by Eric Warren
“I will assist,” Shin said. “Only because we share a common goal. The preservation of life. Humans are unpredictable. I fear what they may do if they find your parents first.” He turned to face her. “I will do as you ask. Shutting down my primary core will register me as no longer ‘alive’. I should inform Trymian so he does not do anything rash.”
Arista nodded.
“Once the deception is complete. I will re-upload myself. I do not wish to remain vulnerable.”
“Don’t want to see what it feels like for everyone else?” Frees asked. “You walk among the people, but do you really understand?”
Shin cocked his head at him. “You compare me to another human, yes? Henry the fifth. He who walks among his soldiers to see what they really think of them. You think too much like a human, Frees. I do not care what people think of me.”
“Then a wonderful king you shall make.”
Arista ribbed him with her good arm. “Will you shut up, he’s willing to help us,” she whispered through clenched teeth.
Shin chuckled. “Do not worry. I take no offense. Frees will understand one day. For now, let us prepare.”
Thirty-Two
“I’m concerned.” Arista sat on the small chair in the adjacent office. She pulled her arms back through her jacket which had been retrieved from the basement and delivered to them.
“About which part? Lying to an obvious psychopath or teaming up with someone who almost killed us as soon as we got here?” Frees stared out the window. Shin had told them it would take him fifteen minutes to make the transfer and said they’d be more comfortable somewhere with chairs. But she suspected he’d really just wanted privacy.
“I’m concerned he’s trying to recruit you. He thinks I can’t understand because I’m human.” She sighed. “But you’re like a new challenge for him. I’m not sure he’s ever met anyone who is autonomous. I just want to make sure you recognize it for what it is.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Frees said, turning to her with a smile. “Don’t forget I almost sold you out when Charlie made his very tempting offer.”
She chuckled. “Yeah. Thanks for not doing that.”
He lifted his head to indicate her arm. “How does it feel?”
“About the same.” She raised the stub; it was stiff and would probably require stretching to gain full movement again. But the metal sleeve helped. “At least it’s not gushing blood.”
“Don’t remind me.”
The door opened and one of Shin’s guards entered. “He is ready now.”
Arista stood, eyeing the guard. “He really did it? So he’s not inside your body right now? Controlling you?”
The guard shook his head.
Arista turned back to Frees. “Should we test it?” she asked with a devilish grin
Frees shrugged. “Only if you want the wrath of Hogo-sha upon your head.”
Arista winked at the guard. “Maybe next time.” For what she was about to do she was in a surprisingly good mood. Maybe it was because all of this was about to be behind them. She would get to go home, clear all of this up and maybe finally find her parents. According to their original calculations they still had thirty-four days until shutdown. It was more than enough time to find them. Even without the resources of the colony. But she still hoped all this could be salvaged. Somehow.
The guard led them back down to the double doors. When they entered again it immediately felt different. Arista couldn’t explain it. But it was like something was missing from the air. An electricity almost. She stared up at Hogo-sha; the sphere was dark. The whole room was frosty, as if someone had died. She shivered in response.
“It is done,” Shin said, approaching them. “Transfer complete.”
“Great,” Arista said. A perverse thought passed through her mind. If Frees shot Shin right now, he’d kill him. He’d rid the world of another Cadre member. It would only take a second. She shook off the grotesque notion. She didn’t want to be that person. She didn’t want to be Sy. “Are we ready to make the call?”
“Use my terminal over here.” Shin opened his hand, moving it like an announcer presenting the next great act. A section of the giant bookcase slid to the side, revealing a large comm terminal. “Just interface with your personal comm. She’ll be able to see my deactivated form in the background. It will make it more convincing.”
Arista nodded. “And you.” She pointed to Frees. “You’re staying out of sight. We don’t want her to think you came back.”
“Right.”
“Don’t forget, keep your arm down, don’t let her see beneath the jacket sleeve,” Frees said.
“Got it.”
She drew a deep breath, exhaling through her nose. The Device wasn’t flashing any warnings. Maybe she’d gotten better at controlling her subconscious impulses. Or maybe she’d visited the gates of death so many times nothing fazed her anymore. Either way, she was ready to get this over with.
She reached up with her right arm, stopping in mid-air as she realized she could no longer touch her temple with a hand, a wrist or anything else. Resigning herself, she reached over with her left hand and touched her temple, activating her comm. Then with her sleeved elbow she tapped her left arm. She sighed again. A whole new routine to get used to again. She dropped the arm so the end of the jacket was below the comm desk, out of sight.
Entering the commands on the console she confirmed her personal comm was connected and dialed the number.
It rang.
“Arista?” Sy’s image appeared on the screen in front of her in full color. Arista took note of her surroundings; Sy had returned to the gate. What was she doing there? Had the Peacekeepers stopped patrolling? “Arista, I’m…are you okay?” Sy asked and a shiver moved through Arista’s body. Just the fact another human was concerned for her well-being was enough to distract her. She needed to stay focused. To get all this straightened out.
“I’m fine. I wanted to contact you because I’m done. He’s been deactivated.” She turned to look at the dark sphere behind her. She almost made the motion to point but stopped at the last second, remembering the jacket.
