Chương 9: Metallic Nightmare

"....C40!....Snap out of it!.....SILAS!"

I was snapped out of my daydream by C178's urgent voice, cutting through the haze of my thoughts. I Looked over to C178 Who was currently Trying to Bring down the Dropship door, banging His shoulder, and kicking desperately trying to get it to open.

"We need to get the hell away from whatever that is!"

I didn't think; I only acted. Not daring to look behind me, I focused solely on bringing the container door down. With every ounce of strength, I slammed my body against it.

Blocking out the horrific symphony of bending metal and wet squelching, I channeled all my energy into battering the door

"It's, Not Working, the Latch might be, bent, we Aren't Getting out of this."

"Then- What do we do just die?!"

The horrific Sounds Stopped, as a blue light expanded and then retracted.

I and C178 exchanged a brief glance,

*Cybernetic Chitters. *

We both turned at the same time, ready to fight for our lives. I raised my rifle, finger tightening on the trigger.

C178 Rose his Fists, His hands Clenched tightly, bracing himself for the impending life-or-death struggle.

"C40...?"

"..."

"what's it doing?"

"..."

[MC's POV]

I stood there, not really sure what to do... This could end badly if I made any sudden moves...

"god... this is really awkward... uhm..."

I began to sub-consciously tap, and play my mid-legs, as I tried to piece together a plan, that wouldn't end my having to Kill these dudes in front of me.

"..Say.. Could we Not Shoot each other maybe...?"

the one holding the rifle didn't Budge an inch whenever I moved my head his train of aim would follow, this guy does not mess around., while the other guy looked somewhat confused, probably expecting me to charge at them like some brainless monster, well Sorry but I'm Not any ordinary Antlion bud, well... I'm Not an Antlion at all, I'm a Synth baby!

"I'm confused... C40-.. Is it."

"Waiting for us to Make a Move? thought so... "

"Err- I was going to say Friendly."

I observed as the one holding the rifle shifted his head slightly, keeping a cautious eye on me while addressing the other.

"Friendly? Do you hear yourself right now...? How is anything about this thing friendly to you... it's not a Stray Dog."

"well-"

"Go."

"...huh..what?"

"Go On then Mr. Alien Creature Whisperer, go pet it."

The tension hung in the air as both men stared at each other, the one with the rifle looking incredulous while the other hesitated, glancing back at me uncertainly. the rifle-holder urged, gesturing with his head towards me. "

"Come on, don't be shy...it's not every day you get to Befriend a... Weird metal insectoid thing, look I think it likes you."

His friend hesitated, glancing nervously at me again. "I... I don't know, man. This isn't like anything I've seen before..-"

I looked between the both of them, "How did this guy manage to make the situation so...Oddly, Humorous?"

"Exactly!" the rifle-holder exclaimed; his voice tinged with exasperation. "It's a walking nightmare, and you want to pet it?" His eyes widened, behind his mask as he stared incredulously at his companion His body leaned forward slightly.

"I never said I wanted to pet it!" The other responded defensively, crossing his arms over his chest. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Mm.... I'm sure you said, you wanted to pet it." the rifle-holder persisted Nodding his head.

"Where did you get that idea?!" His companion's voice rose, punctuated by a gesture of bewilderment, hands spreading wide.

"Oh, come on," shaking his head "I saw you that one time, while we were exterminating an infestation of Zombies, trying to play with a head crab through the cages. I didn't take you as an animal lover."

the other glanced at me then his friend his shoulders tensing as he shifted his weight uncomfortably. He waved his hand dismissively, trying to deflect the accusation. "That was different. I was... curious."

"Curious about getting your face eaten?"

"No!" His companion protested vehemently, his voice rising defensively. shooting a glance at me before returning his gaze to the rifle holder. "I just wanted to see how it reacted. It's not like I wanted to be friends with it."

"Sure, sure," the rifle-holder replied, He relaxed his posture slightly. I sat there and enjoyed the banter despite the tense situation, I almost couldn't contain my laughter

"..heh.. Okay, How About when we get back to Base, I Can try to Adopt you a Puppy.

"Ha! Very funny," his companion retorted, "When was the last time you saw a dog?"

"..Maybe a robotic one?" The rifle-holder cracked a small chuckle.

"Deal. As long as it doesn't try to eat our faces."

I couldn't contain myself, I burst out into laughter. my body Lurched as I began to make Some Strange noises, that sort of sounded like laughter?

*Cybernetic, Chittering that sounded like laughter. *

"!"

