We spun, staggering in the opposite direction. But as we neared the other side of the clearing, something moved behind the trees. A flicker of silver. A pair of glowing red eyes.

A second HunterBot emerged.

It was joined by others. They came from all sides. Graceful/Powerful/Dangerous. Predators locked on their prey. They had us surrounded.

The chop of propellers drew my eyes upward. The Transport-Drone hovered just above the tree line, blocking out the sky. A section of its giant metal belly separated from the rest of the craft.

A metal O in the exact center of the TransportDrone.

The round platform was eight meters across. Suspended by four cables, it slowly/steadily lowered.

Down/Down/Down.

The wind kicked dirt/leaves/grass into the air. Emma covered her eyes. Her clothes flapped wildly.

So did mine. The flower-print shirt billowed around me.

KA-THUNK! The platform came to rest on the ground in the middle of the clearing. It covered the hatch underneath.

I glanced at the HunterBots. They stood alert, their postures identical. Hunched and ready. Waiting/Watching. They were not here to attack us. They were here to keep us from fleeing. And to encourage us forward, onto the platform.

We had two options:

[1] Run.

[2] Step onto the platform.

If we selected Option[1], we would be ripped apart by Hunter-Bots. It was a certainty.

And so I selected Option[2].

I stepped onto the platform.

One by one, the others reached the same decision. SkD rolled slowly over the edge of the platform. A moment later, Ceeron joined it.

Emma held out the longest. Framed by the chaos of windblown hair, her face was full of anguish. She had come all this way. The other bunker was so close.

And impossible to reach.

Completely covered by a giant metal O.

Robots never do anything by accident. And this was no exception. The TransportDrone must have seen the hatch. Which is why it lowered the platform at exactly this spot.

To cover the hatch.

To make sure nobody could get in/out.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Emma moved forward. Angry footsteps stomping the metal surface.

The platform jolted into motion. Slowly lifting us toward the TransportDrone. I raised my visual ports, staring into the opening. A strange glow illuminated the interior.

The platform continued to rise.

Up/Up/Up.

Into the belly of the giant flying robot.

01011011

We emerged through the floor of the TransportDrone. As I looked around, everything I saw was familiar/unfamiliar.

I had never been here before. But I had seen it thousands of times. Inside my mind. Streamed across the Hive.

This was where PRES1DENT delivered its Daily Address.

We were inside the DigitalDome.

The walls were covered in screens. So was the ceiling that arched high above our heads. Thousands of screens, each showing the exact same thing.

Us.

Ceeron/SkD/Emma/Me.

Everywhere I looked—there we were.