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How long had it been? One year, five years or perhaps even ten years that had
managed to pass him by. In the beginning it had been important to him to
record the passage of time, a means for him to hold onto his sanity, until
slowly he forgot about it, lost in his thoughts of what had once been.

There, somewhere to his right, his mind alerted him.

 Heightened reflexes propelled him into action, keen eyes trained upon the
pile of rubble where only seconds before there had been some small sign of
activity. Stone and mortar trickled down on the graveyard of walls, marking
the decay of the once proud structures that had ruled this city.

 In what seemed to be no more than a wishful dream he was able to recall the
beauty of this town that had once been home to thousands, that was until all
hell had broken loose. Now he was all that was leftover from the race that had
built these magnificent monuments. He was the only survivor from his race,
alone in his struggle to survive against a new-found enemy.

 Somehow the metal beings that had once been built to serve mankind had known
what was about to happen and had prepared for the final day in the planet's
current chapter of the history book. They had started their own chapter, one
without any of his kind in it. That was why he was so cautious on the outside,
somehow they knew that he was still alive, and that was a situation that they
wanted changed.

 That didn't stop him from coming to the surface though, for deep inside he
still hoped that there were other survivors. There had to be others or
otherwise his survival was for nothing. In the months that he had been
searching for then, he had played countless scenarios over and over in his
preparing himself as to how he would act, how they would as a group react and
how they would take back what was theirs.

 Time to move on, he had been standing there for way to long thinking about
how things had used to be. He was doing that more often these days, sometimes
floating so far away into his dream that when he came to he had no idea where
he was or how he had gotten there.

 The shadows had become his close friends during his trips to the outside, he
clung closely to them as he darted from one building to the other, his weapon
at his side ready for the metal others if they decide to attack him.

A large boom resounded in the still air.

Somewhere behind him, he knew that the noises must have come from there,
enshrouded within the confines of the numerous echoes reverberating from wall
to wall.

 Cowering against one of the stone pillars that still managed to rise forth
from the ground to touch the sky, he surveyed the area from where the noise
had come.

Nothing!

 He sighed and lowered the rifle which itself seemed to sigh, as if sadden at
having missed the excitement of some action.

 Wait there to the right side, the shadow was wrong. Was that the way that his
shadows looked when he was hiding, somewhat bulkier and darker in its texture?
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 In the shadows there appeared to be something crouched over, watching the
area that was his own shadowy retreat. There was something wrong with the
shadow; something that pushed at his thoughts, alerting him to the fact that
it couldn’t be one of the androids that roamed the area. Could it be, after
all this time, another survivor?

 He wanted to run out and embrace the shadow, to feel the warmth of other
beings like himself, to feel the blood pulse through their body and remember
how it had once been. As much as he wanted to leave his hiding place he could
not, the androids had been getting tricker of late and there was every chance
that this was yet another one of their attempts to dispose of him. But still
the shadow looked wrong.

 Instead he contented himself with crouching the shadows, watching his
new-found anomaly, waiting to see what would happen. He was sure that he would
be able to out wait the other until they made the mistake that would lead him
to discover their identity. As he waited he started to daydream of what it
would be like if there were other survivors.

 Perhaps they were scouts from their community that lay in waiting somewhere
for others to join them until they were strong enough in numbers to take back
the world, their world, from the robots and computers that now controlled it.
Maybe there were females in their group, females without a partner. It had
been some time but he was certain that he remembered in full the warmth and
love that was shared between a couple.

 He had once been a couple, before the madness that consumed his world took
his other half away and left him feeling incomplete, alone and guilty for
surviving his mate. What had been her name he wondered, invisible fingers
probing his mind for that singular piece of information that had been filed
away years ago. But it was lose to him, hidden far away to protect him from
the pain that it would conjure up with it.

Bang.

 His mind jumped back into action, he had been away again caught up in his
fantasies, but for how long. How long had he just been sitting there day
dreaming? Fear started to creep its way into his mind, body odours changing to
match the new emotion that was taking control while conditioned eyes probed
the shadows to try and find the anomaly that had previously been the centre of
his attention.

