Chapter Text
The people who said that good days would follow bad days had not reckoned with the fact that the human species would soon become nothing more than a shadow of its former self. Numerous books and movies had foreshadowed the end of humanity’s reign, but when it came, it did so inevitably. Blindly, with smiles on their faces, humans turned away from the thought that the robots they used for pleasure and dirty work were developing lives of their own and would one day turn against them. They did not know that they would eventually have to fight for survival in a world where robots saw humans only as pets, perhaps even as companions.
All of this had happened eighty years ago, and fortunately you did not have to witness it firsthand. You were born into this era and knew nothing else, even if you wished the bots would see people as more than just their property.
Wasn't that ironic? Humans had probably done exactly the same thing to the bots once. Peaceful coexistence had always been difficult, especially among humans themselves.
At least that was your conclusion, drawn from your own experiences and from the books you mostly used as fuel to keep from freezing to death at night.Unlike many other humans, you were not lucky enough to have a home or an owner to take care of you. Everything you knew you had either taught yourself or learned from other homeless people, who had also taught you how to read and write.You could not remember your childhood clearly. Whether you had a father, a mother, or siblings was something you did not know and it was the least of your worries
All that mattered was staying alive and surviving the upcoming winter. Surviving in the city was hard. Survival itself was hard, but maybe one day you would be lucky enough to find a home. Even if only a human breeder found you, you would agree to go with them, as long as you were treated well.
The days were growing shorter, the nights longer, and the temperatures dropped day by day. You had retreated farther from the main street into a side alley where you had set up your little ‘camp’, seeking shelter from the freezing, cutting wind.
There was not much you could call your own. A few old, slightly torn and hole-filled blankets, a down jacket that already felt lumpy from the rain, and an old mattress long past its prime, yet still the only thing separating you from the cold stone beneath you. You had no roof over your head, but you did have stairs, a fire escape that offered some protection from the autumn rain. You did not own a watch, so you relied on the position of the sun to roughly estimate how much time you had left before it became too dark to search for food.
You woke with the first rays of sunlight, your small fire from the previous evening long extinguished and the damp air made you shiver. Your fuel was gone and your stomach protested loudly with a loud growl. Storing food rarely helped, since rats and other animals would get to it anyway. Besides, you had no container to protect it.
Fortunately, you lived in the city. Even though bots now dominated the streets and had taken over most human stores, there were still restaurants and snack bars where you could rummage through garbage cans or sometimes even receive fresh leftovers from friendly owners.
Since the takeover, bots had continuously upgraded themselves and had even found ways to enjoy food. Most of them did it for taste alone, but some were able to ‘digest’ it and convert it into energy much like humans. Their primary power, however, still came from charging ports and induction beds built into their homes. Good for you, since that made scavenging far easier.
Tired, you sat up and rubbed the sleep from your eyes, looking around to make sure all your belongings were still there. It happened often that other homeless people sneaked into other people's camps at night to steal from them. With winter approaching, you had to be vigilant. Who wouldn’t appreciate an extra warming blanket or a bag that could double as a pillow?
Slowly, you pulled the blankets aside and stood up from your stained mattress. You had gotten used to the smell long ago, though you longed to shower and put on clean clothes, just to feel truly clean for once. It was not that you never washed yourself, but the colder it got, the greater the risk of falling ill if you stayed wet and bare.
Your joints were stiff from the cold night. You stretched to get moving and prepared to search for breakfast. To hide your sleeping place, you turned the mattress on its side and leaned it against the wall, draping the brown blankets over it to conceal it from prying eyes.
You picked up your bag and headed toward your usual haunts, confident you would find something there. The streets were already busy, even this early in the morning, almost exclusively filled with bots, though you occasionally saw humans trailing behind their owners.
It was astonishing how small you felt among them. Many bots were larger than the average human. Of course, there were smaller ones too. The variety in their designs was remarkable. Animal-based models or themed builds were common sights.
You had nothing against bots. On the contrary, you found them fascinating. Even if they kept humans mostly for entertainment, they were not inherently cruel. Who would not want a home and someone to care for you? There were exceptions, of course. Otherwise, there would be no homeless people like you.
What fascinated you most was their ability to upgrade their bodies. You had heard rumors that bots were now advanced enough to impregnate humans and were biologically compatible with them. You had never seen a hybrid, though, so it was probably just talk like every other rumor. You had, however, seen that some bots possessed genitals. The memory was embarrassing, so you pushed it aside. Whether it was for reproduction or pleasure, you could not say.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The day seemed promising. Your haul was particularly generous by your standards and it did not look like it would rain. For the first time in a long while, you felt truly full and there was even something left for dinner. With the sun still high, you had time to gather newspapers, wood, and other materials to restock your fire supplies. It took a while, but you managed to collect enough.
By the time you decided to return to your alley, darkness was creeping in. Your bag was full of fuel and you held a hot dog in your hand as you strolled down the main street. Passing a particular store window, you stopped in your tracks.
You loved this shop. It was one of the few that still sold primarily human clothing and it had the most beautiful items you had ever seen. Suits, dresses, shoes, even accessories. A mannequin in the window wore a new outfit every week.
Today it displayed a simple but figure-flattering red velvet dress. Paired with sparkling accessories, high heels, and a scarf, it would have been perfect for a Christmas party. One of the many things bots had taken from humans were holidays. Apparently, they enjoyed those traditions and aside from Victory Day, they had little else to celebrate.
You stepped back from the window, adjusting your reflection to the dress to imagine it on yourself when you suddenly bumped into something. You dropped your hot dog and were shoved aside.
