The Earth's End

by Tara Brown

  It’s crazy and beautiful and sort of creepy to see weirdly random and heroic moments in our past and culture displayed on the walls as if they’re worshipped. Commemorated in art made by zombies preprogrammed to do so.

  But the art and the carved walls that give me a mild Viking hall sort of feel are not the reason we are in this room. I see that straightaway.

  “Do you like it?” he asks and I suspect he’s testing me. He’s not a hundred-percent certain I understand the reference or importance of a giant round table with carved chairs around it.

  “It’s cool. Who are the knights who sit here?” I ask, cocking an eyebrow like I’m kidding, but continuing to think about how to get out of the Dr. Jacquard thing.

  “We will create a council. Together. Choosing people who are opposite thinkers, to challenge us. But to ensure all voices are represented.” He is way too proud of this whole thing. Like smug on crack.

  “Okay, well it’s super cool and that’s a great idea. But I should probably be finding my friends.” I fold my arms and wait for his shitty reaction to this. It’s surely coming. “Before they worry.”

  “You disappoint me,” he says flatly and something stabs me in the back.

  Everything goes dark.

  18

  Just hang on, words drift into my mind. They’re part of a dream or thoughts or something hazy that’s floating about, maybe in the air around me.

  “Is she all right?” a voice I recognize asks.

  “She’s fine. I’m just running the diagnostics,” a man says. I would know his voice anywhere. Dr. Jacquard. “I’ll send word for you when I’m done.”

  “Fine,” Liam mutters with a sigh and a door closes. He’s gone. His buzz is gone with him.

  “He’s gone, you can stop pretending to sleep,” Dr. Jacquard whispers.

  “I wasn’t pretending,” I whisper back. “I just woke.” I blink. My eyes are fuzzy for a moment before they focus on the older man’s face. He’s paler than the last time I saw him. More grizzled maybe too. “What happened?”

  “He had you knocked out with horse tranquilizers so he could force you to come in here and be tested.” His eyes widen. “And with good reason, I see.” His tone suggests he knows my dirty little secret.

  “I had to,” I say, almost sitting up but noticing the tightness on my head. There’s something blocking me from moving.

  “Oh, I am certain you did.” He lifts his eyebrows even more. “Did your bots demand the joining or did the other bots come to you on their own?”

  “I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “But you can’t tell him.”

  “I have no intention of telling him. I intend to use this.” He smiles wide. “I need your help. And we don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll cut to the chase.”

  “My help?” I ask. “With what?”

  “I met someone recently. She’s different like you. It gave me an idea. And now that I understand what your bizarre talents are, that plan has been altered slightly; it will be even more efficient now.”

  “Okay.” I have no idea what he’s talking about.

  “Liam thinks I’m under his spell. But I planned for my bots to die inside this girl Liam found, taking all my knowledge with me. For some reason, she burns up the bots. Her body can’t sustain them. She hums, making the camouflage so the undead don’t see her, but her bots don’t work. They’re numb. Something in her electrical system interferes with them. Biomagnetics maybe.”

  “That’s unique.”

  “It’s more than unique. And instead of letting her kill the bots, I’m going to let you kill me, Lou,” his voice cracks but he smiles like he’s crazy. “My knowledge will be imparted to you. And you alone will know how to stop this madness.”

  I open my mouth to speak, to protest this, but I can’t. He’s brilliant. It’s a great idea. I hate that it’s a great idea.

  “But you need the girl. Liam doesn’t know what she can do. Like you, she’s an anomaly. I’ve kept her hidden in a house not far from here. When you kill me, you’ll get the information.” He’s serious. He wants to die and he wants me to kill him, and it’s the best plan we’ve had yet.

  “I can’t believe you don’t agree with this, Liam’s craziness. You made the bots.” I’m a bit taken aback by the whole plan and betrayal.

  “Yes, I did. And I never intended for them to be used like this. What he’s doing here, it’s madness, all of it. Liam is an ex-patient of a mental institute for the criminally insane. He was already switched off, as far as humanity goes, when this started. The bots have processed him and decided his emotional indifference to the world and lack of compassion make him the ultimate candidate for their strengths. Don’t you see?”

