New
York City
458 Days after Incident
The city was silent as B-295 walked slowly down the street, he always took the silence as an early warning it meant that they were close by, he avoided wearing the human clothes that he kept in his bag since they were what had wiped out the humans also haywires were prime to attacking humans or anything for that matter the clothes were only needed for the cold nights, a noise came from a building across the street B-295 quickly pulled out the handgun aiming it at the source of the noise although the katana would quieter the gun had better range, he kept walking but walked slowly to avoid making any unnecessary noise, he kept scanning the building as he passed behind an abandoned car he repeated the numbers “286” when he was clear of the building he ran round the corner until he heard the sound of birds and knew it was safe, a convenience store was just down the road, B-295 opened the door slightly and peered inside. The shop was silent, he crept inside holding the gun bodies lay dead on the floor some twisted and mutilated, the sight of bodies no longer bothered him since the city was full of them, he checked the aisles to make sure none of them were hiding out inside, the store was clear and B-295 went about looking for supplies for his journey. He went from shelf to shelf muttering to himself “Power cells, power cells, power AH there we go” he found the DROID power cells and inserted three into his chest reserve and the rest into his bag along with his ammo, other DROID supplies were on the aisle such as repair kits for minor scratches and larger kits for cracks and circuit burnouts everything necessary went into the bag, he sat down near the door with one of the M-R kits working on a couple scratches then wrapped tape around a damaged part of his lower left arm and his left hand, he glanced outside to make sure nothing was lurking outside, he remembered the days before they came the days when he was programmed only to serve…
Up State New York
Day of the Incident
Green always seemed to the primary colour of the Collinwood suburb, people out walking their dogs, children playing in the yards, B-295 was in the kitchen preparing breakfast when John Watkins entered the kitchen, the man smiled upon seeing the DROID “Morning 295” B-295 glanced over his shoulder “Good morning sir” Watkins sat down at the breakfast table “What cooking wonders have you prepared today?” B-295 replied whilst flipping the bacon over in the pan “Bacon, beans, sausage, scrambled egg and three slices of toast” Watkins glared over the newspaper he had started reading “Crispy bacon?” B-295 kept his focus on the food preparations “Always sir” Watkins returned to his paper with a smile “Wonderful”. Emily John’s wife walked into the kitchen she smiled at her husband “Good morning” she kissed John on the cheek he replied “Morning” B-295 walked over with two cups of coffee Emily took the cup and gave a polite nod and smile “Thank you B” B-295 nodded back in approval “You’re welcome ma’am” he walked back to the oven and put the food on the plates, then walking over to Watkins and Emily he placed them on the table “Will the Miss be joining us?” Emily took a sip from a fresh cup of coffee “I think she is getting ready, could you go check on her?” B-295 responded “Of course” he headed up the stairs. Down the hall he stood in front of Ella’s door he knocked three times a voice came from the other side “Come in” he opened the door and walked inside, Ella turned to see B-295 she smiled “Good morning Tin Man” he replied “Good morning Dorothy breakfast is ready” Ella got up from the bed “Great, any word from the network?” B-295 nodded “Heather will be running late but everyone will meet you at the mall” Ella grabbed her phone and placed it in her pocket “Thanks Tin Man”.
B-295 continued about the house performing his morning duties, he approached Watkins who was getting ready for work “Don’t worry about dinner for me 295 I will be back late tonight” B-295 interjected “Actually sir I was wondering to ask you, I have been working a lot of overtime lately I will need to be at the station for approximately 48 hours” Watkins nodded supportively “Yes of course get some rest, you’ve certainly earned a well-deserved break” B-295 nodded “Thank you sir” he proceeded down the hallway and walked down into the cellar which when DROIDs were issued to every house the basements were converted into recharge stations, he typed on the console setting it to full charge the monitor began to beep as B-295 stepped into the station and hooked himself up and powered down.
