She moved forward tensely, feeling the cold air penetrate her metal shell. The tunnel walls grew damper, and the sounds of footsteps echoed along the long corridors. Her sensors were working at full power, recording every step and possible threat. The noise of the city was deafening, but in her mind everything was clear: she had to find Peter Reynolds and figure out what was happening in this ruined city. However, her plans were interrupted by a communication that came right into her ear.
"Miss, can you hear me?" Jennings, the photographer, said, his voice tense but with a certain urgency.
"Yes, I can hear you, Jennings," she replied, removing her hand from the sensor on the back of her head and strengthening the connection. "Is something wrong?"
"We need to meet," he said quickly, wasting no time. "I found something you might be interested in. You need to meet me as soon as possible."
Delia Asia Vieira paused, assessing the situation. Could this be related to her search? Perhaps Jennings had found information about Sergeant Neff, or at least a clue that would help her understand what was happening.
"Okay, I'm coming. Where are you?"
"Around the corner, next to the abandoned library. Be careful, there's something strange going on in the city, and I'm not sure we're safe."
Delia Asia Vieira nodded without even saying a word in response. She knew well what these warnings meant. If Jennings was unsure of his safety, then the danger was real. Without wasting any time, she turned into the nearest alley and walked towards the library, trying to remain inconspicuous.
As soon as she reached her destination, she saw him. Jennings was standing at the entrance to the dilapidated library, his camera hanging around his neck, his gaze anxious.
"You're just in time," he said, noticing her approach. "I thought you'd get lost. This isn't the safest place, and you definitely shouldn't linger here."
"What did you find?" Delia Asia Vieira asked, wasting no time. She was ready to listen.
"Doctor Lou Hastings," Jennings answered, looking at her with concern in his eyes. "You won't believe it, but he's back from the dead. They buried him a couple of days ago. The doctors said he was dead, but now... He's here. He's wandering around town and he seems to want to... eat people's brains.
Delia Asia Vieira thought about it. Jennings' words were too strange to be believed 100%. She had long been accustomed to the fact that in this city everything was not as it should be. Resurrected people? It seemed impossible, but...
"Are you sure?" she asked, raising a metal eyebrow skeptically. "This sounds crazy."
"I was at the hospital where they kept him," Jennings continued, handing her the photograph. "Here, look. This man hasn't just come back. He seems to have become... something else."
Delia Asia Vieira picked up the photograph. It was of Dr. Hastings, a man with kind eyes and a smile that now seemed completely out of place. There was something strange, unnatural about his gaze, as if he were no longer human.
"It could be a fake," she said, looking at the photograph. "But you're right, it's not a normal case. Where is he now?"
"My intel is that he's been seen around the old theater on the other side of town," Jennings said, his voice low and worried. "He's looking for something. Maybe victims. I don't know, but he's not alone."
Delia Asia Vieira looked at him again, assessing the situation.
"Okay," she said. "We're going there. But be prepared for something unexpected to happen. If this is true, we'll be facing something dangerous."
"I'm with you," Jennings replied, his face serious. "I've seen this city change, and I know we're on the brink of something terrible right now."
They headed towards the theatre. The closer they got to the place, the more tense it became. The city was abandoned and destroyed, and the streets seemed empty, like the atmosphere itself - dead and lifeless. Suddenly they heard footsteps. They were unclear, muffled, as if someone or something was following them.
"He's here," Jennings said quietly, stopping. "We're not alone."
Delia Asia Vieira stopped, her sensors immediately began scanning the space around her. She found the source of the sound. Several shadows were moving in the distance, and their silhouettes did not look human.
"Be ready," she warned Jennings, drawing her weapon from behind her back.
The shadows were getting closer, and one terrible question was forming in the robotess's mind: who was it? And how could they survive in this city if creatures like Dr. Lou Hastings roamed it?
And then they saw between the rotten trees the silhouette of a man - slender, with a slightly stooped posture, who moved confidently, despite the strange emptiness around him.
"It's him," Jennings said, freezing in place. "Dr. Lou Hastings."
Delia Asia Vieira studied the figure carefully. His movements were smooth, almost overly confident, like a man who shouldn't be alive. Or even human. Her sensors went into overdrive, trying to gather more data, but the signal was weak, and at some point, her internal systems panicked.
