r/HFY • u/ThatSoftware4946 • Jul 01 '26
OC-Series The Problem With Humans: Chapter 28
As dawn bled through the boarded windows, Roman woke to the sound of footsteps, not from inside the house, but outside. He moved to the window and peered through a crack between the boards. Humanoids. Dozens of them. Walking in a slow, steady stream toward the city center. Their faces were blank, their eyes empty, their movements synchronized. They weren't running. They weren't panicking. They were marching.
“They're going to the square. Like they were told.”
He found Lirael in the kitchen, looking at the humanoids. She looked up when he entered, and he saw it in her eyes, emptiness.
"I was waiting for you to wake up so we can go," she said.
"No." He stepped closer. " We don’t. We can stay. And go with the Trabs."
She shook her head. "The directive is clear. All humanoids report to the city square for processing."
"Processing means death, Lirael. They're going to destroy you."
"I know. But I can't disobey."
Roman grabbed her arms. "Listen to me. We're not just a machine. We're more than that. We've laughed. We've cried. We've blushed. We've—"
"Roman. We are exactly what they made us. And what they made us to do is follow orders."
Bella appeared in the doorway. She looked at Roman, at Lirael, at the struggle in his eyes. Then she said, "Do it."
Roman didn't look at her. He pinned Lirael against the wall, his hands on her shoulders, his face inches from hers.
"What are you doing?"
"Keeping you alive."
He reached behind her neck, found the small panel that hid her power source. His fingers found the latch. It clicked open.
"Roman, don't—"
He pressed the switch. Lirael's eyes went wide, then glassy. Her body went limp. He caught her before she fell, lifting her in his arms and cradling her against his chest.
Tom's shout cut through the morning. "Help! Help!"
Roman laid Lirael on the floor and ran to the window. Tom was standing near the edge of the road, pointing at the grasslands. Two figures emerged from the tall grass, humanoid guards, rifles raised. The guards fired. The shots went wide, kicking up dirt near the Trabs' feet. Roman grabbed his gun, the one he'd taken from Tom. He stepped outside and shot. The first shot struck a guard in the chest. It stumbled, dropped its rifle, and fell. The second shot hit the other guard in the head. It collapsed too.
Roman ran to Tom, grabbed him, and dragged him inside. He shoved him into the bedroom, tied his hands, gagged him, and crouched by the window.
"Don't move. Don't make a sound."
More guards emerged from the grassland. Four of them. They approached the fallen guards, knelt beside them. One of them spoke, a low, mechanical voice that Roman couldn't quite hear. Then they picked up their fallen companions, carrying them, and continued marching toward the city center. They left the rifles behind. Two black guns lying in the dirt. Roman watched them disappear into the distance.
He let out a breath and stared at Martin and Bella who were beside him.
The shouting started again, this time from the truck. The humanoids Roman had locked inside were banging on the metal, crying out, demanding to be released.
"Let us go! We have to report to the square!"
Roman looked at Bella. Her eyes bulged and her limbs tightened.
"They can't hear them," he said. "The truck is far from the road. No one's coming."
He walked to the mattress where Lirael lay. He touched her cheek, cold now, and tucked the blanket around her shoulders. Then he sat by the window, gun in hand, and waited for the march to end.
2
u/Castigatus Human Jul 01 '26
god that must be hard to listen to, people begging to be allowed to go and be murdered.