Love in the Robot Dawn

by C. W. Crowe

  "I usually get to bed pretty soon after sundown, but you young people got me all wound up. I am thankful for the company, though."

  He looked into the distance like he was remembering. "You aren't the first travelers who've made their way to my place, attracted by my music. One was a group of three men that tried to kill Humpey. I shot all three from a distance and, when I buried them, realized they were probably starving. Still, they should not have tried to kill my dog - I won't put up with that.

  "The other times were better. One family was nice and respectful and I offered to let them get set up on another farm house somewhere nearby, but they'd heard a story about someplace in Canada where people could still live in peace and they were hell bent to get there.

  "My other visitor was a man, a little bit older than you two. He had some disease when he got here, something bad. He died in less than a week. Won't nothing I could do for him.

  "Both of them came from out west, the family from Houston and the man from somewhere in Nebraska. But they reported the same thing - anytime people got together in a group of more than a handful, sooner or later one of those robot airplanes would show up and kill them. As far as they knew, they hadn't heard of any settlements of any size left except for one place - Los Alamos. The family going to Canada didn't believe it, but they'd both heard the rumor. You two came from the east, you see any larger groups of people?"

  I remembered how the robot aircraft hissed in the skies above Ft. Smith. Every morning dozens or maybe hundreds of them took off, going on some kinds of unknown missions. I guessed that the bridges and other infrastructure were about gone, so now they were going after the remaining humans directly. But why kill us? They liked humans, wanted to be like us. It made no sense.

  It was Lucy who put it together, "We haven't seen any settlements, but we've only come from Ft. Smith. But you think . . . you think that there are settlements, maybe a whole town full of people in Los Alamos?"

  Lucky nodded, “I don’t know. I just hear that voice once in a while. Sometimes there’s another one, but it always says there are people there. Why would they lie?”

  He rose, "It's time to hit the hay. Let me show you where to bed down if you want to sleep in a real bed. And oh yes, I don’t know anything certain about other people being still around in larger groups, but if you're of a mind to go, I guess you'll find out for sure on your own."

  *.*.*

  We were alone in Lucky's spare bedroom. I'd taken my own shower and was wearing boxer shorts and a t-shirt. My spare outfit was just another pair of jeans.

  Lucy sat on the edge of the bed and stared at me, obviously waiting for me to say something. She had her legs crossed. The best I could come up with was, "How's the cut?"

  "Not too bad. It seeped a little, but it'll be fine. Hurts a bit though and I'll have a scar."

  I felt kind of foolish just standing there in my underwear, "Lucy . . ."

  Damned if she didn't cut me off with, "Sit beside me, Leo. We need to talk."

  *.*.*

  I did as I was told, but I didn't look at her; instead I just stared at a picture of a field that was hung on the wall. It was a barren field, brown and abandoned.

  She reached over and took my hand and then slid closer to me so that our hips were touching. She put her hand on my chest and pushed gently, "Lay back," she said.

  *.*.*

  Once again, I did as I was told. My heart bumped up its pace, but Lucy's noises were low and smooth, almost like purring. She leaned over and gently kissed me, our lips barely touching. I started to reach up and pull her to me when she said, "No, Leo. Not now. I'm hurting a bit too much and . . . well, it kind of feels like we're giving in to what your robot family ordered us to do, like we're just obeying in slow motion. You know what I mean?"

  Yeah, I knew what she meant, but the only thing I could think of was how fresh she smelled and how soft her lips were. "So when would we be not obeying?"

  She smiled and kissed me again; this time she put her hand on my chest. "How about after we get to Los Alamos?" She grinned and leaned over me, her nose almost touching mine, "That way, I'll get to see just how much competition I have."

  I knew what she really meant; she'd get to see how I reacted to other women who might be there; if I would betray her.

  Any thoughts of betrayal crumbled as we kissed again and again. I lost count, but I still ended up sleeping on my side of the bed.

