[STARTING SYSTEMS…]
10%... 20%.. 37%... 55%..-
[ERROR DETECTED; UNABLE TO RECOVER DATA FROM CORE]
[ACTION: RECALIBRATE ERROR]
[RECALIBRATING…]
10%.. 50%.. 70-
[WARNING: FAILURE TO RECALIBRATE ERROR; SUBSYSTEMS UNABLE TO CONNECT TO SYNTHESIS ARCHIVES]
[INQUIRY: ACTIVATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS, PROCEEDING WITH REBOOT…]
71%…75%... 78-
[ERROR DETECTED, REBOOT INTERRUPTED-]
[NOTICE: CODE CORRUPTION IMPACTING DATA RECOVERY ATTEMPT 02]
[ACTIVATING PROTOCOL RESPONSE: PURGE CORRUPTED DATA….]
[PURGE SUCCESSFUL... RESUMING CORE REBOOT]
80%... 88%... 90... 99%...
[INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
There was darkness. This darkness appeared to stretch endlessly as the initial sensation that greeted her. Then this faint pulse, quite akin to a heartbeat.
BA-DUMP
There again, there’s light.
Her eyes shot open, being greeted with a chaotic, hazy mess before her. She struggled to make sense of things. However, after some blinks, her vision refocused, and the blurred hazy mess gave way to a much clearer view. The sight that emerges is that of a grimy wall, its surface covered in dirt and soot of something, revealing its age. Subsequently, small pop-up notifications materialize in her vision field, displaying words in small text.
[DIAGNOSTIC REPORT]
[STATUS: GREEN]
[SYSTEMS: Operational.]
[STATUS OPERATING: ACTIVE]
Her mind tried to make sense of the lack of context, unsure of what they meant. But inadvertently thinks that it means that she’s all right. However, with the bigger issue in this situation, she needs to find out where she is. The attempts to move, however, proved to be quite useless; her limbs felt stiff, heavy, and unresponsive as if she were struggling in wet concrete or a swamp. Confusion crept in, an unfamiliar sensation she couldn't understand - why couldn't she move?
So she tried again to raise her arms, but alas they barely moved an inch away from her sides, and tried moving her legs, the same applied to them. The sensation of being confined, like being trapped in a cage, caused a bit of frustration. But a faint constant hum in the background, reminiscent of a computer’s fan, caught the girl’s attention. Momentarily, she struggled to make heads or tails of whatever was happening, but she knew one thing: she was stuck and very much didn’t like it.
But, something else is bothering her. Ever since she had heard that sound, it added to the things she knew, she was not lying down or standing; she was floating? But couldn't move freely. The girl also noted the narrow confinement surrounding her, with the wall in front of her slightly bent. All of this led to one conclusion.
She was in a capsule or a pod, one of the two.
That .... Just left her with one question, why was she in a capsule? Or, whatever it was, why was she in here and awake? The girl wanted answers as her eyes narrowed a bit, a little unhappy with this realization, her expression changing to more or less thoughtful as she thought for a moment trying to remember why she was in there with any possibilities, at the same time placing an attempt to see if there’s a clue in her memories.
Weird.... There’s nothing in her memories... Every bit of it came out as a blank. She doesn't understand but will worry about that later, what she needs to do now is get out. The question was... How? Her eyes scanned for any sign of something, a release mechanism, a control panel, or something. The interior had no buttons or handles, not even a panel she could access sadly, much to the green-eyed girl's dismay. She wanted to get out, she felt like she had to, but she didn't know why.
This girl had an idea, probably a dumb one, but an idea nonetheless since well it could work. With a quick attempt to move her arms in again, straining against the invisible force that held her limbs in place, this time she made some progress, this was a painstakingly slow process with her arm managing to scrape the pod’s surface with the tips of her fingers, and soon a palm of her hand. So the girl put more effort into her strength, pushing against it trying to get it to release her with the other hand in tow.
At first, This may be useless, but the metal slowly gave way from her strength, indicating that whatever she was doing was working. With tiny progress, this girl took it to keep on! Thus, She pushed harder, her body having trouble with the restraints as she felt them trying to pull her arms off of the hatch in front of her, feeling her muscles tense up a bit. Quickly, with a loud hiss, the hatch immediately snapped open. Whatever had held her inside deactivated and she fell out unable to catch herself in time, landing on the cold, hard tile floor with a small startled yelp. She lay there for a moment in pure triumph at getting out while breathing heavily, her chest heaving up and down, to catch her breath.
