Champion of the Bots ✔️

Chapter 15 ~ RENA

The little girl clutched the slippery wall when the plane rumbled and took off into the black, twinkling sky.

"The ground is shaking! Ahh!" She squealed, her tiny feet tottering on the grey floor. "I want to go home!"

A soft hand grabbed her hand. "It's okay, little girl. It's okay."

Teary-eyes and trembling, the girl clutched the hand tighter.

"We're on a plane," the man explained, patting the dark-haired head. "I created this plane."

"I don't like it," she whimpered out. "We're too high up in the sky."

"Have you looked outside yet?" Sid said, his crooked finger pointing to the roundish window a few steps away.

She shook her head, squeezing harder on Sid's hand.

"Go on," he encouraged. "Don't you want to know what the world looks like from above? Don't you want to feel like a bird, soaring in the clouds?"

Her tiny feet tottered, and her body shook to and fro like a boat. But she took a step. And another. And another.

"Wow," she breathed out. Foamy, springy clouds drifted lazily then scattered like ants when the wing of the Savior sliced through. Glittering like sequins, the land below teemed with life—and death.

The girl hobbled back from the window as the flashes of metal and grey and blood bubbled inside her, and she fell into warm arms that enveloped her.

"Shh, shh, it's alright. You're home now. This is your home. You're safe." The warm hand patted her, easing the knots on her back and in her heart. The soothing voice continued, "What is your name, little one?"

"I-I can't remember."

"Well," the man contemplated. "How about Rena? I've always liked that name."

She nodded.

"My name is Sid. I'll keep you safe here, so don't worry anymore."

She nodded again, tearfully. She liked her name. She liked the man, Sid, who held her hand as they ascended away from the hell below.

But Rena did not like heights, which she was reminded of as she clung to the Bot, zipping into the atmosphere.

"Get me down! Down! Ahhhh!"

"Wait," it replied calmly, breathing in the scent of fresh, crisp air. "Not yet."

"Why the hell not?" Her words quickly got snatched away by the sniping wind, but the Bot heard her loud and clear.

Scowling, the Bot muttered into her ear, "Why did you save me, girl? What did you expect after protecting me?"

Rena stayed silent. Because I think you're human. Because killing is wrong. Because you saved me first.

She mulled over her thoughts, a temporary haven to distract her from looking downwards. She could still see Paul's face—betrayal, despair, anger. It felt like days ago when she rocketed to the sky, kidnapped by the Bot. She wondered what the survivors thought—that she deserved it? that the Bot should've been killed? that she was insignificant? She wondered what Sid would tell them, whether he would send out a rescue mission—