands outside the main city. The Mobs who had run away were known as rogues. After enough Mobs had been introduced, however, some Villagers had started to take a special interest in the Mobs. This resulted in a few interspecies romances that most scientists assumed were doomed to fail. Imagine everyone's surprise when a villager with Mob-like traits was born instead of some deformed, sickly beast. The first interspecies children were taken to the labs for testing. This led to the announcement of a new type of species: hybrids. Unlike their Mob parents, most hybrids were accepted into society relatively easily. It was weird considering how conservitave most Villagers were. Anyone who studied humanity would have guessed that hybrids would be hated like their heritage, if not more so. That wasn't the case. Mobs and humans alike had a rather peaceful relationship with hybrids overall. Nowadays, a good fourth of the city's population is pure hybrids. After a few generations, hybrid traits are bred out of the bloodline, but there were a few partial hybrids that made a sixteenth of the population.

"Oh, it's just some kids. Where are your parents?" The teenager asked, stepping forwards. Conner glared at the teenager as he took a step back. Grace huddled into his back, her legs lifted off the ground by her basic levitation powers. The teenager stopped moving. His head tilted to the side as he studied them. It took a few seconds before his eyes widened. His hand flew up to his mouth as he started saying a few words that Conner didn't know the meaning of. Finally, the teenager looked at them. "You two were part of the Mob vote, weren't you? Those inhumane bastards... you're just kids... I mean... This is fucking sick. You make two children, and just throw them out when they don't win? They could have at least given you a place to stay. Well, fuck them. I'm Tommy Innit, and I'll do as I fucking please. You two can come with me. We'll get you some food, a nice place to stay, that sort of thing. Tomorrow, you can come with me to my work. We'll find someone who wants to adopt you two."

The teenager leaned down, offering a hand to Conner and Grace. The golem stared at the hand with distrustful eyes. Grace's gaze was pinned on the flashlight. Conner looked back at Grace. They wouldn't survive long outside the city. They were being hunted within the city. Conner knew that he was starving, and Grace couldn't last in the darkness that tormented her instincts. They didn't have to stay with this Tommy guy for long. They could use this as a rest-stop. Get some food, take a nap, enjoy the simple luxuries they had never been allowed. Conner almost wanted to laugh at how weak his will was. He supposed he just needed to have faith in Tommy. He needed to pray for Alice. He needed to find some way to help Grace live. Despite everything, Conner took Tommy's hand.