The creature’s optical sensor a jagged, glowing slit of red light pulsed in terrifying synchronization with the LED on its chest. It let out a sound that was half mechanical screech and half human sob. Nala watched, paralyzed, as the thing’s obsidian plated fingers dug into the red earth, pulling its twisted, half flesh body forward.
"Leo, that’s not a machine," Nala whispered, her voice trembling. "That’s... that’s Juma. The baker from the lower settlement."
Leo gripped the rusted rebar tighter, his knuckles white. "It’s not Juma anymore, Nala. It’s legacy data. It’s a corrupted file Elisha couldn't delete, so it turned him into a physical firewall."
The creature, the thing that used to be Juma, suddenly snapped its head toward them. The red light intensified, and a burst of static hea