 It was no longer there; having slipped away at some stage while his mind had
been wandering. How long though? How long had it been since the bulge had
disappeared and why had it decided to move?

 Surely if it had been one of the robots it would have eventually made him out
from the darkness and then attacked, but he was still alive. Should he stay
where he was or should he try and move on and out manoeuvre whatever it was
that was out there.

Crunch.

 Something was approaching; crunching rubble underfoot as it approached. It
was too clumsy, or was that arrogant in not trying to disguise its approach,
for a human. So now there were two of them out there, the first one having
called for reinforcements before deciding to attack. He had so hoped that it
had been another human, but those hopes where now dashed, buried under the
rubble that surrounded him.
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 It was time for him to fight for his survival yet again in this wilderness
that was his home. His trusty laser rifle was primed and ready for action
against both the approaching and hidden figures, all that he had to do was
wait until they both came into view again.

 His sense of hearing had become more developed since the disaster, his only
means of tracking as his sense of smell was no longer really required, the
robots giving forth no odours that would identify them. So he lay in wait his
ears primed for the first sign of the enemy.

 It wasn't long before the robot had made its way through the rubble to stand
in the small clearing just outside his hiding place, the clearing had once
been referred to as an alleyway, now it was nothing more than home to decaying
buildings. His rifle rested on a small mound of rubble that gave him ample
protection from the robots heat sensors. Every few seconds he dared to steal a
glance at the clearing and his intended victim, preparing himself mentally for
his planned attack.

 Satisfied that he was ready to engage his target he popped his torso out from
its hiding place and rested the butt of the rifle into his right shoulder,
receiving a sense of comfort from its snug fit.

 The metal shell was looking in the other direction, probably trying to trace
the heat trace that was left over from when he had been not to long ago, or
ever trying to locate its companion for clarification of their intended
target.

 Not that it really mattered to him except for the fact that it made his job
even easier it his target wasn't looking in his direction. Slowly his
breathing became more regulated as he stared through the small sight on the
end of the barrel lining it up for a clean kill.

 He had learned long ago that the most vulnerable part of the metal assailants
was the small tubing that lay exposed on what was the equivalent of the
robot's neck. This tubing acted like the artery delivering life-giving fluids
to the robot's main processors, without these fluids the robot perished within
seconds.

 Just as he was about to squeeze the trigger that would signal the removal of
the life force that was the robot something completely unexpected happened.
From the first floor of the building on the other side of the clearing a giant
piece of mortar broke loose from its confines and plummeted to the ground
taking the robot with it in its death march.

 It seemed as though luck was with him today, as now he needed not to worry
about the charge up time needed for his rifle before trying to take out the
other figure wherever it was.

 Scanning the decay to try and locate the missing shadow he let his curiosity
carry his eyesight to the place from where the boulder had broken free from
its confines, the sight that met his prying eyes made his heart skip a beat.
There in the frame of what had once been a window was another human, a
survivor like himself, a female survivor.

 Long unused vocal chords tried to come to life. At first only allowing a
release of empty breath until at long last he found himself able to call to
the figure that had captured his view, all the time he had started moving out
into the open without ever releasing it, eyes never leaving the female form
above him. Moisture gathered on his cheeks from puffed up eyes, and still he
did not lose sight of the other survivor.
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 "Hello," he whispered at first, his first spoken word for so long only to
repeat that singular word of greeting again and again until he was shouting it
out, the strange sound of a human voice bouncing around the empty buildings
which had once been so full of life.

 Tears of joy were flowing freely, salty trails running from his eyes down
stained cheeks catching themselves in the corners of his mouth. He was no
longer alone in this dying world.

 The woman looked down at him, the joy of seeing someone else exposing itself
upon her dusty features. Sunlight glistened from the fresh tears that she was
also shedding.

 "Wait there," she finally managed to command him, seconds later disappearing
in the dark room, moments later to re-emerge into the clearing were he stood
waiting for her. Time stood still as the two figure stood amongst the rumble
and looked at each other neither one wanting to break the magic of the moment,
each scared that the other was nothing more than an illusion.

 Slowly they moved closer to each other, each step taken with care until
finally they stood next to each other, close enough to smell the heavenly
fragrance of their counterpart, to feel the warmth of their breath against
their exposed cheeks.