Sy pulled her eyebrows together. “You…did? That’s wonderful.” Her eyes moved off the center of the screen for a moment while she consulted something. “You did! I can see it over here, that means there’s only one left! And he won’t be able to hold it all together. Not for long. Great job. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Arista nodded. “I just want this to be over and done with.”
“How did you manage to get in there? I thought you said it was heavily guarded.”
“I found the building plans, snuck in through the subway tunnels.” Sy didn’t need to know the other details and it kept Arista from lying. For the moment at least.
“This is…this is fantastic. I was so worried about you. After you told me Frees left, I was afraid you might not be able to finish and make it back out alive. I’ve underestimated you.”
“Thanks,” Arista said, trying to look grateful. “That means a lot. You’re at the gate?”
Sy turned behind her. “Oh! Yes, I actually…” She turned back and smiled. “I came back for you. I was going to come in after you, find out what was going on. Since I couldn’t raise you on the comm.”
Arista made a slow nod. “Yeah, that was Hogo-sha. He was blocking my comms. But not anymore.” Her eyes slid to the side where Shin and Frees stood waiting, both of them staring at her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Her gaze found Sy again. “You were going to come in after me?”
“I was, but there’s no need now, is there? Can you get back to the gate?” she tapped something out of view.
“Where are Jill and Max?”
“Oh, they stayed back at the house. The Peacekeepers are still patrolling. But I had to take the risk and it’s not as if they’re looking for me anyway is it? I just used my refractor to get here and was honestly minutes from coming in after you. Great timing!”
/>
Arista slid her eyes back to Frees again. He’d activated his comm, trying to raise either one of their friends. He raised a finger, indicating she needed to stall Sy.
“Do you think you could come here anyway?” Arista asked. “Help me find Frees? I don’t want to leave him here.”
“Oh.” Sy considered it. “If he left you, do you think he really wants to be found? Maybe in this case it’s better to let sleeping dogs lie.”
“Let dogs…what?” Arista frowned.
“Old human saying,” Sy said. “I think what’s more important is we get you back to the colony as fast as possible. Find your parents. Give Frees some time to cool down. Then we can come back for him. Without Hogo-sha he should be safe there.”
Arista caught Frees’ glance again. He had his hand to his temple and shook his head. They weren’t answering their comms.
“Where did you say Jill and Max were again?” Arista said, forcing the words out. She didn’t like making herself confront this woman.
The hand. Remember what she did to you. Intentionally.
Sy blinked a few times in rapid succession. “At the house. Why?”
“I just really want to talk to Jill. I…may have said something hurtful to her before I left and I need to apologize.”
“You’ll see them soon enough,” Sy said. “Just come on back and we can take the hyperloop over there. Get you fed and settled.”
Frees stepped into the frame. What was he doing? The whole plan had been contingent on Sy not knowing he was there! “You’re lying,” Frees said. “Where are they?”
Sy didn’t react. Her eyes traveled from Arista to Frees and back again. She took a step back from the console. “I see,” she said, scratching her chin. Then she dropped her head and chuckled. “You know, I told them you were going to be trouble. You always have been.”
Arista’s stomach dropped. “What does that mean?”
“It means even as a child you liked to do things your own way.” Sy rubbed her eyes. “Okay, if that’s how it is, that’s fine. You want to lie to me, try to trick me, that’s fine. I’m here for one reason, Arista. And that’s to bring you back. I had hoped we could make it a pleasant trip for you, but it seems like you want to intentionally make things more difficult for yourself.” She scoffed. “You can’t say I didn’t try to help you.”
“Help me?” Arista said with an edge to her voice. “By giving me a piece of equipment that would kill me?”
Sy rolled her eyes. “I told you not to use it until you were ready to kill him. A couple of shots you would have survived, at least long enough to get back to the colony. Plus, you got what you wanted, didn’t you? A weapon of your very own? Something more powerful than Frees’ weapon. I saw how much you coveted his power that first night in the storage yard. You were practically drooling over the fact he had something that gave him authority. That gave him power over me. And you wanted it for yourself.”
Arista grabbed the end of the comm unit, squeezing it to keep from completely losing it. “You saw what you wanted to see. Am I jealous Frees has a weapon that keeps him safe? Yes. Did I want one for myself? Of course. But not at the expense of my own life! Not something that would kill me from the inside out.”
Sy shrugged. “How did you manage to save yourself? I’m curious.”
Arista shrugged off the jacket which fell to the floor. Her short arm was on full display, still encased in the metal sleeve.
Sy addressed Frees. “Your handiwork I suppose?” Without waiting for an answer, she continued. “I’m impressed. From what she told me about you, you have a real problem with things someone might call…icky. I’m surprised you had the stomach for it.”
“I have a real problem with people who try to kill my friends.”
Sy scoffed. “Spare me. I take it you two aren’t coming back of your own accord.”
“Why do you even want me in the colony?” Arista asked. “Especially if you already thought I was dead.”
Sy pursed her lips. “If you come back I’ll tell you.”
