Warden 1

by Isaac Hooke

  “Well, if you are a bandit, where are your friends?” she pressed.

  He remained quiet.

  And just when she was about to give up on him, he answered. “I’ve roamed the Outlands alone for two years now.”

  “You’ve lived alone in the Outlands for two years?” Will said. “I call bull.”

  “I do make the occasional journey to settlements and cities,” he said. “Where I receive gainful employ.”

  “Oh, and what sort of employ is that?” Will asked.

  “I fix things,” Sebastian replied.

  “Like what?” Will didn’t sound convinced. “You mean machines?”

  “Whatever is broken,” Sebastian said. “I fix.”

  “Questioning him is like scraping your nails down a rusty car door,” Will said.

  Rhea decided that they weren’t going to get anything more from the man, at least not yet, so she decided to forgo asking him anything else. Instead, she turned her head upward to gaze at the stars. Her hood fell away.

  “Why didn’t you mention that earlier?” Will said suddenly. He must have been operating in some kind of infrared mode to see more than merely her outline, because she could have sworn his silhouette was staring at something on her face.

  She frowned. “Mention what?”

  “Come here,” he ordered. “Let me look at you.”

  Sebastian’s highlighted form looked up attentively and watched as Rhea stood. She ignored his gaze and went to Will, then sat beside him.

  Will held her chin with one hand and turned her head from side to side as if examining her face. “You’re missing some artificial skin.”

  Rhea nodded. “Not entirely surprising.” She’d probably lost the skin when that Werang had crushed her underneath its body and scraped her across the hard ground.

  “You’ve run full diagnostics?” he inquired.

  “Yes, everything is fully operational,” she replied.

  “Well, at least I don’t have to jury-rig any repairs,” he said. “But… you don’t feel any pain?”

  “I disabled my pain sense when a certain Werang crushed me,” she said. “Forgot to reenable it.”

  She did so then, and felt a dull, throbbing ache in her cheek. She touched it experimentally and flinched at the pain that flared.

  “It’ll heal up,” Will said, letting her go.

  She nodded, leaving her hood lowered, and turned her head to find the other cyborg still staring at her. At least she thought he was, judging from the positioning of the outline that comprised his head.

  “What?” she asked him.

  “You don’t remember who you were, do you?” Sebastian asked.

  Rhea wasn’t sure what to say. “Why, did you know me?”

  “You recall nothing of your former life?” the man pressed.

  “Nothing,” she said. “But if you knew me, tell me.”

  He remained silent.

  “Speak up, Bandit,” Will said. “Because if you did know her, you’re in a load of trouble.”

  She glanced at Will. “Does this have anything to do with the mark?”

  “It has everything to do with it,” Will answered.

  Finally, Sebastian said: “No. I did not know her. But I overhead you talking to her on the way here. She does not speak, well, like a cyborg from Aradne should. She talks of repaying debts to a lowly salvager. And of finding different work when that day comes. One who could afford a body like that would not be in debt. Nor would she need to find work of any kind.”

  “Let’s just say I’ve fallen on some hard times,” Rhea said. “Like yourself, I assume. You’re a cyborg, and you’ve lived along in the Outlands for two years. A strange life, for someone who could afford a body like yours.”

  Sebastian remained silent. She could almost feel his eyes boring into her in the night. At last, the upper part of his blue outline shifted downward, which she interpreted as him lowering his head.

  Horatio, keep an eye on that monkey bandit tonight, Will sent over their private mental channel. I don’t trust him.

  Will do, Horatio said.

  As usual, Rhea didn’t feel the need to sleep immediately. Instead of initiating AR target practice like she usually did, she stared into the night. She watched the outline of Gizmo circling the perimeter for a while, then diverted her attention to Sebastian.

  The man was asleep, or at least pretending to be. He remained several meters apart from the others, near the far side of the big oak, but still firmly ensconced within its dead branches. She could see that deadly tail with those sharp blades outlined in the dark, along with the rifle, which he had unholstered and laid down at his side. He was still sharing his location with them, but that sharing could be severed in the blink of an eye. It was definitely a comfort knowing that Horatio would be watching him all night. Along with Gizmo.

