Lady Coral lies cuffed to an ancient altar in the clearing below. I scan the trees for any sign of danger, then dash down the wooded hill to her side. My first heroic deed should be simple. Free Coral. Get her safely to Tob Spaceport, out of the clutches of the village elders.
After that? Not sure, but I won’t eke out a meager existence in a backwater forgotten by the Android Wars. I, Jotham, will be a hero. Coral’s eyes snap open—vibrant and striking as a storm at sea. “What are you doing?” she hisses. “Saving you.” I hold up my laser-razor. “This should get through the cuffs.” “Idiot! Get out of here!” I press my razor against the cuff. “Don’t give me any nonsense. You’re just a traveler. The villagers had no right to sacrifice you to save their own skins. Besides, the Beast is probably just some farmer’s overactive imagination. We haven’t had a rogue android here since—” The cuff pops open before I finish cutting. Coral clamps her hand over my mouth. I grunt in surprise—good to see that my village’s cruelty hasn’t crushed her spirit. Perhaps she’s used to fending for herself, considering how useless her bodyguard turned out to be. A snap, followed by a crash. I stiffen. Coral points over my shoulder. I turn—slowly. A rusty canine android towers over a fallen tree, growling. My heartbeat jackrabbits. Ok, so maybe I was wrong about the Beast. It focuses pulsing red eyes on me, then leaps. Coral kicks me in the chest, sending me tumbling backward, and rolls after me. The Beast flies over our heads and lands by the altar, crushing it with a swipe of its metal paw. Coral jerks me to my feet. “Run!” “I can’t just leave you!” A man wielding a blaster rifle jumps from the treeline and fires a barrage at the Beast’s head. I gape. The bodyguard? He turns to her. “Why weren’t you in position?” She jerks a thumb at me. “Saving idiots again, André!” The Beast bounds toward us, unfazed by André’s attack. “Plan B, then.” André grabs my arm, towing me over an embankment and into a den carved by some creature that secretes far too much mucus for my comfort. Coral hops in after us. “What’s Plan B?” I ask. Carrying out my original plan should’ve been easy. If my plan had actually possessed anything close to foresight. “You screwed up Plan A,” Coral says. “You gotta figure out Plan B.” “Plan A was to destroy it with a pyrochip.” André hands me a metal disk with a big red button in the center. “Once you press that, you have six seconds to get away. The android’s casing is uberarium, though, so it won’t do a thing unless you hit its exposed underbelly.” “Which I would have done already—” Coral scowled “—if I hadn’t been saving you.” “Er... sorry.” My cheeks start burning. “I don’t have another plan. But I’ll help, if I can.” Clanking rings out from above, followed by a shower of dirt from the shaking ceiling. “War droids are programmed to target the weakest opponent first,” André says. “Which means you’re the perfect distraction. Now, go!” He shoves me out of the den. I clutch the pyrochip and stumble into the shadow of the Beast. A laser beam from its eyes incinerates the tree to my right. I yelp and run. The Beast bounds after me. I dart back toward the ruined altar. André and Coral have a plan to destroy this thing, right? Or, at least, they did. So if I keep it near them, I should be safer. The Beast’s paw slams into me, sending me flying. My heart almost jumps from my throat as I free-fall for a moment. I crash into a tree trunk. Pain blossoms through my body, and I fall to the ground, gasping for breath. The android stalks toward me, metal teeth bared. A vision of those fangs tearing into my flesh flashes before me. I shudder. I’m going to die. Another wave of lasers strikes the Beast’s head. It jerks toward the source, robotic eyes flashing. A battered access port dangles from its abdomen, held by a single hinge. I glance at the pyrochip in my hand. Maybe I’ll die, but it won’t be in vain. Now is my chance to be a hero. Prove to my village that I’m more than a farmer’s son. Prove my worth to Lady Coral. I rise to my feet, pain washing over me again. I’ve got at least one broken rib. No matter. André continues raining lasers on the Beast. It’s distracted. Now’s my chance. Real heroism requires sacrifice. I’d been foolish to think any different. I step forward with a wince. The Beast turns back toward me, eyes glowing with a laser charge about to be unleashed. I draw my arm back to throw the pyrochip. Coral dives between the Beast’s legs, throwing something above her head, then rolls out in a single fluid motion. I jump backward as a column of fire rips the Beast open. Its eyes go dark and it falls, spilling charred machinery. Relief washes over me. I sink to the ground, every inch of me throbbing. André approaches and slings his rifle over his back. “What d’ya think, love?” Coral strides through the Beast’s wreckage and inspects me. “Stupid, but courageous. What’s your name, kid?” “J-Jotham.” Coral takes André’s hand. “Hubby and I have spent decades making this planet safer, one rogue android at a time. It’s time we took on an apprentice.” My jaw drops. “Wait, you’re married?” Coral laughs. “Yep! Only husband-and-wife vigilante team out there. What do you say to helping us clean up the mess left by the Android Wars?” A chance at something more. Not as easy as I foolishly expected, but… “I’m in.” “Good!” André claps my shoulder. “Now strip that ’droid for parts.” The End *** I wrote this story to break a cliché. The hero goes to save a damsel in distress-- and turns out the damsel doesn't need saving. Of course, this cliché has been broken before, so much so that it's become a new cliché. But hey, originality is overrated. And One Rogue Android At a Time was never meant to be a work of genius, but rather a fun story that embraced some clichés and tweaked others. I like the idea of a married couple with a vocation of vigilanteism, and destroying robots with giant pillars of flame is always delightful. What are some clichés that you'd like to see broken more often? Or clichés that you enjoy even if you've seen them before? -Zachary Holbrook P.S: If you're wondering how Coral and André make a living, they sell salvaged parts from the droids they destroy.
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Progress on Doombear, Rough draft:10%
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"In truth, by leaving, I was seeking only one thing. A journey."
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