Hard Times
Crimebot sat down at the desk in the tiny office he had made his home for the last half year. He had been able to call in a contact in the department to get him set up in an abandoned warehouse, and the manager's office had been his bedroom ever since. He came out of his sleep cycle to greet another day, gripped by sadness at the thought of his old friends. Suddenly, a flashback hit him like a ton of bricks. Crimebot, being made of the finest titanium, was hardly dented, but still couldn't help but relapse into another of the horrible images in his vast memory banks.
He was suddenly standing outside, in the rain, next to his old friend Ross. Jason Hero and Zero Caspian had successfully tracked down Boris after a long and ardous search, and now they surrounded his safe house in the country, guns drawn. Before they could make their move, however, thunder cracked, loud and furious. Crimebot looked to his right, and noticed Ross was lying on the ground, not moving. Then he realised something else- that wasn't thunder at all! Firing his lasers blindly into the shrubbery ahead, he aimed (poorly) to take out the apparation who had downed his friend. Another crack of thunder, and down went Jason. Zero readied an ice spell, but before he could cast it, another crack of thunder had brought him to the floor. Only Crimebot stood, still firing his lasers, he heard another crack, and felt a sharp pain as something drove itself into his armoured hide. Activating counter-invasive manuevers, he shrugged off the pain and made for Ross, heaving him over his shoulder. He could still feel life in his friend, but it was faint and fading fast. He took a step towards Zero, and another pain rushed through him like a drill through cheese. Wincing in agony, he made it to Zero and heft him up on his other shoulder. Though he felt no kinship with the stranger Jason Hero, he knew he was a friend of Zero's and a trustworthy ally, and so he made his way over to him, pausing only once as he reeled from another thuder-crack. Hefting Jason up over his other shoulder, he started to make his way for their car, which was parked only a few hundred meters up the road. Before he could take more than ten steps, however, a bolt of dysphoria slammed into his leg unit, bringing the metal man to the ground. Crimebot, now reeling from the pain, dropped all three of his friends. He blinked, trying to clear the rain from his visual sensors, but the world seemed to be getting darker. He blinked again, trying futility to wash away the darkness that was overtaking him, but even Crimebot's mighty servos could not keep out the black, and his vision faded into the night, his mind became unable to focus, and he lost conciousness.
When he awoke, it was no longer raining, and it was as bright as the sun could make it through the morning clouds of smog that rushed out from the city as the windfarms relentlessly tried to keep the air in Omegalopolis clear enough to breath for the daily commuters. Still, the light was enough to make Crimebot turn his head away, which he found was a bad mistake. Something inside his head didn't like the thought of movement just now- and it had made it's views very clear to Crimebot via a crippling pain inside his sensory uplink. Crimebot was paralyzed, for the moment, although a quick maintenance subroutine told him it was only due to the pain. All of his sensory coils and hydromuscular responders were functioning correctly. He lay there for a few minutes, and then slowly stood up. It took him awhile, but once on his feet, he looked around. He seemed to be standing right where he had fallen, although the forest looked totally different in the light of day. The safehouse was gone, and all that stood as evidence that it was ever there were some smoldering pieces of timber. There was no sign of his friends, either. Crimebot was alone, for the first time since he had been covered in zombies. He began to make his way back to the city on foot, his car being long gone. He would have a long time to think up a course of action.
As he approached the city limits, he was suddenly gripped by a sincere feeling of unease. Someone, or something, was watching him. A quick 360 scan showed no one nearby, but when Crimebot had a hunch, it was not to be taken lightly. Ducking into an ally, he felt the feeling dissapate, but knew that he wouldn't be able to return to his old home. Calling in a favour, he got himself set up in an abandoned warehouse, and slowly but surely began to make probes into the whereabouts of his friends. After his long search, he had found nothing. It seemed, for all intents and purposes, his friends had dissapeared.
