Chapter 1
	All I remember from that day was the lights. I'll never forget the lights, not until the day I die. Which probably isn't very far away, at the moment.
	I was sitting in a store. It was a grocery store once; that's why I had come here in the first place. Across from me, I could see a chocolate bar. My stomach rumbled, and within moments my hands were feeling the bar, my mouth chewing it, savoring the flavor. I don't have much to be happy for anymore.
	I heard a sound out the far window and ducked my head down. A sound of clanking grows louder, then recedes. I've always wondered how many they actually catch on patrols, making noise like that.
	I touched my last grenade, lying in my pocket. Me and Rick had decided that we would always save one for ourselves. That was before they took Rick, of course. He had told me to run, and I hadn't. I'd like to say it was bravery, but mostly I was frozen in terror. Grunting, he had picked me up and thrown me at the other building. I'd crashed through a window, and it had hurt like hell. I remember the pain, and a small bang. When I looked up at the building he'd been on, all I saw was a mess of skin and blood strew upon it.
	I didn't know where they took us, after they got us, I mean. When I first started running, before I met Rick, I thought they just killed us. Now I wish that was all they did. I could hear the screams whenever I got close to those tall metal buildings. I saved the grenade so I would never have to find out.
	Death was a scary thought at first, but with so much of something around you, it starts to seem less strange, doesn't it? It would be nice to get away from the horrible endless clanking, too...
	I mustn't think about that. Rick told me that some survivors had just done themselves in, because they couldn't bare it anymore. He told me that you didn't do that unless they caught you.
	Sometimes it was hard to believe Rick when he talked about other survivors. He was the only one I'd ever met. Still haven't seen another. I've considered the possibility that I'm the only one left. But Rick had warned me against doing that, too.
	He told me everything I know. Without him, I would've been dead in a week. I was lucky enough to spot him on my second day.
	I looked gloomly at the pile of blood beneath me. My blood. I'd stopped the flow about 10 minutes ago, of course, but I was too tired to clean it up.
	It had happened as I was trying to escape a few robots. I had leaped onto a building, cutting myself in the stomach before I scrambled up. I had had just enough strength to stumble back here and sit down.
	Lost in thought, I didn't notice the clanking noise going by again. What I did notice was when it stopped. That was odd. I'd never seen a robot not moving. I decided to risk a glance out the window. Staring into my eyes was a massive hulk of dull metal, with two gleaming red eyes.

Chapter 2
	I was biking home down a nearby mountain when it happened. The brightness blinded me, knocking me off my bike. I had hit my head hard, and was out cold. When I woke up...the city was destroyed.
	Think about the present, idiot! I roused myself from my memories. I tried to stand up, tried to run, but I kept collapsing on the floor again, like a sack of bones. As I watched, the robot walked straight through the window, smashing it down and sending glass shards sprinkling everywhere.
	I scrambled backwards like a crab, my hands feeling the cold floor behind me. Suddenly I bumped into a rack of canned goods, sending them crashing down around me. It was painful, but at least it covered me from the robot for the time being.
	That's when I got an idea. I stood up again, this time with purpose, and began to run around the store, knocking over aisles. I could hear the robot just behind my make-shift wall, but that only made me work harder. Within 20 seconds, the entire store was collapsed. I stopped to catch my breath, then ran out the back door.
	I was in a small, narrow alley. Behind me, the robot was smashing through the collapsed goods. That will probably hold it for about a minute. I look around, searching for escape routes.
	My eyes lock on to a manhole about 10 feet ahead. I sprint there, lift the heavy cover, and clamber down into the sewers. Replacing the cover behind me, I drop down.
	The first thing I notice is the smell. I've been in sewers before once or twice, but they seem to get worse with every passing day.
	The sound of the robot clanking above me is enough to start me going again. I sprint off in a random direction.
	I was running along the sewer this way when I thought I heard a noise coming from a little behind. Turning, ready to confront anything, I never saw what hit me.

