EPILOGUE
SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION
Eric, his sister Betty, and his grandparents, are sat watching some kids show Betty had wanted on, when it was interrupted by that robot. She screams for it to change back, grabbing the remote and mashing the buttons. But it didn’t matter, the angry robot stayed on the screen.
Eric’s blood ran cold. He’d snuck into his dad’s office a few weeks ago, and had seen the videos Dr Eisenmann had sent, seen the robots from the future. This was it, the invasion was happening today.
But it would be OK, Dr Eisenmann knew they were coming, he believed he would save them all, he had a plan.
Betty calms after the speech had ends, the screen returning to her cartoon. His Grandparents were in a panic though, rushing from room to room, gathering clothes and food and other stuff that seemed unimportant to Eric.
Sensing the impending departure, Eric runs up to his room, grabs his backpack and stuffs it with a few things; A torch, his wrist pad, a super hero action figure, some clothes, the music player he’d received for his birthday, loaded with songs, and a pocket knife, which he tucks into his sock.
Eric takes one last look around his room, wondering if he would ever see it again, before closing his door. Back downstairs his Grandma is arguing with Betty. She’d turned off the screen and Betty was not happy.
Eric intervenes and guides his sister into the car, which she resisted, but their grandma’s panicked shouting quelled Betty’s irritation for a few minutes.
“Where are we going?” Eric asks as his grandparents got themselves into the front seats.
“To the Ark.” His grandmother replies, “You’re father said that if anything was to happen before he returned, that we should take you there.”
“I thought we were going with Dad in his ship?” Eric asks.
His dad had explained how they were going to be traveling through space, put into a deep sleep, and waking up to find a new world to explore.
It had sounded so exciting, but the Ark wasn’t the ship they were supposed to be leaving on.
“Will Dad meet us there?” He asks.
His grandparents look at one another before his Granddad says, “Sure.”
“Is Mummy there?” Betty asks.
Eric looks at her, then at his grandparents, their mother had left for a mission several months ago, they hadn’t seen or heard from her since.
After a moment their grandmother speaks.
“No. But I’m sure you will see her soon enough.”
“Yay.” Betty says.
We pull out of the driveway, Eric’s Granddad puts the car in gear and speeds down the street, much faster than was legally allowed.
His grandmother scolds his Granddad for his reckless driving. He mutters something back to her but Eric doesn’t catch what he says.
Betty starts complaining again. Now upset that she never got to finish her episode, Eric tries to sooth her, not wanting her to distract his grandparents.
“Betty, listen to me, we’re on a very important, top secret mission.”
She stops sobbing and looks at him, all of a sudden full of interest as he continues.
“There are aliens invading the earth, we have to escape them.”
She nods slowly, “Real aliens?” she asks, eyes full of wonder.
“Yes, but they are cyborgs, from the planet… Cyclotron.
“Really?” she asks.
“Yeah and-“ But Eric never got to finish.
There is a loud bang, and the car flips, knocking everyone to the side.
Eric shakes his head, hanging upside down. He tries to disengage the seat belt but it is locked in place.
“Betty?” He shouts at his sister, who is hanging unconscious next to him. “Betty!” He shouts again.
There is a noise from the front and Eric see’s his Granddad wriggle himself free of the seat belt, and out of the broken window.
Eric struggles against his belt, but it wont budge. He needed something sharp. Then he remembers the knife he’d tucked into his sock, he hadn’t expected to actually need to use it.
He takes it out and cuts himself free. Then moves over to his sister and does the same. Eric drags himself out of the car, and then pulls his sister free from the wreckage.
She coughs and blinks as he sits her up. Her pure skin now covered in black soot. Part of her hair had been singed.
She looks around and starts to cry, loud.
“Shut her up.” Their granddad hisses.
Eric looks up at him with fire in his eyes, about to say something, but stops. He is crouching beside the car, holding a gun, and shooting at the advancing machines. Eric looks at his Grandmother, still hanging upside down in the car. She isn’t moving.
Betty continues to cry, regardless of what they say.
The robots move in closer, the gun doing nothing to stop them.
“Eric! Take your sister and run!” Their granddad screams.
Eric doesn’t waste a second, he grabs Betty's wrists and pulls her along with him, away from the car and the machines.
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He hears his granddad scream out and he can’t help but turn to look. His Granddad is lifted into the air, kicking at the robot who holds him as he is lowered into the back of another robot.
He screams out in pain as the robot… Absorbed his Granddad.
Eric stumbles, not watching his footing, and the pair fall to the ground. He pulls himself and Betty to their feet, and glances back, seeing the machine which their Granddad had been put inside, turn and march towards them.
He was gone, just like that, their Granddad had become one of them… Their Grandmother was still in the car, but ignored by the robots. Eric realizes that she too, must be dead, and that it is now only Eric and his sister Betty who were left.
Betty stops screaming now, too terrified to keep up the effort as they ran. They ran through streets, down tight alleyways between buildings.
As they round another corner, Eric grips his sister tighter and pulls her to duck behind a wall.
The street before them is filled with alien robots. Opposite them is a line of people, like prisoners, being led towards the open waiting machines.
Eric trembles, as he watches them get forced inside, and die, just like his Granddad.
Betty starts to cry again, he tries to cover her mouth to keep her quiet.
