The shock finally leaves my body and I puke all over the floor. I feel so weak. I can't stand on my legs, they gave in. I fall on my knees, landing in my puke, quivering from fear. My exhausted mind could not survive trough the horrid dream, not even this abhorrent view for my child eyes. Noone should fight... Why fight... Why...
I lay on the cold cobblestone floor in my warm vomit. I should just stay here. The metallic beasts will come for me too. They will. I just have to wait.
---But they never returned to that basement---
It has been days, barely a week. My body weak from hunger, willing to fight for its survival. Yet my mind has given up. They will come and finish me off.
But what if they don't? There is no human left here. I hid myself. They killed whoever they saw but they didn't kill me since they didn't see me.
I pick myself up. Barely. I have no strength left in me but the church should still have some food. I crawl up the stairs and slowly peek trough the latch. No one is around. Why would anyone? They're dead. I push open the basement latch with all my might. It swings open to stop with a loud thud at some blockage, leaving it steeply open. I nearly fall down back the stairs from the sudden attack of light hitting my eyes.
As my eyes adjust to the sudden change of scene, I see the giant hole in church's walls. Dead soldiers, adventurers lie all around. The once beloved church now destroyed. The stained glass - broken. The roof - open. The statue for God - destroyed. It all is. Why... Why do we have to fight? Why...
I hear heavy stomping approaching the church, some buzzing and clanking with different tones are being exchanged. As I quickly run to cover under some rubble, they start to speak.
<§76> no lifeforms left. area DELTA is free of humans. proceed the project.
<§34> add note: area DELTA has higher energy capacity than expected. relocate building INFLUX to area DELTA.
<§76> making notes . . . scanning surrounding area . . .
One beast stands in place, left arm inserted into his jaw. Is this how they "make notes?" Just use ink and paper. The other beast leaves around the corner, inspecting the strange item in his hands. Its wide and sturdy, in the shape of a gigantic lower-case 't', with the end slightly longer, smoking at the tip.
I pick up one of the heavy rocks lying near me. As the "note" beast is standing with his back against me and arm in jaw, I lift up the rock and throw it on his head.
<§76> notes added. scanning compl- CRUSH
The beast crushed by the debris is still emitting few sounds and electrical sparks. I feel a bit happier. At least one of them paid the price. The heavy footsteps start to approach once more. Its the inspecting beast. I quickly grab the 't' shape from the other beasts corpse, luckily wasn't done in by my revenge, and grab it by the long end and hide behind the same rubble.
<§34> message to base from robot^76: robot^34 is destroyed by area DELTA debris. request to accelerate project build time.
The beast winds its left arm and swiftly punches the rock, crumbling it in pieces with such ease. I was terrified but still cautious. As the beast inserted its left arm into the crushed beast's jaw, I quickly leap out and with all my might swing down on the living beast with the weapon. The object is quite heavy so the gravity did most of the work, but it did not kill the beast. It simply damaged the beast.
The beast quickly removes its arm from the jaw and swing at me. A miss, barely. I jump back quite far and see that its right arm has not let go of the weapon I'm holding. I quickly reposition the weapon into my right hand and hold it just like they do. The beast point the long end at me, and I squeeze my weapon in anticipation of the next attack but it releases 4 loud bangs from the weapon, pushing me with extreme force, almost tilting me down on my butt. The beast squeezed its end too and released some bangs too. The pushing force from my bangs helped me dodge the whooshing wind cutters sent from the beast.
Wait...
That's what the weapon does!
A bang releases a powerful wind magic spell!
I fasten my stance and point the long end towards the beast. I squeeze lightly. BANG. I missed. The spell sent my arm back in retaliation. Its quite painful, but the beast has the same weapon. I run behind cover as I feel multiple wind spells whizzing past me.
<§76> put down the gun human. you will run out of ammunition before you realize how to use it. you should die just like your village did.
"AND YOU SHOULD DIE LIKE YOUR FRIEND DID!!!"
I hear the beast tampering with its weapon. Is the weapon called "gun"? It is easier to pronounce it but a weapon is a weapon. But what is this "ammunition"? Is it the wind spells stored in the "gun"? The beast is done tampering its gun with a loud click-clack. I quickly pick up a heavy rock and throw it at the beast. I see it wind its left arm to crush it. I point my gun at the beast. I use the wreckage I'm hiding behind as a secure holder for my weapon so that it stays still, pushing the end of the weapon with my left hand, so the force doesn't fling back my arm. The beast smashes the flying projectile.
Dust and bits of the rock land everywhere around the beast.
I squeeze my gun.
BANG.
I hit it in the eye.
BANG.
A wind spell released from its gun as it fell down. I try to stand but feel my left shoulder slumping down. It hit me too. A string of red flows down my arm as excruciating pain fill my shoulder, feeling the wind spell burning inside my shoulder. Upon grabbing my shoulder I feel a small sharp rock lodged deep in my wound. I scream. No one to hear me. No one to help me. I cry out in pain. It burns just like in the dream. I get up and slowly move to the first beast, my gun sliding down on the ground as I go towards it. I find some sharp metal scrap that has come undone from the beast from my kill.
I stab the wound. I scream.
I try fish out the sharp rock. I scream some more.
I feel it hitting the sharp scrap, it is almost out. I feel like sleeping.
I scream out in pain one last time as the object falls out. Its a small pointy cone. It is very strong and sturdy. It isn't made from a rock but something stronger. Is this the "ammunition"? I guess the guns weren't releasing wind spells but using a wind spell to release this "ammunition" with extreme speed.
I fall down on my knees, completely exhausted. These beasts took everything from me. I must take everything from them. Stop the "project" and building "influx". Whatever... that could... mean...
I slump down on the ground.
I can't take it anymore.
I'll just sleep here.