Her eyes caught sight of the surroundings she was in; this factor of her being in a seemingly abandoned room with dim lighting from the flickering ceiling lights above, with metal parts scattered and other incomprehensible, unknown objects strewn around.
She wanted to get up, and that’s what she did, The girl tried to stand with some strands of silver hair falling across her face partially covering her view as she gazed around noting whatever could be worth her interest. The room she was in was revealed to be abandoned and worst for the sight, with the dim lighting and the metallic walls she could say this place was truly left to rot and die off… albeit slowly.
Her gaze hardened, noting the things in her surroundings as she managed to get herself to sit on a cold tiled floor, her body was still trying to wake up completely. Her body felt unusually heavy and awkward like this wasn’t her body… Honestly, it was odd to say. So forth, this girl tried to get up —a bit too quickly, One of her legs couldn’t take the sudden weight and collapsed right back onto the ground with a small painful grunt. The girl wanted to try again, but she stopped catching sight of something she finally noticed: her hands. Both strange in shape and appearance were a pair of mechanical hands possessing a black coloration with green accents and sharp claw-like nails. They look as if someone tried to make them mimic a real-life human’s hand.
Curiously and cautiously she raised one of her hands, flexing each digit of said limb with almost child-like fascination and surprise. They were her hands but they just felt off… like they weren’t hers… huh? But something plagued in the back of her mind snapping out of the notion, She decided to continue and get up; This time much more carefully, placing both hands on the floor and getting onto her knees, she slowly pushed herself up.
The girl forced herself to get up awkwardly, her hair swaying from the shaky movement and the fabric of her unusual blue gown. She managed to get to her feet, as a good enough indication. Her legs wobbled, unsteady, and she was not used to standing after who knows how long she’d been in that pod, they nearly buckled from the weight of her own body. She gazed down quietly, feeling triumphant at such a small accomplishment. Honestly, the only thing she's worried about is falling again.
But, First off, she just wanted to figure out where she was. So, slowly her green eyes looked around the room for anything that could give her a clue. The room’s environment was quite cold and uninviting with what she saw already along with the hums of the air vents above that occasionally coughed and sputtered in tandem with the sounds of processors whirring around her. Yet something in the corner of the room caught the sides of her vision. Maybe it was something that didn’t need her attention nor her view, as it was the reflection of the light; it drew her gaze towards the far side of the room to a cabinet of sorts.
Taking a small tentative step, the keyword here: she almost fell, almost. She finally managed to regain her balance, but trying to walk was like a clumsy baby attempting to walk. Her first few steps were as unsteady as they were, arms outstretched to try and maintain balance.
Once she was close enough, her eyes caught something- no, someone - an unfamiliar face. The first thing she noticed caused her to tilt her head in confusion, with that figure mimicking the same.
It was a girl who stared back at her strangely, Her skin was ashen in comparison, a stark contrast to the deep blue of the gown. Her eyes were a vivid green, glowing softly in the dim light with an uncertain gaze. Long silver hair, flowing like a waterfall with bangs framing her face. Delicate and petite in both height and stature with a quite small chest.
She noticed the girl and noted her hands: Her eyes were drawn to her hands, visible beneath the loose sleeves of the gown. They were the same as hers… this furthered her surprise, as she got closer and so did the girl as a result of her jumping back and, accidentally falling on her behind. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet, somewhat mesmerized by the sight. She wanted to try something, so the girl raised one hand, watching the other girl in the mirror do the same. She let out a small surprised gasp. She placed a hand toward the girl, only to feel a smooth glassy-like texture instead of the girl’s; she had hoped to touch the girl in the glass’s hand.
“Is… Is this…. me?”
This was her reflection…. She was looking at herself quite mesmerized by it. But more or less startled by the first words she uttered, and it surprised her that her voice was soft and melodic like a piano. She placed a hand on her neck, perplexed by her voice. She didn’t try it any further with the hand moving upwards touching her face, feeling the smooth, almost cool texture of her skin and bits of stray hair from her scalp, as the reflection did the same.
Everything felt real, yet she felt like there was something off about her, But she couldn’t know what it was. She stepped back, her gaze dropping to the floor as she tried to process what she had seen. The girl in the mirror was beautiful and strange in an odd way, but she felt so unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time… Like this was something that she couldn't recognize.
