Snippet #1638857

Robert sat, hunched forward and still. His eyes were empty. Glaze and shock ran over his features as he stared at the ground. Around him scores of others were frozen the same way, trying to comprehend how their universe suddenly changed. There were few that had finally managed the freedom of understanding. Yet even they were uncertain of how to move on. Thousands cowered in the grand train station, sheltering from the storm outside. This was where Robert's thoughts processed. Holiday in the British isles, meant to be a treat for him and his younger sister. Instead, four days into the journey, something happened. The first thing he knew was the screams and shouts. Then the surge of people stampeding through hundreds of unaware and confused pedestrians. Cattle-like humans, an indomitable force, crushed him. The press of people, contact and noise overwhelmed his senses. Nothing was solid and certain except the screams of his little sister and her dainty hand gripping his. It took a moment for him to gather himself. The crowd shoved him in their path and he began to push back, against the flow. Still clinging to Johanna's hand he searched for their parents in the chaos. That was when saw the terror that had gripped so many. Among the pristine low-rise structures dark, smoke billowing shapes stood. Towering humanoid shapes of metal and machinery. The sights froze him, the great ponderous strides filled him with fear. He turned and joined the crowd, walking with a steady purpose. He wasn't about to join the chaos and run, not when he had his sister to care for.

That had been over a day ago, a day since the military began their defensive operations. A day since London began to be evacuated to mainland Europe. Trains shuttled back and forth, flights redirected to the cause. Robert and Johanna had hunkered within the train station, waiting for the crowd to disperse and train to return them to Holland. Sleep was hard to come by with the almost constant explosions of combat outside. Yet both Robert and his sister had gotten a few hours of shut eye each. Now she still slept and he was awake, unable to close his eyes for worry. Their parents had not contacted them, not by phone at least. Robert didn't want to believe that he wasn't going to see them. He didn't want to think about the chance they were victims of the robots. He clung to the hope they'll meet again, his parents knew he was responsible. They would be heading home to Amsterdam and he would be expected to take Johanna there too. There was a subterranean train that would whisk them to the capital in little under an hour. It had only arrived once and Robert had been too far back in the mass that he didn't get on before it was full. That was roughly two hours ago.

He looked up from his patch of tiles, finally cognitive again. Johanna lay on the cold metal bench beside him, asleep and peaceful. She was an island of serenity and a now chaotic world. Thinking on that Robert looked about, people sat about conversing in hushed, fearful tones. That noise had been constant since the dutch boy arrived, yet the sound of explosives and small arms had quietened. The lack of ambiance set Robert on edge, something wasn't quite right.