Chapter 19: Entry costs an arm and a leg

Ice watched the factory for hours. 

It was a building that did not make sense.

He could see it was highly advanced inside even from a distance.  There were  solar panels on the roofs.  The few vehicles he saw when the gate opened, for automatons– well he didn't know what to make of them.  He knew they hovered because one of the trucks inside had floated over the wall and left for half an hour before returning.  He couldn't see its cargo due to a covered bed.

However,  the automatons were extremely primitive in comparison. Some of the clockwork looked like cannons for one arm.  Others had a sword or axe stuck on their back somehow.  

After a time, he heard a blaring air raid siren. All the automatons hurried inside the walls; the gate shutting with a loud bang, followed by a grinding noise like metal on stone.  

A loud monotone voice came from the inside of the building.  "Warning.  Warning.  Factory Francis has reached yellow status two.  Theriope spotted within two miles of the building.  All defenses activated.  Please remain indoors at this time."The message repeated three times.  

"Ice, we should probably move away from this facility if it is about to be attacked."

Ice hushed Raven and said calmly. "I want to see what happens.  Maybe we can talk to whoever is running this factory afterwards. It would be nice to see actual people again!"

While Ice stood watching the factory, he saw movement by the gate. A group of six automatons charged out, moving directly towards him, their heavy stride eating up the distance.  One of them was holding a rather large dirty sack.

Ice immediately fled running away from the automatons thinking of the bones in the clearing of glass.  "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh FUCK!"

He was barely paying attention to what was in front of him and once again he tripped.  Screaming as he flew through the air,Ice hit a tree with a crunch when his ribs took most of the damage.

It hurt, but it was better than a broken arm.  He tried to stand up. Getting his arms under him hurt, as his movement agitated his battered ribs.  Before he could stand all the way up, he lifted his head.  In front of him he saw a massive black spider.  It had to be the size of a small car on earth. The spider had articulated blades instead of legs and the body was a grotesque amalgamation of eyes.He gazed into one milky black eye.  There were little hairs around it and it seemed mesmerizing.Ice froze.  He could hear Raven yelling at him to move but he couldn't so much as twitch.  He knew objectively that if he didn't move he would die here.  till he couldn't.

"Hel-." Ice could not get the word out.

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Cold, sharp ridges pressed against his skin as something grabbed the collar of his shirt. He could hear the gears grind and whir  as he was jerked backwards. A blade passed just in front of his face as his head moved.  It speared into his left leg as it missed, cutting through meat and bone like it was butter. A second one followed right after and then he felt the spider's mandibles crush his ankle.  The hand pulled him backwards causing his leg to be slowly torn off. 

He felt his shirt give way in the automatons hand as he attempted to grab the now missing limb.   The spider's head snapped up, lunged forward, it wrapped its mandibles around his bicep, crushing flesh and bone in its grip.   Cold, brass hands grabbed him once more.  They pressed under his arms as they drug him further back.Ice screamed as his arm ripped off, spurting blood into the spider's mouth as the skin and muscle stretched and then tore apart under the crushing mandibles.

His stump dragged on the ground as the blade spider struggled against the swarm of automatons that had finally reached it.  Tears welled up as his vision blurred.  He screamed once before, mercifully, he passed out. 

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Raven watched through the eyes of the C.A.T as the automatons swarmed the Type 7 ripping it to pieces.  They then applied Tora Corp Medical Sealant patches to his missing limbs, before putting him in the sack and carrying him back to the factory.  As they entered, she sent the D.O.G to wait in the nearby woods while she took control of the C.A.T moving it carefully through the gate behind the automatons.She hoped the limited camouflage the C.A.T had would be goodenough.  So far the drones did not seem to notice it.  

Blood seeped out of the bag.  The automaton carried it carefully, but Ice was bleeding out slowly but surely.  She needed him to wake up and try to absorb the point counters.  It was his only chance to survive.

As the automatons split, some going towards the walls, others going inside the main factory.  The C.A.T, of course, followed the group carrying Ice into the factory,  as the C.A.T entered the building floor it had to jump onto a pile of crates to avoid running into three automatons transportinga box of assorted bombs.

She followed the automaton moving Ice, staying off the ground as much as possible.  Finally, it entered a new area.  Inside was a table and a small opaque jar.  It was connected to numerous cables and the room was noticeably colder than the rest of the factory.

The C.A.T hid in the corner of the room and watched for a chance to get to Ice.  The automaton meanwhile was pulling Ice out of the bag and shook him awake.  He was still dripping blood around the seals, but it was less than Raven had suspected.  It appeared he also had a bloody nose.  That was where most of the blood was coming from.

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Ice woke up and tried to cover his eyes with his hand.  Instead, his stumpy arm moved up and he screamed as blood splattered across his face.

A deep staticy voice inquired .  "Did the clone send you?"

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