Echo In the Machine - Chapter 17
An expanded tale written from prompts while playing ECO MOFOS!!
Start from the beginning of my ECO MOFOS!! Solo Playthrough story HERE!
CHAPTER 16: THE LAST DOOR OUT
The shot hit Siren’s side. Not a clean hit, not deep enough to drop her, but not something you just shrug off either. Blood was already soaking through her clothes and spreading.
“I’m fine,” she said.
She wasn’t. I dropped to my knees anyway, digging through my pack for anything useful. Didn’t find much. It seems I never do when it matters. Bob stepped in without a word and tore a long strip from his shirt.
“Here,” he said, as he handed it to me.
I pressed it to the wound. Siren sucked in a breath but didn’t complain. She didn’t even really flinch that much. She just watched me work.
“Hold that there for a second,” I said. She did.
Bob crouched beside her, a little unsure for a second, then smiled.
“I’m Bob,” he said.
“Siren,” she replied.
They shared a quick, quiet smile like they already understood each other. Like they’d been on the same path for more than the five hectic minutes spent together. Bob rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Thank you,” he said. “Really.”
She gave a small nod with a tiny smile. “Don’t make it a habit.”
I tightened the wrap as best I could.
“That should hold for now,” I muttered.
Siren nodded. “It’s good enough.”
I stood up and Bob stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. Hard.
“Thanks for coming, brother,” he said into my shoulder. “I knew I could count on you.”
I didn’t say anything at first. I just gave him a firm clap on the back.
“Yeah,” I said. “You always could.”
He pulled back, and whatever relief was there for a moment, didn’t last.
“It’s bad, Brax,” he said. “It’s real bad.”
The way he said it made my stomach drop.
“How bad?” I asked.
He ran a hand through his hair, pacing once in the tight space.
“They’re not just holding ground here,” he said. “They’re planning something bigger. I stumbled onto it while I was working… schematics and power requirements that don’t make sense unless…”
He stopped.
“Unless what?” Siren pressed.
Bob looked at both of us.
“They want to wipe it,” he said. “Not just this place. Everything. Start over clean.”
“Nuke it? Don’t these guys always talk big like that?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Yeah, but this isn’t talk,” he said. “This isn’t just somethin’ to scare people. They’re building toward it. That’s why they have us all work here. I found out. They found out I knew something. I held them off, jerked them around like I was a stupid Punk, but they persisted. I wasn’t gonna make it much longer.”
I felt something cold settle in me. Siren exhaled slow. “Then we definitely can’t stay here.”
“Nope,” I said. “We move.”
I looked at the droid. “So let’s make this thing worth the trouble.”
Siren pushed herself up against the wall, wincing but steady.
“Gimme the logic card,” she said, gesturing toward the back panel. “Bob, grab it.”
He moved quick, popping the housing open and pulling the small pcb free. He handed it to her.
She flipped the dipswitches fast, fingers moving like muscle memory.
“Put this back in and stand in front of it,” she told him.
Bob nodded and slid the card back in place and closed the panel. The droid’s optics flickered on. A soft scan passed over him.
“Designation required,” it said in that old-world, flat tone. Bob said a few words to the robot, as it went through its checks.
“Designation accepted,” the droid confirmed.
“It’s all yours now,” Siren said. Bob stared at her for half a second, then smiled.
“Rusty,” he said, looking back at the droid.
The droid paused as Bob chuckled under his breath.
“Alright, Rusty,” he said, stepping a little closer. “These two? Braxton and Siren. They saved my life.”
He pointed at us.
“You protect them the same as you protect me. Got it?”
The droid’s head tilted slightly.
“Acknowledged.”
Siren pushed off the wall again.
“We need to move,” she said.
I glanced at her. “You sure?”
“Yes,” she snapped. Then softer, “Don’t worry about me.”
I didn’t like it, but I didn’t argue. We had to get going, like right now.
“Where does this tunnel go?” I asked Bob.
