K1MB3RLY M84U Pt. 01

Arthur closed his eyes and exhaled.

Back against the trunk of a great pine, he held a rifle against his chest. He pulled out the worn magazine, examined it, and slotted it back into the gun.

He did three Hail Marys and fervently grasped the collection of dog-tags hanging around his neck. He whispered to himself, "Three bullets left Arthur...make em count."

His breath clouded the cold, dry air.

Arthur pivoted around the trunk, leaning his left shoulder into the rough bark of the tree. His right shoulder pushed hard against the stock of his rifle as he looked down its scope.

Through the lens he quickly spotted his targets. Two humanoid forms gestured to each other, communicating, in front of a long dilapidated garage. Their frighteningly long and tendril-like arms moved so fast they seemed to vibrate the air around them. The white snow at their feet contrasted against the deep, polished, leathery brown of their "skin".

They were unaware of his presence some 200 meters away.

Arthur trained his scope up and down their bodies over and over. Their appearance was simultaneously riveting and revolting. Intelligent design truly of an other-worldly evolutionary gene-path.

With his scope still fixed, Arthur's heart skipped a beat. The figure on the right had turned giving him a clear view of it's back. The blue-fluorescent gleam of an alien fungus spread out radially from a center point near it's "spine". A deep, violet, unearthly blue marked the entry point of a bullet from Arthur's last encounter with the monster.

His friends who had become family over the last 14 months had been gruesomely extinguished from existence at the hands of this strider only weeks before.

Arthur sought revenge. He thanked the heavens his final bullets were coated with an aluminum finish. His adversaries surfaces were strong and resilient, often requiring dozens of rounds to bring down. However, they healed through the application and self-growth of the glowing blue fungus that coated his target's back. Darryl, one of his now deceased squad mates had discovered that this fungus was composed primarily of potassium dichromate. Aluminum and potassium dichromate reacted...very spectacularly.

His fingers squeezed the trigger of his rifle and sent the first projectile flying straight into the middle of the fungus. He moved his sight to the other strider and squeezed off his second shot just as the first landed. A brilliant explosion of vibrant cyan, cerulean, magenta, and fuchsia rocked the long limbed humanoid. The chemical reaction was bright and violent; most of it's body disintegrated in the ferocious blow and fell in a heap on the now discolored snow.

The second bullet ripped through the shoulder of the other strider, but without hesitation it immediately traced the source of the projectile and began lunging towards Arthur's position.

He exhaled and fired his final round catching the quickly approaching strider in the lower leg. It tripped and fell, but quickly rose and resumed the hunt of it's assailant.

Arthur threw his rifle around his back and sprinted as fast as he could. The strap of his weapon dug into his chest as it bobbed uncontrollably against his shoulders.

Striders were fast. Even injured they often had the agility and stamina to easily catch any human. Arthur just prayed his two shots had been enough to slow his pursuer and allow him to escape. Along with his rifle, his two sidearms, a Glock G41 Gen4 and .45 Colt Revolver were also out of ammunition. All he could do now was run and run.

Arthur panted, breathing heavily he trudged forward as fast as he could. His boots sinking into the deep snow with each step. He never looked behind him, knowing that if he was caught by his pursuing strider he would be as good as dead with no means of fighting back.

He ran for what felt like hours, until the winter cold stung his lungs so sharply and ferociously he fell to the ground coughing, spitting, exhaling forcefully. After getting his breathing under control Arthur listened intently. All he could hear was the steady cold blow of the winter wind. He thanked God, performed a Hail-Mary, and got to his feet. He scanned the horizon. Off in the distance a cluster of small buildings caught his eye, and he methodically began walking in their direction.

-- --

After scoping out the cluster of buildings, Arthur determined it to be a homestead. Confirming it was clear, he moved forward and walked through the space. There had been fighting here previously. Blood, both human and strider alike was splattered on the walls of a one story house and the small barn that faced it. There was a small shed as well; he peered into it quickly and saw nothing of interest.

Arthur decided to enter the house first, thinking he could use it as a resting place and base of operation as he planned his move.