  At last she felt sleepy. She placed her pistol on the ground in front of her, and before she slumbered, she set her motion alarms to wake her if anything came near. Just a little extra, added precaution.

  With that done, she closed her eyes.

  17

  Rhea blinked. The forest around her was lit by the murk of predawn.

  Her pistol lay in front of her. She scooped it up and sat up to scan her surroundings. She kept the weapon pointed at the ground, as Bardain had taught.

  While Will reposed not far from her, there was no sign of Horatio, nor Sebastian. A glance at her overhead map told her Gizmo yet circled overhead, dutifully standing guard. The blue dots of Horatio and Sebastian were frozen about a kilometer to the north, where the pair had last been in contact.

  “Will,” she said urgently.

  Her companion blinked, brushed the dreadlocks out of his eyes and sat up. He retrieved the AR visor from the ground in front of him and slid it in place between his brows and eyes. He grabbed the pistol next, which had been lying on the rocky soil beside it. Then he glanced about the camp. Realizing that Horatio and Sebastian were gone, his eyes defocused—he was obviously navigating his HUD.

  “Horatio left a message with Gizmo,” Will said. “Sebastian took off twenty minutes ago, when the predawn began. Horatio followed. I guess we head north to their last known position.”

  Will sent Gizmo forward to scout but found no sign of the pair within those dead trees. The drone halted above their last known position and assumed a holding pattern.

  When Rhea and Will arrived at the site, Will knelt to examine the terrain, obviously hoping to pick up the trail.

  “Got footprints,” Will said. “Of the kind might expect from a pair as heavy as a robot and a cyborg. I’m sending the tracking data.”

  The footprints lit up on the ground, becoming highlighted in blue, courtesy of the tracking algorithms Will had built into his AR visor.

  The two of them proceeded forward, keeping their pistols in hand. Meanwhile Gizmo scouted the forward and aft regions.

  The sun rose, and the light of dawn purpled the sky.

  “So beautiful,” Rhea said. “You’d think nothing of beauty could still exist out here. But you’d be wrong.”

  “There’s beauty, all right,” Will said. “But only so long as the source is external to this place.”

  “That’s a bit of a dour outlook,” she told him.

  “But it’s true, though,” Will said.

  In only a few minutes, the blue dots representing both Horatio and Sebastian appeared on their overhead map, a kilometer away.

  “Horatio,” Will sent. “What’s going on?”

  “Sebastian decided to scout ahead,” Horatio replied. “I followed him. You did tell me to keep an eye on him…”

  “I didn’t mean to the point of abandoning us,” Will clarified.

  “I know,” Horatio transmitted. “And I meant to turn back soon after leaving comm range. But then we spotted a herd of Tasins and had to take cover. We kept a low profile until they left the area.”

  “They’re gone, now,” Sebastian sent. “Tracking to t
he east. I suggest we head northwest, if only to avoid them.”

  “I agree,” Horatio transmitted.

  “All right, we head northwest,” Will said. “Wait there for us.”

  Will and Rhea arrived to find Sebastian and Horatio deployed behind a large, fallen tree strewn across the path. They aimed out from opposite sides, with Sebastian scanning the forest on one flank with his energy rifle, and Horatio taking the opposite end, the double-barrels protruding threateningly from his robotic forearms.

  Anything? Will sent over the mental channel. He and Rhea took cover behind the same log, close to Horatio.

  Quiet as a whorehouse at dawn, Horatio replied.

  Dude, the bad jokes… Will said.

  Will had Gizmo circle outward in a spiraling pattern, and when the drone confirmed that there were no Tasins or other bioweapons lurking anywhere nearby, Will gave the “move out” marching order.

  They headed northeast, moving away from the route the Tasins had taken. Sebastian took the lead, and the others kept their distance from that wicked tail. Gizmo scouted the skies as usual. By then the sun was firmly above the horizon, and morning was well afoot. The purple sky had already faded to its usual grayish blue.