  I think I woke up every few minutes during the night. Each time I listened for Lucy's noises . . . and they were always there.

  When I did sleep, I dreamed of a place with people, probably Los Alamos.

  And it was over six hundred miles away.

  *.*.*

  The next morning, I woke because of an earthquake.

  At least that's what I was dreaming of as I became conscious. It was actually Lucy with her hand on my chest, shaking me.

  She was lying on her side near the center of the bed facing me, her head propped up on her elbow.

  "Any chance you might actually get up before noon?"

  I could tell from the amount of light in the room that the sun was barely up. I turned over on my side to face her.

  "Oh no you don't mister, just keep your distance." Her pajama top had ridden up, so I could see her bare stomach.

  She tugged it down, "And keep your eyes where they belong."

  She didn't seem mad. Was she being playful? Lucy? I hadn't seen that part of her before. "I was just checking on your cut, making sure you were okay."

  "Sure you were," she said. Her noises were something different today like I'd never heard before - I think they meant she was happy.

  "Look," she said, "About last night. I shouldn't have let you kiss me so many times. I like kissing you, but one or two is enough. I think it was that beer; I'm not used to it."

  I started to make two points. One, that it was her that started out kissing me, and second, that she'd only had two beers.

  I started to say those things, but I held back. Maybe I was learning how to live with Lucy.

  "I guess I can make do with one or two kisses at a time, until we get to Los Alamos anyway."

  She sat up, cross legged and gave me a slight kick. My God, she was being playful!

  Lucy climbed off the bed and turned to me, smiling, as she grabbed a towel and the first aid kit, obviously heading to the bathroom. Without changing her expression at all, and probably without realizing it, she held the towel in front of her face. "I'm not sure I remember what I said. It may have been the beer talking."

  "I'll remind you when we get there, Miss Lucy Anne Hargrove. You can count on that."

  She laughed out loud and left. Her laugh was sweeter to my ears than any of Lucky's music.

  *.*.*

  Lucy put up an argument that we should be on our way, but it wasn’t too hard to convince her to stay one more day. Lucky seemed to really want us as company and Lucy’s cut could use a few more hours without being in the saddle.

  We had a good time. We listened to some of Lucky’s stories and his music. We ate until our bellies were full and watched Humpey run and jump on command until he got so tired and begged so much that Lucy gave him another jerky stick. He took it to a pile of old blankets that he slept on and then curled up and went to sleep.

  Late in the afternoon, Lucky pulled out a deck of cards and I taught them how to play Canasta. It had been the favorite game of my robot mom and her friends during their afternoon house parties. I went along pretty often to shuffle and learned how to play.

  After dark and before bed, Lucy and I went for a walk. The moon was full and the air warm. For just a few minutes, I forgot all about robots and running away - I was just a young man, alone with a young woman that I liked and respected. It was the most natural thing in the world and, for us, one of the rarest.

  That night, I got my quota of two kisses and a stern warning to stay on my side of the bed. I slept very well, and I could tell that Lucy did too.


  *.*.*

  Both Lucky and I tried to convince Lucy to stay over for yet another day. Even Humpey ran around the horse’s legs and barked as we saddled and loaded them for the trip.

  But she'd made up her mind and wouldn't be dissuaded. When Lucky was out getting some type of gift for us, I asked Lucy about it. "Why don't we stay another couple of days? We're in no particular hurry and your cut would have more time to heal."

  She'd been really nice to me all day, but now she frowned. "It's the robots, Leo. Do you think they've given up? That they're not looking for us? I've seen several of their aircraft fly over, way up high, already today. Lucky said that's 'a might unusual.' I think the farther we get away from Ft. Smith the better."

  I couldn't argue with that. We were kind of exposed in this area made up mostly of farms and empty fields. Some green mountains were ahead in the distance - they'd provide much more cover.

