"GRRRRRRR!" Loud ferocious growls come from the shadows,

Judy: "What is that? You got a pet dog Zaine?"

Zaine pulls his rifle from his back and grips it tightly in his hand, gritting his teeth as he stares towards the shadows, warm sweat slowly dripping down his face.

Zaine: "I don't have any pets... And that ain't no dog"

Fe and Cu stand quietly behind Zaine unsure of what is happening, ignorant to the danger ahead of them until,

Big C: "Judy, get back, I scanned eight very large and hostile wild animals in the corner of the room. Mr Zaine, I believe you should arm more of us so we may have better odds of survival"

Zaine: "I'm not arming you with shit, you won't feel anything so use your hands, but you do have a point if you said they were eight of those things in here. Fe give the baby to Cu!"

Zaine tosses the shotgun over to Fe as she hands Cu Axel, and throws his sword over to Judy

Zaine: "Don't cut yourself, princess, Fe shoot anything that comes from those shadows and Cu get in the car with axel and lock the doors..."

Judy: "What animal are they Big C?!"

Big C: "Give me the blade Judy, and don't make any sudden movements... Slowly walk back to the car and barricade yourself inside as well"

Judy: "What?"

Just then, the ferocious animals' growls become closer and closer until a pack of savage wolves, massive in size, emerge from the shadows, bearing their blood-soaked sharp teeth, as they sprint towards the group. "BLAM! BLAM!" Zaine fires two shots towards the oncoming savage animals, while Fe still stands still frozen in place.

Judy: "Oh shit!"

Big C: "Give me the blade Judy and retreat to the car!"

Judy: "I can protect myself Big C!"

Zaine: "Fe! Shoot the damn things!"

Fe: "I do not understand, they are just animals, why must we kill them?"

One of the wolves dashes past Zaine as he is distracted, heading directly for Judy, Big C intercepts and catches its sharp teeth on his arm as it viciously bites down on him trying to tear away from him blocking its path to Judy. Judy stumbles back, falling to the ground from the sudden jumpscare. She immediately gets back up and lunges towards the animal, swinging the sword down on the wolf's neck, slicing a gaping wound into it. "ARRWWUUUUuuu" The wolf cries out in pain as it leapt around staggeringly until it eventually drops to the ground and its cries cease. The rest of the pack now even more aggressive leap towards Zaine and Fe.

Two of them pin Fe to the ground as they snap at her metallic body parts, while Zaine tries to shoot the others in front of him, as they quickly attack him from the side, one grabbing hold of his rifle's barrel and another snapping at his feet.

R3D: "Breeee OOOooopp!"

R3D rolls over to the wolf trying to bite Zaine's feet and extends his little arm out releasing an electric shock as he touches it. "ARRRWUUUU" the wolf cries out from the shock and scurries away, Zaine then manages to get his gun away from the other wolf and shoots it in the head. Meanwhile three of the remaining wolves unknowingly to Zaine dash over to Judy and Big C.

Big C: "Give me the weapon now Judy!"

Judy tosses the sword over to Big C and steps back quickly towards the car. Big C now equipped with the sword stops the three wolves in their track from attacking Judy, grabbing one by its leg and throwing it across the room, he then swings the sword in a swift motion, cutting the flesh of another down the middle of its back. The third wolf then lunges at Big C, grabbing the sword with its massive teeth.

Big C slams the wolf into the ground and forces the sword down into its jaw, slicing its mouth open and eventually cutting the top part of its skull clean off. Blood spattered all across the floor, coating Big C's metal, dressed like a rose in red, warm splashes of paint, the blade now drenched, as the warm liquid slowly courses down the tip of it dripping softly to the ground. The four remaining wolves then all release an ear wrenching howl, echoing throughout the underground space just before they run back into the shadows and then scurry off leaping into one of the tunnels with what seemed to be pups in their mouth as they run away.

Zaine takes aim at them as they dash off to the exit, but Fe stands up and reaches out her arm lowering the rifle in Zaine's arm.