<<<CHARGING>>>
WARNING: CIRCUIT ERROR POWER FAILURE
REROUTING POWER FROM BACKUP SOURCE
[CHARGE COMPLETED]
The restart activated and B-295 started his power up, he raised his head and disconnected himself from the station he walked over to the panel and turned off the power, and made his way back up the stairs, he opened the door and walked into the kitchen he noticed that it was it had been trashed, broken glass strewn everywhere food scattered on the tables “What in the?”. He looked about the room noticing more damage about the house, he moved into the living room there were large gashes in the sofa the television lay face down on the floor flecks of glass surrounding it several picture frames lay scattered across the room B-295 called out “Mr Watkins?! Mrs Watkins?!” he strolled over to the stairs and saw claw marks on the wall he then saw blood smeared on the wall and on the carpet he began to panic “Sir! Ma’am! Dorothy, is anyone there?!” He rushed upstairs and searched the bedrooms there was more blood and scratches on the walls but no one was in the house “Access network” the display came up flashing red with [ACCESS TO NETWORK DENIED] the display claimed it was due to lack on connection but B-295 noticed something unusual he noticed the date which read June 13th “June 13th? thirteen days I was only meant to be inactive for two” B-295 went back downstairs to get help from a neighbour; he opened the door to see that a car had crashed into the tree that stood outside the house other cars lay strewn in the street, several houses looked charred like they had been on fire, he walked slowly out onto the street he searched the cars and found blood in a couple, a noise came from somewhere down the road B-295 turned to look but couldn’t see anything, he moved back to the house quietly closing the door behind he sat at the foot of the stairs and waited…
New York
458 Days after Incident
Something shuffled outside the store, 295 withdrew his gun and scuffled away from the door to avoid being seen from whatever was outside, he heard the distinctive wheezing that he has heard many times before…it was one of them. He whispered to himself “286…286…286” a dark void passed by the window, 295 thrust himself against the wall looking at the shape outside, they mostly spend time indoors during the day and come out to feed at night but nothing prevents them coming outside when the sun’s up, 295 slowly followed the wall towards the rear end of the shop, he knew they only fed on human flesh but since his body shape was similar, to them he basically is a human if they got to realising that there is no meat to devour they would still tear him apart and many have tried like the time when he first saw one of them…
Up State New York
16 Days after Incident
Three days 295 waited sitting at the bottom of the stairs hoping that the family would walk in as if nothing had happened, he kept trying to access the network but couldn’t, he stood up and walked over to the door “I need to find someone” he looked at the door knob then looked back into the house hoping to see any of the Watkins family, turning back he took hold of the door and opened it stepping out once more into the deserted street, he looked left up the street the city was that way and beyond that New York City, he looked about but still there was no one so he started walking up the street. Everything looked dismal the houses trashed he passed a bicycle that lay on the grass, a noise came from one of the house to his right he stopped and walked slowly towards it he called out “Hello!” but no one answered. He crossed the lawn approaching the house, the noise continued as 295 reached the door and saw that it was broken, the ret-scan worked out that it had been kicked open, he pushed it open and walked inside he spoke softly “Hello” a thud came from upstairs, 295 walked to the stairs looking up to the landing to see if there was anyone there the was a shuffling noise from one of the bedrooms, he slowly climbed the stairs and reached the top when a man suddenly walked into him, the man flinched in panic “Argh! Jesus Christ!!!” 295 raised his arms up in submission “Hey I’m sorry sir” the man looked at 295 with confusion “What…you…a DRIOD?” 295 lowered his arms “Yes my name is B-295, what are you doing?” the quickly looked about in different directions “I’m gathering some stuff I thought you were one of them” 295 tilted his head in curiosity “Is this your house?” the man let out a laugh “Ha no, no it’s not” 295 became irate at the stranger “Then sir I’m afraid I have to call the police” the man laughed again “Police that’s funny there’s no one to help, where have you been the past couple of weeks?" he paused when he noticed 295 looking curiously, then he realised “You don’t know what’s happened do you?” 295 responded “I was unhooked from my station three days ago to find the neighbourhood like a storm blew in” the man became unnerved from shuffling outside “Look we can’t stand around it’s not safe” several wheezing shrieks came from outside the man looked out to the window with a look of fear on his face, 295 was still confused the man became startled “Oh God…they’re coming!” 295 was puzzled by the man’s words “Who’s coming?” the man ran for the stairs “Hey wait!” he followed the man down the stairs and out of the house; the man looked for something as 295 stood behind him “What is going on?” the man turned to him “My advice DROID run, run then hide and prey that they don’t find you” the man ran towards a gathering of cars 295 called after him “Who are they?”. He stood looking confused he watched in the opposite direction when the man screamed out loudly, 295 turned to see the man fall behind the cars he screamed out no over and over blood spurted into the air from the other side of one of the cars, 295 could hear something eating him, a hulking shape seemed to hidden by the cars as the white car at the back was being stained with blood, 295 ran to help when the creature stopped feeding on its kill. 295 froze as the creature sniffed it moved around the cars wheezing and breathing heavily it shrieked then charged for 295 who quickly turned and ran, he didn’t see what was chasing him all he knew was he had to get away, he ran into the trees behind the house he was just in with the man, he moved quickly through the branches and undergrowth but could hear the creature still in pursuit, it seemed like the trees would never end when suddenly the ground vanished and 295 fell tumbling down the hill, after a couple of moments 295 spun in the air and fell on his left arm with his head cracking against it damaging the arm, he lay on a road that lay at the bottom of the cliff eventually he got to his feet and ran behind the other side of a van, he crouched down and peered round the side looking up to the top of the cliff, it jumped and slid down the cliff 295 turned away to continue running “Damn it!” upon looking at his surroundings he realised that he had managed to land on a freeway overpass, he ran over to the edge and saw the highway below, as he looked he heard footsteps rapidly getting closer he looked to see a blur of teeth and claws, he jumped away as the claws scratched his right leg, he fell to the road below landing hard on the windshield of an abandoned car…
New York
458 Days after Incident
295 reached the rear of the store and walked over to the back door, he entered the stock room and could see the rear exit on the far side the lights flickered slightly he moved slowly passing by the store office, the TV crackled static he went inside to check for anything useful, he opened the desk draws and found duct tape, a torch and a box of batteries he tested the torch and a beam of light shone out he put everything in his bag and moved out of the office over to the door, he took the handle and opened the door slowly peering round the door in case one of them was lurking outside, he saw that the car park was clear and moved out of the store he kept hold of the gun as he followed the alleyway he dare not go back onto the street until he was safe away from them, down the alleyway he saw several dead bodies lying torn apart he mumbled the number again “286” he heard something knock over a trashcan and raised the gun he walked carefully taking each step with care, nothing moved up ahead, he carried onward until he was a couple of blocks away. 295 re-emerged out onto the street, he checked his power levels “Almost full but still need more, may have to go to the mall” he never ventured into the mall, last time he tried to go inside he saw that it had become a hive for them to rest in, 295 looked up to the buildings that stood high above him he knew it wasn’t far he continued onward down the street.
