***
Chapter 2
I can't be near you.........
***
She opened her eyes to find herself on a couch of some kind. After a brief
moment of confusion, she remembered Enzo and sat up with a start.
She was in an abandoned restaurant. She saw the shadow of a tall figure
across the room.
"You alright, kid?" The voice was female.
"Where's Enzo?"
"Enzo? Whozzat?"
"He was with me. I have to find him, he's hurt!"
"Oh, you mean this?"
The lady came out into the light holding a small object. It was Glitch.
"No, that's Glitch."
"I'm afraid this is all I found near you. You were lying in the middle of
the street. What is this thing? Some kind of robot? It seems to be alive
somehow."
"It's a keytool."
The lady stared back at her with curious blue eyes. Her skin was a light
yellow color, and her hair was orange. She wore ragged remains of some
kind of uniform.
"Keytool. Never heard of keytools. It looks like it's been through a war."
Andraia remembered what Enzo had said about closed systems. They wouldn't
know what keytools were.
Andraia looked around. There was no sign of Frisket either. With the
exception of Glitch, she was alone.
"I'm going off to see if there's anybody else left. You're the first
person I've seen in seconds. I'm hoping there's others. Stay here while I
go look."
"I have to find Enzo. He's hurt. I don't know how long he'll last out
there."
"You wouldn't last against those monsters."
"That's why I need to find him. He has even less of a chance......."
The lady smiled.
"I guess you don't have much of a choice, do you? Even if I found anybody
else, there's hardly any sprites left since the infection."
"What happened here?"
"There was supposed to be an upgrade...........the file arrived, and then
we opened it. There was this flash..........I don't remember anything
after that. When I woke up, I was under a cardboard box, the principal
office was deserted, and everything was like this." The sprite looked away
for a moment, then turned to Andraia again. "Listen, I'll head back to the
PO and get some supplies together, just in case there's anyone left. All
the scanners are dead so I don't know what else I can do. If you see
ANY other people, send them my way. Just promise you'll be careful, alright?"
"Yes. I promise."
"Thanks. See ya-round."
The sprite left quickly.
With the exception of Glitch, Andraia was alone.
Wait...............Glitch......Maybe......
"Glitch?"
The keytool beeped a small greeting in response.
"Cool. I thought keytools only talked to guardians."
The keytool beeped somewhat angrily. *I thought you knew me better than
that, Andraia.*
"Oh, sorry. Do you know where Enzo is?"
Some kind of map appeared on the small screen. After a small amount of
time, a small dot appeared near a location on the map.
An elementary school? What would Enzo be doing there?
The keytool started to buzz with interference again as the screen went
blank. Something was outside the window. She readied her crossbow again,
waiting for whatever was outside.
It was one of the bat-creatures. It smashed through the window. Small
pieces of glass flew at her, cutting her lightly. It was hovering right
over her head. Almost instincively, her spines extended and she jumped,
digging her fingernails right into the creature's chest. It fell to the
ground, limp.
The interference on the keytool stopped immediately.
Andraia stared at her hand. The previously extended fingernails had
detatched themselves from her hand, and had embedded themselves in the
small monster before her. Just to try it, she extended her fingernails
again. It worked.
So her spines could regenerate as she needed? She couldn't believe she
didn't notice this before.
Sighing, she took one last look at the restaurant, and left.
Chapter 2
I can't be near you.........
***
She opened her eyes to find herself on a couch of some kind. After a brief
moment of confusion, she remembered Enzo and sat up with a start.
She was in an abandoned restaurant. She saw the shadow of a tall figure
across the room.
"You alright, kid?" The voice was female.
"Where's Enzo?"
"Enzo? Whozzat?"
"He was with me. I have to find him, he's hurt!"
"Oh, you mean this?"
The lady came out into the light holding a small object. It was Glitch.
"No, that's Glitch."
"I'm afraid this is all I found near you. You were lying in the middle of
the street. What is this thing? Some kind of robot? It seems to be alive
somehow."
"It's a keytool."
The lady stared back at her with curious blue eyes. Her skin was a light
yellow color, and her hair was orange. She wore ragged remains of some
kind of uniform.
"Keytool. Never heard of keytools. It looks like it's been through a war."
Andraia remembered what Enzo had said about closed systems. They wouldn't
know what keytools were.
Andraia looked around. There was no sign of Frisket either. With the
exception of Glitch, she was alone.
"I'm going off to see if there's anybody else left. You're the first
person I've seen in seconds. I'm hoping there's others. Stay here while I
go look."
"I have to find Enzo. He's hurt. I don't know how long he'll last out
there."
"You wouldn't last against those monsters."
"That's why I need to find him. He has even less of a chance......."
The lady smiled.
"I guess you don't have much of a choice, do you? Even if I found anybody
else, there's hardly any sprites left since the infection."
"What happened here?"
"There was supposed to be an upgrade...........the file arrived, and then
we opened it. There was this flash..........I don't remember anything
after that. When I woke up, I was under a cardboard box, the principal
office was deserted, and everything was like this." The sprite looked away
for a moment, then turned to Andraia again. "Listen, I'll head back to the
PO and get some supplies together, just in case there's anyone left. All
the scanners are dead so I don't know what else I can do. If you see
ANY other people, send them my way. Just promise you'll be careful, alright?"
"Yes. I promise."
"Thanks. See ya-round."
The sprite left quickly.
With the exception of Glitch, Andraia was alone.
Wait...............Glitch......Maybe......
"Glitch?"
The keytool beeped a small greeting in response.
"Cool. I thought keytools only talked to guardians."
The keytool beeped somewhat angrily. *I thought you knew me better than
that, Andraia.*
"Oh, sorry. Do you know where Enzo is?"
Some kind of map appeared on the small screen. After a small amount of
time, a small dot appeared near a location on the map.
An elementary school? What would Enzo be doing there?
The keytool started to buzz with interference again as the screen went
blank. Something was outside the window. She readied her crossbow again,
waiting for whatever was outside.
It was one of the bat-creatures. It smashed through the window. Small
pieces of glass flew at her, cutting her lightly. It was hovering right
over her head. Almost instincively, her spines extended and she jumped,
digging her fingernails right into the creature's chest. It fell to the
ground, limp.
The interference on the keytool stopped immediately.
Andraia stared at her hand. The previously extended fingernails had
detatched themselves from her hand, and had embedded themselves in the
small monster before her. Just to try it, she extended her fingernails
again. It worked.
So her spines could regenerate as she needed? She couldn't believe she
didn't notice this before.
Sighing, she took one last look at the restaurant, and left.
