Billows of smoke rose up from the desolate land. Lights flashed across the smoked covered sky. Metal clinking against metal could be heard as the robots marched forward, heading towards the last human stronghold. A tall, muscular man stood on top of the wall as he stared out over the horizon filled with red dots. Those red dots were the eyes of the robots that were coming for them. Their goal, to destroy humanity. “Get ready. They are coming!” 

“Sir! Why didn't we just retreat underground!? Why must humanity fight to the last?” A young man asked. His commander turned and gave that young man a bitter smile without answering before turning back around.

“You idiot! It’s because those fucking dumbasses at the top! They ran and hid but sent the last of humankind to defend. Only a select few were allowed to enter the bunker. We are nothing more than sacrifices to hold back the enemy. But don’t worry, with resources to only last them a short while, they will die off sooner or later. I got to see the bunker and they are not really worth speaking about. To be honest, I would rather die fighting than die of starvation.” A young woman who looked to be around twenty five years of age replied. She had a scar across one of her eyes, but even still, her beauty shined through. Even with her hair all over and dirt covering her clothes and face, she still stood out amongst the rest.

“Well said, Fate!” The commander, the big muscular man, yelled out without turning around. After all these years of fighting together, he had remembered every one of his soldiers' names. They were once a legion of thousands, but now there were merely a few hundred people left. “What Fate said is right! Those bastards want us to hold the line just so they can survive a few more years. But what then. Once they enter the bunker, they can never come back out. They will die of starvation, or worse, they will be like trapped rats after these damn bots find the entrance. 

“Humanities ability to advance had stalled due to the emergence of the sentient A.I., something we created. We are nothing more than a hindrance to their domination of this world. Eventually, they will advance so much that not even the stars beyond will be able to stop them. At least here on this front line, we are fighting not for those who run and hide but for ourselves. 

“Instead of laying down and letting them kill us, we will fight until the last man and woman. We will not go down without a fight!”

The commander's words resonated through the group. Loud cheers of the hundreds of young men and women filled the air. Their ages ranged from twelve to thirty. Humanity was about to be extinct.

 “They are here! Open the gate! Fan out once you leave, do not group up! Attack with everything you have!” The commander paused before yelling out once more as he jumped off the wall and charged forward himself.. “God bless your souls. We will all meet in the afterlife!”

 Fate ran forward and split off from the group. She was sick of it all. She had seen many die in her twenty five years of life. She watched friends, family, and even lovers perish right in front of her. She just wanted it all to end. But, she did not wish to die without at least taking a few of the robots out with her. 

This war had raged since way before she was born. When it all started, no one really knew. They only knew it was that the robots were their creation, and they had brought about their own armageddon. 

Red and blue lights flashed by her head as she fired at the smaller robots rushing up towards her. But with the sheer number of enemies and the lack of ammo, her only two clips were now empty. It only took a matter of minutes. But she did not stop running forward. Her mind had already gone out of sync. She only cared about killing the robots in front of her or die trying.

She used her weapon that was now useless as a baseball bat, and began swinging it widely as she smashed the smaller robots away from her. “Ahh!” One of her legs was cut clean off, causing her to tumble to the ground. Numerous small round shaped robots with razor sharp legs all pounced at her at the same time. But instead of being scared, Fate let out a maniacal laugh that echoed across the sky. 

She seemed to have completely lost it. “Hahaha! If I am reborn, I want to be reborn as someone who can never die, and one day I will come back to this place and destroy all you fuckers! Just you wait, I, Fate, will one day return! Hahaha…” 

Fate’s words were cut off as a metal leg sliced through her head, instantly killing her. Her world turned dark. 

On this day, the last stronghold of humankind on planet Earth ceased to exist.

---

“Fuck! Why did boss say we have to bring this creepy thing back!? I mean, look at it; it's covered in dozens of starlight metal chains! On top of that, it's a coffin! I mean, who the fuck chains up a coffin in the first place!?” A man wearing green cargo pants and a tank top shirt covered in dirt and grime complained. He was carrying one side of a large black casket with strange engravings on it.

“That’s because boss said this thing is ancient and if sold at the black market auction we can get a large sum of money. You know our ship needs repairs after our run in with the federation. Those fucking bastards almost blew us to bits!” The man on the other side of the casket replied. He had no shirt on, and his body was covered in sweat. He was about the same build as the other man. But instead of having a full head of hair, his head was shaved to the skin and shined under the dim lights.

---

Inside the casket, a pair of eyelids flickered.  They slowly opened and looked fairly confused. “Didn’t I die? No, wait, more importantly, why do I feel so hungry?”