  “See what?”

  “They’re evolving. They’ve taken their core programming and grown with it. Help humans, heal humans has become ensure humans survive in the simplest and easiest way.” His eyes narrow and for a second I think maybe he’s seeing something I’m not. “They were a brilliant invention with the purest of intentions. And then the military applications came into play.”

  “Why do they want me to be with Liam?”

  “You feel it?” Dr. Jacquard’s gaze focuses on me again. “The pull and call and lure of him? They’re doing that on purpose. They can control so much about us. But our bodies want to resist. Our minds want to fight them. Did you happen to have the dream, your mother calling to you, telling you to run?”

  “I did.”

  “Common reaction to the activation of the bots. Your brain was fighting back, giving you a dream or a message from someone you trusted, telling you that you weren’t safe. Warning you that the activation of the other bots had occurred.”

  “That’s creepy.”

  “More than creepy. You have been invaded. And now they want to take you to their leader and make you bend the knee. And he is all about the knee bending, that one.” He points his thumb at the door behind him.

  “Is something wrong with me then too? Why are the bots choosing me?”

  “Something is wrong with you, like this other girl. And the diagnostics won’t reveal the problem. I don’t have answers. It would take me years to solve that riddle. Years we don’t have. All I could determine was you have taken bots from other people, killing them and taking their information. There’s memory left behind.”

  “Memories, skills, everything. The bots are reprogramming me to make me a better weapon.”

  “Then you need to be careful. They’re doing it to deliver you to him. They’re making you for him. Nothing they’re doing is for you or your benefit. This is all for the cause.” He sighs, slumping his shoulders. “They serve him in the same way he serves them.”

  “Great.”

  “It is great. You and the other girl, you two combined can stop him. Your evolved bots and knowledge and her strange ability to destroy is the answer to the riddle of how to solve this.” He smiles softly but there is a glint in his eyes.

  “You should know, you will save us all from this, but there’s a chance you or she will die in the process.” He bites his lip and nods as if convincing himself this is for the greater good. That is the cost. A girl dying. “It’s unfortunate, she’s a nice kid like you. But you can’t let that interfere. You have to do this.”

  “And your bots have all the answers?” I ask, completely confused on almost everything he’s talking about.

  “They do.” He stares at the floor for a moment. “I just want to be sure that you will do as I ask, no matter the cost.” He lifts his eyes to mine. Fury and passion and maybe some regret burn in them. “Promise me, you will end this.”

  “I promise.” I don't hesitate.

  “You have to see where this will end if you don’t. Babies born with bots in them, controllable by bots. A world with no free will. Our humanity is attached to that. We are only human because of our souls, our spirits, our ability to love and choose based on that. He thinks this tidy world of preprogrammed artificial intelligence
and the ability to control the chaos is where the future is going. He doesn't realize he isn’t offering us a future; he’s offering us a colony. He’s colonizing and he can’t understand that.”

  “Yeah, I saw the artwork in the round room.”

  “Exactly my point. I don’t know if Liam sees the irony in zombies—humans without humanity—making tributes out of humanity’s triumphs and tribulations. He doesn't see he’s ruining everything we are because he’s never been able to understand or enjoy the messy parts of being human.”

  “He’s not exactly wrong on some parts,” I confess, still sensing the truth of his words ringing in my head.

  “No, he’s not. His intense brand of brutal rationality is not wrong. It’s just not human.” Dr. Jacquard wrinkles his brow. “Let him think you are starting to see his point of view. That he might be winning you over after this little meeting. Give me a chance to rework my plan and set everything up. I’ll need to reach the girl and make it back here. Tonight, meet me in the field north of the castle. We’ll do it there, then you must get to the girl as quick as possible. And end this.”

  “Tonight.” I nod once but I’m not entirely ready for this. I don't fully understand what this is. And I won’t until I have his bots in me.

