The robots continued to pour from between the trees, relentlessly and without end. The soldiers retreated before the intensity of their fire, protecting themselves and their comrades with their energy shields to secure the path from behind. After they got very close to the forest, they saw large numbers of robotic bees flying over the square, heading toward them. They ran as fast as they could until they slipped into the forest. They began to flee for their lives amidst the trees, with the robots’ shots behind them destroying everything around them, and the bees from above bombing them with launchers and plasma shots. The soldiers dodged the shots randomly, taking advantage of the density of the trees to shield them from the fire and projectiles, until they saw a light at the end of the forest. They came out into another blue clearing.
"My God, another clearing," one of the soldiers said, staring at the place with attention and apprehension. "We’re going to be finished here. And we can’t go back. We have to hurry and cross it to the other side as well."
He signaled to the soldiers with his hands to continue on their way. The soldiers ran toward the clearing until they reached the middle of it, and they saw what shocked them and made them freeze in their places. The robots had come out from in front of them as well. They turned to the right to see another group, and to the left, another group as well. They knew they had been surrounded. Terror and despair spread through the soldiers’ veins, and they began to moan with fear, despair, anticipation, and dread.
"Oh my God, I have children. I have to go back to them."
"We’re going to die here. We’re definitely going to die here."
"This is the end. No one will save us this time."
"Someone do something! I don’t want to die here!"
"Hold on! What’s wrong with you? We shouldn’t despair now. If we’re going to die in any case, let’s die like men, and let’s give them a taste of human will."
But the soldiers’ morale was completely shattered, and these words had no effect on them.
The silver robots approached with their cold gazes and synchronized steps. They aimed their weapons at them. The soldiers raised their hands to activate their shields and formed a circle to block all the gaps. The robots began to fire at them non-stop. The shields blocked the endless successive shots, and the soldiers felt an immense pressure on them, as if they were being crushed under an iron mill. They pushed themselves, but it did not seem that they would hold out for long against this huge firepower. Sparks flew from the robots’ weapons, and the shields glowed like pearls and rubies under the sunlight with every shot they blocked. The soldiers retreated from the force of the fire. They were drenched in sweat, and their endurance began to weaken with every second. When they were about to surrender to their fate, they felt that the intensity of the fire had subsided. They tried to see what was happening behind the barrage of bullets that was crushing them, but they only saw a strange movement amidst the robot formation. But one of the soldiers noticed something.
"There’s something happening in their ranks!" he said quickly. "I see some robots falling to the ground!"
An unexpected ray of light appeared to them at the end of the dark tunnel they had found themselves in. They didn’t understand what was happening until the robots’ fire calmed down and began to turn to something else, something that was slipping between them and taking them down one after another. The soldiers stood staring from between the robots to see what was happening, as they noticed the fire had stopped completely. They saw many robots destroyed, and it seemed as if they were shooting at each other. But they saw something, moving quickly amidst the robots, moving with terrible speed, which made the machines scatter and fire at each other in an attempt to hit it.
The houses were circular and of medium size, extending as far as Eyad’s eye could see, on the right and on the left, giving way to a path of water that extended from the middle of it and twisted like a snake. Eyad was lost in a daydream as he contemplated this place with astonishment, awe, and some curiosity. Suddenly, it occurred to him that this was the headquarters of these creatures, and they might tear him to pieces as they had done with his friends. His heart clenched.
Eyad woke up from his dreams to the sound of the creature calling him to follow. Eyad followed him, his senses sharpened, as he contemplated everything around him with a wary, sidelong glance. The creature approached the water-covered road and mumbled some words. A strange creature rose from under the water. Its neck was long, and its scales were green. On its large back was a seat for sitting and a bridle on its neck to control it. The creature signaled for Eyad to ride behind him, but Eyad was very frightened and said with tension and amazement, "What is this thing? I will never ride this thing!"
And he began to shake his head and hands in absolute rejection of this idea. But the creature continued to insist with gestures from his hands for him to ride and muttered incomprehensible words whose meaning was that it was very safe. But Eyad preferred to refuse, until he remembered his comrades and what was happening to them. So he decided to overcome his fear and ride, in the hope that he would find something that might help them. He no longer knew if they were still alive, or if he was just escaping from death! He no longer knew what to do, but he hoped that they were alive and that these creatures would help him and not kill him.
He rode behind the creature, who in turn grabbed the reins and began to make sounds to make the big thing move. It began to move slowly and cross the big river with them. The strange creature said, pointing to this strange aquatic creature, "Kalyarus."
"Kalyarus! What a strange name."
Then the creature pointed to itself and said, "Jarin."
Eyad pointed to himself, saying, "Eyad."
The creature muttered in a funny way, "Eyawud." Read complete versıon only at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁
"No... it’s Eyaaaad."
Eyad’s face turned red, and blood rushed to his cheeks. He said in an annoyed tone, "Eyad, you fool!"
The creature muttered, "Eyad, you fool."
Eyad put his hand on his head in frustration and then smiled. "Yes, that’s how you say it. If I weren’t a fool, I wouldn’t have come here with you."