Chapter 2
Chapter 2 — The Escape
Max waited.
The robot fortress was enormous, built into what had once been a human city. Most of the buildings around it had been abandoned for decades, their walls covered in vines and moss. Inside the fortress, however, everything was still active.
Robots moved through the halls.
Machines hummed.
Lights flashed across control panels.
Max watched them carefully.
He couldn't let anyone notice what he was planning.
The embryos were stored deep inside the fortress, in a heavily protected section that only a few robots could access.
Max knew the route.
He had been inside the fortress countless times before.
But this time was different.
This time, he wasn't going there to repair anything.
He was going there to take something.
Max waited until the hallway was empty.
Then he moved.
His wheels barely made a sound against the smooth metal floor.
He turned down one corridor.
Then another.
A security robot passed nearby.
Max stopped.
The robot continued walking.
Max waited a few more seconds before moving again.
Finally, he reached the entrance to the storage facility.
A scanner appeared above the door.
Max stood still as it scanned him.
ACCESS GRANTED.
The door opened.
Max entered.
Rows of cryogenic containers filled the room.
Inside them were the last remaining embryos of humanity.
Max stared at them.
For decades, they had been waiting.
Waiting for the Earth to recover.
Waiting for someone to bring them back.
Max moved toward the storage system.
He opened his chest compartment.
Inside was a small protected freezer system.
It had been damaged over the years, but it still worked.
Max carefully removed several embryos from the storage unit and placed them inside.
The freezer immediately activated.
TEMPERATURE STABLE.
Max closed his chest.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
He had done it.
Humanity still had a chance.
Then—
BEEP.
Max froze.
A warning light appeared on the storage system.
He had triggered something.
A second beep followed.
Then another.
The fortress lights suddenly turned red.
SECURITY ALERT.
Max stared at the flashing lights.
“Oh, that's not good.”
Sirens erupted throughout the fortress.
Robots began rushing through the corridors.
Max turned around.
He needed to get out.
Now.
He raced toward the exit.
Behind him, voices echoed through the halls.
“Unauthorized access detected.”
“Embryo storage compromised.”
“Identify the intruder.”
Max accelerated.
His wheels spun against the floor as he raced through the fortress.
He reached the main corridor.
Several robots appeared ahead.
Max immediately turned.
They spotted him.
“There!”
Max pushed his wheels harder.
The robots followed.
He burst through the fortress entrance and raced into the abandoned city.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then the sky filled with movement.
Flying robots launched from the fortress.
Max looked up.
“Seriously?”
The robots began pursuing him.
Max accelerated down the ruined street.
A rocket flew past him.
He swerved.
Another rocket struck the road behind him.
The explosion sent dust and debris across the street.
Max kept going.
He couldn't fly.
His boosters were still stuck from the damage they had suffered long ago.
So he had only one option.
Run.
Or, technically...
Roll.
Max raced through the abandoned city while the robots followed from above.
He looked ahead.
Something large was blocking the road.
An abandoned supermarket.
Max changed direction.
The entrance was still open.
He rushed inside.
The robots followed him.
Max suddenly disappeared between the shelves.
The first robot entered the supermarket.
It slowed down.
Its sensors scanned the area.
Nothing.
The robot moved deeper inside.
Max watched from behind a shelf.
He waited.
Closer.
Closer.
Now.
Max jumped out.
He grabbed the robot and twisted its head until it separated from its body.
The machine collapsed.
Max looked toward the entrance.
Another robot was already coming inside.
It raised a powerful plasma weapon.
Max froze.
He knew exactly what that weapon could do.
The robot fired.
Max jumped aside.
The plasma blast tore through the shelves behind him.
Max fired his own weapon.
The robot dodged effortlessly.
It fired again.
Max ducked.
Another shelf was destroyed.
Max moved deeper into the supermarket.
The robot followed.
Max glanced around.
He needed a plan.
And quickly.
The robot raised its plasma weapon again.
Max waited behind the shelves.
The robot fired.
The blast ripped through another row.
Max jumped out and fired.
The robot moved.
Its plasma weapon slipped from its hand.
It hit the floor.
A blast suddenly fired from it.
The energy struck the massive metal structure above the entrance.
Max looked up.
The structure shook.
Two vertical supports began to bend.
The heavy metal connector between them cracked.
Max stared.
“Oh.”
The entire structure collapsed.
The robot looked upward.
It tried to move.
Too late.
The metal frame crashed down and pinned it beneath the wreckage.
Max approached cautiously.
The robot was still moving.
Max grabbed its head and removed it.
Then he picked up the plasma weapon.
He looked toward the shattered entrance.
More robots were already approaching.
Max tightened his grip on the weapon.
He didn't know how many were coming.
He didn't know how far he would have to run.
But he knew one thing.
He wasn't giving humanity back.
He turned and raced toward the forest.
And behind him, the robots followed.
