“What are you doing?” I asked standing up, afraid that Michael might be creating some weapon or means of escape. He turned to look at me and held up the rock as if to show he had nothing. I stared at the floor, and all I saw were some scratch marks on the stone.
“Just finding a way to spend my time,” he answered and then went back to what he had been doing. The rock was small and the scrapes were shallow so I thought nothing of it and went back to my chair near the doorway. Jessica was watching me with an expression very unlike the old Jessica. Her eyes followed me with a hungry stare that narrowed every time I glanced her way.
Suddenly Michael got up from his spot in the floor and walked to the front of his cell, his eyes wide. I frowned in confusion when I noticed Jessica was doing the same thing. Suddenly Michael started shaking the bars and pounding on the wall.
I stood up, alarmed. “What are you doing?” I asked, walking toward them. Jessica started yelling at me and kicking the door. “Stop,” I ordered both of them. Michael was shaking his head, and Jessica was making frustrated noises when she couldn’t penetrate the cell. The sound of clanking metal, pounding, and shrieking was starting to blur into an overwhelming noise. I reached out to grab the bars that Michael was pounding when my gaze was averted to his arm. He had been repeatedly pounding the wall with the same fist and the skin had been scraped away, leaving blood and metal exposed. “Stop!” I said again, looking at him. Michael didn’t even look at me. It was as if he couldn’t hear. I heard him mutter something, but it was more like a cry than any words I could understand. Their lack of attention was starting to scare me.
I hurried over to Jessica’s cell and grabbed her arms through the bars. She struggled for a second and then went still, her eyes wide, although I wasn’t sure why. “Why are you doing this?” I asked. She let out a small, strangled moan and started shaking her head. I let go of her arms, and she went back to hitting and shaking the door. I backed away from the cells and watched them. They hadn’t even acknowledged me.
Suddenly, just as soon as it had started, they stopped kicking and yelling. Michael’s shoulders relaxed and he calmly wiped his hand on his jeans, leaving a smear of blood. Jessica blinked a few times before returning to her sitting position on the ground.
I watched as Michael went back to scraping the floor with a stone as if nothing had happened. Why would they start yelling and trying to break free and then immediately go back to being calm? And at the exact same time? I frowned, watching them.
Just then an image flashed through my mind; a memory of Yvonne explaining the newer androids. Explaining about their minor programming. The realization dawned on me. Jessica and Michael had been programmed. The pieces swirled together in my mind, trying to fit together, to complete the puzzle.
The creators must have ordered them to escape, but they couldn’t.
I hurriedly left the room, sprinted up the stairs and dashed outside toward Cassandra’s tent. When I entered, I found her sitting at the table fiddling with some piece of electronic equipment I couldn’t identify. Before Cassandra had even had time to say hello I had blurted out my new discovery. “They’re programmed,” I said.
Cassandra looked at me for a second, as if processing the information. “Programmed? Are you sure?” she asked.
I nodded. “I remember Yvonne telling me once about how the newer androids, only the new ones, have minor programming. Basically, they have a mind of their own, but the creators can override it any time they want.” Cassandra frowned in concentration. “I forgot all about it until I saw Michael and Jessica just freak out. All of a sudden they were up and trying to get out. They weren’t thinking,” I explained.
Cassandra nodded. “I didn’t know they were programmed,” she said slowly. “None of us really were. So we just assumed the newer androids were like us.”
“They must be controlled through the creators’ computers,” I went on, “since that’s how things are originally programmed. So there must be a possibility of bringing them back to their personalities.”
Cassandra looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded. “It would make sense,” she said. “We just have no idea how they’re doing it or how to get to their computers and hack into them...” she trailed off. “We need an inside man.”
An inside man. Where would we find an inside man? Everyone at the flawed camp was on the creators’ list for extermination. I sighed.
“But don’t give up,” Cassandra said. “We can try to find a way.”
Chapter Fifteen
I watched as the trees flew by the window and listened to the car’s steady hum as we drove down the long dirt path. Beatrix was driving, trying to avoid potholes in the road, and causing us to jerk around in the car.
We had recently been the appointed team to go grocery shopping whenever supplies were needed, and I couldn’t say I minded; any distraction from Michael and Jessica was a good thing.
“So I heard you and Cassandra have some other theory on how to bring the perfected back?” Beatrix asked me, turning slightly to look at me.
“I found out that the newer androids are programmed; well, I remembered, actually. Anyway, it won’t work unless we have someone on the inside working with us,” I told her sadly.
Beatrix shrugged. “I don’t know, Cassandra’s pretty computer savvy. I wouldn’t underestimate her,” she said with a smile.
I smiled back, but didn’t fully believe her. Hope was one thing I was having a hard time keeping a hold of lately.
The car rolled along, and before I knew it, Beatrix was pulling into the grocery store parking lot. We hopped out of the car and made our way to the front doors. We had a habit of trying to look inconspicuous, so we kept our heads bent as we entered. We wandered around the store grabbing non-perishable items like canned goods and a few bags of chips. Overstocking was one thing the flawed were very into practicing. The fewer times anyone had to leave camp, the better.