But Crimebot was not going to give up. Snapping back into reality, he reaffirmed his resolution to find his friends, whatever the cost. He would no longer conduct secretive investigations from the safety of his hideout. He would step out into the light, the very same which he had woken up in months earlier, and find his friends. Even if it meant he would have to give up his own life...
He was suddenly standing outside, in the rain, next to his old friend Ross. Jason Hero and Zero Caspian had successfully tracked down Boris after a long and ardous search, and now they surrounded his safe house in the country, guns drawn. Before they could make their move, however, thunder cracked, loud and furious. Crimebot looked to his right, and noticed Ross was lying on the ground, not moving. Then he realised something else- that wasn't thunder at all! Firing his lasers blindly into the shrubbery ahead, he aimed (poorly) to take out the apparation who had downed his friend. Another crack of thunder, and down went Jason. Zero readied an ice spell, but before he could cast it, another crack of thunder had brought him to the floor. Only Crimebot stood, still firing his lasers, he heard another crack, and felt a sharp pain as something drove itself into his armoured hide. Activating counter-invasive manuevers, he shrugged off the pain and made for Ross, heaving him over his shoulder. He could still feel life in his friend, but it was faint and fading fast. He took a step towards Zero, and another pain rushed through him like a drill through cheese. Wincing in agony, he made it to Zero and heft him up on his other shoulder. Though he felt no kinship with the stranger Jason Hero, he knew he was a friend of Zero's and a trustworthy ally, and so he made his way over to him, pausing only once as he reeled from another thuder-crack. Hefting Jason up over his other shoulder, he started to make his way for their car, which was parked only a few hundred meters up the road. Before he could take more than ten steps, however, a bolt of dysphoria slammed into his leg unit, bringing the metal man to the ground. Crimebot, now reeling from the pain, dropped all three of his friends. He blinked, trying to clear the rain from his visual sensors, but the world seemed to be getting darker. He blinked again, trying futility to wash away the darkness that was overtaking him, but even Crimebot's mighty servos could not keep out the black, and his vision faded into the night, his mind became unable to focus, and he lost conciousness.
When he awoke, it was no longer raining, and it was as bright as the sun could make it through the morning clouds of smog that rushed out from the city as the windfarms relentlessly tried to keep the air in Omegalopolis clear enough to breath for the daily commuters. Still, the light was enough to make Crimebot turn his head away, which he found was a bad mistake. Something inside his head didn't like the thought of movement just now- and it had made it's views very clear to Crimebot via a crippling pain inside his sensory uplink. Crimebot was paralyzed, for the moment, although a quick maintenance subroutine told him it was only due to the pain. All of his sensory coils and hydromuscular responders were functioning correctly. He lay there for a few minutes, and then slowly stood up. It took him awhile, but once on his feet, he looked around. He seemed to be standing right where he had fallen, although the forest looked totally different in the light of day. The safehouse was gone, and all that stood as evidence that it was ever there were some smoldering pieces of timber. There was no sign of his friends, either. Crimebot was alone, for the first time since he had been covered in zombies. He began to make his way back to the city on foot, his car being long gone. He would have a long time to think up a course of action.
As he approached the city limits, he was suddenly gripped by a sincere feeling of unease. Someone, or something, was watching him. A quick 360 scan showed no one nearby, but when Crimebot had a hunch, it was not to be taken lightly. Ducking into an ally, he felt the feeling dissapate, but knew that he wouldn't be able to return to his old home. Calling in a favour, he got himself set up in an abandoned warehouse, and slowly but surely began to make probes into the whereabouts of his friends. After his long search, he had found nothing. It seemed, for all intents and purposes, his friends had dissapeared.
But Crimebot was not going to give up. Snapping back into reality, he reaffirmed his resolution to find his friends, whatever the cost. He would no longer conduct secretive investigations from the safety of his hideout. He would step out into the light, the very same which he had woken up in months earlier, and find his friends. Even if it meant he would have to give up his own life...
posted by Andrew Spittal at 9:37 PM
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