  “No matter what, he can’t figure out a way to harvest bots and absorb them. The moment he has that, we’re done,” he says the most important part of this.

  But I don't have a chance to respond as the door opens and Lee comes sauntering in. She smiles wide. “Any idea what’s going on with our little patient?”

  “Damage to the frontal lobe from the initial electrocution. Other than that I’m baffled as to why her eyes would glow when no one else’s do.” Dr. Jacquard shrugs then unstraps me from the machine. “You are free to go, Lou.”

  “Gee thanks.” I get up abruptly and walk past Lee, not hiding my annoyance with her or him. It’s not an act, but I need to make sure I’m convincingly pissed.

  “Why are you still mad? Dude, you see the plan. You see what King Liam is trying to accomplish.”

  “Yeah, I get it,” I say as I turn and face her, ensuring the tone is legit. “I understand and even see his point. But you know what I don't get, is how you can turn your back on all of us. The Littles, me, Erin, all of us. You chose some guy over us? That’s lame, Lee.”

  “You’re lame.” She folds her arms. “If you can’t just admit he’s right and this is the solution mankind has needed for like a thousand years, then you’re stupid and lame.”

  “You’re stupid!” I snap back. “If you think Liam will ever have your back or protect you the way your family would, then I can’t help you. He might be right about a few things, but he’s manipulative and secretive and kinda evil. He just tranqued me to let that psychopath dissect me!” I point toward Dr. Jacquard’s door.

  “You could have just let him see what’s wrong with you. How hard would that have been?” She steps forward. “And it’s King Liam to you!”

  “Whatever!” I throw my hands in the air and turn, stomping along the corridor. “Where’s everyone else?”

  “Downstairs.” She stomps after me.

  “If one hair on their heads is harmed—”

  “Why would he hurt them? We are the future, Lou. You’re being like this on purpose. You just want to be the special one. The chosen one. The only one who’s got the powers.” Her words cut into me but I have to maintain this. “You hate that he’s the savior and not you.”

  “Oh yeah, I feel really special with my glowing eyes and tiny robots trying to control my thoughts,” I shout back.

  “You didn't want me to be like you—”

  “No, you idiot. I didn't.” The act is gone and I am just screaming at her, “You ever think maybe I wanted to protect you from this? From him? Maybe I could see this happening?” I point at her. “You’re like his little Stepford wife. He’s your master. Does that seem normal to you? Or can you even tell what’s normal anymore? Or does forming your own opinions go against his plan?”

  Her eyes narrow and her lips lift into an evil grin. “You’re jealous. You want him all to yourself and you see how he looks at me. You have Kyle—you don't get to have everyone, Lou.”

  Taking a deep sigh, I realize I will never be able to reach her like this. The combination of bots, Liam, and Lee is not awesome. At all. “If you think for one second, I want to be with Liam, a guy I don't know, over Kyle, a guy who has done everything to protect me and be with me, then you don't know me very well.” I turn on my heel and stomp to the stairs, hurrying down them.

  “It’s this way,” she snaps, turning to the left at the bottom of the stairs where I went right. I grumble and follow her into the hallway, then into the round room.

  “Lou!” Kyle rushes forward, taking my hands in his. He doesn't buzz the same way Liam does and that bothers me. My bots are against us and I’ve never felt it as much as I do now. “You okay?”

  “No. Liam shot me with a tranquilizer and Lee let that crazy doctor do experiments on me. I want to go home.”

  “It wasn't experiments,” Lee says sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “They were checking for damage. You’re so dramatic.”

  “And you’re being a bitch,” Erin snarls at her sister. “And my sister has never been a bitch, not one day of her life.”

  “Maybe growing up with the queen of bitches taught me a few things,” Lee growls back. They step to one another and I’m certain, more than I’ve ever been, this needs to end.

  “Liam has invited us to stay for dinner and for the night,” Leah mentions quietly, her eyes meeting mine specifically. “He insists.”

  “Fine, but we’re leaving tomorrow.” I try to sound as disenchanted as possible. But the truth of the matter is that I can’t wait to spend the night. I can’t wait to sneak into the northern field and begin the end of this.

