A.I.

The Dome

Images flashed on my eyelids of endless code. It seemed like nonsense, random jumbled up letters and numbers. A few words caught my eye; DOME, COLD, WAR. I awoke suddenly in a cold, cell-like room. There was no bed, I was just lying there on the concrete. I looked at my clothes, all black and silky; running shoes, pants, a jacket, and a blank t-shirt. The door at the far side of the cell had no handle, but slid open after I got to my feet. I cautiously exited the cell into a long, dark hallway. To my right the corridor continued almost indefinitely, lined with more cell doors. To my left was a double door which I slowly pushed open. I was in a large waiting room, the walls covered in vines. My sleeve got caught on a thorn-covered vine, revealing a tattoo on my right forearm. It said AI_D3N. Aiden? Maybe that was my name, I couldn't remember anything before my dream. I made my way towards the door. My foot hit a broken lead pipe. I picked it up. It was heavy, but my instincts told me I'd need it. I exited the building through a metal door.

The light was blinding, I must have been in the building for a while. When my vision returned I saw a few tall buildings, most billowing smoke from gaping holes. One collapsed a few miles down the road, crushing a few cars and a semi-truck. The first other living thing I saw, besides the vines, was a spider the size of a large dog. It was crawling up the side of a few cars. It looked like a wreck, but mosses and other plants covered everything. How long had I been asleep? The spider saw me and screeched. I raised my pipe as it scurried toward me. It pounced and I hit it out of the air. The creature screeched as it flung to the concrete and shriveled like paper in a fire. I made sure it was dead with a swift kick in the hairy body. It rolled over, definitely dead. I kept walking down the road among the old cars.