We spoke as she led us deep into the forest, following the creekbed. The sun slowly fell over our heads as we walked, encouraging us to move faster.
I let Cove take the lead on conversations, as he was more experienced in what we were dealing with…even if it didn't show in his planning abilities.
"What's happened to the city back there? What were those things?" He asked as he stepped carefully over an exposed root.
Mattie looked back over her shoulder, frowning. "You don't know?"
Cove and I exchanged looks. "Should we?" I asked, narrowly avoiding tripping over Ani.
Mattie looked up at the sky, contemplating. "How did you make it this far without knowing? Who taught you? Where did you come from? "
When Cove had no further explanation to offer, I jumped in with a series of blatant lies. "We stole the clothes. And my backpack. Growing up, our parents weren't around."
Mattie's face and posture relaxed, becoming less guarded. "Ah, like Rowan then. That makes sense." Did It? "A piece of advice: I wouldn't recommend stealing from anyone in my village. We all know each other, and you'll be kicked out or jailed faster than you can say 'shit.' Though, some of them may deserve it…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "Anyway, you guys really shouldn't have run off without a history lesson. You could have gotten yourselves killed."
She took a deep breath in, her cheeks puffing. "Right, so, a few hundred years ago–we're not exactly sure, our records aren't great–something called an "AI" took over all our technology, sending humanity back into the dark ages. The AI sent bombs and robots to slaughter us by the thousands. Our ancestors escaped from the death traps they used to call cities, hiding in caves or using wool and glass to hide from their eyes.
"As you can imagine, a lot of people died. We're the descendants of the few survivors, and we only have what our ancestors took with them when they left." Her grin sharpened, turning wicked. "Well, usually. I sneak out to the city to find clothes and other useful stuff."
Her words rang with truth, but something about it felt off. When I thought about what I'd seen of the robot, the timeline didn't match up. It was old, yes, but it had clearly been taken apart and pieced back together. Was that really all under the direction of the A.I.? And why did it not seem to have any weapons? My hand, which had drifted to my chin during the conversation, dropped.
"Are you sure it's been hundreds of years?"
Mattie shrugged. "No one really knows how long it's been."
"What about the robots–can they repair themselves?"
She shrugged again. "We don't know much about them. But…" she trailed off, thinking. "But no matter how many I knock down, there never seems to be any less in the city. So I think so, yes."
Cove, walking at my side, suddenly stopped, recognition crossing his face. Ani, Ranch, and I all arrested shortly after, curious.
As the footsteps stopped behind her, Mattie turned around. "Something wrong?"
Cove's eyes snapped to her face, a weak smile crossing his own. "Not at all." He continued forward as if nothing had happened, Ranch winding between his feet. I looked at Ani, who flicked his tail and continued forward in the cat version of a shrug.
Reluctantly, I paced forward as well, pacing until I walked side by side with him again. Hesitantly, I whispered, "Did you notice something?"
He gave a slow nod, then jerked his nose towards Mattie, mouthing 'later.'
Dread pooled in my stomach. I had a bad feeling about this. Cove brushed past me, lightly bumping Mattie's arm to grab her attention, directing the conversation topic to lighter things, carefully avoiding the subject of robots and anything to do with the history of this world. This only threw up more red flags.
When the sun had sunken beneath the peaks deep enough to almost kiss the canopy above our heads, Mattie stopped, smacking herself on the forehead, her eyes darting around the forest. "I was supposed to be gathering firewood and kindling. C'mon." She jogged off the beaten path, leading us on a thin trail through the forest, skidding down a hill to an overhang. With a wave, she motioned us under the overhang, digging into it.
"I'm not technically supposed to be out at the city, so I keep firewood here as a cover." She hefted a few logs up, eying us.
"Arms out." She ordered.
Hesitantly, we held our arms forward with our palms up, ready for her to toss firewood onto them. Three spliced logs were tossed into my arms, five in Cove's. Mattie picked three for for herself, guiding them into place with her chin and heft of her arms.
Slightly offended by her assessment but feeling sore and unwilling to volunteer for more work, I kept my mouth shut as she followed the sound of the bubbling stream, setting us back on the adjacent path.
We were completely dry by the time we reached the wooden wall surrounding Mattie's village, with just enough sunlight left to see by. The wall was camouflaged with branches of leaves and stood around eight feet tall, stretching through the trees and vanishing into the shadowy distance. An uncountable number of smoke billows rose overhead in the distance, puffs in the sky. Two men in ragged jeans and worn t-shirts and faded leather jackets stood ahead, one on each side of the creek that carved it's way through the down.
"I'm back!" Mattie called, jogging forward. "I found some idiots wandering the woods alone. Had them help me. Since mom doesn't need that much wood, we'll drop their share it in the communal pile," she babbled.
One of the two men, the one on our side of the river in a blue shirt, nodded, stepping off to the side to grant us entry. His companion, a young man in a feminine pastel yellow shirt–I guess they took what they could get–called out, "Hey! Don't just let them in! We don't appreciate no outsiders here!"
Mattie planted her feet, chest heaving as she bellowed, "Don't be stupid, Rowan! We can't just let them sleep in the woods!"
Rowan raised his hands to his mouth. "Don't be stupid, Matilda! You know the Mayor won't like this!"
"He's not an idiot like you are!"
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Rowan called, jabbing his pitchfork up in the air before slamming the butt of it back down, turning away to face the woods and thus ending the conversation.
Mattie huffed, stomping her foot childishly. "He's such a jerk. Anyway, we'll drop this wood off, then head to the mayor's office to get you settled for the night."
Cove shifted, uncomfortable. "We don't have to stay here."
Mattie continued forward, treading into the town on well-trodden and beaten paths. "You crazy? There are wild animals in those woods. We aren't very polite, but we're not cruel. No one would kick you out to the forest."