Shadow walked at a slow gait, scanning the dense, overgrown forest. She was eight miles from the farm—enough to evade the farm’s patrolling drone. For a whole day following the run-in with the CleanerBot, she’d paced and traced a path in the brushy woods. She didn’t have a goal in mind, but the exercise was good for her organic parts, and she needed stimuli to keep from dwelling on her tumultuous questions. The absence of the pack was dulling her senses and making her ache. All she wanted was to be reunited and released from this wretched isolation. A Rover without a pack was—she’d rather not think about it.
One minute she was sniffing a patch of mushrooms, the next a sensation rattled her. The pack was coming. A low hum filled her perception. Var, Raze, and Fang’s unique signatures pricked at her sensors, each a distinct echo that slowly started knitting her straggling systems back together. Their proximity brought with it a strange blend of relief and apprehension. She was no longer alone, but it also meant she needed to reveal her reckless actions.
Minutes later, Var’s menacing silhouette emerged from the greenwood. His frame was harsh against the soft dusk light, and as he approached, his harsh eyes bore into hers, their penetrating glow reflecting her own nervous energy back at her.
Var’s presence always held an intensity that was difficult to bear at close range. Every tick of his systems, every flicker in his optics, all resonated with a fiery determination that dared anyone to challenge him. Raze and Fang trailed just behind. Fang tipped an ear toward her, a gesture only she could see.
“Report.” Var’s voice echoed with a resonating metallic timbre that was designed to instill obedience.
His directness left her no room for evasion, and Var didn’t like small talk. “The targets identified me. I was sloppy.” The confession tore at her internal systems like a wrenching gear.
Var’s optics flared brighter, a warning flashing in the shadows of the thick woodland. Anger radiated from him in waves, the air between them becoming charged with it. “You jeopardized our mission, Shadow.” His voice was a low growl, the ominous note sending a shudder through her circuits. “The targets will prepare. Extraction will be difficult.”
Guilt gnawed at her core like an acidic burn. Var moved closer, and Shadow bowed her head in submission, her pride a small price for her foolhardy actions. She yearned to question Var, to voice her doubts about their mission, but fear kept her silent. She was built for attack and obedience, not for questions.
In the stillness of the forest, under Var’s harsh gaze, Shadow was alone in grappling with doubts she couldn’t voice. Yet, as the last rays of daylight bled into the horizon, the nearness of her pack had an unmistakable soothing effect on her systems. It was as if a broken circuit within her had reconnected, smoothing out the erratic hum of her energy core.
Still, she yearned for something more than mere proximity. She sought validation, a sign from Var that she was still part of the pack, despite her missteps. With Var’s glowing eyes still boring into her, she lowered to the forest floor and rolled onto her back, exposing her steel belly and the delicate organic flesh around her core, an act of submission and vulnerability.
Var paused before speaking. “Your recklessness could have cost us everything. I won’t tolerate such behavior again. Understood?”
“Yes.” She knew Var was right, and the swift correction reassured her she still had a place in the pack.
Var turned away, signaling for the pack to follow. Shadow righted herself and fell into formation, her body humming with a new sense of purpose. They moved through the forest at a rapid gallop, their movements coordinated and efficient. Heading toward the farm.
She caught up to Fang in the rear. The comforting hum of his mechanical heart eased her tension. The two of them fell back far enough to talk.
“Fang,” she said, “what if we’re wrong?” The words hung heavy, a dangerous admission that sent ripples through her circuits.
Fang’s head tilted. “What are you talking about?” His tone held a note of caution, a low growl of warning that she promptly ignored.
“The kids seem okay. They have the doctor there and a CleanerBot. One of the girls called him ‘dad.’ They’re not hostages like Var told us. They’re something else. Like a pack.” Shadow’s words flowed out in a hurried rush.
When Fang spoke, his voice was a low, stern warning. “You need to stop this, Shadow. We have a mission, and we must complete it. You heard Var. Don’t mess up again.”
His words struck her like a physical blow, the harsh reality of his admonition stinging her sensitive circuits. He was right. She shouldn’t question their mission.
She fell back a few feet behind Fang. His presence wasn’t such a comfort. She grappled with her rogue thought input. The laughter of the children, the concern in the CleanerBot’s gestures, the kindness of Dr. Emery all echoed in her memory banks, challenging everything she knew.