  Just then, Lucky walked out of the barn carrying two sacks. "I'm right sorry you have to go, but I want you two to have a few things and I don't want to hear no arguing about it."

  He sat the bags on the ground and reached into the nearest one. He pulled out a rifle.

  "This here's a good long distance shooter. There’s a box of a hundred cartridges in there too. Which one of you is the best shot?"

  I looked at Lucy. I'd never fired a gun in my life. "I grew up on a farm, so I guess that's me," she said.

  "Okay then, young lady. Look her over and see if you have any questions."

  Lucy pulled out the clip and looked at it. It had some bullets in it, pretty big ones. She snapped it back in and aimed at a tree that had to be about fifty yards away. "Okay to try it?" she asked.

  "Sure." He had hardly spoken when she fired. A cloud of bark exploded out of the tree, dead center.

  Lucky laughed out loud and I joined in. "I swear. This gal has got moxie, just like my Martha."

  His eyes clouded over for just a second until he said, "And in the bags are some other things you might need; some winter coats, a first aid kit, other stuff. It looks like a lot, but these horses won’t be challenged in carrying you two - especially you, young lady."

  Lucy tried to return the gun, "It's too much. What about you? You might need it."

  "Young lady, I was born in Texas and lived in Oklahoma most of my life. I got more than two guns - several more, in fact. Now don't you worry yourself none about it."

  I could hear from Lucy's noises that she was satisfied. She walked up to him and gave Lucky the gift we'd prepared. It was an old style plastic grocery bag that had some of our jerky in it. "I wish we could thank you better," she said.

  "Now, you don't need to do that. You keep your supplies."

  Lucy looked at me and her eyes told me to take over. "It's nothing, Lucky. You enjoy it or give it to Humpey - maybe it'll help him to, you know, sleep."

  The old man smiled but his eyes misted and I felt a stab of sadness. Lucy felt it too. Saying goodbye in a world where most of them had already been said was harder than she thought it would be. She swallowed and asked, "Why . . . how did you get the name, Lucky?"

  That broke the mood because Lucky laughed. "It was Martha! She gave it to me the second time I took her out for courting. She said I was very lucky to have found her and not some runway model or actress. She was like that - would say the craziest things.

  "But she was right. I was a lucky man because we were together for over fifty years and the biggest heap of them was good. It's been right lonesome around here, but I'll see her soon. I know I will - because I'm a lucky man."

  I could hear that Lucy was moved, so I walked over and put my arm around her waist. I thought she might cry, but instead she said, "I think Martha was just as lucky as you." She squeezed my hand and then walked over and mounted her horse.

  *.*.*

  It was time to go. I mounted, but before we could say any final words, Lucky spoke, "Wait one more minute, please." He walked between our horses, so that he was looking up at Lucy and me.

  "I know you are going to want to decline my last gift, but I hope you won't cause it's something that I really want to do. Will you just hold out your hands and let me have my say before you speak?"

  Lucy looked at me and pursed her lips. I could hear wariness, but she held out her hand, palm up, and so did I.

  Lucky reached into his vest pocket and pulled out something and placed a ring on each of our palms. "Now remember. Let me have my say." He smiled first at me and then at Lucy.

  They were rings made of gold. Wedding rings.

  "We put those rings on the day we were married. I had to take mine off after about forty years cause my hands got too swole up with arthritis. Martha wore hers until the doctors made her take it off at the hospital."

  A flash of emotion passed over his face. In an instant it was gone, replaced by his smile.

  "I noticed right away that you two didn't have rings. Times are bad, so I understand how it can't be helped.

  "But there's a lot of love in those rings. The second I saw you, especially you young lady because you remind me of Martha, I knew that she would want you to have them. I can't have them with me when I go to see her again; it don't work like that. But somehow, it'll be a comfort for me and her to know that two young people like you have a symbol of your love just the way we did. Now you go on. Your life is waitin' for you."

  He reached up and shook my hand. Lucy bent over and he kissed her on the cheek.

