THE TALES HAS JUST BEGUN
WITH A MAN WHO PAID THE COST
NIGHTMARES ARE KICKING IN
AND EVERYONE'S HOPE WAS LOST
Date: 14 March 2130; 20.40 (08.40 PM)
Population: 11,564
A mother and her daughter were desperately searching for food in a rundown mall. She was wearing a damaged T-shirt and long trousers while her daughter had on a faded pink shirt with damaged trousers. They were cautious, knowing they were being actively searched for by robotic police.
"Mom, I'm hungry", the 11 years old girl whined. “I know, sweetie. I’m still trying to get you some food. Just hang on a little bit, okay?”
Whispered the mom, trying to calm her daughter she was carrying a piggyback as they sneaked through the mall. "Mom”, The girl called out again, this time her voice shaking."Yes, honey""Is this really the life we have to live in? I'm not too sure if I can survive", she cried as she said it.
"I assure you, honey, we’ll be alright. As long as we’re together, everything is going to be okay. Trust me", said the mom.
She put her daughter down and turned to look at her eyes, "You trust me, don’t you?"
"Yes, mom. I trust you."
The tranquility of the rundown mall made it seem like nothing was there.
However, in reality, robots were roaming the mall like ants. They patrolled the place as if nothing was happening even when the walls were drenched, the floor tiles were broken down, and mold was growing rapidly.
The mother and daughter walked past an abandoned bakery, freshly baked pastries adorned the cracked glass display, a bright piece of golden brown in a dank rundown environment.
"Mom! Can we get those breads?" asked the little girl. With hesitation, the mom said, “I’m not sure if we can afford that honey. It looks quite expensive.”
“But Mama", the kid looked her mom in the eyes.
"We were stealing things before, couldn't we do it again?"
"Honey, that was not stealing. Searching in a public trash bin is not against the law", the mom reassured her daughter while squatting to meet the eye level of her daughter. "But the police are trying to find us because of that, right? They said we were stealing."
"Honey... I don't know what those robots were talking about. As far as I know, Indonesia has never had a law stating searching a public trash bin as a felony."
"Then what should we eat? I'm very hungry." The mom once again looked at the bread store and looked back at her daughter, caught between quite a dilemma.
Eventually, her daughter's sullen look caused her to give in.
“Alright, we steal only once. After this, we can't go on stealing again", the mom carried her daughter again on the back.
“Yay!”
"Get ready to look around for the police, when the baker robot fires the alarm!”
Quietly, they went to the baker's store and stood low. The mom nervously sneaked through the robot crowd in the store to the trays of freshly made bread on the stall. As they approached the piles of bread, the mom took one final look around before quickly reaching out her hand and snatching a loaf. Immediately she turned tail and attempted to make her way out the store, one hand clutching her daughter and one on the bread. But it was too late.
One of the robots in the crowd had saw them attempting their grand escape and alarmed the baker.
At the same instant, the baker sounded the alarm, a loud blaring horn paired with a myriad of red lights.
"SHIT!!!" the mom exclaimed dashing through the robot crowd and running for the mall entrance.
"HEY. STOP. RIGHT. THERE. YOU. ARE. NOT SUPPOSE. TO. STEAL. YOUR. PUNISHMENT. DIES.", A robotic uncannily human voice called out from behind them.
A robot police were trying to catch the woman and her daughter; they almost caught them with their unnaturally stretchy arms but alas they missed. Both mother and child escaped the mall, stepping into the dusky twilight, a distant golden sunset cast a faint orange glow on the pavement.
"EMERGENCY! I REPEAT! EMERGENCY! SOME UNITS GO BACK AND GUARD THE MALL! AND SOME OF YOU WITH ME! TURN YOURSELF INTO STREET POLICE! READY TO CHARGE YOUR LASER!"
"Mom! What should we do? They are about to use their laser canon!" The daughters quivering voice asked.
"Hold tight, sweetie. Mom's going to zigzag across the road!"
Lasers flew by, the mom and her daughter narrowly dodging them before managing to turn into a dilapidated alleyway.
"Mom, I'm scared."
While still running, she, again, reassured her daughter, "Don't worry, honey. We can escape this. Trust me."
"YOU CAN NOT GO IN THERE! THAT IS ANOTHER PUNISHMENT! DIE TWICE!"
As they went deep into the alleyway, they reached a dead end.
"MOM"
"Honey, look at me!"
Desperately, the mom grabbed her daughter and stared into her eyes, "We’ll be okay. I will find a way"
Her eyes quickly scanned the area until she noticed something in the corner of her eye. A manhole.
“Listen to me sweetie! You NEED to get in there as soon as I open it, okay?”, She put her daughter and started to open the manhole, feeling guilty that she was putting her daughter into such a stressful situation.
"HEY! HEY! THAT'S NOT ALLOWED!", the police shouted in the distance.
With all strength and mighty, she managed to open it just a little bit, "Get in there sweetie!”, as her child got in, she slipped herself and descended into the dark hole.
"THAT IS ANOTHER FELONY, ANOTHER CHARGE, ANOTHER PUNISHMENT! DIE THRICE!"
After what felt like an hour of travelling through the foul smelling sewer the mom asked her daughter,"You feeling alright, honey?"
"Yes mom, I'm alright", replied the little girl
"But what about you Mom? You refused to take your share of the bread", asked her with a little concern.
"I'll be fine, sweetheart. Don't you worry about me", although her stomach grumbled otherwise.
"Okay. If you say so", the kid responded and tried to get comfortable on the cold tiles.
"I'm going to sleep, Mom. Good night."
"Sleep well, good night."
20.00 (10.00 PM)
The mother and the daughter had since fallen asleep, but suddenly, a loud noise made the mom wake up, "What the!?!", she looked at her daughter to make sure she's alright.
"The hell was that?" But her question was quickly answered when she quietly walked towards the source of sound. 2 flashlights beamed through the dark tunnel, piercing like needles through the dusty air.
With caution, she watched from afar.
"I'm telling you, man, you don't need to come. I'm fine coming here alone", a man in a casual black shirt with a short white coat, and big green trousers said while walking with someone else.
"Yeah, I know Makori, but we’re here together, remember? So, that's why I'm coming with you", the other guy came out of the shadows. He looked tan and had a bigger body than the other guy. He wore military armor from top to bottom.
The mother went pale.
"The Makori? The one who created the robots making her daughter’s life hell?"
She could feel her rage begin to boil over, knowing that the very culprit of the terrible incident over 5 years ago was right around the corner.
Unable to compose herself, the mom came out from hiding and shouted."YOU! You’re the one causing this, aren't you? MAKORI!!!"
This chapter has been proofread by Spectrix0
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