Our Mutual Destruction

Chapter 3

Adlyn's POV

She cried for a long time. Her sobs echoed off the walls and broken plaster, building into a cacophony of cries until it sounded like a whole world wailed with her.

Adlyn's sobs slowly turned to whimpers, then to hiccups and the occasional dry heave. She calmed herself with a herculean effort until there was nothing left to cry out.

It took her longer than it should have to lie back on her makeshift bed and go to sleep as best she could. She needed all the sleep she could get before the screams started up again.

A bright shaft of sunlight woke her. Adlyn studied it for a while, turning her head and lifting her fingers to tangle in the thread of brightness. It seemed too innocent, too happy for the place that Earth had become.

Then, too late, she realized that the screams were absent. Immediately, she sat up, her sensors on high alert. Her knives flew into their sheaths almost by themselves, her gun was locked and loaded within seconds. Being careful not to make a noise, she stole over to a broken window and peeked outside. What she saw almost gave her a heart attack.  

The school was surrounded. Literally surrounded. As far as the eye could see, there were androids. Rows of them. All staring up at the building like the mystery of the universe was inscribed in its walls. Adlyn shuddered. All their cold, lifeless eyes staring, staring. staring... Oh great. She thought. More material to haunt my nightmares. Lovely. 

But she didn't have time to dwell on the robots. She needed to get out. Now. 

Immediately, she assumed the dead visage. Her emotions dwindled, then died. Her eyes went cold and lifeless. She couldn't see them, didn't have a mirror so she could study the sight, but she knew. Like a sixth sense, she felt herself slowly changing into the thing she feared most.

It would be too difficult to just walk out. In theory, she could. But walking through that endless sea of dread would be too much. So the next best thing would be to sneak out a back way, like an old door or something. 

Best course of action in mind, Adlyn began searching for said back exit. It would suffice to say that it was NOT easy. Every single potential exit was blocked by those horrifying androids. They were everywhere.

Until she found the hole. Sure, it led to another abandoned classroom, but this one was dark and gloomy with plenty of corners to hide. The only way in or out was the hole. It was small enough that no regular android would be able to fit into it, but large enough for an Adlyn-sized human to get through. Good enough.

Adlyn crawled into the classroom. There was no sunlight except from one shaft of it from above. It was dark, gloomy, and smelled like mold. But it was safe, and that was all that mattered.

A high pitched scream broke the eerie silence. It raised the hair on the back of Adlyn's neck, contributing to her almost constant chills. It wasn't a human wail, nor was it an android one. Animals had disappeared on Judgement day. There was no way to see outside...except the hole in the wall, high above her head. Adlyn pushed what was left of the desks below the hole, and slowly, painstakingly stacked them on top of one another. The tower of desks was by no means stable, but at least it was functional. Cautiously, Adlyn peeked outside.

*The scene ahead may be uncomfortable for certain readers. Read at your own risk*

The sight made Adlyn curse herself for her curiosity. A humanoid lay curled up on the ground. Androids were surrounding it, just like they surrounded humans, except this was one of their own. All weapons and projectiles were extended and pointing at the humanoid. It couldn't be much older than her. Repeatedly, the humanoid was punched and pummeled and tossed into the crowd. It was a Type 1, covered in android plating, but with human emotions and a human brain. Pain receptors. Flesh and blood underneath bio-engineered armor. The humanoid was thrown to the ground again. Adlyn saw something red spurt up from its arm. She squinted, then gasped, silently. 

They were tearing off its plating. That was why it was screaming. Without its plating, the humanoid would suffer a slow and painful death. Fitting, is what the Lost Men said, karma for choosing to go over to that side. The humanoid screamed again, drawing her attention back to the ground. Normally, she would have ignored it. Shut off her thoughts and saved herself. But she couldn't, for some reason. It was like she felt...sympathy.

*Safe to read from here*

It was a long shot, but it might do some good. Adlyn checked the blast gauge on her gun, then carefully aimed at the other end of the school. When she squeezed the trigger, it was like nothing happened. Then, as she watched, the building on the other side started to crumble, falling fast, and falling hard. It drew every android's attention, and before she could blink, the expanse of desert was empty.

The humanoid lay curled up where it had fallen. Blood gushed from every visible surface of its body. Adlyn aimed and fired again. A portion of the back wall crumbled into dust and blew away into the breeze. Adlyn slowly crawled out, looked around carefully, and scrambled into a position where she could see the humanoid.

There were no androids in close proximity. Perfect. As fast as she could possibly go, Adlyn darted over to the humanoid, picked up one of its legs, and began dragging it back to her hiding spot. Every bump made her cringe, and every moan from the robot made her squinch her eyes shut and expect to be shot. 

But somehow they made it. Adlyn pulled the humanoid inside and arranged it into a somewhat comfortable position on the floor. The hole in the wall was still wide open, and quite noticeable if you were looking. There was lots of rubble lying around, enough rocks to build a fortress. Adlyn grabbed the biggest one she could find, and started rolling it towards the entrance. She stepped in first, then carefully stood the rock up against the wall until the hole was entirely covered, save a few small rays of sunshine. 

Adlyn studied the creature. Upon closer examination, she found that it was a boy. He looked to be about her age, if not a bit older. The blood from his wounds had stopped gushing, and as Adlyn watched, his suit began to knit itself back together. Pieces of machinery slid out from under metal plating and locked into place, gashes and broken bones mended in front of her eyes, small fibers wound themselves around broken joints.

It only took about 20 minutes for the humanoid to be completely fixed. Almost like one newly made. He lay there, breathing, but not making any other motion. Adlyn crept closer until his face was right next to hers. She fingered one of her knives absentmindedly, watching the flutter of his eyelashes.  

And then his eyes opened, as red as new blood.

________________________________________________________________________________

And that's Chapter 3. Tell me what you think and make me smile by clicking that star!