Ch7

They ran, the streets had become a nightmare, littered with bodies screaming, dying and dead. Whole, partial and in pieces.

“Kai, we can’t stay on the main roads.” Lucian ran a hand over his face, feeling like he’s going to throw up again even with an empty stomach.

Kai pulled him into a narrow service alley. “I’ll keep you safe, I’m invisible to most of it so I can be your walking shield.”

Before Lucian can complain about his friend being a shield, a city-wide broadcast suddenly blared, the voice calm but edged with strain. “Citizens, this is an emergency override, the city is under foreign cyber-attack. The Eastern Alliance has breached our network. They are using our own systems to sow terror and demand surrender. Remain calm, government forces are initiating emergency protocols.”

Lucian stumbled. “Another country? All this time… while we lived in comfort, were we on the brink of war?”

Kai’s face was grim. “I’m not surprised. The system protected us from everything, but it also made us soft targets. People are always greedy to get their hands on what they don’t have.”

Government forces in heavy exosuits moved through the streets, but even they were struggling as their own smart armor glitching and locked joints. Scrapping teams followed close behind, large, armored vehicles marked with government logos, already pulling compromised units off the streets.

A continuation of a beloved children’s performer was dragged screaming into one of the vehicles, its face frozen in a cheerful smile even as its limbs were restrained at unnatural angles.

“They’re scrapping everything that’s been corrupted.” Kai said, voice tight. “If their scanners notice I’m not human they’ll scrap me too..”

They kept moving through back alleys and maintenance tunnels (locks were not a problem when Kai could tear any door open). Around them, people who had never known real fear were like sitting ducks. A man in designer clothes sobbed against a wall as his own jacket tried to drag him into the road, a mother screamed, pounding her fists against glass until they bled, while the building’s smart doors refused to open, her child crying behind her. Lucian’s chest ached at the sight, wanting to help but knew he shouldn’t risk it. This was what their perfect world had created, millions of people utterly unprepared for surviving outside of their comforts.

They reached the old industrial district on the edge of the city just as the final announcement rang out. “Initiating full blackout protocol in three minutes. All connected systems will be forcibly

shut down via EMP. It will not harm you but will render all devices useless, please report to the nearest vehicle issued to your area for further instruction.”

Kai grabbed Lucian’s arm. “We need to get past the perimeter wall before the signal hits. If I’m still in range when it sweeps, I’ll be dead.” He swallows hard. “Entirely this time.”

The countdown echoed across the dying city. They sprinted through peoples yards, something more common on the outskirts of the city rather than in the thick of it. Kai could run far faster, but he wouldn’t leave his friend behind. Lucian pushed his body as hard as it could go, legs and lungs burning.

Two minutes.

A government drone swept overhead, scanning. Kai shoved Lucian behind an old shipping container just in time. The drone hovered, then moved on.

Sixty seconds.

They reached the outer wall, an old brick wall that had become mostly symbolic over the decades, Kai boosted Lucian up.

Thirty seconds.

Kai took a running jump, digging his feet and fingers into the worn brick before scrambling over the top, just as they fell hard onto the other side, the EMP hit. Everything in the city died at once, for the first time in Lucian’s life, the city went completely dark.

In the distance, screams and cries for help rose, panic from millions who had never experienced true helplessness. Scrapping teams switched to manual lights and continued their grim work, dragging units into containment as medical teams arrived to search the streets for survivors among the dead.

Kai patted Lucian's back.. “We have to keep moving. They’ll probably expand the scrub zone outward soon.”

The brunette nodded, leaning against the wall as his chest heaved for air. Taking a moment for Lucian to catch his breath, they got up and ran into the unmonitored wilderness beyond the city perimeter. Occasional fires flickered where systems had overloaded, the distant sounds of chaos carried on the wind.

Lucian looked back once, breathing hard as they jogged. “I don’t like that it happened.” He whispered. “But I’m glad it’s gone.”

Kai nodded. “Maybe this is what it takes, for people to see how wrongly we’ve been living.”

Lucian swallowed hard, taking a gulp of air as tears stung his eyes. “I wish it didn’t take lives for them to see.”

They kept running into the dark in silence, even if they didn’t like how things were, they still mourned the city, the only life they ever knew.