“Would you two like to stay with me?”
My words hung in the cold air for a moment. The faces of the two girls in front of me changed. Their smiles fading, the black-haired girl’s brow furrowed in deep contemplation. She looked like she had been struck by a lightning bolt that had been hanging above her for some time. Beside her, the golden-haired girl’s eyes tilted, her hands slowly going limp at her sides. The energy she had a moment ago seemed like it had only been my imagination. Watching the two who looked as though they were stuck in the same bad dream. I began to regret my question
For a few moments, the three of us remained silent, making an odd scene, as the girls looked at the group of heavily armed robots. I wasn’t quite sure if I should have been less casual, maybe saying something like “Come with me if you want to live” would have worked better. The slight fear of the moment made the armored plates covering b1s face open and close repeatedly.
The golden-haired girl kicked the snow in front of her, casting a tense glance at the black-haired girl, who nodded before closing her eyes. A deep breath escaped her lips. As her eyes slowly reopened, a quiet voice hesitantly broke the silence, as I held a breath I didn’t have waiting for her answer, my stress involuntarily caused the armor covering b1’s face to close and open in agitation
“If you don’t mind, we’ll accept that offer,” her words stalled as she gazed at me for a moment, biting her lip slightly. IB1 was unmoving, but on the inside, I felt my mind shaking with an odd sense of excitement. “Great, umm, don’t worry. If any more of those things appear” my words paused for a moment as I thought back to the monsters lying dead in the building behind me. Letting out a sigh I continued “I can deal with them,” speaking in a solemn voice and with confidence that was unexpected to me, I stepped forward, reaching out a robotic hand toward the black-haired girl. Her body tensed slightly at the movement, her hair blowing gently in the cold wind as she looked back at me, eyes widening in shock. Smiling on the inside, I continued. “So leave it to me from here.”
Complicated emotions filled her eyes as she slowly placed her small palm in the center of my hand. Her lips parted slightly, a short breath escaping them, “Okay.”
A light cough sounded beside me. The golden-haired girl glanced between the two of us and shouted, “Can you two act like I’m here? Besides, umm, what exactly does any of this mean? Lise! We don’t even know when the next—” Her words were cut off by the black-haired girl coughing loudly.
“Olivia, it’s better than freezing to death or being eaten by mutant beasts,” she said slowly. I didn’t pay much attention to her words though, as a realization hit me. I didn’t have any plan for what to do. Besides, I still needed to get the core back to the bunker. I wasn’t sure if these two could even walk that far in their condition. In the excitement of saving them, it seems I had forgotten about basic human needs, besides the lack of edible food, or clean drinking water. I was far from confident about letting them stay in the bunker itself considering the skeleton currently inhabiting it.
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Reaching this thought, I silently ordered the other bots to bring the crate out. Instantly, heavy steps filled the air as they piled back into the warehouse. I sighed lightly, collecting my thoughts, then spoke to the two who were watching the movements of the robots.
“I have something I need to get from this place. Then I’ll take you back to my, umm, home.” I wasn’t sure if it made sense to call the bunker that, but didn’t have anywhere else to call home either. “Is there anything you need to get before we leave? Oh, and don’t be in a hurry. If you need help, just say something, and I can assist.” I almost felt like flexing as I finished. The black-haired girl nodded and slowly retraced her steps back into the warehouse. Meanwhile, the golden-haired girl stepped over to a block of remnant concrete, swept the snow off, and sat down, resting her hands on her cheeks.
“There’s nothing I need,” she yawned. “Nope, I already lost my pack.” Her face tilted as if she wanted to say more, but her mouth slowly closed as she looked upward at the gray sky. “Lise would get mad at me for asking, but why are you helping us anyway? It’s not like I’m gonna be able to aid you.”
Truthfully, I didn’t think my reasons were that deep. As I received a notification that the rest of the team had obtained the core, I replied honestly, “You looked like you needed it.”
The girl smiled slightly at my words. Her clothes were slowly growing whiter from the snow, but this didn’t seem to affect her mood. “Umm, Thanks. If not for you we probably would have already been corpses by now.” she continued mumbling slightly before breaking into excited chatter. Maybe Lize won’t need to work so hard any more. Hmm! any way, could you show me how those weapons work if we’re gonna be working together?” As she finished speaking, her eyes glowed, glancing toward the warehouse, where a series of loud thuds resonated.
I nodded quickly ignoring the last part of her words, switching my view to see a large wooden box being pulled out of the building by two NUS units, each one pulling a chain looped around the frame of the crate. The box pushed a pile of loose objects and dust that it had picked up from the warehouse into the snow as it was quickly dragged into the open. Behind it, the black-haired girl walked out, a large pack strapped to her back and some kind of metal container hanging at her waist. Switching my view to the drone, I flew into the air, examining the area while I thought.
The core itself looked stable enough, but I felt no confidence trying to bring it unprotected all the way back to the base, which left the only other option of hauling the whole crate back in one piece. The bots wouldn’t have trouble providing the necessary strength, but looking at how it sunk into the snow, I didn’t think we’d make it far.