A Desolate Life | Wall-e AU

A Desolate Life: Part 7

In the searing summer sun, the remnants of a better past took shelter in an old BnL tech store. They were probably the only ones around this part of the city, most of the humans and therefore bots would probably be hiding underground. GO-4 and AUTO had taken the heat as an opportunity to explore the areas they'd been keen to explore without human interference. The outrageously warm and polluted summers were the best time to do that. Since the humans fucked everything up way back then, things had obviously gotten better, but dust storms and solar flares reined over the land from time to time. Earth was far from healed.

The two bots had sourced a shopping cart to fill with whatever they found interesting, with this they discovered quite useful items. However, AUTO felt like every minute he had to disappoint 4 by telling him they couldn't fit another large but valuable instrument into their cart or van. So far they had some computer parts they could tear apart, a few mini holopads, a blender which 4 insisted on taking for some reason- and various scrap parts. It seems like someone had already been to the location since the humans left, with the computers mostly beaten up or hidden in backrooms. AUTO had his suspicions as to who It may have been.

His attention was averted promptly upon hearing 4 hissing, his appendages in the hollow case off a barren pc.

'Why do they need PC parts, they have no use for it!?'

"It wasn't the humans who took it..."

4 tilted his body in curiosity.

"This entire area has been scouted by.... him"

4 let out an understanding 'ah' sound, forgetting that once the BnL ships left, there were still impoverished humans fighting for survival on Earth. However, They didn't last long but one insufferable robot outlived them.

"The parts will still be near; he couldn't have used all of them"

'Will we look in the residential buildings too sir?'

"It is not a priority"

AUTO and 4 looked around a little bit longer before deciding their cart was filled sufficient, they soon began to hover out to the car lot. AUTO pushed the cart, being the stronger of the two, but recoiled when he was hit with the warm gust from outside the Super BnL Mart. Although he couldn't feel the heat per se, he could detect it as his body sent little warnings to his HUD about his internal temperature. At least their once glossy white plating had a high albedo, but the ambient temperatures were still putting pressure on their internals. As they stepped out into the warmth, they began heading in the direction of a walk-through mall that would shelter them enough to cool down before travelling to the car lot. It wasn't unbearable by any means, but worrying. The best part about crippling capitalism was the amount of large, obnoxious commercial buildings readily available to take shelter within. As they resumed their travels, GO-4 bobbed inquisitively.

'Sir, are the humans still alive? We may be hiding for nothing'

"They're alive.... Even if the humans were to die, the robots will remain"

'Why not travel at night?'

"We will cross their paths, they'll be thinking the same thing"

It was clear they had their territories, but AUTO didn't know if there were other bands of bots running around separately from the human loving traitors. Even so, how could they tell the difference from afar? Thus AUTO scrapped the idea of looking for more recruits, at least for now. Plus, what would they say about his new form, and his new inclination to show humanoid affection towards 4? It was best to stay in the shadows.

They walked for a couple minutes in the heat, making their way into the mall before any HUD alerts started getting too frantic, and allowed themselves to cool off in the shade. Tough the mall wouldn't take long to walk through. 4 knew an indoor space like this was a prime ambush zone, and so he was on lookout whilst AUTO did his pack mule duties. They went past clothing shops, food courts, vendor booths and other stalls that looked like retro versions of stores on the Axiom. It was eerie in that sense; a creepy nostalgia of a time they never lived in. GO-4's body shifted from side to side as he looked around, assessing any movement in the ancient building.