The monster surely was still ramming the metal door, what with all the clanging happening. But all my attention was focused on the robot--the mecha kneeling in the front-centre of the room. On some sort of raised platform, with many cables connecting it to the various tables, the monitors were dead and yet the line was still glowing with power. They spread over it like spiderwebs, everywhere and going whichever way I didn't even know where to start to understand.
The mecha was beautiful, even with the few threads of sunlight passing through the cracks on the ceiling. The paint gleamed wherever the light hit it, showing off how it wasn't even peeling away. Still as good as new, as if no time had passed since the day it was made.
I walked forward, transfixed at its beauty. The head part didn't light up, and I had to stifle both the disappointment and excitement that formed within me. Disappointment, for I knew the beauty when a mecha was alive. I always tried to be there when one of the City's Mechas came to the Village, their lights shining as they came around--bringing some sustenance. I knew what they meant, and yet... I could never refuse their looks. They had always fascinated me, and now...
I moved a little faster, ignoring the way the metal doors were creaking further at my back. It would break soon, and I should have been trying to find a hiding place. But this robot... this mecha... It took forever for me to arrive at its front, and I could only gape at its size. It was as tall as a few people standing on top of one another, all in one hunk of metal. Then its width...
My hand caressed the surface, feeling its smoothness beneath my skin. It didn't look as if it had rusted, or had been left for years--decades? I had no idea when this was made, all everyone knew was that they were ancient. Older than anyone living now.
[Human life detected...] A voice called out, and I could hear and feel a hum forming within the machine. I gasped, taking my hands away from it. I could still feel the faint warmth from where I touched it.
[Scanning...] Its chest and eyes glowed momentarily, a blinding green. [Parameters acceptable. Please walk into the cockpit for further synchronisation.]
What. My eyes were wide as the mecha's back hissed and opened with ease, giving me permission to get in. I--should I even do this? Shouldn't I find someone else in the village to get in. They were surely more worthy than me, as I murdered my own parents.
But when I heard another bang, and the loud victorious roar of the monster incredibly close behind me, I shook those thoughts away. No matter. I still could give it to the others, but I needed to stay alive first.
I immediately ran forward, clambering inside the cockpit and looked everywhere within it with wide-eyed fascination. It wasn't huge, but it had more space than I thought it would. I parked my body upon the seat in the middle, one that looked as if it was lifted straight out of a motorbike. My hand automatically grasped forward, to the handles at front, while my feet easily rested on the pedals underneath. The cockpit closed behind me, and before everything could plunge into the darkness--the monitor turned on.
It showed immediately what was behind me, the drooling two-headed feline, with a thick mane surrounding its neck. It snarled and growled in front of me, as it flexed its paws to show off its claws.
[Warning, hostile entity detected! Onboard AI shall be activated to support Pilot--ERROR! Pilot not registered!] The sudden red flash made me wince, disorienting and stunning me completely. Then a helmet went down from the ceiling, covering my head and sight completely with another screen.
One that was flashing even more colours and images and made me dizzy. There were still sounds outside, but the helmet muffled everything else. I could even feel some sort of vibration forming below me, from the mecha...?
Another flash, and I closed my eyes, feeling even worse. I was completely disoriented, not understanding what was happening. The colours were so bright they penetrated my eyelids, a constant that hurt my sight, and I tried to squeeze my eyes shut even further.
It didn't work.
It only stopped when the shaking and vibration also stopped, and the colours changed to something else. A soothing blue, one that made me finally open my eyes in relief. The helmet was still around my head.
[We apologise for that, Pilot... May we ask for your name?] A feminine voice said, coming straight towards my ears. I shivered at the feeling, at the intimacy I could feel despite it being just a voice.
"Um... Lena." I said, a little confused at the situation. But the blue colour in front of me was pulsing gently, rotating between blue, green, yellow... it slowly weaved through multiple colours, all bright and yet not stabbing my eyes. No, I would say they were more akin to gentle ones, soothing my eyes, even.