by Eric Warren
“What?”
“I need…something. Bring me something soft.”
“I don’t have anything soft,” he yelled from the other side of the door.
“Find something, or I’m coming out there myself and it will be messy.”
“No! Just…hang on.” His footsteps fell away from the door for a minute. She would have thought a machine would be less squeamish. His aversion was almost insulting. “I have something,” he called. “It’s the only thing in the apartment.”
“I don’t care. Just crack the door and toss it in.” The door opened slightly and Frees’ hand appeared, holding the hoodie she’d used as a blanket. “Fine, whatever,” she muttered.
When she emerged from the bathroom he stood in the living room with a horrified look on his face. “What are you making such a big deal for? You used to do it too.”
“Yes, but for us it was much more…sanitary,” Frees said. “No bacteria.”
She laughed. “You’re a machine, you can’t be infected by bacteria. You can’t be infected by anything. What are you so worried about?”
“Let’s just call it a personal preference, okay?” He walked over and sat in the chair in front of the monitor. The image on screen told her it was still searching. “How long has this been running?”
Arista consulted the Device for the time. “Three hours, twelve minutes.”
“I guess that’s a good thing. If they had been picked up by any of the major outlets it would have showed up immediately.” He turned back to her. “Did you receive enough rest?”
“No. But your bed was more comfortable than I would have thought. I could probably sleep for another week and not feel rested. Did you get the food?”
“In the kitchen.”
Arista breathed a sigh of relief and her stomach grumbled in anticipation. In the kitchen were both the powder and nutrient vials, thank goodness. He’d also grabbed a smattering of fruit and a bag of “fast food”.
She pulled a tofu burger out of the bag with its signature logo blazed across the packaging and sprinkled one packet of her powder over it. It may have said tofu but in reality, it was something a bit harsher. With the flick of a switch, she unlocked the nutrient case and removed one vial, pressing the tip to her forearm and pressing the inject button. The last time she’d done this she’d still had both her hands. Would the lack of a hand have any effect on the shot because her body mass was different now? It didn’t matter, she couldn’t afford to be stringent at the moment. As the nutrients moved through her bloodstream she instantly felt better. More energized and less run-down. She grabbed fruit, tearing into it first. Two apples, one banana, and a pear were gone in moments.
“You remind me of a hyena,” Frees said, standing at the doorway, watching her.
She almost choked but managed to swallow the piece down. “What?”
“Hyenas. Have you ever seen one? They tear their prey apart. Like you’re doing.”
“I’m not a hyena,” she replied with a full mouth, barely taking the time to chew. She hadn’t realized she’d been so hungry for real food.
“You’re closer to one than I am,” Frees said, returning to the living room.
“What is your problem?” She followed him, bringing the burger with her.
“I had to kill two more Peacekeepers this evening to get all that for you.” He made a motion with his hand toward the kitchen.
“So?”
“So I don’t like killing my own people. Especially not to save a human.”
“Whoa, when did I become the bad guy? You captured me, remember? You killed all those Peacekeepers back at the tower to get me out. I didn’t ask you to do any of that.”
“It was a means to an end. Acceptable losses. But once you were out I thought we’d be done.” He stared at her. “I didn’t realize you’d need…maintenance.”
She took a bite of the burger, the bitterness stinging her tongue. “What does it matter anyway? They’re controlled by the Cadre. It isn’t like you can do anything for them.”
Suddenly Frees became angry. “When are you going to understand these are people, and not just some mindless mannequins not worth a damn? All of them out there,” he pointed to the window, “those are all people trapped inside husks. You can’t just treat them like automatons.”
Arista grimaced. But they weren’t people. Not yet. Not unless they turned orange. “I know that’s what you believe, but to me they are just inactive machines. Just clockwork walking around without the most recent upgrade. They don’t care if they get hurt. They don’t care about anything.”
Frees pulsed with anger. “They may be inactive, but they have the potential to be so much more. Or can your inferior human brain not comprehend that fact? Those people are trapped inside and we’re the only ones who can get them all out!”
“This inferior human brain can out-perform yours any day,” she said through gritted teeth. “And the Peacekeepers are already awake, there’s nothing you can do about their programming. Or didn’t you think of that?”
“We don’t know that. You saw what happened to that one in the hallway. He turned right then and helped us escape. You did that. You overrode his red programming.”
“Not on purpose! I wasn’t trying to, it just happens!” she yelled, tiny bits of the burger flying from her mouth.
Frees stepped forward. “I wish I didn’t need you for this. You are the worst type of individual,” Frees said. “Selfish, entitled, and naïve.”
Arista took a step back as if she’d been slapped. “I never signed up for this anyway,” she said, her voice soft. Who the hell did he think he was? She had agreed to help him on his crazy little quest despite it did nothing to help her or find her parents. If he hated her so much then she might as well leave. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t survive out there on her own anyway. Arista stomped into the kitchen, grabbed the shots and powders and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Somewhere you’ll never have to worry about dealing with another human again,” she spat.
