The Arena (Book 1)

Tigris

The staircase creaks and shifts under my feet, causing me to trip and lose my balance. Every now and then I hear loud noises in the distance, gunfire and yelling. By now I can't tell if it's the audience or the robots. As I reach the entrance of the building, I cautiously look around to see if there is anyone else near me.

"Okay 004, what needs to be done first...weapons. You need to find your weapons first. You won't survive long without 'em." I talk to myself, trying to think rationally about the situation.

Suddenly I hear footsteps running close to me. I dart back into the building, hoping I wasn't seen.

"Hello? Who's there?" Someone hisses from around the corner. I don't reply, so she persists, "I saw you run around there, I'm armed so I will engage if you do not show yourself." Her voice reflects a hint of an accent. Finally, I decide to surrender and I slowly walk around the corner, my hands held in the air as a sign of my lack of guns.

"Please don't shoot." I quietly say.

"You killed Guillotine didn't you...in round 2?" She asks, still aiming her gun at me.

"Yeah," I say sheepishly. She lowers her gun and walks over to me.

"Then I consider you an ally. I'm Tigris." She reaches out and shakes my hand.

"I'm 004. I didn't know you could have allies." I say shocked.

"Well, there's no rule against it, but it rarely ever happens."

"I see," I say, accepting her alliance.

"Do you have your weapons?" She asks.

"No, I only just got off the stairs." I reply, "How did you get yours?"

"Oh, I had a run in with a couple of the AI. Luckily they weren't after me though. They were after 009. Don't know if he's okay, but anyway I ran into a building to hide and I found a bag with my weapons in it." She explains.

"Well, we should go find mine," I suggest.

"You're right, but we gotta do it fast. See those clouds over there," She points off in the distance at dark clouds rolling in, "Those are storm clouds, and remember, we can't touch water. A few drops of rain could immobilize us."

"Right, then let's go. Where do you think they'd be?" I ask. The city is so huge it's like finding a needle in a haystack.

"I honestly don't know, dear. But if I had to guess I'd say around the edge of the city. They always put supplies there." I nod but soon she adds, "But a lot of action goes on there. It'll be very risky getting your weapons, especially with the rain coming."

"We have to get my weapons. I won't survive without them." I insist.

"Alright, then we best hurry." We both start running towards the furthest north edge of the city, closest to us. Suddenly a loud crack of thunder erupts throughout the sky. We both stop for a moment, but this only makes out steps faster as we continue on. I just hope we don't run into any of the other robots or the AI. Because if so, I'll be relying on a practical stranger to save my life. I can already tell something will go wrong.