"We have to be careful," she said, taking a step toward Jennings. "If it really is him, we need to figure out what happened to him before we make a decision."
"I agree," Jennings replied, still watching the doctor tensely.
Dr. Lou Hastings continued walking, ignoring them. He walked slowly toward an old, dilapidated clinic, its doors wide open as if someone had recently come and gone, although there was not a soul around.
"The same one," Jennings couldn't hide the displeasure in his voice. "He's here again, and it looks like nothing good awaits us."
"Let's go," Delia Asia Vieira replied, although her voice was completely calm. "We need to find out what he's doing here."
They followed Dr. Hastings into the dark entrance of the clinic. It was strangely quiet inside, and the air seemed heavy, as if there had been no normal people here for a long time. In the corner stood an old cabinet, and on the shelves were numerous ancient medical instruments and bottles of unknown liquids.
"It's a creepy atmosphere," Jennings said, glancing around.
Delia Asia Vieira shook her head, scanning the area for threats. They soon found themselves in one of the far hallways, leading to rooms filled with strange, even creepy objects.
"Look, what's this?" Jennings asked, pointing to a shelf containing a collection of dolls. Some were wearing white coats, others surgical masks. They had the empty look of people who had once been alive but were now just puppets.
Delia Asia Vieira stepped closer and examined the dolls, her sensors registering the faint traces of life in the toys flickering under her hands. To her, they weren't just dolls - they were sinister trophies, signs that Dr. Hastings might have been collecting such elements as part of his strange science.
"He's not just manipulating people," she said. "This isn't just a game. It's an experiment."
"This is terrible," Jennings muttered, feeling his skin break out in a cold sweat. "We have to go."
But just then, there was a sound of footsteps, and from the dark passage leading toward the operating room, several women in medical gowns emerged, each with a revolver in her hand. Their faces were unnaturally pale, and their eyes were empty, like zombies, and they were moving purposefully toward them.
"Go away," one of them whispered, her voice cold and mechanical. "You shouldn't have come here."
Jennings instantly took out his camera and prepared to use it as a weapon, but Delia Asia Vieira had already taken a step forward, her built-in self-defense mechanism activating.
"We don't want to fight you," she said confidently. "Put your weapons away and we'll leave."
But the women did not answer, only their steps became more confident and louder. They began to slowly approach, unhurriedly, as if they did not care about the danger.
"Hold on!" Jennings shouted, pointing the camera straight at them.
At that moment, one of the nurses fired, and the bullet pierced the wall next to the robotess. The split-second delay became a signal for her to act. She reacted instantly, using her combat functions and quickly approaching the group. A defense mode was activated inside her, and the metal parts of her body became more flexible, and her reactions became super-fast.
"Go away!" the same woman said again, raising her weapon.
Delia Asia Vieira used her speed to run up to the nurse, knocking the gun out of her hands and knocking her to the floor. She quickly turned and did the same to the others, disarming them with a dexterity they could not resist.
"It wasn't a smart decision," Delia Asia Vieira said, standing among the women. "They were just being controlled."
Jennings stood there in amazement, not believing his eyes. He no longer knew what to think about what was happening. And Delia Asia Vieira quickly walked through the corridors of the abandoned clinic, avoiding unnecessary looks and noises. She was focused on the key she had just found among a stack of old documents in one of the offices. The key was heavy and covered in rust, but it fit exactly into the small box she had noticed earlier, standing in the corner of one of the dusty rooms.
"This is not a coincidence," she said under her breath, pumping the information into her memory. "This key has meaning."
She froze as she approached the box. Her sensors sensed the damp air around her growing thicker. The image began to blur – everything seemed unreal. Delia Asia Vieira sharpened her perception, but it was too late.
She turned the key in the lock, and as soon as the lid of the box opened, the floors and walls of the room began to crack. They seemed to come alive, crumbling into rusty pieces, and because of this cracking and crashing, Delia Asia Vieira barely managed to jump aside.
"Jennings!" she cried, but this time her voice was drowned out by the roar of destruction. "Get here now!"
As the box opened, the room began to transform. Floors began to tear away from the concrete slabs, walls cracked and crumbled, revealing a strange metallic structure, as if the very air was pierced by the sharp parts of some ancient mechanism. Everything around was filled with bloody hues, the light from the few lamps flickered, and ominous sounds came from these dark corners.
