“The rains hadn’t stopped since the machines took control” Jed said peering out of the old bunker, he had done his best to try and convince the high commissioner not to rely solely on robots.

The landscape looked gloomy with a veil of grey hanging over the city; so many people had either been killed or taken prisoner and sent to work in the mines underground for Sable the robot leader. He had been the main instigator in the rise of the machines.

Jed and Cody had joined the small group of rebels trying to fight back; there were still pockets of resistance throughout the city.

  “We are going to have to move away from here before we are discovered!” Cody whispered.

Jed didn’t look too impressed with the idea listening to the continuous patter of rain on the ground outside but reluctantly agreed. “There is another safety shelter on the other side of the city but it’s just a chance in trying to reach it”

He looked at the other people who had managed to hunker down with them; they were a mixed bunch with a young mother called Peta trying to protect her young daughter called Sky, two men who used for the old regime who had managed to abscond called Reece and Duane and last a couple called Tam and River who had formed an instant bond with Jed and Cody and had fled the recent battle ground in terror.

  “What about them?” Jed asked. “We can’t just leave them behind”

Tam had been listening to their conversation and looked scared. “If you are planning on leaving can we all go together?”

  “There is no point in leaving anyone behind but the decision has to be down to the individual, who is in agreement in trying to reach the other bunker?”

Jed looked around at the group of faces staring back at him, each person nodded in agreement.

  “In that case we all need to stay close together; there should be other people in the other bunker”

The bunkers had originally been built for the old wars where humanity had battled against itself before using the machines to do the dirty work. Cyborgs had been constructed and armed to wipe out the enemy but had turned rogue. Their leader Sable had decided that robots and machines would unite against the humans and managed to strangle the communication of phones and computers. It was a significant step towards the machines taking over the world and things had never been the same since.

Taking a tentative step outside the group pulled the hoods from their old coats tightly around to give them some protection from the acid rain.

The city looked like an old relic battle scarred of what it had once been, urban decay was in the air wherever they looked with derelict flats and broken shop windows as far as the eye could see.

Jed led the mini procession along a desolate alley way leading off the street towards the canal; he had played in this area as a young boy so knew it well. In the distance they were aware of a bright light were a robot was using its bright beam to scan the area which was under constant watch night and day. Cody stayed close to him feeling vulnerable and hoped that they wouldn’t be seen.

Reece and Duane had agreed to stay at the back in order to protect Peta and her young daughter Sky, Tam and River stayed behind Jed and Cody watching their every move. With an ashen coloured sky there was a sombre feeling in the group but they followed their new leader.

 “Do you really think that we are going to make it?” Cody whispered in his ear.

Jed unconvincingly nodded and scanned the street ahead. “If we follow that street down by the warehouses it should take us around the outskirts of the city where we can link up with the main street leading to the other bunker”

A drone silently flew over and the group held their breath, the scanning laser passed inches in front of them and continued on its way.

  “That was close!” Tam whispered.

Giving themselves a couple of minutes to recover from the shock they continued to pick their way through the debris until they reached the main street which had once represented the heart and soul of the city with shop windows which were now broken all in a row. A relic of an old cinema that had once stood proud was the closest building to them looking dilapidated. Cracks in the pavement were allowing strange looking weeds to grow through giving it a wild feel.

  “Just how far to the bunker now?” Reece asked.

 “We just need to follow this long street now and keep out of sight but with a bit of luck we should be there soon” Jed said optimistically.

It gave the group optimism and they continued to walk down the street and they soon reached the bunker, Jed called down to the invisible occupants who instantly peered through the slotted window.

 “Come in we are glad to see you” a voice boomed out, moving around to a narrow doorway they waited until the metal door opened, once they were all inside it was obvious that this bunker was huge. Optimism suddenly poured through the little group as the fight back had begun!

 

 “Jed it’s time to wake up!?” Cody shouted.

He stretched rolling over in bed to see a beautiful sunny day with his wife looking worried. “I tried to wake you from your deep sleep but you seemed to be dead to the world, we have to prepare for my parents coming to dinner”

He shivered and wiped the sleep out of his eyes. “I have just had one of the strangest dreams ever! We need to get rid of that robotic cleaner!”

Cody gave him a sideways glance trying to understand if he was being serious or not!?