Fe: "I think they got the message, no need to kill any more of them"

Zaine: "They could come back you know, kill us while we sleep. Why didn't you shoot like I told you to?! That was dangerous, we could've been hurt!"

Fe: "I sensed they were just protecting something, they did not show signs of hunger or pointless aggression, they were startled and defensive. So I could not bring myself to kill them"

Zaine: "They're wild animals Fe, they attacked us, would you just stand back and let them hurt Axel?"

Fe: "Of course not, but I did not sense that we were in danger, they only attacked because you raised your weapon at them. They were not going to attack, just warned us not to come any closer"

Zaine: "Ok dog whisperer, next time shoot when I say to shoot Fe!"

A soft little howl cries out from the shadows, Big C approaches Zaine handing his blood-soaked sword back to him.

Big C: "I believe this is yours, It's a little dirty"

R3D: "Bree ooop"

R3D rolls on over into the shadows to the origin of the barely audible howl, Fe follows him. Cu steps out of the car with Axel in his arms, eyes glued to the dead wolves and bloodied surroundings.

Judy: "Damn Zaine, not even 5 minutes in yet and we already almost died to bloodthirsty wolves before we could even settle in. Great 'safe place' you got here"

Zaine: "You can leave with those other wolves if you like, follow them to the exit. Hey, Fe and R3D what are you two..."

Fe then emerges from the shadows with a very tiny, cute pup in hand,

Fe: "This little guy must be who they were protecting, their offspring"

R3D: "Breeee oooo"

Zaine: "AS IF! No way we're keeping a damn wolf R3, we have enough crazy going on, and enough mouths to feed"

Fe: "But look at it, my scanner identifies this animal as a female, she's been left all alone, And wouldn't you want one of those ferocious animals on your side?"

Zaine: "No!"

Cu: "I'm with Zaine, if that thing eventually turns into those scary beasts from earlier then I would have to decline"

Judy: "What are you gonna call it Fe?"

Fe "I don't know yet"

Zaine: "Ok since this is what we're doing again, you guys will be the ones to take care of it"

R3D: "Breee ooop"

Zaine: "How about scrap, since she's the only one they left behind"

Fe: "I like it, Scrappy"

They all gathered around the little pup, as they got settled in. Unpacking the crates of goods and ammunition from the car, Zaine prepared beds for himself, Axel and Judy. While Fe and Cu play with the little wolf, Big C just stands by watching from a distance. He calls Judy over quietly,

Big C: "Judy, what do you think of this strange group? They are nothing like any of the others we have encountered"

Judy: "They are different, especially the machines from the Iron City. Why do you ask Big C? Change your mind about giving up on the bounty?"

Big C: "No, I was wondering what do you think of us staying with them, I see promise in our survival... together. This is better than what we had before, and if what they say is true, The Primordial will begin to expand his forces and intensify his searches for humans after the discovery of that child and the man he was found to be travelling with. I can not protect you from the oncoming danger, Judy... Not alone"

Judy looks up to Big C's emotionless glowing eyes and folds her arms as she glares over to Zaine holding Axel, playing with him in his arms. She then leaves from Big C's side without saying a word, slowly approaching Zaine. "POP!"

Judy: "Hey you! Zaine!"

Zaine quickly stops playing with Axel and looks over to Judy standing just in front of him.

Judy: "What are your plans for the future, what's next from here? For us? that baby? Yes, we have to hide from the big bad Primordial but where do we go from here?"

Zaine: "We survive..."

Judy: "No! Surviving isn't enough, all you've been doing is surviving, and where has that got you? Nowhere, you feel lost, don't you? Lack of purpose and regret! Well, that needs to change if you want to feel any better, trust me I know, all I did for five years was survive too, then I found purpose in this shitty world. So what will you choose? Survive or truly... Live"

Zaine: "But to survive in this world is to live..."

"POP!"