He stepped inside and found her lying face down against the floorboards. Her great mane of brown hair poured from the top of her head, shielding her face from view. Thin, toned, legs emerged from the bottom of a high-waited, pleated, black skirt. Certainly odd attire for the local climate, but Arthur found himself drawn to the figure nonetheless.

He was certain she was deceased, the way her body sprawled across the ground was unnatural and sent the primal portion of his brain reeling. He hesitated before approaching. Striders usually left their victims completely torn apart and eviscerated. Yet, here she lay fully in tact and seemingly untouched, an apparent exception to his rule.

He thought for a minute that maybe she had passed away for reasons other than the striders. Suicide? Sickness? Although Arthur found this unlikely considering their markings were all over the homestead. Striders had been here, he was certain of that. They usually defiled every human body they came across, which made her intact-ness all the more bewildering.

Maybe it was a trap, but he doubted it. Although they were certainly clever, he had yet to witness striders spring any kind of trap or pre-mediated trickery of this nature.

Regardless, he shook all doubts out of his mind and gripped his rifle tight. Remembering the lack of ammunition, he exhaled defeatedly, but still cautiously stepped forward.

He prodded the feminine body beneath him, gently pushing the butt of his rifle against her shoulders through her tight white top.

Arthur waited several seconds, there was no response.

He prodded her again. This time adding his voice to the mix, "Hello! Are you uh..." He hesitated, "...Alive?"

He waited another several seconds, and still there was no response.

He cursed himself silently for letting his optimism get the best of him. He didn't even want to see her face, he had seen enough death in the weeks and months prior. He turned to leave the room and gave the body one last frustrated poke.

The butt of his rifle caught her shirt and moved it up to expose her slender lower back. Arthur thought nothing of it and left the room.

Something had caught his eye, just enough for him to pivot and return to the body, peering closely at the newly exposed skin of her lower back. There was some kind of seam or gap that ran perpendicular to her spine near her bottom lumbar. Arthur rolled her shirt up further and uncovered the top of what he now thought was some kind of well camouflaged panel.

He looked dumbfounded. He had never seen anything remotely of this nature. Reaching through his bag he found a small flat head screwdriver, and very carefully, he pushed it's edge up and along the seam of the panel.

Within minutes he had removed the slice of artificial skin and stared mouth agape into the innards of what he now took to be some kind of robot. Even while looking at the intricate assembly of her electrical components through the hole in her back, he was amazed at how realistic she felt. Her skin, although cold, was soft and springy to the touch of his hands.

Arthur re-focused his attention, "There has to be some way to turn her back on." he whispered quietly to himself.

He thought about turning her over, but the idea of accidentally introducing particulates into her complex mechanical systems made him think twice. He instead opted to re-examine her components through the open panel in her back with a renewed sense of diligence.

Arthur first rid himself of his several layers of winter attire. The shelter of the house and his newly found sense of excitement had warmed him greatly. In his socks, long-johns, t-shirt, and beanie he buried his face in the female robot's exposed backside.

With the help of a small flashlight from his bag Arthur began methodically mentally cataloging every wire, tube, motor, and component he could see.

He was impressed at the organization of her complex internal architecture. Thousands of wires were bundled together and routed in, around, and in some cases through a skeleton composed mostly of what Arthur guessed was a mix of titanium and carbon fiber. The wire bundles were neatly tucked away from stacks of circuit-boards and several servo-motors that governed the motion of her lower back. He saw several hundred LEDs. Not one blinked. They were all dim from a lack of power.

A small analog gauge caught his eye. He shined his light and squinted to discover it was volumetric. The needle read roughly 3000 mL out of 5000 mL capacity. He traced it back to it's source where he immediately made out the complex design of an internal fluid reservoir.

Arthur quickly grew excited at the idea of what functionalities the surprisingly large reservoir supplied. He realized in that moment that he had subconsciously pivoted himself such that his groin now rested between the robot's rubbery bottom. With a greedy hand he grabbed a cheek through the pleated, thin material of her skirt. Her softness felt good in his hands. Arthur craned his head downwards, curious to see the what internal systems operated between her legs. However, he found that her battery, a slender matte black block, obstructed his view. With a small grin he chuckled, "Now that you have me all turned on, let's see if we can get you turned on!"

