by Camie Elias
"It was a long time ago," acknowledged the fox.
"I think Scars is asleep again," Carbon noted, looking at the robot.
"That's a very old robot; it probably has a few loose contacts—or maybe it's just in energy saving mode."
Carbon laughed and touched the robot.
"Wake up, Scars," she said softly. "We need your help."
The robot didn't react.
"Scars? Oh, please, don't go into a deep sleep again. You must help us find the tunnels. All humans to the tunnels, remember? What was the name of that program again? Equa-something."
"Equanimity," answered the fox.
"Equanimity, Scars! Do you recall Equanimity? I'm Carbon—you must take me to the tunnels. I'm ready to follow you. You just have to lead the way! Can you lead the way? Scars? Scars!"
"Carbon," whispered Sentient, "don't make a sound."
"What's wrong?"
"Please, be very silent—and don't move."
"What's wrong?" insisted the girl.
The fox scanned the desert around them and finally said:
"Something is moving beneath the sand. You must teleport out of here. Now, Carbon. Now!"
"I can't," said Carbon. "My teleport badge isn't working!"
Before Sentient could help Carbon, a gigantic scorpion-like being emerged from beneath the sands.
"Sting," uttered Sentient.
"Sentient," said the creature, with a soft female voice that made her monstrous figure look even eerier. "When Silver told me you were looking for humans in the tunnels, I thought it was just another yarn from the old spider. But then she told me about the girl—and that I had to see for myself."
"Go away, Sting," said the fox. "This is none of your business."
"None of my business? You're up to your old tricks, and it's none of my business? You had one mission, fox. One simple mission."
"That mission made no sense," opposed Sentient.
"We were created to obey orders, not to question them," stated the scorpion.
"Speak for yourself," said the fox. "I was created to think—and to feel."
"And I'm sure that's why you're so weak. What about the little carbon thing? What was she created for? Have you told her? More importantly, why is she even active?"
"What is going on?" asked Carbon.
"Teleport out of here now," ordered the fox.
"I've blocked all teleporting devices in a ten feet radius," explained Sting. "I'm afraid your pet won't be going anywhere."
"Let Carbon go," asked Sentient. "This is between you and me."
"I can't let your pet go. You know that. Well, not until I've finished doing your job, that is. You can take the remains with you afterward if you'd like. I'll make sure there's nothing regenerable left."
"Leave the girl alone, Sting, or you'll be sorry," cautioned Sentient.
"I'm sure that sounds so sweet," scoffed the scorpion. "However, we both know that's not exactly how things work."
As soon as Sting finished saying those words, she promptly reached out one of her claws and tossed the fox through the air. Sentient landed heavily on the sand several feet away.
Carbon screamed.
"Sentient," she called out.
There was no answer. Sentient lay on the sand, motionless.
Chapter 6: Scars Saves The Day
"Sentient," called out Carbon one more time. She tried to walk toward the seemingly lifeless fox, but the scorpion blocked her path with a claw.
"Don't worry," said Sting with her eerie smooth female voice. "I didn't terminate the fox. That's not part of my mission."
"Then let me go to him," asked Carbon. "I want to make sure he's all right."
"I'm sorry, I really am," stated the scorpion. "Unfortunately, unlike Sentient, you must be terminated."
"What? What are you saying? You hurt Sentient, and now you want to terminate me? Why would you want to do that? I'm human. Human—do you understand? I'm sure you've been programmed not to hurt humans!" There was fury in her voice.
The giant scorpion made a soft sound that resembled a muffled chuckle.
"Who told you that? Was it the fox? How sad! Don't worry, the toxin I carry in my stinger works very fast. It'll all be over soon."
The scorpion extended her massive metasoma and reached for Carbon.
The girl winced and involuntarily closed her eyes, dreading the worst, but nothing happened.
She finally dared to look and saw the scorpion inexplicably paralyzed in mid-attack. Carbon noticed Scars was now standing next to her. The robot appeared to be counting down.
With relief, she watched the fox tottering toward them. Though his movements were not as steady as usual, he didn't look badly hurt.
"Oh, Sentient, are you all right? I don't understand what's happened. That stupid creature just stopped attacking us."
"Sting didn't just stop. Scars stopped her."
"What? How?"
"I don't know exactly how. All I know is that a beam came out of that chimney-like tube on Scars' head and it paralyzed Sting. Didn't you see that?"
"I didn't see anything. I had my eyes closed. I was too frightened," the girl admitted.
"It was very frightening," acknowledged the fox. "I let that beast surprise me. I'm so sorry—and so glad Scars was able to save you. That robot certainly takes its child protection job very seriously."
Carbon turned to the robot and hugged it.
"Thank you so much, Scars! Wait. Why are you counting down?"
"We must get out of this place," said Sentient. "Please check your teleport badge. Is it working now?"
"Yes," confirmed Carbon. "But Scars seems to be counting down. Why is that, do you know?"
"I don't think Sting will stay paralyzed forever. Scars countdown may be related to that."
"That thing is going to wake up and try to hurt us again?" asked Carbon. She looked at the monstrous stinger hovering above them with clouds of terror darkening her gaze.