That grin came back. The one that meant a story was coming.
“Oh, you’re gonna like this,” he said.
He moved to the far wall, popped another hidden panel.
“This hole runs straight to the northeast wall,” he said. “Outside the Stronghold. Dumps us right into the woods. They have a routine patrol, but no surveillance back there. They don’t need it. It’s right up against the tree line.”
He chuckled and then looked back at us.
“We walk out clean.”
I nodded. “Then let’s go.”
It was tight. Too tight for comfort, especially with Rusty squeezing through behind us. His metal scraped against the walls at times and it sounded so loud that I thought the whole compound would be on top of us.
But we made it. Bob eased the final panel open just enough to peek through and make sure there were no patrols. Then he slipped out. I followed. Then Siren. Then Rusty. The fresh air was intoxicating after the stink of that fucking place.
We moved fast, putting distance between us and New Ashington before I finally spoke.
“We need to get her help,” I said.
Bob nodded. “I know someone. Not too much further.”
We kept moving through the trees. After a bit, Bob glanced over at me.
“Hey,” he said. “Sorry about that suit I promised you. It’s in my locker back there.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I’m real broken up about it.”
He laughed.
“I’m just glad we got you out, Buddy,” I added.
“Me too,” he said.
We broke through into a clearing and stopped. Two large ants… giant ants. Ant people. Whatever you call the weird, human-like ant things these days. Thick bodies, armed, and moving meticulously as they gathered whatever passed as supplies to them.
Bob leaned closer.
“I heard their nectar,” he whispered. “It can help her.”
Siren shook her head immediately.
“No,” she said. “No one is killing something for me.”
“We don’t have to,” I said. “We just need to get past them.”
We started moving carefully and almost made it, when one of them noticed. Its head lifted with antennae twitching. Then it started toward us. Fast.
“Rusty,” Bob said calmly. “Give it a warning.”
The droid stepped forward. Arm raised. A series of precise bursts fired into the ground centimeters in front of the creature. The dirt kicked up hard and the ant froze. It lifted its antennae high, like it was trying to understand what just happened. Then it chirped, sharp and quick, to the other one. Both of them turned and scattered.
Bob grinned. “Good boy.”
Rusty lowered its arm.
“Threat redirected.”
“Yep,” Bob said. “Thanks Rusty.”
We moved again. Siren was really slowing now. She was trying to hide it, but I could see it.
“We’re almost there,” Bob said. “My bunker’s tied into an old sewer complex. It’s safe.”
We pushed through the last stretch and saw the entrance.
“There,” Bob said, pointing.
We got her inside. The bunker felt different. It was quiet, but alive in a different way.
“Let’s go straight to Nemo,” Bob said. “He’ll fix you right up.”
We found him quick. He was an older man, calm and precise. The kind of person who didn’t waste movements. Everything he did or said seemed to have a purpose.
Siren gingerly sat on the table and lifted her shirt without hesitation. Nemo went to work.
I dropped into a chair nearby. Everything caught up all at once: Bob’s message, the journey, the Mindbloom, the trees, the doom seer, the rain, Crane and Solar, the NEWBATs, the Stronghold, the run, the fight. The escape.
Bob glanced over at me and grinned. He was a funny Punk. And a good friend. Maybe I needed people after all… maybe I needed these people.
Nemo worked in silence for a moment, then spoke.
“NEWBAT, eh?” he said to Siren, noticing her patch.
She nodded slightly. He gave a small hum.
“I just treated one of yours a few days ago,” he said. “Shoulder wound.”
Siren’s eyes flicked toward him.
“Oh yeah?” she asked.
Nemo nodded, thinking.
“Ah… what was his name…”
A beat.
“Jester, I think?”
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Nice! Escape, with hurt. Well done.
This story is great, man. I crossed my fingers while reading the tunnel scene (thought that droid would get stuck!).
If this might help: typo "The have a routine" -> they