Rubble

Hikari steadies herself against the rooftop’s edge, the wind tugging at her torn hospital gown. She looks west. Far out on the horizon, an island rises from a mirror of shimmering water. On it stands a village, something she never expected to see. From here it looks untouched by devastation.
          If there are people left, maybe that’s where they are.
          Her eyes lock on the glimmering skyline with determination. I have to get there somehow. Whatever waits for me… it has to be better than being here.
          The sunset spills over the broken city, turning twisted steel into long silhouettes. She notices she’s next to an apartment building with balconies.
          I should work my way down since I’m locked up here.
          The nearest balcony is close enough to tempt her, but far enough to make her doubt she can reach it. She gets closer and stands on the roof’s edge and makes the mistake of looking down. Vertigo floods her limbs with a numb, anxious weight.
          If I miss this I’ll die from the fall. So long as there isn’t another cat I should be fine. She grumbles, thinking about how it was the cat’s fault she fell the first time.
          At least that… thing caught me. What was that?
          A hundred thoughts scatter through her mind as shifts her weight, preparing to jump. She draws a deep breath and lunges across the gap. Her hands slams against the balcony’s metal banister, the impact jolting up into her arms. She steadies her grip. For a breathless second she almost smiles.
          I made it!
          She pulls herself over the balcony and drops safely onto the other side. Beyond the shattered frame of sliding doors is a small bedroom. The air smells faintly of mildew and old wallpaper glue.
          A cool breeze slips through the open doors, prickling her skin. The draft makes her suddenly aware of how flimsy her paper-thin gown really is. Shivering, she begins rifling through the apartment’s drawers, pulling them open one by one with growing urgency. At last, she finds a teal top and a pair of worn jeans. The fabric feels significantly heavier and thicker than what she was wearing before. A simple comfort she didn’t realize she needed.
          By the door waits a pair of boots. The leather is stiff with age, but they’re far better than bare feet. She slides them on and tugs the laces tight. The boots pinch, but the pressure grounds her, reminding her she’s still here, still moving.
          A yellow backpack leans against the wall, a tiny mushroom key-chain dangling from the zipper. She crouches, unzips it, and finds a half-filled water bottle inside. She tilts it back and drains it in greedy gulps, the cool liquid burning down her dry throat.
          When she straightens again, the pack slung over her shoulder, something in her shifts. The girl who woke up in a medical pod, barefoot and trembling, feels further away. For the first time since opening her eyes in this nightmare, she feels almost human again. Standing there in her stolen clothes and scuffed boots, she could almost believe she belongs in this ruined city. Almost.
          For a moment she thinks she hears a voice. Faint, drifting through the crumbling walls, muffled by distance. She pauses, listening intently as the seconds tick by. She hears it again and her heart surges as she hurries toward the sound, hope rising with every step.
          Other Survivors, just like me.
          “I saw her jump onto the balcony,” a man’s voice mutters.
          As she gets closer, the words sharpen, cutting that fragile hope in two.
          “She looked like an easy kill,” another voice replies.
          Her breath snags. Panic claws at her chest. Without thinking, she drops flat and crawls under the bed, pressing herself against the dust-caked floorboards.
          The voices grow louder. Under the door she sees movement. The handle rattles. Hinges shriek as the door creaks open.
          Then bare metal slams into the floor with a grinding weight.
          What is that?
          From under the bed she can only see the bottom half of the thing standing in the room. The longer she looks the more certain she is that it isn’t human. She clasps both hands over her mouth to smother the scream rising in her throat.
          A metallic foot stops inches from her face.
          The silence stretches, suffocating.
          “Nothing here,” the voice shouts to the others, footsteps shifting toward the door. Relief washes over her as it walks into the doorway. Then it pauses, turning in her direction.
          “Wait. I forgot to check…”
          It takes a few steps and bends down, the red glow from its eyes locking on to her.
          “I found her.”
          It seizes her by the arms and yanks her up with impossible force. Its grip shifts to her throat, metal fingers closing like a vise. Her feet dangle, kicking helplessly as the world narrows into a suffocating blur.
          “Hey, let her go!” A voice cuts through the static in her ears. A man steps out from the shadows with a blue baseball cap low over his brow.
          “Boss told us to kill her,” the android growls, mechanical joints whining as it hoists her higher.
          “Cut it out.” The man shoves him, hard enough that the android stumbles. Its grip slips, and Hikari crashes to the ground, gasping as air claws back into her lungs. She staggers to her feet and bolts into the apartment hallway.
          She panics at the sight below: the spiral staircase teems with androids, heads snapping up to lock on her like predators.
          “There she is!” one shouts. Boots thunder against the steps as they rush upward. Adrenaline spurs her legs forward and she darts into the nearest room.
          A small metal object clinks across the floor behind her. She glances back but it’s too late. The device flares, then detonates. The blast hurls her across the room like a ragdoll. She slams into the ground, vision seared white, ears ringing.
          From the doorway, voices echo through the smoke: 
          “That wasn’t part of the plan!”
          Through the haze, they see the gaping hole where the blast chewed through the floorboards. Her body lies motionless at the edge, framed by flame and debris.
          “She’s trapped. If she’s not dead yet the fire will get her.”
          The sounds of their footsteps fade, leaving only the crackle of fire. She sits up carefully, sore from the impact. Ash flutters down around her like snow. Crawling through dust that clings to her hair and clothes, she looks over edge of the hole the explosion tore through the floor. The room beneath her is also covered in flames. The only way is across the gap.
          It’s silence except for the sound of fire crackling. For a brief moment a faint moan can be head.
          Is there someone still here?
          Then she hears it again, weak but certain. There’s muffled moans coming from the debris. Poking out from the wreckage is a smoldering blue baseball cap.
          Oh god, it’s the man that helped me.
          She pushes herself to her feet. She can’t leave the man who saved her. Backing up a few paces, she sprints and leaps across the divide in the floor, flames licking at her legs.
          Ash and splintered wood scrape her hands as she digs frantically, shoving aside debris until a heavy board gives way. Beneath it, a face stares back at her. Not human, but metallic. The android’s head, shoulder and arm are all that remain, its body severed, wires sparking neon colors where they’ve been torn. Synthetic fluid seeps from the cracks like blood. It’s artificial eyes flicker in and out, glowing weakly.
          Hikari freezes, shock rooting her in place
          “You’re… an android."
          He reaches up to her with his one remaining arm. She cautiously leans down
          “What can I do? Are you in pain?”
          “My pain receptors are shut off. I’ll regenerate… but I need your help. It’s not safe here.”
          Fear and instinct scream in her mind to just get up and run. But her continence won’t allow it. She can’t abandon him.
          She slips the yellow backpack she found earlier off of her shoulders and sets it in front of the android. Then she hesitates.
          Should I carry him like this?
          “I’m not that heavy anymore,” he rasps, as if knowing what she might be thinking. He manages a faint, crooked grin even in his broken state.
          She kneels, sliding her arms carefully under his frame. His weight surprises her, still so heavy despite how little of him is left. Gently, she lowers him into the backpack, positioning his head so it rests against the spare clothes she found.
          The ceiling groans, plaster and splintered beams tumble, scattering across the floor. The last rays of sunlight pour through the gaping hole in the wall, catching the floating dust like glowing specks. The light spreads over her, wrapping her in a soft glow that seems almost like a halo. The android stares up at her, unblinking.
          She grips the straps of the bag, testing its weight. Determination steels her expression.
          “Let’s go.”