Emilie was the leader. That was why she carried the stick. The boys followed her past the broken buildings. Through the long grass. Towards their prize.
She had discovered the robot the day before, hidden in the field. Constant exposure to rain and sleet had turned its body orange.
The boys stood behind her in a rough semicircle. Those with parents knew stories about these machines. Their metallic ears, nose and mouth, and massive hands and feet. These additions were an attempt at intimidation, and their magic still remained.
But not for Emilie. She crept up to the robot’s side, and jammed her stick through a rusty hole into the robot’s innards. A pair of eyes vibrated. A few metal fingers flexed for the first time in years.
The boys jumped back, close to scattering like a shoal of fish. But Emilie did not move. She wrenched out the stick, the end now dusted with golden flecks, and stared into the robot’s yellow pupils.
Fifty years before, they had watched villages burn. Now one of two offered a grainy vision of this little girl. Emilie crouched down, and jabbed the robot below the jaw.
The stick made a dull clang of wood against metal. Satisfied it was solid enough, Emilie clambered onto the robot’s stomach. A creak echoed from somewhere deep inside, the shifting of rotting but live wires. The girl stood proud, queen of the long grass and the huts that formed their home.
She beat out a tune on the battered panel. A song from long ago. For the robot, this was beyond humiliation. Again it strained, but decades of acid rain made resistance impossible. The robot managed a rusty growl. Once it would have been a roar that shattered eardrums. Now it petered out to the parp of a broken trumpet.
The boys watched with interest. One bent down, and slipped a rock into his hand. Another reached up and touched a freezing steel arm. He clambered up to join Emilie.
Soon the other boys followed. Those with shoes jumped up and down. Those barefoot enjoyed the roughness under their toes. Emilie grinned, and knew this was their new playground.
The robot watched with his remaining eye. He used to watch the birds, but the birds are all gone.