Concrete Jungle
3 Urgent Screams
/S Y S T ̕͜E̴͠ ́͢M ̷͢ ̵̡M A̸͞ ̨L̵͘͡ ̀F ́͜U̶ ̡N̨͟ ̕͟͠C҉͝ T I O N D E T E C T͝͡ E Ḑ͡/ / E̢̦̥̘̯͚͎̫ ̞̖͎̲͍͇̪̣R͖̥̳̬͚͈̜͉͝ ̸̛̩̩͎̱̘̻R̲̮̦͈̬̤ͅ ҉͕ͅO̸͙̳̝̩̯̟ ̵̜̱̫͈R̴̛̞̱̳̼͍̥̫͠/ / E̢̦̥̘̯͚͎̫ ̞̖͎̲͍͇̪̣R͖̥̳̬͚͈̜͉͝ ̸̛̩̩͎̱̘̻R̲̮̦͈̬̤ͅ ҉͕ͅO̸͙̳̝̩̯̟ ̵̜̱̫͈R̴̛̞̱̳̼͍̥̫͠/
/ P̷̛R͏̵̢O͢͡TO̢C̛͘OL̡ ̧9̵̧ ̷9҉ ͡9̴͡͠ ̛͝9̡̧ ̢9͢͡ 9͟͞ ̀2́͢ ̢A̷̛͡CT̕I̵V͘͜͜A͡͝T͡ÌN̸G͏/
Gears ground against themselves trying to settle back into place as an acid green tube spilled out upon the ground. Faux fur was dirtied with oil and the hissing strain of mechanical parts that were forced to move as the robot’s eyes shifted from their pink coloration to a strikingly bright red.
K.A.T. was moving, motors working overtime to haul the mechanical monster up the stairs after the fleeting pink stain that trailed after the purple bitch. The scrape of a needle on the concrete was anything but a respite to the feline whom was now rather irritated by her mechanical flea of a follower.
Through shattered optics, relying on heat sensors as a back up, K.A.T. observed the form suspected to be ABC halting. A spark jumped from a paw before the robot simply scraped the foot along ahead of him, a walking mechanical nightmare to some, but a hero to Kitten. And a hero he was told he would be.
The crackle of a recording starting brought more sound sharply into the hall, ABC frowning before the still moving titan.
“Well. This is the last thing to do today.” The voice of Kai Theta filled the hall, sparks dancing from the back of K.A.T. Smoke was bleeding from an ear. “Well ABC. I suppose if you’re hearing this, that means you’ve likely found my little hiding shithole.” Something faint broke eliciting a sigh. “And it means you’re threatening dear Kitten.” K.A.T. stopped moving.
“You know I can’t have that.”
Red flickered in the blackness that ABC had left behind, turning unnaturally bright for but a moment before plunging the hall back into the cold lifeless void it would be left. There was no more sound as a horrific high pitched screeching filled the hall, a nova of white erupting from the machine to fill the void and chase a suddenly screaming ABC.
Rho’s paws met dirt, and she squinted hard into the trees that had overgrown at the edge of the clearing that held their little shitty hospital. She had to adjust, and Kitten only had so much time to look back.
There was a flash of light, like a photograph was taken, at the stairs they could see from here. It was brief, gone in the blink of an eye, but it had been there.
Now came the hard part. Hiding from ABC AND The local population. Rho had no real experience with the locals, and Kitten wasn’t about to play tour guide. The younger feline was scooped onto Kitten’s back in an easy motion, jarring the bow in their hair out of place as they took off for the trees.
Now there was really no looking back. Now there was only confusion and the desperate run and search for somewhere that might be allowed to be called safety, even if for a moment.
The pair, or rather Kitten, continued on until a break in the path. The dense trees gave way to what looked like a river, fed by a rather oddly pathed waterfall at a slant from the clear mountain before them. Rho stared in awe, not at all understanding where the water was coming from. There was nothing atop the mountain that she could see.
“C-come on...” Kitten was tired, they had run the entire distance and with Rho on their back. This was not meant to happen, but for the time being it was clear that they had very few options. This was one of the few actual places that held a cave system that one could easily get lost in. Kitten and K.A.T. had already mapped it inside and out, understanding where it led and how it might be able to be defended...
But tired as they were, Kitten was in no shape to deal with more than just getting into the entrance and covering their tracks. “Stay.” A paw was stomped before Rho’s nose as she was dropped onto slick stone, soaked from the portion of the waterfall Kitten dragged the pair through before turning around. “I’ll be back. Stay there Rho.” With a huff, claws scraped stone as Kitten left Rho alone for the moment, allowing the young one to think about her situation.
And there in the dark, something moved before opening a pair of gleaming eyes.
