War Robots: Springfield

Epilogue: Friend or Foe

Eli awoke to the sound of voices in the dark. He was laying on his back, head against his seat. Slowly he moved, testing his limbs by touch alone. Nothing felt broken, only bruised. Eli couldn't see a thing around him, but heard the light sound of broken glass when he tried to move. The voices grew closer. Were they friend or foe? Eli couldn't tell.

All he knew was that they were his only chance of rescue from the dead Griffin.

"Over here!" Someone said. A rough voice, male. Loud footsteps approached his position, echoing through the Griffin's hollow metal shell.

Eli could hear grunting, straining, and the sound of heavy breathing caused by effort. With the screeching sound of rusted metal part of the Griffin was pulled open, blinding Eli as the sun rushed in through the gap. He could just barely make out the figure that stood before him, bathed in the red of the evening sun.

"Eli Garrick?" A voice asked. It was melodic, quiet, but full of strength. A hand, wrapped in a think combat glove, reached out into the darkness.

Eli hesitated. Were these people Russian soldiers, here to aid him? Or were they TMC soldiers, come to deliver him to a much worse fate? He glanced around the dimly lit cockpit, searching for a weapon. When he found none, Eli took the hand offered to him.

The dam was the first thing Eli saw as he emerged from his Griffin. The empty Springfield riverbed shimmered in the sunset, the remaining moisture slowly draining into the hard soil. However, the dried-up river wasn't what took his breath away.

Springfield was littered with bodies, cold iron corpses that lay broken on the hills. From where Eli's Griffin had landed at the base of the dam, he counted twenty-eight totalled War Robots, some TMC, some Russian.

Eli was pulled to his feet by rough hands and stood, trying to regain his balance. His head throbbed. The impact had taken a toll, after all.

A young woman, likely in her early thirties, stood before him, staring out over the battlefield.
"They won, you know," she said. Eli couldn't pin her accent. "The Russians forced back the TMC after your stunt at the dam. Fled the territory."

Eli couldn't take his eyes off the destruction he had caused. Battle had been inevitable and he'd done the right thing, but he still felt responsible, somehow.

The woman turned back to Eli, short blonde hair cut military-style. He couldn't tell if she was a TMC pilot, or someone far more dangerous. Still those hands held him, keeping his arms behind his back. Eli felt nervous. Was this an arrest?

"Who are you?" He demanded. "What do you want from me?"

The woman hesitated.
"I'm..." She seemed to search for a word. "Call me General," she finished.

Eli stared at the battlefield. From his perch above the carnage he could make out a large cluster of American robots, all blown apart in battle. They circled one point, a ring of clear earth in the riverbed. A kill circle. At the circle's center was one piece of blue armor, charred white lettering adorning it's profile.

Spectre.

The General seemed to notice Eli's unhappiness at the carnage, and nodded approvingly.

"Do you want to help prevent anything like this from ever happening again?" She asked.

Eli nodded. He did.

The General smiled, and those hands holding him back released. Eli heard the cold metal click of a weapon being disarmed behind him.

"Eli Garrick," she said, "I think I have a job for you. Welcome to the Alliance."

Without another word, Eli was escorted away from his Griffin, flanked by two armed soldiers.
He didn't know anything about who these people were or what they wanted. He didn't even know if his ally in the Spectre had survived the fight. Were these people his allies or his captors? What wa his new 'job'?

Somewhere deep down, Eli knew that, eventually, some of these questions would be answered. But for now, friend or foe, all that mattered was that Eli had done the right thing. Springfield was safe.

The battle was over, but the Great Iron War had only just begun.

END

If you enjoyed this short story, you'll love my original full-length novel IRON EMPIRE, now available for purchase in ebook and paperback on Amazon!