Water ran steadily in a hush. Ebbing in a stream through the tunnels. Walking over wavy metal, the sewer pipe was caked with rust and debris. Worn industrial belts, shredded tires, fragments of split concrete, alongside rebar sat gray beneath a pale light.

Peeking around a corner, Amma held her shredder at port arms. A short rifle, it was twice the length of a conventional handgun. Pulling back the bolt, she took a quick look inside the ejection port.

A long black needle rested there. Powered by magnetic propulsion, the anti-material spike was built to penetrate armor. Pushing through before fragmenting into an adversaries body.

Trillions of hypertransistors crowded Amma's skull. Buzzing in an array of atomic circuitry, they illuminated the translucent casing. Revealing a dome of grayish blue light from a distance.

To the clear skies with wide eyes, I used to stare. The nights used to be quiet, silent upon the hilltops. Little birds with muted words, clung to air. High above, they could feel it, could see it. The truth, the coming carnage of which we'd been warned on the news.

Activating, hollow eyes lit blue; dimming intermittently before continuing to flicker. Hesitating, Amma's core steadily awoke from its slumber. Warming up, processing units began to access files. Swapping memory, records blazed a trail of data through her mind.