Fool's Apocalypse

Maggots in the bed

Nightfall. The base made no efforts to conceal itself from the outside; angry music blared out from the compound - drunken freaks stumbled across the walkways, abrasive in their nature. This place had a very copy and paste vibe going on about it - just like the one I had visited when the Giggler was escorting me through - they probably used the same builders.

Yet, this time around, the base was in the centre of what I can only guess used to be a thriving, little town. Mostly rumble remained from the buildings that had once been here. The only place left marginally intact was a semi-large church, which made up the front entrance to the main compound. Walkways had been drilled in around the top section, and the large, rusty metal barriers that could only contain the most interesting things inside, spread so far out on both sides, I couldn't competently work out just how big an area was concealed within.

Though before you start to believe, that despite the narcissistic-sadistic tendencies of the Ravagers - they surely knew how to build intuitive infrastructure - I'd need to stop you there. For sure they could probably build certain things if they tired of lunacy for just two seconds. But sadly, most of their well-fortified bases, like this one, had been stolen from much kinder, and unfortunately clever-fools - not as into murder as their current tenants, and were all but destroyed. And thus, the last group of innovators left - who held one of the final flickering flames of hope for the future of our kind - were snuffed out.

Dotted around the compound, in the ruins of the once flourishing town, small groups of Ravagers sat next to fires; debating in their madness to one another. Fortunately, it wasn't too hard to weave into town and place ourselves in the roofless, second-floor of an old shop - almost directly facing the front-doors to the church ahead. I assumed that if Hope was to be anywhere, it would be in there.

Kay, the female-robotic dog who I'd ever so cleverly named, twisted her muzzle through my elbows. I sat crouched, resting my arms on a concrete hole, where a window must have been placed once. I ruffled Kay's fur and thought deeply into what my next steps were to be. The little metal-box which Dance had given me, was one of her transforming pistols. I played with it for a while, watching it transform into a fully-formed weapon, and just like that, I jerked my hand to the left slightly and it compacted itself back into a small box; attaching itself securely to my wrist - I couldn't even feel the thing. I watched it tuck itself underneath the metal arm-brace I wore; just like before, when Security had forced me to plunge my hands into the cooked belly of a Ravager, I'd fitted myself up with a range of their odd attire - made out of metal and cloth.

I decided to forgo the blood smearing and stomach rummaging, on this occasion, now I was in some kind of full-control of my actions. Though it sickened me to be crouching here, wearing this shit; every Ravager I saw made me think of all the pain these fucks had put me, my friends and family through. True, I did wonder if every single Ravager was accountable for my pain. Maybe some were just trying to survive and had no choice? If that was to be the case, I only hoped they would be clever enough to stay out of my way tonight - for there'd be no holding back on my end.

''Is this weird?'' I whispered, stroking Kay.

''Weird?'' she replied.

''Yeah, it is.'' I recalled my hand.

''Ruffling up my fur makes you uncomfortable, because you know I can talk?''

''A tad.'' I flicked away the loose hair that had come off in my hands. ''Makes you human, and I don't usually give belly-rubs to my friends when I converse with them.''

She made a quiet whimper and needily pawed at me.

''Hmm.'' I gave her a scowl.

''To put your mind at ease: I was born a dog; my owner was part of the team that created our kinship of robots. When I got sick, they used their skills to preserve me into the animal you see today. The same for my brother, too, when he got ill.'' She pawed at me again.