by Jake Bible
June sat before the breed feed holding pen, watching the two children that were left sleep. She’d been told earlier that the others didn’t make it through the storm. That no one bothered to bring them inside, leaving them exposed to the power of the wasteland.
The two that were left looked bruised and battered, blood smearing their faces and the rags they wore as clothes. One of the children, a boy of maybe 8 or 9, with a malformed skull and no nose, just a hole in the center of his face, stirred fitfully in his sleep, fighting nightmares.
***
“Mitch? Mitch?!? MASTERS!!!” the voice yelled.
Masters stirred uneasily, his head feeling like a ten ton hangover had taken up residence and died.
He could hear other voices, thoughts, sounds and from what his hazy brain could tell, they were all dead voices, thoughts, sounds. Except for the one yelling at him.
I must be in Hell, Masters thought. Pain, torture, mental anguish, strange voices and sounds? Yep, that would be Hell.
“Masters!!! Wake the fuck up!” the voice shouted louder.
“Matty? Is that you?” Masters asked.
“Yes!”
“I knew I’d end up in Hell, but never thought you would.”
***
“You’re not in Hell, dumbass,” Mathew said. “Somehow you are joined with a dead mech’s consciousness. One of the thinkers. So am I, that’s how we’re communicating.”
Mathew could feel Masters’ mind slowly wake up, but it was far from coherent.
Masters groaned. “I know you said a lot of words just then, but all I heard was ‘blahblah blechblah blub blub blah’. How’s about you make some sense?”
“Where are you, Masters?” Mathew asked, growing annoyed.
“I’m in Hell, Jespers. It’s where the wicked go when they die.”
“YOU AREN’T IN HELL!” Mathew roared.
“Ow, no more yelling, please.”
***
June didn’t move as the village went quiet for the night, she just watched the children sleep, taking solace in the sad fact that they could find some comfort in their lives, if even for only a few hours a night.
“Come on, stop gawking at the lunch,” the Boss growled behind her.
“No,” June stated flatly.
The Boss stared down at her for a moment. “I’m sorry, I thought you just told me ‘no’. But, that can’t be right, could it?”
“Kill me where I sit, but I’m not going back to your room,” June said. “So fuck off.”
***
“He is not the smartest of the pilots, is he?” Shiner asked.
“Whoa, who the fuck said that?” Masters asked, startled by the new voice in his head.
“That’s Shiner, he’s my new mech.” Mathew felt Shiner bristle. “Or we are a new mech, together… It’s complicated. What matters now is that you need to focus. You need to tell me where you are.”
Masters grunted and opened his eyes. He was in a mech cockpit and facing a cliff face, he knew that. “Not a fucking clue.”
Mathew took a deep mental breath. “Okay, let’s start at the beginning…”
***
“You just don’t get how things run around here do you?” the Boss laughed. “What I say goes. There ain’t no options.”
“Yeah, I think after tonight, I could give a shit,” June turned and stood, facing the Boss, nearly eye to eye. I didn’t realize he was that short, she thought. “Listen, kill me if you want, I don’t fucking care anymore. My people aren’t looking for me, I know that. I hurt someone back there, I hurt them bad. So kill me now so I can leave this shithole and never have to see your fucking face again.”
***
“Are you in a mech?” Mathew asked Masters.
The memories of the Hill Stomper attack, his mental battle with the mech, the waste storm, all converged at once. “Yeah, and it’s a big fucker. We were…” Masters trailed off for a second. “Fuck! Jay and the Rookie!”
Running on instinct Masters backed the mech up away from the cliff and turned it about, he checked his readings for damage, but found the mech to be in fine order, even with his attack.
“Whoa! Slow down, Mitch. What about Jay and the Rookie?” Mathew asked, hopeful. “You know where they are?”
***
The Boss stared at June for a moment then busted out laughing. He doubled over, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Okay, you got me!” He struggled to regain his composure, but just laughed harder.
June watched the madman, puzzled. The Boss, clutching his stomach in pain, finally stopped laughing. Wiping the tears from his eyes he straightened and put a hand on June’s shoulder. She slapped it away and took a step back, bumping into someone.
“Hey there, sweet stuff,” Chunks growled in her ear. June whirled around and the last thing she saw before the darkness was Chunk’s fist.
***
“Hey! This thing isn’t fighting me anymore!” Masters exclaimed, piloting the mech to the collapsed cave mouth.
“Yes, that’s because I am talking to your mech AI, assuring it you mean it no harm,” Shiner responded.
“What? Huh? Mech AI? Who the fuck are you?” Masters demanded.
Mathew sighed. “We don’t have time for that. Where are Jay and the Rookie?”
“Buried under a couple of tons of rock, that’s where,” Masters answered. He tried to scan the cave in, but his sensors wouldn’t respond. “Shit! I’m blind! If I start digging I could make it worse and crush them!”
