The Nuclear Project

Chapter Two

I'm filled with relief as I see a small red light turn on from the HQ in the heart of town, and a small dome appear soon after. My eyes quickly adjust to the lighting and I look around and see a bunch of androids making their way across town. One flies up to our window and says, "Remain calm and stay inside. The dome will be working momentarily. a backup dome has been activated to protect all of us from radiation. As this backup dome was only built a few months ago, it has never been tested and is not nearly as efficient as the regular dome, but it will be able to function properly for at least seventy two hours. We apologize for the inconvenience." The android flies away.

"So it actually took the dome breaking for them to fix it." I say, trying to hide my frustration and come off as sounding casual.

I turn on the radio, not expecting to hear anything, but I'm curious.

"-Reports just came in that the dome is said to be finished in three to four hours. Though these are are just estimations, and we are not sure. The mayor of Loweville has the best available androids working on the dome. We asked the head android in charge of architecture and building, Odyssey, his thoughts on this startling turn of events.
'While the backup dome is doing it's job protecting the citizens of Loweville, we've never tested it before and it's nowhere near as powerful as the regular dome. Estimations say that the power on the backup dome will only last seventy two hours, but that has not been proven. We're working as fast as we can to fix the dome, so we advise you to stay indoors as radiation levels are too high for humans.'

In related news, suspicious footage was found earlier of an unrecognizable android tampering with the control panels in the HQ. Androids are investigating further into this. When asked, the sheriff android said, 'We don't know who they were, or what they were trying to do, but we're currently reviewing the footage and interrogating androids. We've sent out a team to investigate the HQ.'  While not much has been found out, police have gathered a list of suspects matching the android  in the picture, and while the majority of the suspected androids have an alibi, there was one andr-SCREE!"

The radio turns to static before cutting out completely. I try turning the radio off and on again with no luck.

"What happened?" Asks Barley. "HQ's supposed to be off limits to everyone... Do you think that... Whoever stopped that broadcast... Might've been the android who was in the HQ?" He asks, slightly worried.

I look at Barley. "I think whoever was in HQ also had something to do with the dome breaking."

I reach to turn off the radio but before I can, I hear a small buzz coming from the radio.

"Loweville... Is... Danger... Killer... No humans... NOT SAFE!"

The radio goes back to static for a minute.

"We're sorry for the inconvenience, but this broadcast is over. Thank you for listening."

The radio cuts out and Barley immediately turns it off.
"That last voice on the radio... That wasn't any of the regular reporters... It was like... Almost like a recording..." He says.
"Didn't you hear the guy just before the radio went to static?!" I shout in a panic. Barley shakes his head.
I take a deep breath in an attempt to calm down before saying, "I'm not a hundred percent, but from what I heard, he said that Loweville's in danger... That it's not safe." Barley tilts his head to one side. "Barley, he said there was... Is a killer... And none of us are safe."