  Like most beauty, so very fleeting, gone with the blink of an eye.

  They had only traveled for about half an hour when the trees began to thin. Though the scarce trees, Rhea could see a large, towering wall of rock ahead, that extended from north to south. A trending ridge of some kind.

  In a few more minutes, they left behind the trees entirely, and emerged on the rocky, windswept plains that marked much of the Outlands. The breeze picked up when they emerged, becoming a strong southeasterly wind that gusted due south occasionally.

  “That’s going to carry our scent to the Tasins,” Rhea said.

  “Yes,” Will said, dreadlocks waving in the wind. “We have to press on. And quickly.” He glanced at Sebastian. “But this is where we part ways. You agreed to accompany us only to the edge of these woods…”

  The man nodded. “And so I did. I head north, with the intention of rounding this rock face. We might as well stay together, for the time being.”

  “No, we’re heading north, you head east,” Will insisted.

  Sebastian shook his head. “Tasins roam the plains. I refuse to take that route. And I’m not returning south. That wind will guide the Werangs and Kargs directly to me.”

  “That’s the idea,” Will said.

  “You can’t make him serve as bait,” Rhea said. “That’s wrong on so many levels.”

  Will sighed and glanced at her. “I didn’t mean it, obviously. It’s called sarcasm.” He returned his attention to Sebastian. “Fine. We stick together a while longer. But after we’ve rounded these cliffs, we’re going our separate ways. Got it?”

  “I can agree to that,” Sebastian said.

  Will allowed him to take the lead once more, and then followed with the others a short distance behind. Gizmo scouted the route along the cliff face ahead.

  “I know he’s a cyborg and all,” Will said quietly. “But you have to stop taking his side.”

  “He has sensitive hearing…” Horatio reminded him.

  “Maybe I want him to hear this,” Will said, louder. He focused on Rhea. “Well, you have nothing to say?”

  “I…” She swallowed. It was an entirely unnecessary, completely instinctual act, an artifact of her all-too-human brain, rather than anything her machine body was programmed to do. “It’s not so much that he’s a cyborg, but that… well, I guess I find it hard to abandon people, especially when doing so will put them in danger.”

  “He’s in no greater danger without us,” Will insisted. “There will still be bioweapons out there. And bandits. Nothing we do will change that. Staying with us won’t make there be any less of them.”

  “Yes,” Rhea said. “But you know he’s far better off fighting at our side than alone.”

  “Not necessarily,” Will said. “More people, equals more mistakes.”

  “It also equals more firepower,” Rhea said.

  Will folded his arms. “Okay, but there’s still one problem. We know nothing about him. I don’t trust him. Besides, he claims to have roamed the Outlands by himself for two years now. He’s not hurting for company. Sure, he’ll take advantage of our companionship while he can, but when we part ways, I doubt he’ll have any problem fending for himself. Assuming his story is true.”

  Rhea sighed. “I suppose you’re right. Still, I feel bad.”

  Will switched to a mental channel to ensure Sebastian wasn’t listening. Me, too, but honestly, it’ll be a relief not to have to keep a constant eye on him. He’s a wildcard. We never know what he’s going to do. Those blades on his tail weren’t meant to be ornamental, if you know what I mean.

  It’s possible he’ll follow us, if we cut him free, Horatio chimed in. Maybe intending to close with us when we camp, and then rob us.

  Gizmo will alert us if that happens, Will said. A few warning shots on our part and he’ll never bother us again.

  Unless he shoots down Gizmo, Horatio said.

  If he does that, the gloves are coming off, dude, Will sent. He can kiss his monkey tail good-bye.

  His desire to stay with us might also simply be his way of buying time, Horatio said. While he waits for the most opportune moment to run off with our hauls.

  Will glanced at Rhea. There you go, see? Horatio understands this cyborg. The sooner we can cut him free, the better.

  I guess so, Rhea transmitted.