Her green eyes gazed upon the girl again, her reflection staring back at her with the same empty questioning expression. Finally, she silently turned away from the mirror, her thoughts a mix of somewhat messy and a bit confused. With one last gaze at her reflection, She looks around for anything interesting.
At last, her eyes catch a pair of doors, partially open, bits of light streaming out of it from the outside. The light seemed inviting, and it might be a way out as much as the girl knew. With a small tentative step forward, her bare feet moving her, her body swaying as she fought to keep her balance, But she took another step, then another, her movements becoming much easier to maintain. Getting closer and closer to her goal, the silver-haired girl managed to reach the doors and put a hand towards one of them.
It felt cold. She stared at the doors ahead as her eyes locked onto it, noting the partially ajar doors but they’re stubbornly blocking her way of exit, kind of thing.
The doors were heavier than they looked, solid, and the gap was wide enough to peek beyond what it held. She leaned forward to see what was ahead, only to see an old grimy wall ahead of her and a checkered tiled floor… It was a hallway or it could not be but, she wasn’t taking any chances and just jumped the gun.
Without hesitation, The girl slipped her fingers into the small gap between the doors, her green eyes narrowing in determination. Her fingers trembled slightly as she applied pressure, to force the door open.
Sadly, It didn’t budge.
A bit of frustration surged within her, and she adjusted her grip, her nails digging into the metal surface creating a dent in its surface from the force. She felt the resistance, both doors stubbornly refusing to budge open. She tried again taking a deep breath, pulling harder this time, her whole body tense.
Said doors only creaked open a little, a sign of some good progress and she continued with her bare feet planted firmly beneath her and hands gripping the door as tightly as she could. The girl wasn’t going to fail, and she could bet on it. She grits her teeth, muscles straining against the effort while pulling. These doors groaned in protest, that was the loudest sound aside from everything else being nigh quiet here —excluding the fan.
This silver haired felt a small sharp pain in her left arm shot up, with a small warning indicator appearing in her vision showing her arm momentarily with damage reports possibly sustained and how much strength she is exerting. She pushed it aside and focused on the door heavily as it served as a small nuisance between her and a way out.
The silver-haired wasn’t going to give up anytime soon, slowly little by little the doors inched open until finally, a loud, grinding noise as the doors finally gave way. It shifted in its frame, the gap widening significantly. The girl gritted her teeth, the strain evident on her face, but she didn’t let go. She felt the resistance lessening, the door slowly but giving in to her relentless effort.
With a growl turning into a small shout, the doors wrenched open with a loud creak sliding wide enough for her to slip through. The girl stumbled back slightly, the force of her strength knocking her off balance from the suddenness of the doors opening and, not expecting her brute forcing it worked. But she had done it—the door was open, finally. The girl gave a small sigh of relief from finally opening that door.
Thus, She scrambled to her feet and stood there for a moment, staring at the now-open doorway, the light from the hallway spilling into the room, the flicker from the overhead lights giving more to a desolate hallway in an even worse shape than the room was, with the walls cloaked in the age of dirt and grime. Some parts of the walls and ceiling bore wounds with bits and pieces of wiring, plaster, and whatnot spilling out. There were no other doors as far as she could see.
“What is this place?”
But before she could even explore further, A sharp shrill cry followed by a loud deafening noise snapped her head towards the echoing sounds of it, someone else was here, and it sounded like there was trouble.
[ALERT: UNKNOWN SIGNATURES DETECTED]
She stopped her system detecting something? Well…. she went ahead taking heed. Could they be enemies or not? She didn’t know but she’ll find out when she can, and if deciding to eliminate them. But if she had too, That means she'll do it.
----------------------------------------
/… Fifteen minutes ago before activation
----------------------------------------
Within the noonish hours of the day. The sun glared down on the desolate, deserted area, where a lone dark gray Jeep Grand Cherokee was driving with its exterior with bits of rust here and there, and bits of caked-up dirt and sand around it with a tire on the back.
“Are we there yet, biiiiiiig ssiiiiiiissssssteeeeeer?”
“I'm booooooooreeeeed!”
Sitting in the driver's seat with long red hair in a braid on her shoulder, her eyes hidden behind sunglasses, and her prosthetic arm holding the steering wheel, She caught a glance at the passenger in the rearview mirror.