***
Shiner and the Hill Stomper AI exchanged data and information at a rate that forced Mathew to pull back. “Damn, even with full integration that shit is giving me a headache.”
“I apologize,” Shiner responded. “It is the most efficient way to communicate with other AIs. In addition, this AI is very, well, basic. More like a human child mind, a toddler, I believe is how you refer to them.”
“Well, that’s about Masters’ maturity level, so they should fit just fine,” Mathew joked.
“Hey, I think I heard that part!” Masters complained. “So do I start digging or what?”
***
“If you will be patient,” Shiner said. “I will mediate the full integration process.”
“Mediate? We didn’t need that,” Mathew stated.
“Yes, but we were willing. This AI has suffered some abuse by Pilot Masters and is hesitant in integrating,” Shiner responded.
“Abuse? Are you fucking kidding me? The fucking thing tried to eat me!” Masters said.
“No, the AI was just doing what it needed to survive. And survival at that time meant eating flesh. Your flesh,” Shiner said.
“Oh, well that makes it better,” Masters quipped. “So is this going to hurt?”
“Only if you resist,” Shiner answered.
***
Masters stared at the cave in. “Well, let’s get this show on the road, then. If Jay and the Rookie are buried in there then their air is limited and I have no idea how long I was out or how long they’ve been trapped.”
“Um, there is one other thing, though,” Mathew said.
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Once you are joined, you can’t be un-joined without losing the mech’s AI.”
“That is not quite true,” Shiner interrupted. “Like I stated before, this AI is very basic. It has enough memory storage to keep itself intact even if the pilot withdraws.”
***
“Phew,” Masters said. “Close one. Who’d want to be stuck with a deader forever?”
Mathew gave Masters a mental slap.
“Hey! That fucking hurt!” Masters exclaimed.
“Actually, it didn’t. You just interpreted it as pain,” Mathew responded.
“Which means you interpreted it as a slap upside my head! So how about we leave all interpretations to mine and Harlow’s dance routines, shall we?” Masters shouted. “Now, can we get my head all cozy cozy with this mech so I can dig some folks out?”
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Shiner immediately gave the Hill Stomper AI a nudge and it and Masters’ consciousnesses fully integrated.
***
Masters/Stomper shook his arms out and then his legs. He bounced up and down a bit, shaking the very earth he stood on, and if the mech had a head he would have rolled it around on its shoulders like a prize fighter.
“Oh, I could get used to this,” Masters crowed. “This is fucking amazing!”
“Yeah, it’s pretty neat. Now how about you dig Jay out, so those of us that can’t disengage from their mechs can at least hope to one day?” Mathew said.
Masters pushed his scanners deep into the rock, looking for signs of Jay’s mech.
***
“We need to disconnect…” Shiner stopped, as a squawk of digital static slammed through its AI. Mathew cringed and the new mech stumbled.
“Too late?” Mathew asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. While we can change course, Masters/Stomper is stationary. He has been located,” Shiner answered.
“What do you mean ‘located’?” Masters asked.
“The Outsider,” Mathew responded.
“The who?”
“Another presence. It created the relay net we’re communicating over.”
Shiner sent all information to Masters/Stomper.
“Whoa. That’s not good,” Masters said.
“No, it’s not. We’re coming to you. It’ll be a few hours, but we’re on our way.”
“I’ll be here digging away.”
***
Masters assessed the cave in, taking into the account the various sizes of rock and their positions.
“What do you think?” Masters asked Stomper, but the AI remained silent. “Come on, don’t be shy. We’re one big hulk of sexy metal now, so we better get to know each other.”
There was no reply.
“Okay, I’m sorry I yelled at you and kicked your deader ass before we became one. I was trying to survive, just like you.”
“It hurt,” Stomper responded.
“Hurt?” Masters asked.
“You’re anger hurt.”
“Sorry. So, how do we get past this?”
“We dig,” Stomper answered.
***
“You think those two will be okay?” Mathew asked Shiner as they continued sprinting across the wasteland. “Masters can be a jerk and that AI didn’t seem very stable.”
“They shall be fine,” Shiner responded, pausing for a moment. “And I do not think the word ‘jerk’ is correct. ‘Asshole’ would be more appropriate.”
Mathew laughed. “Are you learning a sense of humor?”
“You have a lot of happiness within your mind, so it isn’t difficult to assimilate.”
The two stayed quiet for a moment before Shiner continued. “Most of your happiness is associated with a ‘Rachel’. Who is Rachel?”
***
The boulders came away easily as Masters/Stomper worked their massive hands, grabbing and tossing the rock aside.
“Hey, do you think mechs should dance?” Masters asked.
Stomper grew puzzled. “I do not understand.”
