Cytronica

Thirty-nine

Diego winced as he ran. The number of corpses on the streets seemed to be increasing. "They're everywhere."

"They're attacking the other bots," Priya said. "At this rate, everyone in Cytro will be infected in no time."

"Help me!" a man cried as he tried to escape the growing horde. "Help me!"

"What should we do?" Lauren asked.

Priya's mind raced. The man was only innocent, and he certainly didn't deserve to die in such a horrific way—no one did.

"Let's do it," Diego said.

Priya reached out and grabbed his sleeve, stopping him. "No! Don't."

Diego wheeled around. "What? Come on! He needs our help!"

Lauren bit her lip. She knew Priya was right. "It's too late."

The man screamed as he was engulfed by the sea of death.

Diego watched on in horror. It made him sick to feel that he could've helped the man. "We ... we could've saved him."

Priya looked away. "We can't risk our own lives. He's just a bot. A program."

"That's not the point. He's an innocent man."

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "If this was reality, I would've risked my life to help him in a second. But in here ..." she choked on her words, not knowing what to say.

Diego clenched his jaw and nodded, seeing her point. The situation was impossible. There was no right or wrong. Not in Cytro. "I hate this."

"I do too."

"Uh, guys," Lauren said, "I think we should run."

They looked back across the street and saw the undead crowd shuffling toward them. The man who'd just lost his life stood among them.

"Whoa," Priya panted as she started running. "I didn't even see them move."

"Their movements are quiet," Lauren agreed. "If we're not careful, they'll sneak up on us."

The road seemed to stretch on for an eternity. The trio continued their quest, manoeuvring between frightened bots, deranged corpses, and flaming cars.

"There!" Diego shouted, pointing ahead. "There's the centre!"

"Finally," Priya said. "Let's get inside and stay there."

Lauren looked up at the sky. "It's almost dark. I feel sorry for anyone who's stuck outside."

"They won't last long." Priya looked at the user count on her comm. "They're dropping every minute."

"Alright, how do we get inside?" Diego asked. "I've never been here before."

"I have," Lauren said. "The entrance is over here. Follow me."

She took the lead and sprinted down the road, making her way to the front entrance.

But the closer she got, the more her heart sank. She slowed her pace, eventually coming to a complete halt. "No way."

"Oh, man," Diego muttered.

Priya glared at the blocked entrance. At least thirty of the undead surrounded the glass door, their bloodiest fists smacking into the glass, their loud shrieks catching the attention of other nearby lone corpses.

"What do we do?" Diego asked. "How do we get in?"

"Keep moving!" Priya shouted as soon as she saw movement in the corner of her eye.

Diego did as asked, narrowly avoiding being tackled to the ground. They were foolish in dropping their guard.

"Come on," Lauren called, again leading the way.

Priya clenched her fists as she ran. More possessed bots strolled toward them from in the distance. "This is bad. We're outnumbered, and they're starting to surround us."

Lauren pointed to a window on the side of the building. "Here."

Diego gazed up at it. "That's too high. We can't make it."

"I'll help you up. Stand back," she instructed, gripping the baseball bat tight and then swinging it up against the glass, shattering it to pieces. She used the bat to scrape away any jagged shards, trying to keep the entrance as clear as possible. "Diego, you first. Priya, help me."

Priya did as asked, standing at the base of the window beside Lauren. They held their arms out, grabbing each other's hands. Diego stepped on their palms and jumped, the extra boost helping him grab hold of the ledge with ease. They pushed his feet up, allowing him to climb up.

"Alright, you're next," Lauren said.

"What about you?" Priya asked.

Lauren looked about and watched the undead close in on them. "Go!"

Priya tried to protest but obeyed the girl's orders, stepping into her hand. She leapt up and grabbed Diego's arm. He helped hoist her onto the ledge.

"Let's go!" Priya shouted. "Grab our hands."

"Take this," Lauren said, holding the bat up.

Diego reached out and took it from her. "Come on, Lauren! Jump!"

But Lauren made no attempt to move. Instead, she smiled at the duo. "I'm not playing this game anymore. I'm logging out."

Priya was surprised for the briefest of seconds, but didn't bother trying to talk her out of it. Staying logged in and avoiding an army of the dead was a traumatising experience, even for the most hardened of individuals. "You sure?" she asked.

Lauren nodded. "Yep. I'm done. Just promise me you'll win this thing."

Diego exchanged a solemn look with Priya. "We will."

Priya offered a friendly salute. "Thank you. Thanks for all your help."

"I'll see you on Monday. You'll have to tell me all about it," Lauren laughed.

Priya smiled. "Deal." She turned and disappeared on the other side of the window, dropping out of view. Diego did the same.

Lauren turned around, the horde metres away. She stared into their deceased eyes, their decaying skin dropping onto the ground with every step they took.

"Good luck, guys," she whispered, then reached for her wrist and tapped the screen, disappearing from Cytro.

-----

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