Ch. 6: Assault

Then, just as the last robot was destroyed, and everything seemed to be over, the ground beneath them began to tremble.

A low, ominous rumble rose from below. Cracks splintered across the street. The buildings groaned, shifting on unstable foundations.

“Fall back!” Conrad ordered. “Everyone move, now!”

The soldiers scrambled. Dust rose like fog as the earth buckled beneath them. With a deafening roar, the ground gave way—splitting open into a massive crater. Whole buildings collapsed into it, vanishing in seconds.

Debris rained from above as Leo and the others barely leapt across a crumbling ledge, propulsion gear pulling them out of the collapsing zone just in time. Shelvi screamed as she almost lost her footing, and Derwin grabbed her, hauling her back to safety.

But it wasn’t over.

From the smoke and fire of the crater, something emerged—massive, mechanical, and unlike anything they had seen before.

A colossal, floating whale-shaped robot rose from the abyss. Its frame was covered in glowing circuits and massive weapon ports. It hovered, casting a shadow over the ruins like a mechanical god. Its single crimson eye scanned the city.

Conrad’s eyes widened. “We need to hide. Now.”

But it was too late.

The whale’s eye flashed—and with a high-pitched hum, it fired a concentrated laser beam. The blast struck a nearby structure, instantly vaporizing the building and killing several soldiers beneath it.

“Move!” Carolin shouted, pushing Leo out of the way as another beam fired.

Veteran soldiers launched themselves at the recruits, shielding them from the barrage. Explosions roared. Fire lit up the sky.

In seconds, the mission had turned into a massacre.

And now, as they crouched beneath broken steel and rubble, the remaining soldiers realized—

This wasn’t just another wave of robots.

This was a harbinger.

The source was awake.

And it knew they were coming.

The sky had never looked darker, even though the sun still hung high above. The massive metallic whale loomed in the air, gliding soundlessly through the ruined skyline, casting an enormous shadow across the city. Its presence alone was enough to paralyze even the most hardened soldiers with dread. It moved with a deliberate slowness—elegant, yet unstoppable—demolishing every tall building in its path with beams of searing energy.

Back on the ground, bloodied, battered, and breathless, the surviving members of the scouting team were in full retreat. The command came swiftly from Conrad: “Fall back to the Containment Zone. Now.”

No one questioned it.

They fled, stepping over the bodies of fallen comrades they had no time to mourn, no chance to recover. Each soldier knew the cost of lingering too long—death was certain.

As they raced back toward the Containment Zone, the ground occasionally quaked beneath them as the whale’s attacks decimated the remains of the once-great city. Concrete towers turned to molten dust under its relentless lasers, bridges collapsed, and roads split apart.

The closer they got to the Containment Zone, the louder the alarms blared.

Once inside, Conrad didn't hesitate. He ordered a full evacuation of all non-combatants. His voice echoed through the facility's speaker systems:

“This is a Level-Zero Emergency. All non-combatants must evacuate immediately through the underground tunnel network. Proceed to the next Containment Zone. Soldiers will remain to intercept the threat.”

The crowd moved swiftly—families, engineers, medics—all rushing to the tunnels with bags clutched in shaking hands. The youngest recruits from the training unit were assigned to escort them. Keitz, Derwin, and Shelvi were among them, their eyes searching for Leo in the crowd.

But he wasn’t there.

Leo had stayed behind.

He stood at the edge of the city platform, watching the whale grow closer with every passing minute. Carolin found him standing alone, gritting his teeth, hands clenched into fists.

“What now?” he asked, his voice quiet but tense. “What do we do?”

Carolin didn’t answer right away. Her face, usually unreadable, looked genuinely uncertain.

“We’ve never fought something like this before,” she admitted. “Head-on combat is the only known option. But against that… our chances are slim.”

Despite the grim words, Leo didn’t turn away.

Moments later, Conrad stood before the remaining soldiers—what was left of the force—and faced them with steel in his eyes. His coat was torn, a gash across his cheek still bleeding. But his voice rang out, steady and full of fire.

“Listen up!” he shouted.

“A colossal-class robot is heading our way. It will reach us at any moment. We’ve never seen one this massive. And we’re the only line of defense standing between it and everyone still alive in this Zone.”

His gaze scanned the weary soldiers.

“We don’t have a choice. We fight. We throw everything we have at it. And we do not—do not—let it reach the Containment Zone. If we fail, we lose everything. Everything we’ve fought to protect, everyone we've sworn to keep safe. This is it.”

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle in.

“I don’t care if you’re scared. I don’t care if it seems impossible. You will fight with everything you've got. And losing—” his voice boomed, “—is not an option. Is that clear?”

A beat of silence, and then a unified cry from the soldiers:

“Yes, sir!”

The city groaned as the whale approached—closer now, close enough that the air itself trembled with each movement of its monstrous form.

And so, beneath that looming beast and a collapsing sky, the final stand began to take shape.

to be continued…