"Jackson!" She came running to me with a smile that always lit up my day.

"I did it, I did it!" She was practically beaming. She threw herself into my arms, causing me to stumble backward as I tried to catch her.

"Did what?" I asked, regaining my balance.

"Remember when I told you that I'd create something revolutionary?" She said, her eyes sparkling.

She was struggling to hold her tongue, barely giving me time to remember.

I seemed to recall such an event, though the blurry details made me question whether or not my mind was playing tricks on me.

"Uhh... yeah?" I answered

"Well, I actually managed to create an advanced, sentient form of AI!" Her words came out in rapid succession.

I found myself laughing, my expression matching hers. Her happiness really was contagious.

"Is that good?" I asked her, clueless on anything to do with technology.

"It's wonderful." She deliberated on the word.

She was bouncing with energy as she continued.

"Not only is it the greatest invention of the millennia, but it can also help -"

*Boom*

***

I was awoken by the sound of rubble crashing to the ground. A wet feeling ran down my cheeks. My hand traveled to my cheeks, and I was met with a damp sensation.

"Tears?" I questioned, unfamiliar with the concept since so long ago.

"Was I dreami--"

*Boom*

I was immediately snapped awake from my stupor. I looked around everywhere, my vision still hazy. A cloud of dust rose in the air east from where I was sleeping, yet I found no sign or sound of those machines

'It's only gravity,' I thought to myself after a few seconds of silence.

'Maybe I'm just paranoi---'

*Boom*

My thoughts were interrupted again by the sound of explosions.

'That's definitely not gravity.' I thought as I pulled myself up.

The explosions became louder and more frequent the longer I listened. Grabbing my bag, I ran quickly in the opposite direction.

I looked to the side. Behind a few blocks was empty grasslands, the border of Utopia. I couldn't go through yesterday because I didn't want to risk being spotted without cover.

The explosions continued to get nearer, and I looked for whatever I could use to hide. The streets were littered with rocks, but none suitable enough as a hiding spot. They acted more like obstacles, slowing me down in my path to get the hell away from that thing.

*Boom*

I jumped over a tree trunk. My ears rang from the proximity of the explosions behind me. Rubble flew past me as the explosions got nearer.

'It's seen me.' I lamented at my weak body, beckoning my legs to run faster.

I didn't dare turn around, unwilling to see how close it was behind me. My legs began giving out as I ran further, quickly depleting of energy.

Ahead, the road was completely torn apart, with rubble from nearby buildings forming a makeshift border.

'There!' I forced my legs to run faster, trying to hide under the large rocks.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

'Almost there...'

I could feel myself becoming slower, my legs burning from the workout.

Just as I was about to dive to cover, my bag was pulled from behind, causing me to tumble backward

" Give in," the machine said. "You can't win,"

I stayed silent, trying to abandon the bag. A few days of food is less valuable than my life after all. The machine tugged harder, and the vines holding the bag broke off. The release in tension caused me to tumble forward face first into a boulder.

"Troublesome." The mechanical voice boomed, its hand reaching out to prevent me from colliding with the boulder. It pulled me back into its arms.

I checked my pockets for any weapons and found a small pochet knife. It had been there for ages, and it had been what I used to cut vines.

Twisting my head, I found what I was looking for. There was a small opening on its neck. The machines themselves were invulnerable everywhere except for that spot. It's a hole in the design with a few wires running across into its main circuits.

"Don't worry." The machine continues, unaware of my intentions. "Soon it'll be over."

I prepared my weapon. With only one chance to succeed, I thrusted. The knife moved quickly towards the weakspot, but my hand was held by the machine before it could travel any further.

" Relax." It beckoned me, its voice calm. Out of any sort of retaliation or weapons, I was at its mercy.

"Soon you'll be happy." It said, the voice turning slightly human, filled with sadness and guilt.

" Soon, your world will be wonderful again." I could almost feel the emotions: guilt, sadness, regret, and...reluctance?

Despite my confusion, the AI showed no sign of elaborating on what it said. It raised its hand, trying to deliver a final strike.

'I won't die.' My thoughts told me. I know little of what'll happen to me, but I knew it wouldn't kill me. I closed my eyes, expecting never to open them again for a long time.

The strike never came, and I opened my eyes to see a dagger implanted in its weakspot. The AI was still for a moment before it convulsed and fell.

"We're... sorry." and with these words, the AI lied down dead.

It took a few moments for me to register what just happened.

"Are you okay?" A voice from behind asked me.

I look towards where the dagger came from. Under a few pieces of rock was a man and woman. The man was short and frail, a few inches below my own height. The woman was slightly taller, standing just below my own height and very skinny. Both looked like me, as if they've been starved for a while.

" Yeah," I answered. "Thank you."

My gaze flickered towards the machine on the ground, curious as to what just happened.

