by Jerry Hart
She stood at the top of the stairs for a moment. The song was Japanese pop, and it was one of the most beautiful songs she’d ever heard. Every time she heard it—which wasn’t very often—she was reminded of the time when she, Daniel, Owen and Chris first moved into the condo. That was two years ago (Daniel had played it the first night), and that day was the beginning of her new life. Hearing the song made her think of rejuvenation.
She continued down the stairs and saw Daniel playing a game called Kingdom Souls 2 on the plasma TV in the living room.
“I love, love, love that song,” she said.
“I know, know, know you do,” Daniel said without looking at her, his tiny cartoonish sprite leaping around on the screen. “It reminds you of when we first moved in here. I think of it the same way.”
Alyssa sat down on the couch next to him and watched him play.
“What are you doing up so early?” he asked her.
“Couldn’t sleep. You?”
“My arm was itching like a monster.”
Alyssa looked at Daniel’s cast. She remembered with unease how he had broken his arm falling out of the tree house at the Trails just hours earlier. That place was nothing more than a popular hangout where kids went to get drunk and show off their big trucks.
“Do you ever fear you might die doing what you do?” she asked.
Daniel didn’t take his eyes off the game, but said, “Sometimes.”
“Me, too. Can you keep a secret?”
He paused the game and looked Alyssa straight in the eyes. “No, but if you really want me to keep this to myself, tell me that, and I’ll try very hard to do so.”
“I really want you to keep this to yourself—you can’t tell Owen and Chris.”
Daniel nodded. Alyssa took a deep breath.
“I keep having these nightmares. I can’t shake the feeling something bad is going to happen to me.”
“Bad like what?”
“Like I’m going to die.”
“You’re crazy,” Daniel said. “Well, I mean, we’re all going to die someday, but you’re not going to die because of what we do. Maybe you’ll get hurt, like me, but you’re not going to die.”
Alyssa smiled. That made her feel a little better.
“Is that why you’ve been staying here while we go out?” asked Daniel. “Because you’re scared of getting killed? It hasn’t been about the money?”
Alyssa nodded. Daniel put a hand on hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“This is all because of the nightmares?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I just have this horrible feeling all the time, now.”
“Well, nothing bad is going to happen to you while I’m around. I mean, obviously, since you’re here with me.”
Alyssa laughed and squeezed his hand back.
“You do realize by saying that, I’m pretty much a dead woman, right?”
Daniel grinned and said, “Whoops.”
“Do you have any plans tonight?” she asked, wanting to change the subject.
“You mean, besides playing videogames and scratching my cast-arm? No.”
“David is having a party; I think you should go with me.”
“But I’m not old enough to drink.”
“I don’t think David will care. Besides, if you’re old enough to hunt monsters, you’re pretty much okay to drink alcohol. Or you could just not drink at all.”
Daniel grinned and nodded. “Don’t let Chris hear you say that. It sounds really irresponsible.”
“But I added the last part about not drinking.” She laughed. “Where are Owen and Chris, anyway?”
Suddenly Owen and Chris walked through the front door, and they were carrying something.
“Well, speak of the dev—” Daniel was cut short by what he saw.
The thing they were carrying was wrapped in a jacket (Alyssa assumed it was Owen’s jacket since Chris was still wearing his) and it was moving.
“What’s that?” she asked.
* * *
Alyssa didn’t know what she was looking at. The furry fish was thrashing about in the small aquarium (they had taken the few fish they had and put them into a small bowl filled with water). The whole armory reeked of the creature’s fishy odor. Owen and Chris were on either side of the tank, watching the mutant with interest. Alyssa loved animals, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to go near this thing. She watched as Daniel poked it with a metal rod. It spun around in the water, snapping at the stick. What was Daniel expecting to happen?
“This is no ordinary fish,” Daniel said.
“What gave it away?” Chris asked with fierce sarcasm. “Was it the four legs, the fur or the fact it can breathe outside of water?”
