Nigel watched as several emergency vehicles were dispatched to the Ohio Valley Nuclear Reactor. Although his position in the field was almost a mile away, he wondered when the radiation would come. The cyborgs were returning from their missions. Most of the skin had melted off of their metal frames; it was an eerie sight to behold, with the burning reactor in the background. One of the mechanical monstrosities charged, then stopped short of Nigel. It reached out and placed a metal cylinder in Nigel’s hand. To Nigel’s surprise, the metal was cool to the touch.
“Decontamination necessary—don’t want to damage humans,” the cyborg with half a face said.
The remaining cyborgs began to search the immediate area.
What are they looking for?
Just as Nigel finished the thought, the cyborgs began clawing at the soft ground. It looked like they were trying to tunnel their way out.
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“Found the decontamination supplies,” another cyborg said as it unearthed something. “Step back, human,”
Nigel watched in fascination as a cyborg hoisted heavy-looking canisters out of the ground and hosed off its cyborg comrades.
About five minutes later, an enormous van, large enough to seat ten, stopped less than fifty feet away. Its side door opened.
“We need to leave,” Blanka said.
The cyborgs made an attempt at burying the decontamination equipment but gave up on the effort.
“Come with me, human,” a cyborg said.
Nigel followed and climbed in the van. He sat in the front with Blanka. Vedrana and Eva sat just behind.
Soon the van was heading east toward Newport.
“I detect you are driving too fast, human. I suggest you slow down so we do not attract any unwanted attention,” a cyborg told Blanka.
“You’d better listen to our robot overlords,” Nigel told her.
“It will take about ten hours to drive to the Bromwick, so get some sleep,” Blanka said. “I’m good to drive for a few hours.”
A sudden wave of exhaustion hit Nigel. He hoped he would dream of Jet as he slept.