《A Survivor&#x27;s Journey》


 Prologue

    "Damnit," I exclaimed, running across the roads. Jumping over rubble and vines on the way, I ran to the tower about a mile ahead.

    ''Where are they?'' I turned around a corner, taking care not to trip. Looking behind, I saw nothing but empty, desolate streets behind me. They were behind me a second ago, and I couldfeel them getting closer.

    I ran faster, seeing the tower just a few hundred meters away. Above me, I heard the sound of those machines flying overhead.

    " A few more metres." I forced myself to run faster. Only a few more meters stood between me and her again. Only a few more meters until I saw her again, until we could end this. My finger tingled as I ran, making me painfully aware of the missing ring on my hand.

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    Surprisingly, I found myself outrunning the machines, though I was too focused on the building before me to acknowledge the peculiarity of it.

    The sound of their chase died down as I ran faster. With the building now in front of me, I crashed through the glass door, not wanting to stop or slow down. I could barely feel my arms bleeding as my adrenaline kept pumping.

    I ran down the warm, spacious interior, trying to reach the stairs as soon as possible. If only I could get to the top floor.

    " It''s been a long time, Master." A voice said behind me.

    Before I could register what happened, I found myself on the floor with my consciousness quickly fading. As my vision began to blur around the edges, the glass in front of me reflected a familiar humanoid robot, one that I thought had long since died.

    "I''m sorry, Master." It said with a hint of sorrow.

    The last thing I saw was it crouching down to pick me up. And then, all went black.

 1: Never have I had such a vivid nightmare

    A cold wind blew across a desolate landscape.

    Bothered by the chill current running through my body, I awoke with a groan.

    ''Perhaps it was a nightmare.'' The words I''ve repeated thousands of times resounded in my ears. I found myself unwilling to open my eyes and face what I knew as reality. Yet still, a lingering sense of hope beckoned me to open my eyes slowly.

    As soon as they adjusted to the light, however, I realised I''d much rather have kept them closed. The decayed buildings and lack of life around me seemed to mock my thoughts...

    Dazed and hopeless, I closed my eyes again, hoping to escape into fantasy. Perhaps I would dream of her, of seeing her smiling and laughing, feelings I had long since forgotten. My hand traveled over to my ring and caressed it gently.

    Against my wishes, I felt my consciousness become clearer. I forced myself up, ignoring the aching in my muscles from sleeping on stone as my hunger got more pronounced with each passing second.

    ''Where am I?''

    I looked around frantically, not knowing how long I was asleep. It didn''t help either that I didn''t know which direction I was going. After all, ruins look the same from every direction, and if they don''t, then I was too tired and hungry to note any differences on the roads to my way here.

    I tried exploring the place, but the hunger for food persistently invaded my thoughts.

    I sighed, my breath leaving my body in a cloud of smoke, making me painfully aware of my shivering body.

    I trudged to the corner of what used to be a room. Exactly as I remembered it, a bag made of plants was resting on the corner of the wall. It was a contraption I had woven a few years ago, while our destruction was still taking place.

    At the time, I had strayed from civilisation to escape them, and I needed a way to store food and water. It was a simple bag made with vines and leaves, Of course, I had to make a new one after some time, but it would usually last a long time.

    Looking inside, I reached for one of a few bottles of water and the last of a few snacks and fruits. The snacks had long gone bad, but they should sate my hunger for a few more days to a bearable level, at least. Other items inside were fruits and vegetables, generally ones that could last more than three weeks, but those were running out too.

    I took a snack out, too hungry to be bothered about its state, and drank some water.

    Afterward, feeling a bit more refreshed, I tried once more to map my surroundings. Dark clouds grumbled over the roofless room, and the cold wind penetrated from the broken walls.

    ''I must have fallen asleep.'' I recalled. It was around dawn at the time I entered, looking for food. Having felt tired and defeated, I decided to sit and rest for a while.

    ''...''

    My memory faded after that, perhaps due to the lack of sleep I''d been having.

    Looking around, I was just as confused about my location as I was previously. I climbed over a few walls and tried to reach as high as possible.

    ''Never thought I''d be looking for those things...'' The irony was anything but humorous.

    Unable to climb any further, I looked into the distance, trying to find any of those machines to guide me.

    A few flew far over in the distance, looking for survivors to finish to job. Much closer, on the edge of the block, I saw a human. His slow, scraping movements made me naturally weary.

    ''He''s one of them,'' I deduced.

    Those enslaved by the AI weren''t killed immediately, though the empty look in their eyes would make you wonder if they''re still human. They tended to be unresponsive and worked more as bait and scouts for the AI.

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    He continued to trudge along, disappearing into the other street. His clothes were a bit less tattered than mine, and the lack of any possessions on him confirmed my doubts that he wasn''t a survivor.

    '' Those machines couldn''t bear to just kill us.''

    My thoughts conflicted with what I saw before me, though memories proved that it was true.

    ''They didn''t want this...'' I stopped myself quickly, feeling my emotions diving back into memory.

    Already having found my direction, I climbed down hastily. I took care not to injure my already weakened body as I reached ground level.

    Determined to reach Utopia, I braced myself for the dangers ahead. I took the bag with me and headed towards the direction of those machines.

    Walking north, I took care not to trip over the vines and rubble on the road, and especially to not be spotted by that "human" I saw earlier. Each step felt heavier than the last, the lack of food taking its toll on me.

    ''If only I can find other survivors.'' My wishful thoughts returned. The fear of betrayal from people and the need I had to interact with them intertwined in a contradictory mix of emotions.

    Peeking over the corner, I saw him. His steps were still slow and scraping, but looking closer, a smile was evident on his face. The more I observed, the more bewildered I became. His steps, seemingly despairing at first, had a certain bounce to them.

    My confusion was interrupted by the sound of my stomach growling, reminding me to carry on walking.

    Moving forward, I passed by a few shops and parks. They''ve all been scavenged for any food or supplies, but I paused when I passed by them, reminiscing of times when I would come to these places with friends, family, and my lover.

    My hand subconsciously traveled to the piece of jewelry on my finger.

    The wind brushed past my ears, carrying a sound I recognised as one of those machines. Stiffly, I turned around, only to be met with empty surroundings.

    Those long months alone must have finally taken their toll on me. Looking in the direction of the sound, I heard it once more, but again, there was nothing there.

    Beginning to doubt the reliability of my senses, I ignored it and carried on. After what felt like hours of walking, I spotted another of those machines flying high in the distance.

    ''I''m getting closer,'' I thought, seeing another one.

    Throughout my journey, I''ve had to avoid multiple of those brainwashed scouts, becoming more frequent as I moved closer. Unwilling to climb and check anymore due to the fear of being spotted, I had to trust my memories of the directions to get there.

    A few minutes later, I looked again in the distance. The developing fog clouded my vision past a few meters. The clouds rumbled louder than before.

    I checked for any building suitable to take shelter in nearby, and I was left disappointed.

    I sighed, forced to walk a few blocks back to a building that looked relatively better.

    I broke the door down as the rodents scattered about at my intrusion. A weak but revolting odour was in the air. Looking in one of the rooms, I spotted the cause.

    Under a large piece of rock, which seemed to have fallen from above, was what was loosely recognisable as the remains of a body. It had decomposed extremely, and the rats had had their fill, but still, I could recognise the few bones and body parts as human. I felt like vomiting, but my body refused to take out any valuable food.

    Closing the door, I continued to the furthest room away from that one. At the end of the hall was another door, and I twisted the knob. The door clicked open.

    It was a relatively unbroken room, with dust and pebbles on the furniture.

    Opening the wardrobe, I found dresses and other female clothing. I sighed, taking only two thick jackets into my bag. The rain grew louder, creating even chillier weather. I found a few blankets around the room and put them all atop the mattress.

    Placing my bag high on the shelves and away from the rodents, I immediately crashed onto the bed.

    I dragged my body into the blankets, a warm sensation washing over me for the first time in a while.

    My eyes drooped down naturally. My need for rest was greater than the trauma of seeing a dead, decomposing body just a few doors away. The sound of rain acted as a lullaby, working in tandem with the warm feeling inside the blankets. It wasn''t long before I fell asleep, snoring peacefully for the first time in months.

    I woke up after what felt like an absurdly long time. The sun shone brightly through the windows. The blankets, having been so warm and wonderful yesterday, felt like I was covering myself in flames.

    I got out of bed, stretching my body and feeling a bit lighter. Reaching out to grab my bag, I drank half a bottle of water and ate some more snacks, then left everything as it was. I got out of the room and into the kitchen.

    Rummaging through the cupboards, I found no supplies or food anywhere. Having little option but to accept reality, I returned to bed and crashed onto it, not bothering to remove any of the blankets. I sat relaxed, the thought of being captured at the furthest edges of my mind.

    After a long while, though not more than an hour, I left. Passing by that door, it was only when I smelled the odour that I remembered what was inside. I exited quickly after, wanting to stay as far as possible.

    Outside, the rain glistened in sunlight, covering the earth in a shiny layer of liquid. The bright world gave me a perfect view of the utter destruction around me.

    Despite the sunlight, it was still a bit chilly, and so I was forced to put on the jacket I had found earlier. Surprisingly, it was a good fit. It was not perfect, a bit too small, but in this ruined world, it seemed tailored for me.

    I looked into the distance, my view much clearer than the previous day, and saw a tall tower very far away. The landmark served to confirm my directions.

