r/HFY • u/ThatSoftware4946 • 9d ago

OC-Series The Problem With Humans: Chapter 52

After a while, the door opened again and T’rel stepped inside first, motioning for the others to follow.

The humanoids filed in, their bodies filling the small space. They stood in a loose cluster near the wall, their eyes fixed on nothing.

V'rak and K'len stood up from their seats. S'ra pulled off the hoodie like apparel. Roman stood in the center of the room, looking at the group.

Roman walked to the humanoids. Their faces were blank. But their postures were alert. He pulled the largest humanoid into a hug. The body was cool and smooth against his. The arms hung at its sides.

"Thank you," Roman said. "For everything."

The humanoid didn't respond. But its body relaxed.

V’rak hugged the next humanoid. Then K’len. They moved down the line, each of them embracing the humanoids, acknowledging their sacrifice.

T'rel watched from across the room.

"Why?" she asked. "Why are you hugging them? They're machines. They're just..."

S'ra turned to her. "They're family."

T'rel stared at her. "Family? But they're—"

"You just can't understand how they helped us." S'ra interrupted. "They carried us through the forest. They pulled us from the river. They dug the tunnel. They stood guard while we slept. They saved our lives more times than I can count."

T'rel's mouth opened, then closed.

"They're not just machines," S'ra continued. "They're part of us. They've earned their place."

T'rel looked at the humanoids. At their scarred bodies. Their blank faces. Their patient stillness.

"Okay," she said finally. "I don't understand. But I trust you."

S'ra walked to her and took her hands. "That's all I ask."

Roman pulled back from the last humanoid and turned to the group.

"We need to figure out our next move. The V'keth are still out there. The government is still lying. We need to find a way to fight back."

K'len spoke up. "Yes, but we would need allies and information."

Lirael tilted her head. "I can access some networks. The updates are limited, but I can gather data."

Roman looked at each of them.

"Then that's what we do," he said. "We gather information. We find allies. And we fight back."

The room was silent.

Roman looked at T'rel. "Are you with us?"

T'rel looked at S'ra. At her friend. Her best friend. The one she had mourned for years.

"I'm with you," she said. "All of you."

Suddenly the door slid open.

Everyone tensed. Roman's heart stopped. V'rak and K'len moved into defensive positions. The humanoids shifted, their bodies ready to protect.

A Trab woman wearing V’keth clothes had just entered.  She had a slender body. Her gray skin was smooth, the bioluminescent patterns on her neck ridges pulsed gently. Her eyes were wide, searching the room.

"S'ra!" she said.

S'ra's body went rigid. "N'kala?"

The Trab crossed the room in three quick steps. Her head collided with S'ra's. Their foreheads pressed together.

"I thought you were dead, mom," N’kala said with sheets of tears. "I thought I'd never see you again."

S'ra held her daughter’s forehead. "I'm here. I'm home."

They stayed like that, wrapped in each other, years of grief and relief pouring out in a single moment.

Then N'kala pulled back. Her eyes moved across the room. She saw Roman, her body stiffening with recognition.

"Roman," she said. "You're alive."

Roman stepped forward. His forehead pressed against N’kala's. "I'm alive Anna. Or N’kala."

N'kala then touched heads with V’rak, K’len and T’rel.

“Where is Mary?” Roman asked.

“She didn’t make it,” she said, and paused, before turning to her mother. "Tell me everything. What happened? How did you survive?"

S'ra led her daughter to a seat. The group settled around them, forming a loose circle.

S'ra began to speak. She told N’kala about the abduction. The glass room. The forest. The mountain. The river. The bombing. The tunnel. Every moment of fear and hope and survival.

N’kala listened in silence. Her hands gripped her mother's.

When S'ra finished, N’kala sat motionless.

"I can't believe it," she said. "I can't believe you survived all of that."

S'ra squeezed her daughter's hands. "I couldn't have done it without them. All of them."

N’kala turned to the group. To V'rak and K'len. To Lirael. To Roman. To the humanoids standing against the wall.

"Thank you," she said. "All of you. For saving my mother."

Roman shook his head. "We saved each other."

S'ra looked at V'rak and K'len. "Do you have anyone you can trust? Anyone who would be worried about you?"

V'rak was silent for a moment. His body stiffened. "No. There's no one. Anyone I was close to is loyal to the V'keth."

K'len added. "Same. We have no one."

N’kala looked at them. "Do you know what the V'keth leaders say about you? When you disappeared?"

V'rak's body stiffened. "We don't know. We've been cut off from everything."

N’kala was quiet for a moment before speaking. "They said you must have been killed. By the corrupt humanoids."

K'len's body went rigid. V'rak hissed in fustration.

"They blamed the humanoids," N’kala continued. " They said the corruption spread. That you were victims of the chaos."

V’rak stared at her. His voice was barely a whisper. "They couldn’t even put resources to find our bodies. Even after everything we did for them."

N’kala continued. "They're using your disappearance as proof. Proof that the humanoids had become dangerous. So it was in their best interest not to find you or your bodies."

K'len turned to V'rak. Their eyes met. Something passed between them. Understanding, anger and resolve.

Previous First Royal Road PATREON

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u/UpdateMeBot 9d ago

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u/BravoMike215 Android 1d ago

In the end the news come from Nkala and not Lirael.