The Survivors

Feng ate and drank with the gusto of a starving horse. He cared not for etiquette and simply answered Jian’s questions with his mouth full. According to what he told Jian, Feng was a member of a group of survivors of Laplace’s attacks. They were originally from Hunan but were pushed to the East in their escape from Laplace’s Meta army. When asked where his group of survivors were now, Feng pointed northward. “It’s about twenty minutes from here on foot,” he told Jian.

“Hey, if there are survivors, then that would mean that they have equipment to ensure their survival, right?” said Fender. “Do you think then that they might have a battery?”

“I don’t think that it’s likely, but there is still a chance that they might,” agreed Data.

Jian asked Feng to lead them to his hideout and the boy agreed to do it once he finished eating. When the boy was ready, the sun was already high up in the sky. They walked northbound for about a good twenty minutes before Feng started running ahead of them. The party came to a small hill and, upon reaching the summit, saw below them a small settlement the size of a neighborhood. There were men, women, children, the elderly, and even a few animals and pets. Everyone were either sitting around and talking or playing games to pass the time. Despite the lines on their faces from constant anxiety and stress; and their thin, frail bodies, likely from malnutrition; it looked like they were all trying their best to still live.

Feng ran up to an old man who greeted the boy warmly with a hug. Captain and the others walked up behind Feng. The old man kindly greeted them with a bow and smile. Jian acted as translator and explained their situation. The old man nodded and led the party to meet the other survivors. Many of the survivors were understandably hesitant of the outsiders. Only a few could sense no harm from the party and greeted them kindly—many of them were the elderly.

Captain and the party were treated to some tea and a plate of rice cakes. The rice cakes were stale and dry, and the tea tasted like scented water rather than floral tea. Still, the party members accepted the snacks and tea with gratitude.

Suddenly, a pair of men came running up to the old man with their faces contorted in fear and their bodies shaking. They were a total mess as they tried to hysterically explain something to the old man. Jian picked up a few words from their jumbled explanation and turned to Captain with a concerned face. Before he could even explain to the others, screams coming from all directions forced the party to stand up.

Metas appeared and were attacking the people. Captain brought out his bat, signaling the others to prepare to fight. “Play ball!” he announced.

There were a total of twelve Metas spread out through the settlement. Captain took to the northside, Data and Suzuran took the southside, and Fender was left to the eastside. Jian had disappeared before everyone else and took to the westside, the part where the kids were playing their games. There was no telling whether these Meta were the same as the ones they encountered most recently on their journey or the ones they were more familiar with—actual machinery whose artificial life was easier to forfeit than humans.

Captain easily took down two with a swing of his bat. The clunking sound of metal striking the ground told him that these were indeed actual robots. However, there was no telling if the enemy decided to mix in some human Metas, too. Captain didn’t put it past Laplace to do this. He gripped his bat and swung for two more, aiming at their heads. The first went flying backwards—yet another machine. The second, however, used its hand to stop his bat. The Meta’s grip was very strong and Captain struggled to break free from it. Perhaps a little too impatiently, he swung a kick at the Meta’s side. The attack caught the Meta by surprise and it fell backwards. Captain then raised his bat and brought it down the Meta’s head. Sparks coming from the struck head told him once again that it was a robot. Captain took a small sigh of relief. Though he was mentally prepared for what could’ve happened, he was happy that it didn’t come to pass.

Jian’s enemies surrounded him on all four sides. Luckily, he was able to evacuate the children before something disastrous happened. He took to a ready stance. The Metas wasted no time to close in on him. Quick like a leopard, strong like a tiger, and precise like a snake, he struck all of them down. Three of them fell to the ground and revealed themselves to be nothing more than machines. However, the fourth’s body was softer than the others and when it fell to the ground, the familiar sound of snapped bones made Jian scowl. “Demon,” he cursed his enemy under his breath.

One Meta terrorized a woman and her crying child before a laser through its body and caused it to fall to its knees. “Are you okay?” Data asked the woman.

Suzuran reached into her bag and brought out a flower to give to the crying child. “Cosmos,” she said. The child stopped crying and wiped it’s tears before accepting the flower. The child smiled and Suzuran and Data smiled back.

This moment of reprieve was quickly interrupted when a bullet struck Data in the shoulder. She fell to one knee and Suzuran rushed over with worry in her eyes. “Dammit,” cursed Data. The Meta that fired the shot moved in closer.

Suzuran saw from the corner of her eyes the child on the verge of tears again. She steeled herself as newfound determination washed over her. She quickly reached into her bag and pulled out one of the bags with a yellow tag on it. With a nod she opened the bag and tossed out a group of pods at the Meta. Quicker than the blink of an eye, the pods gave rise to rapidly growing vines that restrained the Meta and rapidly covered it until all that was left was a clump of vines. “Kudzu,” said Suzuran with a satisfied nod of her head.

Meanwhile, Fender found himself cornered by the last two Meta with a wall behind him. His knees were shaking and he felt his head getting dizzy from the adrenaline pumping through his body at a rapid rate. He was just about to beg his enemies for mercy when he heard screaming to his left. Two teenage girls had their hiding spot found out by one of the Meta, who proceeded to approach its target. ‘T-T-Those girls…. If I don’t do something right now…,’ he thought to himself. He quickly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Once his eyes flung open, his entire demeanor changed. “Tis my time to once again send you demons back to your fiendish domain! Beware the beast you have awakened within me, fiends!” declared Fender. He plugged his guitar into the speaker around his waist and turned it on. “Hear the melody of darkness that will send you back to hell, demons!” Fender proceeded to play a four bar riff that quickly incapacitated the Metas. They fell to the ground with a thud. Fender smiled before succumbing to his fear and fainted.

That night, the entire settlement celebrated the defeat of their enemies. The party were treated to a feast of grilled meat and roasted vegetables. As they humbly accepted their reward, the people who were once resistant towards them began to open up and accept them as heroes. One boy approached Captain and handed him a piece of paper—it was a poster for a movie: “If The End Was Today”. Captain’s expression became grim before returning back to a smile as he accepted the gift. Suzuran was given a flower by an elderly woman who revealed herself to be the grandmother of the child she saved today. It was a lily of the valley and Suzuran accepted it gracefully, her eyes filled with nostalgia. Fender received thanks from the two girls he saved, who then revealed themselves to be fans of the former's previous band. He happily gave them autographs, yet he also felt a slight pang in his heart. Data had her shoulder tended to by the local doctor. As she did, she gracefully listened to his stories of his younger days as a prodigy, which brought on a sad smile to her face. Jian was pulled over by one of the elders, who then revealed himself to be a colleague of the former’s master. Though he was glad to hear stories of his master, Jian couldn’t help but wear a pained expression on his face.

As the celebrations continued into the night, each member of the party were lost in thought. They were lost in their own memories.