Waiting for my death | Horizon zero dawn fanfiction

Chapter 2: Enduring Victory

"What?" I gasp, nearly dropping the fork on my plate.

"Matteo! I said we'd discuss this later!" my mom calmly scolds dad. She has a strange habit of yelling in a soft tone. I will never understand how she manages to do it.

"Mom, can you please explain to me what's going on?" I demand distressfully.

"Sweetie, it's gonna be alright," she assures me when she hears my panicked voice. She takes a deep breath, probably thinking about how she should form her next sentence. "We have been called by the military to aid them in this upcoming war against the automated war machines. We have no choice but to obey the orders, otherwise we'd go to prison. Or worse."

"We'll be back in no time," dad intervenes.

"Are you kidding me? It's a death sentence!" Elle cries, slamming her fist at the table. It makes my body jump lightly, and my first instinct is to inspect the ignited candle on the table. "Please, mom, I really don't wanna go to war."

"I know, sweetie, I know, I don't want this either, but they need people defending this planet right now."

"Why?" I ask confused. I've barely followed the news, simply because of how frightened I am. "It can't be that bad? Right?"

I can feel my heartbeat skyrocket as I listen to the following words my dad is about to say.

"So you haven't heard, oh dear God..." he pauses for a few seconds. Mom burrows her head in her hands, letting out a breath in despair. "It was recently announced that the swarm has done its first attacks in different parts of Asia. If we can't stop it, it might reach us here in the United States soon."

"It will reach us here, dad," Elle says, "it's only a matter of time."

My heart drops. This can't be real. It feels like I'm stuck in a horrifying sleep paralysis, unable to move or scream as something terrifying slowly approaches me.

"We've know this for some time. But we thought it best not to tell you because you've been busy mourning Ivy. We didn't want you to have two tragedies on your mind at once," mom says soothingly.

"I don't think humanity has faced a larger threat than this ever since the die off," dad adds, making my skin crawl even more.

"You think? Please, dad, tell her the truth. She's not a fucking toddler for gods sake!" Elle snarls in a frustrated tone. "There's a lot more to the story than what you've mentioned."

Dads' face darkens, any trace of hope and enthusiasm that used to fill his soul has turned to ashes. He scoffs, looking down at the floor.

"I'm so sorry, Elle, you're right," he says, looking back up to my face. "It's not bad, Liv, it's apocalyptic. We have only fifteen months left before the swarm has consumed all biomass on this earth. If we don't do anything, of course..."

"Not all hope is lost!" Mom swiftly adds, "there are these rumors about some kind of super weapon that will save us, Zero Dawn. Not much is known about it, but I'm positive that if we can hold the swarm off long enough for it to be finished, we will endure."

It relives me that my mom's enthusiasm and hope is not gone. It feels like I can finally breathe again, like I've been swimming underwater and finally reached the surface. At least the risk of me dying has decreased by a slow amount, I'm ready to cling onto any hope there's left. Even a tiny bit. Still, I don't think my brain is able to comprehend the end of the world. It's like this is all flying through my head, but my heart disagrees and pushes it out. Mom was right, there's no room for two tragedies.

"Doesn't mean that we won't die sacrificing our asses out there!"

"Elle, language," dad scolds.

"Do you really care about that right now? Is that your main concern?" Elle hastily arises from her chair and aggressively paces out from the kitchen. "I can't fucking believe it."

Mom irritably glances at dad's confused face. She sighs. "I'll talk to her."

When she's gone only me and dad remains. "I don't understand," I say, breaking the silence. "Why are they attacking? Can't they just shut them off?"

"The automated war machines are highly advanced. Quite extraordinary, if you ask me. They're pretty much unhackable, or at least, it would take years to hack into their system."

"Do you think this zero thing, or whatever it was called, is a project that might turn all of them off?"

"That's what I believe."

Relief. Like a warm, meaningful hug reassuring me that everything is going to be alright.

"Why would they even go mad in the first place? Like, aren't they supposed to be one of the most advanced robots in the world?"

"You know, I've always been against FAS since they changed their ways. I don't think anyone really knew what they really were doing when they started developing automated war machines capable of horrifying things."

His trembling hand grabbed the wine glass in front of him. He chugs the whole drink, reminding me of how the machines are going to consume the biomass of this earth. A chill is sent down my spine at the thought of it.

"All I know is that they discovered some kind of glitch in their system. Making them turn on us. They won't respond, we've lost complete control of them."

A single tear carefully falls from my eye. "I'm scared, dad..." I helplessly sob.

He hastily stands up, walking over to me and grabbing my arm. He drags me out of my chair and pulls me in for a hug. "I know, Liv, I'm scared too," he whimpers, like he's trying hard to hold in his tears.

"Why would they make automated war machines? Why can't we just stop fighting each other instead?"

"It sounds so easy on paper. I know, I do agree with you..." he pauses, looking thoughtful. "But the world is a very complicated place."