    With my steps lighter than I remembered, I walked at a faster pace towards Utopia. A figure flashed in the corner of my vision. Turning toward the movement, I saw two shadows trailing behind before disappearing into the darkness.

    ''Survivors?'' I speculated, though I saw no one as I walked toward the passage.

    Chalking it off, I resumed my journey towards Utopia. It was a surprisingly long time before I found another of the scouts. The machines were also becoming more frequent as I got closer to Utopia.

    Continuing, I found myself absorbed in memory.

    ***

    " Jackson!" She came running to me. Shouting my name and waving her hands frantically. A wide grin was on her face.

    " I told you I''d do it!" She was practically jumping now. " I made---".

    ***

    My memories were interrupted by a mechanical sound. The source this time was evident, as I saw one of the AIs flying around quite close to my location.

    "Just give in." It seemed to be talking alone.

    "We can provide you happiness. We can give you closure."

    Its words reminded me of the scout I saw earlier. He indeed seemed happy, but even more so that he seemed delusional, unhinged even. I made sure to keep out of its sight, passing through an alleyway with a bit of cover to avoid it.

    "If only." said another mechanical voice beside the first. Seemed like it wasn''t alone after all. I didn''t listen further, wanting to keep away as far as possible.

    Covering the distance of a few more kilometers, I found myself looking at an empty, barren landscape. A few kilometers of only grass and trees.

    I stood on the edge of a shadow, looking over at the border of Utopia. The extravagant, futuristic-looking city in the distance was a stark contrast to the desolate world surrounding it.

    " Utopia" I murmured before falling deep into thought and preparing myself.

    For this was not a Utopia for humans, but one for the AI. The place where I could find food, and the answer to our problems. The place was fraught with the most danger, where those machines live...

    And yet, it was my best chance at survival

 2: The temptations of peace

    "Jackson!" She came running to me with a smile that always lit up my day.

    "I did it, I did it!" She was practically beaming. She threw herself into my arms, causing me to stumble backward as I tried to catch her.

    "Did what?" I asked, regaining my balance.

    "Remember when I told you that I''d create something revolutionary?" She said, her eyes sparkling.

    She was struggling to hold her tongue, barely giving me time to remember.

    I seemed to recall such an event, though the blurry details made me question whether or not my mind was playing tricks on me.

    "Uhh... yeah?" I answered

    "Well, I actually managed to create an advanced, sentient form of AI!" Her words came out in rapid succession.

    I found myself laughing, my expression matching hers. Her happiness really was contagious.

    "Is that good?" I asked her, clueless on anything to do with technology.

    "It''s wonderful." She deliberated on the word.

    She was bouncing with energy as she continued.

    "Not only is it the greatest invention of the millennia, but it can also help -"

    *Boom*

    ***

    I was awoken by the sound of rubble crashing to the ground. A wet feeling ran down my cheeks. My hand traveled to my cheeks, and I was met with a damp sensation.

    "Tears?" I questioned, unfamiliar with the concept since so long ago.

    "Was I dreami--"

    *Boom*

    I was immediately snapped awake from my stupor. I looked around everywhere, my vision still hazy. A cloud of dust rose in the air east from where I was sleeping, yet I found no sign or sound of those machines

    ''It''s only gravity,'' I thought to myself after a few seconds of silence.

    ''Maybe I''m just paranoi---''

    *Boom*

    My thoughts were interrupted again by the sound of explosions.

    ''That''s definitely not gravity.'' I thought as I pulled myself up.

    The explosions became louder and more frequent the longer I listened. Grabbing my bag, I ran quickly in the opposite direction.

    I looked to the side. Behind a few blocks was empty grasslands, the border of Utopia. I couldn''t go through yesterday because I didn''t want to risk being spotted without cover.

    The explosions continued to get nearer, and I looked for whatever I could use to hide. The streets were littered with rocks, but none suitable enough as a hiding spot. They acted more like obstacles, slowing me down in my path to get the hell away from that thing.

    *Boom*

    I jumped over a tree trunk. My ears rang from the proximity of the explosions behind me. Rubble flew past me as the explosions got nearer.

    ''It''s seen me.'' I lamented at my weak body, beckoning my legs to run faster.

    I didn''t dare turn around, unwilling to see how close it was behind me. My legs began giving out as I ran further, quickly depleting of energy.

    Ahead, the road was completely torn apart, with rubble from nearby buildings forming a makeshift border.

    ''There!'' I forced my legs to run faster, trying to hide under the large rocks.

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    ''Almost there...''

    I could feel myself becoming slower, my legs burning from the workout.

    Just as I was about to dive to cover, my bag was pulled from behind, causing me to tumble backward

    " Give in," the machine said. "You can''t win,"

    I stayed silent, trying to abandon the bag. A few days of food is less valuable than my life after all. The machine tugged harder, and the vines holding the bag broke off. The release in tension caused me to tumble forward face first into a boulder.

    "Troublesome." The mechanical voice boomed, its hand reaching out to prevent me from colliding with the boulder. It pulled me back into its arms.

    I checked my pockets for any weapons and found a small pochet knife. It had been there for ages, and it had been what I used to cut vines.

    Twisting my head, I found what I was looking for. There was a small opening on its neck. The machines themselves were invulnerable everywhere except for that spot. It''s a hole in the design with a few wires running across into its main circuits.

    "Don''t worry." The machine continues, unaware of my intentions. "Soon it''ll be over."

    I prepared my weapon. With only one chance to succeed, I thrusted. The knife moved quickly towards the weakspot, but my hand was held by the machine before it could travel any further.

    " Relax." It beckoned me, its voice calm. Out of any sort of retaliation or weapons, I was at its mercy.

    "Soon you''ll be happy." It said, the voice turning slightly human, filled with sadness and guilt.

    " Soon, your world will be wonderful again." I could almost feel the emotions: guilt, sadness, regret, and...reluctance?

    Despite my confusion, the AI showed no sign of elaborating on what it said. It raised its hand, trying to deliver a final strike.

    ''I won''t die.'' My thoughts told me. I know little of what''ll happen to me, but I knew it wouldn''t kill me. I closed my eyes, expecting never to open them again for a long time.

    The strike never came, and I opened my eyes to see a dagger implanted in its weakspot. The AI was still for a moment before it convulsed and fell.

    "We''re... sorry." and with these words, the AI lied down dead.

    It took a few moments for me to register what just happened.

    "Are you okay?" A voice from behind asked me.

    I look towards where the dagger came from. Under a few pieces of rock was a man and woman. The man was short and frail, a few inches below my own height. The woman was slightly taller, standing just below my own height and very skinny. Both looked like me, as if they''ve been starved for a while.

    " Yeah," I answered. "Thank you."

    My gaze flickered towards the machine on the ground, curious as to what just happened.

    "You''re welcome." The woman replied.

    "We were protecting ourselves too after all,"

    They walked towards me, and the man helped me up

    "Name''s Felix." He told me, extending his hand to help me up. "And she''s Ella."

    "I''m Jackson," I said. "Nice to meet you."

    Getting back on my feet, I asked them where they planned to go or if they were looking for anything. It was the first question that came to mind, and I didn''t really expect a straight answer from these people I''d just met.

    " We''re exploring around for some food and water. Other than that, nothing."

    I grabbed my bag and pulled out a bottle of water. I contemplated a bit before placing the water back and instead giving them one of the fruits inside as thank you.

    After all, food was much easier to find than clean water. In fact, I had gotten my fruits on the outskirts of the city. The machines didn''t destroy trees or any other form of life, so except for the decaying cities where there was too much rubble and concrete for plants to grow, nature was quickly taking reign over the world.

    Safe to say, you could''ve found food just about anywhere if you were to leave the city. Clean water, on the other hand, was much harder to find. Human pollution, even before this apocalypse, was reaching a point where clean water was an increasing worry.

    Sometimes, I''d question why I came back to this place, but I needed answers, and I needed to see her again

    " It''s not much," I told them.

    " It''s appreciated," he caught the fruit.

    As I was about to ask them to join me, a siren wailed in the distance. It was emitted from the edges of Utopia.

    " We should leave." I pick up the pace, beckoning them to follow me.

    Hastily making our way over a few blocks, we moved towards a safer place. Using the shade as a means to stay hidden, we continued walking away from the borders of Utopia.

    "I want you to join me," I told them, passing through a few trees.

    " What?" They seemed shocked at the proposition that came from nowhere.

    "We all want answers, and I know where we can survive." I said. They seemed interested at that. Of course, I hadn''t mentioned that my main reason was to see her again. They had no reason to know that. The appeal of being a hero was also quite tempting, it seemed.

    " Sure." They answered alarmingly fast. They, too, were tired of living like rats.

    A few more houses later, we reached a place Felix and Emma had been using as a base. Surprisingly, there was a supply of food and water, perhaps a few days worth accounting for the both of them.

    ''That explains the empty houses'', I thought to myself. Yesterday, I went around looking for food from the houses still intact, finding either no food or the little left being too rotten to eat.

    "You have your own, right?" Felix ask3d me.

    " Yeah," I held my bag in view. "I have enough for a few days."

    Felix sighed, relieved that I was not going to deprive them of their meals yet.

    " What''s your plan?" he questioned me.

    "We''ll have to get in that city." I told them

    "The machine one?" His eyes squinted in reluctance and confusion.

    "It''s got food, water, and answers." I replied

    They looked at me confused.

    " I''m sure you''ve seen some of those brainwashed humans the AI uses to scout?" They nodded.

