The Earth's End

by Tara Brown

  “What was he like with her?”

  “Normal, ish. Normal for Liam. He was in love so deep, I suppose now I see how his mental health diminished from the loss of her, even with the bots. I mean, maybe it was the kind of love that could have switched to obsession if she hadn’t felt the same way about him. But she did. She was crazy about him.” She sounds breathy as we climb to the top of the hill.

  Dr. Jacquard’s lone silhouette is there, standing in the field waiting for me.

  “Who’s that?” Leah asks, pausing.

  “Dr. Jacquard,” I say. “Maybe wait here.”

  “Okay.” She stays behind and I walk faster, hurrying to him. A sense of urgency springs inside me.

  “Why did you bring her?” he questions me quietly when I get closer.

  “I don't know. She just knew to come.”

  “Her bots wanted her here?” He sounds leery of that.

  “I think so,” I admit but I have no answers for him.

  “We better hurry.” He reaches behind his back and pulls a sword. The silver blade reflects the distant moonlight, glinting in the dark night.

  “A sword?” I can’t believe he wants to die by sword. This is barbaric.

  “It’s so sharp it’s ridiculous. One swipe, you’ll take my head clean off. I’ll feel nothing.” He hands it to me.

  “It’s heavy,” I whisper, taken aback this is how he wants to die. The hilt in my hands suits the backdrop of the castle behind us.

  “You’re strong.”

  “Why did you choose me? How did you know I would do this?” My mind screams, Why me?

  “Your father. He was the bravest of us all. He wasn't just a science geek. He was a true soldier, and I knew the moment I met you, you were his daughter. His strength lives inside you.” He takes a deep breath and drops to his knees in the grass, making a rustling sound. “Do it before I lose my nerve.” His voice wavers and I realize I’m not ready.

  He wants me to kill him unprovoked. That makes me uncomfortable.

  It takes me several deep breaths before I bring the sword back. I nearly close my eyes and swing, but I hear a sound. Footsteps in the grass. Someone is coming, and it’s not Leah. I still hear her heartbeat across the hilltop, in the opposite direction.

  Dr. Jacquard’s eyes lift to mine, glistening in the moonlight. “Do it, hurry,” he insists.

  My eyes are wide, my heart races, and my hands are sweating, despite the bots calming me. The hesitation is theirs. They don't want me to do this. They see Dr. Jacquard as part of the greater good.

  I’m halfway through talking myself out of it when I just swing, forcing my body to push the sword through the air. My hands squeeze and instead of closing them, my eyes mark the target perfectly. I turn the hilt slightly, evening out the blade so when it hits him it’s completely flat and smooth as it slices the skin of his neck.

  It’s like cutting through a banana. Except I hear every sound and register what they are. Skin, meat, tendons, bones, spinal cord, and then the reverse of that.

  He blinks once, his lips twitch, and I have a terrible fear he’s in pain. But his body slumps to the ground and his head topples to the side. I gag as the blood, red and lit with blue lights, begins to slither from him. It crawls in a slow-motion wave from his neck and head through the grass, making tiny noises.

  When the warmth of it hits my bare feet, I shiver. The lights glow and pulsate as the bots drive the blood up my legs to my torso and neck. It crawls the way it did before, hitting my ears and riding its way to my brain.

  “What the ever-loving fuck?” Leah whispers and I hear her getting closer, but I can’t move. The shudder of the weird and disgusting sensation is overwhelming.

  Lights flash behind my eyes.

  A movie begins to play.

  My dad stars heavily in the performance.

  Labs, office, massive conferences.

  Scientists around a table.

  My dad shouting, slamming his hand on the table. His mouth forms and I see the name he is screaming, “Dr. Arsenault!”

  Dr. Jacquard is upset. The world is ending. He talks with the military about mist, the mist from the drones that can stop the bots. They don't have many of them made up yet but what they have they can unleash on the Eastern Seaboard.

  They’re boarding a plane, my dad is with them. He’s frantically pacing, he’s talking on the phone. I think he’s speaking to me. He says, “Board up the windows,” and I know the exact moment this is.

