A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “What the hell is happening to you?”

  The light in T1N’s eyes rapidly switched on and off.

  “I… I don’t know,” he said in a weak voice. “Another vision…”

  “I thought your batteries had run out and you’d left me alone in this shithole! You almost scared me to death.”

  Dotty realized she was grasping his shoulders and quickly withdrew her hands.

  “Those images are stronger each time they come back. They even block my system commands.”

  “What’s in those boxes?” asked Dotty, still shaking.

  The third trapdoor that T1N had discovered was filled with black boxes piled one on top of another.

  “Guns. Lots of guns.”

  T1N lifted one out and placed it with care at Dotty’s feet. Dotty opened it in the same way she had opened the case for the exosuit. Inside, arranged on a small rack, were a handful of rifles and a couple of pistols.

  “This one’s mine,” she said, grabbing a rifle made of dark metal with a long t-shaped barrel.

  “You know how to use an arc rifle?”

  “On Earth, me and my friend used to sneak into the toxic wasteland to kill mutant rats.”

  “Is that how kids have fun these days?”

  T1N put on a vest made of the same material as Dotty’s exosuit. From its straps he hung a pair of pistols and as much ammunition as it could carry.

  “You’d never believe what we got up to. And I’m not gonna tell you either. I know it’d all be recorded in that chrome coconut of yours.”

  “That’s fine with me.” T1N smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever you say. I’m just surprised you had a friend.”

  “You know what, Tin Can?” She fixed him with a stare. “You’re a lot more human than you seem. I know plenty of flesh and blood people that would kill for your sense of humour.”

  T1N could only stare at her. She was the first person apart from Bella that had treated him as anything more than a tool.