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Blinded by tears, Xian ran full-tilt through the towering piles of bricks and wires, through the mist that rose in the sudden downpour, through the beams of sunlight that reached long fingers through the gloom. She didn’t know where she was going or why, only that she wanted to put as much distance between herself and Zune as possible. She ran hard, choking on sobs, her boots splashing through a cluster of puddles. She tripped over an outstretched steel rod, nearly fell on her face, and caught herself on her hands and knees, and that was when it rose suddenly from beneath a mountain of debris: a Xubertron.
Down on all fours, Xian stared through her tears, her mouth hanging open, as the massive robot rose slowly from the wreckage, the ground rumbling from the sudden slide of debris that cascaded from its hiding place. The robot was shaped like a diamond, only turned horizontally, and at the center of its smooth silver face, a great round eye opened and sent out a long beam. It was scanning, seeking out the creature that had disturbed it, the pale beam extending what seemed like miles from its high vantage point.
Xian remained on her knees, trying to hold still, shaking slightly, glad that it was raining, for the noise and movement of the downpour seemed to confuse the robot. It was easily one of the biggest Xubertron units she had ever seen, for its hulk obscured sun and sky as it hovered above, and its shadow as it fell over her was huge and cold, stretching more than fifty feet either way.
Xian closed her eyes, praying to the gods. The Xubertron’s scanning light continued slowly sliding back and forth across the wet ground, drawing closer and closer to Xian where she knelt trembling. In seconds, it would discover her, and then it would vaporize her on the spot, and she would die just like her family had. She needed to hide, get behind something, anything. From the corner of her eye, she could see a crumpled pile of cars, which had been swept sideways from what was left of the shattered street. Very slowly, she started to crawl toward the cars, careful not to draw attention to herself, but it was too late: the Xubertron’s light snapped on her and turned red. Her heart hammered when she heard the hum of its laser powering up.
“Xian!” Zune yelled, near frantic.
Xian heard the thump of Zune’s boots and looked back to see her running hard through the muddy puddles, her dark hair whipping back, her large rifle in both hands, her face creased with determination. Behind her, Micro was running on stick legs, and the robot’s little round eyes were glowing yellow with fear.
The Xubertron also noticed Zune and Micro. It turned its red beam upon them and fired, the red light extending in a sudden burst. Xian screamed as Zune and Micro both dove out of the way, shards of pavement and debris spraying around them from the blast.
Micro fell on her face, rolled like a tube, and scrambled up, leaping on Xian and hugging her tight, beeping and squeaking in terror. Xian lifted the little robot like a child onto her hip (Micro hugged her neck fiercely) and looked around desperately for Zune.
Zune had rolled harmlessly to her feet, and covered now in mud and filth, she glowered, firing off a few rounds in the Xubertron’s face. It roared – a strange, digital, echoing roar – and reeled where it hovered in the air. A crack spread across the glass of its red eye as it struggled to regain balance.
“Move! Hide!” Zune bellowed.
Xian didn’t need telling twice: she turned and ran full-tilt for the pile of old cars, Micro held fast in her arms and still beeping in horror. She dove inside a hover car whose window was shattered, and she and Micro hugged each other, watching on tenterhooks as Zune battled the Xubertron.
The giant robot had regained its balance and unscrambled its vision, and now it was firing its red beam across the ground again. The beam followed Zune alarmingly close as she ran, ducked, and dodged. Humming with power, it zipped on her heels, tearing up dust as it carved lines in the pavement, the robot’s great eye narrowed with vicious hate.
Rifle in both hands, Zune ran up a pile of debris, leaping from protruding object to protruding object before flipping through the air. As she was soaring upright back toward the ground, she passed close to the Xubertron’s glaring red eye – so close that she was nearly hit with its laser beam, and Xian screamed, Micro beeping shrilly in her arms. But the laser missed by inches, and with her hair floating above her as she fell, Zune fired her laser rifle directly in the robot’s face. She landed on her feet, a tiny dot on the ground below, as the robot’s eye exploded in shards of glass. It beeped frantically, smoke trailing from the hole where its eye had been, and then it plunged silently to the ground with an earthshattering bang that made the broken class on the hover car Xian and Micro were hiding inside break further.
In the silence that followed, Xian peered through the hover car’s shattered window. She was relieved to see Zune marching toward them, looking cross.
“Why . . . did you do something . . . so foolish?” Zune panted, glowering at Xian. She roughly slung her rifle on her back.
Xian emerged from the hover car, set Micro on her feet, and folded her arms. “You sound like my mother. Sometimes I forget how old you are,” she said.
Zune’s eyes narrowed irritably.
Xian’s laughing green eyes moved past Zune and landed on the bright blue battery that had fallen out of the Xubertron. It lay glowing atop the muddy bricks and debris that were strewn across the ground in the rain, its bright electric glow contrasting hard with its gray and bleak surroundings.
Micro noticed the battery as well. Beeping excitedly, she ran to the battery on thin legs and picked it up, holding it over her head and jumping up and down.
“Looks like we don’t need to head to the junkyard after all,” said Zune, relieved. Her eyes moved to Xian. “But we need to pack up camp. Come back with me,” she rasped.
Xian raised her eyebrows.
Zune rolled her eyes to the sky and her lip curled when she rephrased, “Come back with me, please.”
Xian smiled, took Zune’s hand, and walked back to the camp with her.