  My breath hitches as they land in the US and they’re running. Dr. Jacquard gets attacked. My dad saves him.

  My dad leaves them behind. Dr. Jacquard meets me. He meets Liam. He’s scared of Liam. The image shifts but I’m shaken out of the daydream, cutting the visions off.

  “What the hell?” Leah grabs my arm, shaking me. “We have to run. Now! Someone’s coming.” She drags me to the side of the hill, back toward the castle. The sword is still in my hands, smelling rusty and weighing more than it did before I killed him. “How the hell did you do that? His blood crawled up into you.”

  “I don't know,” I whisper back as we crawl through the dark shadows to the castle. “I’m a freak.”

  She paces on the outside of the northern rampart and stares at me, her eyes searching my face. “You murdered him.”

  “You heard him, he made me.”

  “Why? I need to understand why.” She is scared of me, but only a little. As much as we can be scared.

  “He wants me to end this,” I admit the truth to her. She might be the only person I would tell this to. “He has a plan to end this. To end everything.” His plan begins to flit about in my head. Not faces or images, but words and descriptions and formulas that make sense. He’s given me something, tainted bots.

  “But how did you absorb him? Do we all do that?”

  “I don't know. I have a bad feeling this might just be a me thing.”

  Her eyes lower to the sword. “We need to get back to our rooms and you need to hide that.”

  I wipe the blade on the grass and nod. “Okay. We should scale the walls and go back the way we came.”

  “You think we can climb this castle?” She gazes upward, wincing.

  “We can jump and climb, we’re fine. We just have to hurry.” I’m about to jump up the wall and scale it when I have an idea.

  I grab the hilt of the sword and hold it over my head, stabbing down at the grass and driving the sword into the earth. I push hard until the hilt is buried too. Then I smooth the dirt and grass over the hole I made. I step on it a few times to ensure I can’t feel anything, then leap up and begin climbing the wall.

  “That was genius,” Leah mutters softly as she follows me up.

  “I know,” I agree, not tooting my own horn but because it was. “The bots are problem solvers.” I run along the rampart and leap at the closest distance to the castle wall. My landing isn’t as soft as I want it to be, but this needs to go faster. Voices call out in the distance. Someone has discovered the doctor.

  Leah jumps with me and we climb to the shadows, scurrying up the wall as in some kind of monster movie.

  “It’s not as hard to grip the bricks as I thought it would be,” Leah says breathlessly. We climb to the rooftops and watch as lights begin to come to life and circle the place where I left his body.

  A feeling my bots try to fight hits me, but it’s dulled down. It’s remorse. Killing someone who meant me no harm has a different weight in my heart than someone I defended myself against.

  “We have to get out of here.” I offer her a look as the moonlight catches her wide stare. “He’ll know it was me.”

  “Probably. We should leave right away. I’ll get Erin and Miles if you want to get Kyle and meet at the helicopter.” She doesn’t trust me. It’s obvious in her gaze.

  “Okay,” I agree for a moment but the bots have a better plan. “Wait, like right here. Give me two seconds.” I climb away from her, scrambling to the window where my room is. I pop my he
ad in, listening. All there is, is Kyle’s slow breathing.

  “Kyle,” I whisper sharply, almost hissing. “Kyle, wake up.”

  “Lou?” He grumbles and rolls over, lifting his head and staring at the wall, opposite me. “Lou, is that you?”

  “Yeah, get up and put your clothes on and come with me. Fast!”

  He pops up, rubbing his eyes. “Okay.” He takes a couple of breaths before climbing from the bed and pulling on his clothes. “What are we doing?”

  “We gotta go, now. Come out the window.” I duck back down and look to the right. Miles and Erin’s room is next to ours.

  I’m over to their part of the roof when Kyle comes out. “What are you doing?” he asks a bit loud.

  “Go down to where Leah is, there!” I point.

  “Seriously?” He yawns and climbs down the roof, not nearly as quiet as I’d like him to be.

  “Shhhhh,” I hiss again.

  The window of Miles and Erin’s room is partially open. She’s seated in it, already dressed. “Do I need to climb out too?” she asks.

  “Yeah, get Miles.”

