//Running SN—99427418C5211.rom
"My son! You came! You finally made it."
The metallic voice cut through the total darkness in which the android found himself.
"Bella? Is that you?"
"Come to me. Now that you're here I won't let them hurt you anymore."
"How? Where are you? I can't see anything!"
"Don't worry, little one. Help is on the way."
The voice grew faint and T1N could hear the distant beating of wings.
"When?"
"Soon…" the voice was no more than a whisper.
/
Dotty dropped the rifle and ran over to him. The exosuit lit up with every stride, giving her superhuman strength and acceleration. With a leap she landed on the creature's back. It hunched over T1N, threatening to tear off his head with its awful teeth. She grabbed it around the neck, just below the metal helmet. The neck was so thick that she struggled to link her fingers and secure her hold. When she managed it, she squeezed with all the force the suit could give her. The creature's soft and spongy flesh gave way as she squeezed harder and harder.
The creature reared up on its hind legs, distracted from T1N. It tried to shake Dotty loose as she hung down its back.
The girl threw all of her weight backwards, forcing the monster to bend its spine, folding its head towards its tail. She pulled until the neck surrendered with a bubbling snap.
The monster flailed its heavy head, searching for Dotty, flashing its needle sharp teeth, driven wild by the pain. Then, in an instant, it stopped moving and collapsed on top of the android.
"T1N, are you ok?"
Crippled, he needed Dotty's help to shove the creature that was crushing him to one side.
Cling, cling, cling.
Dotty looked up. The herd of other monsters had come so close that they now formed a circle around T1N and Dotty. Their heads were lowered and their front legs bent, ready to pounce at any moment.
"Oh my god!" Dotty had crouched down to help T1N up but she jumped back when she saw he was missing an arm. There were tiny cables glowing with blueish light protruding where it should have been.
"It doesn't hurt, but I'm losing power." The android pushed her away. "Go. Get out of here. Quickly, while you still have time."
Three more creatures landed in the street and formed ranks with the others.
Cling, cling, cling.
Dotty came back over to the android and pulled one of the pistols from his vest. She raised the short barrel and span around, aiming at each creature in turn, ready to shoot at the first sign of movement.
"Run. I'll hold them off." The android looked at his remaining hand and it started to change shape. "You're a resourceful girl. Find a way to get back to Earth or survive until the Hermes returns. You're capable of that, and so much more."
She ignored him and held the pistol with a firm arm. She supported the butt with her other hand. The monsters were so close that Dotty could smell their nauseating miasma. The stench stuck in her nose, old and rotten, like food long-forgotten.
"There's no way in hell I'll leave you here, T1N. We left the Hermes together and we'll get back to it together. If one of us doesn't make it, neither of us do."
"You're an idiot." T1N tried to smile but he was too weak. He couldn't stand up straight.
The creatures' armoured heads shifted in unison as if responding to some inaudible call.
"What's that noise?" asked the android. The lights in his eyes were dimming like the flames of a candle without a wick.
"What noise?" Dotty's hands were sweating on the handle of the pistol. Even with the suit it was getting heavier and heavier. "You're delirious."
This time the monsters moved. They ignored Dotty and T1N and ran away across the intersection. Some climbed up onto the abandoned vehicles.
"Oh now I hear it," murmured Dotty. "It's like beating wings…"
A flying object burst out of the entrance to the airway. It flew with a particular sway and it was shaped like an oval, about the size of a small search vessel. Above its chassis were two blades that spun at great speed, making a rhythmic sound like a pumping heart.
Instinctually, Dotty aimed at the vehicle with the pistol and followed it with her gaze. At that moment, a door slid open on its side. A rough looking robot appeared behind a heavy machine gun with four barrels. The barrels spun rapidly and fired an intense volley. A lethal rain of bullets poured down on the monsters mercilessly. The dry sound of bullets entering their demon flesh rose above the hum of the vehicle and even the roar of the weapon itself. The projectiles easily tore through the metal of their backs.
The cries that followed reminded Dotty of the panicked screams of the Hermes passengers as the landing bay doors first opened on the moon.
The fastest creatures managed to disperse in time and flee along the grand boulevard, slipping into side streets, or hiding in the shadows of the ruined shops. When Dotty and T1N were alone in the street, the vehicle came into land. Its blades sent up such a strong wind that it blew Dotty's hair and she had to cover her eyes with her arm.
"Look up, T1N. You've gotta see this."
The android's head hung to one side.
The robot with the machine gun got out of the robot and it was followed by three more. They all had that same rundown appearance: constructed from repurposed industrial materials and other everyday objects. They were totally asymmetrical and their bodies were almost entirely covered in rust. Some of their limbs were attached with only copper cable or even primitive knots of rope. They moved slowly towards Dotty, encumbered by their heavy weapons. They looked as if they might fall apart at any moment.
They didn't speak or give off any sound. One held out his clamp-hand towards them and then pointed it to the doors of the vehicle.
Dotty stared at them, dazed. She lowered her weapon.
"I think they want us to go with them," she whispered to T1N, but the android didn't hear her words. His eyes had already gone out.