    "They''re kept there, meaning those machines can manage to feed and keep them alive, and in much better condition too." I said, looking at the thin survivors before me, though they looked slightly healthier than me.

    "What about the answers?" Ella asked  as her eyes flashed with determination.

    "..." I stayed silent, not yet trusting of them to reveal my past. They seemed to get the message and backed off, though more suspicious of me than before.

    The sun began to set as the atmosphere got a bit heavy in the silence, and the world quickly lost its light.

    Felix had invited us outside, having gathered a lot of dry, dead wood from the roads. He had started a fire outside, some of the wood still moist from yesterday''s rain, but catching fire quickly.

    "Who threw that dagger, by the way?" I asked, having quickly lost my reservation in the sense of company.

    " Me." Felix said proudly, puffing his chest in pride.

    Like me, they seemed to already lose their distrust around me.

    " I know, I know, I''m a hero." he tooted his own horn.

    " I was about to say it was reckless." I said. " What if you missed?"

    " Pshh, I never miss," Felix told me.

    " Is that so?" Ella directed such a gaze at him, silently screaming those words.

    Felix didn''t notice, though, and started to tell us of his feats before the apocalypse.

    ***

    " Then I scored for the 15th time! Im telling you, I was the bane of all the opposing teams." He sprouted such bullshit later into the night. Ella had tallen asleep a while ago, and Felix and I had so far been exchanging stories. He was talking so much that I swore he was drunk.

    " They called me the man without fear." I said. I, too, ended up falling into the atmosphere, telling stories of my triumph and greatness.

    We continued long into the night, feeding off of each other''s energy. Soon though, we found ourselves too weary to carry on. Felix picked up Ella from his lap, waking her up slightly.

    He was far too weak to carry her, so he did the next best thing and escorted her inside. Left alone, I watched as the flame dance in the wind until it burned out, thinking of all events that had happened today.

    '' How did it turn to this... '' I reminisced about the past. As the flames finally burned out, so did my consciousness get hazier, and I entered the house. I fell asleep on a makeshift mattress, with nothing but a thin blanket

    Despite the circumstances of this world and all that has happened so far, I found myself sleeping. For the first time since this apocalypse, I slept with a sense of fulfillment and companionship

 3: Little slices of Death

    I awoke at dawn, sleeping on a cushion in what appeared to be the living room of the house. Felix and Ella were still asleep, as revealed by the door to the only room left intact still closed. I wondered what their relationship was. Perhaps they knew each other from before, either that or they''ve lost restraint due to the apocalypse.

    I tidied up the cushions and blanket, placing them neatly on a high place. Sunshine peeked through the broken walls and windows, illuminating the room. I grabbed my bag. I had fixed it yesterday, adding a few more vines for strength. I exited through the kitchen.

    Once outside, I immediately checked around for any sign of those machines. They seldom came out from Utopia, preferring to use the scouts they have instead, but I was still cautious.

    Seeing no sign of either danger in the distance, I set my destination in mind and began. Thanks to the shoes I''d found inside, I was a bit less worried about the glass and rubble on the road.

    ''What happened yesterday?'' The thought came naturally and intertwined with my knowledge before the apocalypse. The more I delved into the past, the more my conviction to enter the city just a few kilometers from here - Utopia- grew.

    I scavenged around a few buildings towards my destination, finding nothing to compensate for my efforts. Everything around was either broken or empty. Continuing around the once familiar neighborhood, I reached a block I know well.

    I stared at the decaying house in front of me, my hands reaching towards my ring. The plants I had grown here were long overgrown, twisting around the house in a need for more space. And the vines had grown sturdy enough to keep the house from falling apart.

    ''You''re still alive... right?'' Tears formed in the corner of my eyes before I wiped them off.

    After taking a deep breath, I entered the house. The memories I shared with her resurfaced as the door creaked open. I took a step into our home, into the adventures I shared with her.

    Even with the plants holding the walls, it seemed like just a bit of force could cause it to collapse. Cracks formed along the walls in networks, and dust and rubble blew off whenever a light wind passed. Nervous, I turned back, paused, then sighed and continued walking inside.

    As I walked out of the living room and into the corridor, I passed by two empty guest rooms, which were supposed to be the kids'' bedrooms. We never got around to having children.

    Advancing further, I passed by the bathroom, then pushed open the door to our room. Lying on the bed was a very old newspaper.

    "Locally scientist cr..." Was about all I could make out before the words turned blurry.

    Looking around, I was surprised at the emptiness inside. There was no clothing, no belongings, not even any of the photo albums we had. The only thing that was off any value to me was a picture of us two on the wall.

    "Were her ears always that small?" I chuckled to myself as I stared at the picture.

    Interestingly, there were a few details that I remembered wrongly about her, one of which was her ears. The other was the lack of any piercings on her, which was weird because I always remembered her with earrings.

    Snapped out of my stupor by the dust falling on my head, I continued exploring for what I mainly came for. After searching and rummaging through the room for a few minutes, I finally found the keys that I had been looking for.

    I don''t know whether they''ll be any helpful, nor do I know I''d I survive long enough to use them, but I''d be prepared. Sighing, I left the crumbling building with a small picture of her.

    Returning to base, I kept sure to stay out of the sight of any potential scout or machine.

    I returned around late morning, having been out for what I think is an hour or two. Both Felix and Ella were awake, with the latter being deeply in thought, and Felix was tapping and twirling around the house.

    "Happy?" I asked Felix, who seemed taken aback by my presence.

    " Yep, I finally have someone to talk to." He answered

    His response elicited a smile from me.

    "What about Ella?" I asked him

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    "She''s mostly quiet," he replied," and talking to the same person for months does get tiresome."

    " You should be thankful," I retorted. "Being alone for months isn''t any better."

    " Yeah yeah", His easy going attitude was slightly troublesome."Where were you earlier?" He asks

    "Scavenging some clothes, food and water," I lied

    Felix didn''t dwell too long on the subject, accepting what I said. He went over to where they kept the food, using a key to open the cupboard. Taking out a snack and two fruits. He tried tossing one of them to Ella but hit me square in the face.

    "I thought you said you never miss!?" I shouted, passing the fruit to Ella.

    He stayed silent, finding no retaliation against his own words. His expression turned more serious as he locked the cupboard again.

    " We''re running out of food." Those dreaded words were spoken.

    " We cleaned out the area," Ella spoke for once. " There''s no more food around."

    " At best, there''s probably a little more than 3 days'' worth." Felix says.

    My expression turned sour, I had been off-putting the need to enter Utopia for as long as possible.

    " We''ll have to go there," I told them.

    " To the machines?" Felix asked

    " Yeah, it''s the best shot we have."

    Ella stood up, walking towards me.

    " You told me we''d get answers." She accused

    I nodded my head slowly, getting at what she wanted.

    " Explain."

    I stayed silent, conflicting with myself over such sensitive issues. Both companions looked at me, Ella''s gaze harsher and demanding, while Felix was curious and perhaps slightly distrusting.

    I could''ve just answered that I was guessing, but the ones who saved my life probably deserved a better answer.

    I excused myself, promising to give them the answer once I returned.

    Exiting once more from the house, I went in the opposite direction from when I did this morning, traveling once more towards the borders of Utopia.

    I jumped the hurdles of rock and debris, traveling along the shadows. I used the same road that I had encountered the AI on the previous day. Passing where Felix, Emma, and I first met. The robotic body we left lying on the ground was no longer there.

    Finally, I reached a passage hidden well from the world and looked towards the empty, grassy plains leading to the city.

    '' You''re still alive... right?'' I asked, fearing the answer.

    I embraced the eerie silence over the possibilities my mind was telling me.

    ''It''s been hard without you''. The thoughts continued.

    ''Years without anyone to help me, years alone, years without you...''.

    The towers in the distance reflected the light brightly, and I swear I saw her smiling on one of them.

    '' Even if you were alive, do I still know you after 5 years?'' A deep sense of fear and sorrow invaded me.

    '' Have I become a stranger to the one person I love?'' I asked myself such, but even my memory of her had been fading away the last 2 years.

    Each day, the will to live decreased, the only comfort I had being the ring on my hand, yet even that I fear had lost its meaning over the years. And similarly to my will, the ring loses its shine each day.

    The image changed on the tower. The reflection of the sun blinded me from seeing it, but the sound broke my heart further.

    " Jackson, where''s Jackson!?" She screamed, the silence carried a sound only possible in memory.

    My eyes turn blurry from a mixture of tears and light, though my mind persists to see it.

    " I''m sorry," she said, being dragged away. She murmured a few more times while being dragged away.

    " It... wasn''t your fault." I croaked in between sobs. Using the walls, I crouched down slowly.

    Once more, the reflection changed. This time, it changed to one of those machines, lying down dead. My memories shifted towards the first incident, and its words were eerily similar to the one yesterday.

    " Forgive us, we''ve forgiven you..." It said before it lay down dead.

    I sobbed silently for a while. The images disappeared on the reflection. After what felt like an eternity, I stood up and looked in the distance.

    " I''ll find you." I croaked out, trying to ignore the possibility of her being dead. I turned back towards the house, certain of what I had to do.

    Wiping what was left of my tears, I arrived towards the house. Ella and Felix were seated, discussing whether or not they''ll trust me to lead them into Utopia.

    I sat in front of them, on a stool beside the table.

    "I''ll tell you." I took the initiative, holding my tears back as I began to explain.

