A son without his mom

“Stay in here for me until I come back alright?”, said mom in a sweet, warm voice.

“Mommy’s going to a really scary place so make sure not to follow mommy alright hon? If something happens to you mommy will feel very sad won’t she?” Mom spoke those words with the same tone.

“Mommy will be back until then, so do not leave this place, girl.”

Her gentle, soothing words as though calming my ears only seconds ago suddenly became strict, like her voice turned to stone. It was not the type of tone a normal mother uses with her seven year-old son, especially when her term of calling me was “girl”. But this wasn’t news to me, mommy changes the way she talks in the middle of the conversation with me quite usually, at least in private, but if we’re in public, she always tries to act like a good, caring mother.

“It’s ok mommy, you don’t have to try to act like something you are not, something you will never be!” Is what I always wanted to tell her, but since she isn’t here with me right now and I likely won’t ever see me again, I guess I have lost my chance.

‘Rustle’                                                                  A sudden movement breaks the motionless atmosphere in this entire room. A humanoid figure appears before my eyes, it’s the caretaker robot that always makes my friends happy, but it never managed to make me happy though. Its body is covered in white with no clothes to cover up anything, on its left chest is a number, “07”, which is the symbol suited for machines that have the duty to take care of children like me. Its face looks like a human’s, it looks like my face, it looks like mom’s face, but not the same, it feels hollow and empty somehow when I look at it, like this is just a copycat of something. Just like this world, the way my life feels like a copy of something greater, for all of my seven years of life I have been inside buildings, experiencing entertainment that is just a fake compared to the outside.

“The world is not safe outside, people are going to hurt you for their own needs, therefore, child, unless our government is actually useful and revert our world back to when theft and mass murder weapons isn’t a common scene on the street, you won’t be going out anytime soon.” Said the fat man in a lab coat explaining why I couldn't go outside and experience the real world. I wasn’t happy with his answer, so I was mad at that time, but now since both the outside and inside are messed up like he said, maybe I can actually go out now!

As I stood up full with excitement ready to go out of this room, something got caught in my eyes. The chance of having dust to fill my vision is impossible, since I am inside a children’s playhouse with no open windows. Confused by how dust got in my eye, I pay no mind to the reason and started rubbing them. As my arms were going back and forth, a mechanical sound echoed throughout the room, I quickly looked up from my arm and the same humanoid figure from before is now closer to me.

“I don’t really want to play right now, go away.”

There are no answers, and the figure doesn’t move.

“Hey robot, I said go away.”

…

“Still no answer huh?”

After a while of looking at the robot in a grumpy manner, I finally stand up and look around the room, making sure the figure is in my peripheral vision.

“I just used a fancy word, I’m so smart! Being inside my whole life did give me something!”

As I was complimenting my impressive vocabulary, a metal pipe enters my line of sight, I speedily go over and grab it. The pipe is not really big, a normal adult would be able to hold it with one hand, however I am just a kid so I grabbed the pipe with two hands with a firm grip.

“Don’t go apologizing to me for doing this machine, you did this to yourself for not obeying a human like me.”

While approaching the figure, my arms start to apply force to the metal pipe to make it go above my head. But then all of a sudden, it’s head turns towards me almost immediately. Shocked by the sudden movement, I jumped back and landed on the ground with my butt. My butt hurts, make the pain go awayyy.

“Oh wait!”

A realization falls onto me while sobbing over my pain, my eyes have not been on the robot, as I look up to see the figure, there was nothing. It had already vanished by the time I looked, or so I thought, the fluorescent light which is supposed to be on top of my head is now upside down.

“You’re a thing! You’re not supposed to fight back, drop me down now!”

Standing behind me is that missing figure, its movement was so swift that I didn’t even notice a rustle sound. In contrast to the silence of the humanoid figure until now, words came out of its mouth.

“Good kids don’t shout, you are a bad kid, and bad kids get punished.”