Beatrix and I stood in the checkout line, waiting for our turn. I grabbed a magazine and started randomly flipping through pages. My eyes caught one of the headlines and I quickly turned back to the page.
“A New World”, it read. “Good or Bad?” There was a photo beneath the headline of a particularly beautiful android woman. I knew this was going to have to be publicly addressed at some point, but everything was moving so fast. I skimmed over the article, finding that mass amounts of people were fleeing the country, but the article also assured everyone that being perfected was not a bad thing, and nothing bad would happen to you. Something I knew to be a lie. Something I knew to be written by one of the creators.
“Being perfected does not change you. It simply enhances your natural abilities.”
My stomach was starting to churn. Lies. They were lying. Suddenly a new thought occurred to me. Were they really changing people’s minds with articles like these? Were people actually willingly going to the creators and asking to be perfected? Asking to be turned into something they had no idea was far from what the creators told them it would be?
Beatrix leaned over to see what I was reading, and her brow furrowed. She glanced up, and our eyes met. We didn’t need words to tell each other what we were thinking.
I put the magazine back, and we quickly checked out. Both of our hands were full as we left the store and started scanning the parking lot for where we had left our car. Beatrix spotted it, and we headed in that direction.
Suddenly I heard Beatrix scream my name, and I looked up just in time to see a large SUV slam into my side. I let out a shriek as I rolled up onto the windshield, the groceries spilling out of the bags and hitting the ground around the car. I felt the windshield crack beneath me, but I barely had time to register what had happened before the car swiftly backed up and I went rolling off and onto the hard, paved ground. A sharp pain raced through the side of my head, and I felt something warm and sticky trickling down my face. I looked in the direction the car had gone and stared in shock when I saw that it was racing my
way again. I quickly rolled out of the way, the car barely scraping my side.
The SUV came to a halt, and two androids jumped out. I heard Beatrix shout as one of them pulled me roughly to my feet. I punched him as hard as I could in the face and took off running. I met up with Beatrix, and we ran about ten feet before the androids caught up. I felt one grab my arm and swing me around, and the other one grabbed me as well. I looked at them in surprise, noticing that they were only trying to get to me and they were willing to let Beatrix go. I only let myself have a second of confusion before looking for her.
She stood a few feet away, ready to attack the androids, but my voice stopped her. “No,” I yelled, knowing that they probably had guns or other means of stopping her. “Go!”
She hesitated, giving me a puzzled look. “Go!” I screamed again as the female android turned to look at her. The other one shoved me to the ground.
Beatrix gave me one last look, a firm, determined glance, and ran off. I knew that look. She was going for help.
I turned and tried to kick the android that was holding me, but he held a firm grip on my arm and twisted it painfully upwards.
“You’re that one android,” the female said, looking at me. “The naughty one; the one that betrayed her father,” she said with a smirk.
“Father...?” I started to say, but was cut off as the male android hit me across the face with something hard and metallic. I fell to the ground with a gasp of pain, feeling blood sliding over my eyelids. I blinked and wiped it away.
“You know you’re on the list to be executed,” the male android told me. “We’ll get a nice reward for you.”
I heard the click of the hammer of a pistol and, without looking up to see them, I wondered if they were going to kill me right here or if they were just going to use it to get me back to the Institution. I stared at my hands which were planted firmly on the ground, keeping me stable in my crouching position.
“Get up.”
I felt the barrel being pressed firmly against the back of my neck. Stupid. You never get that close to the person you are threatening, especially if you don’t really plan on shooting them. Even I knew that.
Before they could make a move, I had swirled around, grabbed the gun, yanked it from his hand, and pointed it at the man’s face. He stared at me with alarm as I slowly got up from the ground, although a little unsteadily.
I stood a few feet away from them, the gun pointed at their eye level. I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. I started to back slowly away.
“They’ll get you,” the female said mockingly. “Running won’t do any good.”
I glared at her. Shoot them, something in my mind told me. My breath caught in my throat and I frowned, startled that I would think of something like that. I watched them for a moment, and the idea slowly started to get better and better. They’ll just follow me, I told myself. How would I get away? Shoot them.
My hand was sweating, and I stared into their eyes, daring them to make a move.
Shoot them.
The girl watched me carefully while the other just stood there. He glared into my eyes as if daring me to pull the trigger. Do it, he seemed to say.
I was breathing hard, my heart was racing, my head was throbbing, I wanted out. I wanted to get away. Shoot them!
No. I pulled my finger away from the trigger. These were people. No matter how far their personalities were suppressed, they were still there. I couldn’t kill people. I couldn’t kill anyone. “I won’t stoop to your level,” I said under my breath, and I doubted they could hear me.
And then I turned and ran.
Chapter Sixteen
I knew they would follow me if they thought they could catch me, so I ran as fast as I could across the parking lot and down the street. I couldn’t hear any signs of them coming after me, but pain throbbed through my head and there was a steady pounding in my ears, making it difficult to hear anything at all.
