A View To Die For

“C’mon, nearly there...”
With a grunt, Nate hauled himself up onto the rocky ledge and collapsed into a sitting position, his legs dangling over the edge. His breath was coming in quick, sharp gasps and his whole body ached from head-to-toe. However, underneath all that, he could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, begging him to take the risk and climb higher. When he looked up, his eyes were instantly grabbed by the breathtaking view laid out before him.  Miles and miles of open grassland stretched out in front of him like a green sea. Grazing in the centre of this mass of green was a small herd of deer. The wind was making the blades of grass move as one, so it was almost like there were waves lapping at the deer’s legs. Nate smiled. He could just make out the shape of a fawn standing at its mother’s side.
“Nate?!”
Nate ignored the voice and let his eyes wander around the landscape. There were a few small cottages dotting the countryside to his left, their windows glowing in the dimming dusk light. To his right was the edge of the city, with its tall office buildings and crowded shopping centres.
“Nate?! Answer me! Where are you?!”
Along the horizon line, he could make out the muddy green blur of trees, and the satellite tower which loomed over them. Like the rest of Britain, he’d become accustomed to seeing these large, metal monstrosities, and like the rest of Britain, he’d become a victim to them.
When the first satellite tower was built in the south of England, it was designed to control small devices, such as mobile phones, iPods and portable games consoles. But as time went on, more and more of these towers were built, each with the ability to power not only handheld devices, but things like kitchen appliances, TVs, computers and other electronic gadgets. As long as the towers were up and running, every one of these devices in Britain would be working, with no need to be plugged in, recharged or have the battery changed.
To be honest, Nate didn’t really understand the mechanics of it all. All he knew was that it worked, and that now most of the world revolved around these gigantic eye-sores.
“Nathaniel Grey, don’t you dare ignore me!”
Nate groaned and leant forward to peer down at his companion. His eyes were met by an oil black, inhuman stare.
Another thing the satellite towers controlled.
The robots.
“You sound more and more like mum every day, Seth” Nate commented, rolling his eyes and moving to let his friend up onto the ledge beside him. Seth pulled himself up effortlessly.
“Why didn’t you answer me?”
Nate shrugged and stretched out his arm. It was a little stiff...a beeping sound coming from his trouser pocket broke his train of thought. He pulled out his mobile and stared at the tiny screen.
“Something wrong...?” asked Seth, his voice hitching slightly. Nate glanced at him.
“It’s probably nothing...” he replied slowly. Seth had gone deathly still. His glass eyes were staring at Nate like two black abysses. A chill crept over Nate. He instinctively put his mobile away, slid off the ledge and began swiftly climbing down the side of the cliff.  His heart was racing. A voice in the back of his head was screaming that something was very, very wrong.
Suddenly he felt himself falling.
He cried out and grabbed aimlessly at the rocky wall. He felt the skin on his left arm being torn away by the jagged rock, revealing the robotics underneath. Ignoring the skin lying limp from the metal, he managed to get a hold on the cliff again. For a second he remained still, gripping onto the rock face tightly. He felt stabs of pain in his legs and torso, and he could see blood beginning to soak through his tee-shirt at the top of his left arm, just above where the robotics ended.
“Nate...” growled a metallic, lifeless voice.
Nate’s head jerked up to see Seth descending rapidly down the cliff side towards him. There was a predatory nature in the robot’s movements that sent zaps of terror through Nate. Before his body could freeze up in fear though, he forced himself to continue climbing downwards speedily. He’d only gotten a few feet, however, when his robotic arm suddenly went limp. He grasped onto the cliff with his right hand to stop himself from falling.
“Nathaniel...” Seth hissed from above him, sounding much closer than before. Nate was shaking with panic now.  He knew he couldn’t climb without the use of both his arms. He had just become a sitting duck for the insane robot which was quickly making its way down to him. Looking to the sky, Nate begged silently for someone, anyone, to save him. That’s when he noticed how quickly night had descended. Up until now, he’d been too panicked over Seth to realise that the light he’d been using to see was coming from the city’s bright glow.  Nate stared at the black, starless sky and couldn’t help but shiver when it brought images of Seth’s empty eyes to his mind.
“I see you...” Seth screeched.  Gulping, Nate glanced in the direction of the voice. Seth was only a few metres above him, staring down at him and smiling maliciously.
And that’s when the first light went out.
Nate’s gaze moved to the city. He gaped in horror as each light began to go out, one by one. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Seth begin to continue moving towards him, his movements much slower than before though.
When the last light finally went out, the darkness was instant. Nate made himself look up, but all his eyes saw was blackness. He couldn’t see Seth. He couldn’t see anything.
He was all alone, staring blindly into the darkness.
Alone.
Watching.
Waiting.