Dim.
That was the word often used to describe the neon-dotted, dark sector of the city she resided in. District-12 was a congested mish-mash of buildings consisting of twisting pipes and jagged roofing which precariously climbed upon one another like anxious ants forming a bridge. Every now and again these bridges would condense and climb high enough to form the squat mockery of a skyscraper. Then be either torn down by regulation, or collapse from their own shoddy craftsmanship. Lighting was sparse between jiggers and streets, most originating from either the tacky neon signs which stood out like lone fireflies every odd mile or so.
It was almost impossible to see anything unless you were pointed in District-Omega’s general direction. A large, glittering expanse of orderly, blinding blues. Looking up to that city which took the place of their dead sun, one would be hard pressed to find a single crooked line among its skyward sky-piercers. Even now in the dead of night, flying ships like copper-flamed fireflies thrummed to and fro from Omega’s obsidian hangers. Tiny men in blurred burgundy waving even more minuscule ember wands in a strange dance only they understood. All this, hundreds upon hundreds of kilometers away.
With eyes like hers, one couldn’t have a more beautiful backdrop to the damp, derelict waste-bin that was her home.
‘Cli-i-k’
Gears sputtered behind her eyelid before it involuntarily clacked shut, immortalizing the view if she could find a printer. Photography was an expensive hobby around these parts Or, specifically, among her kind. Not many gave it much credit, a pointless ‘human’ habit.
Dotty found it calming. Each image was beautiful, pristine, and perfect. Few things were down here, even her memory seemed hazier as of late, should check that with the Doc. She should give ‘em a photo, a nice one, old bean needed a hobby he did.
She hoped the unnatural light wouldn’t blot her images this time. That was a positively tragic waste. Served her right for installing a cheaper cam-eye. Nothing good came free, after all.
‘Well, nothin’ to it then,’ she took a few more, before taking a few seconds to enjoy the absolutely stunning view. One day she’d be there, up high without a care in the world, and she’d bring her sis too. Not sure if Doc would or could move, but worth a try.
Nosily, she plopped her muddied, oily timberlands from their spot with a wet ‘Pop’, finally leaning off the ledge she perched herself upon to get this shot. High above the ground, a larger risk than she usually took, but nothing good ever came without risk. Briskly, her feet bounded off the railing, plummeting down to stomp on a particularly sturdy steel pipe. She balanced upon it for a split second before she dropped again, this time hooking and arm around the cool, rusty metal and swinging herself towards a haphazardly-placed ladder protruding from one of the shanty stores. Her clammy hands met the rails first, then slipped right off. Panic bubbled beneath her chassis and overwhelmed any other process. The blurry metal of an alleyway blurred past her as she frantically scratched at air.
Then she landed on top of someone, her silicone spine bending with strain and energetically toppling the unlucky soul beneath her. Air rushed out of her lungs with the impact, hazel eyes straining to pop out of their hinges while her hair fritzed and splayed as best as it could at such a short length. Her torso ached as if it were infested with rust and her neck hurt. She couldn’t rotate it, a tight, searing feeling blockading her attempt as she shakily rose to her feet, leaning against a heap of garbage, one hand slapped onto the sandy alley-wall for support.
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After one inhale she started hacking and sputtering, nose filter unable to do its feeble job. ‘Oil?’ she might’ve thought, but this scent was familiar to her. Familiar to any android who’d ever cut themselves. It was a rich, sterile scent which held a strong, acidic sting. Left for long enough and it’d thicken like syrup and darken to a black solid, their form of blood, ‘Soot’.
And it was spread like strawberry jam all across the alley. Splotches painted the dimply lit walls, rolling down in large dollops like some demented painter slashed his brush in one violent circle.
She froze, almost tripping over her own inaction as her system ran itself in waves, hotter and hotter with her growing shock and terror. A ragged gasp clawed its way out of her thinned, tan lips.
