Losing a Friend

Ba-Zi-Ha took a deep breath. Time was against her. The corrupted robots advanced like a dark tide, their irregular limbs and erratic movements contrasting with the precision of the sentinels guarding the perimeter.

If she stayed there any longer, she would be caught in the crossfire.

"Taratha Tag, we need to move!"

The robot emitted a confirming beep and started to follow her steps as she sneaked through the rubble of the building.

The priority was to avoid the battle and reach the structure where she had seen the blinking light. But as she advanced, she realized that the sentinels were switching to defense mode.

The machines loyal to the old order opened fire on the corrupted ones, turning the area into a real battlefield.

Energy bursts crossed the air, making Ba-Zi-Ha duck instinctively. A shot exploded a concrete block beside her, sending dust and debris flying everywhere. Taratha Tag quickly backed up, adjusting his mobility system to avoid the impact.

"We have to get out of here!" she shouted, gesturing for the robot to follow her. But it was at that moment that chaos separated the two.

One of the remaining structures collapsed with the impact of the shots, creating a deep rift between her and Taratha Tag. The robot tried to jump to the other side, but the unstable ground gave way under his weight, making him slide through a hole in the debris.

"TARATHA TAG!" Ba-Zi-Ha screamed, running to the edge of the crater.

She saw the faint glow of his mechanical eyes blinking among the debris, slowly descending through a tunnel of twisted concrete and metal. Taratha Tag was active, but inaccessible.

He tried to climb, his mechanical arms gripping the unstable edges, but every movement caused more debris to fall, making it even harder for him to ascend.

Ba-Zi-Ha looked around. The firefight between sentinels and corrupted robots was intensifying, and her position was no longer safe. If she stayed there too long, she would be caught in the crossfire.

Swallowing her frustration, she quickly activated the robot's rudimentary communicator.

"Stay there. Don't move too much. I'll come back to get you. Do you understand?"

A weak beep confirmed the message was received. She gritted her teeth, frustrated. There was no time for an immediate rescue. She needed to get out of there first, reassess the situation, and find a way to recover Taratha Tag before he was completely buried.

With one last glance at the hole, she turned and ran into the shadows, taking advantage of the distraction from the battle. Her heart hammered in her chest.

No matter what happened, she would return to get her mechanical companion. But to do that, she had to survive that night.

And find out what that blinking light at the top of the tower really was.

Ba-Zi-Ha, with a sharp mind and a vigilant eye, observed the zombie robots moving in a nearly mechanical rhythm, as if they were following orders she still didn't fully understand.

The factory grounds, dominated by the presence of the Corroding Beetles, were a maze of rusted iron and darkness. Each step she took toward the perimeter felt like an eternity.

The sound of her steps muffled by the heavy, unyielding terrain was far from enough to shake the feeling that something was watching her every move.

She knew this place, the heart of the factory, held more than mere secrets. Here, perhaps, was the key to her survival — and perhaps even to the mystery surrounding this planet.

The Corroding Beetles, disturbing beings that infested the machines and deeper areas, had been her greatest barrier thus far.

But if she had a chance, it had to be now.

With her gaze fixed on the weakest point of the perimeter, she realized that the robots, though possessed, had a predictable rhythm.

The constant movement, though threatening, left openings that could be exploited. Seizing these moments, she slipped through the shadows with almost supernatural precision.

Her camouflage device worked perfectly, but it couldn't keep her hidden for long.

She fired an energy charge at one of the closest robots, causing it to veer off formation and creating a small disturbance.

Meanwhile, another robot, distracted by the glitch in its code, opened a path for her. Ba-Zi-Ha advanced, crawling across the metallic floor with surprising agility, until she reached a secondary entrance.

There, inside the factory, she found something she hadn't expected: more Corroding Beetles, but this time controlling something bigger, something more elaborate.

The true secret of the factory was still ahead, but Ba-Zi-Ha knew that the journey to understand it would be more challenging than she had imagined.

Ba-Zi-Ha advanced through the rusted iron maze with the precision of a predator. The mission was clear: uncover what the factory was hiding, and she was more and more convinced that the key to her survival lay within. But the journey wasn't easy.

The threats were many, and the need to act quickly and cautiously was becoming more apparent.

However, when she reached a secondary entrance, she was interrupted by a sudden thought. That cold thought that infiltrated Ba-Zi-Ha's mind.

The robot. Her partner, the last piece of trust she had in a world where betrayal seemed to be the air she breathed.

She knew she had left her faithful companion behind, waiting, waiting for her return or precisely for her help.

"I can't go on without him," she murmured softly, feeling the weight of the decision.

He was more than just a robot, more than just a metal soldier. He was her friend, her shield, and her sword, always ready to protect her, even when she didn't know what was coming. Leaving him behind was something she couldn't allow.

She needed to find access to that part of the factory where Taratha Tag had fallen.

With the Corroding Beetles assimilating more and more robots and turning them into zombots or zombie robots in every corner, Ba-Zi-Ha knew she would need more than her agility and strategy to face what was coming.

The strange robot, the one that made noise while walking, needed to be brought back. He was not just a machine; he had life, and his presence was essential.

Now, she would need to return to that deeper area, where she had left her partner to be taken unexpectedly, perhaps silently waiting, or not, for her return. It wouldn't be easy to find the way to him, but Ba-Zi-Ha knew her survival depended on it.

Without the robot by her side, she would be vulnerable, exposed to the dangers of that relentless factory.

With determination, she moved forward, leaving the factory's main entrance to look for an alternative route. The challenge now wasn't just facing the perimeter's obstacles, but also ensuring that, upon finding him, the robot would be safe.

She couldn't risk losing the only friend she had left.