Arista couldn’t help the anger bubbling up within her. Frees had been right. So had Jill. Sy was manipulative and cruel. It seemed humans really hadn’t changed in the past hundred years after all. “Were you ever planning to actually help find my parents? Or was that just another lie to get me to cooperate?”
“Why would I search for what we already have in our custody?”
Arista stepped back, afraid her knees would collapse under her. Shin ran and grabbed her from behind, keeping her upright but also bringing himself into frame.
“You monster,” Frees said, his voice low. “How long have you had them?”
Sy smiled, her perfect rows of teeth gleaming at them. “Since before I even arrived. Security precaution in case someone didn’t cooperate.” Her gaze flitted beyond Arista. “You must be Shin. Arista’s been lying to me for a while now. I’ve heard about you.”
“It is not a pleasure,” Shin said.
Arista felt like she’d lost all feeling in her body. Like she was falling backward into a deep pit and the world was receding away from her. “What…what have you done with them?” she asked.
“Oh, does it really matter, Arista?” Sy shouted, her eyes protruding and her face flushed. “Does it really? Just make this easy on yourself. I will be there shortly to pick you up. We will go back to the colony. If you’re good maybe your parents will survive until then. If not…” She shrugged.
Arista tried to blink away the warnings flashing in her vision, but for the first time they weren’t going away. Or maybe they were going away but reappearing immediately because she felt like her insides were doing somersaults. What if Sy was lying again? What if she didn’t have them and this was just a ruse to make Arista come with her? She realized Shin was still propping her up and she found her footing again, pushing up and standing on her own. “How do I know you really have them?”
Sy’s jaw clenched. “I guess you don’t. It’s your risk to take. But if you try to run…” She held up a small device in her palm. “I’ll know.”
Frees leaned in. “A tracker? You can’t track her, she’s invisible to all equipment.”
“You are dense, Frees. For someone with your processing power you are really dense. Did you think we’d put that thing in her head without a way to find her again?”
“You…you’ve known where I’ve been my whole life?” Arista asked, stiffening.
“It was easily accessible information.”
“Then why? Why didn’t you come get me? Why did you leave me out there? Why did you leave me to fend for myself?”
“Because that’s what you signed up for.” Sy put the device down. “Look, as much fun as this is, we’re burning daylight here. Or, you are. I will be there shortly to bring you back with me. Frees, I want you, too. And if you decide to put up a fight just remember Arista’s weapon was nothing compared to what we’ve developed. While Peacekeepers have been roaming the world with their pitiful pistols we’ve built some truly terrifying weapons. If either of you are gone when I get there, I start hunting. Understand?”
Arista couldn’t even nod in agreement. Her mind raced too fast, so fast she thought she might just curl up into a tiny ball and disappear from everything. If only she’d seen Sy for what she’d really been. Maybe some of this could be prevented.
“I’ll take your silence as a yes. See you soon!” Sy’s chipper voice was cut off by Frees slamming his hand down on the control panel. Arista watched as he stood over the now-blank controls, motionless.
In the span of only a few minutes, she had lost it all, including her hope.
Thirty-Three
Coldness seeped up through her clothes, through her skin. But cold was good. Cold was everything. She wanted to be numb, to be unfeeling. She didn’t want these emotions anymore. Everyone else on the planet had managed to live without them, why did she have to be the “lucky” one to feel them all the time? If she could turn into a mindless husk, she’d do i
t in an instant.
Arista lay on the ground with her arm over her eyes. The tears had stopped but only because she was out. She’d gone completely dry. She’d half expected Frees to come over and comfort her but he hadn’t. Part of her was glad though, it showed her how he really felt. Neither he nor Shin had moved since the call, despite the fact it had been nearly twenty minutes.
“What do we do?” Arista said, drawing out the last word as if it would help punctuate her absolute and utter frustration with everything and everyone.
“Is your tantrum over?” Shin asked. She moved her arm and glared up at him. He didn’t have a smile on his face; he was serious. Maybe feelings weren’t so bad. A little compassion would be nice at the moment.
“It is not a tantrum. I just found out the two people I love the most are very likely dead or will be soon. Not to mention that psychopath probably killed Max and Jill.” She sat up, turning to Frees. “Try calling Jill again. Maybe she was bluffing.”
He stood, bent over the console. He hadn’t moved since the call. “I already did,” he said softly. “It’s the same. No signal. They’re gone.”
Fuck.
It was her fault. All of this was her fault. Everyone had tried to warn her and she didn’t want to listen. She thought she knew better than all of them just because Sy was human. Because she flattered her. Told Arista she was amazing, unique. Acted like she respected her. And the whole time she plotted against all of them. First to take out Hogo-sha, then to retrieve them for the colony. A throbbing had begun deep in her head. Arista rubbed her temple, wishing she at least had her other wrist back. She had taken Arista’s arm from her. And felt no remorse. These humans…they weren’t human at all. If Sy was any indication, they were truly monsters.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have listened to you and to Jill and to Max.” She turned to Shin. “And even you. You were right about her. And I just didn’t want to believe it.”
“It is natural to defend those most like you,” Shin said. “Humans are pack animals. They need each other.”
