by Nicole Sobon
Colton placed his foot on the guards back, making sure he wouldn’t move. I ran to where the two guns fell and threw one to Colton. Before he could pull the trigger, the guard put up one last fight, reaching behind him to grab hold of Colton’s ankle, hoping to trip him. It didn’t work. As Colton’s finger pulled back on the trigger, sending the bullet soaring through the guard’s right temple, the room fell silent.
“Emile,” he mouthed. He was in shock, his body not willing to move. I walked over and stood beside him, trying my best to comfort him although I knew there was only so much I could do. There was blood all over Colton. It managed to splatter all over his face. He looked at me with his eyes on the verge of tears. “Did I do the right thing?” he asked.
“Yes, Colton.” I closed my eyes, my hand wrapping around his. “You did exactly what you needed to do in order to live.”
28 INVASION
The day flew by as we sat in silence. I was beginning to understand what Hayden meant by ‘you’ll know when to run.’ We’d need to leave soon; there was only so much we could fight before McVeigh eventually got what it was he sought. But where would we go? I let the question settle in my mind for now.
“What’s going on with you?” Colton turned to me, his voice almost bitter. “You’ve been acting strange over the past few days. Something is going on, and you’re not telling me what it is.”
But what was there to tell him when I wasn’t sure what was happening? I had an idea, sure. Thirteen was slowly regaining control of my body. But I didn’t know if it was her doing or McVeigh’s. I wanted her to disappear. If she went away, life would be easier – livable even – but I knew it was wishful thinking. No matter how much I might want her gone, she was here to stay. She was a part of me whether I liked it or not.
If I could fight her off just a bit longer, maybe then I’d be able to run and get both of us out of here. But could I? Did I actually have enough strength in my body to fight her off for long? I’d need to. I would need to try my hardest to hide her, because the minute I let her through I would be gone.
“Thirteen,” I whispered, not bothering to elaborate.
Colton nodded, understanding what I meant; knowing I didn’t want to talk anymore about it. “How long do you think it’ll be until the next group gets here?” he asked, changing the subject. Somewhat.
Truth was I was sure they were already on their way. McVeigh wasn’t foolish. He knew that the probability I’d defeat his men was great. Why else would he have sent a Program? He was stepping up his game, so to speak. Soon enough I’d lose, and that was what he was waiting for.
“They’ll be here soon, but I think it’s time we get out of here.”
Colton stared at me, clearly baffled by my words. “You think it’s time? Are you sure?”
It was the only thing I was sure of. If we didn’t leave now, we’d be in more danger. It was time to run, to start over and hopefully escape this mess. It seemed impossible, but at least it was hopeful, and hope was the one thing we needed right now. “Yes, I’m positive. The longer we stay, the easier it is for them to kill us.”
He lowered his head and let out a sigh. “I suppose you’re right.”
I reached my hand out for his, hoping to remove his fears, but my hand never met his. It landed limply at my side. “Oh, no,” he cried out, rushing to lower me onto the couch. “Stay with me, Emile. You can fight this, just try. You can’t let her win like this.” And I wanted to fight because I knew that he was correct, but there was no fight left in my body. Her presence was draining mine, and I had to do as she wanted.
My eyelids closed, the pixels slowly forming together to create the image she wanted me to see. Although the reality was that any image Thirteen wanted me to see was one that McVeigh had planted. She wasn’t real. She never lived. Any images that she might recall were either from inside Vesta Corp, or they were false memories that had been implanted in her hard drive to appear as memories.
This memory was one of Thirteen’s though, from inside Vesta Corp. The day Douglas Todd walked into the Pod room on Level One and stated that she had shown promise. That image was quickly replaced by one of McVeigh. He was talking to Douglas Todd about the young Program and the plans he had for her.
“There’s so much that we could do with her. There's so much that we never thought possible.” He beamed, a glass of whiskey in his hand. McVeigh was thrilled with Thirteen, thrilled with the life that he had created.
“Charles, you do realize that she is a computer Program, correct? I mean, it’s not like she’s that special. You do have thousands of Programs down there, you know?” Todd laughed, taking a seat in the red upholstered chair before McVeigh’s desk.
“You don’t understand, Douglas. That Program, she’s my dream. She is what I want for the human race. She is everything that I've ever hoped to accomplish when I took over Vesta Corp. Those other Programs you speak of, they are nothing compared to her.” He took a sip of his drink, placing the glass on a black leather coaster sitting atop his cherry wood desk. “She’s only a few weeks old, still living on Level One, and yet she’s able to feel, to understand the concept of life and what it holds. How many Programs on Level Three can you name that can do that? If she can do that this early on, can you imagine what else she’s capable of?” His lips lifted at the corners, a menacing smile forming at the promise of Thirteen.
“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Charles.”
I never thought I’d agree with Douglas Todd, but in this case, he was right. McVeigh was so quick so say that Program Thirteen was his dream, yet he wasn’t fully aware of what she was capable of.