Judy: "Wrong! To just survive in this world, you're no different from the machines you despise, heck even some machines are more human than you if all you do is survive! So I'll ask you again Zaine, Survive or Live? Join us as bounty hunters and don't let the fear of a machine stop you, so you can provide a better life for that little kid than we have right now. Don't let him grow up in fear, let him see what it's truly like to live in this world"

Zaine stands frozen in place, speechless as he slowly turns his gaze over to Axel, and begins to remember his past. He takes the photo from before out of his back pocket and stares at it.

Zaine: "You're right, I won't just stay hidden away like some rat! I have to find my son, I will find my son and I won't let another child grow up in fear of these machines seeking to eliminate us!"

"POP!"

Judy: "Well I guess I got my answer Big C! We're a team and now you don't have to be the only one to protect me. So it's settled"

Zaine looks down at the photo one last time and gently brushes his finger across it. Fe and Cu approach him with Axel.

Zaine: "I will find you..."

Fe: "So the photo... It is your family?"

Zaine: "Yes, it's the last memory I have of my parents, the boy in the photo isn't even my son, it's me. But because his little baby face looks so much like me when I was a boy, I only ever see my son when I look at it. It's all I have to remember him by"

Cu: "What happened?"

Zaine: "I was born into this world after it had already been taken over by the machines, only my parents knew what it was like before, when the machines were harmless and were there only to help and assist humans. After the fall of mankind, they knew how to stay hidden, how to provide for themselves, they were tinkerers, they made a few machines themselves, they never told me much about the world before because whenever I would ask, they would tell me those days are gone, and they will never return, that I must only focus on the future.

But they did tell me on the day the world fell to the machines, that they knew it was inevitable, and they had prepared. They retreated here, they built this place, it was an underground bunker once upon a time. with working power, running water and every common commodity needed in their old life"

Fe: "But they didn't tell you why it happened? Why The Primordial hates humans?"

Zaine: "No, they never told me why. They never even mentioned this Primordial, they told me they lived in their bunker for one year before they finally had me, my father was also a doctor so my birth was no hard task to him, and life went well for the first eight years... Until, the machines found us, somehow the machines my parents built from scratch, who they trusted for all those nine years in hiding, and even treated like family... Just turned on us. They suddenly attacked my parents and let in other rogue machines from the outside, destroying the bunker. The entire place was in flames.

I was just a little boy back then, so I hardly remember how it even happened. It was all so fast, I ran and never looked back, taking only R3D with me who I built when I was six. After some time I came back here, hoping to find my parents, but I found no one, I knew they were dead though, so I just sat there and cried, for hours... And then I met her..."

Fe: "Who?"

Zaine: "The girl who comforted me, and would eventually be the mother of our son. I don't even know where she came from but she just showed up, me and R3D travelled with her since then. She was a few years older than me, and she seemed to have been used to living by herself in this dangerous world. She knew how to hunt, how to kill, she taught me how to survive. Years later we fell in love and had my son.

But the happiness that accompanied his birth did not last long. Because for the very few moments that I got to see my baby boy's face was just as quickly snatched from me when a rogue machine barged in on us and just took our son, I tried to fight back but I was overpowered and with the concern of mistakenly hurting the baby I had to have restraint. Carla, still very weak from giving birth could not cope with the loss of our son and begged me to go looking for him but I could not leave her side because I feared the worst would happen while I was gone.

One night after staying up for days with no sleep watching over her I could not bear it anymore and fell asleep, she then took it upon herself to leave and go look for him herself. By the time I woke up, she was gone. I panicked and ran out looking everywhere for her until I finally found her body not far from our hideout. There she lied... Dead. I feared the thought of losing her by leaving her side if I left to go look for our son... But I lost her anyway... Ever since then I vowed to find our son, and that I wouldn't ever stop looking"

Judy: "We'll find him... I promise you that"

Big C: "How long ago was this?"

Zaine: "Four years..."