The glass of the Manhattan Mall glistened in the sun several of them were broken 295 looked at the building the birds were silent, bodies and bones lay strewn across the floor he looked down at the gun in his hand “286…286”he was cautious as he made his way towards the mall entrance; passing through the broken door 295 stepped into darkness glass shards crunched under his feet, as he walked into the ground floor of the mall he noticed that it empty there was none of them to be seen this was a bad thing either way out of the two options the first the hive was empty and that they would come back en mass seeing as a hive can have between 200-300 individuals or that they are awake and patrolling the levels, he walked past a few stores reaching the balcony he looked over down to floor where the JCPenny was and saw what he was dreading, the floor was covered the them all lying in mass group breathing and wheezing heavily, the creature were quadrupedal and covered in thick short fur they had a similar shape to a hyena but bigger although their jaws were filled with overly large canine teeth perfect for ripping things apart, the ret-scan counted only one hundred of them, 295 shook his head thinking “There should be more…a lot more” looking for a store directory he found that the DROID outlet was on the second floor, he walked towards the escalator and took care with each step.
Up State New York
16 Days after Incident
295 rebooted and rolled off the car he slumped onto his hands and knees he looked up to the overpass above whatever was chasing him wasn’t there anymore, possibly finding a way down the cliff after its prey 295 decided that he wasn’t going to wait to find out he clambered to his feet joints stiffened from the fall straightening upright he looked around at the abandon cars no one was in sight, he turned to the towering monoliths of the city which stood a mile away “There must be people in the city, hopefully the Watkins are there” he checked for any more signs of damage and headed towards the city.
The city was just as empty as the suburbs except a lot more cars left empty some had crashed into others but 295 had noticed that there was several military vehicles including one tank but they were abandoned just like the cars, 295 took to staying on the sidewalk avoiding the sea of dead traffic in case of a similar incident like with the unfortunate man earlier. After wandering the streets 295 came across an information station he rushed over to find that although damaged it was still operational, he tapped a panel on his arm which opened revealing a connector cable he pulled it out and attached it to the station to access the network directly instead of wirelessly. The screen flickered from the damage but 295 could access the information “Network access recent news events” the screen crackled [Ac-essing] and accessed articles and news clips from the recent days:
[News Article Headlines]
“UNKNOWN CREATURES EMERGED”
“CITIES UNDER ATTACK”
“THOUSANDS DEAD IN HOURS”
[News Video]
A reporter appeared on the screen “Everything the military has done to eliminate the swarms has failed; their sheer number is too great, the government has now suggested to evacuate the cities to specialised refugee points”.
Another reporter appeared “People are advised to flee or remain indoors to avoid any contact with the creatures”.
[corrupted static]
Footage came on the screen showing military forces in combat with the creatures, there were civilians who had captured footage of the creatures swarming through numerous cities across the country.
Another video had a government official speaking “The military have had to undergo rapid upgrades to their MECHDROIDS to try and stop the swarms”.
295 disconnected from the network station and looked around his surroundings “so am I alone? There must be someone alive” he continued into the city to try and find anyone still left alive.
New York
458 Days after Incident
Deep into the mall 295 was tense he could hear the wheezing from them sleeping nearby he took his time trying to watch his step to avoid stepping on anything that would cause noise and wake them. The DROID centre was up ahead but the shutter was down 295 cursed quietly even though the shutter wasn’t locked he would have to open the shutter part way in order to get in, he holstered his gun and crouched down taking hold of the shutters handles and he began to pull up…very slowly, the metal creaked as he pulled it made a slight bang which made 295 stop suddenly he looked around but couldn’t see or hear anything he kept still for a few more moments to be sure then continued. It took nearly ten minutes for him to finally get the shutter most of the way up to get access to the door he pushed the door open taking out the gun just in case one of them was lurking inside, he checked every inch and it was clear he collected more power cells which gave him a total of ten more than enough to keep him going for several years if not a decade, he took more repair kits which was next to a large upgrade unit. 295 looked at the upgrade unit luckily he didn’t need about a week after waking up he realised that he needed to adapt otherwise he wouldn’t last long, he went to a police station and used an upgrade unit there to learn combat and weapons training this came at great risk since any unauthorised or illegal upgrades could risk the DROID becoming damaged and turning into a haywire. Haywires are what happened to the military MECHS and DROIDS, to try and combat them the government had to hack through the safety protocols to upgrade the machines to fight better but it went wrong the Haywires began not only killing the creatures but also any human in their sight, now they roam the city splattered with red paint to symbolise the blood of the people they have massacred still driven to carry out their mission.
