by M. A. Owens
Two machines were moving in the distance, near what looked like a small building. One looked like a giant spider made of metal, with cables running the length of each limb, smaller moving pieces coming together near what we could call the head. Except I’m not sure I’d call it a head. There were lights that shined brightly, even in the mid-day sun, moving independently of one another in various directions as it picked through piles of debris on the ground.
The other was smaller, standing on four legs that were thicker than the legs of the other. This one’s body was a large sphere, with what appeared to be cameras rotating in circles around it. It was not going through debris. Instead, it was passing through, independent of the other, in the direction away from us. My paw slipped on the bike, and it made a creaking sound against the seat.
Suddenly, the spider machine’s light turned red, and it pointed directly at me. My heart nearly stopped in that moment, and I found it impossible to breathe. I froze in place. Was this how it would end? Killed by one of these machines the first time I saw one. This was the fate of many of the cats out here, from what I understood. What an awful, terrifying way to go.
As quickly as it seemed to notice me, it turned back toward the pile, the light going from red to white again. A paw on my shoulder nearly sent me jumping into the sky.
“Well, looks like the cloaking device works.”
“How can you be sure of that?” I asked, trying to hide the trembling in my voice.
“Because you aren’t dead,” she said, patting me on the shoulder.
“Yeah, thanks a lot Nightshade. You really know how to put a dog at ease.”
She shrugged. “Just one problem. With machines nearby, we have no choice but to leave one of our backpacks on the bike to hide it. That means you and I will have to stay very close to one another, so we aren’t detected. I might be able to defend myself if I took my rifle with me, but only against one. Almost no one could handle two at once unless they’re expecting a fight. I can’t take my weapon with me if we plan on carrying something out, which we do. If it actually detects one of us, we’re dead.”
She reached into the bag on the side of the bike, pulling out a large bar that was folded several times, with two wheels on the end.
“I thought you weren’t going to bring in a weapon,” I said.
“Nope, no weapon. This thing’s going on the roof when we’re done. The old dog’s under the floor in that building over there.”
My eyes widened. “Oh no, do you think they’re hanging around because they know he’s there? Or they’ve already killed him?”
“Well, the first isn’t possible, but the second definitely is. Only if they ambushed him asleep, though. You’ll see why when we find him, unless the stories are exaggerated.”
I nodded. “Okay. It was my stupidity for agreeing to come.”
She laughed. “You didn’t ‘agree’, Trigger. It was your idea, remember? Turned out to be a good one, I think. Well, let’s go see it through.”
Oh, she was right. It was my idea, and part of me now regretted it. I couldn't believe this was something Nightshade encountered regularly. And without a cloaking device? I couldn't imagine how.
“Stay close to me, Trigger. My life is in your paws,” she said, making a break for the building.
I ran close behind her. Twice the machine looked up, but quickly returned to the salvage it was scraping through. I suppose it could hear us but couldn’t detect anything when it looked at us. That was enough, but the fact it could detect us in any way at all made me nervous.
We stopped at a wide door attached to the building, and Nightshade kneeled down to the ground, looking around. A moment later, she pulled a rope from beneath the dirt, raising the door. The red light glowed on us once again but disappeared soon after.
“That’s too creepy,” I said. “You sure it won’t kill us?”
“Nope,” Nightshade said, squeezing herself under the door. “Wait there while I raise it the rest of the way.”
A loud shriek of metal against metal came from inside, and the door raised fully.
“What do you mean, ‘nope’? Nope, you aren’t sure that thing won’t kill us, or nope it won’t?” I asked, having a hard time swallowing her lack of explanation.
“Nope. I’ve never used one of these before. Just read about them, but Trigger, shut up for a minute and look at this! It’s an old transportation vehicle. I read about these. This one used gasoline, a kind of fuel that was sort of mined from the earth. Oh, wow. I wish those machines weren’t out there. I’d try to get this thing running.”
“Nightshade!” I said, pointing to my backpack. “Borrowed time, remember. Let’s get Link, whatever parts Moss needs we can grab fast, and let’s get out of here. I feel like we’ve been here too long already.”
She waved her paw at me. “Oh, keep your hat on, Trigger. There are definitely parts for Moss in this car. Here, come turn your back to me so I can throw stuff in your pack.”
I walked over and turned sideways, wanting to monitor both her and the door. “Make it quick,” I said.
She pulled out a door on the car, and sighed. “Fine. What are you, a big pup all of a sudden?”
“Yeah, I am. I’m scared to death of that thing out there and I feel like I should be,” I said.
“Yep, you should be,” she said as she grunted, pulling out a pawful of what looked like wire.
I looked over to a table on the other side of the room, where an entire spool of the stuff was.
“If you needed wire, why didn’t you just get the spool over there?”
“Look, Trigger, I know you’re in a hurry, but don’t try to tell me how… Oh, wow, you’re right. A spool of wire. So it is.”
She threw the loose wire back into the car, and grabbed the spool, dropping it into my backpack, then pointed to the corner of the room. “According to the information I’ve read, it should be right over there. Would you like to do the honors?”
I nodded. “Anything to get us out of the sight of that machine.”