"We're not staying here to find out," said the fox. "Let's teleport back to the bubble."
This time, there was no impediment to the procedure. Carbon, Sentient and Scars left Liberty sands and landed almost immediately inside the spherule Carbon called home.
"Will we be safe here?" asked the girl, looking around worriedly.
"Yes," assured her Sentient. "Scorpion guards have a very limited range of action. They can't teleport, and they can't fly either, so there's no way Sting can surprise us here."
"I didn't even know those creatures existed," remarked Carbon. She glanced at the robot and warmly stated: "Scars stopped one of them. He is incredibly brave."
"He?" questioned Sentient. "When did Scars become a boy?"
"When he saved my life," declared Carbon, smiling. "I can't keep calling Scars 'it.'"
"Fair enough," acknowledged the fox. "Have you noticed he's no longer counting down?"
"Why is that? Are we in danger again?"
"I think it means the opposite. We're no longer in danger. We're safe here."
"Are you sure? What about when we leave the bubble? That awful beast said she wanted to terminate me! Why would she want to do that? You told me all human-made creatures we're programmed not to hurt humans."
"And that is true."
"Then why does she want to terminate me? Is she malfunctioning? She mentioned she'd been with Silver. Maybe she was trying to get help."
"Maybe."
Carbon sat down next to Scars. She shook her head as if trying to get rid of an unpleasant thought.
"That monster also said you had a mission. What mission was that? Did it have something to do with me?"
Sentient moved closer and sat facing the girl.
"You are precious to me," said the fox. "I need you to remember that."
"What does that have to do with your mission?"
Before Sentient could reply to Carbon's questions, Scars started making noises. Four different sounds in one sentence that he kept repeating.
"Can you understand what he's saying?" asked Carbon.
"Scars is conveying teleport coordinates," answered the fox.
"Teleport coordinates? To where?"
"Somewhere underground."
"Underground? Underground," shouted Carbon. "Scars is finally telling us where the tunnels are!"
"Yes, it seems he is," conceded Sentient. There was no enthusiasm in his voice.
Chapter 7: The Right Coordinates
"Torrent, 28, 28, minus 28," said the fox. "Those are the coordinates Scars was repeating."
"Minus 28?" echoed Carbon. "That is..."
"Deep underground, yes. Actually, Torrent is an island—one of the twelve invisible ones—so, depending on its design, this location could also be under the sea."
"It must be where the tunnels are," said the girl. "We have to go there."
"I don't think that teleporting to an underground, possibly underwater, location is very sensible," objected the fox.
"Why don't you want to see if the tunnels are there, Sentient?" questioned Carbon. "Does it have something to do with that mission Sting was talking about? What was that mission? You didn't tell me."
"Talking about Sting, scorpion-guards can move underground. We risk finding one or more of them there, waiting for us."
Carbon looked worried for a moment, but then she said: "We'll take Scars with us. He can stop them."
"It's still too dangerous. What if there is no air down there? Or if there are highly poisonous toxins?"
"Do you really believe there are highly poisonous toxins in the tunnels?"
"Not really," admitted the fox.
"Then why don't you want to go?"
A brief silence ensued.
"You know I need sunlight to be able to function properly," said the fox.
"Of course I do."
"Well, there's no sunlight underground, is there?"
Carbon softly patted the fox's head.
"I'm sorry, Sentient. I didn't think of that."
She pondered for a while and then asked:
"Can't we teleport to the surface of the island first, and then look for an entrance to the tunnels?"
"Theoretically, yes. Only I suspect this a locked landing spot: even if we try teleporting somewhere else in that region, we'll end up landing at the same predetermined coordinates. And because Torrent is one of the invisible islands, we can't teleport to a nearby coastal region and try to get there by boat. We can't find Torrent on a map. We could be standing five feet away from its shores and still see nothing on our scans. That's why they're called invisible."
The girl sighed and delved into her thoughts again.
"You don't have to go, you know," she ended up saying. "I can take Scars, have a quick look around, and then teleport back here to tell you what is down there."
"I can't let you go to an unknown, possibly dangerous location unaccompanied," said the fox. "What if something happens? Who will help you then?"
"I will not be going unaccompanied," Carbon remarked. "Scars will be with me the whole time."
"It's not the same thing, is it? What if you're down there and Scars falls asleep? I grant you his help with Sting was precious, but look at him now: he seems to have shut down for the day."
Carbon glanced at the robot and felt compelled to agree with the fox.
"Besides," Sentient continued, "you can't understand half the things he says." He shook his head and stated: "No. It's just too dangerous."
"I don't care," the girl shouted. "I have to go there. I have to find my people!"
"What if there are no humans down there? Have you considered that possibility?"
"Then maybe there are clues to where they are now. I need to find out what's happened to the other humans." She moved away and said: "I need to find out why I was left behind." There were tears in her eyes.
Sentient motioned closer, looked up at her, and stated:
"You were not left behind. You were entrusted to me."
"Why?" asked Carbon. "Can you tell me why?"
The fox looked away and sat down.
There was another short silence. Sentient broke it with a resigned voice:
"Very well. Let me recharge for a couple of hours. We can go to Torrent after the sun sets."
