Chapter 227: (Hesstla) (1/2)
The big robot hurtled into the store, sliding, tearing up tile and plascrete with its claws as it slid to a stop in front of Dambree and her siblings. Tow big tubes attacked to belts popped up out of its back and a hazy curtain of dim light appeared in front of it. The flier jerked back, raising its tentacles, the feeling of malevolent glee vanishing and turning into something that tasted bitter, like ash, on Dambree's tongue.
It roared, opening its jaws and vomiting out greenish fire. The two tubes on the back roared, brass casings flying free, as solid shafts of light connected the new robot to the flier. The flier began jerking, explosions across the front. The lenses and the spotlights shattered, the tentacles blew free, and the flier blew backwards as fire gouted out of the top.
”SIMBA IS HERE!” the new robot repeated over the roar of BRRRRRRRT!
A port opened up on the back left leg and a tube dropped out. The big four legged robot gave a roar of triumph and bounded away, disappearing through the glass and into the night.
The tube made an odd noise. Almost like 'mew' to Dambree's shocked ears. She turned from staring out at the night and looked at the tube in time to see it grow a head and four legs, a tail popping up. It was like the big black one, only smaller and made of shiny metal like durachrome. Little whiskers popped out near its nose as it moved over to Dambree, who pulled her feet back at the touch of the little robot's whiskers.
Her siblings were crying, holding their ears, as the little shiny robot moved next to the them and began rubbing itself against their ankles as it moved back and forth, rubbing against them all. After a moment Tru giggled.
”It tickles,” she laughed. She picked up the candybar and began chewing on it.
Dambree watched as the little robot moved up to her legs and began licking the scrapes and scratches, leaving behind what looked like shiny saliva. The scratches hurt for a second, then tickled and went numb.
'mew mew mew' the little robot said. It gave itself a shake and seemed to grow fur, looking like a munskra, a little furry pet that many of the wealthier Hesstlin had. It moved into Tru's lap and began making a rumbling noise.
That was fine. Dambree wasn't afraid of it any more. She'd always liked robots, and she'd just been saved by a big robot that had left the little one behind.
Dambree got up slowly, looking around for what she was after.
The shelf with the dataslates had been knocked over, most of the dataslates shattered when they had hit the floor. She found one that still had power and turned it on, tucking it into the waistband of her modesty wrap as she looked around again. She found the shirt-printer but the power was gone, the screen shattered, and the liquid plas leaking out of the side to form a puddle on the floor that was sticky as she nudged it with a toe.
”SIMBA IS HERE!” echoed through the night. Repeated from several other directions.
”We need to get moving,” Dambree told her siblings.
”Can I take the mewmew?” Tru asked.
Dambree smiled and nodded. She liked the mewmew. She'd always liked little robots and she liked the mewmew most of all. ”Sure. Grab some nibbles, a sippy, and lets go,” Dambree told them. She came over and picked up Punee, moving back to the car.
Her siblings followed her, Tru holding the mewmew, which was loose in her arms like it wasn't solid, forming a U on her arms, the front and back legs nearly dragging on the ground as it continued to rumble.
Dambree tucked Punee back into her wadded shirt, which smelled like baby mess, popping the tab on another milky and waiting for it to warm up. When it was warm she gave it to Punee and made sure the baby was curled up on her side, sucking on the bottle. Tru and Elu got in, sitting on the floorboards, munching on their nibbles. The mewmew curled up with Punee, still making the rumbling noise.
Dambree unhooked the charging cable, ignored the flashing of ”PLEASE PAY INSIDE”, got in the car, and turned it on. She looked around, wondering where they were.
After a moment she realized it didn't matter where they were, they just had to go somewhere. In the fields the way she had came and to the right there were fliers sweeping the grain fields with searchlights only to be hit with lights that Dambree knew now were guns from the backs of those fast and aggressive robots.
She put it in forward and pulled out onto the dirt road, driving slowly through the darkness. Lights were still streaking down from the sky. Sometimes the object exploded, making more light falling, sometimes the light stopped and Dambree wondered if the object had vanished or stopped burning, other times the object got much brighter before dropping below the horizon or the level of the grain.
The car was still moving, the engine still whining, and she reached out and grabbed a bottle from the case she had put next to her.
She knew her mother and father wouldn't have approved as she popped the top open and took a long drink.
The carbonated alcohol drink was cool and fizzy as she gulped down half the bottle.
The dirt road wound through the grain fields, the only sound was distant explosions, the rumbling of the mewmew, and eventually soft snoring from her siblings.
When she was sure they were all asleep she pulled off in a wide spot, leaving the car idling as she got out. She threw the empty bottle of fizzbrew into the grain, sat on the front of the car, put her face in her hands, and cried.
She felt the furry body of the mewmew wind around her ankles and sat down in the dirt. She felt stupid. Out in the dark, in a car that used to belong to a boyfriend who got his brains sucked out by a giant robot, no shirt, no brassiere, no pants, no shoes, no wallet. She petting the rumbling mewmew as it rubbed itself against her shins.
The dataslate she'd pushed into the waistband of her panties made a pinging noise. Curious, she slid it out and looked at it. It shouldn't have been unlocked or activated since she hadn't run it through the register, but the screen was on.
A triangular head, with triangle ears, big eyes, and whiskers, all made of code, looked at her.
mewmew appeared on the slate at the same time as the mewmew made the noise she had named it after.
She looked down. ”Are you doing that?”
The mewmew head had sparkles and ribbons spray form behind it on the screen.
PATIENT ONE: FEMALE HESSTLIN, 14 YEARS OF AGE, MINOR LACERATIONS AND CONTUSIONS, SEVERE CONTUSION (RIGHT SHOULDER), DAMAGED CARTILAGE (RIGHT SHOULDER), BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL 0.017%
PATIENT TWO: FEMALE HESSTLIN, 9 YEARS OF AGE, MINOR LACERATIONS AND CONTUSIONS, MINOR SCALP SWELLING
PATIENT THREE: MALE HESSTLIN, 11 YEARS OF AGE, MINOR LACERATIONS AND CONTUSIONS
PATIENT FOUR: FEMALE HESSTLIN, 7 MONTHS OF AGE, GAS AND MINOR DIAPER RASH, RUNNY NOSE FROM POLLEN INHALATION, THREE TEETH EXITING GUMLINE
END MEDICAL REPORT
She blinked at the information, then looked at the mewmew again, tapping the screen. ”You did this? You're... a doctor?”
The mewmew on the screen had a nurse's hat fall from offscreen onto its head and a thermometer appear in its mouth.
”A.. a nurse?” Dambree asked.
The mewmew on the dataslate had a green checkmark appear in each eye.
”I don't know what to do,” Dambree said, hoping the little robot had an idea.
A picture of a flier and a stilter appeared on the slate with a small cartoon car driving away really fast.
”Run away? That's your suggestion?” Dambree said, shaking her head. ”Well, I guess I'm getting that right.”
The mewmew head reappeared on the dataslate, the eyes replaced with cartoon beating hearts.
The streaks of light and fire were raining down on the fields again, some of them brightening up. Some of them were shooting at each other.