Ravine exploded into motion, her spear cutting through the air in deadly arcs. She spun and slashed through one electric wolf, sending the others scattering momentarily. Without taking her eyes off the circling pack, she screamed to Zhon, "I will try to keep them at bay, but I need you to get it together and take her and hide! Got it?"

  "But—" Zhon started.

  "Once we arrive, we'll check her out for repairs. Now go!" she commanded, stabbing and then smashing another wolf to the ground. The creature howled in pain as sparks flew from its damaged circuits.

  Seizing his chance, Zhon sprinted to Aria's motionless form and lifted her onto his back. As he ran, he whispered to her body, "Don't worry, Aria. We won't let you die. Just hold on a bit more."

  Three wolves broke away from the main pack, flanking Zhon as he fled with his burden. Ravine spotted the ambush and drove her spear clean through one wolf's skull, killing it instantly. She yanked the weapon free and hurled it toward another wolf mid-leap, pinning it to an abandoned car with a metallic crash.

  "Go into camo mode along with her!" she shouted. "These bastards are smarter than I expected!"

  Zhon nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Rav," he said before vanishing from sight.

  Ravine turned back to face the remaining wolves as they circled her like electric phantoms. Their movements were coordinated, predatory. Another lunged at her from the left. She leaped over it, twisting acrobatically in mid-air before landing in a crouch.

  This new power I got earlier could have been so useful right now, she thought bitterly. Too bad I'm not in a forest.

  One wolf finally broke through her defenses, its claws raking across her leg and tearing away the synthetic skin to reveal the metal framework beneath. She dropped to one knee, her systems registering the damage.

  How are they this fast and strong? I can't keep up with their speed.

  Beep. Beep. Her assistant activated.

  "What is it that you want now?" she asked, annoyed.

  "DAMAGE TAKEN TO THE BODY. WARNING. WARNING."

  Ravine sighed. "Anything useful you'd like to share?"

  "Yes. You are in no condition to take them on as you are right now. Suggested solution: Run and regroup with Roan and Irene."

  She scoffed. As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. But how can I make an exit without them noticing I'm using a device to disappear?

  Her eyes fell on the car she had used to pin the wolf—gasoline was leaking from its punctured tank. A smirk crossed her face.

  "So you guys like to stay on my ass, huh?" she called to the wolves. "Then follow me."

  With a burst of speed, she sprinted toward the car. The wolves gave chase, switching positions as they closed the distance. As she neared the vehicle, she slid underneath it, emerged on the other side, then used her legs to launch the car at the pursuing pack with tremendous velocity.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Bang," she whispered.

  The car crashed into the wolves and exploded in a massive fireball. The force sent Ravine flying backward until she slammed into the edge of the bridge, which now wobbled precariously from the explosion's impact.

  Now's my chance, she thought as smoke filled the air. She pressed her belly and vanished into camouflage.

  This bridge isn't going to hold much longer. I need to find Zhon and Aria and get out of here quickly.

  She activated her comms. "Zhon, are you still here?"

  A few seconds passed before his voice crackled through. "Yes, but Aria... she's not moving."

  "Is she...?"

  "No, but her body... even if I rebuild it, I'm not sure how long it would take me. It's a miracle her vital core wasn't damaged, but her support system that allows her to think and move has been cut off." His voice began to spiral with self-recrimination. "This is all my fault. After the bridge incident, I should have known not to let her fall behind, and yet I let it happen again. I—"

  Ravine's scanner finally located him. She materialized beside them. "Hey, this has nothing to do with you. She just got unlucky. This could have happened to either of us as well. But right now is not the time for guilt, you hear me? We need to get to Irene now."

  Zhon slowly nodded and lifted Aria's body onto his back with renewed determination. "Then let's go. I'm not wasting any more time here."

  Ravine looked back to ensure they weren't followed by any surviving wolves, then nodded. "We seem clear. Let's go."

  Neither of them noticed the strange substance dripping from Aria's wounds.

  As they approached the city limits, their cloaking devices finally wore off.

  "This is it," Zhon said. "Until they recharge, we won't be able to use them again."

  Ravine looked around at the desolate skyscrapers, the abandoned bakeries, and the empty stores as they entered Moscow proper. The silence was oppressive.

  Zhon, having finally calmed down, broke the quiet. "I never understood humans' obsession with making such high buildings. It wasn't aesthetically pleasing, and maintenance wasn't cheap either. So why go through all that trouble?"

  There was a brief moment of silence as they walked, each footstep seeming to echo louder than the last. Ravine stopped walking.

  "Ego," she said with certainty. "There's no doubt about it. There's no other reason—perhaps they liked to be able to look down on each other."

  She gazed up at a building devoid of windows that had crashed into another. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's what ended them in the end."

  Zhon also stopped walking. "What makes you think that?"

  "Data transmitted to us by Mother Phoenix said humans used to have social classes, right? Depending on your class, you were either revered or despised by society."

  "Yes, but—"

  "Would it not be safe to assume that a smaller building would be envious of a bigger and taller one? And of course, that would all be fine for the bigger building until the pressure and lack of care become too much for the smaller building and it crashes on the bigger one—like these two."

  She pointed at the two windowless buildings that had collapsed together.

  Zhon nodded thoughtfully. "That's deep, but even so, I feel like humans were pretty smart. I don't think they would let that happen, would they?"

  She sighed and continued walking cautiously. "Intelligence has nothing to do with it. You and I—us androids—are intelligent as well, but unlike them, we do not have feelings. We don't feel things. Even if we think we do, it's fabricated."

  "Do you really think that?" Zhon asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  "That we don't have feelings?"

  Ravine looked up at the gray sky. "We might feel camaraderie since we come from the same place, but that's the extent of it, yes."

  Zhon nodded quietly. "I see."

  As they approached an abandoned building, Ravine checked her scanner. "Look alive. It seems we've arrived."

  They climbed the steps to the upper floor, their footsteps echoing unbearably in the hollow structure. Once they reached the top, they found Irene gazing out at the cityscape while Roan sat on the edge reading a book titled "Voyna i mir" (Война и мир).

  Hearing their approach, Irene turned around. "You finally came. We were waiting for you." Her eyes fell on Aria's condition. "It seems we might need a few readjustments."