295 walked past the unit and noticed something behind the counter he looked to see a shotgun lying on the ground, there was an opportunity not to pass up he picked it up and removed each round carefully, he counted the shells on the counter and those that were on the shoulder strap “23…will use them for close calls” he reloaded the shotgun then slung it over his shoulder. 295 had what he needed but he sat on the counter and took out a piece of paper from the side of his bag he looked at it, it was an address for North Cove Marina the reason that 295 was gathering so much equipment and provisions was that he had been planning on leaving the city to get the boat that Mr Watkins had kept moored, there now after so long there was no need to remain it was time to go and see what else was out there.
As 295 left the store he suddenly heard a long wheeze and growl coming from behind him he tightened the grip on the handgun “dammit” the creature roared and grabbed 295 by the leg he slammed onto the ground and was ragged around he managed to flip over and fired two rounds killing it “284” the shots echoed out into the dark which was followed by a loud symphony of shrieks and growls…the nest was awake, he now had to run.
295 ran across the middle floors he looked to see four of the creatures charging after him, whilst running he pointed to gun at them and fired two shots 283, 282 but both missed he fired again three times two struck one of them in the head causing it to slump and tumbled on the ground dead the third struck another in the shoulder causing it to shriek in pain “279” he yelled as he ran, from behind he could hear a lot of shrieks and rumbling more of them were coming he looked for a specific window in the mall he noticed two escalators to the next floor up “Need to go up” he ran up the steps with strength of his servos he could go three at a time. 295 reached the top and ran his right the window he needed was directly ahead “YES! Come on, come on!” he looked over his shoulder to see that the three had become forty a swarm of them burst out from the escalator spilling over the floor tearing across the tiled floors towards the fleeing DROID “SHIT!” he turned back towards to his goal the window getting he aimed the gun ahead and four rounds cracked out of the barrel striking the glass 275, the horde were getting closer as 295 pushed harder he lurched forward through the window the glass exploding into shards sparkling in the sunlight he was airborne for a brief moment then landed onto a glass slope, this was his plan this part of the sloped downward which meant 295 could slide down and jump to the building across the street all he had to do was make the gap. Sliding along the glass shards from the window bouncing around him he heard grunted and wheezing he looked back to see the horde of creatures reach the opening they stopped because of the sunlight but stopping suddenly knocked two of them out and they began to fall down the slope too. 295 looked ahead the gap between the two buildings was getting closer he took his back pack and held it close to him, his foot hit the edge of the slope as he arched over he crouched and kicked away launching him far into the air he saw the street below as he rolled in the free fall, he struck a window on the opposite building crashing through the glass landing hard on his back on a large desk which buckled from the force of the impact. In the aftermath of dust and glass 295 quickly to his feet gun ready just in time to see the two pursuers plummet shrieking down into the street below.