“None of the above, surprisingly,” Daniel said, pointing at the fish-creature with the stick. “I did a DNA scan of this thing. Its genetic make-up barely resembles that of a black goldfish’s. Its cells have been completely corrupted.”
“By what?” Owen asked.
“We have a DNA scanner?” Chris asked.
“Canine DNA,” Daniel answered Owen, ignoring Chris.
There was a long pause. No one knew what to say to that.
“How’s that possible?” Alyssa finally asked.
“It’s not. I mean, this thing could be a result of genetic tampering—a hybrid that escaped from a lab—but those things never usually live that long.”
The weird fish continued to swim around the tank as if it were at home, not a care in the world. Daniel stepped away from it and grabbed a clipboard, writing something down. Alyssa stared at him and smiled.
“You found this in the river?” Daniel asked.
“Yeah. It tried to eat us,” Owen replied.
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you guys. I don’t know what this is. The only way I could tell you is if I dissected it.”
“Is that really necessary?” Alyssa asked, losing her smile.
“Yes, but in all honesty, I don’t want to touch the damn thing.”
“Could there be more of them?” Chris asked.
“Well, that’s where I’ve got bad news and worse news: The bad news is, if this thing reproduces like a canine, then there’s a chance there are more, but not many more; the worst news is, if this thing reproduces like a fish, there could be a lot more.”
Chris and Owen let out a groan of frustration.
“That may not be the case, though, since we can clearly see it mostly resembles a canine, so I’m going with the bad news,” said Daniel. “I don’t think it’s dangerous, though.”
“Well, we should look for a nest or something,” said Owen.
“You’re right, but not now; I’m tired as hell,” said Chris as he sat down in a corner of the armory. It was now five in the morning and the sun was slowly rising, but it was still plenty dark outside.
“When you’re up to it,” Daniel said to Chris, “I want to run some blood tests on you.”
Chris nodded.
“Remember, I’m not a doctor—I’m a future videogame designer. If I find something bad, you should go to a real doctor.”
“So, Daniel,” Chris said, shrugging, “when are you going to show us what’s in that room?”
He was indicating the secret closet no one was allowed into. Daniel suddenly became nervous. “Don’t change the subject; we were talking about you, Chris.”
“Come on,” Chris said. “We all know it’s way past time.”
Daniel relaxed a little. “You’re right; it’s time.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He unlocked the door, slowly opened it and then walked inside, disappearing into the darkness. He reappeared a few seconds later pushing something tall on a dolly. It was covered with a white sheet. Alyssa and the others gathered around it.
“What is it?” Owen asked Daniel.
“It’s the future of our monster-hunting operation,” he replied.
He quickly removed the sheet. Standing before them, with its milk
y white finish and dead blue eyes, was a machine—a robot, by the look of it. Owen and Chris gasped in unison. Alyssa wasn’t the least bit surprised. She had already known what Daniel was working on—she’d convinced him to tell her long ago.
She had never actually seen it, though. It was six feet tall, its insides covered by plastic so you could see into it; blue and green wires traversed its body.
“Lady and gentlemen, I introduce … D-18,” Daniel said as he reached around to the back of its head. He pushed a button and the robot immediately sprang to life. The wires inside its body quickly lit up, its blue eyes becoming even bluer.
D-18 looked at each of them in turn, and then bowed its head. They each bowed back.
“Holy crap, is that really what I think it is?” Owen asked. “Is that a robot?”
“Hell yeah, it’s a robot. The most rockin’ robot on Earth,” Daniel said with a satisfied smile.
“How in the hell did you build this?” Chris asked, standing up. The fish-monster was practically forgotten by all.
“With my magnificent mind. It’s not really hard once you familiarize yourself with modern robotics and algorithms and stuff.”
