Reeling in his wandering thoughts, Kevin steadied his nerves and took in a long, deep breath. Ms. Parker held the pistol in her right hand and held her left fist pointed downward against the wall. Marking the passage of each second, she pulled out one finger at a time, coordinating a countdown with Kevin.
As she revealed her thumb, opening up her fist, Kevin knew it was showtime!
Ms. Parker swung around and aimed for the robot on the left, shooting it straight in its core. Kevin popped out behind her, barely able to contain his adrenaline rush. His hands trembled as he heard the robot's targeting sensors beeping into action, but he managed to pull the trigger before it could fire its rifle.
The damaged hunks of metal lay motionless on the floor, their circuits zapping erratically. Kevin felt as if his heart would jump out of his mouth at any moment. He didn't even get the time to catch his breath as a distinctive buzzing alerted them of the Tracker Drones approaching from behind.
"We gotta go! Come on!" Ms. Parker pulled him by his arm and rushed towards the cafeteria. The other students followed close behind.
A press on the steely gray button opened the cafeteria door and they cautiously entered the room. The kitchen lay on the other side of the room, just behind the serving counter.
Without losing another second in idle thought, Ms. Parker sprinted across the room, bounding over the stainless steel counter.
The boys were surprised by her agility. It wasn't normal for a high school teacher to be in such great shape. She definitely had her fair share of secrets. Kevin wondered whether she was really just a teacher or worked in some secret organization.
"What the hell are you waiting for? Get over here!" she shouted.
Kevin and the others quickly snapped out of their daze and made their way to the kitchen. The service elevator capsule was right in front of them, and there were no killer robots in the vicinity.
Ms. Parker reloaded her pistol and walked up to the capsule. Pressing her face close to the scanning panel, she lifted her glasses to allow for a quick retinal scan.
// Staff Access ID: 5691
Access granted.
Sending utility elevator... //
"I can't believe we made it out of there!" Billy cried out in relief.
"Ms. Parker is a real badass!" Greg exclaimed.
As the opaque fiberglass doors of the capsule swished open, a female robotic voice greeted them.
"All humans are prohibited from leaving the premises of Eon Academy. Lay down your weapons and accept termination."
Kevin and the others looked on in horror as an android with an exceedingly beautiful human face stepped out of the elevator. She had an hourglass figure, with supple white fingers and slender white limbs. Her whole body was made of a special silicone alloy which gave it a glossy white texture. What was particularly striking was her cute smiling face, with glassy cerulean eyes and cherry-kissed lips.
"Who the hell are you?" Ms. Parker shouted, aiming her pistol at the android's head. "Let us go or I'll punch a hole in your head!"
Flicking her wavy blue locks with her fingers, the android unsheathed a shiny tungsten blade, with an electric blue groove running down its middle. She looked directly at Ms. Parker and curved her lips into a wide grin. "I am AISHA: Autonomous Inhumane Serial Hunter Android. Prepare to be eliminated, Director Ruby."
"You wish!" Ms. Parker fired her weapon, but the android dashed out of view in a split second.
"Resistance is futile."
Ms. Parker turned around and found the android standing right behind. Before she could even utter another syllable, AISHA jammed the tungsten blade into her stomach.
"Wh...Why?" Ms. Parker tried to grab hold of the android, but she stepped back, pulling out her blade. Blood and guts spilled out on the spotless white floor as Kevin's science teacher collapsed on the ground.
"We surrender! Please let us go!" Billy cried out, going down on his knees. Greg too followed his example.
Only Kevin remained standing, the empty laser pistol still in his hand. He wanted to scream, but found it impossible to even open his drying lips. His legs had frozen in place and even his hands refused to move.
The android ignored him and walked over to his friends. They kept begging in their broken voices, pleading the android to let them live. Then suddenly all voices ceased.
Kevin shivered in horror as he heard the blade whistle behind him, followed by a splat. He almost pissed his pants as he turned around, just in time to see their heads roll off their shoulders and hit the ground with a dull thud.
"You ki...killed them!" Kevin stuttered, stumbling backward.
He kept telling himself that this was not happening. He kept thinking that all this was just a terrible nightmare and he'd wake up at any moment. This was not how he was supposed to die.
Perhaps a system would pop up at any moment and awaken his hidden power or some hero would swoop down from above and destroy the android in one blow. He had always imagined himself as a hero, but it seemed like he was nothing more than an insignificant side character in this world.
As a last resort, Kevin picked up a long metal spatula from the kitchen counter. Armed with his improvised weapon, he took an aggressive stance. "Don't come near me! I swear I'll clobber you to death!"
"I am so scared. I better run away," the android spoke in a dull monotonous tone, devoid of the slightest hint of emotion. Then with one sudden leap, it landed right in front of Kevin.
Kevin's life flashed before his eyes as the android grinned in his face. He attacked her with the spatula, but before it could make contact with her face, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Blood spurted out of his mouth like a fountain. He looked down and found the sharp tungsten blade jammed in his heart.
"I am so scared. I better run away. Haha Haha Haha."
The robotic droning kept ringing in his ears as he slowly slipped out of his senses, closing his eyes forever.