  “He’s just getting his clothes on. We’ll be down there in a second.” She was clearly listening to my conversation with Kyle.

  I turn and crawl back down, jumping to the lower roof and scaling the walls until I’m back where Leah and Kyle are. His eyes are wide, and I assume she told him I murdered and ingested the doctor. How else would you tell the story?

  He scowls. “Why?”

  “I don't know.” Leah shrugs.

  “Lou?” Kyle’s attention turns to me. “Wanna explain?”

  “In the helicopter. We have to go. You guys make a break for the hills over there, along the edge of the lake. I’ll go for the helicopter. I’ll meet you. When you get to the edge of the forest, turn north and run through the woods that aren’t far from here, about ten miles. I’ll meet you there at a small cabin near another lake. It’s tiny.” I don't bother sifting through more memories of Dr. Jacquard’s than that. I have to get moving. “There’s a girl there we need.”

  “You want us to run away while you fight?” Kyle’s angry. He sort of always sounds this way now.

  “She wants to be a diversion for us to get away.” Leah understands what I’m saying.

  “No, what the hell? We’re all strong and capable to fight. Why would we pander to this psycho? I’m not leaving you here.” He crosses his arms over his broad chest and shakes his head back and forth slowly. It’s a spicy stance but the fury is in his stare. He’s done with half information and my lying. He’s been done for a while.

  “Can you just trust me once more?”

  “Nope.” He isn’t budging on this.

  “Fine, stay here and die.” I pretend to be more detached than I am.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “You can’t!” I snap as Erin and Miles arrive. “I’ll meet you. I have to go before he puts two and two together and realizes I’m the one who killed the doctor. Miles, don't let Kyle follow me. Trust me.” I turn and run, sprinting for where I left the sword under the shadows of the rampart.

  There’s a struggle behind me but it only lasts a second. They talk sense into my stubborn boyfriend, and they’re running for the edge of the lake when I arrive at my destination.

  I stop being quiet as I land on the ground next to the sword’s resting place.

  “Lou?” Liam shouts, rushing to where I am, shining a light on me. “I thought I saw you running on the rampart.” He steps nearer, lowering the light so I can see his face. “Did you kill Dr. Jacquard?”

  “Yeah,” I admit blankly. “And I’m going to kill you,” I lie, driving my hand into the dirt and gripping the hilt, pulling the sword from the earth.

  “While that was intensely impressive, you can’t.” Liam steps closer to me. “Your bots won’t let you kill me.”

  He’s right, they won’t. I already sensed that inside me. I think I sensed it the moment I met him. They’d put their proverbial money on him.

  “Then I’ll die trying.” I lift the sword and smirk.

  “You can’t possibly think I’m that stupid.” He frowns, totally underreacting to my sword in hand. “Where are Erin and Miles and Kyle and Leah?”

  “Gone. I sent them away.” I smirk as if this was always part of the plan. It wasn't but my mind is coming up with solutions to this problem. One seems unlikely and yet I try anyway. I turn and run as hard as I can, heading in the direction my friends went. I run right over top their footsteps.

  I’m almost to the lake when something hits my back, stabbing in. I stop and turn, seeing Lee holding a bow and arrow. I veer away from the footsteps that have made a trail, heading for the lake.

  When I reach the water’s edge, I make it appear as though I might jump in. But Lee grins as Liam presses a button on something and for a second time since I arrived, pain shoots through me and everything goes dark.

  I’m not completely out when Liam’s voice shouts commands, “She wouldn't have run in the direction of them. They went that way. She was trying to lead us away from them.”

  The bots might want him to lead, but they are unable to fight solving whatever problems I give them.

  I grin as pain hits a second time and I lose consciousness.

  20

  My arms are vibrating when I wake. There’s pain; something is hurting me, but I can’t figure out what it is. I blink and notice the absolute darkness I am in. There’s moisture, water dripping, and dampness in the air around me. The air is close too, like there’s a limited supply of oxygen. My problem-solving kicks into high gear straightaway.

  I’m underground.

  Maybe an old well.

  My toes are touching something, just the tips, but I’m tied up by the wrists and they’re over my head. I feel stretched, long and tight.

