"Over there, T1N!"
Dotty pointed to one of the buildings on the other side of the intersection. One of those creatures was crawling down the side of it, about twenty metres up. Its claws scraped the metal and concrete with every step it took.
"There's more coming from the exit to the airway!" shouted T1N.
Dotty raised her head. At the mouth of the raised tunnel, where they had entered in their hovercar, six more of the creatures were jumping down. They used the balconies and terraces of adjoining buildings to leap quickly towards Dotty and T1N.
"What are you doing?" asked the android when he saw Dotty take a knee and aim her arc rifle at the nearest creature.
"Just watch."
An arrow of plasma shot from the barrel and cut through the air at great speed. It squarely struck the creature's metal head, disintegrating it to a cloud of shrapnel. The rest of its body tumbled through the open air before smashing on the pavement.
"Dot, hold your fire. There are too many! We have to run!"
"They need to know they can't mess with us." Dotty pressed her eye to the rifle's scope. She felt how the exosuit kept her pulse firm and steady.
T1N drew his pistols and scanned their vicinity. This was not a safe standpoint, he deduced: a sneak attack could come from any of these streets or from inside any of these shops. Their dark windows could be full of watching eyes.
Another group of creatures poured from the airway tunnel, joining the rest. Now ten were coming at them.
Dotty took two shots and two monsters fell.
"We're getting out of here!" T1N pulled Dotty's arm. "They're getting too close."
Dotty's eyes were damp, her breathing was laboured and she was gritting her teeth.
"No!" she cried.
"I'm sorry. We have to go."
T1N's voice was firm. Dotty's cheeks were covered in tears.
"There will be other opportunities to get even."
The android analysed the girl with his empathetic scanner. He knew that in that moment she was trying to accept the death of her aunt and uncle, the horror of her new circumstances: it couldn't be easy to leave behind a whole planet and all of your loved ones. Her brave face and harsh words were only a facade, a defense mechanism.
When they turned to run, they saw another group emerging from the shadows of a side alley. There were three of them and they moved to block any chance of escape. Dotty took a frantic look over her shoulder, wondering if they could run across the intersection, but the other creatures were already climbing down the sides of the buildings there, excited to corner their prey.
This time it was T1N that started blasting. He emptied an entire clip into the creature in front of him. The explosive bullets burned the flesh of the beast, forcing it to writhe and retreat in flames. As it burned, it let out an awful screech that shook the glass of all the surrounding storefronts.
Dotty crouched to take position, back to back with the android. She aimed and fired as fast as she could but the movements of those creatures that crawled over the faces of the towers were erratic. She missed four times before she even hit one.
Two of the creatures in front of T1N tried to flank him but he opened fire with both of his pistols. Only one went off. The other was empty.
The creature that got hit was thrown to the floor with its belly torn open and the wound licked by flames.
The other fell on top of T1N with its four claws raised. The android believed his metal skin would protect him, perhaps the creature's claws wouldn't be strong enough to pierce his shell. But this monster hit him with such force that it tore off his arm. It threw the arm to one side and opened its mouth wide, showing off its tusk.
T1N fought to free himself from that grip but the force of its claws was overwhelming. He could feel that he was losing energy. He wanted to close his eyes and enter sleep mode, to slip away into darkness, but he heard a cry in the distance.
There was a voice that called to him.