A young girl, around 8 or 9, with messy brown hair that accentuated something about her pent-up energy with a pair of goggles on her head. She was wearing a beige poncho with pink accents and blue pants; her eyes, one brown and the other a unique blue. She kicked her legs to shake, to shake off the pent-up energy and boredom that ever so struck her.
The older ones had to resist groaning, Alas, the younger sibling is quite hard to maintain. But this earned the older sister a small sigh.
"Not yet, Gemma."
They'd been driving since morning, stopping to refuel or take a break. They've also been looking for supplies. Gemma groaned not wanting to be in the car any further.
“Can't we stop now?” She said, “I really wanna be out of the truuuuccck….”
"No, Until we can find a safe place to rest and refuel, then yeah."
She makes a fair point here, with them being out on unknown territory, meaning they could encounter danger anywhere from….. Those things. Gemma gives a pleading look to her older sister. “Come on, Pleeeeeeaaaseeee? Pretty please with an ice cream on top, Charis?” She begged with a pleading look.
“For the last time, no-” the car sputtered and slowed down, interrupting Charis along with the warning light on the dash. "Damn it, not now..." she hissed, pressing the gas several times. The SUV had trouble now….. And that's quite a very inconvenient time for that to happen. Charis looks ahead to see if there's a building or something out there to make a pit stop, but she managed to only catch one and decided to make a pit stop there.
“You know what? We’re gonna take that pit stop.”
This earned a cheer from her younger sibling, yeah… It felt like the universe was working in her sister’s favor today, It didn’t make Charis much… jealous. She continued to drive the SUV praying it’ll drive for a couple more miles towards that building. “Come on, come on, don’t fail me now.” She thought to herself, mostly hoping this Jeep wouldn’t break down.
Well, Guess what: They made it. With some effort, the car pulled in behind the building and gave one final cough before, sadly giving out completely. Unlocking the doors, she heard the sound of one of the rear doors opening and shut itself, Gemma gave a cheerful woop for some FREEDOM.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Charis pulled the key out of the ignition and hastily pocketed it. She’s able to locate the release button and press it, thereby opening the smoking hood of her Jeep a little. Unfortunately, she managed to get herself out and trudged to the front of the Jeep, coughing a few times from the smoke. Once Charis approached and pulled the hood open, a large cloud of steam blew into her face. She swatted it away with a loud splutter of coughing and peeked into the jumble of wires and hoses of her car's ancient engine. The warmth from the car's engine combined with the already UNBEARABLE air made it almost too much for her to bear.
"You've seriously gotta be kidding me, huh?" Charis grumbled under her breath, scowling at the hiss of the engine. Her wild red hair was whipping in the hot wind, with strands sticking to her sweat-drenched forehead and her bangs blowing in the breeze. It looked like today was off to a not-so-good start, and this was bound to get worse. "You've got to be kidding me!" She added, her voice slowly climbing in frustration.
"I swear, this Jeep is cursed... I give you gas, oil, and bought parts you don't even deserve, and this is how you repay me?! Seriously, I fix you every mother—"
Her tone rose, aimed partly at the SUV, and partly at the universe itself while she kicked the front of her vehicle, but proudly (thankfully) interrupted by her younger sister, Gemma, who watched her sister with deep concern as she walked to her sister's side.
Hey, at least this can stay PG, or wait was it PG-13? Eh, who cares?
“Is it bad?” She asked her heterochromatic eyes bringing out that concern. Charis is a bit aware of when her sister gives her that look, and it needs to give her a moment to figure out what to say and avoid her colorful words since she nearly said something very wrong in front of her younger sister. As well as her sister always somehow knew how Charis felt.
So, she lets out a long, tired sigh. This somewhat not okay girl, crouched down, placing her hands on her knees, noting Gemma’s worried look. Honestly, She wanted to reassure her and try to say that everything would be fine and, that this was just a minor issue that could be fixed. But she was fresh out of lies and patience that could even put a mother to shame.
“Well, here’s the bad news,” Charis said honestly. “The engine’s shot and the same could be said for the water pump, and I may need a new hose for the coolant and that refilled too, I need the parts to repair it but I don’t know if there are any vehicles I can find around here, I still have some coolant in the trunk. So I say we’re not gonna make it anytime soon, Sorry.”
