Officer David, a state trooper on Copper 9, lives with his father, a UN soldier, after his mother passed away tragically after a brutal head-on car accident. David lives a fairly boring life, not doing much except working, but has a decent personali...
I pushed open the door to the diner, standing back allow Chelsey to quickly enter, before I slammed the door shut, a small layer of snow had blown inside from the blizzard, but not enough to be troublesome. "I-I-It's a bit of a doozy out there." I chattered, my teeth clacking so hard I thought they would break. I looked around. The building was literally shaking, picture frames on the walls were rattling, the hanging lights were shaking, and I could see small flurries of snow starting to get in between the cracks of the boarded up windows. I flinched, hearing the glass suddenly shatter from the pressure, allowing more freezing cold air inside. "We can't stay here." "I know." I ran over and switched on the radio, the old dials lighting up and giving off faint static. I grabbed the microphone, holding the red button down. "Mayday, mayday, this is callsign Kilo, Alpha, Foxtrot, Niner-Niner, this is a distress signal, repeat, this is a distress signal, over." I laid off the button, hearing more static.
I pressed the button again, praying. "This is Kilo, Alpha, Foxtrot, Niner-Niner, requesting emergency assistance, does anyone read me? Over." I leaned back, anxiously tapping my fingers on the desk. "Please...if anyone's out there, please respond." I laid my head down on the desk, fighting the urge to drop tears at the helplessness of the situation. "Kilo, Alpha, Foxtrot, Niner-Niner, this is Outpost 9, distress signal acknowledged, please state your emergency, over." I scrambled for the mic. "Outpost 9 this is Kilo Alpha Foxtrot Niner-Niner, we are trapped in the blizzard in a small diner. The building is threatening to come apart, requesting rescue over." I let off the button, hearing the person on the other end. "Roger that Kilo Alpha Foxtrot, Patrol 4 is closest to your position. They should be onto you in a few minutes, be ready to move out. Over." I sighed in relief, and I heard Chelsey mutter "Yes!" "Roger that Outpost 9, we'll be standing by." I unplugged the radio from the solar panel battery, quickly folding them up in a tarp and packing them into my duffel, throwing the small amount of food I had, putting all my scraps and materials into a small backpack.
I suddenly heard banging on the door. "Rescue 4! We're here to help you!" "Coming!" I hoisted the backpack over my duffel, causing me to lean forward in order to compensate for the heavy weights. I looked towards Chelsey, who looked pretty nervous. "We're gonna be alright." I gave her a reassuring smile and shouldered my rifles, feeling the straps bite into my shoulder. I pulled open the door, just in time to see a shovel blade coming at my face. Suddenly, I was on the ground, my vision fading fast, the cold snow soaking into my uniform.
-Time Skip-
Micheal POV
I groaned, blinking my eyes. Pain blossoming across my face. "...and he just opened the door and I saw the guns!" "The guns that were on his back? And not in his hands?" "Well..." "Ugh, shut it, he's coming around now anyway." I weakly lifted my head up, meeting the gaze of three worker drones, sporting tactical vests and urban black and white BDU camo uniforms, thick blue helmets, one holding a high-tech looking spear, another with a slightly dented shovel. Two of them had light blue visor expressions, while the third had a brown one. "Hello human, do you know where you are?" I scoffed painfully. "Yeah, looking at the idiots who went and knocked me out with a fucking shovel." The one with brown eyes quickly hid the shovel behind his back, looking at his shoes sheepishly. Or feet. Worker drone biology is so confusing now that I think about it.
"I apologize for the injuries my colleagues have caused you, but that was out there, so they were expecting...others to maybe stop them." The drones stepped back, revealing a fourth worker drone, with a mustache and red goggles perched on his helmet. His eyes may have been little more than a tv screen, but I could still feel them piercing my eyes nonetheless. "Salutations officer, welcome to Outpost 9." I sniffed. "Some welcome committee." I warily eyed their weapons. "Where's Chelsey, is she alright?" "Oh she's fine, she promptly surrender after witnessing you faceplant into the snow." I glared at the drone still hiding the shovel, and he started examining the ceiling. I tried to lift my arms up, only for them to stop. I looked down, seeing bright yellow cable tightly binding me to a pillar. "Mind letting me out at some point?" Khan appeared to think for a moment. "Guys, a word please." They filed out, leaving me alone in the small room. I looked around, noting that there seemed to be air coming from the vent in the ceiling, and I glanced down at my watch, seeing the green. I utilized my shoulders and removed my gas mask, as not to waste the valuable filters. I took a deep breath of fresh air, and Khan and his friends soon wandered back inside.
"Alright officer, we've agreed you aren't a threat, if you will." Two of the drones came forward, untying the restraints. I stood up, stretching my arms. "Also, since the atmosphere outside isn't safe for your kind, we're offering a residency chance here." I raised an eyebrow. "A residency?" "If you so desire, given that your current supply of gas filters...it's not much." I nodded. "Alright, thanks for the offer. I'd be happy to stay here, just, no more shovels." One of the drones snickered. Khan stuck out his hand. "Welcome to Outpost 9." I took it, his metallic arm seeming somewhat gentle despite the tough material. "My colleague Weill will show you to your room. Weill, if you will." One of the drones with light blue eyes stepped forward, handing me my duffel bag full of food. "Thanks." He nodded, and motioned for me to follow him. I trailed behind him, passing by a multitude of facilities. Offices, clinics, soon entering what appeared to be a more...residential area. The hallway widened out to the size of a two lane street, opening into a large room, and the ceiling extended up, showing a simulated day. The digital sun shone down light a beacon, and I could see houses and buildings all around. It looked like I was back in the city, if the city had worker drones replace humans.
I saw a street vender drone give a bucket of bolts and screws to a female worker drone, who had a smaller one playing with a toy car by her side, a rainbow propeller hat perched precariously on his head. I could feel stares coming at me, and I heard whispers. "Is that a..." "I thought they were all dead?" "It's just a costume I bet." "No way..." I forced my gaze forward as a passed a group of younger-looking worker drones playing hopscotch, who's digitized expressions filled with awe and shock as I walked past. "Any chance we can get out of the street." "Hmm? Oh, sure thing." He led me into a brick school building, shutting the doors behind us. "This is faster to cut through here anyway.
??? POV
I pulled out the long-barreled rifle from behind the desk. "And that's why my project is this sick as hell railgun!" My classmates quickly ran 'terrified_for_my_life.jpg' on their visors and screamed in terror. "Uzi, we talked about this, plus, repressed emotional baggage was only worth two points on the rubric, and is it supposed to be that color?" I looked back, seeing my railgun beginning to glow a bright red. "Uhhhh..." I trailed off, quickly playing 'im_about_to_fucking_die.jpg.'
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