 So they remained until finally the emotion of the moment took control and
they embraced. Tear choked laughter echoed throughout the alley as the two
interlocked figures danced to some unheard music.

 "You're real." he finally gasped releasing his grip on her slightly, no
longer afraid of her disappearing like a mirage on the distant horizon.

 "Yes, we're both real. Oh god I thought that I was the only one left, besides
the robots that was."

 "I know what you mean. Christ it's great to speak to someone again, I'd
almost forgotten what it was like. For awhile I started having conversation
with myself thinking that it would stop me from going mad, instead it started
to have the opposite affect so I stopped and haven't really spoken since. I'm
glad I remember how."

"I'm Judith by the way. What's you name?"

 Names. He hadn't used names for so long, he knew that he had one but it was
buried away somewhere in the back of his mind. What was it? Deep lines etched
themselves across his forehead as he strained to remember who he was.

 "John, John Chester Watts. My name is John Chester Watts," he almost shouted
out, actions that produced a burst of laughter from both himself and the woman
standing next to him.

 The stream of sunlight that once filled the clearing was slowly starting to
dissipate, blocking out a dark rolling cloud line on the distant horizon. One
of the now typical electrical storms was heading their way, in the distant the
crash of thunder marked its progress.

 "Com'on we'd better get out of here, there's a storm brewing and it's not
wise to get caught in one. My place isn't to far from here, we'll be safe
there."
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 Off in the distance the sky exploded with a bright mixture of red and yellow
followed closely by an ear splitting boom that almost made you feel as though
the earth had just been ripped apart. Judith flinched at the sound as if
somehow it had brought with it a flood of some painful memories that would
otherwise have remained hidden deep inside.

 Together they raced through the rubble strewn streets one step ahead of the
storms destructive power, both of them having lived in this new world long
enough to know that anything that got caught in one of the electrical storms
that reeked havoc on the planet was a goner.

 John had escaped his first contact with one of the robots that scoured the
countryside during a storm. He had tried hiding from the robot in what was
left of a small shopping complex. From his hiding place he was able to witness
the destructive force of the storm first hand.

 What could only be called a fire bolt had broken forth from the dark storm
clouds and struck the robot with tremendous force, the resulting explosion
causing all of the store windows to be blown out. After the storm had passed
he left the safety of his hiding place to inspect the damage, what he saw
outside was enough to make him realise that being outside in one of these
storms was not a smart idea. What had once been a paved mall was nothing more
than a large crater several feet deep and wide.

 That was then though and this was now and they   needed to reach shelter from
the storm quickly. Another explosion lit up the   rolling darkness, splashes of
red decorating an otherwise dismal skyline. All   the time they were running as
though the hounds of hell were nipping at their   feet.

 John came to an abrupt halt outside of a semi-decayed building and signal to
Judith that they had arrived at their destination. On the wall of the building
lay the remains of a sign which simply read 'mmon ealt ank'.

 The building, unlike the ones where they had met, consisted of only one
floor. Gaps appeared in what had once been the ceiling, parts of it have caved
in from the force of the storms and its being neglected for so long.

 Judith tugged at John’s arms trying to pull him back outside of the building.
Realising the reasoning for her concern he quickly tried to reassure her that
they would be safe here.

 "At the back there is a steal room which can be sealed and released from the
inside, I think that they use to call it a safe." He paused half way through
his explanation trying to remember what it was that this building has once
been, his mind having long ago shut out all of the irrelevant information that
was no longer needed for his survival. "Funny how you start to lose images
that were once associated with certain words after a while."

 In the distance another fireball let lose its devastating power, no doubt
leaving behind yet another scar on the landscape. There was no more time to
argue the point of safety, either the room where they were heading was safe or
not.

 Once inside John pulled the thin metal door closed enclosing the two bodies
within a blanket of darkness. Eyes tried without success to adapt to the
darkness in vain, its veil of black so thick in its construction to blot out
all forms of natural light.

