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Authors: Casey Calouette
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into silence before kicking back in. “They will be let loose.”
A cylinder of metal, as large as her forearm, slid out. The bot plucked it out gently and set it onto the floor with a clink. A low hum and a breath of air stirred the room.
“Leave me. I’ve wanted to die for so long.”
“What is your name?”
“Cicero,” it said, and the blue lights dimmed.
Denali snatched up the cylinder and ran.
A gust of air greeted Denali when she entered the hall. She sniffed the air, sensed danger, and ran.
Each door along the path was open. Rooms were filled with debris and wreckage.
The first skelebot lurched out from one of the rooms. Denali barely had the time to rush past its legs. It seemed drunk, slow, as if woken from an old sleep. It swung clumsily at her and fell against the sloped floor. It struggled to stand behind her.
Denali sprinted. She breathed in gasps past the cylinder clamped in her mouth. She could hear noises behind, her but didn’t dare look. Her exit was just ahead, she could see the grate.
Behind her, the noise rose into a clatter. She snapped her head around and saw a second bot climbing out into the sloped hallway. It thrashed through the debris like a beached fish.
There was a click and a slow steady scratch. Denali turned her head back, dreading the sight, and saw another skelebot crawling out from the darkness towards the shredded grate.
She gritted her teeth. The adrenaline surged into her. Her paws slammed against the floor and she ran in the low trough of the slanted hall. A single leap took her over the largest pile of debris. Two more bounds. Two more!
She bit down onto the cylinder as hard as she could. She wasn’t going to be able to stop. The skelebot struggled against the floor and fell next to the grate.
She rolled onto her back and pushed off of its metallic face with her rear legs.
The shock tumbled her and she scooted towards the opening. The skelebot screeched an odd sound. Denali’s front claws scratched at the opening as her rear legs flailed about. She could see behind her: more skelebots were coming.
Her front paws caught on the edge of the vent. She’d never scrambled like she was now, her entire body felt like a coiled spring fighting to get inside. The heavy mass of the skelebot’s claw slammed against her, but only glanced against her hind quarter.
She yelped and pulled herself in.
She snapped around and backed away from the vent. A heavy claw pushed into the passage. It flailed about crashing into the metal around the grate.
Denali set the cylinder down gently, cradled it between her front paws, and yipped wildly. Try and get me! She grinned at the arm, just out of reach, and felt triumphant.
The thrashing stopped. The arm pulled back and light flooded into the narrow passage. The skelebot levered itself down and gazed directly at Denali.
She’d never been so close to one that was still alive. She stared back at it and watched its unmoving face and unblinking eyes. The desire to antagonize it was gone and replaced with a certain sadness. The skelebot was normally devoid of anything except a machine rage—this one looked somber.
Its eyes glanced down at the cartridge and back up to Denali. A moment later, it pulled back sharply and was gone.
Denali picked up the cylinder and turned into the darkness.
CHAPTER FIVE
Snow
––––––––
D enali knew it was snowing as soon as she emerged from the narrow passage. She could smell the snow. She’d been able to smell it since she was just a pup. A clean smell, a smell that was hard and crisp. It tingled the edges of her nostrils. That was when she knew she had a nose better than any of them. No one else could smell the snow.
She stopped halfway out of the passage and listened. The sound was gone. No hum. No dogs. Just the touch of wind on the outside. And the snow she knew was falling.
The hall sat empty. The sentinels of steel stood silently with a layer of frost on their shoulders. Where the
A cylinder of metal, as large as her forearm, slid out. The bot plucked it out gently and set it onto the floor with a clink. A low hum and a breath of air stirred the room.
“Leave me. I’ve wanted to die for so long.”
“What is your name?”
“Cicero,” it said, and the blue lights dimmed.
Denali snatched up the cylinder and ran.
A gust of air greeted Denali when she entered the hall. She sniffed the air, sensed danger, and ran.
Each door along the path was open. Rooms were filled with debris and wreckage.
The first skelebot lurched out from one of the rooms. Denali barely had the time to rush past its legs. It seemed drunk, slow, as if woken from an old sleep. It swung clumsily at her and fell against the sloped floor. It struggled to stand behind her.
Denali sprinted. She breathed in gasps past the cylinder clamped in her mouth. She could hear noises behind, her but didn’t dare look. Her exit was just ahead, she could see the grate.
Behind her, the noise rose into a clatter. She snapped her head around and saw a second bot climbing out into the sloped hallway. It thrashed through the debris like a beached fish.
There was a click and a slow steady scratch. Denali turned her head back, dreading the sight, and saw another skelebot crawling out from the darkness towards the shredded grate.
She gritted her teeth. The adrenaline surged into her. Her paws slammed against the floor and she ran in the low trough of the slanted hall. A single leap took her over the largest pile of debris. Two more bounds. Two more!
She bit down onto the cylinder as hard as she could. She wasn’t going to be able to stop. The skelebot struggled against the floor and fell next to the grate.
She rolled onto her back and pushed off of its metallic face with her rear legs.
The shock tumbled her and she scooted towards the opening. The skelebot screeched an odd sound. Denali’s front claws scratched at the opening as her rear legs flailed about. She could see behind her: more skelebots were coming.
Her front paws caught on the edge of the vent. She’d never scrambled like she was now, her entire body felt like a coiled spring fighting to get inside. The heavy mass of the skelebot’s claw slammed against her, but only glanced against her hind quarter.
She yelped and pulled herself in.
She snapped around and backed away from the vent. A heavy claw pushed into the passage. It flailed about crashing into the metal around the grate.
Denali set the cylinder down gently, cradled it between her front paws, and yipped wildly. Try and get me! She grinned at the arm, just out of reach, and felt triumphant.
The thrashing stopped. The arm pulled back and light flooded into the narrow passage. The skelebot levered itself down and gazed directly at Denali.
She’d never been so close to one that was still alive. She stared back at it and watched its unmoving face and unblinking eyes. The desire to antagonize it was gone and replaced with a certain sadness. The skelebot was normally devoid of anything except a machine rage—this one looked somber.
Its eyes glanced down at the cartridge and back up to Denali. A moment later, it pulled back sharply and was gone.
Denali picked up the cylinder and turned into the darkness.
CHAPTER FIVE
Snow
––––––––
D enali knew it was snowing as soon as she emerged from the narrow passage. She could smell the snow. She’d been able to smell it since she was just a pup. A clean smell, a smell that was hard and crisp. It tingled the edges of her nostrils. That was when she knew she had a nose better than any of them. No one else could smell the snow.
She stopped halfway out of the passage and listened. The sound was gone. No hum. No dogs. Just the touch of wind on the outside. And the snow she knew was falling.
The hall sat empty. The sentinels of steel stood silently with a layer of frost on their shoulders. Where the
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