The siren whirred and wailed and shook the ground, sending vibrations through the air. It was like a living creature screaming for help and as shrill as a screech owl. Block’s threat indicator flashed with warning signals, pushing him to full alertness in a fraction of a second.
As the siren’s cry echoed through the old barn, Block whirred into action, his CleanerBot frame buzzing with tension. The Rovers were here—or worse, Rovers and SoldierBots. He readied his gun arm, checked the ammo supply, and was out the door in search of G5 and the others. There was no time to waste.
In the dark of night, G5 climbed down the watchtower’s ladder. His red visor plate pulsed. Vacuubot’s sleek form took to the air, spinning up and shooting out into the darkness like a slingshot. Behind him, Maxwell came running from the house, his mechanical arms twitching as he readied himself for combat, and Forge, solid and formidable, moved like a steel soldier.
At the farmhouse door, the faint glow of Fenn’s shotgun was visible. Emery and Spoon watched from an upstairs window where they huddled with the children.
From behind Fenn, a small voice shouted, a thin thread of confusion in the chaos. Wally pushed past the veterinarian’s legs and ran down the wooden porch stairs, crossing the lawn to Block. Her eyes squinted against the glaring red light from G5’s visor, and she clutched Block’s leg. “What happened, Block-a? Too noisy. I’m scared.”
In the barn, Garnet silenced the alarm, and Block knelt, bringing his face to Wally’s level. “It’s alright.” His voice was a gentle hum. “You need to go back to bed.”
She looked out into the field. At what, he didn’t know. “I don’t wanna. Is the nice doggy here?” Wally’s brows furrowed in a sleepy pout. Her innocence in the face of danger gnawed at Block. The Rovers were closer than he’d feared.
His sensors recalibrated at her words. His processors analyzed her statement, cross-referencing it with the possible threats. “Nice doggy,” Wally’s term for the Rover she’d met the other day.
“No, Wally.” He needed to be strong for her and teach her the good and bad in the world. “It’s not a nice doggy. It’s a bad dog—a robot that can hurt people. That’s why we must stay inside, where it’s safe.”
He watched as her small cheeks scrunched up in confusion, then acceptance. She didn’t fully understand, but she trusted him. And that was enough.
Emery stepped out wearing her pajamas and retrieved Wally. “I don’t know how she slipped away. I’ll get her to bed.” She carried the toddler away.
Block turned to G5 and the others. “Let’s go.” They headed across the overgrown field that was Fenn’s land, past the rotting wooden fence and into the prairie land beyond.
Hurry, Vacuubot pinged Block from wherever it had flown.
They ran. Block’s sensors cut through the darkness, painting a monochromatic picture of the woods. The barks of trees stood like spectral sentinels, their foliage casting a dense net of shadows.
G5 zipped ahead, nimble and mute, a sleek shadow amongst the gnarled trunks. Vacuubot buzzed overhead, the hum of its motor a comforting undertone to the eerie whispers of the woods. Maxwell, with Forge in tow, lumbered behind, their heavier frames crushing undergrowth beneath their weight.
And then, a whimper—a digital groan of pain and despair that echoed through the vegetation, a phantom voice in the darkness.
They found it then—a hulking mass of steel and wires lying prone among the undergrowth. Its metallic hide glinted under the moonlight, streaked with patches of oozing fluids and matted with dirt. Its eyes, once menacing red lights, flickered with a fading life force.
Block moved closer, his sensory receptors taking in the Rover. It was no threat, and his indicator notched down. Its powerful jaws hung open, revealing rows of sharp metallic teeth, now inert. Its once agile limbs were splayed out awkwardly, mangled and bent in unnatural angles.
The Rover was near terminal. Block’s readings indicated the beast’s internal life signals were diminishing.
“Vacuubot, are there other Rovers nearby?” Block asked.
Negative, Vacuubot pinged. I’ve scanned the area within a mile. No signs of other robots.
“Rovers don’t travel alone.” G5 stared down at the failing creature.
“Something must have happened,” Block said. “The other dogs must’ve been scared off by the siren.”
Maxwell leaned down to inspect the Rover. “What happened to it?”
“I don’t know,” Block said.
“The injuries are severe,” G5 said. “Only another Rover could’ve done that.”
Block’s threat indicator settled as he stood over the broken Rover. He couldn’t reconcile why the Rover was there, choking on the last embers of its artificial life.
“Let it die,” G5 said, the crimson glow of his eyes an accusing swirl. “It’s a killer, and it would have done the same to us.”
But Maxwell’s hard fist glided over the dying Rover, inspecting it with purpose. “We could use it. Retrieve its data and know what Mach X is up to.”
A grumble came from G5’s auditory output. “The unit is almost dead.”
“With Garnet helping me, I could bring it back,” Maxwell said. “I’m sure of it. We could jump its CPU enough for the thing to be able to talk.”
G5, Maxwell, and Forge all looked at Block for what to do.
Vacuubot hovered a few feet away. Your call, it said.
