Drex's head popped out of the hatch as he looked around. There was no movement, and all he could see were abandoned cars.
Whoever built this place had made sure it was well hidden. He slowly stepped out of the tunnel and looked into the sky.
He felt extreme unease just by looking at it, the sickly greenish-yellow cloud above. The sunlight could barely pierce through, and everywhere was dim.
He jumped onto a nearby car as he gazed into the distance.
There wasn't much to see, an abandoned city that was on its last leg. Some of the buildings were covered in a yellow snow.
It was better to avoid those, as even a little touch would send you into paralysis.
Crunch. Crunch.
He heard footsteps behind him as he quickly turned around in shock, but it was just Vox.
"Shit! You scared me. Didn't I tell you to stay down there?"
"It's dark and scary," Vox replied, his voice shaking as he looked around curiously.
Drex jumped down from the car as he walked towards Vox. He couldn't blame the young boy; after all, leaving him in the dark tunnel was not the right thing to do.
Vox was relieved as Drex walked towards him, but his relief instantly disappeared as he saw, from the corner of his eye, an enforcer patrol light.
"Drex!! Behind you!!"
"Huh?" Drex looked back, and his expression changed as he grabbed Vox, and they quickly rolled underneath a nearby car.
The light kept getting closer, and then the vibration came so powerful that little dirt particles bounced around in front of them.
Then the ship appeared. It was so huge that it almost covered the entire sky.
"Why did they bring the mothership?!"
Drex murmured to himself with a worried expression. Things were going very bad now. The enforcers hunted alone, looking for resistance and scavengers.
Even if a settlement of humans was discovered, they had never deployed the mothership before.
He held Vox tightly as he waited for a minute, but even after a minute, the ship remained.
Something must be wrong. Staying still wasn't going to solve anything.
He rolled away from the car and carried Vox with him.
Their hideout had been compromised. He looked up above at the gigantic structure before striding towards the hatch.
He threw Vox in there and jumped in after him.
"What is going on, Drex? I'm scared."
Drex knelt down as he cupped Vox's cheeks in his hands. "Hey, hey. I need you to go down and run to Mum. Tell everybody you see that the enforcers are here. Can you do that for me?"
Vox nodded his head as he wiped the tears away from his face. "What about you?" he asked.
Drex smiled as he removed the necklace hanging around him. His father had given it to him before he died, and he had kept it on since then.
He wore it on Vox's neck gently as he kissed his forehead. "I'm right behind."
Before the little boy could protest, he pulled the lever and stepped out of the elevator.
Crrrrrrrr…
He watched as it descended slowly, praying silently that they would be able to get away safely before the enforcer reached them.
Cracking his neck, he turned towards the hatch and caught a glimpse of a piece of metal lying on the ground beside him.
He picked it up and inspected it.
"This is great."
It wasn't much, but if he could stall even a minute, then he could die with a smile on his face knowing his family and friends down there were safe.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Crash!
The hatch door was completely destroyed as an enforcer jumped in.
Drex watched as the humanoid machine, towering almost three metres, stood before him.
"Where are the rest?"
Its voice was cold and emotionless.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Drex replied fearlessly. He had never been more scared than this moment in his entire life.
A shot from the enforcer's gun could end his life, and the only reason he was still alive was because they didn't know their exact location.
The enforcer pointed its gun at Drex and said slowly and calmly, "Give up their location and live. Stay quiet and die."
Drex held his stomach as he laughed nervously. "For an AI, you are actually retarded."
"Do you think I'd believe you that you'd spare me? You brought all your damn forces here. I know we are the last of the resistance, and you're here to wipe us all out."