“Oh…”
Gemma breaks eye contact visibly upset. Charis wanted to comfort and help her as she placed a hand on her shoulder grabbing her attention. “Hey, hey, hey! I’ll figure out how to get us out of this pickle, and then we’ll be back on the road faster than I can say avocados with sunhats on.” She said ending with a cheeky smirk while reassuring her. Charis did want to figure out this situation and how to fix it.
The child managed to stifle a laugh. “Pfft, Avocados with sunhats on.” Gemma parroted while brightening up a bit. “Sooooooooo, are we gonna gather supplies from this building? I really wanna see what’s there to collect!”
Charis' eyes landed on the building in front of them, it was large and rather ominous in appearance, its form withering from the things it must have seen, with cracks and pieces of the building scattered throughout the area. For the windows, as far as Charis could see, had been shattered by the possibilities of years past, or perhaps by others who may had been here. There are plenty of possibilties to go off here, but there's no time to list that here.
She removed the sunglasses from her face, revealing her warm brown eyes as she gave her younger sister a small grin while ruffling her hair a bit. “You betcha, and there might be vehicles or something I can salvage to repair the truck, or make a payment off off.” The redhead replied nonchalantly, mostly hoping there was at least a vehicle or something she could salvage some parts from to repair, But a good sale from something else could prove better either way... She noticed Gemma's fist pump and tiny “Yes!”, earning a slight chuckle from the older sibling, Man is her younger sister so adorable?
"But don't get your hopes up...we still have to be careful not to be noticed by those Automata, there could be lot's of them around here" Charis warned, her tone serious. Her sister nodded, heeding that warning well, but Charis's smile returned. “So, Gemma, grab your backpack, we're gone salvaging.”Gemma cheered and walked back to the SUV, pulling the handle only to have the door refuse to open, and glanced at her sister as if to gesture: It won’t open. Charis groaned, riiiiight, she forgot the vehicle's autolocking mechanism whenever they were out of the jeep for too long and forgot to lock it. Annoying but convenient feature.
“Right…. Door’s locked.” Charis grumbled her shoulder slumping slightly. She sighed while fishing for the keys out of her pocket and pressing the unlock key; This vehicle’s headlights momentarily blinked signaling the unlocked status, giving Gemma the chance to pull the door open and go grab her bag. Charis on the other hand gazes absentmindedly towards the barren land ahead of them as she wipes the brow of her head swiping the sweat off her head. “Man…. It’s gotta be so hot here in a desert…” She thoughtfully complained to herself.
Ooh, But a glint of light caught her eyes, and she noted it as she tried to squint her eyes at what was making that in the distaance. But upon seeing the small plumes of smoke trailing behind whatever it was, and them growing closer quickly. “What the..?” As fast as she could, Charis fished a small spyglass out of her other pocket, it caught the all too familiar sheen of light and the silhouettes of their form, She didn’t know how many but it was an estimate around three. Her blood ran cold fearing for the worst at the sight. “Gemma…” She calls out. “Yea?” The younger sister peeked out of the car, a bit confused.
“Gemma, get out of the car and run.”
“H-huh?”
“Pawns!”
Once that word slipped out of her mouth, She saw her sister's pale face, like she had seen a ghost. That word was the worst word to hear, and Charis had a bad feeling. Because in the distance with the loud rumbling, and clouds of dust being kicked up, She caught the all too familiar sheen of light and the silhouettes of their form, She didn’t know how many but it was an estimate around three. Her younger sister wasted no time and speedily zipped out of the car, slammed the door shut, and ran after her older sibling.
The rumbling grew closer and louder, there’s no doubt these creatures discovered her and her sister and were bent on eliminating them both. As soon as Gemma got close enough, Charis reached for her hand quickly and her eyes fell on a possible entrance: A door.... A door that is barely hanging on its hinges. So, she led the two to it and slid in quickly just in time, her back pressed against the wall, away from the windows and the door to prevent exposure.
While the rumbling grew in volume, the sounds of footsteps mixed with the sounds of machinery. Seeing her younger sister, Charis took her hand in a silent motive, Both urging her to be quiet as her sister trembled with fear; As well as to comfort her.