Block sensed it was an important decision, one not to take lightly. On the one side was safety. Bringing a known enemy—a lethal Rover unit—onto the farm was lunacy. The creature could be left to extinguish and leave its miserable form.
But on the other hand, they could gain essential knowledge as to the location of any other Rovers and whether SoldierBots were on their way.
He watched the Rover’s flickering light in its dimming eyes. His processors hummed, spinning intricate webs of simulations, analyzing the potential outcomes. Every moment’s hesitation took a toll, each tick of his internal clock echoing loudly in his feed.
Wally had called it a “nice doggy.” Perhaps he could turn it into a teaching experience. Show her the robot in restraints. Make sure she knew it was dangerous.
Block turned to Maxwell. The farm was their sanctuary, and he wanted to protect it for as long as possible. If there was a chance to gather intelligence, then he had to take it. “Revive it. Let’s learn what we can.”
Forge and Maxwell carried the dying robot back to the barn. Vacuubot careened off to patrol the woods and make sure nothing was lurking among the evergreens and oaks, planning an attack.
Inside the barn, Garnet shone green and bright as she and Maxwell got to work. Block was unsettled. Reviving the Rover was a dangerous path, fraught with uncertainties.
The alternative was to flee the farm. But where could they go that had even a fraction of the safety they had now? He couldn’t let the threat of unknown enemies loom over them. Together, his crew would face the dangers head-on.
Garnet’s fluorescent form pulsed rhythmically, casting a surreal hue over the makeshift operating table where the Rover was secured. Maxwell had an array of mechanical instruments laid out in front of him.
After an hour of methodical labor, they managed to jumpstart the Rover’s CPU. Its dull eyes flickered with renewed energy, sensors scanning the room, taking in details.
Maxwell stepped back. “It’s awake. Let’s see what it can tell us.” He looked to Block. “Go ahead.”
Block had hoped G5 would do the interrogation, but the SoldierBot was outside in the watchtower. This wasn’t a role he was comfortable with, but he had to do it. He drew closer to the table where the Rover was restrained.
First, he had to ascertain whether the unit’s CPU and memory archival systems had been too damaged to be of any use. “State your model and identifier,” he told it.
The Rover’s robotic voice crackled before it responded. “Rover Unit FG4.” It paused and moved its head against the table. “You can call me Shadow.”
How odd. The Rover had a nickname, but Block didn’t want to give it the satisfaction of using it. “Unit FG4, state your purpose.” Block modulated his voice output so it sounded stronger than his usual setting. He had his gun arm at the ready to shoot the Rover if it showed any harmful intent. But strangely, it wasn’t violence that flowed out of the revived Rover.
“I know you. I remember you from the field.” The creature’s words were garbled but understandable. “Your name is Block. Wally called you ‘Daddy.’”
Block’s threat indicator tripled. How dare the enemy dog bring up his Wally whose laughter was the sweetest melody he had stored in his memory banks?
“You want to hurt us?” Block asked.
“No.”
“Then why did you break our perimeter and attack me?”
The Rover’s metallic jaws opened and closed, as if struggling to find the right words. “I didn’t. Wally went into the woods, and I helped her back to the farm. Running into you was unintentional.”
Block’s processor churned. This was not what he expected from an enemy Rover. “Well, what were you doing here in the first place?”
“Orders,” Shadow said simply. “Our master commands us.”
“Who is your master?” Block asked.
“Mach X,” Emery said the from the barn’s doorway. She crossed the floor and approached where the Rover lay. “I know this unit.”
“Hello, Dr. Emery. It’s nice to see you,” Shadow said.
Block didn’t know what to say next. He looked at Emery.
She eyed the Rover with a frown. “I helped X create the M9-1216 model. Shadow was the first prototype. I never knew they would be used for violence. X told me they would be search and rescue robots, but he made them killers.” She backed away from the table. “He told me many lies.”
She came to Block and whispered to him. “It’s dangerous.”
“What are you doing here?” Block asked the Rover. “What do you want?”
“I obeyed Master,” Shadow said. “He sent us to retrieve the children and bring them back to New York.”
“Of course.” Emery crossed her arms and paced a circle around the injured Rover. “And destroy the robots?”
“Yes.” The dog hesitated. “Destroy them. But then I questioned Var—”
“I remember Var,” Emery said. “Block, he’s the worst one.” She approached the Rover, her hands shaking as she assessed the damage done to the unit’s underbelly. “Did Var do this to you?”
“Yes.”
“Why would he turn on you?” she asked.
Shadow’s eyes dimmed. “He ordered me to kill you. I refused. Master didn’t give the order. We haven’t heard from Master in a very long time.”
Emery shot Block a look. “Because we destroyed Mach X, or at least crippled him.”
Block’s processors were in overdrive. This was all a lot to take in. “Where’s Var now?”
“I don’t know,” Shadow said. “There are three. They’re close and planning an attack.”
The Rover’s warning hung in the air. Their fight wasn’t over. It was just beginning.