Nightshade pointed to a white box, fixed on a pole jutting from the floor, about eye level. “Push the button on top and take a deep breath. We’re about to meet your ancestor. Unless he’s dead. Then I guess it’ll be more like a museum visit. Still fun, right?”
“Hilarious. Tell the same joke to him when he wakes up,” I said, grinning.
“No thank you,” she said, grabbing my paw and pushing it on top of the button, then shrugged. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a flashlight. “After you. You are his relative, after all. You should go first.”
“Nice logic,” I said. “What are you, a big kitten all of a sudden?”
“Ugh… Okay, that’s totally fair. I’m a little scared of being underground like this.”
“Underground, but not on the surface when one of those death robots is shining a red light in your face?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“Hey, we’ve all got our weaknesses, Detective. Now, if you don’t mind, we’ve got a legendary hero to recruit.”
I took a deep breath and made the first step down the metal stairs.
16
As we descended, the way was lit by lights that seemed to know we were there and followed our movements. The area below was smaller than expected and looked similar to Joy’s clinic. Except far more advanced. Against the furthest wall was a capsule, much larger than me. I assumed this was our target, but there was only one problem.
“It’s… empty,” I said. “The door’s wide open.”
“Yeah, but do you see the steam coming out of it? It hasn’t been abandoned long. Only seconds, and I think you know what that means.”
“No, Nightshade, I don’t know what that means. Aren’t we supposed to retrieve this guy? Why would he try to escape?”
A shout came from a cabinet to our right, as a creature burst out, sending the metal doors flying to each side. What emerged looked only vaguely like a dog. He was more machine than dog. His arm was metal,
along with half his torso and both legs. Half his face was metal too. But he was definitely a dog. Skeletal in his appearance. He must have been on the verge of a death from old age and injuries when they put him in here.
“Shameful guard!” he roared, kicking me into Nightshade, sending both of us toppling onto the floor. Thankfully, the coat came into good use, or he’d have broken my bones. Weren’t we supposed to be allies?
“Stop!” Nightshade shouted. “We’re your friends. We came to retrieve you, not fight you!”
“Fight? Hah! You’re joking. If you consider that a fight, then it’s a good thing you woke me up. It’s amazing we’ve produced such weaklings in only a few decades.”
Nightshade stood to her feet and helped me to mine. “It’s been… a little longer than that,” she said, looking down at the floor.
“What did you say?” he asked, stomping toward us. He grabbed both of us by the collar and lifted us into the air. “You lie!”
“We didn’t come here to lie to you, metal brain,” I said. “If you’d rather nap than fight, get back in your bed over there.”
He dropped us and burst out laughing. “Ah, there we go. At last, some spirit! Retrieve my weapon from the wall over there, pup. I will smash every last machine into dust this time. Tell me, pup, how many do we number these days? Dozens, or maybe more than a hundred by now?”
“Thousands,” I said, knowing it would be the answer he’d want to hear, but wouldn’t understand.
He roared with laughter. “Thousands? This war will be nothing. We will crush the colossus with a might never seen on this earth. If he struggled to wipe out dozens of our people, let’s see how he fares against more than a thousand!”
He pointed to a large hammer, hanging on hooks next to the stairs we just went down. It looked like it weighed a ton, but maybe it was made of some kind of ultra-light material. I walked over and grabbed it, lifting with all my might.
“Must be stuck,” I said, before trying again.
He narrowed his eyes. “What?”
“I said it’s stuck! Must be fused to these hooks after so many years.”
He walked slowly over, pushing me aside. With no observable effort, he grabbed the hammer with one paw and lifted it onto his shoulder.
“What’s wrong with you, pup? I knew you wouldn’t be as strong as me, but you should have been able to lift it with two arms easily. Explain yourself!”
Nightshade took a step forward, putting her paw on my shoulder. “A lot has changed, Link. Dogs… well… the abnormal physical abilities you had in your time are gone. Dogs are equal to cats in physical ability now. They’re just… normal.”
He wrapped his giant metal hand around her head, lifting her up off the ground. “This must be your people’s doing! You envied our strength, and when you couldn’t become powerful yourselves, you took our power from us. That’s why you left me here longer than you were supposed to, fearing my vengeance. Traitors!”
I grabbed his arm, but I couldn’t budge it, even with my full strength. “Stop! You weren’t betrayed. Kerdy talked about you like a friend she respected, but you’re so much different from your legend. You clearly don’t think as highly of her as she does of you.”
He sighed and dropped Nightshade to the ground. “It will be my respect for the cat leader that saves your life today, kitten. But know that I will never call her my commander, as you do. She would have to prove herself worthy, and she will never be worthy. However, she made her best effort to save my people, and this dog is evidence she succeeded. She also used your precious resources to grant my wish for another battle against the colossus. Because of that, I owe her my end of that bargain.”
“Then can you stop grabbing us, so we can leave?” Nightshade asked, clenching her teeth.
“I know the way, kitten. No need for your escort,” he snorted.
“No. You don’t know the way. We’ve moved since then. A lot.”