I replayed his words in my mind. “She’s only a few weeks old, still living on Level One, and yet she’s able to feel, to understand the concept of life and what it holds.” How could that be possible? This was before Hayden installed my program on top of Thirteen’s. She was already alive. But how?
My arm jolted forward, hitting Colton in the chest. “Ouch.” He winced.
“Sorry.” I opened my eyes and turned to check on him. “Did I hurt you bad?”
“No, it was just a smack. Nothing I can’t handle.” He smirked, jumping up from the couch.
What are you doing? Stop fighting me, a female voice begged desperately. I looked at Colton, confused as to where it was coming from. I was the only female in the house, and I was pretty sure I hadn’t said a word. “Colton, did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” he replied, looking around to see what I was talking about.
But of course he wouldn’t have heard it. The voice was coming from inside of my mind. The voice was coming from Thirteen. Give me my body back! she screamed, trying to force herself back through.
“She’s here, isn’t she?” he asked, noticing my body jolting forward as she attacked me from the inside.
“Yes,” I whispered, trying my best to fend her off.
“Let’s go.” He lifted me from the couch and brought me over to the Pod. “If she won’t leave, I’ll make her leave.” Colton leaned down to plug in the Pod before running to the laptop. He froze when he saw the hard drive still sitting on top of the keys where he’d left it during the attack. “The hard drive, I never found out what’s on it.”
“Check that first. I can hold her off for a while. I need to know what McVeigh has on there.” I leaned against the wall, watching as Colton tried to examine the hard drive the best that he could. She was fighting back, twice as hard as I was. Let me go, she demanded, her voice penetrating every bit of my mind.
I could feel her as she began to drag me under, my body slowly falling under her control.
We were standing in a room across from each other. Her body was metal, no flesh to hide what she truly was. “What is it that you want from me?” I asked, trying my best to remain calm.
She looked at me, her hand outreached to mine. “I want to live.”
“But you can’t,” I replied. “You’re a Program!”
She smirked, shak
ing her head. “Well, isn’t that what you are? You’re alive. You're a living being. Why is it that I can’t be like you?”
“You were never human, Thirteen. I was. My memories, my emotions, my thoughts – they all belong to me. Everything you are, what you remember and think, it’s all fake. You were created. I was born into this world.”
She threw her arms forward, ready to attack, but stopped short to speak. “I’m sorry,” she whispered before fading before my eyes.
And then she was gone, for now.
“Emile! Emile! I need you to wake up! I found out what’s on the hard drive!” Colton was shaking me, trying his best to get through to me. I heard his voice loud and clear, and I felt his hands locked on my wrists, but I wasn’t sure how to wake up this time.
You can’t leave me here. If I’m nothing, why should you be able to be something? Her voice cracked.
I started to find my way out. “Colton,” I whispered, forcing my lips to open. “Help me, Colton.” His grip on my wrists tightened as he pulled me out.
“Thank you,” I whispered, making my way over to the Pod.
“I know what’s on that hard drive,” he said, his hand reaching for mine. “It’s not just Thirteen’s program, it’s yours, too. He’s trying to combine both of your programs into one. He’s trying to make his version of the perfect human – the perfect Program.”
“That explains a lot.” I leaned against the side of the Pod with my hands crossed over my chest.
And it did. At least now I had an idea as to why he was so set on finding me when all he wanted was Thirteen. If he was able to combine us into one being, what would happen? Would that program feel as I do, would that Program crave life like Thirteen did? Who would it reflect more – me or Thirteen?
“Yes, it does explain a lot, but I think there’s more you need to know.” He pulled me over to the laptop where the hard drive was running. “You see this?” He pointed at a file in the background. “It’s a virus. He’s not only trying to create the perfect person, he’s also trying to create the perfect weapon. By you killing off his guards like this, you’re only strengthening his desires.”
Why on Earth would McVeigh need to create the perfect person, let alone a weapon? What was it that he was after?
“How much do you know about Charles McVeigh?” Colton asked me. I wanted to tell him a lot, because it truly did feel as though I knew him, but the truth was I barely knew the man. I knew what he wanted me to know. No more, no less.
“Not enough,” I replied, my eyes meeting his. “Do you think you can break into his files and see what else you can find about him? Maybe check to see about his past?”
“I only know how to do all of this because of Hayden.” Colton pointed towards the computers and Pod. “Without him, I have no clue what I’m doing, but I guess I could give it a shot.”
That was one thing I liked about Colton, even if he hadn’t a clue what it was he was doing, he never gave up. He came into my life as a stranger, one who had lost his appreciation for life. And now…now he craved life. He wouldn’t give up no matter what it meant.
He took to the laptop and began searching through everything that he could find to figure out who Charles McVeigh truly was. His attempts, however, seemed to be unyielding. McVeigh had no paper trail – no birth certificate, no social security number, and no last known address. There was nothing that listed his mother or family. It was as if he never existed.
“He has to have an alias,” Colton muttered, rubbing his fingers through his tangled hair.
“No, I don’t think that’s it.” I was pacing the room, my hands behind my back. “He’s covered up his past for a reason. There’s something he’s hiding, something he has tried to bury.”