 From within the gloom that had surrounded them, Judith could make out the
sounds of querying hands searching for some secret treasure hidden deep inside
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the metal confines that surrounded them. Their goal achieved the probing
noises were replaced with the fumbling sounds of fingers in search of a switch
or other such device that required some coaxing to bring it to life.

 Light flooded into the darkness forcing it to release its grip and retreat
into the unseen corners and alcoves were the light was unable to reach. With
outstretched hands, Judith reached out towards the source of light only to
quickly pull back upon finding no heat emanating from it.

 "It's an artificial light source, not a fire," John informed her trying hard
to hide the reverberations of laughter that pulled at his words. "It runs on a
battery that gets its power from the sun, there were lots of these things
where I worked."

 Pain ripped through his lower torso at the mention of his work to be slowly
replaced by numbness seconds later. Fear pumped through his body as hands
darted to legs which could no longer be felt, only to find them where they had
last been.

 As quickly as it had arrived the moment passed, the warmth of freshly flowing
blood alerted him of the return of feelings within his legs. Absently his mind
shrugged off the feelings that had just gripped him, certain in the fact that
it was nothing more than a pinched nerve or something like that and he
returned his attention to his guest.

 "Welcome," he remarked, open arms gesturing to their surroundings. "It's not
much but I call it home."

 "It's nice. I don't have a, " a small pause punched its way into Judith’s
dialogue, a momentary lapse before she continued, "a home, haven't had one for
a long time."

 "How did you survive?" It had been the one question that he had wanted to ask
from the moment that they had met, and now for the first time he had the
chance to do so. Secretly he hoped that she had managed to survive due to some
very simple reason, that way there was the chance that perhaps there were more
survivors after all.

 "My father had built a shelter years ago, lead lined I think he had said.
Anyway when the first bomb was dropped he herded us together into the shelter.

 After a week had passed my father had released one of the animals he had in
the shelter to see what it was like on top, he had a camera installed so he
could see the surface. When the animal survived on the surface for two full
days my father said it was safe to exit the shelter."

 "You mean that you survived with others. Where are they now?" excitement
edged its way into his question; there were more survivors out there.

 Silence greeted his question, and as each second pass from his having asked
it he started to dread the answer more and more. Finally the silence was
broken and explained.

 "We were ok for the first few days, at night we would gather in the shelter
and eat while during the day we searched for others, the first to got missing
was my brother Thomas. He just went out one day and never returned. I think
that the robots found him.

 My father decided that in future we were to go in groups when looking for
survivors so as to provide protection for the others. A week later I was
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unable to join the others as they searched because I had caught some sort of
cold, it was the first time that I saw one of the storms.

 You see my father had left the camera on and I saw it all happen. One minute
they were just standing there and the next fire exploded on the screen and
there was nothing left."

 She paused in the telling of her tale momentarily to take a sip from the
drink that John had offered to her; the moisture relieving dried lips. Her
thirst quenched she continued with her story.

 "My fever worsted over the next few days and my memory is vague about what
happened during the weeks where I was ill, at one point I thought that I saw
some robots trying to enter the shelter only to be destroyed by another one of
the storms. It was almost as though the storm knew that there was something
there to destroy.

 After the fever broke I decided to stay in the shelter and not go to the
surface again, I had enough food to keep me going for awhile. I don't know how
long I stayed there all I know is that I’ve been here for as long as I could.
At some stage the power failed and I had to make a fire to provide any light
and heat in the shelter, I guess it must have been winter outside at the time,
either that or I was still under the influence of the fever.

 Eventually my food supplies ran out and I had no choice but to go to the
surface to try and find something to eat. At first finding food wasn't a
problem, but later it got more and more difficult. During one of my trips to
the surface I saw a group of robots herded other survivors together, only to
kill them were they stood."

 Again she paused and lifted the glass to her mouth, sense relishing the
tastes that assailed them, as she did so John found himself remembering having
seen similar sites during his journey on the outside. His train of thought was
broken by the sound of Judith's voice as she continued her throat once again
renewed.

 "It was at that point that I guessed at what had happened to Thomas, he had
been a computer scientist before and I'm certain that if he had seen the
robots he would have approached them thinking that they were there to help
him.