458 Days after Incident
The city was silent as B-295 walked slowly down the street, he always took the silence as an early warning it meant that they were close by, he avoided wearing the human clothes that he kept in his bag since they were what had wiped out the humans also haywires were prime to attacking humans or anything for that matter the clothes were only needed for the cold nights, a noise came from a building across the street B-295 quickly pulled out the handgun aiming it at the source of the noise although the katana would quieter the gun had better range, he kept walking but walked slowly to avoid making any unnecessary noise, he kept scanning the building as he passed behind an abandoned car he repeated the numbers “286” when he was clear of the building he ran round the corner until he heard the sound of birds and knew it was safe, a convenience store was just down the road, B-295 opened the door slightly and peered inside. The shop was silent, he crept inside holding the gun bodies lay dead on the floor some twisted and mutilated, the sight of bodies no longer bothered him since the city was full of them, he checked the aisles to make sure none of them were hiding out inside, the store was clear and B-295 went about looking for supplies for his journey. He went from shelf to shelf muttering to himself “Power cells, power cells, power AH there we go” he found the DROID power cells and inserted three into his chest reserve and the rest into his bag along with his ammo, other DROID supplies were on the aisle such as repair kits for minor scratches and larger kits for cracks and circuit burnouts everything necessary went into the bag, he sat down near the door with one of the M-R kits working on a couple scratches then wrapped tape around a damaged part of his lower left arm and his left hand, he glanced outside to make sure nothing was lurking outside, he remembered the days before they came the days when he was programmed only to serve…
Up State New York
Day of the Incident
Green always seemed to the primary colour of the Collinwood suburb, people out walking their dogs, children playing in the yards, B-295 was in the kitchen preparing breakfast when John Watkins entered the kitchen, the man smiled upon seeing the DROID “Morning 295” B-295 glanced over his shoulder “Good morning sir” Watkins sat down at the breakfast table “What cooking wonders have you prepared today?” B-295 replied whilst flipping the bacon over in the pan “Bacon, beans, sausage, scrambled egg and three slices of toast” Watkins glared over the newspaper he had started reading “Crispy bacon?” B-295 kept his focus on the food preparations “Always sir” Watkins returned to his paper with a smile “Wonderful”. Emily John’s wife walked into the kitchen she smiled at her husband “Good morning” she kissed John on the cheek he replied “Morning” B-295 walked over with two cups of coffee Emily took the cup and gave a polite nod and smile “Thank you B” B-295 nodded back in approval “You’re welcome ma’am” he walked back to the oven and put the food on the plates, then walking over to Watkins and Emily he placed them on the table “Will the Miss be joining us?” Emily took a sip from a fresh cup of coffee “I think she is getting ready, could you go check on her?” B-295 responded “Of course” he headed up the stairs. Down the hall he stood in front of Ella’s door he knocked three times a voice came from the other side “Come in” he opened the door and walked inside, Ella turned to see B-295 she smiled “Good morning Tin Man” he replied “Good morning Dorothy breakfast is ready” Ella got up from the bed “Great, any word from the network?” B-295 nodded “Heather will be running late but everyone will meet you at the mall” Ella grabbed her phone and placed it in her pocket “Thanks Tin Man”.
B-295 continued about the house performing his morning duties, he approached Watkins who was getting ready for work “Don’t worry about dinner for me 295 I will be back late tonight” B-295 interjected “Actually sir I was wondering to ask you, I have been working a lot of overtime lately I will need to be at the station for approximately 48 hours” Watkins nodded supportively “Yes of course get some rest, you’ve certainly earned a well-deserved break” B-295 nodded “Thank you sir” he proceeded down the hallway and walked down into the cellar which when DROIDs were issued to every house the basements were converted into recharge stations, he typed on the console setting it to full charge the monitor began to beep as B-295 stepped into the station and hooked himself up and powered down.
<<<CHARGING>>>
WARNING: CIRCUIT ERROR POWER FAILURE
REROUTING POWER FROM BACKUP SOURCE
[CHARGE COMPLETED]
The restart activated and B-295 started his power up, he raised his head and disconnected himself from the station he walked over to the panel and turned off the power, and made his way back up the stairs, he opened the door and walked into the kitchen he noticed that it was it had been trashed, broken glass strewn everywhere food scattered on the tables “What in the?”. He looked about the room noticing more damage about the house, he moved into the living room there were large gashes in the sofa the television lay face down on the floor flecks of glass surrounding it several picture frames lay scattered across the room B-295 called out “Mr Watkins?! Mrs Watkins?!” he strolled over to the stairs and saw claw marks on the wall he then saw blood smeared on the wall and on the carpet he began to panic “Sir! Ma’am! Dorothy, is anyone there?!” He rushed upstairs and searched the bedrooms there was more blood and scratches on the walls but no one was in the house “Access network” the display came up flashing red with [ACCESS TO NETWORK DENIED] the display claimed it was due to lack on connection but B-295 noticed something unusual he noticed the date which read June 13th “June 13th? thirteen days I was only meant to be inactive for two” B-295 went back downstairs to get help from a neighbour; he opened the door to see that a car had crashed into the tree that stood outside the house other cars lay strewn in the street, several houses looked charred like they had been on fire, he walked slowly out onto the street he searched the cars and found blood in a couple, a noise came from somewhere down the road B-295 turned to look but couldn’t see anything, he moved back to the house quietly closing the door behind he sat at the foot of the stairs and waited…
New York
458 Days after Incident
