No one knew what would lie ahead. We were venturing into clandestine, unknown territory. We didn't know how we would fare, the amount of enemies or whether our survival was sure. All we knew was fear; fear we attempted to quench yet seemingly failed. It rose and clawed like the cruel talons of a hawk, or perhaps a spiralling tornado. Impending, bearing down on us like we were its prey. Fear was ravenous, so very ravenous.
We remained in a taciturn companionship, standing to attention like astronauts preparing for flight. Ironically, in some ways we were astronauts; we were delving above into a terrain unfamiliar to us. Whether we lived or perished was uncertain. Anything could go wrong, any malfunction or human fault could occur and thus condemn us to agony, torture, interrogation or straight out death. It was most likely the latter - from what we had seen currently from the robots their compassion was minimal.
Slowly, Chris raised the opening latch into which we would leave, eyes wide as light streamed into the small opening.
The cold rays hungrily gripped at us, observed us, leaving no room for decency as the light invaded us. We were unused to the brilliant lustre. We all squinted. We all stared.
From my vantage point I could glimpse a sliver of building, a grey, desolate invitation to doom. Everything was slated, new yet old, unused and abandoned, left to thrive like mere bacteria.
"Clear." Chris whispered, his voice disturbing the thick tension, yet not distinguishing it. Then, he hauled himself upwards, movements cautious, considerate.
A pause. A breath. "Alright. Robyn, come up." His arm snaked back into the tunnel. Gripping onto it, Robyn was too hefted upward, swallowed by the light. I soon followed.
Standing up, I rapidly blinked, now submerged in this contrasting brightness. Carefully shielding my optics with a hand, I only had a moment to shiver in the stark surroundings before Chris signalled for us to shuffle into a building.
"We're here. That's the main thing." Chris murmured.
"Will we stay here?"
"No. We'll move down the street a little, but we won't go far today. Are everyone's guns loaded?" At Chris's inquiry, my hand moves to my belt, taking out the metal weapon with an almost apprehensive air. This wasn't training. I'll actually use it. The moment was threatening; whether it was today, tomorrow, I would shoot.
I would kill.
------------------
Gleefully, the butterflies in my belly swooped and soared, revelling in the turmoil they were causing. Imminently, we were moving out of our current position. Throughout the day we had fearfully heard the monotonous thud of metal footsteps, yet they all passed without trouble. Despite this, they were still frequent, and not regular to the extent we could map out a schedule of their movement.
A twitch of Chris's fingers indicated we were to leave, so we did, exiting the arch of the door and into the imposing street. We had decided to explore our current street and possibly the next intersection. From the end of our current place going right would lead us further into the bowels of the city, deeper into the labyrinth we were required to become accustomed to.
It was different from when I was searching for the canoe ( of which we had left in the tunnel ), for the danger was more prominent, the buildings closer to together in their choking embrace. It was horrible.
Ducking into the next large house, we sussed out the layout. It was the same to the one we had just been in - a hallway at the start, leading into a large room, next to a smaller room. The stairs led up to three bedrooms and a smaller closet feature. If it was done up I could see the appeal of staying there. But everyone was living on the outskirts, whilst the enemy was hiding something here...
"Footsteps." Robyn whispered, snapping me out of my thoughts. With as much haste as possible, we crouched down.
Click clack click clack
Click clack click clack
Click --
It had stopped, right in front of our building. It was unclear how many there were - the way they progressed meant it all blended into one progressing rumble.
A faint whine seeped into my ears - a scanner? Oh no...
My fears were confirmed. "Life forms detected. Dispose of immediately." Came the robotic drawl; a flashback from the encounter with the gun raced through my mind.
We barely had time to launch into the next room before our previous hiding wall was blasted, the rubble scattering like kicked up stones.
Robyn muttered a profanity under her breath. They knew we were here, they were coming for us. "We'll have to fire back." She hissed.
"Life forms not destroyed. Move in." The footsteps penetrated the hole where the doorway was, steadily coming in our direction.
Click clack click clack
"On my command, jump out of the window. If there are some outside, shoot them. If not - run. Follow me." Chris murmured in reply.
Click clack click clack
"Now!" We jumped. Gunfire erupted behind us as we crashed into the street, already damaged clash scattering around us. Chris swore - a shard must've been embedded in him when he led the way.
Looking behind me, I saw two robots positioned outside. Without thinking, I raised my gun and fired rapidly. I hit one; Robyn hit another. Smoke started pouring from their systems. Launching a few more rounds into them, we then legged it, tearing down the street after Chris.
The sound of our footsteps here was different. More hollow. It didn't echo of much. It made me feel eerily homesick.
"Quickly!" Chris yelled. Desperation tinged his tone as we sped round the corner, running, running.
Click clack click clack
They were after us.
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{Dun dun dunnnnnn! I hope you're enjoying it! Any votes and comments would be appreciated! Next chapter will be coming soon, don't worry! I don't know how much longer this will be, but it'll at least go to thirty chapters? I'm not so sure as of yet! Enjoy!}
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Monotone | ✔️
Action"If we were so riveted in the spectrum of nature, why did we stand, petrified, as we became corrupted by idle technology, stupefied by glowing screens, stolen from life as we know it from enemies right under our noses? Why did we relent to this obvi...
