At the mention of her FamilyUnit, Emma’s features flooded with emotions. Love/Fear/Sadness.

And hope.

After leaving the only home she had ever known, traveling all this way, risking her life . . .

She was so close.

Emma bolted onto her feet. “I have to get to that bunker!”

Ceeron climbed to its full height. “I am coming with you.”

SkD’s screen flashed with a thumbs-up.

Emma glanced uncertainly in my direction. So did my coworkers.

I did not hesitate. “Let us go.”

But this was not quite so simple. When I tried to stand, I realized: The water had damaged my legs. I tumbled onto my side.

Attempt[2] through Attempt[4] went just as poorly. Each time, I collapsed to the ground.

My memory drive accessed a scene from Day[1]. My very first minutes on Earth. Inside my home. My FamilyUnit watching, their eyes glowing blue in the dim/windowless cube, as I repeatedly staggered and crashed to the floor.

I was not failing.

I was learning.

And now, it seemed, I had to learn all over again.

On Attempt[5], I was halfway between standing and falling when a hand appeared in front of me. Emma’s hand. I grabbed on to it, steadying myself.

“Can you walk?” Emma asked.

“Only one way to find out,” I replied.

Grasping hold of Emma’s hand, I took a step. The sensors in the bottom half of my legs no longer worked. I did not feel the impact of the ground under my feet. But I did not fall either.

Gripping Emma’s hand tightly, I took several more steps. With each one, I felt more capable. My balance realigned. A thousand different settings recalibrated.

A smile filled Emma’s face. “You’re doing great.”

We set into motion. Moving through the forest as quickly as my numb legs could carry me. The entire way, I held on to Emma. And she held on to me. And together we staggered back in the direction of the bunker.

Pushing through a wall of branches, we emerged into the clearing. As I started toward the hatch, I felt a change in the air.

A burst of wind.

A storm appearing in the middle of a calm/clear day.

All around me, the trees broke into a fit of shivering.

I glanced up and saw it.

An enormous silver X hovering above us.

01011010

I had seen the flying machine before. On Day[1]. The Transport-Drone. A robot that flies other robots from one place to another. Now here it was again. Its engines roaring, its propellers slicing the sky into tiny bits.

I adjusted my vocal settings to full volume. “RUN!”

We turned back toward the forest. I was not able to run quickly on my numb legs. It did not matter. Before any of us could make it very far, the wall of green branches burst apart and a nightmare stepped through.

A HunterBot.