He sighed. “Of course you have. Obviously, I expected too much from Kerdy. Poor thing. You must have dealt with so many losses and retreats trying to resist the machines with your weak bodies and sub-par battle skills. Soldiers? Hah!”
“Actually, we’re warriors now. We have been for a long time now. The commander respected you that much. Obviously, she let nostalgia taint her memories of what an arrogant jerk you are.”
He burst into laughter once again. “Oh, little kitten. Such a small, weak, and frail thing you are. Take me to Kerdy and let’s see this fighting force she dares to call warriors. What a mockery.”
“Just let it go, Nightshade,” I said under my breath.
“Fine!” Nightshade said, punching the rail connected to the stairs, before stomping back up to the garage. “But you’re going to have to be patient, Mister Elite Dog Warrior. We have to install a communication antenna on the roof. This place has the perfect power source for it. We’re small, weak, and frail, remember? We lost a lot of ground we have to make up for. This place hasn’t been under our control for a long time. It’s a miracle they didn’t discover you here.”
“I’m not surprised you lost our hard-fought territory in the slightest. Maybe I’m surprised you haven’t lost it all. Well, make it quick. I want to speak to Kerdy as soon as possible. She has a lot to answer for.”
He stepped away from us, toward the garage door.
“You’ll have to stay near us,” I said. “There are machines out there. We have cloaking devices so they can’t see us. If you stay close, they won’t be able to see you, either.”
A grin spread across his boney face. “You mean that one, there?” he asked, pointing to the spider-like machine still rummaging through scrap.
“Yeah, that one. So, stay close and let’s try to get back in one piece.”
“You must be joking, pup. Is even this enough to frighten a dog now? Pay attention.”
He strolled out of the door, and I struggled to keep up.
“You may want to stand back. Inside the door should be far enough,” he said, holding up his paw as I was about to run out behind him.
Once he put some distance between us, the machine sensed him. It stood up straight and moved toward him with amazing speed. However, what happened next was surreal, and I couldn’t make sense of it. All I did was blink, and Link’s hammer was straight through the machine and partially buried in the ground. Pieces of metal flew like he shot them out of cannons in all directions, and I had to duck behind the doorway to avoid being hit by the debris. I looked up to see Nightshade standing on the other side of the car, using it as cover, with her jaw about to hit the floor.
Link slammed his metal arm through the center of the damaged machine and pulled out a small box with dozens of wires coming out of all sides. He gave it a squeeze, causing a small explosion, sending black smoke out to cover the area. When it cleared, Link was standing there with his hammer resting on his shoulder again. “Something like this isn’t even a nuisance. It’s barely worthy of target practice for the cat gunners. You could have kept it as a pet. Warriors? Neither of you are worthy of speaking the name.”
They had this guy once in a battle against the colossus, and dozens like him, and they still lost? What hope did we have, then? Besides, this dog looked like he was about to die of natural causes at any moment. He’d been in some kind of weird hibernation for who knows how long, and maybe his heart would give out on him ten seconds into the battle. His strength was impressive, but I couldn’t help but truly feel we were doomed.
“That impressed? Hurry and install your communication tower, kitten. My patience with the two of you is wearing thin.”
“Great, so you can show off!” Nightshade said, waving her paw at him frantically. “It still wasn’t necessary to do that. You know they call for reinforcements when they’re destroyed. Or did you forget that?”
He dropped his hammer off his shoulder and let the head hit the ground, resting his chin on the bottom end of the handle. “Well, then I guess you better move quickly, huh?” He
smiled with genuine amusement.
“Ugh, you!” Nightshade shouted, hurrying up the ladder attached to the side of the building. “Everyone is going to be disappointed with how different you are from the romantic legends that have been passed down about you over the years.”
Link continued to watch her, with the same smile on his face. “Good. They can’t possibly be more disappointed than I am, but they deserve a taste of it.”
Nightshade only grunted, as she struggled to install the communication tower in a hurry while ignoring Link’s provocations, expecting reinforcements might arrive at any moment. Lucky for us, she knew what she was doing, and made quick work of it.
“Great, now to test it, and we’ll get out of here,” she said.
She flipped a switch, and immediately the small device strapped to her shoulder started chattering.
“Where?” one voice shouted.
“Thirty miles now, and closing in. ETA four hours. All other scouts are to fall back,” another shouted.
Another voice joined in, but this one was familiar. Kerdy. “Where is Nightshade? Nightshade, if you can hear this, stop ignoring us.”
“Probably dead, if she was in that thing’s path. Sorry, Kerdy,” another said.
“I didn’t ask you!” Kerdy replied.
Nightshade squeezed the device and spoke. “Nightshade here. Sorry, was a little busy in distant territories. What’s happening?”
“This is why you don’t leave without letting someone know where you’re going, Nightshade. It’s the colossus,” Kerdy said. “It’s been spotted, and it’s heading straight for us.”
17
“But… But we should have had weeks to go, or more!” Nightshade said, jumping down from the roof.
“How soon can you be back?” Kerdy asked, her voice calm.
“I don’t know. Three hours?” Nightshade replied, fumbling with the bike seats, trying to make room for Link.