Just visible around the edge of the building to her left was the back of the tour bus. Dyer had to be around here as well. Maybe he was sleeping? Do AI controlled people sleep? Would she be that lucky?

  She got to her feet and started running, without a particular destination in mind. She jumped over a large silver glowing patch of AI and made it to the other side of the street and kept on going, but the strength was quickly draining from her legs. Another large block like building was coming up, this one not as damaged as the others. Pools of AI metal highlighted large doors. The sign out front confirmed it was a fire station. Without a second thought she turned and ran onto softer ground. She was almost at the entrance when her foot caught on something in the dark and she fell forward, straight for a scattering of silver…

  A fraction of a second before her hands slammed into the ground the AI nanites slid from beneath her and her skin touched nothing other than cold dusty concrete. Instantly she sat up, looking first at her hands which were stinging, studying every wrinkle and crevice for any sign of silver and then on not seeing any looked at the innocent looking substance just a few feet around her.

  Did she imagine it moved?

  “The boss wants you free of nanites,” said Dyer behind her. She yelped and scrambled to her feet and ran the few feet to the glass door and frantically tried to pull it open but it was locked. “Wants you pure. One hundred percent Homo sapien.”

  She spun around while looking at what her other options were to run to. How did he get so close to her without her hearing? She didn’t care and sprinted to her left.

  “Now come on now. Don’t make me chase you all over this place. We got places to go, people to see.”

  His words were lost between the pounding of her heart. If she could just find a weapon of some—

  He slammed into her, pushing her hard into one of the large metal shutters to the station which she bounced off and fell to the ground. Without looking where he was she tried getting back to her feet, but the next impact she only felt for a few seconds before a blanket of darkness fell across her eyes and mind.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “What does that even mean?” Joan’s words were more strained than usual. “Not a ‘human city’?”

  Elias shook his head. “That’s what he said…”

  The RV sat at the side of the road, with a rocky hillside to their right and the glow of the city ten or so miles further up the highway. The headlights were off so not to draw any attention, and everyone gazed in the city’s direction.

  “So the mass murdering teenage boy in your head,” said Noah. “Is saying Albuquerque is run by the machines…” He squinted trying to better see the sparkles in the distance. Mike wanted to protest at the description but this wasn’t the time.

  “He ain’t here anymore,” continued Elias. “Said he can only appear for short amounts of time before he’s back to full juice.”

  Gabe nodded to the city the highway wound through. “And we have to go there?”

  “If that’s what Travis says,” said Mike while looking through his small set of binoculars, but not seeing anything that looked out of place with the buildings and homes not too far away.

  Gabe leaned back in his seat near the side window, just behind a small square table with coffee mug stains then peered out into the desert. “I don’t know about that… seem’s kinda stupid.” He looked at Joan sitting across from him, but she subtly shook her head.

  “And what if your woman—”

  “She’s a fellow agent, not my anything…” said Mike interrupting her.

  “Whatever she is. How do you know she’s in the city? What if your… son is sending us on a wild goose chase.”

  Mike continued scanning the dots of light lost within darkness. She had a point. Travis never mentioned anything about Alexis, but Elias knew why they were out here, and not with the others, so that meant Travis knew. “It must be a good reason why he wants us to go there. We’ll park up outside the city and I’ll head in on foot, no one else needs to come with me.”

  Those in the RV behind him shifted uneasily where they were sitting and standing.

  “Not letting you go in there alone,” said Brad.

  “I’m coming as well,” said Elias. He signed. “He said I have too.” Brillo trotted to the side door and scraped one of his paws against it.

  “Looks like your dog wants a restroom break,” said Joan.

  Elias pushed open the passenger’s door. “Best we get it out of the way now then.”

  A few moments later they were driving slowly along the highway, heading west into the outskirts of the sprawling city.

  “What are those blue-white… streaks up ahead?” said Noah.

  Mike slowed the RV and passed the binoculars to Elias. “Power lines,” said the older man. “I saw the same thing on the way to Roswell. It’s the AI drawing power.”

  From their slightly elevated position they could see a network of blue-white lines criss-crossing the landscape. An electric web perfectly matching the power grid. Mike wondered if there was a robotic spider somewhere in the center.

  “All the lines appear to be moving towards the center of the city,” said Noah. “That’s the brightest area…”

  Mike looked to Elias. “Travis didn’t say anything more than we need to go into the city?”

  “Nope…”

  “Getting ourselves zapped or whatever the AI devil does to people,” said Gabe. “Ain’t going to help find your ‘fellow agent’ is it?”

  Mike ignored the comment and increased the RV’s speed. Dark square and rectangular shapes that were lined up at the side of the four lane road slid past, their windows catching the occasional surge of light from the power cables nearby. Suddenly a burst of sparks exploded above them, making Mike veer to the right then straighten up.

  “Lordy,” said Gabe.

