E P I L O G
The moon shone bright and silvery from the slightly overcast night sky and bathed the Stenmyra Sund in its silvery light. Softly gurgling and splashing, the waves of the dark water pounded the rocky beach of Stenmyrakogen, the small island off the coast of Östertörn. Apart from a few ducks, cranes and swans, nobody populated the small island. During the day only the road traffic passed over them, because the small island was a link for the bridge that led from Stenmyra on Östertörn to the mainland. Like pale fingers, the gray pieces of concrete of the blasted bridge stuck out of Stenmyra Sound.
Suddenly the bushes rustle in the underground. Two dark figures scurry in the shadows of the low undergrowth. Wait a moment? the island is uninhabited, isn’t it? But that doesn’t seem to be the case for the moment. A voice whispers:
»Psst! , be quiet.! «
On the far bank, one of the two-legged robots was patrolling. The four-meter-tall, human-like machines walked upright on two legs and shot at anything and everyone that moved. Even in the dark, they seemed to pick out a human with deadly precision.
»See a robot? «, another voice whispered questioningly.
»Yes, one of the two-legged ones and some of the dogs. «, the other voice whispered back.
»Then we don’t need to go to shore, it’s too dangerous. «
»Oh, nonsense with sauce, the tin bucket is too far away, it certainly won’t see me.«, one voice whispered.
»Why do you want to go to shore so badly? «, asked the other voice.
»I want to see what’s so washed up, maybe there’s something useful in there. «
The smaller figure raised binoculars to his head.
»Do you see something? «, asked the taller figure.
»Yeah, lots of odds and ends and driftwood. Wait a minute, there’s one. «
»What?.. give me the binoculars. ’ commanded the other voice.
That must be a dead soldier. «, the taller figure whispered.
»All the more reason to check, maybe he’s got some food, or ammunition, and if you’re lucky, a gun. «, whispered the smaller figure.
»Be careful and watch out for the robots! «, the taller figure whispered.
The smaller one slipped out of the bushes down to the beach and crouched behind a washed-up tree root. Then the smaller figure was with the supposed soldier. Checking the small figure held two fingers to the neck of the supposed corpse. She flinches and waves a hand.
»Ssst…!Hey…! He’s still alive. We have to take him with us. «
»Are you crazy? Leave him there, he’ll die anyway and besides, how are we supposed to stuff another mouth. «
»Don’t you have all the cups in the cupboard anymore? «, the other voice whispered back loudly.
»We’ll have enough to feed up him. We can’t just leave him to his fate. What kind of person are you? «
Sighing and cursing under his breath, the greater figure scurries forward in the darkness. Then two strong arms grabbed and pulled the lifeless form away from the beach without the robots noticing.