At the centre of that circle lay a still body slumped against the wall, back supported by the source of its spontaneous graffiti. His neck bent forward and head bent and busted open, circuits and fluid sparking weakly as a hundred other sunken strikes to his frame leaked lifeblood onto the cold concrete. Each jagged hole torn through his shredded white suit, each the size and shape of a small, flighty fist, all oozing a sickening blue with every single second.
“Whooo-Arrrrrrrgh”
A breathy, hissing snarl sounded from a few feet away. A readily unnatural noise, especially considering the only place an animal could exist was within Omega’s lauded parks. This thing, however, have the term a run for its money.
It couldn’t be called an android, barely humanoid in shape, in each sharp eye cavity pulsed a burning, searing ball of orange threatening to consume her lest she stare too long. A smooth, unmarred surface cascaded down its plain faceplate, no mouth, nose or defining features found ‘cept a strange, three-clawed vent arranged against each non-existent cheek.
Its neck was a mass of reinforced, transparent wires, each housing a line of lightning and each one a neck on its own. Together, they formed one large coil plugging directly into a muddy, blackish chest-piece which formed the silhouette for its shoulders. The robot had no artificial skin and gazing upon it allowed one to see the fibrous metal structure of each artificial limb as they moved. Or she might’ve if it didn’t blend so well with their dim, dark surroundings, her enhanced eyesight rolled right through it. The creature stalked towards her, jerkily, each deltoid tightening and twisting awkwardly in tandem with its steps while angry red-hot lines raced down its arms.
She’d never seen something similar, but the raw heat could be felt from feet away and it tore the sweat from her pores and her mind from shock. She had zero intention of sticking around to find out and instead, vaulted towards the only exit in sight.
She stumbled at first and a single red-hot line raced itself across the flesh of her back, thin branches of agony extending like frozen worms, motivating her desperate scramble to safety. Each leg pumped harder and harder, finding purchase on the unforgiving ground and propelling her by leaps and bounds, the force tilting her sprint and almost slamming her to the right as a hunk of snarling metal crashed into the wall next to her.
Her joints whirred and strained past their limits, a prominent need to live exceeding the agony she’d found herself in. Fear leant wings to her feet as they plodded and skid across from solid concrete to hard pitch, each frenzied, stilting step threatening to dislocate an ankle or two.
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But a few minutes later she collapsed behind an AD-Police patrol station, the pristine, glossy building a stark contrast to her ruffled, battered appearance. Her legs clumsily fell over one another, shoulder slipping against a featureless, blue bulwark, a blank, mortified stare aimed at the earth. Two new rips on her pristine navy sweater and only one unlucky scrape marred her cargo. Large gulps of air funneled through her chassis as they slowly returned to their normal levels, she thanked Mekka for her luck. If she’d landed any farther back it might’ve gotten her, if she hadn’t lost her balance she’d be another splat on the wall.
Haltingly, she rose to her feet and plodded towards the station. Hopefully, they’d know more than sh-
“THOOM!”
Motes of black danced across her vision, her ears rang and balance turned sideward with her body. Both came crashing down, lips planting a forceful kiss upon the pavement as she squirmed in place. Desperate to be anywhere but here. Fluid pooled at the edge of her eyes as she mustered strength she didn’t have, only to receive the equivalent of a sledgehammer to the head.
It hurt. Pain lanced through her circuits and she swore she could hear a piece of hardware come loose within her head. Her servo ran horribly hot, racing to reduce the persistent thrum of tearful thunder ravaging her brain with every beat of her synthetic heart.
She felt a gentle pressure dance across the angry line on her back, now clotted completely, before it disappeared, the creature lunging away from her form with a sound akin to a metallic screech.
“BAW! Crack! Cra-Crack!”
Loud, deafening gunfire renewed the storm in her head, her pain threshold torturously exceeded, her body thoroughly spent. Black slowly smothered her sight as all became silent.
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