  19

  Watching Kyle sleep makes me tired. I want to close my eyes and fall into the dreamworld where he is. Truthfully, what I really want is for this to all be a dream. I want to wake up to Furgus hogging my bed and Joey coming in early to tell me Dad’s home and he’s made waffles. I want my mom to be working at the counter, eating her waffles silently.

  Alive.

  I want them both to be alive.

  But that is just a dream.

  And this, watching Kyle drift off into a beautiful slumber, is the reality. It took him forever to fall asleep. He grilled me relentlessly about the Liam tranquilizer thing. I had to talk him out of going and killing Liam right then and there. Because it wouldn't have been Liam dying. If Liam were easy to kill, Dr. Jacquard would have done that already.

  I slip from the bed, tiptoeing to the window to see the moon rising over the weirdly barren hills. There are trees, but it just isn’t how I imagined Canada. It isn’t lush or damp or snowy. It’s dry and arid and there are fields and rolling hills as far as the eye can see. Small clusters of trees dot the hills, but they’re nothing compared to what I imagined was here.

  My heart wants to race as I slide the window up, making small noises, but my bots lower my heart rate and keep me calm. Giving Kyle and his slowly rising and falling chest one more look, I climb out the window onto the weirdly peaked rooftop of the tower where we’re sleeping. It’s a completed part of the castle.

  Liam went on and on about it at dinner. We ate roasted venison and boiled potatoes and homemade soda bread. The meal was outstanding, as they always are with him, but the company was tense and fake and even Leah’s sweet and smiling face couldn't lighten my mood.

  Or Liam’s. He was excited to see her, calmed even. But it changed nothing for him. He showed them his entire evil plan, told them of his ideas. He was the pied piper of zombies and bots, filling their heads with ideas.

  By the end of the meal, he had Miles “convinced of the truth” in his words. Everyone else seemed a bit shell-shocked.

  They were even more shocked to watch Miles and Lee nod along like puppets, the same as I did wh
en I first heard it. He is amazing at sales, I have to give Liam that.

  My bare feet grip the wooden shakes on the roof as I crawl down to the next roofline. Trying not to make any noise isn’t easy when jumping from one part of the ridge to the next, but I do my best until my feet finally land with a thud on the cold grass.

  A sound makes me turn, seeing Leah land behind me.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I don't know,” she says, glimpsing behind her. “I just had a feeling I should follow you.”

  “How did you even know I was leaving?”

  “I don't know!” she whispers harshly. “Why are you leaving?”

  “We can talk about it on the walk,” I say, hurrying away from the castle and heading toward the hill in the northern field.

  “This place is making me crazy. I swear it. I have had the strangest vibes. Like seriously crazy, man.” Leah sounds as lost as I am. “When Liam invited us to stay for dinner and overnight, I desperately wanted to. I don't even know why. And then I had this weird feeling I should be watching out the window for you at bedtime. Like I knew I would see you out there on the rooftop. And when I did, I knew to follow. Did you do something to me?”

  “No.” I gasp, giving her a scowl. “I think the bots are losing their botiness.” I make up a word. “Mine are acting insane. They want me to listen to Liam and let him touch me and they’re all playing The Little Mermaid soundtrack in my head every time he and I are alone.”

  “Lemme guess, the ‘Kiss the Girl’ scene?” She laughs, making me smile.

  “Yes! I have my own personal set of matchmaker bots trying to convince me of things I don't want to be convinced of.”

  “Magoo’s favorite scene. She always sings along at the top of her lungs.”

  “I can picture that.” I’m so comfortable with her, always have been, that I share my thoughts comfortably, “Anyway, the bots are against Kyle. They’re crushing my feelings. It’s creepy.”

  “That is creepy. But I can say, before Davis got the bots, I felt it too. They wanted me to like Liam. They wanted me to be with him. He and I fought a strange and instant attraction to one another, and I never considered it sexual, but it’s there. Stronger after Grace died.”