“So, you’re actually the commander of a robot army?” the question ran slowly down Laura’s spine, making her stiffen. Slowly exhaling Laura replied.

“yes.” The confirmation seemed to drain Garrett, his shoulders slumped and he rolled his head back, thinking.

“Well after you’re little party out West, the entire damn country is on edge, we got raids all over the damn place and the Americans are lending a couple of their spy sats to try to get a bead on you.”

“Am I really that important?” Laura quipped, still enamoured with the apparent mutation of her friend.

“That’s seriously what you’re thinking about?” Garrett fumed.

“No, I’m thinking about how Kaylee here got infected, and that you guys weren’t the first to find me.” That statement caused Garrett to stand upright, now very interested in every nook and cranny of the room, looking for bugs. Meanwhile, several floors down a group of men were making their way up the stairs, turning a corner of the stairwell, the lead of the group gave an audible gasp and jumped back, almost bowling over the half-a dozen men behind him in the process.

“1 Contact, looked like some sorta robot, guarding the stairs.” The commander nodded. “is it hostile?”

“Guess who made it, do you think she is hostile?”

“Holster your weapon, I doubt it will open fire if it doesn’t think you’re a threat?”

“oh f. Fine.” Holstering his weapon, he took a quick step forward before immediately ducking back, no shooting, no sound of alert. Taking a slower step forward he stared down the robot, the machine stared back, robotic ‘face’ perfectly concealing whatever thoughts were going on behind that metal skull. As he slowly made his way up the stairs, the robot’s moved its head to track him, scrutinising him, as he came to the top of the stairs he went to push past the robot. The moment he reached to push it, the robot raised its gun toward him, a low hum emanating from the weapon. Pulling his hand back he instead went to step around the robot, squeezing around the robot he watched as the robot lowered its weapon and returned to its resting state.

“Just don’t touch it and you should be fine.” He hissed back down the stairwell. As he turned back towards the hallway he noted that a second robot standing near an open doorway further down the hallway.

Laura sat up slightly, a report flash in her mind. An attempted contact. Opening the view of the robot she watched as a man pushed his way past the robot, as she watched several more began slipping around the robot, as she watched she caught sight of a flash of metal. Slowly standing up Laura gave a mental command to the robot to take up position to guard the door.

“Garrett, we need to go.” Laura’s statement had the man straightening from where he had been inspecting the underside of Laura’s desk, why what have we got?” we have some men coming up the stairs, they seem to be armed.” Garrett nodded, carefully unholstering his pistol and stepping over to the windowsill.

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“How many and how close?” he asked as he opened the window.

“Just coming up the hallway, about half a dozen.”

“Shit, ok get out the window and get down to the road.” As he spoke, he went to pick up Kaylee, only for Laura to stop him.

“She tried to kill us, she is infected.” She hissed as she directed the first robot down towards the underground bunker while the second robot retreated back into the room and closing the door behind it.

“As you put it she is infected, and so we can’t take her with us.” Laura continued towards the window. Garrett grunted before picking his sister up and throwing her over his shoulder, Laura didn’t bother to comment. As the two began to push Kaylee through the window, someone knocked at the door.

“Shit.” Laura muttered as she went to yank Kaylee in, only to suddenly feel something latch onto her arm. As she looked down her eyes locked with her friend’s electric green ones. With almost impossible flexibility Kaylee curled her legs up and kicked Laura, sending the two tumbling apart. Laura fell back hard against the railing of the fire escape, a grunt of pain escaping her mouth as she did. Garrett on the other hand immediately dove for the rifle, his sister not far behind. Garrett got to the weapon first, trying to throw the weapon further out of Kaylee’s reach, he was unsuccessful as she landed on top of him and grabbed hold of the weapon with a seemingly impossible strength and jerked it up into Garrett’s jaw with a crack. Garrett growled as he tried to pull the weapon away only for Kaylee to yank it again, sending stars through his eyes. Kaylee stood up, ripping the rifle from her brother’s hands. Garrett twisted, kicking into the woman’s knees as she turned, sending her tipping forward. One of the robots jumped up and threw itself at Kaylee. At the same time the door was kicked in a black cylinder flying in. There was a bang followed by the thumping of a dozen boots on the ground. The robot at the door let rip a barrage of fire, nailing two of the assailants that came through the door, its fire mostly missing as it’s optics attempted to refocus. The response was immediate with a barrage of highly accurate fire. The barrage lit up the robot as bullets bounced away in a shower of sparks. The robot fired again, joined by its counterpart that had now climbed through the window, now bracing its weapon on the sill, Garrett leapt up, leveling his pistol he took a few shots as he ran for the window. As he bolted past he grabbed his sister by the arm and glared at her. She stared back, her eyes still unnaturally cold.

“Kaylee, can you hear me?” the woman nodded slightly. There was a crack and she jerked, the distinct ping of a spent bullet bouncing to the floor. Before he could shout she spun and opened fire on the doorway, shredding the doorway and a considerable part of the wall as well, eliciting a pained scream as her shots found their mark.

“Go.” The woman muttered. Garrett straightened.

“No” he said.

“Go.” She growled as her eye twitched slightly. “It fears her, it wants me to STOP her. And I’m only keeping it back because someone else is trying to kill us. So go, before I change my mind!” her final words steadily rising in tone. Taking the hint Garrett bolted to the window, the robot stepping aside to allow him in. Looking down he could see that Laura was making good time down the stairs, the robot from the stairwell already standing at the ready. Turning his head he watched as a grenade flew through a hole in the wall and bounced to the feet of the robot there was a crack and the robot jerked and collapsed. Several more came bouncing in, clattering around the room. Garrett ducked as more explosions rang out. Kaylee stepped forward, weapon unleashing another torrent of fire from her alien weapon. For a moment her head half turned and caught his eye, a small spark of something flickering in her eyes. Garrett spun and leapt down onto the lower level, the robot at the window laying down a barrage of fire into the room, as he clambered down there was an echoing boom and the machine was slammed into the wall, a shower of sparks streaking out of the crater, a second shot struck true, blowing a hole through the armour and disabling the robot.