I hope Da and Janet are okay.She hoped they had gotten the survivors medical care.
The hatch slipped open and she winced; her senses abruptly attacked by the chaos.
Netto grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the vessel and further onto land. They ran through the brush and sand and away from the monsters crowded at the run-offs. The sound worsened the closer they got to the factory.
“We have to find a way inside!” Zeph yelled over the noise. “It’s on lockdown.”
Rylie panted, out-of-breath and stopped. Netto and Zeph were covered in slime and she shook off what had gotten on her arm.
“Why?” she asked as she followed them to the main structure, doing her best to keep up.
“There are people stuck inside,” Netto answered, his voice a low boom amongst the high-pitched wails. “Their hearts are fluttering like hummingbird wings.”
People.She looked back at the shore and the toppling destruction. If the creatures broke through the brick and steel walls, there would be no place for them to go. Their only options would be to wait or fight.
They picked up speed as they came upon the entrance, and there was already a team of vehicles and drones at the front, trying to break down the security door. Some were working at several holographic screens, codes running up and down them, codes that worked to override and break the system. Her settlement had them as well.
“Damn it! We need to evacuate them now! If the fertilizer catches fire...”
Zeph sped toward the group but the gravity wasn’t lost on her. Rylie choked back a wave of adrenaline that rode the waves of her fear. Netto turned to her and caught her arm.
“Get them out of here,” Netto said, as his eyes dulled into a cold grey, they bore through her, chilling with intensity. “Get them as far away as possible.”
She wiped the back of her hand across her brow.
“Okay,” Rylie didn’t ask for clarification; she trusted him.
Netto took hold of her hand and squeezed as she turned away, but he pulled her back to him.
“Stay safe. Don’t enter the facility, no matter what.” He kissed her and let her go. She missed the soft touch of his lips immediately. Rylie watched as Netto rushed to the doors and the drones working on the holograms before them.
Rylie caught up to Zeph, who had begun ushering the bystanders to run. A tremor shook the ground, the rumble rang out above the sirens. People picked up their feet in its aftermath.
She relieved Zeph and ran between the triage and helped the wounded that could run to their feet, and those that couldn’t, find an android or human who could carry them.
The crunch of metal screeched through her ears. The sound set her last nerves on fire. She turned to find the front security door split down the middle and no sign of either Cyborg. The punctured metal told her well enough that they broke their way in, literally.
People rushed out of the shredded crevasse. Rylie moved to help them through. The jagged metal cut and dug into those not careful enough to maneuver through it in their frenzy, and when they did she urged them to run down the road where the others had fled despite their gashed skin.
Some asked her questions but she pressed them on for medical treatment. There was no time, no safety, and no medical nearby anymore. Haggard faces came continued to come through, eyes filled with fear.
Men and women, and even advanced androids fled the building. The robots stayed behind with her unless they carried the wounded away. Their programming wouldn’t let them leave the scene if there were human lives at stake.
Rylie waited for Netto to come back through but he didn’t. Time slowed to a crawl as her worry ratcheted.There’s so many.
A burst of dust had her drawing back and coughing as a loud roar sailed through the air. It was followed by the shrill shriek of something else. It had to be the monsters on the other side breaking down the pipes and penetrating the walls.
The drum of her heart was in her throat. Rylie hacked as the grime in the air coated the interior of her mouth.
“Faster!” She sputtered around the debris and helped a woman detach her torn lab coat from the metal. She tempered her urgency for their sake, but it became more difficult while the noises from the nearby shore rose with each passing second.
When the people stopped pushing through, she peered into the hole to see no one beyond but for several androids.
“Netto! Zeph?” Her voice rang through the clouded garage and echoed back to her with no answer. Rylie jumped back as another person ran her way and pushed through.
Her eyes watered. The sirens stopped. The sudden drop in noise prickled her skin. She gasped as the dust thickened, her stomach cramped up, and the world spun. Rylie yelped as she was suddenly picked up and carried away from the building.
“Wait! No! Netto!” she screamed as the smell of gasoline permeated the air. She fought the grip of whoever had her as the crack grew smaller the farther they got.