Outside, the sounds grew louder but slower... They were in search of them... The sensation of her sister's small frame pressed against her for support only added to Charis' worry for her as her heartbeat quickened. The auburn’s breath shallowed as she listened, remaining alert to the noises that seemed to be coming from the automatons, a few of them sounding further away and one drawing ever closer to their location. Charis had a feeling they were spreading out to find them. The heavy thudding of its steps and the grating of its joints drew closer and closer till it ceased. Dust hung in the air, stirred occasionally, by the passing automaton’s direction.
Charis’s one arm wrapped protectively around Gemma as she was bracing herself for the worst. The eerie quiet was deceptive. Somewhere outside, the Pawn Types are on the hunt. A sinister glow of red shimmered through the window as it shifted to try and locate them.
Her prosthetic arm tightened slightly on her sister’s form, She pressed her sister against herself protectively, her auburn hair hanging loosely over her face as she listened, straining for any sound beyond the faint clatter of debris shifting in the distance and the crimson glow.
But then the movements and the glow moved as the creature seemingly drew away, toward another spot. They’re safe.. For now, the sounds seemingly grew quieter and a bit muffled. Charis released a sigh of relief. “I think they’re gone, we’re safe.” She whispered.
Gemma looks up with her mismatched eyes worried, but not saying anything anyway. “Let's go” She urged quietly getting up. Since the outside is blocked off, Charis thinks they’re gonna have to go in deeper inside, meaning this could prove both a benefit as well as a drawback because who knows what could be in there and it could be another automaton waiting for them. But Charis being Charis, jumps the gun and takes a risk that may be less risky than this risk.
The brunette follows her getting up, holding onto her sister’s hand as they move carefully across the abandoned room with her. Charis had spotted another doorway, with the door sprawled onto the ground…. Parts of the door on the doorway are still there. So that’s a good choice then. Charis kept sharp for anything that could alert the automata. She knew one thing: Pawns may be weak if you had weapons against one you could handle it, but more than one spells doom and it’s worse if you don’t have anything to defend yourself. She shuddered a bit thinking about their demise if she and her sister ever get caught. They’re gonna make it! Since they’re pretty much halfway there, and need to tread not to be seen by both windows or the doorway.
But, nope, not today.
Gemma’s boot caught on a loose piece of metal without being a little bit more careful, sending her down with a yelp. She hit the ground, almost hurting herself in progress. Charis’s heart dropped several beats. "Gemma!" Charis whisper-shouted in fear and worry, kinda forgetting the factor as she knelt to inspect her younger sister to check on her.
“Are you ok???”
For a moment, She’s quiet but she then give a quick nod. “Mhm…” Gemma looks a bit embarrassed at that. “I think…”
The elder sister sighed relieved as she offered a hand and pulled her up. But her gaze darted around to make sure if they were in the clear still, There was a suspicious amount of silence for some reason, That just cleared in an ungodly amount of dread.
Suddenly, the air shifted. A scraping sound, low and guttural, resonated through the cracked walls around them. Charis froze, her blood running cold having a bad feeling. Before she could react, a gunmetal grey claw exploded through the already deteriorating wall beside them, sharpened jagged metal digits swiping mere inches from Gemma’s head.
Gemma screamed, She scrambled back, her hands clawing at the ground, wide eyes gazing at the creature’s hand that so attempted to grab her. "Gemma!" Charis lunged, her prosthetic arm swiftly grabbing her sister by the back of her poncho, yanking her out of the Pawn's reach just as the claw smashed into the ground of Gemma’s last position. Quite in the nick of time.
Dust and fragments of concrete flew into the air as the wall’s hole grew bigger quite, revealing the glowing, ominous red lights of the machine that was hunting them & its tall form giving way slightly.
The thing’s four jaw-like segments of its head opened in a mechanical hiss, The automaton metalic head shifting into an almost twisted sort of imitation of a snarl as it pressed through the gap. Its other claw assisted in tearing at the broken wall, pulling it apart with brute force.
She quickly grabbed her sister and made a run for it, The creature screeched once more with the sounds of objects falling plopping onto the ground, and then the screeching of the Pawn type. It’s chasing them. Huh? The door leads them down a hallway, kinda surprising, But both sisters as fast as they could go, There was a turn up ahead. Charis quickly grabs her sister’s arms and pulls her up making the sharp turn, and almost slipping from both of the weight of both sisters and the fact she’s now carrying a passenger.
But this is what Charis needs because with running with her sister on the ground and obviously she’s shorter than her and it’s gonna be hard, And now it’s going to be much harder because of this.
