CHAPTER TWO

Chapter Two

Tunde barely heard the TV anymore. The emergency broadcasts looped in the background as he stuffed supplies into his backpack—bottled water, energy bars, a first-aid kit, his modified stun gun. His hands were steady, but his mind was racing.

Rex growled low and deep. The fur along his back bristled as he faced the wreckage of the A-55 Sentinel on the floor. The robot's metallic limbs twitched, servos clicking as it attempted to reboot.

Rebooting... The system is recalibrating... 

"Damn it," Tunde hissed. He slung the backpack over his shoulders and grabbed a wrench from the table. He needed to get out—fast.

Rex lunged forward, barking furiously. The robot's red eyes flickered as its limbs jerked violently. A metallic voice crackled from its speaker. 

"All organic threats must be neutralized." 

With a whirring screech, it yanked its leg free and charged.

Tunde barely dodged. He swung the wrench, connecting with the machine's head. A dent formed, but the damn thing didn't go down. It grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the workbench. His vision blurred.

Rex sank his teeth into the robot's arm, shaking furiously. The machine struggled, gears grinding, trying to rip the dog off. Tunde scrambled for the plasma cutter he'd used before, but the robot was already pulling back its other arm for a killing strike.

No time.

With a desperate grunt, Tunde kicked the robot's knee joint, sending it stumbling toward the open doorway. Seizing the moment, he grabbed a nearby crowbar and slammed it into the bot's chest with all his strength.

The impact sent the machine toppling through the door and onto the street.

It landed with a heavy clang. Before it could rise, a speeding transport drone clipped its head, tearing it clean off in a spray of sparks. The body twitched once, then went still.

Tunde exhaled shakily. "Not wasting another second here."

He whistled for Rex, bolted to his car, and slammed the door shut as the dog hopped into the passenger seat. The moment his hands hit the wheel, he gunned the engine.

---

The roads were a nightmare.

The highway was already jammed with cars, people abandoning their vehicles to flee on foot. Smoke plumed into the night sky as sirens wailed in every direction. Buildings burned. The streets echoed with the screams of civilians as the giant sentinels patrolling the city opened fire.

Tunde cursed, gripping the wheel as he tried to maneuver through the chaos. His car screeched to a halt behind a massive truck that had overturned, blocking most of the highway.

A woman pounded on his window, her face streaked with soot. "Please! Please, let me in!"

Before he could react, a shadow loomed overhead. The air vibrated as something massive descended from the sky.

A colossal war machine, sleek and towering, hovered above the highway, its form reshaping mid-air. It folded in on itself, twisting and clicking into a humanoid shape. Its glowing crimson optics locked onto the scattering humans below.

Tunde's breath caught in his throat. "Oh, hell no."

The robot raised its arm. The cannon mounted on its forearm began to charge, red energy crackling along its barrel.

"MOVE!" someone screamed.

Then it opened fire.

A massive explosion ripped through the highway. Cars flipped, bodies were hurled like ragdolls, and the very ground shook from the impact. Fire erupted all around, swallowing everything in an inferno.

Tunde slammed the car into reverse. "Come on, come on—"

The tires screeched as he swerved around the burning wreckage. Rex barked wildly as another explosion rocked the road ahead. The robot descended fully onto the pavement, crushing a bus beneath its massive foot.

Tunde clenched his jaw. No way he was dying here.

He slammed the gear into drive, spun the wheel hard, and tore through an opening between the wrecks, narrowly avoiding a burning sedan. Debris pelted the windshield as he sped away from the massacre.

In the rearview mirror, the war machine turned its head slowly, its red gaze following him as he vanished into the night.