The Skelloids

Hikari stumbles out the back door of the apartment complex and into the flooded street, water splashing cold against her legs. She stops, searching the shadows around her for danger. She crouches behind a half-submerged car, then darts to the next, using the cover of night to her advantage. Ahead is a truck crushed inward as though something massive had stepped on it. Through the broken windshield she sees what remains inside: metal limbs jutting through a seat, half-embedded in a slick coating of yellow slime.
          She grips the straps of her backpack and tilts her head back.
          “You still good in there?” she whispers to the fractured pieces of android tucked inside.
          “As good as I can be,” his voice warbling mechanically.
          “What’s your name?” She asks as she tries to move through the water as quietly as possible. She's heading in the direction she saw the sun set, to the island somewhere in the west.
          “I am A1056,” he replies in clipped, glitching sounds.
          “Those are just numbers, not a name. Would you like me to give you one?” She asks, even though she knows she’ll name him regardless of his answer.
          "I’d like that.”
          “I found you in a pile of rubble, so… Your name is Rubble!” She laughs at the absurdity of it. His synthetic chuckle comes with a flicker of light in his eyes. “I’ll take it. But only if I get to name you, too.”
          “I already have a name, it’s—”
          “Halo,” he cuts in softly.
          “What?” She blinks.
          “When you found me,” he says, voice almost steady now, “the light was shining on you like a halo. So that’s your name.”
          She feels heat rise to her cheeks and laughs, embarrassed. “Well, I am starting a new life here. A new name might be fitting. Halo it is.”
          She passes by a graffiti mural of a skeleton, the words THEY DON’T SLEEP scrawled in paint beside it.
          "They"? There’s more than one giant skeleton here?
          A low rumble shakes the cars behind her, setting off their alarms. She whirls around.
So much for being quiet.
          A swishing sound in the water is coming from behind a building. With her head still turned in that direction she takes a step, smacking into something hard. She staggers back, staring into the red, glowing eyes of the android that had caught her in the apartment earlier. It grabs her arm with one hand and and raises a gun with the other.
          “Got you. There’s no one to save you now.” Its eyes narrow.
          Water ripples toward her. A piercing frequency roars as a giant skeleton emerges from behind a building, this one sheathed in thick yellow slime. It crashes through the line of cars, tossing some out of the way to get to them. Its fury is unmistakable.
          She tries to run but the water slows down her legs. A gunshot cracks through the air. The skeleton jerks, scanning for its attacker. The android fires again, sprinting alongside Halo. The bullets sink into it’s gelatin-like coating, trapped uselessly inside. The monster doesn’t even flinch this time. It only grows more enraged, barreling after them.
          In her haste, Halo trips and splashes into the water. Her backpack flies open, spilling Rubble into the murky silt below. She spits out a mouthful of grimy water and frantically feels around in the dark for Rubble. She spots a faint blue flicker of his eyes beneath the surface. She snatches him up just as the skeleton’s shadow looms overhead, its massive arms raised high to crush her. She puts up a trembling hand as a useless shield. Its attention locks on the android beside her. The android keeps firing as the skeleton’s massive fist slams down. Metal crumples under the crushing force. Sparks hiss and sizzle through the water.
          She scrambles to her feet, sprinting toward the forest. When she looks back one last time, her stomach turns. The yellow giant lifts the broken android into its gaping jaws and bites down. 
          It’s eating him.
          Halo’s boots squish with every hurried stride. The view of the city fades behind her, and all she can see in front of her are endless trees lit solely by moonlight. Her breath becomes ragged, forcing her to slow her pace.
          “What are those things?!” she gasps for air.
          Rubble uses his one arm to pull himself higher to the opening of the soaked backpack.
          “We call them Skelloids. They feed on living things to sustain themselves.”
          “But he ate an android. Do they count as living? Uh, no offense.” She looks down and kicks the mud, regretting how she worded that.
          “None taken. I’m uncertain if an android properly feeds them. But… they don’t seem to care. Insatiable hunger drives them.”
          The water grows more shallow the further west she goes. The forest closes in around her, unnaturally still. No crickets chirp and even the air feels heavy and unmoving. Something shifts in this distance that she catches in the corner of her eye. The longer she stares in that direction the more she starts to think she might be going crazy.
          “What’s wrong?” Rubble asks.
          “…I think we should keep moving.”
          The moon continues to dimly light her path as the hours of walking drag on. She stumbles over a tree root, catching herself before she falls.
          “You should get some rest. You’re exhausted,” Rubble says from inside her bag.
          “Maybe you’re right.” She sighs, knowing she can’t keep going like this.
          She studies the massive roots curling out from the base of a nearby tree. They don’t look comfortable in the slightest, but at least she won’t be sleeping in water.
          Halo pulls Rubble from the dirty yellow backpack and hangs the bag out to dry across one of the roots. Sitting cross-legged, she rests Rubble’s head gently in her lap and wipes the mud from his faceplate. Her gaze lingers on him with uncertainty. Fingers brush her collarbone, her eyes lowering.
          “Your upload worked,” she whispers. “Who were you before all this?”
          “I don’t remember. This world is all I’ve ever known.”
          “Oh.” She hesitates, then changes the subject. “What happened to the city?”
          “It used to be beautiful…” Rubble’s tone softens, almost wistful. “The healthy humans sent here from Earth and the androids with uploaded minds all lived together peacefully. But the androids… we don’t need much rest, or much food, and we’re generally stronger and faster than humans. Some started to think they were better than humans, so they looked down on them.”
          “So all of this destruction is our own doing?”
          “Yes. It escalated quickly. Everyone took sides, fighting to claim territory. It was war in our own streets.” His eyes flickers faintly. “That is, until the Skelloids appeared and starting wiping out both sides.”
          “Where did they come from?”
          “No one knows. They seemed to emerge from inside the city itself. At first we thought it was another virus, but no one got sick or transformed into one those things after they showed up.”
          “Hmm…” Halo tries to figure out where the Skelloids could have come from, but her mind fogs with exhaustion.
          “Get some rest,” Rubble says gently. “I’ll keep watch and wake you if I hear anything.”
          She nods and leans back against the tree trunk. Closing her heavy eyes, she drifts into a deep sleep. Her dreams bring her two favorite people, Kotarou and Ryousei. They’re smiling, waving at her. Ryousei’s lips move, but his words are muffled, too far away to hear. He repeats himself, and this time it sounds like he’s saying “Halo”.
          That doesn’t make any sense… he never called me by that name.
          “Halo.” The voice comes clearer, closer.
          The only one who calls me that is… Rubble.
          “Halo!”
          The shout jolts her awake. She sits upright, face-to-face with the green Skelloid looming over her. It leans down, its gaze fixed on her with an almost curious tilt. She holds her breath, uncertain of what to do. The creature extends its long, slime-slick hand toward her. She scrambles to her feet, snatching up the backpack and clutching Rubble against her chest. Her boots slip on the damp ground as she bolts into the trees. The green Skelloid straightens slowly, but doesn’t pursue. It only watches her disappear further into the forest.