"Innocent?" by Dave Cripps

'...when the factory was all but rubble we discovered the bunker complex underneath. This was how they were putting up such a spirited defence. It was at this point that the robots were ordered in.
We heard them approach as we crouched in the trench the ground heaved with shells, shrapnel flying everywhere in a shower of death. But this did not even bother the things. Red hot shards pinging off their bodies they crossed our line and stomped off into no mans land. A lucky RPG round reduced one to a cloud of parts if it were a man his comrades would have ducked. No such regard from these things they were already at the bunker's doors. We could hear them smashing their way in the grind of steel on steel, concrete being peeled away like parts of a soft fruit. There was a brief fusillade of shots from the defenders followed by sporadic small arms fire. But we knew that it would all be over in minutes. We had seen the robots at work before. They are programmed to force a surrender by grabbing hold of the enemy and holding on until friendly troops turned up to take them prisoner. Usually this is most efficient.

All was quiet, as long as you don't count the barrage which had now moved and was landing on our rear position. It was then that the screaming started. From across no man's land the terrified howls of someone in immense pain was magnified ten fold into a symphony of pain. Sergeant Fosse looked over to us and ordered us over the top, she feared that some of the injured were screaming in pain and needed medical help immediately.

We slipped over the parapet and made for the bunker as quickly as we could all the while the screaming continued. As we reached the shattered door the screaming stopped. The silence was eerie to say the least. Inside we picked our way through the rooms here were signs of battle but no robots and no prisoners. They must have taken them deeper into the bunker system and we followed the trail of spent cartridges and blood into a deep room lit by a flickering lamp. Here we found them.

The robots were squatting around the walls awaiting orders. But the first thing we noticed was the coppery smell of warm blood mixed with faeces. It was the Sergeant who first saw what had happened she was using her IR goggles to check for snipers. With a chocked cry she emptied her stomach onto the floor and had to withdraw.

In the gloom we saw bodies lying about, no not bodies but parts of bodies. The metal monsters had, it seemed, gleefully butchered their prisoners. They were covered in gore it was running down the walls it pooled in obscene lakes making our boots stick as it cooled. And the robots just sat there in all innocence looking up at us. Their programming and our IFF chips keeping them off us. We  had seen many things in this war I for one would have to admit that I also threw up.

The talk amongst the medics was all about 'War Crimes'. When the robot commander heard this he went crazy and ran off into no mans land. Funny really, we didn't find much of him either.'