"You're welcome." The woman replied.

"We were protecting ourselves too after all,"

They walked towards me, and the man helped me up

"Name's Felix." He told me, extending his hand to help me up. "And she's Ella."

"I'm Jackson," I said. "Nice to meet you."

Getting back on my feet, I asked them where they planned to go or if they were looking for anything. It was the first question that came to mind, and I didn't really expect a straight answer from these people I'd just met.

" We're exploring around for some food and water. Other than that, nothing."

I grabbed my bag and pulled out a bottle of water. I contemplated a bit before placing the water back and instead giving them one of the fruits inside as thank you.

After all, food was much easier to find than clean water. In fact, I had gotten my fruits on the outskirts of the city. The machines didn't destroy trees or any other form of life, so except for the decaying cities where there was too much rubble and concrete for plants to grow, nature was quickly taking reign over the world.

Safe to say, you could've found food just about anywhere if you were to leave the city. Clean water, on the other hand, was much harder to find. Human pollution, even before this apocalypse, was reaching a point where clean water was an increasing worry.

Sometimes, I'd question why I came back to this place, but I needed answers, and I needed to see her again

" It's not much," I told them.

" It's appreciated," he caught the fruit.

As I was about to ask them to join me, a siren wailed in the distance. It was emitted from the edges of Utopia.

" We should leave." I pick up the pace, beckoning them to follow me.

Hastily making our way over a few blocks, we moved towards a safer place. Using the shade as a means to stay hidden, we continued walking away from the borders of Utopia.

"I want you to join me," I told them, passing through a few trees.

" What?" They seemed shocked at the proposition that came from nowhere.

"We all want answers, and I know where we can survive." I said. They seemed interested at that. Of course, I hadn't mentioned that my main reason was to see her again. They had no reason to know that. The appeal of being a hero was also quite tempting, it seemed.

" Sure." They answered alarmingly fast. They, too, were tired of living like rats.

A few more houses later, we reached a place Felix and Emma had been using as a base. Surprisingly, there was a supply of food and water, perhaps a few days worth accounting for the both of them.

'That explains the empty houses', I thought to myself. Yesterday, I went around looking for food from the houses still intact, finding either no food or the little left being too rotten to eat.

"You have your own, right?" Felix ask3d me.

" Yeah," I held my bag in view. "I have enough for a few days."

Felix sighed, relieved that I was not going to deprive them of their meals yet.

" What's your plan?" he questioned me.

"We'll have to get in that city." I told them

"The machine one?" His eyes squinted in reluctance and confusion.

"It's got food, water, and answers." I replied

They looked at me confused.

" I'm sure you've seen some of those brainwashed humans the AI uses to scout?" They nodded.

"They're kept there, meaning those machines can manage to feed and keep them alive, and in much better condition too." I said, looking at the thin survivors before me, though they looked slightly healthier than me.

"What about the answers?" Ella asked as her eyes flashed with determination.

"..." I stayed silent, not yet trusting of them to reveal my past. They seemed to get the message and backed off, though more suspicious of me than before.

The sun began to set as the atmosphere got a bit heavy in the silence, and the world quickly lost its light.

Felix had invited us outside, having gathered a lot of dry, dead wood from the roads. He had started a fire outside, some of the wood still moist from yesterday's rain, but catching fire quickly.

"Who threw that dagger, by the way?" I asked, having quickly lost my reservation in the sense of company.

" Me." Felix said proudly, puffing his chest in pride.

Like me, they seemed to already lose their distrust around me.

" I know, I know, I'm a hero." he tooted his own horn.

" I was about to say it was reckless." I said. " What if you missed?"

" Pshh, I never miss," Felix told me.

" Is that so?" Ella directed such a gaze at him, silently screaming those words.

Felix didn't notice, though, and started to tell us of his feats before the apocalypse.

***

" Then I scored for the 15th time! Im telling you, I was the bane of all the opposing teams." He sprouted such bullshit later into the night. Ella had tallen asleep a while ago, and Felix and I had so far been exchanging stories. He was talking so much that I swore he was drunk.

" They called me the man without fear." I said. I, too, ended up falling into the atmosphere, telling stories of my triumph and greatness.

We continued long into the night, feeding off of each other's energy. Soon though, we found ourselves too weary to carry on. Felix picked up Ella from his lap, waking her up slightly.

He was far too weak to carry her, so he did the next best thing and escorted her inside. Left alone, I watched as the flame dance in the wind until it burned out, thinking of all events that had happened today.

' How did it turn to this... ' I reminisced about the past. As the flames finally burned out, so did my consciousness get hazier, and I entered the house. I fell asleep on a makeshift mattress, with nothing but a thin blanket

Despite the circumstances of this world and all that has happened so far, I found myself sleeping. For the first time since this apocalypse, I slept with a sense of fulfillment and companionship