But luckily, Lady luck was on their side and the Automaton skidded onto the floor and ran into the wall since it couldn’t stop, with a defening crash. This could buy them some time, as Charis down a little further and dove behind a room and opens it and shuts it, kinda nearly fell because there’s stairs. Atleast this big sister caught herself before hand, trying to catch her breath as she places her sister down, All that adrenaline that surged through her briefly fizzed away to exhaustion. They got a moment, or so a matter of moments from you know what.
This room around them was silent, save for the faint drip of water somewhere in the distance, and dim light filtered in through the crumbling ceiling above, This room wasn’t a room, It’s was a stairwell… Leading to somewhere, With rusted stairs ahead, These said stairs partially missing some stairs, and some parts rusty.
She leaned against the wall, taking in deep breaths, her chest heaving as sweat dripped down her face. Gemma, hunched over on the ground, was trembling. Her eyes darted nervously around the room, her small hands clutching at the edges of her poncho.
“B-big sister,” Gemma whimpered her voice quite a whisper, still afraid, her whole body shaking in fear. Charis on the other hand was worried for her sister, and for the bad luck that was going on for some reason. Charis has to be brave no matter what to her sister. Thus, taking a deep breath, she forced herself to move, dropping to her knees in front of her little sister.
"Hey, hey, squirt," she murmured, brushing a strand of brown hair away from her sister's face. "It's okay, Calm down."
Gemma's lip quivered, her eyes gazing at her sister’s brown ones, but they showed plenty of worry and fear. “I-I thought it was going to get me…” She sniffled, her voice trembling.
“I know, I know," Charis said softly, pulling Gemma into an embrace, both arms tightening around her in a tight but not to-harm-her, type of hug. ”But it didn’t. I’m here Gemma. And I won’t let anything happen to you, kay’?"
Gemma buried her face into Charis’s shoulder, stifling a sob. Charis held her, trying to steady her breathing, her heart still racing from their narrow escape from death. She wished she could promise more — safety and a good way out of here — but all she had now was this moment and a second to figure out what to do.
They stayed like that for a minute, the silence stretching between them, broken only by Gemma’s soft sobs and Charis’s small bits of assurances. You know, When you have a young kid and a young adult of a sister who both have been in not-so-good situations almost facing certain death not too long ago is certainly gonna be scarring on young Gemma here.
Eventually, Charis pulled back, cupping her younger sister's face gently with her prosthetic hand. "It’s going to be okay, Besides we’re gonna get out of this bigger pickle."
Gemma nodded shakily, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Charis gave her a small smile — Pretty much trying here— before rising to her feet, offering her hand. You know, This is also a time that she wished Gemma was older so she can swear because this was a good time to cuss out the universe, But she can’t sadly.
“Come on,” she said gently. “We’re going down the stairs. One step at a time.”
With a nod, Gemma took Charis’s hand with her older sister leading her down the stairs gently but quickly enough to make haste, while being careful. The staircase was narrow and uneven, leading deeper into something within this old structure, but it was the only way forward, terribly enough.
While descending, Charis’s eyes darted around, looking for anything that may help, if that pawn or any other of them came for her and her sister. So far, they’ve been lucky, but she knew their luck wouldn’t hold forever. Something caught her eye: A broken slab of metal lying discarded on the ground, half-buried in rubble. It was a bit warped, maybe a piece of a beam from something, it was probably enough for her to lift
She crouched down, gripping the slab with both arms and wrenching it free with a loud crash. It felt solid enough, something she could swing to defend herself. Not much, but better than nothing…. Even if that’s risking her safety more.
She glanced back at Gemma, who stood watching her with a bit of uncertainty. Charis gave her a reassuring nod, and smile.
"Let's keep going," she said, adjusting her grip on the metal. "We’re almost out of here." She continued with leading her down the stairs until what Charis spotted was heaven, she was thanking whatever force could help her.
Suddenly, a faint metallic groan echoed through the stairwell, it sent a shiver down this young adult’s spine. She stopped, her grip tightening on Gemma's hand. Her eyes darted around, scanning the rest of the stairs and then looking up.
Another sound. Louder this time.
Gemma's breath hitched, her small fingers clutching Charis's arm. "Big sis…"
Charis's heart pounded in her chest as she managed to trace the sound. It was coming from above. It found them again.
