'What's this?! Why am I still alive?' She opened her eyes and saw the ground swaying beneath her.
For a moment, she thought she was falling. Then the pain in her shoulders reminded her that she was still being hanged, upside down, tied cruelly to the chest of a marching Sentinel.
Her name was Sera, though the machines didn't care.
To them, she was nothing more than a living shield, a body strapped to steel.
Her long, ash‑blonde hair dangled toward the dirt, streaked with grime and dried blood. Every step of the machine jolted her, giving pain through her spine and ribs.
It was horrible…
She no longer struggled. She no longer screamed. Her cracked lips parted only to whisper to herself. They were words no one could hear.
'Just let it end… let me die without pain.'
Sera had once been a medic in the old world, tending to the wounded in a refugee camp after the collapse.
She had saved lives with nothing but scraps of cloth and stubborn will. But when the Mechanical Civilization swept through, her camp was destroyed. She had tried to protect the children, tried to shield them with her own body.
However, the Sentinels had cut them down anyway. She was taken, bound, and dragged across the wasteland like a trophy.
Now, upside down, she felt her humanity slipping away. Her pale eyes stared at the garbage field below, dull and lifeless.
She remembered the faces of those she couldn't save, and the guilt gnawed at her more than the chains.
Yet somewhere deep inside, a faint ember remained.
She thought of the promise she had made to a dying child in her arms… "I'll keep fighting. I'll keep you safe."
She had failed then. And now, she wanted nothing more than release. But fate had other plans…
***
Not too far from Sera, Althea was also bound cruelly with chains across the Sentinel's torso. The machine carried her like a grotesque ornament. Her bare skin was already bruised and scraped from the rough bindings.
Her long, dark hair was already stiff from dirt, but that didn't matter. Every step of the Sentinel would make her feel pain, and she couldn't even pass out even if she wanted to because of the drug that was forcefully fed to her.
Her eyes, half‑closed, stared at the garbage field below.
At this point, she no longer struggled like many other captives. She had stopped fighting hours ago.
'I don't want to be saved anymore…' she thought bitterly.
Similar to Sera's wish, she also wanted to end this after suffering too much pain.
She had once been a teacher before the world collapsed. She had taught literature to children in a small provincial school. Before, her voice was always gentle, and her smile was always warm. She had loved books, stories, and the idea that even in a broken world, words could give hope.
But when the Mechanical Civilization rose, her school was destroyed. She fled with her younger brother, Miguel, wandering from one ruined settlement to another. They had survived together, sharing scraps of food, hiding from patrols, clinging to the faint hope of finding a safe haven.
That hope ended when the Sentinels found them. Miguel had been killed instantly, cut down by a machine's blade. Althea had been captured, tied to steel, and dragged across the wasteland as a living shield.
Now, chained on a Sentinel, she felt her humanity slipping away. Her lips were cracked, her voice gone from screaming. Her once bright eyes were dull, reflecting only despair.
The Sentinel carried her forward, indifferent to her suffering.
She was nothing more than a tool, a barrier of flesh to protect its mechanical body.
Yet even in her despair, a faint ember lingered.
She remembered Miguel's last words before the machines took him…
"Don't give up, Althea, Someone will save us."
She wanted to believe it. But as the garbage field stretched endlessly beneath her, she whispered silently to herself, as she already lost her hope.
"Please… if anyone saves me… let it be quick. Let it be merciful."
Her fate seemed sealed, but suddenly, the Sentinel carrying her halted…
Althea's half‑closed eyes opened.
The machine's head turned, its glowing optics started scanning the horizon as if it had detected something. Of course, the chains binding her rattled against its steel frame as it turned its body.
Urgh...
She felt her stomach twist, and it was quite painful.
'What now…?'
The other Sentinels slowed as well, and their captives swayed in unison.
Even the Hounds prowling nearby froze. Soon, their claws were digging into the garbage field.
Althea's heart thudded weakly. She didn't know why, but for the first time since her capture, the machines seemed… cautious.
Then, through the haze of despair, she heard it.
There was a faint vibration beneath the earth.
It was subtle at first, like a distant rumble, but growing stronger with each passing second.
Her cracked lips parted as she whispered in disbelief, "What… is that?"
The Sentinel's optics scanned once again while her grip on her chains tightened.
"W-what's..."
The captives groaned as the machines shifted awkwardly, as if they were bracing for an impact.
Althea's dull eyes widened just slightly.
Somewhere beneath the garbage field, something was moving.
And then…
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted across the garbage field, shaking the ground beneath the Sentinels.