| ٦ |

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

"What the actual hell..." Zahir's eyes became wide as saucers and within a fraction of a second, he grabbed Khaled and rolled to the other side of the room. The spider-like robot raised one of its four legs and stomped through the walls.

The rumbling of cement and sand erupted through the air which woke Fatima and the soldiers up. They pulled their bags aside as all of them stared in disbelief. The robot flashed its blinding lights at the group and their was a whirring sound that began to grow louder.

"RUN!" Fatima shouted and they dashed out the apartment's door. A laser beam struck the wall right in front of Zahir's head as he escaped with mere seconds to spare. When they ran down the hallway to sprint out, there was another one standing in front of the entrance.

"Over here." Jalil waved over to the rest. He stormed up the staircase and the rest were right at his feet. Waheed waited for Fatima go right after Jalil before following her. Zahir struggled to carry Khaled and run at a fast pace at the same time. He grunted as he tripped over debris, falling down.

Khaled cried out as he slipped from Zahir's clutches and then the other one emerged from down the hall, tearing down walls to get through. Zahir cursed, hauling himself up right away. He snatched Khaled again, throwing him over his shoulders. He ducked, throwing himself at the staircase, letting Khaled go.

"Khaled, go after them and STAY with them." He ordered. Another flash of the red laser beam hit the grown hear his feet. He scrambled a few steps up, pulling Khaled with him.

"No, I don't want to leave you!" Khaled shouted, tears streaming down his small face. Zahir held both sides of the young boy's face, pressing his forehead against his.

"Khaled, please." He whispered. Khaled nodded, saying a small "I love you" before running after the others. Zahir replied the same words back in a whisper before running out into the hall once again.

He glanced at the one standing at the entrance of the door, still lingering around. He darted there, not looking back at the one that's been destroying the place. He heard the whirring of the other robot once more as he slid under the four legs of the second one. He came out on the other side and then took all his might to get on its back. The robot stumbled around and the other continued aiming for Zahir.

He waited. 1. 2. 3.

At the third count, he dived off the robot as the laser beam hit it. A crackling sound escaped the machine as it lit up in flames. Zahir kicked up dirt, running further as the robot burst, pieces of it flying everywhere. He looked over his shoulder to see the apartment crumbling.

No, no. no.

He watched in horror as the other one emerged from the entrance. The apartment collapsed behind it, making a terrifying sound of rubble and rocks crashing on one another. Zahir stood still in shock, knowing everyone had still been on the top floor... his little brother there too.

The robot raised its lights to flash it on Zahir and he was bathed in the artificial, white lights. He heard the whirring sounds once more but didn't move an inch. Were they really dead?

Then, there was a sound of the machine failing. The engine gurgled and made weird beeping sounds. The lights went off and he stood in the pure darkness eloping him. The robot's legs crashed underneath it and then the entire body fell over to its side.

Jalil and Waheed emerged and right after them was Fatima and Khaled. Zahir ran towards them, bending down to embrace Khaled in a tight hug.

"I thought I lost you." His voice slightly quivered. "How did you guys manage to escape from the top?" Zahir looked up at the others.

"Magic." Fatima shrugged. "I made them all jump off the roof and into the sand... I turned it into quicksand for a bit for softer landing."

"We then escaped when the building fell and creeped up to the robot, slashing its inner compartment to destroy it. It was so focused on you that it didn't even sense us." Waheed explained. His young, boyish looks were even more apparent. He was wide-eyed and clearly scared half to death.

Jalil wiped sweat off his forehead, taking a seat on the ground. He took out a toothpick, placing it between his lips and chewed. Probably helped him deal with his anxiety or fear. Everyone was panting in exhaustion.

"We need to get moving." Fatima fixed her scarf that had fallen off and placed it around her head. Her long black garment dragged through the sand as she began walking. Zahir shook his head, looking for water.

"Is there water?" He asked. Waheed looked into his pack he had grabbed right before escaping. He took out a water bottle with only one third left.

"Shit, huh." Zahir mumbled.

"We should preserve this until we get to the cave." Jalil advised.

"Yeah, true. Let's get going." Zahir got up, with Khaled following afterwards. Jalil and Waheed were close behind.

_ _ _

"We're here." Fatima stated. The sun that had been beating down on them all day was finally about to set. The colours of orange, rose, and lilac spread across the sky with very few clouds scattering it. Rainfall was quite rare but enough to keep the farms growing. The Radiation Zone was a thin layer that fell 10 meters off the ground. The skies were cleansed from the toxicity so it would have been easier to travel through air to see what was left of the world beyond the Radiation Zone, but airships weren't known to exist.

As they neared the caves, nightfall returned once again. They had finished all their supplies-- the little food and water they had. They hoped the cave held anything useful until they made the day's journey back home again.

