Chapter 10 · Continued
Back to the Factory
“I’m coming with you. You are not going alone on a yogurt-robot smuggling mission.”
Chris laughed. “That sentence alone should get us investigated.”
Later that evening, Chris backed his SUV up to the garage while the last of the sunlight disappeared behind the trees. Jane kept the garage door partially lowered to hide the interior from the road.
She took one side of Chester while Chris lifted the other.
“Good Lord,” Chris muttered. “This thing weighs as much as a washing machine.”
“MOO MART VALUES STRUCTURAL DURABILITY,” Chester chirped.
“Yeah, well, Moo Mart can contribute to my chiropractor.”
They carefully lifted the bot into the cargo area of the SUV.
Jane brushed her hair from her face. “How will he know where to go?”
“I reset his return route before powering him down.” Chris closed the hatch gently. “Once we restart him within range, he should recognize the local route markers and head home.”
Jane grinned. “We’re releasing him back into the wild.”
“Exactly.”
The drive took about ten minutes. Dark Tennessee roads passed quietly beneath the headlights while old trees crowded both sides of the pavement.
The abandoned restaurant appeared ahead. A faded sign leaned crookedly beside the empty gravel lot, and one cracked window reflected the moonlight.
Chris drove around the side of the building, where the SUV was hidden from the road.
“All right,” he said, lowering his voice dramatically. “Operation Yogurt Drop is underway.”
Jane immediately laughed. “Oh my God.”
They opened the rear hatch and wrestled Chester onto the gravel like two extremely unqualified secret agents.
Jane was laughing so hard she could barely help.
“We look ridiculous.”
“We are ridiculous.”
Chris crouched beside the bot and flipped the recessed power switch.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then a soft whir rose from inside the housing.
A startup chime echoed through the empty lot.
Chester’s status lights blinked to life.
“MOO MART ROUTE SERVICES RESTORED.”
The little bot rotated slowly in place.
Paused.
Then it began rolling confidently toward the roadside.
Jane stared after it. “Oh my God. It’s actually going.”
Chris watched the blinking yellow lights grow smaller.
“MOO MART VALUES INDEPENDENT MOBILITY,” Chester called into the darkness.
Then he disappeared around the curve.
Jane and Chris stood beside the abandoned restaurant, laughing like exhausted idiots.
“Go, go, go,” Chris whispered dramatically.
They scrambled into the SUV, still laughing. Chris started the engine and eased out of the lot.
Jane wiped tears from her eyes. “We just released a yogurt robot into the night.”