  A pulse of light fizzed away along an electricity line they hadn’t even noticed was there. Mike wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but the hair on the back of his hands and arms was standing erect. Energy filled the air like summer heat, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were entering another world, even though it mostly still looked like the old. “Everyone keep watch for any sign of people, there’s got to be some still left…” He glanced at Elias. “Do you think the AI will know we’re already here?”

  “I wouldn’t bet against it.”

  “Then what’s the point of this!” said Gabe. “Lets turn around and keep on moving west!”

  Mike swerved to the left bumping over the center of the road and then into the exit, which sloped down. “Time to get off the highway.” He slowed as they descended. This part of the city had no light, not even from the power lines, and the beams from the headlights appeared almost solid. They arrived at a junction that was surrounded by a gas station and fast food restaurants.

  Something occurred to Brad. “Where are the cars?”

  It had also been bugging Mike although he hadn’t realized until his friend mentioned it.

  “Maybe the city was evacuated. Everyone left,” said Noah.

  Mike wanted to double down on the young guys optimism, but he knew if he agreed the words would sound too obvious a lie. So instead he remained silent, as did everyone else.

  “Hey there’s a farmers market over there. To our left,” said Gabe. “Be a good idea to get some supplies.”

  Mike looked across to Elias who nodded, then revved the engine and drove left, then into the huge empty parking lot. Small leafless trees broke up the expanse of concrete. The RV stopped directly in front of the large glass doors to the store and Mike turned off the engine. They all sat trying to hear above the sound of their heartbeats for any sign of life around them. The headlights gave some insight into the block-like building directly in front of them.

  “The shelves look full…” said Noah.

  “Good!” said Gabe. “Means we can get some good stuff!”

  “The shelves being full means the people around here didn’t have time to get what they needed,” said Brad. “Either they all left in a hurry or…”

  Mike had been studying the glass doors. “They’re probably locked. We should find a back way in.” He looked at Elias. “Travis still not around?” Elias shook his head. He turned around in his seat. “I need someone to stay here and keep lookout.”

  “I’ll stay,” said Noah. “But I’ll appreciate it if someone could pick me up some painkillers. I gotta splitting headache.”

  Mike pushed his door open and a rush of cold air made him and others pull their jackets tighter. “Will do. Holla on the radio if you see anything happening around you.” As Mike jumped down onto the concrete he questioned taking time out to loot a store, but without any other idea of why his son wanted them to go there, it was as good a use of time as any other. He stood for a moment and looked out towards the city and the strings of white that were visible above rooftops, which combined to a mass of brightness six or so miles to the northwest.

  “What you think is going on over there?” said Gabe.

  “Nothing good.” Mike checked the magazine on his Glock. Two bullets left. More ammo was a priority. Another good reason for their stop. He spotted a hardware store alongside the food market. “You both good going in there and getting what we need?” He said to Gabe and Joan. They both nodded and ran along the sidewalk, disappearing into the darkness around the far left of the building. He didn’t need to mention why he wanted to explore the place next door, to Brad, and with Elias who had picked up Brillo, they moved to their right. Using what light they had from the RV, they skirted the wall until they came to the entrance to ‘Bernies Home Hardware.’ Mike cupped his hand around his eyes to better see inside. The aisles were just as complete as the larger store next-door.

  Brad leaned on the door which swung inwards. He looked back to Mike. “Didn’t even have time to close up.” He entered with Elias. Mike took a quick glance back at the RV which was just a shadow behind the headlights and followed them inside. The air in the store had a faint smell of paint and dry wood. A shopping cart sat on its side, next to a small row of others. Elias picked it up and placed Brillo in it, while Brad grabbed a flashlight from a basket, on offer for only nine dollars, pulled the packet apart and switched it on. He then passed it back to Elias and did the same for himself and Mike.

  “Lets split up, I’ll go right, you go—” Mike’s radio burst with static then Noah’s voice, the former making them jump.

  “There’s a… light moving. Err… Over.”

  “What direction. Over,” said Mike. He and Brad moved back to the entrance and looked out, but could only see darkness and the blur of illuminated lines on the horizon.

  “I… looks like from the city’s direction. It’s just a light, moving slightly… Over.”

  “Is it getting—”

  “Shit… I think it’s coming towards… us… err… me. Over.”

  “I think I see it,” said Brad. “Elven O’clock.”

  Mike pulled his binoculars from his jacket and quickly focused in on the bright point a few miles off. With his enhanced view he could see not one speck of light but a few, which were moving in conjunction with each other, suggesting they were one object. “I… think it’s a vehicle coming this way.”

  “Survivors?” said Brad.

  Mike went to answer but Noah’s voice came from his radio again. “It’s coming straight for the RV. I’ve turned the headlights off, but what shall I do? Over.”

  A number of options went through Mike’s mind as he passed the binoculars to Brad. They all ended bad for whoever was in the RV. “Get out now, run to the hardware store to the right. We’re inside. Over.”

  The sound of the RV’s side door opening and closing echoed around the lot but was soon followed by another sound, one more mechanical and continuous in nature. Noah’s shadowy figure ran towards them.

  “Mike? You there?” said Joan from Mike’s radio.

