Sci-fi Novel - Underground City - Part 12

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Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11

Part 12

Tolhan and Amara fixed the tear on the car as much as they could, opened one of the stuck doors with difficulty, and moved on. “The robots' receivers are not sound sensitive,” said Tolhan.

“They are sensitive to heat and the image.”

"What if lions attack again?”

“You'il scream at them.”

“So you've heard.”

“I somehow remember.”

After some time in the meadow, they reached a rugged area. The mini-terrain vehicle progressed quickly on the terrain covered with bushes and shrubs, thanks to the steel wheels with wings on them. Tolhan admired the birds flying freely in the sky, the clouds moving, the wind bending the branches of the trees. He thought of sharing these observations with Amara, but he gave up it, remembering they were on duty.

When they were about to complete the first round around the city, they saw a broad valley with terraces. Near the floor of the valley, the earth was colored in black, and the iron ore load on a three-wheeled truck was coming up from the valley. It was clear that the truck was running itself like three-legged robots. Amara immediately reported what she saw to the headquarters in Yerşehir.

Circling a large circle around the mine, they returned to their route and entered the forest again. Now they started their second tour around the city, and Tolhan felt safer in the woods. After driving through the woods for a long time, Amara told Tolhan, “slow down.” Tolhan has slowed down the land vehicle; trees in this part of the forest were much more frequent and imposing. The trunk of the trees was so thick that each one could be thousand years old.

All of a sudden they come up with a strange view. In front of them lied a black lake covered with mist, and the truck that they just saw exiting the mine emptied the load into the lake. A robot, smaller than what they saw in the city, penetrated the lake and progressed. For the first time, they were witnessing the movement of robots, with more joints in their legs than they ever imagined. The robot rolled itself into the water to make the water cover its entire body, and bubbles rose from the black water that resembled the slurry. The fog layer on the water was denser in some areas, and in some areas where they thought there were volcanic activity on the ground, the surface of the water was constantly blistering.

Amara stepped out of the car with heavy movements and began to study the lake thoroughly with binoculars. At the far end of the lake, tiny metal balls jumped into the water like a flea. An apple-sized metal sphere came out of the water and bounced and rolled out of the forest. Tolhan came next to Amara because he wanted to know what was going on.

“They're born here, they're some kind of animal,” said Tolhan.

”They feed on the lake's Black Milk, " Amara replied.

The dark clouds, which had been moving in the sky for some time, had fallen close to them and it began to rain with the heavy wind blowing. It was raining for the first time on these two soldiers who were born and raised underground.

Amara continued to watch the lake, soaked in the rain. A three-legged robot stood up, waving the water of the lake, and began to walk towards the shore. Amara was reporting to headquarters what she saw with the radio.

“Let's get back to the car,” Tolhan said.

Amara held a hot kiss on Tolhan's lip, which she turned towards her.

Tolhan was surprised, “what was that now?” he asked.

“We'll be dead soon,” said Amara. There was a strange expression of happiness on her face when she said that. She had been relieved of the burden of responsibility on her shoulders for years.

“We'il be safe inside the car,” said Tolhan.

Amara didn't answer; she kept watching lake with the binoculars. Tolhan nervously tried to lure Amara into the car, but it was too late. They instantly evaporated into a black smoke with the explosion of mine thrown on them like an arrow.

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