 I guessed that I panicked a little at what I saw because I started to run,
not really seeing where I was going, by the time I realised this it was to
late and I was lost. Everything looked different from before, you know with it
all being empty and not looked after I couldn't tell what was what from my own
home town.

 So I started to make my way through the ruins, eating whatever I could find,
evading the storms and robots however I could, eventually I started to kill
them like that one today. How about you?"

 There was something about her story that puzzled him, it was almost as though
he knew exactly what it was that she was going to say before she said it, but
before he had the chance to quiz her about it he had become the centre of
attention.

 Strangely he found himself wanting to relieve his life story to this woman
who sat across from him. It was comforting to know that he was able to finally
tell his tale to someone, in some ways it made it all seem worthwhile to have
survived.
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 "I was a marine biologist before the war, if you can call it that I'm still
not certain what actually happened. Anyway I had been on a dive and had been
forced to surface too quickly; needless to say I was automatically placed
inside a decompression chamber to stop me from getting the bends.

 It was during the time that I was in the chamber that the bombs were dropped,
something in the lining of the chamber must have saved me. Unfortunately it
did not save me from seeing what was happening on the outside. One minute my
colleagues were gathered in front the small glass window looking in on my
progress, the next thing they were engulfed in an intense white light. It was
so bright that I thought that I had seen their skeletons shine through their
skin, the next thing I knew they were gone.

 When my body had been pressurised the door to the chamber popped open and I
was able to leave it. Outside the chamber were a number of dust piles, it was
all that remained of my colleagues. I guessed at the time that it must have
been a neutron bomb that was used, in theory the bomb was able to wipe out all
life while leaving buildings and other structures intact. I never thought that
one had actually been built, let alone that it would ever be used.

 Anyway I made my way through the building trying to find out if there was
some other survivors, we had a number of lead lined rooms within the complex.
My search was in vain, though I did come across something that made me wonder
as to what had actually happened.

 We had a lot of deep-sea robots that we used for our research and during my
search of the building I came across the room in which this robots were kept.
Inside the room I saw the robots working on modifying themselves, you know
adding limbs and other sorts of attachments.

 I'm not sure if it was a result from exposure to the neutron particulars or
if there was something else at work, but whatever it was the robot's seemed to
have achieved some level of consciousness."

"What, do mean that the robot's or computers started all of this?"

 "I'm not sure, all I know is they knew what they were doing and now we're
being hunted down and killed like humanity in a form of pestilence."

"But how, how were they able to change without anyone noticing?"

 It was something that he had asked himself more than once during the passing
years and still he had not really found an answer that he was happy with. "Who
knows? Christ we were experimenting with everything and half of the time no
one knew what he or she was doing. I'm surprised that it didn't happen sooner
to be honest."

 It was the best answer that he could give, and the sad fact was that it was
probably the truth. Somewhere, before everything was blasted from existence
some fool was probably experimenting with artificial intelligence and had
managed to create a system that thought for itself.

 That machine would have been born with an almost infinite amount of
knowledge, but without the ability to recognise the basic difference of right
or wrong. You don't go and give a loaded gun to a new-born child.

 Seeing the effects that his postulation had on Judith, John decide it was
best to return to his tale of survival. He knew from his own experiences that
trying to figure out just what went wrong was enough to drive a person insane.
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 "Anyway I decided that it was best that I leave the building as soon as
possible, and armed. I got this from one of our research labs and left to see
if I was able to find anyone else. Up till now you're the only person that
I've come across.

 I actually tried to see if some form of radio communication still worked, but
it appears that the storms have a high electrical structure and I was unable
to get any messages out."

"So it would appear that we are all that's left."

 "I don't think that I'd go that far. I mean if we have managed to survive
here surely others must have survived in other countries and when the storms
stop"

 "Stop," Judith interrupted, anger tinting her voice, "stop. You know just as
well as I do how long these storms have been going on. It's not a matter of
days, or weeks, we're talking about years. There's no way to know when one's
going to hit 'cause they're always coming out of nowhere, and you expect them
to stop long enough so that you could cross oceans or large plains of
nothingness. You're crazy."