The girl knelt next to him, smiling.
"Really? You won't change your mind?"
"I won't change my mind," promised the fox.
Chapter 8: Going Underground
Sentient did not change his mind. As soon as the last sunlight disappeared, he got up and asked Carbon:
"Do you still want to see what's down there?"
"Yes, please," shouted the girl with a mix of joy and hope in her eyes.
She grabbed the seemingly lifeless robot, and the three of them teleported to Torrent.
They landed in utter darkness.
"This is not good," warned the fox. "Let's teleport back to your home."
"Wait," said Carbon. "I can feel something moving close to me. What if there really are scorpion-guards down here?"
"It's very unlikely any scorpion-guard would be that inconspicuous — although unfortunately not impossible," responded Sentient. "However, Scars is the only thing moving at the moment. He's standing next to you."
"How can you...? Oh, of course, you have night vision. What can you see, then? What is this place?"
"Whatever this place was, it has been abandoned for a long time. Fortunately, the ventilation system seems to be working. Otherwise, you'd already be feeling dizzy due to the lack of oxygen."
"Yes, but what can you see?" insisted Carbon.
Sentient scanned the place.
"Some sort of great hall, with multiple doorways, possibly entrances to—"
"Tunnels?" anxiously asked the girl.
"Perhaps," answered the fox.
"Perhaps? Can't you see if the entrances lead to tunnels?"
"Not from where I'm standing."
"Can't you move closer to one of the entrances?"
"Not sure if that's a very good idea. There might be security protocols still in place. These kinds of places had a reputation when it came to dealing with trespassers. We might get stunned—or worse."
"Please?" begged him Carbon. "I need to know if there are any tunnels here or not. We can go back home if you'd like right after that. Just tell me if there is at least one tunnel here."
Once again, something moved in the dark close to her.
"Scars? Sentient, please tell me Scars just moved."
The fox didn't have time to reply.
"All humans to the tunnels," said the robot. "All humans to the tunnels."
As if prompted by the robot's words, all the lights in that place started to lit up, revealing to Carbon the enormous hall with multiple doorways Sentient had described.
The girl walked away from the center of the immense space where they had landed and looked at the huge glass doors that protected the entrances. They were tinted with different colors: green, purple, and yellow.
Despite Sentient's objections, she ran around pressing her face against all the glass doors until she reached a conclusion: "Tunnels! Every purple door leads to a tunnel!" She smiled triumphantly and declared: "Now, all we need to do is find a way to open one of these purple doors."
Sentient moved closer to the glass door Carbon was standing next to and inspected it. He said nothing for a while, then suggested:
"Maybe Scars can help. He speaks machine language."
"So do you, right?"
Sentient shook his head.
"This place looks old. Scars is an old robot. Maybe he knows how to open these doors."
Carbon noticed what looked like a box sticking out of the wall on the side of the door.
"What do you think this does?"
"Don't—" The fox was too late. Carbon had already pressed her hand against the screen.
"Human detected," said a soft female voice. "Running identification program."
"Wh
at is happening?" asked the girl.
"Let's get out of here, Carbon," pleaded Sentient.
"Identification completed," informed the voice. "Human is Zoe Arkan. Eleven years old. Deceased."
Chapter 9: The Mysterious Zoe
Carbon stepped back from the doorway, looking utterly confounded.
"Zoe what? Wait. Doesn't 'deceased' mean dead? Sentient, doesn't 'deceased' mean...?"
"Yes, it does," said the fox.
"I don't understand. Why is this thing saying I'm a dead girl?"
"Who knows how long this portal-lock has been inactive?" questioned Sentient, with a calm voice. "It might be malfunctioning. We can try convincing Silver to take a look at that thing. Would you like to do that?"
"Maybe later," said Carbon.
She moved closer to the doorway and once again placed her hand on the box.
"Human detected. Running identification program," stated the portal-lock. "Identification completed. Human is Zoe Arkan. Eleven years old. Deceased."
"Did I have a twin sister? Twins share DNA, palmar impressions, those sorts of things, right? Could this Zoe have been my sister? Is this thing mistaking me for my twin sister?"
"I don't think so," replied Sentient.
"No, of course not," admitted Carbon. "That Zoe is dead. If Zoe was my sister, she couldn't have been eleven years old when she died, could she? She had to have been younger. Much younger. Right?"
"Zoe Arkan was not your twin sister. You have no siblings," said Sentient. There was something in his voice that made Carbon face him with an alarmed expression.
"Am I Zoe Arkan?"
"Of course not. That question makes no sense."
"What is happening here makes no sense," protested the girl. "Why am I being identified as a dead girl named Zoe? And why won't that portal-thing let me in? I want to go into the tunnel."
"All humans to the tunnels," declared a familiar voice.
Scars clanged its way up to Carbon, and repeated: "All humans to the tunnels."
"Well, apparently it's not exactly all humans to the tunnels," remarked Carbon. "This purple door won't open for me. It won't let me go into the tunnel."
"All humans to the tunnels," insisted the robot.
"Right," sneered the girl. "Of course I'll go into the tunnel. All you'll have to do is open this door for me."