He searched for a switch, a button, anything that would turn her back on. However, after noticing a small digital readout that was attached to the battery, his hopes sank. It faintly flashed 00.00%. The flashes were so dim Arthur expected the last morsels of her power supply were being used on this display.

He sighed and thought to himself. Another inspection of her battery and Arthur discovered what he thought to be a positive and negative terminal.

He tried tracing components from her battery outwardly in hopes of finding a charging port or some kind of removable panel where she could be plugged in. However, the seemingly endless jumble of wires and circuits led him nowhere.

He stood up and chuckled, "Fuck it. She has terminals. Maybe I can jump her."

Arthur proceeded to scour the entire house. With it's relatively small size, he was able to search every nook and cranny within the hour. He found no charger, no electronics, not even an electrical outlet. The designers of this house had obviously wanted it to be off the grid and electricity-free. "Well I guess I couldn't charge her up even if I wanted to." Arthur whispered to himself. "What an awful place for a robot. Why the fuck is she here?"

He decided to go check out the barn and see if he could scavenge anything worth using from there. The sun was beginning to set and the already cool air had begun to chill even further. The cold bit at his exposed arms and face. He quickly shuffled to the barn, opened the door, and slid inside.

Immediately he was overwhelmed with a dreadful stench. His eyes located the source of the smell; a cluttered pile of human and strider debris interwoven with one another sat on the cold ground. Frost had hardened the remains, but it couldn't hide the deep burgundy red of some poor soul's blood splashed on the walls.

The multi-colored glow of the strider's blood hung on the walls as well. It could have been a modern art exhibit had it not been for the god-awful smell and pile of dead, rotting organic matter.

Arthur quickly deduced that some form of explosion had ripped through the strider and human alike. He was shocked the walls of the barn had held up. The barn's wood framing was splintered radially, making it simple for him to trace back the source of the explosion. Unsurprisingly, he found it led to the confusing mess of alien and human debris at his feet.

Arthur pinched his nose, performed yet another Hail-Mary, and with a sense of renewed purpose began looking around the barn.

In the far corner of the barn was an old, rust-worn jeep. The explosion had eaten away at it's trunk and rear tires. It's heavy frame now sagged, the rear axle touching the ground. This car was going nowhere anytime soon and Arthur almost dismissed it.

However, the front of the jeep looked in surprisingly good condition. He managed to pop the hood and take a look inside. Everything was well worn with age and heavy use except for one seemingly new component...the battery. Arthur muttered under his breath while nodding enthusiastically, "Well now there we go!"

With an even further stroke of luck Arthur opened the jeep's rear door and thanked the heavens. Whoever had come before him had been stockpiling. A set of five car batteries and a handful of jumper cable spools sat neat and pristine against the back seat; they had narrowly avoided the explosion.

Upon further examination Arthur found that four of the five batteries had been written on with thick black marker, "DONE". He grabbed the one unlabeled battery and began to bring it out of the barn and into the house when he thought better of it. Without an inverter box, which he hadn't seen lying around, hooking the battery directly up to the robot would do absolutely nothing.

He thought about bringing her into the barn and using the running jeep to jump-start her systems. But, he decided against it, not wanting to bring her unblemished form into the stench-ridden barn of death. He returned to the back seat, eyed the multiple jumper cables and got creative.

Arthur realized he would need to start the car and with another good stroke of luck he found the jeep's keys still hanging in the ignition. He did a Hail-Mary and turned the keys. The motor coughed, spit, and wheezed. He tried it again, this time not stopping as the mechanisms seized, hitched, and eventually caught traction engaging their stroke sequence. He left the car idling and moved out of the barn.

He ran back inside, with the energy of a child's first day of summer in his eyes. With a daisy-chained string of jumper cables woven through the kitchen window, Arthur carefully maneuvered the clamps through the slight opening in her back and attached each lead to it's corresponding positive and negative terminal. He gave her a pat on the rear, admiring her springy firmness one last time before attempting her reactivation.