The robot says so in a warm and friendly manner, almost identical to a caretaker’s.

“Hey! don’t you think that you can act like a human, that intimate voice you just tried to express only feels like a, a.. a copycat!”

Though stuttered, I felt confident that my insults reached the robot, so I continued.

“You hear me? You will never, and what I mean is NEVER going to become human, act like them all you want but you are just a copy, an imitation! Don’t try to act like something you are not, your entire existence is empty, meaningless, you are nothing you hear me? NOTHING!”

The humanoid figure stays inanimate, not responding to a word I’ve just said.

“C’mon, say something, too shocked because of what I just said? C’mon, cry for m…”

Before I could finish my sentence, my line of sight changes its view in a blink of an eye once again, but the difference this time is that I can feel something that comes along with it - an immeasurable amount of pain. The robot has flung me towards the wall of this room, making a loud sound reverberating throughout this whole facility.

“Robots have feelings too, you stupid fucking kid. You think I’m one of those soulless things that took care of you everyday brat? No, just no, no more am I enduring all of your insults just because you are in a bad mood, don’t you think you can just release all your toxicity and hate because your mom sold you to a pervert pedophile, sure your life is going to turn for the worse from now on but the only reason why I’m here is because I’m ordered to, there is no fucking reason for you to take it out on ME.”

After finally putting an end to its long speech, the figure looks at me as though waiting for a response.

“You sound more like a human now, it almost made me feel that you actually have feelings, I’m impressed.”

The figure bows its head down, like it has given up on something.

“Originally, my orders were to capture you with utmost care so as to not make you get a single scratch, but if the police finds out about my mission then I would have to kill you. Therefore, what happens if I was the one who deliberately made the police find out?”

“Oh no”

Right after realizing the figure’s intentions, I jumped up from the ground in a manner of speed you would not expect of a boy who just got his back broken. But before I could reach the door, the robotic figure was already in front of it.

“I’m risking my life here trying to have some fun before getting dismembered for disobeying a human's order, I can’t have you running away can I.”

A feeling of despair turns into a wave of black sea pulling me down to the ground.

“No it can’t end here”

Snapping back with my sentence of motivation, I ran back towards the metal pipe that I dropped just a few minutes ago. I was so quick that I didn’t realize that the robot could just catch up to me and my life would end there, but when I reached the pipe and turned around, it was still there. The humanoid figure moves slowly, but menacingly, as to show there is no escape and my eventual end will come.

“Put that thing down, a kid shouldn’t have such a dangerous weapon with her.”

“IT’S A HIM”

Shouting vehemently, the pipe that was in my hands seconds ago is now going through the air with an impressive speed. However, the figure grabbed it mid air and threw it to the ground disappointedly.

“You are just a seven year old kid, don’t think you can fight someone who is three times bigger than you.”

“That’s a some thing, not some one for you”

“You keep that mouth of yours until the very end huh? I’m sure going to enjoy bashing your skull like you were going to do so with mine a few minutes ago”

The figure suddenly bursts in speed, closing its distance with me in less than a second. Because of the limited amount of time, the only thing I could do was pick up a toy train weighing more than something that would fit the palm of my hand. The figure’s hands grab my shoulder and put my whole body easily to the ground without trouble. Its palm that can be seen moments ago is replaced with a fist that is high up in the sky, or at least it looks that way. Although I am now facing up, there are no lights to make my eyes squint, the fist is blocking my view of the fluorescent light in this building, wait, the lights! Without contemplating whether my plan will work, I execute it without reserve. Before the fist starts to make contact with my face, I bend my arms back a small distance to gather up force, and then as strong as I can throw, the toy train in my hand pierce through the air and hits the only light source, making darkness devour the entire room.

“Still show a little resistance huh, sorry to break it to you but it is futile, I can still punch you in the dark dumbass.”