I raced across the pavement and into the trees where the dirt road led to the flawed camp. I stayed in the midst of the forest, while keeping the road in sight. I didn’t want the androids to know exactly where I was. I didn’t even know if they were following, but I couldn’t take that chance.
I ran blindly through the woods. My head felt like it was going to explode, and the bleeding was getting worse. Blood was pouring down my face from where I had been hit across the forehead, and I had to wipe it away before it blinded my vision. I felt lightheaded, and I was starting to get nauseous. I stumbled to my knees and gasped in air, but only for a second before I forced myself up and started running again.
The sight of my bloodstained hands and shirt only made my stomach churn more. How badly am I bleeding? I wondered vaguely. Was I really hurt that badly? I had heard somewhere that head wounds tended to bleed a lot, but this seemed more than just a lot.
If I were a human, I would probably be dead, I thought. The thought made me sick to my stomach. Would they have killed me if I hadn’t taken their gun?
The gun. Suddenly I remembered that I was holding it in my hand, and I squeezed it tighter.
But what would I do with a gun out here? What use would this be unless the androids had decided to follow me? Did they follow me? Why didn’t they kill me in the first place? I started slowing down. I was tired. I wasn’t thinking. I needed to get back to camp. But camp is so far away...
The trees were starting to look fuzzy and wiggly. I squinted and stared at them again. Trees aren’t supposed to do that, I thought, but I didn’t seem to care. Suddenly my knees gave out, and I fell to the ground. I let out a cry of frustration and gripped the ground beneath me. Get up! Get up...
My arms were tingling. Everything was spinning. Trees don’t spin, I thought. I don’t remember falling again, but suddenly the side of my face was pressed to the dirt beneath me. I stared into the spinning forest until the blood oozing from my forehead forced me to close my eyes.
The last thing I saw was red.
Chapter Seventeen
The first thing I was aware of was a pounding ache in my head. I heard a weird, garbled noise and suddenly realized that it had come from me. I moaned again and slowly opened my eyes. A bright, searing light shot pain through my skull, and I squeezed my eyes shut again.
“Drew?” a soft voice asked.
I moaned again.
“She’s awake,” I heard the voice say. I recognized it as Marian’s.
I heard footsteps and sensed that more people had approached me. I heard Cameron’s voice quietly telling me to try and open my eyes. I slowly opened them, squinting at the brightness. I looked up to see the faces of Marian, Cameron, and Beatrix standing over me. They looked blurry at first, but slowly focused to clarity.
“Can you see us okay?” Cameron asked.
I nodded stiffly. I tried to speak, but realized my throat was dry. I made a strange, raspy noise. Marian hurried to the sink in the corner and poured me a glass of water. I chugged it down, nearly choking on it as I felt the water soothingly slide down my throat.
I looked around. I was in the medical room back at the flawed camp. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Beatrix said quietly. “What happened?”
“They hit me,” I replied, although my voice still sounded odd.
“With something hard, by the looks of you,” Cameron added.
I nodded. “A gun.”
Marian’s jaw dropped. “A gun?” She gave me a quizzical look. “Why would they hit you with it?”
“I don’t think they intended on actually killing me.”
“We found you a ways from the road,” Beatrix said. “We’ve been searching all night.”
Just then I noticed how tired and stressed they all looked, and I felt a rush of gratitude. “Thank you,” I managed to say.
“The gun you had in your hand,” Cameron started to say. “Is that the gun they hit you with?”
I nodded. “I took it from them and ran.” I
pressed my hand to my forehead, hoping to lessen the pain.
“Don’t touch it,” Cameron said quickly, pulling my hand away. “You’ll make it worse.”
I sighed. “So when can I leave?”
Cameron gave me an amused look and shook his head. “Not for a day or two.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he beat me to it. “At least overnight,” he added.
I closed my mouth. My head did hurt a lot. Maybe it would be best if I stayed here for awhile.
“You’ll be fine as long as you just take it easy for a few days,” Cameron told me. “I gotta go tell some people you’re okay,” he added and left the room.
“Cassandra’s been going nuts all morning,” Beatrix told me. “We were the ones who found you.”
I was silent.
Beatrix shifted uncomfortably. “When we saw you from a distance with the gun in your hand and blood all over the place,” she paused, a grim expression on her face. “We thought—we thought you were dead.”
I thought back on how I had collapsed in the forest. I probably had looked dead. I didn’t know how much blood I had lost, but if there was enough to be blinding my vision every few seconds there must have been quite a lot.
Just then Cassandra came bursting into the room. “Drew!” she cried, running to the bed and flinging her arms around me.
I laughed in spite of the pain and hugged her back.
“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Cassandra exclaimed.
“I’m fine,” I assured her.
“What happened?” she asked in concern. She leaned back to a standing position.
“Androids came in a car,” I told her.
“She got hit with it too,” Beatrix added.
Cassandra’s expression turned to horrified shock. “Did they shoot you?” she asked quickly.
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