Arthur ran back to the barn and jumped into the truck. He delicately pushed down on the accelerator for several seconds before letting off. He repeated this several times before leaving the car idling and running inside to check on his progress.

Arthur jumped with glee upon walking in the room where the robot lay. The hundreds of previous dormant LEDs now blinked with colors vibrant through the small slot in her back. Reds, oranges, yellows, and greens all flicked into and out of existence again and again; a repeating cycle signifying the flow of energy running through her circuits.

With more careful observation he peered down at her battery. Beneath it were 32 LEDs lined up horizontally; the first LED, furthest to the left was yellow and the remaining 31 red. Arthur deduced that this was the status of her battery's charge and decided to go back to the barn hit the engine some more.

In the jeep he eyed the fuel gauge and found it at about a half tank. He gently hit the accelerator again. He repeated this a few dozen times. However, he quickly grew impatient. He looked into the backseat and grabbed one of the many car batteries, putting it down near the pedal. He then got out of the car and picked up a cylindrical piece of piping. He carefully placed it behind the accelerator pedal and then placed the battery on top. The engine revved up with a constant hum and Arthur moved into the house.

He tried to preoccupy his attention by getting settled into the house and searching around for any supplies he could make use of, but the picturesque feminine "sleeping beauty" was all he could think about.

He checked the status of her charging again, the farthest left LED was now green, the next one yellow, and the remaining 30 red. She was charging, albeit at a painfully slow pace for Arthur's aching curiosity. He lay down next to her with a hand on her back.

He gently traced shapes against her ultra realistic polymeric SynthSkin. A small flesh colored disc behind her ear caught his eye. He pushed it. Nothing happened. He held it for several seconds. Nothing happened. He clicked it twice repeatedly. Nothing happened.

Puzzled, he yawned and returned to lazily tracing shapes against her smooth exposed back.

Lulled by the distant hum of the idling engine, he quickly dozed off to sleep.

-- --

Arthur woke in the middle of the night. It was cold. The air cut at him with sharp precision. The sound of the jeep's engine was gone and he was momentarily disoriented. His unfamiliarity of the space soon melted to remembrance as he found himself spooning the robot, his arms wrapped around her slender waist.

He pulled himself closer against her. She was soft and very warm. He didn't remember her being warm like this earlier. Before he could give it more thought though, he noticed his aching erection. It sat stiff, nestled in between the silicone synthflesh of the robot's buttocks.

He swore he could feel her grinding into him, pushing the malleable softness of her cheeks around his manhood. He exhaled sharply and noticed the jumper cables had been removed from the recessed cavity in her lower back and sat on the floor above her head. Was he having a fever dream?

For the sake of his own reality, he turned his eyes, diagonally peering into her lower back. The bank of LEDs were half green and half red. None were yellow. She was half-way charged.

Again he recognized the absence of the jeep's heavy idling and figured it had either died or run out of gas. However, his mind was soon elsewhere as his erection, now almost painful, slowly pressed against her elastic derriere. Soon, his member was enveloped in the lovely robot's backside. He could feel her rocking, pulsing against him gently.

Slowly coming to his wits and desperate to see current happenings to their conclusion, Arthur reached down and peeled the thin black fabric up and away from her ample buttocks. He also quickly unzipped and pushed his drawers down to his knees. His erection sprung out and lodged itself against her soft synthetic labia. He could feel her dampness now, hot and slick against the tip of his head. She sighed and pressed into him even deeper, with more urgency.

Arthur sensed her breath, the warm air brushing over the tops of his hands. He couldn't believe how real she felt, how real she moved, how real she sounded.

Greedily, Arthur moved a hand over the sex-bot's pert breast and grabbed at it, kneading her supple artificial mammary between her fingers. He found a stiff plastic areolae poking rigidly through her sheer white top and pinched it. This elicited a shrill moan from the synthetic woman.

Arthur leaned in and kissed the nape of her slender neck. Her soft blemish-less skin felt smooth and creamy against his lips. He bit her gently, his teeth slightly distorting the spongy silicone polymer that composed her outer dermal layer. He pulled away and grinned once again at her realism. Her synth-skin slowly receded back to its original un-tampered form-factor, rendering the bite mark non-existent.