7

January 30th, 2007
Nadia was talking with Karen, her best friend, at the cafe before her first science class started. Karen Jesse is the only person who knows about the robot in the school basement.
“I just don't understand it, Karen. I put it in the basement last night! I went down there this morning and it was gone!”
“I don't know, Nadia. Make another one. It's not like the problem was the materials. You just didn't know where things went. You have it, you just need to make another ASH. That's what you planned, wasn't it?”
“Yeah, I guess so.. alright, I'll start on it right after the kids get out of school. Here comes ASH2!”
After the last science class of the day got over at 1:45, Nadia headed down to the basement. Luckily for her, the janitor had long since abandoned it. She had the key he so graciously gave in her hand, unlocked it, and stepped inside. The light had been turned on. Strange, she thought she turned it off when she left. She was still annoyed that all her hard work had just disapeared, and her leaving the light on seemed to irritate her more. However, it was inevitable. She could not give up, and she knew she needed to start again.

November 17th, 2007
Headline story for the New York Times:

Chaos has struck in the city. Hundreds of lives were lost along with the destruction of many buildings. The evacuation of the Empire State Building, however, was successful and no lives were lost. The building itself was badly damaged on the west side. Police officers and fire departments arrived at the scene moments after the disaster occurred, but failed to take down the still unknown source of the disruption. “I just looked up and.. It was happening. I just don't know what to make of it” says one office worker who was later brought in to recount the incident during evacuation. Another construction worker having lunch near the scene recalled, “It had a human stature. A couple inches taller than the average man, but nonetheless an average figure. I could have sworn I saw its head shine off the sun. The eyes are what terrify me the most, though.” Many other reports have described the figure with what appear to be glowing eyes. Recent evidence shows that the thing could be a robotic automaton or have electronic components. Investigation teams are working around the clock to find answers to the question everyone wants to know: What exactly is causing the destruction, and who is provoking it? More information as the story unfolds.

That morning, Nadia Cray had woken up in her New York apartment in a cold sweat. She had a dream last night; more like a nightmare. Wearing a kimono, she rode down the destroyed streets of New York on a horse. Smoke billowed out in every direction and burning rubble littered the streets. The sky had an ominous purple glow. Suddenly, a thick layer of mist surrounded her. She dismounted and stared ahead. In the distance, a giant steam-spewing contraption whirred and chugged and thumped along the street. It was covered in loose, rusty pipes and corroded wires, with two legs carrying it slowly forward. Two beaten arms swung violently to the sides, destroying any of the remaining buildings standing. The giant was terrifying both in size and sound, but the most frightening things were the things in the center of its figure. Two giant, blue, streetlamp sized lights flickered slowly on and off. The lights seemed to stare at Nadia, go right through her, and when she turned and ran they cast beams down on her. The purple sky turned into pitch blackness and a chill ran up Nadia's spine as she tried to run. She was stunned by the blinding lights that surrounded her, closed her in and trapped her as the machine came closer. As she heard the sound of cantering hooves fading into the distance, she knew there was no escape. There was no way out of the light. The machine reached out to her, and Nadia woke up.
She has always had, and would continue to have, close to the same breakfast every morning. Honey pancakes with a side of fresh strawberries, and whatever exotic smoothie her imagination concocted. That morning she was on edge, not only from her strange dream but from what was to come. She became surer and surer of what was to come as she read the headline story. She didn't know what to do. What could she do at this point? Turn herself in? She didn't have the willpower. She couldn't stop the destruction, either. She hung around the house all morning, puttering around in her pajamas. Eventually, she decided to call Karen to see if she was okay. She was so terrified of what she had created. “You know what this means, don't you? It's all my fault! There's a bunch of damage all because of my invention!”
“Hey, come on. What makes you think this is your robot? How can you be sure?”
“Oh, stop it, Karen! What else could it be? A robot with a human-like stature, and blue glowing eyes? Who else keeps a robot like that in their basement? Oh my gosh. I'm responsible! I'm going to jail! You won't tell anyone, will you? You can't tell anyone!”
“Of course I won't, Nadia! What kind of a friend would I be if I wasn't a noble accomplice?” She joked.
A smile crept onto Nadia's face. “As long as you'll share the blame if I get caught!” She chuckled. She was beginning to calm down. “Well, what now?”
“How bout you come down to my place, and we make some tea? Take your car, and you should be fine outside. We'll both feel better talking in person. Let's make some tea, check the news and then watch a movie. Everything will be fine.”
“All right...” Nadia said hesitantly. “If you say so.” And with that, they hung up and Nadia got dressed, got into her car and drove down to Karen's. She had just taken a right and escaped a busy intersection when something from the corner of her eye made her stop her car in the middle of the road. Someone bumped up behind her in their car. Several horns were beeping impatiently for her to keep going, but she stared at the shady alleyway across the street and squinted at the figure she had seen. It looked at first to be just some homeless man walking around, but as it ran down the alley and out onto sidewalk, she saw the shiny head of the man shine so clearly off of the sun, there was no doubt in her mind of what she had seen. She was so distracted, she didn't realize how long she had been holding up the busy traffic.

Author's Note

Please leave constructive criticism.