  Placing pressure and weight on my toes, my wrists and shoulders relax ever so slightly.

  I swallow and notice my parched throat. It burns like I haven’t drunk anything in days. My lips are chapped and my muscles are screaming. My fingers and forearms are numb, they’ve been above my heart a long time. But the bots are circulating the blood, forcing it to my extremities.

  My mind wants to remember the important things: Joey, Gus, the Littles. Mr. Milson. Kyle smiling at me with those sexy lips and dazzling green eyes. But the bots disregard all the sentimental nonsense. They plot. Standing on one set of toes, I lift my leg weakly and feel in a circle, spinning with my wrists. There is nothing around me. No walls. I finger the rope around my wrist, it’s tight. I manage to get my fingers around it. I lift on my toes a little higher, so I can get a grip of rope above my wrists and hands. When I have a firm hold, I take a deep breath and jump as hard as I can. I push off with just those toes, lifting myself quite high in the air, managing to grab a decent amount of rope. My legs are off the ground. My shoulders and arms scream. But hope weighs more in my heart now. I swing myself and jump again, grabbing the rope higher up. I inch up like this, gripping until my hands and wrists glow with the blue lights as they repair the damage being done by the rope. But I don't stop.

  No matter the pain, I continue to rock and jump using the momentum of the swinging to climb higher and higher.

  There’s no light except the blue glow of the bots which show me I am in a large room. When I get high enough, I loop my legs into the rope and take the pressure off my wrists. I slide my wrists back and forth. Gasps of pain and agony slip from my lips as I manage to dislocate my thumbs and pull my trembling hands from the rope.

  The lights glow so brightly from my broken and bloody hands, I see the trap door above me. The room is large and circular, like an old water cistern. I’m about to ask what the hell a water cistern is, when the bots answer. They flash a memory from Dr. Jacquard’s mind.

  “Oh,” I whisper to them, or to me or to no one. My voice hurts my throat.

  When the bots have my hands mostly healed, I grab the rope and military climb to the trap do
or. I push on it, lifting and flooding light from the day down into the dank space. It burns but I don't cower or look away.

  I force my eyes to take in what is around me.

  The lid is heavy, but fortunately, the rope is attached to a crank on the ceiling right next to it so I can hold that for balance. I push hard, lifting higher and checking my surroundings.

  There’s nothing.

  Gravel.

  No sound but the breeze.

  “Jesus, that was fast. You woke what, ten minutes ago?” Liam asks from nowhere. I can’t see him. The lid lifts overhead and he’s there; he was standing behind it. I didn't even hear his heartbeat.

  “Water?” I ask with a raspy whisper.

  “Of course. I am impressed.” He grabs my arm and hauls me out, his eyes lingering on the rope burns on my wrists.

  I try to stand but my legs are weak and I collapse onto the dusty hot gravel. He hands me a bottle of water, a skin rather. It’s an old-fashioned water bottle. I pull the cork out and dump the water down my throat. I’m guzzling hard, ignoring the warning from the bots to slow down. I drink until it’s empty and sit back, listening to the churning and gargling as my body tries to cope with the downpour.

  “Your problem-solving is faster than anyone I’ve ever stuck in that hole. Lee took two days and eventually I had to bring her up. The bots can only do so much, you see.” He speaks like we’re friends and this is normal and everything about the two of us is just casual. “You have to have some intelligence already inherent. Your survival skills are impressive.”

  “Screw you,” I growl, making him laugh.

  “Here.” He hands me a sandwich on homemade bread. I snatch it, biting furiously into the food.

  “You’ve been in there for two days, but I kept you asleep. I woke you eleven minutes ago.”

  “Where are my friends?” I ask between mouthfuls of sandwich.

  “I wanted to ask you the same thing. They’re gone. And we can’t find them. That was also smart.” He taps the tip of his nose. “You had me on that one. Clever girl. Run in the direction they went so I would start the search in the opposite direction. I have to give you that. Took me half the day to realize they went that way too. Then we followed the footprints to a river. They crossed it but it doesn't appear they came out the other side.”