They came to the opening and Zahir squinted inside the mouth of the cave to see a metal door nuzzled in there. Waheed took out a key card from his pocket, placing it on Fatima's hand. She walked over, trying to find the sensor, and once finding it, she placed the key card over it. There was a rumbling sound and the metal doors opened to a stairwell and dim lights.

"What may the reason be that brings you here?" A robotic voice of a female said.

Zahir glanced at Fatima who was drilling her intense gaze into his eyes.

"I want to enter." Zahir stated.

"Please enter the cave and have your DNA matched. Be warned that you will be eliminated if it doesn't." The robotic female voice echoes again.

Jalil gave him a few large plastic bags to carry anything he could with them. Zahir shivered a little, stepping forward. He looked over shoulder to see Khaled with a worried face. His big eyes held back tears as he bit his lips.

"I'll be back kiddo. I promise you, after this, our worries are over. We'll get a warm apartment in Ayna, okay? We'll have clean clothes and water and food. Just stay put."

Fatima looked down at the little boy in pity. She faced the soldiers who gave her a "don't kill them" look. It was her plan all along, get the treasures that Zahir gets, and the Lamp of the Genie, then she would kill him. I didn't know a child would be involved. Maybe I could sacrifice one third of the treasures, I'd have the Lamp of the Genie anyways. She thought.

"He'll be okay." She said, and caught her voice shaking. She didn't want to kill this man anymore if it meant killing the child. I should let them go.

Zahir nodded, looking down the staircase. He stepped forward and saw beams of lights scanning him.

"You may enter." The voice granted access, the metal doors closing behind him.

He turned around to only be greeted by the closed doors. He took a deep breath, his nerves acting up. His heart pounded as he took a step below one at a time. What was waiting for him down there?

He finally made it and came to another set of unopened doors. As he trudged forward, they opened by their selves, startling him. How did they do that?

Zahir went through them, it opened to an entrance. He peered at the closed door next to him to find some hangers and empty boxes. He trudged forward to come to a spacious room. It seemed like some lounge area with leather couches and tables.

There was a large kitchen in the corner even and he rushed over to open its cabinets. Food. Lots of food. What was this place, some underground bunker for the end of the world? He heard there were many like this around the world built by rich people for them and their families. But whoever made this bunker may have not survived to come in. He checked the packaging to find the food being over a thousand years old. It was some sort of special wrapper and he squinted his eyes to read what it said.

Non-perishable food with special packaging that allows it to be preserved. Guaranteed to last for years in your bunkers. Stay safe.

Zahir tried to put two and two together and concluded that maybe the family stocked up for the nuclear war that had destroyed the last world and bought these foods. He grabbed a bunch for the day's journey back and fished around for any bottles to fill them with water. He found a couple of them stocked underneath the sink, and took four out, filling them up at the sink. He put the supplies into his knapsack, glancing around the room.

What was that? He squinted at the large, weird, thin rectangle thing placed on the wall. He creeped up to it, afraid of the technology from the past. There were buttons and he pressed one. A small, blue light flashed and whatever the thing was, turned on. He staggered back as a loud, booming voice of a man erupted in the room. His jaw dropped as he stared at the thing with moving images flashing on it. People were talking about the war, there was footage of land being destroyed and civilians crying and running. He furrowed his eyebrows as he saw the year written in the corner.

Is 2075 the end of the world?

"What is this?" Zahir wondered out loud.

"A television." The robotic female voice answered right away. He nearly jumped out of his skin when it replied.

"Y-You can talk?" Zahir looked around the room.

"Yes, I am programmed to talk."

"What's your name?" He stood in fear. It was all too new to him. Something not human was talking to him. Robots could talk?

"Amanda. Yours?"

"Zahir."

"Welcome, Zahir. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Well... I'm looking for valuables... and the Lamp of the Genie." He replied.

"Very well." Amanda said. There was an electronic sound and one side of the wall near the kitchen opened up. It was a hall to more rooms. "Just follow the hall, there is another staircase. Go down and you'll come to door. You may open it if your DNA matches."

"Thank you." Zahir replied, feeling relieved. He at least had something to keep him sane in this depressing, creepy bunk.

The lights turned on as he stepped into the hall and before he decided to go deeper underground, he checked the rooms. They were mainly bedrooms and bathrooms with nothing interesting. He still did grab some soaps and shampoos.

He continued making his way down the hall and came across the staircase. He descended slowly, talking to Amanda to keep himself distracted. Finally, the doors came into view. He was scanned once again before they opened to very dark room which only were lit when he stepped in.

Blue lights flooded the area and he found all sorts of things. Paintings, artifacts, and glass boxes that held gold and diamonds. When he looked into the far end, he saw the lamp-- sitting alone in one glass box.

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net