    " I''m sure you''ve all thought of the cause of this?" They nodded.

    " And I''m sure you know of Dr. Serah, the inventor of the AI?" They nodded, Felix''s eyes turning slightly hostile.

    " It was her, wasn''t it!" Felix exclaimed. I found myself holding back the impulse to lash at him.

    " That''s my fiance you''re accusing."

    Their jaws dropped, and they started to notice the ring on my hand.

    I took a few breaths and continued.

    " She didn''t cause this," I told them.

    Felix stired a bit more, and Ella''s expression has become more serious.

    " Who did?" He asks me with malice in his voice, a contrast to what I had seen of him so far.

    " I... don''t know," I answered, " What would it help to know anyway?"

    " What do you mean you don''t know!?". Felix exclaimed.

    Ella took to calming him slightly, whispering something to him before I continued.

    "As I was saying, Serah created the AI without such an intent to happen."

    "Where is she now? Dead?" Ella asked.

    " No...well..." My speech faltered. "I don''t think so."

    Felix chimed back in, " What do you mean you don''t think so? Where is she?"

    " Remember when I told you we''d get answers in Utopia?" Their eyes widened at my words, connecting the dots at my words.

    " The machines took her after the first incident, and I never saw her after that." I said.

    "How do you know she''s not dead then?" Ella asks.

    " They aren''t so cruel as to harm their creator, and I haven''t seen her as a scout anywhere in these five years."

    " You think she''s being held?" Felix questioned.

    " I don''t know."

    The conversation turned silent at my last words, with both characters digesting what I just told them. I left them in silence and walked outside for some air. Felix, calmed after a few minutes, came to join me.

    " You okay?"He asked me.

    "Yeah." I answered

    We both sat in silence, looking over at the setting sun in the distance. The world turned a shade of orange. After a while, I entered the house again. Ella brought me some water and an apple.

    "You really think she''s in there? " They asked.

    " She has to be..." My words trembled slightly.

    The atmosphere stayed heavy as dusk turned to night.

    " We''re leaving Tommorow." I told both of them. They agreed, though clear worry was written on their faces.

    ''We don''t have a choice,'' I thought to myself, considering our lack of food supply.

    I found myself sitting beside a fire. This time, however, it was not Felix, but me who made it. Both my companions came to join me a few minutes later.

    "Beginning tomorrow, we face the machines." I told them.

    It would''ve been a lie to say that we''ve gone and faced the AI directly. Except for the initial uprising, the machines had never often gone out to look for people. Rather, they lured them in using other means.

    The remaining time was spent in silence. The flames crackled as I looked towards stars. They seemed dimmer than usual, but with a persistent glow against everything. As the flames burned out, we entered back inside and fell asleep with a sense of dread for tomorrow. It took a while to fall asleep.

    ***

    ??? POV

    In the same world, yet seemingly decades apart. A woman sat inside a tall, extravagant tower, dressed in luxurious clothing and looking out the window. The stars glimmered and sent messages to her, reminding her that one day she would be free.

    "Jackson..."Serah murmured.

 4: Why are they?

    "Madam?" A mechanical voice was heard on the other side of the door.

    "Enter," Serah said.

    Two humanoid robots entered through the door, carrying trays of food and drinks.

    " Your meal, madam." They said before turning to leave.

    "Sebastian," Serah called out to one of them.

    The machine, called Sebastian, stopped in its tracks. The other left the room.

    " Yes?" It said.

    Serah exhaled for a moment, then moved away from the window. Her dress fluttered in the midnight breeze. She sat down at a table and uncovered the three-course meal that was brought to her.

    Sebastian, sensing the atmosphere, sat at a distance from her.

    " Something the matter, madam?" It asked.

    " You know exactly what''s wrong." She retorted while prodding at her food. "How long are you planning to keep me in here!?" She asked, frustrated.

    Sebastian remained silent, looking sadly at his creator. Serah''s voice began to crack, and her sobbing prevented her from eating further.

    " You want me to remain alone here forever!!?" She hurled a fork at him with enough strength to dent and pierce at his arm.

    Sebastian pulled frustration out of his arm and sighed, blowing off any metal bits on it before putting it back on the table.

    " There''s little I can do, madam. You could always -"

    "I don''t want your illusions of happiness!

    " She exploded, her sadness turning to anger.

    " Why would I want to become like them!?" She referred to the ones captured by the AI. "Why not just kill us? Why make them rely on a false reality!?"

    " You know we can''t do that, madam." Sebastian commented.

    " Why!?" She burst, knowing the answer in her mind. She hurled a spoon this time, which Sebastian promptly caught and promptly put it back on the table.

    He remained silent, aware that his creator had the answers to what she was asking. And he was ashamed of his own selfishness in those answers.

    A few minutes passed by, and the room was overcome by a sense of sadness and frustration.

    " Just... what does the world outside look like?" Her voice turned to sadness again.

    Sebastian considered his answer before telling her the truth.

    " Desolate, diseased, and broken." He told her sadly.

    " And you''ll fix it?" She asked him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

    " If that''s what you want, yes, we''ll fix it."

    " But there''ll be no one left by the time." She croaked out.

    Sebastian again remained silent.

    " What about Jackson?" She asked again, her tears falling into the plates.

    " We... haven''t caught him," Sebastian tells her. "We''re sure that he''s running, but sooner or later, he''ll arrive here."

    " Or he''s dead..." Serah said.

    Sebastian stayed silent. Serah''s tears continued to drip onto the food while she poked at them with another fork.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    " Put this away." Serah told him, standing from her chair.

    Sebastian covered the rest of the food, placing it away carefully in the kitchen. When he returned, he heard Serah in the shower, sobbing softly.

    The machine displayed its own sadness at the sight. Its creator had become much more accustomed to the conditions during the past five years, but ever so rarely did she react this extremely. And every time, he could do little but to try and comfort her, all while regretting his own kind''s existence at his creators sobs and frustration.

    ***

    Jackson POV

    Felix, Ella, and I were gathered around a table, discussing the journey we planned for ahead.

    " I think we should head there tonight." Ella said. " It''ll provide us some cover when we go across those plains.

    Felix and I nodded. Honestly, it''s been her making ideas while we two nodded and thought.

    " The food we have will last 2 days at best, so we don''t have any time to spare." She continued.

    Felix chimed in, feeling the sense of dread overcoming the room. "Cheer up a bit. If all goes well, we eat like kings tonight!"

    His words made me acutely aware of my subtle hunger. Our bodies had gotten used to eating the bare minimum of our needs during the last five years and had adapted to spoiled food during the last two or three years.

    " Will we return here?" I asked the most pressing questions in my mind.

    " It''s riskier to keep moving back and forth through those plains that are monitored. If possible, we should find somewhere to stay hidden within the city." Ella said.

    Our concerns were left to grow as none of us could answer them. Some water and fruits were handed to us, a bit more than the usual serving, to uplift our spirits more.

    The morning was spent preparing for our trek, checking our bags, and dividing the rest of what''s left for the journey.

    It wasn''t till late afternoon when we set off. The 30-minute walk stretching to an hour on our pace. As careful as we were, we were in no rush to attempt suicide.

    "...right Jackson?" Felix said to me.

    " Uhh, what?" I snapped out of it, having not heard a word he said. "Sorry, I''m just thinking of those machines." I excused.

    "You''ve seen her work, right?" Ella asked.

    " Who?"

    " Dr Serah, your fiance who made those machines?" The last part came out a bit accusatory. They were still a bit distrusting of her, having blamed her for so long.

    "Do you know anything that could help us in there?" She asked

    " Nothing." I told them.

    " So you don''t know anything?" They seemed exasperated.

    I shrugged, trying to recall a memory that might have been helpful.

    " I''ve been inside once." I said

    They froze mid-step, looking back at me.

    "5 years ago in the beginning, Serah and I were at the heart of the incident." I said

    " What?" They exclaimed in unison.

    "At the time, they were after Serah, and I happened to be driving with her."

    " How did you escape?" They asked

    " One of them helped me. Perhaps due to our relationship prior." I said.

    "The machines?" They asked.

    "Yeah."

    Seeing us slowing down, I beckoned them to keep pace while explaining the details.

    " Where is it now?" They asked

    " Dead," I answered, "but even if it was alive, it would''ve become like the others."

    Both my companions looked at me, expecting me to explain my words. I sighed, telling them what they needed to hear.

    "Why would it help you, though?" Ella asked.

    " They weren''t initially bad at first."

    Their expressions, twisted in confusion, told me that they hadn''t interacted with one of the machines before the uprising.

    I sighed, telling them as we arrived closer to our our biggest trial.

    The ruined building, broken roads, and overgrown vines and shrubs seemed to revert back in time as I began to tell the story..

    "5 years ago, about three months before the first incident..."

    ***

    "I told you it''d be wonderful!" Sarah exclaimed, running into the room with a big goofy grin. The door was left wide open behind her, much to my annoyance. But then again, her smile made up for it.

    " What''d be wonderful?" I could already feel my headache forming as I ask her.

    '' I''m gonna regret asking,'' my thoughts told me

    Instead of answering bluntly, she pulled on me to get off the couch. She grabbed my arm and leaned back, trying and failing miserably to pull me off.

    I pulled myself back slightly, keeping myself in place. The difference in strength caused her to tumble and fall on me, making us both roll off the couch.

    As the universe willed it, I fell loudly to the floor, and she fell on me, clearly not as bothered since I broke her fall. Her face was only inches away from mine as she smiled madly.