 "Maybe I am, god knows this is more than enough to drive anyone insane, but I
can't give up. Not after surviving for so long, otherwise I've survived all of
this for nothing, if that was true then I would really go insane."

 Silence forced its way into the makeshift shelter while outside the storm
raged on. Sometimes the storms would last for days, there were other times
were it was over within a matter of seconds. By the sound of the activity
going on outside it sounded like this one was going to last for a good few
hours.

 It would be well into the night by the time it was finished, John thought to
himself remembering back to a time when you use to be able to tell how long a
rain storm would last by the smell that came forth from the greenery around
you.

Greenery? Rain?

 The two words stuck in his mind, there was something important about them, or
the lack of them, but he was unable to remember what it was and there were
more important things to worry about. With a shrug of his shoulders he
dismissed it from his mind and returned his attention to his guest.

 The light danced across her face playing that long forgotten feeling that
dwelled inside of him. Images of times past flooded through his mind only to
be washed away by a new wave of memories.

 "We may as well settle in for the night, by the sounds of things the storm
will last for a few hours more and it's not wise to be caught on the streets
after dark. You can sleep over there," he stated pointing to the other corner
of the room from were his sleeping gear lay. "I have some extra sheets that
you can use."

 "Wait." Judith raised her head and looked towards him, was it his imagination
or did her eyes sparkle for just a second.

 "Yes?" he was puzzled by her sudden change of character, it felt almost
artificial, but what was reality these days.
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 "Do you think that I might lie next to you? I miss being with someone, I mean
in the same space as someone else and I don't really wish to sleep so far
away, not tonight."

 There was something to her plea that struck a chord with him. Wasn't he just
feeling the same way? All this time he had been on his own and now when he had
finally met another person and he was about to banish that person to the
opposite corner of the room they now shared.

 The moment required no words, the simple nod of his head being capable of
voicing a million words. Outstretched arms marked the end of a long drought of
loneliness. Together their joined frames lay out on the cold floor, slow
rhythmic breathing counting time to inaudible music.

 For the first time John Chester Watts truly started to believe that there was
hope after all. Perhaps somewhere else on this planet there were other
survivors huddled together waiting out the storm's passing, all eagerly
awaiting the sun's rise in the morning.

 With these thoughts flowing through his mind the night took him on his
journey of sleep to dream dreams of what could be.

 When he awoke he was only able to assume that it was morning outside, no
light being capable of creeping into his abode. One thing that he was certain
though was that the storm had passed by and he was hungry.

 Judith's head rested on his chest providing a comforting weight and even
though neither of them had had the luxury of a proper bath in some time, her
scent was still heavenly. He was no longer alone.

 He was more than content to lay there with her head peacefully resting on his
slowly rising and sinking chest, but his stomach had different thoughts as its
protests started to echo with the steel room.

 "I guess it's time to get up." Judith half-jokingly stated a singular hand
moving to his disgruntle stomach, "Besides I don't think that I'll be able to
sleep through that noise."

 John started to chuckle at her witticism, only to burst into a roar of
laughter as her own stomach joined with his in their urgent request for
feeding. Laughter filled the room, both of them relishing the moment of their
being together.

"Com'on, I know this great little restaurant just a couple of blocks away."

"Is there somewhere where I can clean up."

 "What?" the question had caught him by surprise, personal appearance had not
mattered to him after the first few weeks were he had found himself alone. It
had also made him question his own outward appearance, a quick brush of his
hands confirm at least a fairly decent growth of facial hair making him wonder
just how he looked with a beard.

 "I don't want to be seen out with what be the last man on earth looking like
a mess. What would people say?" Her new bout of humorous remarks unleashed a
new round of laughter, the two of them pointing to the various oddities in the
others hair or apparel.

"I guess I won't mind cleaning myself up a little either, it might make me
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feel a little more civilised. I think I saw somewhere just down the road where
there was all sorts of things like razors and hairbrushes"

 He marvelled at how well they got on, sure she was slightly outspoken, but
still they seemed to share the same sense of ironic humour. It was almost as
though they had been made for each other.

"Shall we then."

 The ravages of the evening storm was quickly apparent, what had once been
nothing more a few small holes in the ceiling above where now large gapping
scars, rubble scattered across the tiled floor. Careful they picked their way
through the rumble and into the street outside.

