I had been walking through the narrow, abandoned streets of a forgotten town, searching for any sign of life. The silence was unnerving, but something about the place pulled me in. I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn’t alone, that someone—or something—was watching me.

Then, I saw her. Standing motionless in the shadows, partially obscured by debris and old wooden beams, was a figure. At first, I thought it was just some statue. But the way the light caught the glint of her metallic frame sent a chill down my spine. She wasn’t a statue, but something else. I stepped closer, cautiously. That’s when she moved, just slightly, a tilt of the head, a flicker of mechanical eyes catching mine. I froze. Her body, sleek and armored, seemed to hum with dormant energy. She stood tall, still expressionless, but there was something deliberate in the way she stared at me.

Without warning, she took a step toward me, and then another. Her movements were fluid, precise. I backed up instinctively. She showed no aggression, no malice. It was like she was sizing me up, calculating something.

"Hey!" I called out. "What are you!?"

No response, she darted forward. I scrambled back, nearly tripping over a broken piece of wood. Her arm extended toward me, and for a second, I thought she was going to grab me, maybe attack. But she didn’t. Her hand hovered just inches away, fingers splayed, as if reaching for something just out of her grasp.

Then, her voice—soft, mechanical, but oddly human—broke the silence. "Authentication request."

"Authentication? What—?"

Before I could react further, she gently touched my arm, and a faint glow spread from her fingertips. It wasn’t painful, just... strange. And then, she pulled her hand away and stood back, expressionless as ever.

"Request accepted," she said in that same calm, emotionless voice. "I will serve you."

"Wait, what? Serve me? I didn’t—"

She looked at me, her eyes unreadable. "My name is Ellen. I am an Automaton. You're now my master."