In the center of the room lay a huge doll, its dimensions almost human. It was made of tin parts and wrapped with rusty wires, and its face was incomplete - like half a mask, with deep cracks where the eyes had probably been. This image immediately reminded robotess of something terrible that had been long forgotten.
"What the hell..." Jennings, who had arrived at that moment, stopped at the threshold, his eyes widening in surprise. "This can't be true..."
He pointed his camera at the doll, but Delia Asia Vieira had already started moving forward.
"We have to figure out what this is," she said, crouching down next to the doll. "This isn't just a toy."
She gently touched the metal face, and at that moment the whole world around them began to change. The walls of the room disappeared, leaving only a dark void, and under their feet there was a vibration, as if the space had become alive. A machine hum filled the air, and the doll's metal arms slowly moved. But it was not just a movement - it was like a signal for the entire structure, from which iron structures and bloody pipes were already beginning to move away.
"We have to go!" Jennings shouted, trying to pull the robotess away from the doll.
But she stood transfixed, her sensors taking in every element of this strange world. She began scanning the doll's insides, feeling something alive, something unnatural, begin to move inside.
"This... This isn't a toy, Jennings," she said, almost in a whisper. "This is something else. This is a device, but it's contaminated. We have to figure out who's behind this."
The same metallic sound that had been in the room was now coming from all directions. The destruction continued, and more metallic figures began to emerge from the cracks in the walls. These were not people, but something far more sinister, made of rusted parts and flesh, with wild, hungry eyes staring straight at the robotess and Jennings.
"Oh, shit, they're coming!" Jennings screamed, jumping away from the doll. "Go away, do whatever you have to, just go away!"
Delia Asia Vieira didn't answer. Her sensors were going into overdrive, calculating every chance to maneuver. The strange metal world around them seemed to be shrinking. There was nowhere to go, but she knew they couldn't just leave without figuring it out.
"We have to find the source," she said, her voice more determined now. "We have to stop this."
The mechanism in the doll seemed to be connected to something much larger. And that goal—finding and destroying the source of this living metal construct—was now their only chance of salvation.
Somewhere in the distance, the robotess heard voices and sounds that penetrated the thick walls. She sharpened her sensors, trying to detect Jennings, but his presence was too far away. Suddenly, her attention was drawn to a door, barely visible in the gloom.
Coming closer, Delia Asia Vieira opened the door slightly. Inside was a large room, lit only by the weak light coming from the broken window. On the table were jars of mustard plasters, old medical instruments and bottles of unknown liquids. In the corner stood a figure, completely hidden in shadow. He slowly straightened up, and Delia Asia Vieira recognized him - it was Dr. Lou Hastings, but not the man she knew before.
"Be braver, perhaps?" she thought to herself, although she felt no fear.
Its design allowed it to be cold and calculating in any situation.
The doctor stood at the table, tilting his head towards a small lamp that was flickering.
"Dr. Hastings?" Delia Asia Vieira asked as she entered the room.
He turned his head, and his empty eyes, like two lifeless glass balls, met her gaze. His face was unnaturally pale, and on his neck were traces of long-healed wounds.
"Is that you?" His voice was quiet, full of fatigue. "Have you come to save me too?"
Delia Asia Vieira tilted her head slightly, unable to understand what this dead man meant.
"Save?" she repeated. "I don't know who you are, but if you are a doctor, tell me what's going on here."
He turned slowly and walked towards the table, bending over the mustard plasters again.
"I... I have to do this. This is my atonement," he said, choking on the strange weight of his words. "My daughter... I forgot her birthday present. Now everything is ruined. I couldn't save her. I can't forgive myself for that."
Delia Asia Vieira was surprised by this confession.
"Daughter?" she asked, watching his gestures. "What's her name? Where is she now?"
Dr. Hastings chuckled softly, his fingers tightening around the jar of mustard plasters and he pressed it hard to his chest.
"Yes, daughter, her name was Emily. She disappeared, she left. And I didn't have time... I didn't have time to give her the gift I promised. Now she... she's gone, and I'm left here... alone."
He slowly sank into the chair, his body shaking. A strange sense of despair emanated from him, despite his dead shell.
