Mind of Machine, Heart of Man

Prologue

The world stood silent besides the crunching of dead leaves and tall grass. All around were proof of nature's power when left untamed. Grass reached for the sky making the ground almost invisible. The sun was tucked away behind the gray clouds covering the sky. A slight breeze was present but not enough to be of any use cooling down. Leaves rattled higher up on the branches of an overgrown oak tree which stood looming over a small traveling group. The soft hum of drone propellers among the traveler cut through the eerie silence. Leading the small group was a well built man dressed in black garb. His dark brown, messy hair was striking against his attire yet still intimidating. He had bright brown eyes and stood over six foot. Two drones buzzed around his head glowing in a hue of bright blue.. The iridescent light lit up the dark field and cast blue shadows on the grass and trees around. The man in black glanced at the two hovering drones before looking off at his surroundings. The grass around them had changed into a dirt path leading to an abandoned farm house. The house had been a gorgeous white at some point in time but now had paint peeling off the outside walls. The porch had begun to rote from weather and a towering oak tree shaded the entire house. A large red barn stood nearby in a field surrounded by a fence which had collapsed long ago.

"We can check there." The large man pointed at the farmhouse with his gloved hand.

The drones quickly buzzed in front of him and went still for a moment, their lights turned off. After a second or two, the lights of the hovering robot lit up again.

"Tyler, we scanned the area. From what we have seen there is no signs of enemy life. You are good to continue with the mission although remain cautious." A voice came from a drone with a navy blue triangle painted onto its side. The voice seemed monotone, lacking emotion and almost seeming fake.

Tyler nodded before starting down the dirt path to the crumbling house. Once there, he stepped cautiously onto the porch. Overgrown rose bushes wrapped around the crumbling wooden fence on the worn down porch. A giant tree stood in the yard, it's branches intertwined with each other and overgrown. The first thing Tyler noticed once on the porch was that the door had been barricaded shut. Garden chairs and other random objects had been slammed against the metal door. The windows had also been barricaded with random scraps of sheet metal. He paused as once again the two drones scanned the area.

Tyler glanced back at the drone with the blue triangle waiting for him to speak before remembering they weren't connected anymore and began to remove the chairs. In no time at all, the chairs and other items had been removed from the white door and were now strewn across the damaged white porch. Spiders ran under the different chairs after having been disrupted. Tyler carefully grabbed the door handle before trying to open it. It turned before the fake golden handle fell off into his light coloured hand. He frowned before pushing on the door, a high pitched creaking sound was emitted from the metal hinges. The door opened fully to reveal a room coated in dust. The only light in the large living room was being cast from the door. The dark light from the hidden sun barely did anything when it came to brightening up the room. One of the drones took initiative and flew quickly to the center of the room. Within seconds, the room was basked in a familiar iridescent blue glow. The other drones swooped in and scanned the house. Tyler followed and looked around at the surroundings. A dusty couch the color of a dirty fox sat under a barricaded window near a small coffee table with a broken leg. A wooden piano stained to be the colour of a darker wood than oak sat nearby with many of the keys missing. The ceiling and walls were torn with a chandler broken and laying on the ground. The door handle on the front door had been snapped off from the inside and was nowhere to be found. The part that had caught Tyler's attention was that the inside of the door had been scratched with long claw like marks running from the top to the bottom, almost like a caged animal was trying to get out. A wave of nervousness washed over him before a flash of motion moved in the corner of his eye followed by a loud thud of footsteps. Tyler stepped back in alarm and quickly brandished his pistol as his eyes darted around for what had moved. Besides the hovering drones and the slight electric charge from the barrel of his pistol the house was still. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft whirl of the drones and his own quickened breathing. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining anything as the two drones flew over to him. Tyler glanced around nervously before standing up straighter and taking a deep breath.

This is what you trained for. Don't blow it. He thought before he forced his breathing to slow, though he didn't put away his pistol. Dust hung in the air of the musty house as they continued to look around. Tyler sighed nervously as his eyes scanned the walls. He did a double take after noticing a small hallway near the kitchen. He aimed his gun forward before stepping cautiously onto the cold yellow stained and peeking down the hallway. He pressed his back to the wall and stared down into the pitch black hall. There was silence for a moment. No motion and no sounds besides the drones. He began to let down his guard before a loud thud echoed at the end of the hallway. He quickly pulled his head back into the living room and pressed his back to wall as hard as he could. His breathing was quick and harsh. The beating sound of his own racing heartbeat drowned out any other sound. He waited a second before looking down the hallway as the two drones appeared next to him. His eyes darted around the black hall before his blood turned cold as ice. Out of the darkness, a pair of glowing red lights lit up at the other end. Tyler's breathing stopped and he stared at the lights before snapping back to reality and shouting at the drones. He turned and raced back through the living room. His feet snagged on the rug but in his hurry he managed to catch his balance. The drones quickly followed after him out the open front door. Once outside, Tyler whipped around and slammed the heavy metal door closed. He frantically shoved the one of the white painted patio chairs against the door. He gasped for breath once his heart rate slowly began to back to normal. He began placing the rest of the patio furniture against the door. His hands shook slightly as he sat the last piece of furniture down and his heart rate and breathing had yet to return to normal, he jumped as a loud thud slammed against the door. He whipped around quickly and addressed the drones.

"We need to report back to the city now! They must not be dead!"

All that followed was silence. Tyler's expression morphed into one of confusion. He repeated himself incase the mics didn't pick him up. Again, silence. He stepped back slowly and repeated himself one more time, this time, silence wasn't the reply. At once the drones all turned to face him in unison. Tyler's light brown eyes went wide in confusion. There was silence again for a moment before a painful, and very hot sensation jolted through his brain. Tyler screamed as he fell to his knees. The impact of his weight on the white painted porch caused a loud thud that Tyler didn't hear due to the ringing and pounding in his ears. His eyes were forced closed and his hands grasped his head desperately to drown out the pain and piercing sound, but the pain didn't end. He let out another scream of agony before he forced his eyes open. The world was blurred as if he had been crying but no tears fell from his eyes. The sight in front of him was nothing but two blurry drones hovering above him, their propellers whirling softly, before at once, the world went black.

Immediately after that, it was said he was killed by rogue gangs. Tyler Loserof, had been reported dead.