Something shuffled outside the store, 295 withdrew his gun and scuffled away from the door to avoid being seen from whatever was outside, he heard the distinctive wheezing that he has heard many times before…it was one of them. He whispered to himself “286…286…286” a dark void passed by the window, 295 thrust himself against the wall looking at the shape outside, they mostly spend time indoors during the day and come out to feed at night but nothing prevents them coming outside when the sun’s up, 295 slowly followed the wall towards the rear end of the shop, he knew they only fed on human flesh but since his body shape was similar, to them he basically is a human if they got to realising that there is no meat to devour they would still tear him apart and many have tried like the time when he first saw one of them…
Up State New York
16 Days after Incident
Three days 295 waited sitting at the bottom of the stairs hoping that the family would walk in as if nothing had happened, he kept trying to access the network but couldn’t, he stood up and walked over to the door “I need to find someone” he looked at the door knob then looked back into the house hoping to see any of the Watkins family, turning back he took hold of the door and opened it stepping out once more into the deserted street, he looked left up the street the city was that way and beyond that New York City, he looked about but still there was no one so he started walking up the street. Everything looked dismal the houses trashed he passed a bicycle that lay on the grass, a noise came from one of the house to his right he stopped and walked slowly towards it he called out “Hello!” but no one answered. He crossed the lawn approaching the house, the noise continued as 295 reached the door and saw that it was broken, the ret-scan worked out that it had been kicked open, he pushed it open and walked inside he spoke softly “Hello” a thud came from upstairs, 295 walked to the stairs looking up to the landing to see if there was anyone there the was a shuffling noise from one of the bedrooms, he slowly climbed the stairs and reached the top when a man suddenly walked into him, the man flinched in panic “Argh! Jesus Christ!!!” 295 raised his arms up in submission “Hey I’m sorry sir” the man looked at 295 with confusion “What…you…a DRIOD?” 295 lowered his arms “Yes my name is B-295, what are you doing?” the quickly looked about in different directions “I’m gathering some stuff I thought you were one of them” 295 tilted his head in curiosity “Is this your house?” the man let out a laugh “Ha no, no it’s not” 295 became irate at the stranger “Then sir I’m afraid I have to call the police” the man laughed again “Police that’s funny there’s no one to help, where have you been the past couple of weeks?" he paused when he noticed 295 looking curiously, then he realised “You don’t know what’s happened do you?” 295 responded “I was unhooked from my station three days ago to find the neighbourhood like a storm blew in” the man became unnerved from shuffling outside “Look we can’t stand around it’s not safe” several wheezing shrieks came from outside the man looked out to the window with a look of fear on his face, 295 was still confused the man became startled “Oh God…they’re coming!” 295 was puzzled by the man’s words “Who’s coming?” the man ran for the stairs “Hey wait!” he followed the man down the stairs and out of the house; the man looked for something as 295 stood behind him “What is going on?” the man turned to him “My advice DROID run, run then hide and prey that they don’t find you” the man ran towards a gathering of cars 295 called after him “Who are they?”. He stood looking confused he watched in the opposite direction when the man screamed out loudly, 295 turned to see the man fall behind the cars he screamed out no over and over blood spurted into the air from the other side of one of the cars, 295 could hear something eating him, a hulking shape seemed to hidden by the cars as the white car at the back was being stained with blood, 295 ran to help when the creature stopped feeding on its kill. 295 froze as the creature sniffed it moved around the cars wheezing and breathing heavily it shrieked then charged for 295 who quickly turned and ran, he didn’t see what was chasing him all he knew was he had to get away, he ran into the trees behind the house he was just in with the man, he moved quickly through the branches and undergrowth but could hear the creature still in pursuit, it seemed like the trees would never end when suddenly the ground vanished and 295 fell tumbling down the hill, after a couple of moments 295 spun in the air and fell on his left arm with his head cracking against it damaging the arm, he lay on a road that lay at the bottom of the cliff eventually he got to his feet and ran behind the other side of a van, he crouched down and peered round the side looking up to the top of the cliff, it jumped and slid down the cliff 295 turned away to continue running “Damn it!” upon looking at his surroundings he realised that he had managed to land on a freeway overpass, he ran over to the edge and saw the highway below, as he looked he heard footsteps rapidly getting closer he looked to see a blur of teeth and claws, he jumped away as the claws scratched his right leg, he fell to the road below landing hard on the windshield of an abandoned car…
New York
458 Days after Incident
295 reached the rear of the store and walked over to the back door, he entered the stock room and could see the rear exit on the far side the lights flickered slightly he moved slowly passing by the store office, the TV crackled static he went inside to check for anything useful, he opened the desk draws and found duct tape, a torch and a box of batteries he tested the torch and a beam of light shone out he put everything in his bag and moved out of the office over to the door, he took the handle and opened the door slowly peering round the door in case one of them was lurking outside, he saw that the car park was clear and moved out of the store he kept hold of the gun as he followed the alleyway he dare not go back onto the street until he was safe away from them, down the alleyway he saw several dead bodies lying torn apart he mumbled the number again “286” he heard something knock over a trashcan and raised the gun he walked carefully taking each step with care, nothing moved up ahead, he carried onward until he was a couple of blocks away. 295 re-emerged out onto the street, he checked his power levels “Almost full but still need more, may have to go to the mall” he never ventured into the mall, last time he tried to go inside he saw that it had become a hive for them to rest in, 295 looked up to the buildings that stood high above him he knew it wasn’t far he continued onward down the street.