Alyssa noticed the smile on Daniel’s face growing larger. She didn’t get why he’d waited so long to reveal this to the others. It was clearly the best day of his life. She couldn’t help but smile too.
“Why is it called D-18?” asked Chris.
“D for Daniel, and eighteen was how old I was when I started working on him.”
“‘Him’?” said Chris.
“Yeah, him!” Daniel said defensively, his smile fading. “I don’t like to think of D-18 as a machine. I like to think of him as my baby.”
Owen suppressed a laugh. “Well, show us what he can do.”
“With pleasure.” Daniel’s smile returned as he looked to D-18. “D, go and get me a soda from the fridge.”
Instantly the robot left the room, heading toward the kitchen. It returned a moment later with a diet soda can in its hand.
“I would’ve preferred a regular soda,” said Daniel to the others as he took the can from D-18, “but you get the idea.”
“Can he talk?” asked Owen.
“No. I’m still working on that. I want to make him sound like a person and not a robot.”
“What’s it matter?” asked Alyssa. She couldn’t understand Daniel’s goal of making this thing humanlike. It was just a robot, after all. It should look like a robot.
“Anybody want anything?” Daniel asked the others, changing the subject. “I want to test his voice-command capabilities some more.”
Alyssa raised her hand. “I want a sandwich. Can he make me one?”
Daniel smiled. “We shall see.” He looked to D-18. “D, make Alyssa a sandwich.”
D-18 left the room. There were sounds of silverware jangling about (Owen shuddered subconsciously), the refrigerator door opening, bread being dropped on the counter, the front door being opened and closed—
“What was that?” Owen asked.
They all went out into the living room. D-18 was nowhere to be found. Everyone looked to the front door.
Once outside in the hall, Owen, Chris, Alyssa and Daniel looked in both directions.
“D?” Daniel called anxiously.
No response.
Daniel ran back into the condo, grabbed a couple of walkie-talkies and handed them out. “He can’t be too far,” he said. “You three start heading downstairs. I’ll search this floor and the roof. If you find him, call me on the walkie-talkie. I’ll do the same.”
He then quickly headed down the hall. Owen, Alyssa and Chris started down the stairs.
* * *
Otis Elfman opened his door slowly. He was sure he’d heard something just outside. He thought about grabbing his cane, but decided to just stick his head out and take a look instead.
“Damn kids,” he said aloud. He was certain it was those hooligans who lived just down the hall. They were always coming and going at all hours of the day. Three guys and one girl sharing an apartment? Disgusting. Otis didn’t even want to think about what went on in there. Such living arrangements never would have happened in his day.
Otis squinted down one end of the hall, and then the other. He was seventy-six years old, and his vision was terrible, but he refused to wear his glasses. He should have worn them now, though.
Something blurry was walking around at the end of the hall to his left.
“Hey there, sir, might I ask what you’re doing?” Otis asked the blurry image.
The figure started walking toward him. That’s one stiff-looking man, Otis thought. The blurry man’s walk reminded him of one of those robots from those science-fiction movies he used to watch.
“Mr. Elfman!” a voice called from the other end of the hall.
“Who’s that?” Otis asked the other blurry image running toward him.
“Daniel Hudson. I live—”
“I know you, Mr. Hudson,” said Otis, looking back to the other end of the hall where the robotic-looking man had been. “Is this man here with—”
The other man was gone. Otis looked around frantically. “Where did he go?”
“Where did who go?” Daniel asked.
The old man looked back at Daniel, who in turn appeared to be looking behind the old man and into his apartment. Otis started to turn around to see what had captured the young man’s attention, but before he could, Daniel said, “So, what are your plans for the holiday?”
“What holiday? It’s early October.”
“I mean, whatever you do every year around this time. Don’t you go out of town around now?”
* * *
Daniel was in hell. His creation—his baby—was currently in the condo of old, bitter Mr. Elfman, raiding the fridge. And now Daniel had to make pointless conversation with the old resident while he came up with a way to get D out of there without being seen.