 Was it his imagination or did the air smell sweeter now, reminisce of the way
it would smell after a rain storm, not that that was actually possible but
still the fragrance was there. His mind wanted to play with all of the data
that it add accumulated concerning the anomalies he had encountered since he
had met Judith, but before it had the chance to begin she was pulling at his
arm eager to reach this haven that he had told her about.

 What the hell, he informed himself, am I really going to argue with all of
this, its perfect and if it’s too perfect then who really cares. Brushing his
unvoiced concerns to the side he responded to Judith's urgent tugs on his arm
and they set off down the street.

 From within the ruins of one of the numerous buildings across the street red
dots peered forth from the darkness intently following the two beings joyful
departing to parts unknown. Having seen all it needs to see the dots
disappeared back into the darkness, electronic whirring marking their
departure.

 It wasn't long before they had arrived at their goal, above what was left of
the wall the letters " h mis" gave forth no real clues as to the stores
previous role in the old society, but somehow John knew that the things that
they needed could be found there.

 Glass-less frames guarded the entrance to what had once been a meeting place
for a number of people, each of them consumed with the quest of creating a
physically better image of themselves. Where were all of those people now,
John wondered. Funny how all of those things which were once so important were
now creating the glue to whole him together mentally.

 Plaster exploded from the wall to the left of the frames and then to the
right as tiny beams of light crackled in the morning air. Fresh blast rang out
and John heard Judith cry out in pain, he could smell the burning of her flesh
as single beam of light forced itself through her.

 Her pierced form suddenly robbed of life, slumped to the cold ground
underfoot, the laughter which had once come from her lips replaced with a
final rattle of death, each breath given up only after a long fight. A charred
hole marked the exiting point of her life force.

 Red and angry rage cloud across John vision, blocking out all signs of his
once clear thinking replacing it with the animal need for vengeance. His
actions slowed down in his mind, the images playing like a slide show
presentation.

"NO"
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 He could hear himself cry out at what had happened,   almost   see himself
responding in some disembodied manner. Hands flailed   at his   side in search for
his armament which wasn't there, instead it lay safe   inside   the room that was
his home, forgotten in the moment of joy that he had   shared   with the lifeless
form that now lay at his feet.

 Unarmed, thought not defused John turn to rush his assailants. Another tight
stream of light broke forth as he turned ripping into his side, damaged flesh
quickly fusing under the intensity of the heat from the beam stopping the flow
of vital fluids before it even started.

 It can't end this way he thought to himself pain tearing at his mind as he
continued to make his way towards the now visible attackers. Their metal
bodies’ shinning in the new day’s sunlight, red eyes burning with an evil
which was unintelligible to him.

 Two more beams broke forth the sidearms carried by the two robots, each one
leaving behind its mark upon his now battered form. The air was now filled
with the putrid smell of burnt flesh as John lost part of his right shoulder
and left thigh.

 Unconsciousness knocked at John's mind, threatening to take him away with it.
Not yet, he tried to instruct himself, not yet, got to take at least one of
the bastards with me.

 Another round of beams racked his body, surgically removing his legs at the
knee joins. The momentum of his movements carried his upper torso forward as
his now lifeless legs fell, abandoned to one side.

 Fresh beams racked his body and the blackness which had threaten him once
before stole him away. As the darkness enveloped him he started to laugh at
the irony of the situation, his madding laughter echoing in the otherwise
quiet street.

******

 His mind drifted in the darkness that surrounded a sense of bodiless
prevailing over all other senses. So this is what it’s like to be dead, he
thought to himself, a bit on the dull side really.

 The moment of weightlessness started to pass and newer feelings started to
assert themselves upon his consciousness. Something was wrong, this can't be
death it doesn't feel right, his mind interjected somehow feeling robbed of
its new experience.

 Tiny specks of formless light started to break up the otherwise perfectly
black sheet that was covering his eyesight. Dulled senses started to return
feedback to his somewhat clouded mind.

 "Simulation terminated nineteen hundred hours." boomed forth a metallic
voice, from parts unseen.

Simulation?