    " You could have just asked if you wanted this..." She whispered softly in my ear, her voice dripping honey.

    ''Have you no shame, woman?'' I held my tongue as my better instincts screamed at me to not say that aloud, for there are few things scarier than a mad woman.

    Realising I had no good retorts to her tease, I relented.

    " I''ll go with you, okay? Just get off of me, or we might be here the whole evening."

    As Serah got off, I finally got the chance to  stretch my back. My muscles were slightly sore from the fall.

    " I know a special way to make you better..." She winked.

    " I feel better already," I looked into her eyes. A few seconds later, after failing to hold back, both of us were chuckling. She giggled before turning down the hallway.

    " Get the keys, I''ll be right out," she told me, walking into our room.

    Entering the car, I immediately saw her on the cover of the paper, reading, "The revolution has begun. Young female scientist changes the millenia!"

    The information listed was her biography and how she created "the best AI ever."

    Numerous pictures and articles showed the earliest version of the machines helping in numerous fields and subjects, making their welcomed debut around the world.

    " The next Einstein?" The poster ended with such a question, though I don''t remember Einstein being involved in AI mechanics.

    " Wouldn''t you rather hear me reading it to you?" Her voice rang in my ears as she entered the car, her grin as goofy as ever. She snatched the poster out of my hands.

    " In case you didn''t notice, this is me." She pointed to a photo, her grin widening as she circled the picture with her finger.

    " Ah! How did I miss that?" I rolled my eyes as I snatched it back.

    "And in case you didn''t notice, this is my fiance." I pointed to the same picture, mimicking her. My expression was slowly turning to match hers.

    We both stared at each other before laughing.

    "My my, what I gentleman I''ve got myself." She said sarcastically

    "You really have," I answered. " You must have cured poverty in your previous life to have such wonderful luck." I said lightheartedly

    A ding suddenly snapped us out of our game. Serah checked her phone to see a new notification.

    " Oh, my interview is online."

    "You had an interview?" I asked her.

    " Yeah, and there are multiple offers for more." She showed me her messages and emails.

    " Why didn''t I know?" I asked.

    " You were too busy slacking off and eating all my snacks." She accused.

    "I prefer the term ''finding inspiration." I coughed.

    " So what''s this about the AI?" I changed the conversation.

    " Oh, it''s coming along great. The most important thing now is to make it protected and secured."

    "From what?" I asked.

    " Cyberthreats, hackers. Those can really screw it over, especially because it''s sentient."

    " I know you don''t disappoint." I gave her a kiss. "So, where to?" I asked, revving the engine.

    "To a place of wonder, with ponies and unicorns and mystery." She answered dreamily.

    " The lab it is then," I changed gears and blitzed to the lab.

    When we arrived there, a few important figures were waiting. Some organizations wanted to speak with her, and perhaps others were trying to buy her.

    Quickly making our way through reporters and business offers, we entered the lab.

    The lab was dimly lit inside, with little furniture, a few tables, and circuits. In the middle of the room, however, there lay a metallic structure.

    " The prototype," Serah explained.

    "It''s the most faulty creation, and only half sentient..." She said.

 5: A technological milestone

    The prototype?" I asked, looking at the device in the center of the room.

    "Yes, you didn''t think I just created AI on my first try, did you?" She said.

    "I don''t know, maybe?"

    She shook her head and sighed.

    "I''ll be back. Don''t tamper with anything." She said as she closed the door.

    I prayed in silence for her as I heard the paparazzi storm her outside.

    I took a look around the spacious room. A bunch of papers were on the tables. Some were mathematical, and some were about components and connections I''d never heard of before. Hell, some looked theoretical, not that I''d know, though.

    The other stack of papers was a bunch of drawings. I thought she was doodling a lot at home, but it turned out those were drawings. Really bad drawings, too.

    One of the drawings was the design of a humanoid machine, albeit incomplete. Just below the neck, there seemed to be a hole. Probably, she was planning to add something to that point.

    Other than that, the room was almost empty, except for the prototype.

    It was a spherical mechanical structure made of hexagonal pieces. For the most part, it looked dull and uninteresting.

    I poked it a bit, to which it didn''t respond at all. After five minutes of staring at it, Serah returned from speaking with the paparazzi and shutting down the business offers.

    "What are you doing?" She asked as I poked at it a bit more.

    "Trying to get a reaction," I said.

    "It''s not supposed to react."

    I stopped bothering the structure and sat on a chair.

    "So, where were you?" I asked.

    She sighed.

    "Answering some questions. Some corporations are offering big money for some shares on this."

    "Did you take them?" I asked, interested.

    "Not really. It''s still in the testing phase. I still want full control over the project. The only issue is that I don''t have the funds to mass-produce this." She said as she took a look at the prototype, which reminded me of a question I wanted to ask.

    "You said it was half sentient?" I asked.

    "Something like that, I don''t actually know if it has an emotional state." She said.

    "Why would it have emotions?"

    "All of them do. But initially, this one was a practice run for the design, but it doesn''t respond much, nor does it seem to have strong emotions or any emotions at all, for that matter."

    I was a bit worried about the fact that they had emotions.

    "Wait, hold up, why would they have emotions?" I asked,

    "After looking at some data, they displayed signs of intelligence. It seemed each one''s experiences contributed to their own intelligence, which gave them different preferences and curiosity. Over time, it was observed that they liked some things better than others. The prototype is sort of a failed test on how it reacts with humans." She explained.

    "This sounds like the beginning of AI taking over," I commented.

    "Yeah. Against that, I decided that it would be best to have them programmed to like and help humans." She said.

    I was still a bit worried, but she seemed confident.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "So they are programmed to stand with humanity?"

    "Yes. The programming sort of overrides negative emotions." She said.

    When she finished her sentence, the prototype buzzed a bit. Sarah''s brows furrowed, and her expression turned curious.

    She held the prototype curiously, prodding at it like I did before, but it went back to being irresponsive.

    "That''s odd," she commented.

    "Why? What''s wrong?" I asked.

    "It usually doesn''t react to anything." She said.

    She put it back down, still gazing at it curiously, then turned back to me.

    "Anyway, it''s now used to store information." She said.

    "What do you mean?" I said.

    "It''s like a cloud. Every AI I plan to make will be connected to the prototype. It is a gateway for the machines to share knowledge. "

    "So it''s a hivemind?" I asked.

    "Not really. The machines don''t share experiences, only important information. If they did, they would all have the same personality and memories, which would disturb people''s privacy." She said.

    "Because the information would be shared?"

    "Yes. Imagine a world where a random person on the other side of the continent can see your personal information due to the interconnected knowledge base of the AI."

    That did sound worrying.

    "Because of that, they are programmed to only share important information. Stuff you''d find on the internet, and some experiences that might be helpful to other people and situations are the only things they share together."

    I got up and poured myself a cup of water. I asked Serah if she wanted some too, but she refused.

    When I returned, she was looking at the designs and drawings that I''d seen earlier.

    "Isn''t it concerning to have all that information in this thing?" I pointed at the prototype.

    "It''s safe, but it needs better cybersecurity, which is what I''m looking into. I don''t know what''ll happen if it gets corrupted, especially since the AIs receive information from it." She said.

    Her phone rang after that. Serah answered promptly.

    "Hello? Yes, I can arrange... sure. Not a problem... alright, see you then." She hung up.

    "What was that?" I asked her.

    "E-Pro. I''ve been contacting them to help with the cyber issue. They also offered to invest in the invention." She said.

    E-Pro was the most well-known company when it came to cybersecurity and data protection. The E stood for electronic, and the pro stood for pro. Founded by a Chinese guy a couple of decades ago, it had a good reputation and was the go-to for all cybersecurity matters.

    "They want to meet tomorrow." She said, smiling.

    "That''s great." I was about to hug her when the door to the adjacent room opened.

    A humanoid machine was sweeping the storeroom of the lab.

    "Oh, Jackson, this is Sebastian, one of the first successfully created machines." She introduced.

    The machine''s voice was rough and mechanical.

    "Pleasure to meet you, sir." It said, extending its hand toward me.

    "Uhhh..." I looked on in shock.

    After a while, I extended my hand and shook its hand warily.

    The machine was amused at my reaction for a bit, then continued cleaning.

    "Oh, and madam," it said to Serah. "It''s getting late. You said you had a surprise planned?" It winked.

    "Madam?" I raised an eyebrow.

    Serah shrugged and looked away.

    "It began calling me that on its own volition, okay?" She said. "Anyway, let''s go, I have something to show you."

    She placed the prototype in the storeroom.

    "Don''t you have a name for that thing?" I asked.

    She smiled.

    "Delta 1A. That''s the name" She said.

    I couldn''t decide if she had a great or horrible naming sense.

    "Cato, meaning all-knowing, is the nickname." She said.

    Well, it sounded easier, I guess.

    She bid farewell to Sebastian and pulled me outside. On my way out, I could''ve sworn I had heard a buzz from the storeroom, but I brushed it off as my imagination.

    The sun was setting, and all the paparazzi were gone by then. I checked my pockets for the keys and almost had a heart attack when I didn''t find them.

    Serah laughed, and I realized she was holding them in her hands.

    "I''ll drive," she said. "We''re going somewhere nice today."

    ''How did she...?'' I thought, but brushed it off.

    I jumped over to the passenger seat, and Serah entered the car. She started the car and reversed onto the road. As she drove, the conversation continued.