Chapter 3
	Rick had known more than me, somehow. He said that it had been a bomb. Some country or other had invaded us. I couldn't care less. What was done was done, and we had to deal with it.
	When I woke up, I was lying on hard, cold stone. There was someone staring deep into my eyes. I tried to prop myself up on my elbows, but found I didn't have the strength.
	"Calm down and rest. You've lost a lot of blood." The voice was female, an authoritative voice of someone who's been giving orders for a while.
	"Who are you? Where am I? What are you doing to me?" I was full of questions. She was the first human I had seen since Rick, 3 months ago.
	"Shhhh. Just lie down and I'll tell you everything you want to know." She backed up the command with a gentle push.
	"I am Anna. You are in the Pocket. And I'm trying to sew you up a little bit." As my eyes cleared, I could see that she was actually bending over me from behind.
	I became aware of a pain in the back of my head. That was new. "What happened to me? And what's the Pocket?"
	"We knocked you out. You fell on your head...sorry, but you might not have realized we were friends. And the Pocket? That's our home. There are 11 of us here. 12 now."
	"11 of who? What makes you special?"
	"You are full of questions."
	"And I expect them to be answered. You did knock me out, after all. You owe me." I smiled to show I was joking.
	"Oh alright. We're 11 humans. The only humans left in the city...maybe the only humans left in the world."
	"The only humans left in the city? But surely these robots have commanders? And the entire world? Surely not?" I was shocked at the things she was saying.
	"No, no. The creators of the robots are long since dead, killed by their own bastard children. And haven't you seen the massive formations of robots leaving the city? We are waging war against the world. That's why we keep trying. Because maybe, just maybe, we can stop the robots and...save the world." Anna smiled bitterly.
	I lay there in silence for some time. The only sound was Anna's needle, hard at work. At last, when she was finished, I got up.
	The room was made of grimy stone, and moss was growing all over it. I could hear the gently flowing water outside and could tell that I was still in the sewer, though the smell was not so bad anymore.
	There were a few cots, some boxes of materials, and 5 people milling about. I was shocked. She had told me there were others, but...it had been so long...
	"Hello. I'm John. What is your name?" The man shaking my hand was dark-haired, with a firm grip and a muscular build. He, too, had a voice of authority.
	"Len. I...I'm just a little amazed at what you have here." I could tell that he and Anna were the leaders here. It looked like a real home, something I hadn't had in a while.
	"We'll get you a bed, and show you the ropes. Some of us are out on gathering missions right now, but we'll do full introductions when they're back." He pointed toward a bed. I took a step toward the bed, and suddenly, for the second time today, the world went black.

	Chapter 4
	Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.
	I was being carried. I felt cold metal against my body. It must have been a robot, I realized. How strange. I'd thought I was with humans.
	Oh god! I was being carried by a robot! I looked down, and saw a massive arm holding me up in the air. Around me, the rest of the group was also being carried along. I realized that we must have been captured. I tried to struggle free, but the robot's grip was too strong.
	After some time, we reached one of those large metal buildings. It was silent right now. The robots walked in, the doors sliding open before them. Here, hundreds of robots lay. Some were moving about. Others were crouched down...they looked almost like they were sleeping.
	Suddenly, we came into a wide room. Inside were robots, but these ones were different. Thin and with many limbs, they carried all types of cutting devices.
	"You are doing a great service to us," a robot's voice was droning. "Without your help, our operations could not continue."
	Then one of the large robots put down Anna on a bed. She tried to escape, but straps clamped down upon her. A thin robot bent down, cutting tools ready. I closed my eyes, but could not block out the sound of her screams.
	And then I felt a weight in my pocket, and knew what I had to do. It all was coming together..."our operations could not continue..." I felt the small circle, and pressed the trigger. A small beeping sound was emitted. All the robots looked up, instantly recognizing it, too late to do anything.
	I smiled then. I had won. It was all over. I thought about all the people I had saved. And then I thought no more.