"You... you weren't supposed to be here," he continued, his voice becoming more distracted. "I was only trying to help... heal people. But now I can't do anything. I can't go back. My soul... it's lost."
Delia Asia Vieira, watching him, felt his words unsettling her emotions. Despite her metal body and lack of real feelings, she felt the emptiness in his words - an emptiness that seemed real.
"I can help," she said, stepping closer hesitantly. "If you tell me where she is, I'll help you find her."
Dr. Hastings looked at her with a kind of doomed gratitude.
"You don't understand," he said, his voice growing weak. "I tried, but I can't... I lost her. I don't even know what happened to her. I just... I just had to be there. And now..."
His words trailed off. He fell silent again, his head down, unable to continue the conversation. Delia Asia Vieira took a step forward, but she didn't know what to do next. His words seemed helpless, and the room itself was filled with an oppressive silence.
Delia Asia Vieira lightly touched his shoulder, feeling his body tremble, and handed him the doll. His eyes filled with something resembling gratitude. He took it carefully in his hands, as if it were something extremely precious. His fingers trembled, and a smile flickered across his lips.
"This... is for her?" His voice was slightly hoarse.
Delia Asia Vieira nodded, watching his reaction carefully. The doll was simple, but there was something strange, elusive about it. It seemed like it was an important part of something bigger.
Dr. Lou Hastings took the doll with difficulty and pressed it to his chest. Suddenly, as if on cue, his body began to react. The mustard plasters glued to his skin began to multiply rapidly, their metallic forms began to develop, spreading across his skin, covering him more and more.
The doctor began to make deep, hysterical moans, his body shaking as the mustard began to flow from his pores. At first it was a few drops, then the mustard began to flow in a stream, forming small lakes on the floor.
"What's going on?!" Delia Asia Vieira cried, stepping back as waves of mustard began to spill out around him.
The mustard filled the room, the smell almost unbearable. Dr. Lou Hastings struggled to stand, his body slowly losing shape, as if it were blurring. He clutched the doll in his hands, but despite his efforts, he lost it when his hand slipped. The doll fell into a puddle of mustard and began to sink, as if in some terrible nightmare.
"No!" cried the doctor, trying to bring her back, but his strength was waning.
The mustard was already flooding the entire floor, and the doll began to disappear in this viscous, ominous stream. But a moment later, as if by magic, it began to return, but transformed. A new creature emerged from the water - a huge porcelain mannequin, now devoid of any beauty, like a living monster. Its porcelain parts were warped, its eyes became frighteningly empty, and its smile - sinister and ugly.
Dr. Lou Hastings, now overcome with horror, fell to his knees, sobbing.
"Emily! Emily, forgive me! I didn't have time... I... I just wanted to be near you..."
The monster mannequin turned silently toward him, its crisp porcelain skin creaking with tension. As if considering it for a moment, the monster suddenly leaped toward the doctor, and its enormous jaws snapped shut around Lou Hastings' head with a loud crack. In an instant, his body went limp and his head was bitten off.
Delia Asia Vieira stood there in horror, but her mind remained focused. She took a step back, ready to act.
"No!" she screamed, but the monster, noticing her, turned and moved forward, leaving her no time to think.
He took the first step towards her, his giant porcelain hands reaching out to grab her. Delia Asia Vieira, straining every system, dodged, deftly sliding to the side.
"I can't..." she whispered under her breath, seeing the monster moving towards her again.
He was no mere dummy - his movements were unnatural, but predictable. His every move was calculated, as if following some ancient program. The monster lunged at her, and she barely managed to avoid his grasp.
But the time for maneuver was limited. The mustard continued to fill the room, and a deadly atmosphere was forming around her, and the monster left her no escape.
Delia Asia Vieira turned her attention sharply to the nearest object, an iron rack containing instruments that had once been used for medical care. With a mighty yank, she tore off one of the larger instruments and threw it at the monster's face. The porcelain shattered, but the monster still advanced.
Every movement was painfully slow, as if this porcelain nightmare had been created specifically to torment and destroy. Delia Asia Vieira couldn't just stand there and wait. She had to find a way to stop this.
The monster slowed down, tilting its head towards her. And then Delia Asia Vieira realized that her chance was not physical strength, but the use of her speed and logic. She quickly grabbed the nearest metal part and activated all her systems.