“Betty, we can’t make noise, or they will kill us.”
As Eric says this, her eyes grow wide, but not looking at him, looking behind him. Eric slowly turns to see a metal hand reaching for him.
Eric ducks and gripping his sister even tighter, runs, lifting her off the ground.
They run across another road, weaving between the alien robots and people fighting them for their lives. The air is filled with the smell of smoke, energy fire, and burnt blood.
People scream out as they die or get captured, and then die. Eric tries to ignore them. He has to keep his sister safe, he has to get to the Ark.
It was the only thought keeping him moving forward, as another thought tries to keep him still. ‘I have no idea where these Arcs even are…’
A few minutes later Eric finds they’ve run into an empty back street, no people, no machines, quiet. But behind them he can hear the marching of the metal feet coming for them.
Eric moves to the doors on the building and tries them one after another. The marching gets closer and closer.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Then one of the doors finally opens and he drags Betty inside. Slamming the door behind them.
He watches through the crack in the door as the robot enters the street, scans the road and the buildings, before moving on to the next street.
Eric breathes a long sigh, his whole body is shaking from the fear and the adrenaline. He goes to say something to Betty, when a gun cocks behind his head.
“Turn around slowly.” A deep voice says.
Eric’s body goes into it’s fear reserves, freezing in place.
“We’re just kids.” Eric says.
“I can see that, I’m not fucking stupid.” Says the voice, “But if you two are going to make noise you can fuck off back outside.
“Please no, we’ll die out there.”
“Then you’ll stay quiet?” The voice asks.
Eric glances down at his sister, she is as white as a ghost, but she meets his eyes, and nods.
“Yes.” Eric says, and the gun is lowered.
“Fuck sake Maverick,” Says another voice, feminine. “They’re just kids, did you really need to point a gun at them.”
“Yes Daisy, I did, they need to understand, or we’re all going to be dead.”
The woman ignores him, coming to kneel by Eric and his sister. Betty grips a hold of Eric’s arm, and watches in fear as this strange lady approaches.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be safe in here.” She says.
“We need to get to the Ark.” Eric states.
She looks at him, frowning. “The Ark? Whats that?”
“Thats’s those planet escape pods I was telling you about.” Says a third voice, another male.
“What?” Daisy says, “They’re real?” She looks at Eric, “How do you know about them?”
“Our father works in the military, high up. He’s out there fighting those aliens now. We were with our grandparents, but they’re dead now…
“And your mother?”
He shakes his head. “My sister is all I have left.” Betty hugs him even tighter.
“Do you believe him?” Maverick asks.
“Of course.” Says the older man, “I told you there was a way out of this.”
Maverick turns to Eric, who could see his face now. It is clean shaven, as is his head, which is covered in tattoos.
“Kid, do you think they’ll let us on?” He asks.
“They’re… for everyone.” Betty mumbles into Eric’s jacket.
“Yes.” Eric says, “If you can help us get there, they’ll be able to confirm my identity, and I’m sure they’ll let you all in.”
The three adults looked at one another.
“Plus, with so many people… dead. There will be extra space.” Eric says.
“I doubt they’ll be hanging around with this invasion going on.” Says the old man.
“No one’s going to survive out there,” says Maverick, “There’s just no way we could make it.”
“We have to!” Shouts Eric, and the glare he receives from the three adults forces him to lower his voice. “Everyone will be captured by the aliens if we stay.”
Maverick stares at him for a long moment before speaking.
“They’re no aliens kid.”
“What?” Eric asks.
“That Eisenmann spoke to the whole world, said they were suits to protect us from the environment.”
“No…” Eric says, moving a little towards the man. “He warned my dad that this would happen, that alien robots were coming to take over the planet. He has a plan to stop this.”
Maverick is about to disagree when Daisy speaks.
“The truth is, we don’t know what they are. Maybe they are here to help us, maybe someone else has taken control of them. We just don’t know.”
Silence.
“Whatever they are,” Maverick says, “it’s not safe to go outside anymore, and I seriously doubt the military will be able to stop them.”
“Fine.” Eric says, “If you wont help us, we’ll just go by ourselves.”
“But you’ll die out there!” He says.
“We’ll die if we stay here.” Eric retorts. “Our father is waiting for us at the Ark, we are going, one way or another.”
They stare at each other for a very long moment.
“Fuck” Maverick says, turning and packing a bag.
“So we’re going?” Daisy asks, standing.
“Do we have a choice?” He says, “Charles, get your wrinkly ass in gear.”
“Yes sir.” Charles, the old man, mocks.
“Eric?” Betty asks in a quiet voice. “Are we going to die?”
He turns to her, looking into her eyes. “No, I’m here, and I’m going to protect you, no matter what.”
She smiles, but he can see she doesn’t believe him.
“I hope Daddies OK.” She says.
Eric swallows, “Me to.”
He looks about the room, at the adults preparing to leave. This was it, the day the world ends. How long would they survive? Hours? Days?
Charles was right, the Arks weren’t going to remain on the planet indefinitely. Would they even make it in time?
Eric holds his sister tight to him. No matter what, he would try, he would keep her safe, and they would get to the Ark.
No matter what.
FINI
THE STORY WILL CONTINUE.
WITH ERIC LOWAY, IN:
Dead Metal: Book 2
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