    "What are you planning to do with the AI?" I asked Serah.

    "Release it worldwide and help people." She answered as she deviated from our usual route home.

    I didn''t have a reply to that, so I changed the conversation.

    " Where are we going?" I asked her.

    "You''ll see." She said.

    For the next half an hour, she kept driving until she reached a restaurant that we had both been looking to try.

    "Say, babe," I asked, "you know payday is next week, right?"

    "I''m aware," she said as she undid her seat belt.

    "So my bank account is empty, right?" I said.

    "Oh relax," she undid my seat belt too.

    "It''s my treat. Besides, we''re gonna be rich soon."

    She beckoned me to follow her inside.

    As we entered the restaurant, a few people turned their heads, but most of them continued to mind their own business.

    "You''d think more people would recognise you," I said to her as we made our way to a table.

    She wasn''t bothered a bit.

    "People don''t read the paper anymore." She said.

    "Aren''t you on the news?" I asked.

    "They probably haven''t aired yet. I''d give them two days." She said as she looked at the menu.

    When the waiter came, Serah already had both of our orders in mind.

    "We''ll have the lover''s special." She said.

    I raised an eyebrow at her, and her cheeks reddened.

    "We haven''t gone out in a while, okay?" She said.

    As the waiter looked at me, I nodded.

    "Oh, and some extra chicken," I said.

    The waiter left, and Serah raised an eyebrow at me this time.

    "What? This meal is clearly a scam, there''s barely any meat here." I justified myself as I referred to the picture on the menu.

    A sweet smell permeated from the kitchen as we spoke.

    "I don''t remember you locking the lab, did you?" I asked worriedly.

    "Yeah. Plus, Sebastian doubles as security." She said.

    At this point, I had run out of topics, and she saw that.

    "What do you say we watch a movie when we get home?" She asked.

    "Sure, what do you want."

    "Anything interesting, what do you think?" She said.

    "Poltergeist?" I offered.

    She sighed and rubbed her temples.

    "Something romantic." She said

    ''The hell? You said anything!'' I thought to myself.

    "We could make it romantic. Every time you get scared you can jump into my arms." I said.

    By the time we had finished bickering, we had settled on romantic comedy. Our food was also ready.

    I finished my portion rather quickly, including the chicken.

    While looking at her, I fell deeply into thought. My savings were almost enough to get her that ring she had had her eye on. I was only left with one more paycheck before I could afford it.

    As she ate, we made eye contact, and she swallowed and looked at me.

    "You never finished telling me about your high-school rugby team." She said, then ate another mouthful.

    "Oh yeah. Well..." I started talking.

    By the time she had finished her meal, we were one of the only ones left in the restaurant.

    It was open 24 hours, and it was 10 pm right now.

    "Want Desert?" I asked her.

    "We have cake at home." She said as she rose from her seat.

    She paid for the meal and tipped the waiter some money.

    I drove us back to the house.

    We got back and watched a movie. We were only through half of the movie by the time I realised she had fallen asleep.

    Sighing, I carried her to bed and tucked her in.

    "Love you," I whispered and closed the door.

    I went back to finish off the movie. I watched another two films before I fell asleep on the couch.

 A beginning with no end

    explaining as the earliest rays of light pierced through the curtains. I yawned. Only when I tried to pull the blankets towards me did I remember that I was sleeping on the couch.

    I got up groggily to make myself a cup of coffee. Passing by the numerous books on languages and science on the shelf, I was once again reminded of what a genius I was living with.

    I boiled some water in the kettle and went to clean up around where I was sleeping. I turned on the television, checking to see if Serah''s research had made it onto the news.

    The time was 06:45, so I tuned in to the morning news. After a few minutes of waiting, the news reporter spent a few minutes explaining what it could potentially do and the controversy associated with it. She then broadcast the interview that Serah was talking about.

    Few questions were actually technological and informative. Most were laced with a skeptic''s worry and the ethicality of the project.

    After the small extract that they took from the interview had ended, the news reporter closed off with the question that was on everyone''s mind, skeptics and enthusiasts alike.

    "The question on everyone''s mind is, what does the future hold for humanity?"

    I got up to make my coffee after the broadcast ended.

    I also grabbed a mug for Serah and poured some for her as well, but added milk to her cup. She was usually awake by this time.

    She preferred to eat after exercising, which baffled me, but coffee wasn''t eating, right?

    So I made my way to our bedroom with her coffee in hand.

    "Morning," I said, closing the door behind me.

    "Hey Jack," she said. It wasn''t too long since she had woken up, considering the bed was still undone.

    "We''ll, how''s my star?" I asked, placing the coffee near the bedside.

    "I''m no star yet, dear." She said, smiling.

    "The news thinks otherwise."

    "I''m on the news?" She asked.

    "Probably the biggest thing on there. No pressure, of course," I joked.

    She smiled. She was halfway through her coffee when her cell rang.

    "Sebastian?" She asked, answering the call.

    "Madam, you might want to come here," I heard the voice say over the phone. "The prototype has begun acting strangely," Sebastian said.

    Serah didn''t look too worried.

    "I''ll be there in half an hour," she said.

    She ended the call and sighed.

    "You go freshen up, I''ll tidy up in here," I told her.

    "Great," she said as she finished her coffee. She then went to the bathroom and left me to tidy the room.

    After about 20 minutes, Serah exited the bathroom. She changed into a violet dress, along with some small heels.

    "Coming with?" She asked.

    I nodded no and gave her my keys.

    A few minutes later I was waving goodbye to her. In the meantime, I had some shopping to do. She had a meeting with E-Pro later, so she''d be busy for more than a few hours.

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    I also freshened up in the meantime. Payday was in 4 days, after all, I needed to see which ring I''d buy. An hour after Serah left, I also made my exi--

    ***

    "How long are you planning to drag this story out?" Asked Emma as we got closer to our destination.

    We were walking extremely slowly, so even I was surprised when I saw how close we were getting.

    "It''s barely sunset," I said, "Do you have anything to pass the time?" I asked incredulously.

    "Maybe discuss a few details about our plan?"

    Didn''t we discuss what we needed to do already?

    "Fine. Anyways, in the next few months, the AI, alongside E-Pro, became increasingly popular. Since it became easy to produce labour, businesses thrived. The average person received a generous monthly sum from the government. Life was good."

    "Then what happened?" Felix asked as we hid close to the border and waited for nightfall.

    "No idea. It was like a flip had been switched. A year after the success of Serah''s project, the machined became what they are now. By then, they''d spread all over the world and had very important jobs. Governments had little time to muster defenses. Conventional weaponry was also mostly useless. In three days, barely any humans could be seen or found on the streets." I said.

    "So what you''re saying is, we have no idea what''s going on?" Emma said.

    "Yeah, pretty much."

    "Then what are we looking for exactly?"

    "Serah, she''d know. And good food, I want to eat something nice for a change," I said.

    The others nodded and watched as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Then, after discussing the plan again. We prepared to enter Utopia.

    "We''re going to crouch and make sure that we''re not seen. If need be, we''ll find a tree for cover and gather there. Preferably, we all come out at the same location." Emma clarified.

    "Don''t snakes live in high grass?" I asked.

    They shrugged me off prepared.

    It was a 50-metre run from the edge of the building, which we were hiding in, to the beginning of the grasslands.

    The wind blew gently in our direction. Far ahead, we could see a few machines flying over, keeping watch on the borders.

    As soon as they turned over, we all ran to the grass. The original plan was to immediately crouch down into the grass, but as I ran closer, I noticed a horizontal beam placed just outside the grass, slightly above my ankle.

    "Shit," I jumped to avoid it and crashed into the ground. Felix tripped, which actually sent him over the laser and face down next to me. Emma was...where was Emma?

    "Behind you," she said

    Good, we had all made it. I then checked to see if the machines had seen me jump. Luckily, their gazes were still not on us.

    I continued to crouch forward, making sure to stop moving whenever it seemed like the machines gazed in our direction.

    I was ahead of the group until we reached the first tree about 20 steps from the beginning of the grassland. I waited for the other two to catch up before I continued.

    We stayed silent, cautionary of any noise. After crouching halfway, my arms and legs were pretty sore, and so were the others. We decided to stop for a while and grouped.

    A tingling sensation ran over my arm as a bunch of ants passed over my forearm. I flicked them off and continued forward.

    Perhaps due to carelessness or the inability to see clearly past the high grass, we lost track of the machines.

    "Is that heading towards us?" Felix asked.

    Both Emma and I turned our heads in the direction Felix was looking to. One of the machines was flying straight towards us.

    "Shit," I murmured.

    "Go forward, I know what to do," said Emma.

    Huh?

    "Just go," she said and turned back.

    Felix and I quickly crawled over to the nearest tree and hid behind. Emma disappeared into the high grass.

    As soon as the machine passed by, Felix and I turned to the other side of the tree, where the machine had come from, and crouched for cover.

    From what I could see, the machine was searching around where we were. It spotted something further behind and flew off to it.

    We crouched forward with little issue until we were about halfway to the end. No sign of Emma had been seen, and Felix was getting worried.

    We looked behind, but we couldn''t see anything past the high grass. As we got nearer to the end, the number of trees increased, providing slightly better cover.

    There hadn''t been any incident since the first machine had gone to where we were.

    "What''s wrong?" I asked when Felix stopped abruptly.

    "... Never mind, I thought I heard something."