"...Shit.!"

The Both of them Got tense again, the One holding the rifle, went back to his Defensive Pose, readying his Pulse rifle.

"...is it laughing at us?"

"Maybe it thinks we're the joke," the rifle-holder muttered, eyeing me warily.

"Maybe I Should, Start Blasting it, then it will know who it is fucking with."

"Hey wait!"

His companion interrupted with a raised hand, taking a step up.

" Wait. uh... I'm going to try something-..."

"You can't be serious; do you want to die? this is too stupid, even for you."

"Hold on, let's not escalate things unnecessarily," he urged, cautiously approaching me with outstretched hands.

"Uh-huh," the rifle-holder muttered skeptically, eyeing Gideon's approach with a mix of apprehension and curiosity. He kept his weapon trained on me, ready to react at any sign of hostility.

"u-uh... Heyyyy.. there little...thing...!?" he said tentatively, taking Slow steps towards me.

*robotic Chirp?*

"Is this guy Serious?... Pfft-. Alright... Fine. just this once. I'll play along... Along as if it gets me out of this situation."

"MMyy.. name Is... Gid-."

"C178."

He stopped As I watched him, as he muttered while keeping his attention toward me,

("fuck.. off... I'm About to save Our lives-..grouch.")

the one Holding the rifle Groaned.

I watched Gideon with a mixture of amusement and wariness. I didn't particularly appreciate How The other one Acted, but there was something oddly endearing about this one's attempt to communicate with me. He edged closer, his movements cautious as He extended his hand tentatively toward me,

"uh... Goood...Alien..??"

I wondered, if I should let him touch me, I mean... he's Not carrying any weapons. But that stance he took maybe he knows karate? I hope he doesn't try and snap my neck and rip it head off like some mortal combat finisher... although that would be a badass way to die.

The rifle-holder groaned louder. "This is insane. You are going to die because you decided to play Dr. Doolittle with an alien."

Gideon shot him a quick, annoyed glance. "Would you relax? Look, it's not attacking me. Maybe it's just curious?"

"Or, Afraid, why Don't I lower my Weapon and see How Nice It Is then?"

"Also, another thing... if it understands us, I hope it Knows that if it tries anything I'm going to Tear it apart with my bear hands."

"This guy is brutal! Why is he So angry? did they program him with anger issues?" I thought.

C178 turned back to me and reached forward to touch me, I just sighed and didn't move all that much, and he gave me a quick pat on the head before recoiling his hand back, waiting to see if I do anything... which I did not.

"Ha! See Mr. Grouch? I just petted the Alien! Not All problems can be solved by Filling it with holes."

the rifle-holding one looked still unconvinced. "Fine, Dr. Dolittle. Now what? Are we going to teach it tricks next?"

I rolled my eyes—or rather, my optical sensors—and sighed making another cybernetic chittering sound, which seemed to amuse C178 even more.

"Uugh... Alright... Enough playing around C178, look up there, lets exit through this Hole."

The one holding the rifle, just shook his head as he walked up and took a Knee, just above, the container hole. "Come on.. let me give you a boost."

"C178!"

C178, looked over his shoulder, I on the other hand was grateful that he stopped pestering me.

"Hm? oh.. Roger that."

I watched as the other knelt down and interlocked his fingers, offering a stable platform for Him to Boost His friend up, C178, went over to his mate, and together, he managed to get him up through the hole.

"What do you See?"

"It's empty!"

"Come on I'll give you a hand." He leaned over, extending his arm.

The one Still in the container with me eyes me for a few moments before, he tosses his rifle up towards C178, who catches it and places it aside.

he then promptly turns his back as he jumps up grabbing C178's forearm tightly. With a grunt of effort, he began to haul himself up, scrambling to find footholds on the jagged edges of the hole.

"Nice going Guys...but... uh... how do I get out now?" I Look Around, seeing no other entrance. but the hole on top. I watch as the other one picks up his Pusle rifle and they both walk away from the hole, I hear their Footsteps clank across before they both descend with a couple of grunts, completely forgetting the most important thing!

"Hello!? oh for the love of... I guess I got to do it myself, can I even make that jump? guess i better just try and hope I don't smack into the roof.

I stretched my legs, readying myself for a leap through the hole. My back legs coiled tightly, muscles tensing as I focused all my strength on them. With a burst of energy, I launched upward, soaring through the opening with surprising speed. I overshot a bit, landing atop the container with a resounding *THUD*.

"Augh!"

"Not, as graceful as I imagined..."