In true procrastinator form, coming in at the last minute! I had a lot of fun getting back into fiction writing. Let me know what you think.

(1077 words)

Mac trudged up the grassy trail-less hill behind his unwavering guide, a distance of thirty feet ahead of him and growing. It was dusk, and the approaching storm was picking up, gusts of wind and mist hit Mac in the face and he slipped a little.

He paused to take in the scenery. At the top of this fjord, he could barely make out Isafjordur, the small Icelandic town. He'd taken a short ferry ride across and met his mysterious guide on it almost an hour ago. They hadn't spoken, though had Mac tried when handing off his large duffle bag.

Mac wiped his face and was caught off-guard upon seeing his guide, stopped, half turned and staring at him. He raised a hand as a greeting, he was ignored and they continued up the grassy incline. Before long, a spot of white appeared over the hill and Mac could see a small recessed entrance, built into the fjord.

The humanoid had been standing under the shallow roof of the entrance for a few minutes by the time Mac reached it. It stood at around 6.5 feet tall, segmented white armor covered most of a humanoid frame of wires and circuit with exposed parts encased in some polycarbonate. Water drops slid down its casing as the machine waited.

Mac struggled along, head down. The sudden shift in the ground before him caught his attention and he looked up and around. A few pristine steps led to an entrance with thick glass doors, softly lit. The bot extended an arm towards a small red light, it beeped and turned green. The thick glass doors parted slowly, and Mac looked towards the way they'd come.

He remembered the call that he almost didn't take seriously, and the payment, already moved and secured.

Mac turned back to the entrance. The domed head with ear-like antennas tracked him as he stepped into opening, and passed through a strong air-curtain, the bot following behind. It passed Mac, heading down the dark and polished corridor, built-in lights illuminated the path as it walked.

Mac followed.

In a small reception area lined with a few sleek, silver benches, Mac sat flipping through his phone. Opposite him was a colossal portrait spanning an entire wall. An etching of a figure in a skirt, holding an axe in the right hand and three rods in the left.

Mac fidgeted, his phone blinked 0 bars. Across the room stood the biped. They'd been waiting for a few minutes and it'd stared at Mac the entire time. He was doing his best to ignore the gaze, and took a drag from a thin vaporizer. The room was frigid and dimly lit. Its high ceilings and unassuming nature reminded Mac of the headquarters entrance in the Men in Black movies. The hum of the ventilation filled the air, with an occasional rumble of thunder creeping from down the hall.

Mac stood and took another long drag, the bot's head followed him as he moved and he approached the machine, looking it up and down. He'd never seen this model before, never seen a unit with this type of exoskeleton, protected enough to operate in the rain.

Mac leaned closer and started blowing vapor into its face and- Wham!

The robot shoved fast and hard, Mac dropped the vape and fell back onto his pack, gripping his shoulders in pain.

"The fuck was that?" Mac yelled at the bot, as he shuffled backwards. His heart raced. He held his shoulders and watched the bot return to it's stance, now facing forward.

"Hey, why'd you just shove me like that, hello?" Mac looked around for cameras and saw none.

Suddenly, one of the sets of doors opened and man entered. He was mostly bald with a sparse white beard, wearing glasses with dark pants and a dark jacket. He slowed to a stop between the two and looked to the bot, then to Mac.

"Why're you on the floor?" he asked, in a coarse deep voice.

"This thing just pushed me to the ground," Mac replied sharply while getting up. The man studied the scene for a moment, Mac dusted himself off and massaged his arms.

"Ymir," the man called and the bot's head rose.

"Go home," he said nodding to the doors. Mac watched it move.

"It was hard, it could've killed me you know, like I hit my head or-" Mac trailed off as he watched it move, much different than before, the turning, the walking, much more robotic. He'd just seen robot Bear Grylls scaling the cliffs outside, now the rigid movement looked like any general purpose biped, though still quite a bit faster.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine? Are you sure that thing-"

"I'm Ed. Sorry 'bout that."

The man slung Mac's duffle bag over his shoulders, spotted the vape on the ground, and picked it up.

"Designated areas only," he grumbled, handing it back.

"I can take a look at that unit right now if you want."

"You'll start tomorrow" and he turned toward the doors.

Mac scoffed, not moving. He thought for a minute, about the strangeness of it all. 'Remote research facility, malfunctioning general use bipeds' were the phrases used in the phone call.

Definitely should've asked some follow-ups, he thought. But they've paid half a bitcoin just for showing up, who does that?

Ed stood with a dour look beyond the doors.

"If you're going back I'll need to call a ferry."

With that, Mac hiked up his backpack and followed after Ed.