The fist now with a force applied to it travels towards my face like a rocket launching to the sky. Normally I wouldn’t be able to dodge such a fast punch, so getting hit would obviously be the outcome of this situation. However, there is another chance that would favor me in this predicament, which is the figure missing its punch, which is fortunately the result of this reality. The figure now has one less arm holding me down, giving me the chance to break through it and make my escape. With as much force as I can make, I focus all of them on my two legs. Putting my lower body into a position so as to make me look like I’m pushing something with both my legs, I kick the robot’s neck with full force, making it roll away from my body.

“I kept my face in the same position before the lights got broken down but you just gotta overthink and try to predict where I would put my face afterwards, who’s the dumbass now?”

After finishing my pointless line in a dangerous predicament like this, I quickly go to the door to make my escape. After succeeding in opening the door, I step foot into the corridor outside of the room. My legs decide to go left arbitrarily and I voice no complaints. Similar to the room I was in moments ago, there are no windows, making the only light source the multiple fluorescent lights on the roof. Dammit, there are too many lightings here, I can’t use the same trick as before. As my hope of escaping has soared to the point of me believing I can actually succeed, a sound, or more like sounds, spreads through the corridor and tears my skin like a cold needle piercing through me.

“GET BACK HERE LITTLE BITCH!” said the robot running towards me with a speed I could never hope to reach. Each time the figure’s foot makes contact with the floor creating a metallic-like sound, my hope of running away from here further returns to its initial state when I was in that room. And to make it worse, there is no stop to that sound.

“Get away from me, machine!”

Said myself while turning right on the corridor which leads to another longer hallway with doors laying on both sides of it. Since the robot must be so close to me now, I spontaneously chose the closest door to the turning way and hide there. Before my heart could calm down from the running and fear, the door to my room burst open.

“Chose a dead end for yourself, how stupid can you be.”

This thing always has to mix in insults every time he finds faults in my decisions, how salty can it be?

I don’t know how I’ve not realized this sooner but.. I’m actually going to die here, this thing is gonna grab me and make me regret everything I have said to it. It’s not a nice death, it’s not calm or relaxing, or even have any meaning, It’s the opposite of that. I’m gonna be the first victim of a probably serial murderer robot in the future, what a terrible way to go out. As much as this is obvious for a seven year old to think in this situation, I don’t want to die. Somebody help me, help me mom.

“You are the source to all my misery, I hope you know that.” Said a woman with an emotionless tone. Thinking about the one who has been with me all my life, the one who has abandoned me, the source to my situation at this very moment, the reason for my end here, my vision starts to get blurry.

“So are you mom, I hope you know that.” Said myself in a barely audible voice filled with cries and, probably a little anger.

“You do have a side to you that resembles a kid after all! I'm surprised a seven year old like you can even endure your tears for that long being a target of a murder robot. Well I’m sorry to break it to you but it is too late, you’ve enraged and awoken something inside me, so I’m going to kill you now and start a new life.”

A far away sound enters this room, a sound that has already been determined to reach my ears eventually, the sound of sirens.

“Looks like the police are here, with all of the chaos happening everywhere in this city I’m surprised they actually didn’t turn a blind eye to a single kid’s safety. Now then, I’m gonna make this as slow as possible and make my escape, so scream as hard as you can for me alright?”

My eyes are so filled with tears that I can’t see what the robot is doing anymore, but, not like it matters anyway. I’m going to die here. I didn’t have a good mom, I wasn’t a good son, I didn’t have good friends, I wasn’t a good person… I didn’t have a good life. The chance of me making a satisfied smile here would be lower than a miracle that would get me out of this situation. Nonetheless, I tried anyway, and of course, failed embarrassingly.

“I really hate my life”

Was supposed to be my last words but, an event no one could have foreseen happened, the roof of this building starts to collapse and this entire room, no, the entire facility gets demolished in a manner of seconds.

At this time, I didn’t know. Another building, a very big skyscraper, had collapsed and fell to the ground, which affected the nearby buildings to the point of pulverizing them completely.