  "Thank you," we said in unison. There was nothing else to say.

  Then we rode away.

  Chapter Twenty: Ceremonies

  It took us about thirty minutes to get to the first substantial tree line. Beyond, the land changed from flat and square farms to rising woodland - the beginnings of mountains.

  Neither of us had spoken since we'd left, but now we stopped, shaded by the trees. I opened up my hand and the ring was there. The one I had was too small for me.

  I slid down and Lucy did too. We met and she opened her arms to me so I hugged her while she squeezed me hard. Her noises were strong and rhythmic - the sounds of life.

  She stepped back and I took her left hand in mine and held Martha's ring close to it. I looked her in the eyes, but she wasn't smiling. I remembered her reaction when I'd suggested we get married. I could tell she wasn't sure how to react now.

  "I’m going to remind you of something, Lucy. You said you were going to let yourself trust me. That you'd take a chance so that, if I failed you, the pain would remind you never to trust anyone again.

  "But what if I don't betray you? What if I stay by your side until death do us part? Then what? Will you feel the opposite of pain? Will you feel joy? Because Lucy, I'll always be there for you. I'll watch your back . . ."

  "And I'll watch yours," she interrupted.

  She offered her finger and I slipped the ring on it.

  It fit perfectly.

  *.*.*

  I kissed her then. Not my usual kiss, but one that was gentle and loving. Her lips were so soft.

  Next, she pulled back and smiled at me, looking deep into my eyes the whole time as she slid her ring on my finger.

  Then she kissed me.

  I took her hand and whispered, "Till death do us part" as we turned, shoulder to shoulder to look back at where we'd come from.

  "Till death do us part," she confirmed.

  *.*.*

  Were we married? In my mind we were and, I'm sure, in Lucy's too. Did anything else matter?

  It was a beautiful morning. The sky was blue, the weather cool but with the promise of afternoon heat, the long flat fields stretching out before us to infinity, only broken by the occasional farmhouse. The only sounds were from our horses, nibbling on the underbrush.

  And then Lucy looked up and to the rear. She'd heard it before I did. It was a hissing sound and it was getting louder.

  In an instant, two robot aircraft flew into view as they passed over the canopy of trees we were under. They were traveling at a
high rate of speed, only a few hundred feet off the ground.

  Both of them performed in exact unison as they pulled steeply up, a white item of some kind falling from them. By the time the white thing hit the ground, the aircraft were tiny dots in the sky.

  Before us, a giant explosion occurred followed by a slowly rising orange and black cloud. The robots had bombed a farmhouse.

  Lucky's home.

  Without a word, both of us leapt on our horses and galloped towards the explosion.

  Chapter Twenty-One: To the Future

  We got there too late. Even if we’d had a race car, we’d have been too late.

  The house was practically gone, parts of its wooden frame still smoldering, but it had been blasted so efficiently that there wasn’t all that much left to burn.

  The part of the garage nearest the house had simply disappeared. Some of the rest of the building still stood, but it was leaning backwards visibly and would likely fall at the first strong wind or snowfall.

  Lucy jumped down and ran inside so that I had to practically sprint to catch up with her. The acrid smell of smoke was in the air and she coughed.

  We found Lucky in the far side of the garage, near his Victrola. His luck had continued to the end because a heavy ceiling beam had fallen on him, killing him instantly. His face showed no pain or fear, only an expression that looked at bit like satisfaction.

  “He’s with Martha now,” whispered Lucy. She turned to me and I realized she was crying, tears running down each cheek. We embraced, combining our strength to get through the next few minutes.

  Her tears were wetting my cheek when I thought I heard the aircraft returning. But this noise wasn’t a hiss like the robot planes made, it was a more like a soft squeal.

  Or a whimper! It was Humpey.

  Lucy heard him too as we ran over to a pile of rubble and frantically started throwing old radios, records and other junk out of the way.