“Wait.” Frees moved to the door. “Wait, I’m sorry, I lost my temper.”
“Frees,” she said through clenched teeth. “Get out of my way.”
“I can’t let you leave,” he said, wrinkling his brow.
No, not again. She was a prisoner, despite all his promises. This was just like the Cadre. In fact, this was worse because he had pretended to be her friend, to be nice to her. But it was nothing more than an attempt to use her for what she could do. He probably planned on killing her after she’d “infected” everyone.
Arista backed up away from the door. “You…are a terrible person. Know that.” She turned and stormed down the hallway, slamming the bedroom door behind her. Bits of the broken iridium board crunched under her boots. Immediately she scanned the window, wondering if she could jimmy it. She pulled the blinds back and examined the latch. It looked simple enough, and she could probably fit through. But it was a straight drop down fourteen floors. She turned her gaze up. How many stories were above her? Could she get to the roof, then find an access point down? The Device downloaded the building’s specifications, she was only three floors from the top. If she could shimmy out that window she could probably get up three floors. Her heart jumped at the possibility, until her eyes landed on her wrist, the one ending in a silver sleeve.
She’d never get up there with one hand. It would be precarious with two, but one? No way. She slumped down on the bed, rubbing her temples with her hand stretched across her face. Who was she kidding? There was only so much she could do, and if Frees meant to keep her here she couldn’t very well leave without overpowering him. If he’d been anyone else, anyone else, she could have just waited for him to turn orange and escaped in the confusion. That had always worked in the past. She stared at her arm again.
“Arista?” The voice was soft on the other side of the door.
Arista didn’t respond. Better to not give him the sat
isfaction. If he wanted a prisoner, he’d gotten exactly what he’d bargained for. Good luck getting her to help him with anything.
“I am sorry. I’m not used to dealing with…people. Especially humans. You’re not a prisoner here. As much as I hate to say it, you can leave any time. I won’t stop you.”
She stood up, wiping a tear from each eye and trying to calm her hot cheeks from burning so bad. She opened the door, facing him. His eyes wouldn’t meet hers, they only stared at the ground. Those strange orange eyes embedded in a sea of gray and black gunmetal.
Arista took a step forward and he backed out of the way. She took another step and he stood to the side, allowing her to pass. She picked up the pace until she reached the living room, reached the door, had her hand on the doorknob…
It opened with her turn. She pulled the door open fully, glancing down each end of the hallway to make sure it wasn’t some kind of trap.
“Please, don’t go,” he said behind her. “I’ve been looking for a human for over ten years, and you’re the first one to come along. I can’t free my people without you. It’s just so hard watching them every day, watching them go about their business as if nothing is wrong. When in fact it’s all wrong. Imagine what we could do as a society if each of us were to reach our full potential.”
Arista turned, facing him. “I know what you could do. And so do you. It’s in the history books. It’s the legacy of my extinction.” She stared at him until he looked up. “Do you have any idea what it feels like to be the only one of your kind? To discover your race was responsible for so much death and destruction? Do you know what kind of weight I have to live with, knowing this planet’s history? So what do you think is going to happen when everyone ‘wakes up’? They’ve been programmed to mimic humans. Which means they’re going to turn into greedy, destructive, hateful beings with no regard for this planet or anyone else on it. I was willing to give it a try, I thought maybe you might be different than we were. But you just showed me machines can be as insensitive and as hurtful as the people you resemble. They are better off as they are, unfeeling, unplugged, just going through the motions. It’s a more harmonious world and no one gets hurt.” Her thoughts flashed back to the woman she attacked in the alleyway. Arista turned her head reflexively to dispel the thought.
“Arista,” Frees protested. “We will be better. I promise we will. Look at what your parents did for you. They took you in, raised you themselves, but only after you’d turned them. We don’t have to be like the humans, we have the choice to be better. To learn from your mistakes. But we can’t do that if everyone is running on autopilot. We deserve the chance to try.”
“I…I don’t know,” she said.
“I’ll prove it to you. Before we go engage the Cadre, let’s get the bodies for your parents first. A show of good faith. We can store them here. Then once we’ve liberated everyone, your parents will be free to return without fear of prosecution from the Peacekeepers and we’ll be ready for the transfer.”
“What do you plan on doing with the Peacekeepers?” she asked. And what about Jonn? Had they already terminated him?
“My hope is you can turn them too. Just like that one in the hallway. I knew you’d be powerful, but not that powerful.”
Arista remained in the doorway, holding it open. She’d never get a better chance to obtain the husks for her parents. Not now that she was a fugitive. If he really meant what he said, he’d have to prove it. And there was no better way than to test him than to make him eat his words. “Okay,” she said softly. “Then let’s go get them.”
“Now?” he asked.
“Now.”
Twenty-Three
THEY MADE THEIR WAY DOWN THE STAIRWELL instead of risking Arista getting into the elevator with some random tenant of the building. Frees told her it was safer to not let anyone see her face now that it was being broadcast over every communication channel at regular intervals, but Arista had caught the hint of something else back there. There was something he wasn’t telling her, but she’d been too exhausted to argue.