It seemed to be a good idea asking Mr. Elfman about his plans for this month, because the man was going on and on about something. His old, wrinkled face was bright and he had a huge smile on his face. He mentioned something about visiting an old friend.
Uh-oh, Daniel said to himself as he realized Mr. Elfman was staring at him expectantly.
The old man had stopped talking, and he was no longer smiling.
“So,” Daniel said, “you’re definitely going out of town?”
That much he had heard. D was making a sandwich on Mr. Elfman’s counter.
“Yes,” said Mr. Elfman flatly, looking less excited now that he knew Daniel hadn’t been paying any attention to him.
Daniel backed away a little, making sure the old man didn’t take his eyes off of him. Mr. Elfman was old, sure, but he wasn’t stupid; Daniel could tell he was getting suspicious of the conversation. Daniel started jerking his head toward D, hoping he would notice and leave the old man’s condo.
“So, yeah,” Daniel said, hoping to start a new conversation, “I broke my arm. Crazy, huh?”
The old man gave Daniel’s cast a quick glance. “How did you manage that?”
“I fell out of a tree.”
Mr. Elfman shook his head, clicking his tongue. “You young people and your need to seek thrills.”
D had finished making the sandwich and was now making his way toward the front door. Daniel hopped over to the left of Mr. Elfman so D could sneak past the old man, out to the right, back to their condo.
“Could you sign my cast?” Daniel asked.
Mr. Elfman grinned at Daniel curiously. “Well, I suppose. I don’t have a pen, though.”
Instantly Daniel produced a pen out of his pocket. Mr. Elfman signed the cast as D walked past. Alyssa, Chris and Owen appeared at the end of the hall and coaxed the robot to them.
After the elderly neighbor finished signing, Daniel thanked him and ran back to his condo, leaving Mr. Elfman to wonder where the ham sandwich on his kitchen counter had come from.
* * *
D-18 was back, safe at home, but Daniel was not happy; Alyssa could tell when he wasn’t happy without him saying a word. He paced back and forth in front of his creation. David’s party would do him some good.
“I don’t know what’s wrong,” Daniel kept saying as he tinkered with the robot. Suddenly its arm slashed out, nearly decapitating Alyssa. It slashed out again and just missed slicing Daniel in half.
“Whoa, that was close!” Daniel yelled excitedly as he yanked a wire out of the robot’s head, causing it to stop flailing.
“Well,” said Chris, “until D is working, I’m not sure we should take him with us when we go out.”
“I agree,” Daniel said. He reached for the remote, pointed it at the robot, and shut it down. Its blue eyes went dark. “Until the time is right, my friend.”
But when would that time come? Daniel couldn’t answer, and didn’t know if he ever would.
It was infuriating when things didn’t work the way they were supposed to, but Daniel couldn’t blame D. He could only blame himself. Maybe he just wasn’t smart enough to tackle the problem. Maybe he just wasn’t creative enough to see past the boundaries of advanced robotics.
Maybe he shouldn’t have built the robot at all.
Maybe he should just take D apart now and forget he’d ever existed in the first place. He was already referring to D as a robot, a thing. Bad news.
As Daniel stared at his creation, it slowly dawned on him, no, he couldn’t get rid of D. He loved the robot like a brother (he definitely loved him more than he loved his actual brother Doug), and could never bring himself to part with him. He would eventually get D to work, one way or another, and everything would be all right.
Whether D could work well enough to help the Titans fight monsters remained to be seen.
CHAPTER 10
The house was surrounded, and Michael was scared. At fifteen, he shouldn’t be afraid of anything. But he was, because there were people outside who wanted to hurt him and his brother. Michael didn’t understand why, though. He knew the people were afraid of him, but he never did anything to warrant that fear.
“They’re not evil!” his foster dad screamed to the mob from the living-room window. “Leave us alone! They’re not his sons!”