  The party reached the north-south trending ridge and strode alongside it, staying close to the tall cliffs in order to better blend in. From the horizons, they would be very hard to spot. By sight, at least. But the winds still gusted, unfortunately, carrying their scents to whatever bioweapons still lurked in the forest beyond the southern horizon. The drift coverage was sporadic at the base of the cliff, with some sections almost completely free of the black sediment—the surface was no doubt scoured clean by that southeasterly wind.

  Rhea felt a subtle vibration in the ground then, picked up by her sensitive cyborg feet. “Do you feel that?”

  “I do,” Horatio said.

  “What?” Will said.

  Sebastian stopped up ahead. He turned around. “They’re early.” His words were soft, barely audible. It was questionable whether Will, or even Horatio, had heard. But Rhea did.

  She and the others turned, following his gaze. Rhea zoomed in on the southern horizon.

  A cloud of dust rested atop the horizon, spanning from east to west.

  “Tasins?” Rhea asked. The cloud seemed to grow larger as she watched. She occasionally saw a fleeting tentacle appear within the depths, or a long talon, but these glimpses were quickly engulfed by the broiling dust.

  “No,” Will said. “These aren’t Tasins. They’re the new bioweapons.”

  “They’re headed straight for us,” Horatio said. “Tracking our scent on the wind, no doubt.”

  Will stared at the incoming cloud a moment longer. Then: “We have to run.”

  18

  Rhea, Will and Horatio dashed alongside the base of the cliff. They sprinted after Sebastian, who had taken the lead. The cyborg was no longer concealing his strength and was running at the maximum speed his body was capable of. He was quickly pulling ahead of the others.

  Rhea was purposely limiting her maximum speed so that Will could keep up. She suspected Horatio was doing the same.

  Rhea considered lifting Will into her arms, but the added weight would only reduce her maximum speed: she calculated she would run at about the same pace with him anyway.

  “Go!” Will said, gasping for breath. “I’ll catch up!”

  Rhea shook her head. “I won’t leave you.”

  “I’m not asking you to!” he sounded exasperated in addition to exhausted.

  “Actually, you are,” Horatio corrected.

  Will glanced over his shoulder at the incoming
dust cloud. “You won’t outrun them.”

  Rhea glanced at Horatio. “What if we share his weight between us?”

  “Then we’ll be able to attain approximately seventy to eighty percent of our maximums,” Horatio said.

  Will looked over his shoulder once more before addressing the robot. “Will that be good enough?”

  Rhea glanced at Horatio. The robot merely shook that metallic head.

  “There you go,” Will said, panting harder than ever. “You have to leave me so you can reach your top speeds.”

  “It won’t matter,” Horatio said. “Even if we ran as fast as our friend Sebastian, the creatures would still overtake us. We’d only be delaying the inevitable. We are, quite frankly, doomed.”

  Will slowed his pace, and Rhea and Horatio matched.

  “Looks like Master Bardain was right,” Will said, still wheezing.

  “About what?” she asked.

  “He’s always telling me, one day, my luck is going to run out,” Will replied. “Well, that day has come.”

  “Not if I can help it.” Rhea glanced thoughtfully at the rock face. “What if we climbed?”

  “All bioweapons can climb,” Horatio said.

  “Maybe these ones can’t,” Rhea suggested.

  “It’s possible, but doubtful,” Horatio said. “Climbing is one of the key traits that bioweapon designers always bake in. At their heart, they are weapons, after all. And if a weapon can’t climb obstacles to reach its prey, then it’s not much of a weapon, is it? They can climb.”

  Rhea glanced over her shoulder. She couldn’t help the rising desperation she felt deep inside as her human brain refused to accept defeat, and she struggled to come up with a solution. “But we have to try something.” The bioweapons were fast closing. The party had maybe five minutes until they were overtaken. “Maybe if we drop down and freeze, they’ll pass right by, thinking we’re rocks?”

  “You forget your training so soon,” Will said, his breathing becoming better, now that he had slowed. “We’re downwind. The bioweapons will be able to track us by scent, even if we’re motionless. Sorry dude, this is it. I just wish I’d never gotten you into this. I should have never made you sign that contract. Probably should have never reactivated you in the first place, considering your mind was wiped.”