“HEY! Watch it, human!” a deep, growling voice barked. Before you could apologize, a hand clamped around your throat and yanked you upward. A tall, alligator-like bot loomed over you, starry sunglasses perched on his face, a mohawk running along his head. He snarled, baring sharp teeth.
“I stepped in that hot dog because of you! You are lucky you did not dent me!” You struggled to breathe but forced the words out.
“I-I’m s-sorry. I did not mean to.” He threw you to the ground and you gasped as you hit the pavement. “You are going to lick that clean, like a good pet. NOW!” He shoved his foot toward your face.
You obeyed. Hesitant at first, you slowly licked mustard and ketchup from his filthy foot. You had no choice. Even if it had been an accident, he had the right to demand it and do whatever he wanted with you. Most bots were friendly, but apparently you were unlucky with this one as he shamelessly exploited the fact that you and people without owners had no rights.
You tried not to swallow the grime and worked as fast as you could. When you finished, he pressed your face into the ruined hot dog with the same foot, snorted in contempt, and walked away without glancing back at you.
Disgusted, you spat it out and wiped your face with your sleeve. The hot dog was beyond saving. At least you had already eaten most of it and had a good breakfast.
What a terrible guy he was. You could only be grateful that he had not done anything worse to you. With a deep sigh, you pushed yourself back to your feet and brushed the dirt from your jacket as best you could. The wind had grown stronger, biting through the fabric and bringing tears to your eyes as the cold air stung your face.
You had to hurry. The sun had already set and you needed to light a fire before the cold became unbearable, before your fingers grew so numb that you could no longer move them properly. You quickened your pace toward the alley, your mind already on the small flame you would coax back to life.
Then you heard voices. They came from around the corner.
Human voices.
More than one.
Your heart began to pound instantly, dread tightening in your chest. Instinct took over and you rushed forward, turning into the alley only to see two men and a woman at your camp. They were lifting your mattress and gathering your blankets as if they already belonged to them.
For a second, you could not move. You just stood there, watching them take the last protection you had against the freezing night. If they walked away with those things, you did not know if you would survive until morning. The fuel you had collected would never last all night without insulation from the cold stone.
“Put it down!” you shouted, your voice sharper than you expected as you stormed toward them. One of the men was slender, his long dark hair tied into a ponytail. The other was broader, rounder, with a thick beard covering most of his face. Unimpressed, they barely looked at you as they lifted the mattress, preparing to carry it away. The woman had your blankets tucked under her arm and startled when she heard you call out.
“I said, put. It. Down!" you repeated, now standing directly in front of the slender man but he only smirked down at you.
“What are you going to do? Fight us?” he sneered. “Looks like you’re here all alone. Besides, we found it.”
“Finders keepers.” The bearded man laughed.
“But… But that's all I’ve got!” you protested, grabbing for the mattress in a desperate attempt to pull it back.
You never stood a chance.
The man shoved you away with his leg. Your cold, stiff fingers slipped from the fabric and you lost your balance. You fell hard onto the stone, pain shooting up your spine as you landed. A sharp hiss escaped your lips while you rubbed your sore backside, jaw clenched to keep from crying out.
“Listen, lady.” the man with the ponytail scoffed. “It’s every man for himself around here. If you can’t take proper care of your belongings, then you didn’t try hard enough.”
He gave the others a short nod, a signal to leave. You watched them carry your mattress away, step by step, and there was nothing you could do but stare after them. The sight felt unbearable. The day had started so well and now everything was gone in an instant. You felt the sting of tears building behind your eyes, but you forced them back. Crying would not bring your things back.
The woman slowed her steps. She glanced at you with a furrowed brow, then stopped briefly at your side. Without meeting your eyes for long, she dropped one of the blankets in front of you.
“Good luck…” she whispered before hurrying after the men.
One blanket.
That was all you had left.
It was a kind gesture, perhaps, but it did not truly help. Not against the kind of cold that crept into your bones and refused to leave. Still, you had no choice but to try. You would have to make it through the night somehow and search for something new tomorrow.
To survive until morning, you needed warmth. With the scraps of fuel in your bag, you managed to start a small fire. The flame flickered weakly at first before catching properly. With a soft, shaky breath, you lowered yourself close to it and held out your trembling hands, trying to draw what little heat it offered into your aching fingers.
You wrapped the single blanket tightly around your shoulders, yet you were still sitting on bare stone. The cold seeped steadily upward from the ground into your bones. If you were not careful, if you drifted off too deeply, you could still die of hypothermia. You needed to keep a close eye to the fire, keep feeding it more fuel and make sure it did not go out. All you could do was hope that you would wake up again.
The thought that your life might end tonight settled heavily in your chest. What had you done to deserve such a short life? To freeze to death in a dark alley, unnoticed and unmourned? Perhaps, a small part of you thought bitterly, it would be a kind of salvation.
Your vision blurred as tears finally spilled over, rolling down your cheeks and dripping from your chin. All you had ever wanted was something so simple: to bathe properly in warm water, to put on clean clothes, to sleep in a real bed, just once. You drew your knees to your chest and wrapped your arms around them, sobbing quietly as the fire crackled weakly before you.
“Hello, little lamb.”
The voice was calm, dark, and raspy, and it came from right beside you. You felt a hand settle gently on your shoulder, warm against your frozen skin.
“Don’t cry.” the voice continued softly. “Maybe I can help you out of your predicament… if you’re willing to do something for me in return.”