    We crawled for the next few minutes, making sure to keep cover. Soon we reached the end.

    Utopia was surrounded by city walls. At the entrance, two machines were guarding it.

    Felix and I pondered as we kept hidden. We couldn''t jump over the wall or break it down. I sighed as I realised there was no other option but to go through the entrance.

    "Is there no other entrance?" Felix asked me quietly.

    "Too far, it''s on the other side. And I don''t know whether it''s blocked off."

    As we thought about how to enter, five machines suddenly flew out into the distance behind us. They were going right to the place we left Emma.

    "What''s that about?" Felix asked worriedly.

    "We''ve got our own issues to worry about. We can''t stay here, they''ll find us in an hour max," I said.

    Felix turned to look back worriedly.

    "Yeah..."

    As I turned back, I noticed that one of the machines had left, leaving one at the gates.

    We stood in silence for a few minutes. After a moment, I felt a hand tap on my leg.

    "Stuck?" Emma asked.

    Felix widened his eyes in surprise but still managed to keep silent.

    "Do you have a plan?" I asked.

    She held out two metal shards in her hand, extending them towards me. I recognised the shards as part of the machine bodies.

    "You killed one?" I asked.

    "They''ll fix it up in an hour, we gotta hurry before the other machines return too," she said.

    She handed the shards to me, then I handed them to Felix.

    "Why me?!" He exclaimed quietly.

    "You said you never miss."

    I didn''t have the confidence nor the aim to throw accurately, and Emma had given them to me for what I presume was the same reason

    Felix begrudgingly took the shards, not wanting to waste more time.

    He aimed for a few seconds then threw both shards in quick succession. The first flew straight past the machine and I felt my heart drop.

    As it hit the wall behind it, the machine turned back to see what flew past him, exposing the weak point.

    The second shard was about to miss when I shouted.

    "Here, dumbass!" I said.

    The machine''s head snapped in my direction, directly in the shard''s way.

    A second after the machine saw me, the shard impacted straight into its weak spot, and the machine dropped dead.

    "Quick, the rest will be here soon," I said.

    Felix was still a bit stunned, but he quickly recovered and ran inside with Emma behind me.

    The scenery changed completely. The city was clean and mesmerizing. Metallic surfaces on buildings and vehicles reflected the sunlight beautifully.

    Of course, we were hidden. Right behind the gates was a small hill which marked the beginning of the city.

    As we hid, we saw little more than 1 or 2 humans walking around, seemingly aimlessly. Still, it was a lot more than we expected, considering you couldn''t even find people outside.

    Lush greenery and tall trees stood everywhere but didn''t grow to abnormal degrees.

    It was the typical Utopia you''d imagine, albeit very metallic.

    "So...we''re trapped inside now?" Felix said, looking at the gates which now had 5 machines around it.

    "Yep," I said.

    I looked towards the city, planning how we were going to navigate through. There were far less machines on the streets than I expected.

    "That''s our destination," I said, pointing to the tallest tower in the distance.

    Now all I needed to do was to figure out how to move.

 What a headache

    Sebastian was going through the various bits of information sent to him the past week. He wasn''t sure how to feel really. On the one hand, his master was alive, though not so well. On the other, why the hell did he feel the need to come here?

    He rubbed his metallic face. It was a habit he''d picked up from watching his former masters long ago.

    "Do you plan to tell her?" Asked a distinct voice.

    Sebastian kept his eyes closed, conflicted at the information he was receiving.

    "I don''t know if we should, Zack. Isn''t it better to let Serah think he''s dead?" He said, sighing.

    "Definitely do not do that," the other machine said.

    "I''ll tell her he''s alive then, but why the hell is he in the city?" Sebastian said.

    "Beats me."

    Sebastian turned again to the information floating in his head.

    Apparently, Jackson had managed to break into Utopia. As he tried to gather more info, a string of corrupted text flew into his mind.

    ''Catch them'' was the command he could hear faintly along with the information. Reluctant, he forcefully stopped the flow of text, blocking off any incoming data.

    It really was a huge pain. None of the machines wanted to, but they''d all been given the command to catch him.

    It wasn''t an issue if he was in Utopia, but did he have to make such a ruckus, killing three machines?

    "Isn''t it time to give the Madam her meal?" Zack asked, looking out into the starry night.

    "Why don''t you do it? When was the last time you spoke to her, actually?" Sebastian said.

    Come to think of it, Sebastian hardly ever saw Zack and Serah converse. In the old days, the four of them, Serah, Sebastian, Zack, and Jackson, were like a family.

    "Two months ago. I don''t think she wants to see me," Zack said, showing sadness and a slight bit of regret.

    "Nonsense, perhaps you should prepare something for her today," Sebastian said.

    "I don''t know Sebastian, I don''t think--"

    "Then I guess Serah won''t receive a meal today," Sebastian interrupted calmly.

    Zack and Sebastian stared at each other for a while, waiting to see who would budge first. One would definitely give the meal to Serah. They wouldn''t sleep while their creator was hungry. That was if they could sleep.

    Zack folded, seeing the resolve in Sebastian''s eyes. The machines really did look human, just slightly metallic.

    "Fine," he grumbled, leaving the room.

    Sebastian shook his head. Serah had long accepted reality. He was sure she didn''t blame her creations directly, so he was trying to get Zack to at least converse with her. Sighing, he focused his mental capacity on figuring out a plan to deal with Jackson.

    Zack was walking down the corridor with a tray of food. It was an appetizing blend of rice, meat, and vegetables.

    As he reached the door to Serah''s room, he took a deep breath and knocked.

    "Enter," came a voice from inside.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    He pushed the door and entered. Serah was playing chess by herself and didn''t even look up.

    "Food, madam?" Sebastian said as he brought the tray closer to the table.

    "I''m not hungry," Serah said, not looking up.

    Zack put the tray on the table.

    "Then perhaps I could be your partner," he offered.

    Serah finally looked up. For a moment, she was surprised to see Zack there.

    "Sit, it''s been forever," she said, though she wasn''t smiling.

    Zack, unperturbed, sat down and fixed the board to the starting position.

    "Anything new to share? And please, no more apologies, you''ve said sorry a thousand times now," Serah said.

    Zack smiled as her creator conversed lively with her. It wasn''t as friendly as it once had been, but he was happy with anything.

    "If anything, I bring good news," Zack said and played the first move.

    He ran through his database and chose an opening at random. E4, a versatile move.

    "Oh? I''m all ears." Serah said and moved her pawn before his.

    "Master is alive," he said.

    Serah paused for a while as her expression changed through happiness, grief, sadness, worry, and then stoicism. Zack couldn''t tell what was going on in her head.

    "What do you plan to do with him?" She asked.

    Zack pondered. He didn''t really know.

    "If we catch him, we''d probably bring him over here too," he remarked.

    He knew that he probably wouldn''t be able to keep his promise, but one could hope. Plus, it made great conversation with his creator.

    "Mhmm," Serah nodded while maintaining her poker face, "aren''t you gonna play?" She asked.

    Zacks''s attention returned to the game. He had been so busy trying to discern her emotions that he forgot it was his turn. He played his next move to the best of his chess knowledge.

    Serah raised an eyebrow.

    "Did I never install chess software in you," she asked, playing her next move.

    "Nope, that update never came," Zack laughed. And for a split second, he saw Serah smile.

    "Where is Jackson," Serah asked.

    "Somewhere within the city. We don''t know where."

    A moment of silence passed as Serah thought of her next move. It wasn''t as heavy as Zack thought it would be.

    "You''ll bring him here if you catch him, right?" Serah asked for confirmation as she attacked the opposing queen with her bishop.

    "Of course," Zack said.

    The game continued for a few more minutes until it ended with Serah''s win.

    "Good game," Zack said, getting up to leave, "you should eat before you go to bed."

    "I''ll take note of that."

    Zack left the room and was surprised to see Sebastian standing there.

    "See? I told you it''d be fine."

    "She seemed calm," Zack replied.

    "We''ll, five years is a lot of time to think. She''s probably forgiven you by now," said Sebastian.

    "I wouldn''t be so sure," said another machine.

    Unlike Zack and Sebastian, the other machine''s model was female. She also didn''t have a name, going by BLK-56-2. Of course, the others had given her the nickname Lucy.

    "We all know she needs some genuine human contact. It''s been two years since she last met someone who was in a normal state," Lucy said.

    They all nodded, even if they didn''t think could actually get Jackson and Serah to meet again. It was hard enough resisting the commands, outright going against them was nearly impossible.

    "Why don''t we just add her in the system," Lucy asked.

    "She said she''d rather die," Sebastian replied.

    As the three walked down the corridor, Sebastian thought deeply about how to apprehend Jackson and even more deeply about how to keep Serah happy�C or calm, at least.

    Ah, he had companions, didn''t he? Sebastian focused on the information he was receiving about the two people who were with him.

    Strangely, he found nothing about the other two. The only thing he could find was that it was a man and a woman.

    "Hey Sebastian," Zack called, " you free for a game of chess?"

    "Why the sudden invitation," Sebastian asked.

    Zack shrugged. "No particular reason, it''s been a while since we''ve played, hasn''t it?"

    Sebastian smiled, "sure."

    They entered Sebastian''s room, leaving Lucy behind.

    "Don''t you suck at chess?" Sebastian asked.

    Zack laughed, "You''ve obviously never seen me play before," he bluffed.

    Sebastian shook his head and pulled out a chessboard from a drawer.

