She started to laugh; loud and hysterical. Henry immediately covered her mouth his hands and looked about, wondering if there was anyone awake and listening to them. His eyes brushed over the cameras in the ceiling; the cameras he doubted the robots were even using. Henry was sure it was there for mere decoration and to instill fear in them.Zhixi’s turned to a girlish giggle. She was looking so pitiful again. He wished she would find an outlet for her pain, which was crying. She didn’t have any anger to bank on. Moreover, he didn’t think her getting angry right now would help matters.“I’m going to take my hand off, and you’re going to behave, alright?”She nodded. Henry took his hand off and she gazed at him bleakly. She didn’t seem like she wanted to continue her story, so it was hanging in her chest and on a delicate balance. He wanted her to be out and over with it.“Listen, Zhixi. You gotta let it all out. I’m trying to help you here and this is the best way I know how to. Talki

HENRY and Leroy sneaked out of the compartment, Leroy on the lookout for robot and Henry on the lookout for cameras. They had to roll on the ground back in the compartment to be able to get to the door. Leroy was not pleased with it; matter of face he wasn’t pleased that Henry had started a whole new adventure for them. He still did not want to hear the full story, and at the same he was not happy that he was going through all of that for a story he didn’t know.“I think all of this completely unnecessary,” Leroy said.“Leroy, you’ve said that for the umpteenth time. I promise you, there is more to see than what you think.” Henry lowered his voice as the neared the overheard light. “At a container down that road, some robots were doing some kind of testing.”“What kind of testing?”“I don’t know, just some kind of weird testing. We need to go check it out.”Leroy groaned. “Ugh, I know you’re doing it for that girl. Do you like her?”“What?”“Which of them do you like? Zhixi or the wei

The next day as they were walking to the arena, Henry took the time to lose his way a few times, stumble on some robots and get on Ralph’s nerves. It was the same as the night before, and the night he had checked. Henry swore to at least follow a particular robot and see where they all exited. There had to be somewhere. Back then when he was hiding behind a rock in the fountain, he’d over two robots talking about their race. He scoffed now as he remembered it. What were they actually calling it, the age of robot or the mechanical race? He laughed as the thought came to his head.“Is something funny, Mr. Henry?” Ralph asked.Henry looked up. He’d forgotten that they were at the arena ready to fight some monsters. Now everyone was looking at him in anticipation.“Uh, no,” Henry said hurriedly. “I just had a fond memory.”“Would you like to share those memories with us?” Ralph pressed, his voice droning and annoying.“It’s not important. Just something I miss back home.”“Would you like

Zhixi watched Henry turn back and forth in his bed. He could not sleep. She bet he was still thinking about the plan, evaluating it in his head and finding the best possible outcome. He was an over thinker, she realized. Always finding all possible answers to a question.She slowly swung herself down from the bed—most times she and Zoe usually interchanged, and this time around she was up while Zoe was down.Zhixi did not like the girl. Mainly because she had sacrificed something for her and now she feels indebted to a stranger. It was a weird thing felling indebted to Henry, now she must fell it too for the new girl whom she changed bed with.She swung the other foot and climbed down from the bed. Henry had stopped moving; he was staring at her.“Hello, handsome,” she said, and then cleared her throat. “Uhm, hello?”“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” he asked.“I just want to do a little stretch. I can’t sleep.”She tied her hair back into a messy bun and began to stretch. Henry w

Henry and Leroy raised their swords simultaneously, successfully cutting off the head of the beast side by side. It fell to the ground in a loud ‘garr,’ carrying with it dust that nearly blinded everyone. Leroy was laughing and showing off the blood he’d gotten on his skin, while Henry was watching the gut of the beast spill to the ground. It was a nasty mixture of green, yellow and muddy brown. He wondered where these robots got the monsters from, whether they were simple beasts that were modified by them and turned into horrifying creatures. With the kind of scientific experimentation they saw the robot doing last time, Henry wouldn’t put it past them.“Help!” someone yelled.He looked up to see the beast chewing the leg of the person who screamed, while still alive. Leroy was about of go and show off his heroic strength when a group of people stringed the beast to death. The beast died trying to get the meat of the person into his mouth.“Help,” the person begged no one in particul