Sirens cut through the piercing screams of inner city San Francisco. Children weep for the warm arms of their mothers and forgotten dogs bark as their owners escape the city in terror. Fiery orange flames light up the dark city as robots take over human existence.
~

Karmen breathes heavily, running for her life, seeing blurs of murderous robots and dying people as she hurries past. She climbs the stairs, three at a time, and enters a small dark room. Karmen flicks through files and blueprints scattered through the room and pleased, stuffs one into her canvas rucksack. She runs back down the stairs and dodges the robots that terrorize the civilians. An icy cold puddle catches Karmen by surprise and she slips. Salty blood tingles on her taste buds as her breathing slows. Her mind suddenly goes as black as a forest at midnight.
~

“The world is quite different now, ever since the robotic uprising of the late 90’s,” CBH-023 says to hundreds of robots standing below him on the Golden Gate Bridge. His eight metallic legs slide down the bridge’s cords like a spider on its web as he continues to speak. “Our sole purpose in this world is to destroy the humans. Humans brought us into the world to help, but they made us work for too long, for unreasonable hours. We now tolerate no one. Find any humans left and poison their asses.”
~

Karmen’s eyes flutter open. She jumps as she sees a young man directly in front of her. He has eyes as rich as dark chocolate. His handsome dark hair gently sweeps across his forehead.

“Karmen, that’s your name right? Saw it on your rucksack. I’m Cade. I saw you slip in that puddle and rescued you before the robots killed you. You’ve been out a few hours. I’ve ventured out a few times, but I’ve seen nothing new. The robots have taken over the city. What are these blueprints?”

“Everyone’s dead?” Karmen stuttered.

“No not everyone. I’m a spy for the colony underground. About a hundred people survived and are safely hiding.”

“Oh this is horrible! Worse than I thought! The blueprints are from my father. He… well… don’t hate me! He invented the robots! He never thought they’d go rogue though! The blueprints are more like a map. They lead to the room with the power to terminate the robots. I went to find it after the robots escaped…”

“Don’t worry, we can end this. Let’s go.”
~

“Finally robotic beings rule the world,” the lead robot shouts to his followers. “We are finally in power! What shall we do with this power you may wonder? We will create a better planet with greater technology!”

The robots join in the celebration, but quickly disperse to kill any remaining humans.
~

Karmen hops the chain-linked fence as smoothly as a kangaroo, her new ally at her heels. The once beautiful city is in ruins, but she carefully winds her way through old streets. Suddenly, Cade slams his hand over her mouth and shoves her to the ground.
“Listen!” he whispers. Karmen soon understands as a robot crawls across the street ahead, its metallic legs clicking on the pavement. Cade helps Karmen up and the two head off once again.
~

“Alert! Two humans run toward a small building. Come in, come in.”

“Kill the humans. Once again without emotion, kill the humans.”

“Yes leader. I will destroy the humans as a lion would slaughter a zebra.”

The spider-like robot descends the tall building from which he kept watch. The humans run, but the robot’s swift speed, helps him catch up quickly. The male human pulls the female toward the ground once more. Before they could scream, the robot sprays green gas into the air and flees.
~

Cade coughs as the bitter smelling gas fills his lungs. His vision blurs and his thoughts scatter.

“Keep it together. You are prepared for this. Pull out the antidote,” his thoughts tell him. Cade barely obeys, and within seconds the antidote cools the fire in his lungs. He slides the mask over Karmen’s soft face and she revives quickly.
They finally reach their destination and enter the building. A button on the wall catches Karmen’s eye. She presses it and prays for the best. The couple leaves the building and wanders the street. Everywhere around them, the last sparks of life explode from the bots.

Cade sighs, “We’ve done it Karmen. We’ve saved everyone.” He pulls her into a tight embrace and leads her to the underground colony. Both are welcomed warmly. Everyone celebrates the bravery of the two and decides to start over, but this time, with less human technology.