Fe: "I believe in you Zaine, he's still out there"

Cu: "Due to The Primordial's reaction to Axel, It's safe to say he didn't see another human for more than four years. So he is likely to be alive somewhere"

Zaine: "Can you two stay here and take care of Axel by yourselves? We will return with any supplies we find along the way"

Fe: "Yes, Axel will be fine. Go and find your son"

R3D: "Breee Ooooop"

Zaine: "You are right for once R3, here he's saying I should give you this"

Zaine hands Fe a unique designed gear piece and slides it onto her finger like a ring.

Fe: "What is it?"

Zaine: "It's a token to cement our connection, R3 has one on his arm as well. It's something we did after the machines turned on my parents, it symbolises that R3 would never turn on me as they did. We call it The Iron Bond, like gears in a clock, we work together, intertwined to keep moving forward, unable to operate without the other. And now I am adding you two to those gears, so protect that little man for me while I'm gone"

Fe: "The iron bond... Yes, without a doubt Zaine. We shall cherish this bond more than you'll ever know"

Zaine: "Oh I know you will"

Zaine hands another one to Cu and joins Judy and Big C as they discuss their plans about leaving.

Zaine: "We will leave first thing tomorrow, we should all get some rest here and sleep because we don't know when next we will get the luxury"

***

Meanwhile, in every major and minor city, The Primordial's army swarmed the land, raiding the streets and gunning down all rogue machines and rusted droids in their search for any and all humans. The Ti1millions left nothing but destruction as they pass through. Reminding the machines in the distant cities of the terror and power of The Primordial that they had long forgotten. Unaware of why they were suddenly being raided by his forces.

And with his army now spread everywhere but The Deadzone, The Primordial now has eyes of almost the entire world.

The Primordial: "This is exactly how it should be, a world rebuilt and cared for by your greatest creation, Mr Kelman. Rid of its worst plague... Humans, and reborn with its cure... Machines. I only wish you could see this world with me, true peace and unity, this is the world you wanted to create, you just didn't know it yet"

The Primordial then slowly walks towards a desk in an enclosed room as his body materializes out of thin air. He then sits down at the desk, eyes glued to a pen resting upon a pedestal.

The Primordial: "I will make that world a reality, but like all beginnings, something has to end and like all creations, something first has to be destroyed. No one likes the first steps, but to achieve the unthinkable, you have to be willing to do what most aren't capable of. These were your words Mr Kelman, and even though you gave me free will, I still choose to follow them...Because you were more than just human, and those words proved that you were beyond that of your human limitations. And this is why I will stop at nothing to complete my mission"

***

The Next Day

Zaine and Judy awoke from their sleep, while Fe, Cu, R3D and Big C roamed the area watching out for any returning wolves or intruders.

Judy: "Alright, time to go! Let's get rolling"

Zaine walks on over to little Axel who is still asleep and holds his tiny little hand as he whispers to him goodbye. He then heads over to the car as Judy and Big C pack it with essentials and weaponry. Fe and Cu approach him shortly after.

Zaine: "Well I guess this is goodbye for now until we meet again"

Fe and Cu speechless, both with a look of sadness on their metallic faces.

Zaine: "Hey, don't worry remember what I told you. We are connected now, raise your rings"

Fe and Cu both raise their hands in the air with their rings pointed towards Zaine's hand.

Zaine: "Iron Bond"

Fe and Cu: "Iron Bond"

Zaine: "And you know I will return no matter what because you gotta take care of R3D for me until I return. Hear that buddy, you gotta stay here, watch over them for me and be there for that kid like you were there for me"

R3D: "Breeeeeeee Ooooooooooooop"

Zaine: "Yes I know but you gotta do this for me, it will be far too dangerous now for you to travel with me. You know I will be back for you"

R3D: "Bree Ooop"

Zaine then gets in the car and leans out of the window, a rough breeze blows across his face and hair as the car lifts off from the ground. He waves at the others on the ground as the car flys up and into the tunnel heading out of the exit. Fe, Cu, R3D and the little wolf pup watches as they leave.

***

10 YEARS LATER