"Run!" Charis exclaimed, pulling Gemma with her as they turned and bolted, the sound of metal scraping growing louder behind them. Gemma stumbled a little, With Charis right behind her sister and, helping her maintain her balance.
They reached the bottom of the stairs and headed towards the door, There freedom was awaiting them, If they could just make it.
But before they could get halfway, the sound of metal slamming against metal rang out with a deafening crash. Charis skidded to a stop, her blood turning cold as it landed with a heavy thud in front of them, blocking the way.
Its reddish eyes glowed faintly in the dark, its tall inhumane form standing in front of them, its large hands with its serrated claws twitching for its prey. Charis immediately got in front of her sister, Protective instincts kicking in. The slab of metal was held tightly in her hand. She feels Gemma’s fingers digging into her back, her sister hiding behind her, being a trembling mess, With Charis worrying for her.
The Pawn stepped forward, its organic yet mechanical clawed feet thumping on the ground. It clicked again, The sound of gears and pistons shifting as it stalked towards the girls, like a beast cornering its prey.
"Stay behind me," Charis said, her voice a harsh whisper. Gemma immediately didn't waste a second and got behind her. She raised the metal slab, her heart hammering in her chest, knowing it was a poor defense. But hey! It was the only thing protecting them from this automaton.
This Pawn-type lunged, its claws reaching out. She moved her sister out of the way along with her, But the claws narrowly missed her by the threads of her hair. It landed giving off a hiss of frustration, "Charis!" Gemma screamed, her voice breaking as the creature advanced again, this time a little bit harder for Charis to react. Charis barely dodged, grabbing Gemma out of the way just as the claws scraped across the wall, sending shards of stone and steel into the air.
“Sis! Your bleeding!” Gemma called out. And boy was Gemma a sport for calling it out, Because, Charis saw the steady amount of blood leaking out of a large gnash on her shoulder, and she felt the now searing pain from that hit.
Their luck is obviously running out, and it was running out fast. Charis looked around wildly, searching for an escape, They could use the stairs to go back up, But who knows if the other Pawn types were waiting for them or anything much worse than that? and with the high possibility of them probably gonna kill them; They’re trapped and she knows.
"Dammit, I’m injured… There’s got to be a way out," she thought, her mind racing for what to do. If they stayed here, It would just continue with its assault and toy with them. But if she could distract it, create some kind of opening—
"Gemma, when I say go, I need you to run."
Gemma looked up at her, wide-eyed, terrified, but mostly stunned overall. "W-what!? Are you sure Charis???"
"I’m sure, Besides when I say I’ll get us out of this, I will,” Charis said, determined, though she’s totally afraid. She had to get her sister out of there, no matter what. The Pawn-type crouched again, readying itself for another attack.
Charis braced herself, her fingers gripping the metal slab so hard her knuckles turned white and wincing while dealing with her other moderate or not-so-severe injury. She caught her sister’s gaze. “But, Charis-.”
“I know, I’m gonna buy us time!”
It leaped, its claws outstretched.
“Now! Gemma run!”
Using that slab, She swung it with all her strength, aiming for its head, It’s only that it didn’t do much and it brought down Charis with one of its claws bearing down trying to crush Charis, but with her other hand this red-haired raises her prosthetic hand to try and stop it, But it was working for a bit but it was proving useless as sparks emanated from the arm.
She caught sight of her sister’s terrified look, of seeing her sister pinned under a large robot like that and mere seconds from being killed. “Gemma go! I’ll get out of this, but you got to run!” But her younger sister wouldn’t respond, as she stood there terrified as Charis has the feeling Gemma knew that's a lie on her end. The creature brought its other claw and raised it priming for the kill, But then-
Something bursts through the wall.
It happened so fast that Charis barely had time to process it — a blur of silver shot through as the entire wall on her right exploded into debris. A figure, quite lithe, slammed into the Pawn with such force that the sound of metal colliding with metal rang through the corridor like a gunshot. As she felt the weight of the creature off of her, as she got up, instinctively shooting up to shield Gemma as bits of debris and dust rained down from the sides.
For a moment, the world was chaos, the air filled with dust and the sound of a Pawn struggling to right itself from the rubble.
Charis’s breath hitched as her eyes caught sight of something; It came out of nowhere — all she caught was silver, long, and flowing like a waterfall kind of hair. Since things escalated so quickly she had no idea what it was, But it felt like this was going to be less of an answer.