The glass of the Manhattan Mall glistened in the sun several of them were broken 295 looked at the building the birds were silent, bodies and bones lay strewn across the floor he looked down at the gun in his hand “286…286”he was cautious as he made his way towards the mall entrance; passing through the broken door 295 stepped into darkness glass shards crunched under his feet, as he walked into the ground floor of the mall he noticed that it empty there was none of them to be seen this was a bad thing either way out of the two options the first the hive was empty and that they would come back en mass seeing as a hive can have between 200-300 individuals or that they are awake and patrolling the levels, he walked past a few stores reaching the balcony he looked over down to floor where the JCPenny was and saw what he was dreading, the floor was covered the them all lying in mass group breathing and wheezing heavily, the creature were quadrupedal and covered in thick short fur they had a similar shape to a hyena but bigger although their jaws were filled with overly large canine teeth perfect for ripping things apart, the ret-scan counted only one hundred of them, 295 shook his head thinking “There should be more…a lot more” looking for a store directory he found that the DROID outlet was on the second floor, he walked towards the escalator and took care with each step.
Up State New York
16 Days after Incident
295 rebooted and rolled off the car he slumped onto his hands and knees he looked up to the overpass above whatever was chasing him wasn’t there anymore, possibly finding a way down the cliff after its prey 295 decided that he wasn’t going to wait to find out he clambered to his feet joints stiffened from the fall straightening upright he looked around at the abandon cars no one was in sight, he turned to the towering monoliths of the city which stood a mile away “There must be people in the city, hopefully the Watkins are there” he checked for any more signs of damage and headed towards the city.
The city was just as empty as the suburbs except a lot more cars left empty some had crashed into others but 295 had noticed that there was several military vehicles including one tank but they were abandoned just like the cars, 295 took to staying on the sidewalk avoiding the sea of dead traffic in case of a similar incident like with the unfortunate man earlier. After wandering the streets 295 came across an information station he rushed over to find that although damaged it was still operational, he tapped a panel on his arm which opened revealing a connector cable he pulled it out and attached it to the station to access the network directly instead of wirelessly. The screen flickered from the damage but 295 could access the information “Network access recent news events” the screen crackled [Ac-essing] and accessed articles and news clips from the recent days:
[News Article Headlines]
“UNKNOWN CREATURES EMERGED”
“CITIES UNDER ATTACK”
“THOUSANDS DEAD IN HOURS”
[News Video]
A reporter appeared on the screen “Everything the military has done to eliminate the swarms has failed; their sheer number is too great, the government has now suggested to evacuate the cities to specialised refugee points”.
Another reporter appeared “People are advised to flee or remain indoors to avoid any contact with the creatures”.
[corrupted static]
Footage came on the screen showing military forces in combat with the creatures, there were civilians who had captured footage of the creatures swarming through numerous cities across the country.
Another video had a government official speaking “The military have had to undergo rapid upgrades to their MECHDROIDS to try and stop the swarms”.
295 disconnected from the network station and looked around his surroundings “so am I alone? There must be someone alive” he continued into the city to try and find anyone still left alive.
New York
458 Days after Incident
Deep into the mall 295 was tense he could hear the wheezing from them sleeping nearby he took his time trying to watch his step to avoid stepping on anything that would cause noise and wake them. The DROID centre was up ahead but the shutter was down 295 cursed quietly even though the shutter wasn’t locked he would have to open the shutter part way in order to get in, he holstered his gun and crouched down taking hold of the shutters handles and he began to pull up…very slowly, the metal creaked as he pulled it made a slight bang which made 295 stop suddenly he looked around but couldn’t see or hear anything he kept still for a few more moments to be sure then continued. It took nearly ten minutes for him to finally get the shutter most of the way up to get access to the door he pushed the door open taking out the gun just in case one of them was lurking inside, he checked every inch and it was clear he collected more power cells which gave him a total of ten more than enough to keep him going for several years if not a decade, he took more repair kits which was next to a large upgrade unit. 295 looked at the upgrade unit luckily he didn’t need about a week after waking up he realised that he needed to adapt otherwise he wouldn’t last long, he went to a police station and used an upgrade unit there to learn combat and weapons training this came at great risk since any unauthorised or illegal upgrades could risk the DROID becoming damaged and turning into a haywire. Haywires are what happened to the military MECHS and DROIDS, to try and combat them the government had to hack through the safety protocols to upgrade the machines to fight better but it went wrong the Haywires began not only killing the creatures but also any human in their sight, now they roam the city splattered with red paint to symbolise the blood of the people they have massacred still driven to carry out their mission.
295 walked past the unit and noticed something behind the counter he looked to see a shotgun lying on the ground, there was an opportunity not to pass up he picked it up and removed each round carefully, he counted the shells on the counter and those that were on the shoulder strap “23…will use them for close calls” he reloaded the shotgun then slung it over his shoulder. 295 had what he needed but he sat on the counter and took out a piece of paper from the side of his bag he looked at it, it was an address for North Cove Marina the reason that 295 was gathering so much equipment and provisions was that he had been planning on leaving the city to get the boat that Mr Watkins had kept moored, there now after so long there was no need to remain it was time to go and see what else was out there.