What's going?

Where am I?

 Questions pushed themselves forward into his thoughts new ones replacing
still unanswered ones only to be replaced themselves seconds later. Panic
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gripped him while senses that should not exist continued to provide him with
information about his surroundings.

 A new, yet somehow familiar sensation alerted him to pressure being applied
to both the bridge of his nose and his ears. It wasn't uncomfortable just
alien in its making.

 Sharp pain shot through his left arm. Wasn't it my right arm where I was
shot, he quizzed himself as he tried desperately to assimilate what was going
on. Parts of it were coming back but he needed to be sure that what he thought
to be the truth was so.

 "How long?" he croaked, his parched throat scraping the words out. Strange
that it was so dry, after all he was certain that he had something to drink
only a manner of hours ago.

 "Fourteen months, three days and nineteen hours." stated the automated voice
in a matter of fact manner.

 Somewhere his mind was ready for the answer and was   busily filing away the
information that he had just received. Elsewhere the   information had only
managed to cause even more reasons for him to panic.   Torn between the two
lines of thought he decided to start with the basics   and then work it out from
there.

 His name was John Chester Watts that was fact number one. Fact number two he
was a survivor from some sort of bombing that had taken part on the surface.
Number three he was a scientist, he and his team were to be responsible for
the creation of a space colony.

 That was how he had survived, he was in the underground test laboratory when
it happened. He had continued to survive due to the fact that the lab was set
up to imitate a colony right to the smallest detail, meaning that he had fresh
water and food supplies.

 The colony was maintained by a robotic work force, which was greatly
different to the ones that he had come across in the simulation. Somehow he
had the feeling that they had not be responsible for the events that had laid
waste to planet's surface.

 Recovering eyesight provided him with visual confirmation to his somewhat
patchy memory. On a small table in front of him lay a keyboard, next to it a
small screen that was frozen in place at the image of his being shot an event
that to him had seemed so real. It hadn't been real though, that was what all
of this equipment, the suit that he now wore instead of the tattered clothes
from moments ago was for, had ensured that it was real. This was a V.R.
System.

 All of what had taken place had done so in a virtual reality world, a world
that he had created so that he would feel so alone. The pain in his left arm
had been nothing more than the drip, which had provided him with all of his
nourishment during his immersion in the virtual reality he had created. It
wasn't the only memory to return either memories of past attempts to create an
artificial happiness cluttered his mind.

 He had created these worlds because it had been either that or go mad. There
was no one else for him to share his good fortune with, he was the only
survivor from the entire human race.

Outside fierce storms raped the dusty surface of what had once been a
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beautiful planet. They had done their jobs thoroughly, the people who had
created the bomb, for it had destroyed all life and left the buildings
standing. Every living thing was gone, from the small microbe to the largest
giant that had once stalked smaller prey. Not even a single blade of grass had
been spared, except for himself. He had managed to survive through pure dumb
luck.

 He didn't what to think about it anymore, he didn't what all of it to catch
up with him again, he wanted only to escape.

 Reaching out he grabbed the key and started to modify screens of code that
had replaced the previously frozen image. He had to get it right this time.
This time he didn't want to come back.

 He could always create a simple reality, one where the world had not come to
an end, but instead he always created a reality where he was survivor that way
he felt that he was able to justify his having survived what had really
occurred. That way it would have been all for nothing.

 "Computer start simulation." he commanded placing the keyboard back where it
had came from and prepared himself for his arrival in the V.R. world that he
had created this time.

 "Simulation number twenty-two initiated. Count down to immersement started.
Ten, nine eight." the artificial voice count down without emotions, not really
aware of it environment, not like John Chester Watts.

 To it this was nothing more that lines of computer code coming together to
create a game, after all that had been its design, while to John this was all
there was to him, this was the only way that he might ever achieve happiness.

"Three, two, one, program initiated."

 Everything went black yet again as the V.R. glasses prepared themselves for
the optic display that it was about to feed John. In the blackness John
Chester Watts uttered a singular pray to deities unknown.

Don't let me come back this time.

 The world exploded in a fireball of colours and John Chester Watts no longer
lived in his true reality, wherever that was.




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