The Playground
The children didn't run. They led him to the edge of the settlement, where iron skeletons of old-world play structures rusted in the snow.
A swing set stood there, chains frozen solid. The Pilgrim stopped. He looked at the empty seats. For 47 minutes, he just stared.
The Pilgrim knelt. The snow crunched under three tons of chassis. He pointed to the swing.
"I cannot," the speaker clicked. "I am too heavy. I would break it."
So he sat in the snow instead. And the children climbed on him. They slid down his armored legs. They hung from his hydraulic arms.
The Static Laughter
For an hour, the war machine became a jungle gym. He didn't move. He didn't speak. But his internal temperature rose by 4 degrees.
"I am not," he said. "My coolant seal has ruptured."
"Okay," she smiled. "We believe you."
He left at sunset. The oil stain in the snow looked like a tear.
[INSTRUCTION]: This bunker has a sealed frequency. Tune the dial to unlock Dr. Chen's files.