  “I’m here, stay inside. There’s something coming. Over.”

  “Some thing or someone? Over.”

  “Not sure. Stay there.”

  “Okay. Over.”

  Brad pulled the entrance door towards him and Noah ran inside, then spun around. “Can you see what it is?” said the younger man.

  A screeching clunking sound now filled the night, and beneath it an engine rumbled.

  “What the hell is that?” said Brad looking though the binoculars. He passed them to Mike who understood his friend’s hesitation to label what had entered the road outside the parking lot. He could now see a shape beyond the glare from the machine’s lights. At first he thought it was some kind of construction vehicle, standing double the height of a semi, but as it smashed through a small wall at the edge of the lot, he could see that despite its parts being man made, nothing about it was of human design. Multiple sets of wheels supported different sections of other vehicles, all blended and crumpled together. Towards the front three mechanical arms with claws at their ends, snapped and wavered, then—

  A powerful beam of light swung across the buildings. Mike and the others ducked down just in time before it moved over the front of the hardware store, lighting the interior as if it were day. They all crouched, narrowing their focus because of the ferocity of the beam targeting them, which then slid away.

  Mike looked across to Brad who was looking back at him, his own handgun ready, and Elias had contained Brillo within his own jacket in case the small dog made a noise. Just as Mike edged upwards to see over the top of an advertising hoarding near the front window the air filled with the sound of clashing metal. He ducked back down but not before he caught sight of the machine grabbing the RV and pulling it into itself as if the vehicle they had traveled on was a toy. The sound of crunching and shattering of wood and glass was soon extinguished until just the machines engine could be heard. It revved up, then the clanking, screeching noise increased again. Mike rose once more.

  “I think it’s leaving…”

  His radio came to life with Joan’s voice and he scrambled to reduce the volume, but not before he heard her speak.

  “Guess we know where all the cars and trucks have gone,” she said.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Booms rang out within Denise’s dream. For her they were cannon’s firing across a Napoleonic landscape, but the armies that marched towards each other with their nineteenth century uniforms and bayonets, also had eyes that flared with blue fire. Behind them, large humanoid machines with glowing red eyes fired projectiles into the thick black smoke. She stood marveling at the spectacle playing out in front of her.

  Suddenly she awoke realizing someone was banging on the other side of her office door. She tried to blink the sleep away from her eyes and caught a glimpse of the clock which sat on the wall. It was almost 6 a.m.

  “Yes… yes what is it?” she said.

  “Ma’am, the patients are going crazy, we’re having to restrain them,” said a young male voice. “Doctor Caldez said you would want to know.”

  “Yes, he’s correct. You were right to wake me. Hold on, I’ll come down with you.”

  A short while later she was descending to one of the lower levels, deep within the mountain. These floors were meant to be where a thousand could hold up in case of a nuclear attack, but currently only held around a few hundred people, sixty of which were those that had been found to be able to withstand the AI’s attack.

  The elevator door slid back and immediately Denise could hear the muffled shouts and screams from beyond the door at the end of the hallway, despite it being five inches thick. She let out a slow breath and walked forward with the young private who nodded at another guard outside, and then the door was opened and she gasped at the chaotic scene within the large dining area. A middle-aged man was being held by two soldiers while screaming, a woman was fighting another uniformed man with a chair, while others were running or rocking back and forth.

  “Denise Reed!” shouted someone to her right.

  She looked to Constance Nygen and Kevin Riley both crouched behind a table, then ran to them, while the solder joined in trying to calm those in the room. Kevin was grasping his usual notebooks, while Constance had her small backpack. Denise crouched with them. “What’s happening? Why is everyone so upset?”

  “He’s coming!” said Constance with a pained expression Denise had rarely seen on the young girl.

  “Who?”

  Constance went to talk but Kevin pushed forward a scrunched up piece of paper Denise hadn’t noticed he was holding. She carefully unraveled it. Her mouth fell open on seeing the beautifully sketched landscape full of marching soldiers and large beings behind them. She looked at Kevin. Had he seen inside her dream? “Where did you see this?” He looked down.

  “The machine man is sending soldiers here,” said Constance. “To get us. He wants to kill us.” She looked beyond Denise to the others. The doctor went to respond then realized there was silence behind her. Denise slowly turned. The fighting had stopped. Everyone was looking at her.

  Footsteps from the hallway outside broke everyone’s attention, and a flurry of soldiers ran into the room, causing all of the patients to back away slowly. General Corolla entered behind them. He looked across to Denise. “What the hell is going on down here?”

  She stood then walked to him. “We need to talk.”

  Corolla looked past her to the other doctor behind. “Everything under control?” Caldez nodded, and the general looked back to Denise. “Come with me.” She followed him along with two guards that appeared to follow him everywhere back to the room she was in the night before, although this time it was just him and her. He immediately went to the back of the room and typed on a keypad that she hardly noticed, and a small door opened revealing a small space built into the rock. He pulled out a binder, turned and slid it all the way along the long conference table until it stopped just in front of her.