As 295 left the store he suddenly heard a long wheeze and growl coming from behind him he tightened the grip on the handgun “dammit” the creature roared and grabbed 295 by the leg he slammed onto the ground and was ragged around he managed to flip over and fired two rounds killing it “284” the shots echoed out into the dark which was followed by a loud symphony of shrieks and growls…the nest was awake, he now had to run.
295 ran across the middle floors he looked to see four of the creatures charging after him, whilst running he pointed to gun at them and fired two shots 283, 282 but both missed he fired again three times two struck one of them in the head causing it to slump and tumbled on the ground dead the third struck another in the shoulder causing it to shriek in pain “279” he yelled as he ran, from behind he could hear a lot of shrieks and rumbling more of them were coming he looked for a specific window in the mall he noticed two escalators to the next floor up “Need to go up” he ran up the steps with strength of his servos he could go three at a time. 295 reached the top and ran his right the window he needed was directly ahead “YES! Come on, come on!” he looked over his shoulder to see that the three had become forty a swarm of them burst out from the escalator spilling over the floor tearing across the tiled floors towards the fleeing DROID “SHIT!” he turned back towards to his goal the window getting he aimed the gun ahead and four rounds cracked out of the barrel striking the glass 275, the horde were getting closer as 295 pushed harder he lurched forward through the window the glass exploding into shards sparkling in the sunlight he was airborne for a brief moment then landed onto a glass slope, this was his plan this part of the sloped downward which meant 295 could slide down and jump to the building across the street all he had to do was make the gap. Sliding along the glass shards from the window bouncing around him he heard grunted and wheezing he looked back to see the horde of creatures reach the opening they stopped because of the sunlight but stopping suddenly knocked two of them out and they began to fall down the slope too. 295 looked ahead the gap between the two buildings was getting closer he took his back pack and held it close to him, his foot hit the edge of the slope as he arched over he crouched and kicked away launching him far into the air he saw the street below as he rolled in the free fall, he struck a window on the opposite building crashing through the glass landing hard on his back on a large desk which buckled from the force of the impact. In the aftermath of dust and glass 295 quickly to his feet gun ready just in time to see the two pursuers plummet shrieking down into the street below.
295 had to be quick he needed
to leave the streets in case the rest of the nest was going to swarm into the
streets, he rushed down the stairs sometimes jumping down whole flights to save
time. Emerging into the street he could hear them from inside the mall, he
turned left and ran down the street as they flooded out of the mall entrance he
ran as fast as he could, a large intersection was up head he could lose them
there hopefully take some sort of alley and hideout in one of the apartment
blocks. The main street was filled with cars as 295 jumped over the closest one
he suddenly heard a loud whirring and buzzing sound he looked to his right to
see a group of Haywires down the street the largest turned seeing the fleeing
shape “BZZZ GRINDING UNIDENTIFIED
TARGET…WHIRRING ELIMINATE” the crazed
droids began to open fire but luckily 295 used the cars for cover and made his
way to the other side and hid round the corner and could hear them coming his
way. As the haywires approached the swarm appeared shrieking and growling, the
haywires blasted an alarm “TARGET INDENTIFIED ENGAGE” the guns opened fire
again carving through the creatures blood and fur were scattered into the air
followed by howls of pain, the creatures retreated back to the mall but the
haywires began to pursue. The larger Haywire was one of the military’s six
legged battle tanks each stepped pounded the ground hard shaking the cars in
the street “NEST CONFIRMED BEGIN PURGING” around the large MECH were a dozen
human sized combat DROIDS which moved through the parade of vehicles, 295
hugged the wall tight and watch as the red stained machines roamed passed and
disappeared around the corner from the direction that he had come from when
suddenly there was an ear deafening bang and the sound of glass and concrete
breaking, they were destroying the nest this was 295s chance to leave he
quickly turned away from the sound of chaos an continued to run.
The water at the marina looked
calm the sunlight glistening off its rippling surface, 295 passed through the
gate entrance and onto the jetty he passed by several boats but eventually
arrived at a yacht called the ‘Odin” he had been on the yacht many times before
for family outings and was even given a upgrade many years ago by Mr Watkins to
help him navigate it. He climbed a board and inspected the cabin the stuff he
had gathered was all still there, repair kits, maps, a few rifles and power
cells “excellent think that is everything I need” he returned on deck and
checked the sails they were still secure he would use the engines first to get
out of the bay and then use the sails to save on fuel. 295 loosened the
moorings and collected up the ropes storing them away, one final look around to
see if everything was clear then he turned the ignition and the engine
spluttered to life he pushed on the throttle and the yacht pulled away from the
dock heading out into the water. As the yacht drifted away the city was
beginning to get smaller 295 turned to look at his home one final time, he
didn’t know what lay ahead on his journey how far these creatures had spread
but on the sea it would still be safer and never having to look over your shoulder
was a comfort to the DROID, even if the US was lost the yacht was cable of
traversing the vast ocean of the Atlantic so 295 to travel to Europe or Africa
he had the skills to go anywhere if he wished and maybe he could find out if he
was still alone in the world.
END
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