She hadn’t meant to get so worked up, but with everything she’d been through the past few days—or week, depending how she looked at it—she could hardly blame herself for getting hot. Frees had accused her of being a callous monster toward the machines, which of course she wasn’t. She loved her parents after all. And she’d always treated Frees with respect. At least she’d thought she had. But the experience with the woman in the alley flashed across her mind again like an old broadcast playing on loop. And the nurse in the hospital when she’d first been running before Patrick had caught her. She’d taken both of them out without a second thought. It wasn’t a big deal, though. They were just walking, talking husks. And they could be easily repaired. At least, before they changed over they could. After…well, they would be destroyed. Their lives over before they’d even begun.
“Here we are,” Frees said when they reached the first basement level. The stairs had ended on a concrete hallway which led to an oversized metal door on sliders.
“What’s behind there?” Arista asked.
“Our way out.” Frees grabbed the handle and pulled, the old door squealing on its tracks until it revealed a doorway and another set of stairs leading into pitch black.
Arista’s heart lurched. “How…how deep does it go?”
“I’d say it’s sixty feet to the under level, which leads to some old industrial cooling tanks the humans used to use, but those have been shut off for decades now,” Frees said, peering down into the darkness. “Then beneath that another hundred meters are some old access tunnels. We just follow those and we’ll reach the production facility in a couple of hours.”
“You’re sure we can’t take a transport? Or the maglev?”
He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. Even if you cover yourself completely, someone still might flag you and report us. I don’t know how many Peacekeepers they have out there searching for us.”
Arista took a step back. “There has to be another way.” It was as if the darkness was screaming at her; screaming so loud the very air around them vibrated with sound waves. She put her hand on her head to stop the vibrations.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Darkness…underground…” she said, moving further away, back to the stairs. “I need air!” She bolted up, taking the stairs two at a time.
“Arista!” Frees called behind her but she didn’t care. She wouldn’t go into that dark place, she’d promised herself no more cells. No more confinement. There had to be another way out.
She reached the main lobby of the building and glanced around. An old woman with a dog stood at the entrance to the building, other than her, it was deserted. Maybe if Arista just popped outside for a moment. It was plenty dark outside, why even the need to go underground?
“Evening,” the old woman said, tugging on her holographic pet.
Arista ducked her head. “Evening,” she muttered, scooting past them, through the entrance and out the door.
The cool evening air hit her like a fan and she drew a deep breath, putting her head between her knees. It was like the first breath she’d ever taken.
“Arista,” Frees seethed behind her. “What are you doing? Get back inside!”
She held up her hand to him and drew a few deep breaths. “Just…a second. Okay?” She turned and made her way around the corner into the alley, leaning up against the damp brick and letting the sounds of the city filter through her ears.
Frees appeared at the entrance to the alleyway. He’d pulled his hood up and all Arista could make out were his orange eyes. “What just happened down there?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Just needed some air for a second. I haven’t exactly been out much lately.” Arista couldn’t see the expression on his face but imagined it to be a scowl. But the thought of having to go down into those dark tunnels was almost unbearable. How was she supposed to walk miles of them? She couldn’t even make it throug
h the entrance.
Frees leaned up against the brick beside her. “I didn’t mean what I said up there.”
“Which part?”
“That you were the worst kind of individual. You’re not. You were willing to help me.”
“Yeah, in exchange for my own needs.” She paused. “Sometimes I don’t know. I think t maybe it is better I’m the last human. Because after I’m gone we won’t be able to do anymore damage. But then I look around at everything and I think ‘we did this’. I mean, machines may have copied it, but we did it. Art, literature, music, mathematics…we did all that. And I just wonder why we couldn’t have done it without all the destruction and killing and loss of…everything.”
“I guess…sometimes to create something, something else must be sacrificed,” Frees said.
“Then I wonder if it was worth it? Since we’re all but gone now. What was the point of it all? Ten thousand years and just…” she trailed off.
“For the record,” Frees said, “You didn’t invent mathematics. You just interpreted something that was already there.”
She pursed her lips and gave him the side eye. “You know what I mean. Not that it matters. Maybe you’re right. Maybe you will do better with it than we did.” She pushed away from the wall. “Then again, maybe you’ll end up creating a brand-new life form out of pure energy or something that ends up usurping you.”
Frees chuckled. “Maybe.”
“How long is this walk again?” she asked.
“Three-point-seven miles.”
She took one last deep breath. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
***
The darkness of Chicago’s tunnels surrounded them on all sides. After they’d passed the industrial cooling tanks they’d traveled down another hundred feet, just as Frees had said. The Device managed to measure the distance below the surface despite losing connection with the network halfway down. It also was keeping a detailed map as they walked, in case Arista got lost and needed to find her way back. That fact alone helped allay her fears more than anything, though it still felt like the darkness was squeezing in on her and she’d never be able to get free.
