Sarcophagus

The Co-op

      They looked up at the giant Tower dominating the landscape. The sleek tower was an ancient monolith, a reminder of another time, it was a monument to the human race. The two of them stood there and just looked at the building. At some point it dawned on them that they were not alone. They slowly looked at one another and just stared, they couldn't understand why they were there or even why they stared at each other.

      " What do we do now?" He asked her.

      " I don't know." She said back

      Out in the perimeter of the tower, where the light didn't penetrate the darkness, something moved. A dark form stood just in the shadows, and regarded them silently. A metal arm alarm protruded from the darkness and beckoned them over. As they walked over their metal feet crunched loudly on the gravel. They walked over just before the light turned dark and stood there. Even though the mysterious figure was cloaked in darkness, they could tell this was a giant figure. Red eyes peered out of the darkness at the pair.

      "There are many questions, but I only have a few answers. What can I tell you is that for whatever reason you have been deemed cast-off, the human society has no need for you anymore and you now reside in these metal bodies." The low gravelly voice from the stranger told them.

      "I don't know who you are or anything about your past. I do know that I have found several like us, and we have banded together. You are welcome to go with me. I must let you know about the dangers of being out here alone. Machines are not looked upon in a favorable way. So I offer you refuge with us, and if you want my protection then come with me." As he finished you walked away.

      The pair glanced at each other, and as if having a silent conversation, began to follow the stranger. He was a hard person to miss at seven feet tall, with a gun metal gray frame. And in the large brown cloak, he definitely was an intimidating figure.

      "After the war." He began randomly as they walked. " Mankind split into two schools of thought, even though machinery had aided the war that resulted in the deaths of millions, there were those who believed that man was the cause and that machines weren't to blame. On the other side, Humanity blamed technology for the downfall of society. They longed for a time before the ruination of human civilization. Eventually differences arose and they split into two factions. The Human League and the Prophets of Love. That's your newbie history lesson for the day." He said as he fell silent on the march. 

      The low light that the moon gave off aided in their travel, but soon the pair realized that their vision had enhanced greatly and they could see pretty well in the low light. The three of them trudged on through the night, in this new state they did have certain advantages. They've been on the move all night, no sore feet, no fatigue. The sun began to cross the horizon when they finally reached our destination. The wind blew across the desolate plain, whipping the cloak around the stranger.

      The entrance jutted out of the ground, the tall stranger walked right up to the door, entered a code on a panel and the doors split open. The pair quickly followed as lights came on as their feet clanked against the steel floor. The entrance to the bunker was lined with arms, legs and other machine men, in different states of disrepair.

      "What's the deal with them?'' he asked.

      "That's what I was talking about earlier, our mechanized kind are not often kindly treated." He snapped back at us as we continued deeper into the base.

      The base was larger than it seemed, they walked for what felt like ages. The stranger stopped at a set of large double doors, with another keypad entry, the doors hissed as they slid open and the stranger continued in. The pair followed closely behind as the door hissed again and shut. The room in which they entered was oval in shape, for other mechanized beings stood as they entered.