Colton laughed. “It’s only a matter of time until someone finds out his secret. Secrets never stay hidden.” Whatever it was that he was trying to hide, it was vital that Colton and I figured it out and soon.
29 ON THE RUN
Colton kept at it throughout the night. I could feel my body begin to drain of its power, so I locked myself in the Pod for the next eight hours. There wasn’t much I could do to help Colton anyway, so it was probably best I kept out of the way.
Hours. It would be only hours until the next batch of men showed up. We had until then to prepare to run. This house no longer offered safety or the comfort of home. It’d become hell - one we constantly struggled to survive in.
“The second I hear them, I promise I’ll pull the plug,” Colton said, seemingly aware of my thoughts without me stating them. He knew that if he even tried to defeat McVeigh's men on his own, I’d be upset. He didn’t stand a chance against them. I wasn’t going to let him try and save me. I was perfectly capable of fighting for myself, and he knew that, no matter how much he might have disliked it.
We’d run, but to where? His family was gone, and there was no way we could visit mine. The second I stepped within a foot of my family, they’d be in danger – probably even killed. So who did we have? Where else did we have that we could go? The answer was simple: We’d just run until we could no longer run. We’d turn our backs on everything we knew for a chance at survival, even though we knew it wasn’t guaranteed. We had to try.
“I found something!” Colton shouted, breaking my train of thought. “All of his records were sealed on Vesta Corp’s system. That’s the only place they exist. They’ve been deleted everywhere else.”
He’s been working on removing himself from society for years. Even if someone tried to report him and his company, there’d be no chance of an investigation – not when the person didn’t exist. “His full name is Charles Mason McVeigh. He was born on October 14th, 1979 in Seattle, Washington.” Colton paused, his eyes widening with horror as he continued to read. “He had a half-brother, Douglas Todd. Their father was Thomas McVeigh. He worked for the government, although his job description seems to have been left out.”
I was right then. McVeigh had the government working for him. That was how he had been managing to take people off the streets without any investigation.
“Emile,” Colton whispered. “His father started Vesta Corp before dying of a heart attack five years ago. It was the brain child of a government employee. I don’t think we can actually bring them down.”
I heard a branch snap out front. They were here. It’d only been three hours. I knew I didn’t have nearly enough strength, but I didn’t have a choice. We’d need to defeat them and then pack everything up, at least what could fit in the backpacks, and run.
“I know.” Colton moved towards the power cord for the Pod, yanking it from the wall. The Pod shut down and the door unlatched, freeing me of its hold. “I take it that we’re running after this?”
I nodded. The time had come. This was what Hayden meant when he said we would know when it was time to leave. The survival instinct was beginning to settle in.
“How many men do you think he’s sent?” Colton asked, his body shaking anxiously.
“I’m guessing six,” I responded, listening as their footsteps got closer to the house. McVeigh always sent more men the next time. It was a game, a challenge, that he wanted to win so much that he continued to increase his game pieces. He hoped that by sending more of his men, that I’d be easier to capture. But you couldn’t destroy someone that didn’t want to be destroyed. I still had a ton of fight left in me, and he failed to realize that.
They came in through my bedroom window, strategically moving down the hall. Once their eyes locked on us, I knew this was it. Bullets flew through the air, pieces of the walls fell to the ground. I checked to make sure Colton was okay, thankfully none of the bullets managed to hit him.
“Watch out!” he cried.
I turned to look in front of me and found three of the men charging in my direction.
Three Programs.
How was I supposed to defeat three of them at once when they were just as strong as I was? Think. Think. Think. I could try to reach for their hard dri
ves, but chances were I’d be attacked in the process by the others. Colton needed me. I was his only way out of here as of right now, so I couldn’t let that happen.
Let me help you, she whispered. If you allow me in, I can help you, Emile. I felt something inside me begin to rise, a feeling of power easing through my body. My eyes locked on my targets. I could do this.
The first Program tried to reach around my back to locate my hard drive. But I was well aware of what he was attempting to do, and I stopped him before he could. I grabbed his arms, throwing him to the ground and ripping his hard drive from his back. When the other two Programs saw what I had done, they went after Colton. He was shaking, nervous, not sure what to do. I jumped in front of him, throwing one of the Programs across the room, causing him to smash into the wall.
“You won’t win,” the last Program said with a haunting smile on its face. “We will kill you.”
“I’d like to see you try.” I rushed the Program and lifted it above me, smashing him into the floor, breaking his hard drive into pieces. “Thought so.” I smirked, returning to Colton.
The other two men stood there staring at us, wondering how they could possibly make it out of here alive. I’d just destroyed my fellow Programs. What made these men safe?
“I’m sorry,” the one man called out. “My name is Samuel. I don’t mean to hurt anyone. Please, don’t kill me.” I wanted to let him go because he did look harmless, but I couldn’t trust him. He reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a glock 19, 9mm, pointing it straight at Colton. “If you don’t let me go, the boy dies.”
That was all it took.
Rage flooded throughout my core as the possibility of losing him filled my mind. “That won’t be happening,” I said through gritted teeth.