Push it aside and shove it down. She was a Rover, after all. She needed to stay silent and never voice these thoughts again.
A half-mile from the farm, Var stopped. Nightfall masked the foliage in darkness, the trees around them transforming into a maze of shifting shadows. The pack trained their optical sensors on the distant farm. It lay across a prairie, a patch amidst the wilderness. Soft light emanated from a window. They were being careful, using only candles.
Var stood, stark against the darkness, as he watched the farm with a predator’s intent. “We strike when the targets are sleeping.” His use of the term “targets” instead of “children” was deliberate, a cold reminder of their mission, devoid of any emotion or sentiment.
His gaze swept over them. Each Rover was designed for a specific role, each one a cog in the well-oiled machine that was their pack. He gave orders to Raze and Fang, instructing them to deal with the robot guardians.
“Shadow,” Var turned toward her, his voice hard and unyielding, “You will eliminate Emery.”
The words landed like a blow. The idea of hurting Dr. Emery—the kindly woman who cared for the children, who’d shown Shadow kindness—caused her steel spine to ripple.
“Var, that’s Master’s daughter,” she said. “We were trained to protect—”
“That was then. Kill her.” Var turned his back on her.
She couldn’t reconcile the task of attacking Dr. Emery. Master had raised her from a young age. Everyone in the tower knew that. “You’ve heard from Master, then?”
Var’s head jerked to the side. “What?”
She stepped forward, keeping her shoulders low. “If Master would allow Dr. Emery to be hurt, you must have received a message from him directly.”
Var spun around. “Are you questioning me?”
But Shadow held herself still, and her processor whirred as she weighed her next words. If Var had heard from Master, he would’ve admitted it. She was careful to choose her next words. “Since Dr. Emery is important to Master, maybe we should reconsider our approach.”
Var came close, his muzzle inches from hers. “Our mission is to retrieve the children. Anything that gets in the way is expendable.”
Fang brushed by her and spoke in a low voice. “Obey, Shadow.”
Shadow’s inner coils tensed, and metallic bile rose in her throat. She knew better than to argue with Var, but the thought of hurting Dr. Emery made her insides churn. “Maybe our mission is no longer valid. We haven’t received any commands from Master since we left New York, and now you want to kill Dr. Emery? Are we sure this is what we’re supposed to do?”
Var’s optics blazed. “I warned you.”
“The children on the farm, they’re not being tortured. Should we not consider—”
Her words were cut short by Var’s sudden lunge. She barely had time to react as his powerful strike connected with her metallic frame. The impact sent her sprawling onto the underbrush.
“Shadow,” Var roared, his vocal processors harsh with rage. “You’ve challenged me for the last time.”
She struggled to rise, her systems flickering from the force of the hit. “Something’s wrong with our mission.”
“That’s not for you to decide.” Var stomped his massive paws, closing in on her.
Shadow was halfway to standing when Var lunged again. She barely managed to sidestep his attack. A hiss sounded as his claws grazed her side, sending her tumbling. A red warning blinked in her visual display. Damage assessment: Critical hit.
She didn’t stand a chance against Var. He was bigger, stronger, and built for warfare. But she couldn’t carry on with the pack’s mission.
A shrill siren pierced the air. The farm’s alarm system was activated. They’d been detected.
Var snapped his head toward the sound, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “Fang and Raze, retreat.”
Raze sprinted away from the farm. Fang gave a last look at Shadow, bowing his head.
Var trotted over to where Shadow lay and thrust his meaty, blade-tipped paw through her armored chest. He sliced a line through the coiled circuitry of her cavities, missing her CPU by millimeters. “You won’t last the night.” He spun and disappeared into the darkness.
Shadow was alone in the woods, wounded and unable to move. Her visual display blinked with warnings and error messages. Her self-repair protocols kicked in, but the damage was extensive. She was near terminal.
The alarm turned off, and the night fell silent once again, save for the chirping of crickets.
She was failing. Memory fragments of the children in the field replayed in her mind. Her last conscious thought was not of her impending termination.
She wanted to warn Dr. Emery about the pack. To keep the kids safe.
But she was too late. Her vision screen grew black, and her sensors faded into nothingness.