Robot Boyfriend: Luke (special preview)

“I don’t know, Harry.” You sit back down on the ground again. “I don’t know what to do here.”

The radio statics buzzes and the creature raises its head. It whimpers and whines, two flaps on either side of it’s head raise up and down. It looks at you then screams. You then scream and Harry barks. The creature falls back down into the crater. 

You jump up onto your feet and look over the edge. The creature is huddled in a tight ball at the bottom where there is burning trees and wreckage everywhere. 

“I’m not armed or anything!” You shout down to it. “I’m not going to hurt you, so don’t try to hurt me either.”

Harry jumps down into the crater and prances around the creature at the bottom. He sniffs around them and then sits down beside them, prancing his front feet as he waits for pets.

The creature lifts its head and looks at Harry. Slowly, they raise their hand and pet the top of his head. Garbled radio static fills the air and you hear the crackling, popping sound of it saying “Thank you.”

You look down and the creature stares up at you. The bright lights dim down and you see a cracked visor drop down over their headlight like eyes. “Are you ok?” You’re not sure why you’re asking this. You know you should be crapping your pants, but for some reason, ok because of Harry, you aren’t afraid. In fact, you’re more worried than anything.

The creature whines and whistles. The two metallic flaps on the side of it’s head raise up and down before going flat against its head. 

“Afraid,” a voice crackles through the static.

You slide down into the crater and the creature catches you, making sure you don’t topple or go to fast. Their big hand covers most of your back and it feels warm. The upper side if covered in that metal like shell but the underbelly is a sort of shimmering mesh that feels like a mix of rubber and tin foil.

“Hi,” you whisper to it. You place your palm on your chest and introduce yourself. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The creature tilts its head down to its shoulder. They mimic your posture and place their palm against their broad chest. They say a bunch of garbled words but you can’t understand them. You then hear Carrie Fisher again: “you’re my only hope.”

“How about I call you Luke, for now.” You smile at him. “Can you walk?”

Harry barks and jumps up, circling around Luke. 

Luke stumbles a bit, toppling backwards and splaying out on the ground. You rush over to his side, taking hold of his massive hand and helping him back up.

“Are you hurt?” You gasp.

Luke grabs the back of his head and looks up at you with a low whine. “Off-” there’s garbled static and whirring, “-balance.”