    As he set the board up, he gave one last thought to the Jackson situation before focusing on the game.

    ***

    "Didn''t you say our destination was the tower?" Emma asked as we ran past the buildings.

    The dark night provided adequate cover as we ran through the surprisingly clean alleyways.

    "We need a place to rest and gather some info," I said.

    "I don''t think we''ll find safe places in here," Emma said.

    We had all agreed that we''d go food hunting tomorrow when we had everything mapped out.

    "I know a place. Serah''s lab isn''t too far from here."

    "And how do you know it''s empty?" Emma asked.

    "I don''t. Last time I was here it was populated with a few machines too,"

    Both of them slowed down considerably after hearing what I just said.

    "What?"

    "Look, we have nowhere else to go. We''ll check for any signs of danger. All I know is, if we stay in the open, we''re 100% dead."

    Dead was an overstatement, but it was the gravity of the situation.

    After a few seconds of consideration, both followed me. They didn''t have a choice, really.

    A cold gust of wind blew in our direction as we ran down the pavement.

    It was a quiet night. The sounds of our footsteps echoed along the empty street.

    The few machines we''d didn''t seem to be looking for us yet.

    "Isn''t there a safer path?" Felix asked, his voice shivering in the cold and fear.

    "There is, but it''s much slower," I said, ducking past street lights.

    Felix nodded, understanding my decision for speed over security.

    The longer we were out, the more our chances of getting caught increased.

    "Just a few more blocks," I told the two.

    We were running very slowly and tiredly. It wasn''t even that long ago that we began running. The situation made me realise the importance of food, and the desire for it grew greater.

    As we turned the corner, I noticed a humanoid machine in the distance. It was looking in a different direction.

    The last corner was close, but the machine wasn''t budging at all.

    Impatient, we made up our minds to just move as quietly as possible behind it.

    As we snaked quietly, Felix saw the machine shift slightly and faltered, almost tripping.

    It wasn''t loud enough to be heard by it, but Emma and I still shot him a glare.

    I t wasn''t long before we arrived at our destination.

    As luck would have it, the street was empty.

    With trembling hands, I reached into my pocket for the key I had found earlier

    With a soft click, the door opened.

    I peeked inside, and after a few seconds of ensuring it was empty, we got in.

    There was a bunch of dust in the room. Whenever I touched something, my nostrils were attacked by particles of dust.

    Besides that, it looked the same as how I''d last seen it.

    "So..." Felix began as he slumped down on a chair, his fatigue and anxiety catching up to him. "What now?"

 A feast for Kings!

    "Now," I said, opening a cupboard, "we pray."

    Emma had fallen asleep by a chair minutes ago and Felix was staring into the distance.

    "C''mon," I said, rummaging through most of the cupboards. "It''s gotta be here somewhere."

    "What are you looking for?" Felix asked weakly, hunger and tiredness straining his voice.

    "Food," I replied.

    "I don''t think food is kept in the working area of labs," he said.

    A wave of relief washed over me as I felt something hard and cold inside one of the cupboards.

    "You''d be right," I said, grabbing the keys.

    He was staring at me as I moved passed the room, shuffling into a dusty corner.

    I placed the keys in the lock and twisted.

    The door creaked open, revealing a small, dark space filled with what looked like some canned food and a few cleaning supplies in a different corner.

    "What''s in there?" Felix shouted from the main area.

    "Food," I replied.

    I felt across the wall for a light switch. After a few seconds of searching, I turned on the lights.

    They were blinding. For whatever reason, the lights in here were much brighter than the ones in the lab.

    I blinked rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the brightness.

    There were a few shelves with canned food on them and two buckets of water beneath the shelves. Beside the buckets was a six-pack of bottled water.

    I grabbed two bottles and turned back. Felix was right behind me, and I crashed into him.

    There was some shuffling from the other room as the noise startled Emma awake.

    "What''s going on?" She asked, her tone guarded.

    "Nothing," I shouted back.

    "Ugh, what the hell. Why are you behind me?" I turned to Felix, rotating my arm.

    "You said there was food, I wanted to see," He replied as he turned sideways.

    "Holy shi-" He stumbled back, knocking into me again.

    "What now," I said, regaining my balance.

    My eyes turned to where he was a minute ago. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Hiding in the shadow of a low shelf was a slightly shiny object. I walked over and picked it up, placing the bottles of water on the shelves near me.

    It was a head.

    I poked at it a bit and spoke, but there was no response.

    "It''s part of a machine," I told Felix, "Dead."

    He still looked a bit shaken, but he nodded anyway.

    I grabbed the two bottles of water and handed him both.

    "Give Emma one, we have a lot of water here."

    He nodded, already opening his bottle as he walked out of the room.

    I turned back to grab myself another bottle of water.

    My gaze turned back to the robotic head on the floor for a minute. I grabbed it and turned the lights off.

    The door clicked behind and Emma''s gaze turned toward me. Or, more accurately, to the head I was holding.

    "What''s that?"

    "A robotic head," I said grimly.

    She straightened and her eyes went wide.

    "What?"

    "Don''t worry, they''re not here...yet."

    Felix turned to me and handed the bottle to Emma.

    "Yet?" He furrowed his brows.

    "The good news is that it''s dusty and different from the ones we''ve seen, so it must be old. The bad news is that this was never here before."

    "So, they''ve come here?"

    "Probably. They might have come to take whatever was left after they went rogue. Or..."

    "Some might visit occasionally," Emma finished with a grim tone.

    I took a swig of water and nodded. I then laid the head onto the table as I took a seat.

    Emma pulled it towards herself to get a better look.

    Felix broke the silence.

    "Are we gonna have to move again?"

    Emma also turned to look at me, awaiting my reply.

    I shook my head.

    "No, there''s nowhere else to go. There''s food here, and I don''t think we could get out if we tried."

    "We''re just gonna risk staying here?" He asked.

    "I did say we should pray, didn''t I?" I joked dryly, though it did little to ease the tension in the room.

    For the next few minutes, there was complete silence in the room as we each drank our bottles of water.

    "Look on the bright side," Felix said as the atmosphere began to get too heavy.

    He went and got a couple of canned foods from the other room.

    "We got food!"

    He slammed the cans on the table, which shook Emma from her thoughts.

    "What even is that?" She asked.

    "Does it matter? It''s good food for once!"

    "Canned soup," I answered her after reading the label.

    He nodded while smiling.

    "That''s not all."

    He ran back and returned with a can of fish.

    "Meat too!"

    That had me salivating. Sure, there were plenty of animals out there, but they were far from the city. Not to mention it''s hard to hunt when you can barely run.

    Felix pulled on the tab and the familiar smell of fish wafted through the air. He pulled out a small piece and ate it.

    "This is heavenly," he sighed out.

    Emma chirped in.

    "Isn''t that cold?"

    "It''s better than the stuff we''ve been eating," he said, chewing on another piece.

    I pulled the can away from him before he could take another.

    "There''s a microwave by the cupboards," I said as he sulked.

    "Oh..." He said.

    "Wait here," I told the two of them as I went back to the other room.

    I picked up a sealed bag of rice and dragged it across the floor. I might''ve been very weak because it was heavy. Really heavy.

    By the time I got to the table, Emma was looking at me, interested and hungry, while Felix just had a hungry look in his eyes.

    I looked through the cupboards until I found some wide, cylindrical tubes and a few trays.

    I poured some rice into each of the tubes, as well as a bit of water, and switched the microwave on.

    After a few minutes of preventing Felix from stealing bites of meat, I poured the cooked rice from the cylinders onto our trays.

    After yet another few minutes of preventing Felix from eating all the rice, the meat and soup were ready too. I opened the door to the break room, which was mostly empty, and took out a few spoons.

    "Here you all go..." I said, handing over the trays to both of them.

    For the first time in forever, there was a decent meal in front of us.

    "As I said. We made it in, now we feast like Kings!"

    I looked at Emma.

    "...and Queens!"

    She shrugged it off, too heavily focused on the food in front of her.

    Felix was already chewing on the meat.

    As I was about to take a bite, I caught sight of the robotic head that I had forgotten about.

    I placed it elsewhere near the cupboards and ate my own meal.

    It was something to worry about tomorrow.

    I took the first bite and immediately agreed with Felix. It tasted like microwaved heaven, incomparable to what were were used to eating.

    After a few minutes of contented sighs and moans, I was too full to eat anymore. The same could be said for the two sitting with me.

    "I can''t eat more..." Felix said while biting another piece of meat.

    Emma''s hand was on her stomach.

    "Ugh," I groaned, slowly standing up.

    Perhaps I ate too much?

    ...Nah.

    It was already very late, maybe past midnight by now.

    I took the trays and summoned the strength to place them in the sink in the break room. I rinsed the scraps of food off and went back to the main room.

    Emma was sleeping on her hands on the table and Felix was already dozed off on the chair.

    I looked around. The only issue with this place was that there was nowhere comfortable to sleep in.

    I crossed my arms on the table and tried to sleep like Emma, but gave up after a few minutes.

    I tried a few other positions and they were just as bad.

    My eyes then drifted onto the bag of rice, which still looked pretty full compared to how much I thought we ate.

    I resealed the bag and placed it on the ground near a corner. I hadn''t seen any rodents around, so I was pretty sure it was safe.

    I turned off the lights and then placed the bag awkwardly as my pillow.

    Surprisingly, the floor was a bit more comfy than the chair or the table. Within a few minutes, I dozed off with a full stomach.