The Chase Through Fire and Fog -Rifat Hasnat

Shipon’s Robot Phenomena
Episode Two:

(After Episode One)

The manta-shaped drone-ship hovered like a predator above the junkyard, its red scanning beams sweeping through the stormy night. Rain poured in sheets, sizzling against metal, soaking Shipon’s shirt, but he didn’t care.

Robo Bhai stood tall despite the gash in his back, his one blue eye flickering slightly. The ground beneath them trembled as the ship prepared to deploy more hunter droids.

“We need to move!” Shipon shouted over the storm.

Robo Bhai’s internal sensors blinked furiously. “Evacuation protocol: initiated.”

Without another word, Robo Bhai scooped Shipon onto his shoulder like a sack of rice and sprinted through the narrow metal corridors of the junkyard. Every step echoed with clanks and splashes. The drone-ship followed above, beams slicing through the dark like red lightning.

Then came the explosion.

BOOM!

A burst of plasma torched a row of abandoned cars behind them, sending flaming debris into the air.

“Whoa!” Shipon screamed, ducking behind Robo Bhai’s shoulder.

“Pursuit level: critical,” said Robo Bhai. “Initiating evasive maneuver: Smoke Pulse.”

From his arm vents, Robo Bhai released thick clouds of white smoke. The junkyard transformed into a maze of fog and fire.

Inside the fog, Robo Bhai zigzagged, his feet sliding on wet metal as he headed toward a drainage tunnel at the junkyard’s edge—an escape route Shipon had once used to sneak in during school hours.

But just as they neared the tunnel, another hunter droid landed in front of them—its spider-like legs clicking menacingly, plasma blade extended.

“RUN DIAGNOSTIC: COMBAT MODE,” Robo Bhai growled.

Shipon jumped down and dove for cover behind an old washing machine as the two machines clashed.

The fight was brutal.

Robo Bhai swung a metal rod, blocking the plasma blade. Sparks flew. The hunter droid lunged, cutting a deep scratch across Robo Bhai’s chest. But Robo Bhai grabbed the droid’s head and slammed it into a pile of batteries, causing a chain reaction—BZZZZT!

The droid burst into sparks and collapsed.

“Victory: achieved,” Robo Bhai said, limping slightly.

“Come on!” Shipon called.

They darted into the tunnel just as another blast scorched the entrance behind them. Shipon’s ears rang. The whole place shook.

For nearly a kilometer, they ran through the dark pipe, lit only by Robo Bhai’s flickering eye. Finally, they emerged near the town’s railway station—safe, at least for now.

The Hideout
The next morning, Shipon skipped school again—not that he cared anymore. He and Robo Bhai found shelter in an abandoned ticket office near the station. Robo Bhai’s systems were failing. His voice kept glitching. The memory core’s pulse dimmed.

Shipon worked tirelessly, rewiring, soldering, even using old batteries from train toys to patch Robo Bhai’s circuits.

“You’re not dying on me,” he whispered fiercely.

“I am functional,” Robo Bhai replied weakly.

By afternoon, Robo Bhai was stable again—but something was different. His cracked eye glowed faintly. Then it blinked.

“New memory fragment unlocked,” Robo Bhai said suddenly.

Shipon’s head shot up. “What?”

“I remember a name. Project Sentinel Dawn. Location hidden. Origin unknown. But I was not the only one.”

Shipon’s heart pounded. “There are more like you?”

“Possibly dozens.”

“But where?”

“Unknown. Memory corruption still significant.”

Shipon sat back, stunned. If there were more robots—maybe even more powerful than Robo Bhai—what had they been created for? And who was hunting them now?

The Message
That night, a strange thing happened. As Robo Bhai recharged using Shipon’s homemade solar rig, a nearby television—broken for years—suddenly switched on.

The screen crackled with static, then a distorted face appeared. It was human… maybe. Half his skin looked metallic.

“X-905-R,” the figure said, voice like grinding gears. “You are compromised. Your location has been tracked. Stand down, and your core will be spared.”

Robo Bhai stood up. “Identity: unknown. Threat level: unknown.”

The face tilted. “Your mission is incomplete. The future you protect no longer exists. Submit.”

“No,” Robo Bhai said firmly. “I protect this world now.”

“Then this world will fall with you,” the figure snarled, and the screen exploded in sparks.

Shipon stared at the wrecked TV. “What was that?”

“A shadow from the past,” Robo Bhai replied. “One that must not return.”

The Alliance Begins
The next day, Shipon made a decision.

“We’re not hiding anymore,” he told Robo Bhai. “We find the others. We find Project Sentinel Dawn. And we stop whoever’s hunting you.”

Robo Bhai nodded. “Affirmative. Commencing mission: Protect. Discover. Survive.”

Shipon grinned. “Then it’s you and me against the world.”

They packed tools, spare batteries, and food into a rickety bicycle cart. Robo Bhai concealed himself under a tarp.

Their first destination: the hills near Thakurgaon—where an old military listening post was rumored to lie abandoned. Maybe it held answers. Maybe danger.

Either way, Shipon was ready.

As the bike creaked onto the highway and the sun dipped behind the clouds, a new signal beeped from Robo Bhai’s core.

Coordinates. A location. The game had begun.
To Be Continued…