“Dance, you know,” Masters said as he executed an awkward heel-toe. The movement of the giant mech dislodged more of the cliff and half of their progress was lost.
“If dancing means to create more work then, no, I do not believe mechs, or anyone, should dance,” Stomper stated flatly.
“That was an accident,” Masters said. “I think you’ll like dancing. And wait until you meet Harlow!”
***
“Rachel? Hmmm… Can’t you just pick her out of my head?” Mathew asked.
“No. There is too much emotion connected. Most of the data is images, smells, impressions. There is very little that is hard fact,” Shiner answered.
“Well that’s interesting,” Mathew said. “I guess that is the main difference between an AI mind and a human mind.”
“There are infinite differences, actually, but that is a significant one.” Shiner waited. “So, who is this Rachel?”
“Well… Rachel is the woman I love,” Mathew said.
“Your mate?”
Mathew laughed. “Wow, I never thought I’d have this conversation with a mech.”
***
“What is a Harlow?” Stomper asked.
“A Harlow? Well, a Harlow is a bad ass. She is the strength that keeps me going. I know from looking at me I seem like a tough guy, but inside, well, I guess you can see inside, but anyway, inside I’m pretty easy going. I mean, I love a good mech fight, but honestly, I’d rather be in bed with Harlow 24 hours a day than out here in the fucking waste.”
“So Harlow is a person?”
“She’s a fucking goddess is what she is! I worship the ground that woman walks on.”
***
“Okay, so I love Rachel and she loves me, but we aren’t mates, at least not in the procreating sense. I mean, sure I’d like to have kids one day, but we’re both young and, well, I don’t know if a mech base is the best place for kids to grow up,” Mathew said.
Shiner processed. “But, according to the data, Rachel grew up in a mech base,” Shiner stated.
“Okay, true, but she was born to be a mech pilot.”
“And wouldn’t your offspring be born to be mech pilots, too?”
“Well, yeah… no, well, maybe… It’s just complicated.”
***
Stomper processed. “Do mechs get a Harlow?”
Masters thought about this for a second.
“You hesitate,” Stomper said. “Is that a no?”
“I have a feeling this is what it’s like to have a kid,” Masters laughed. “I don’t know if mechs can have a Harlow. I mean, no one gets my Harlow but me. I really don’t know. This talking mech thing is new.”
“I’d like a Harlow. She sounds safe.”
Masters burst out laughing.
“Why do you laugh?” Stomper asked.
“Sorry, it’s just funny that a 200 ton mech thinks Harlow would keep it safe. She’d love that!”
***
“Do you think the Outsider is sending troops against Masters?” Mathew asked.
“Definitely,” Shiner responded.
“Will we get there in time?”
Shiner calculated. “No, more than likely not.”
Mathew sighed. “That Hill Stomper isn’t built for battle. A few well placed missiles and it’s crippled instantly.”
“Yes, I am aware of that. However, from the data I scanned, I’d say Pilot Masters is quite capable of avoiding destruction.”
“Yeah, that’s true. He’s pretty nimble on his feet.”
“For the record, I’d like to say that I do not dance.”
Mathew laughed. “Me neither. We leave that to Masters and Harlow.”
***
Masters/Stomper punched through the last bit of rock. The giant mech bent down as far as it could and turned its floodlights on the cavern.
“Well, there’s the salvage mech, but there is no sign of Jay or the Rookie,” Masters said, checking his sensors.
“We cannot fit inside there,” Stomper stated.
“Nope,” Masters responded.
“So, we wait?” Stomper asked.
“Yep,” Masters said. “Let’s run more scans and see if they’re deeper inside.”
Before Masters could initiate the scans, dozens of zombies poured from the cavern.
“Shit!” Masters said as the giant mech began to smash the zombies like ants.
***
June awoke with a start as the bucket of water hit her face.
“Wakey, wakey bitch,” Chunks grunted. “Time to play.”
June opened her eyes to find herself naked, dangling inches above the floor, her hands tied and arms strung up over her head.
The Boss stood by the doorway, a sly smile on his face. “Now, Rachel, I’m not going to kill you. Why would I?” He lifted a small vid cam to his eye, aiming it at Ju
ne. “You’re way too valuable. Now, say hello to Daddy!”
The Boss moved close as Chunks punched June in the stomach.
***
“You see, dear Rachel, the power structure needs to change. I’m tired of living off scraps,” the Boss said, circling June as Chunks continued to hit her with quick jabs to the mid-section. “It’s time for the UDC and you mechie assholes to share the wealth.”
The Boss shut off the vid cam. “That’ll be enough to get their attention, Chunks.” He walked to the door and turned before leaving. “I’m going to go have a chat with the senior Capreze.” He grinned at Chunks. “Feel free to cut if you need to, nothing permanent, but have a little fun.”
***
Chunks set a leather pack on the floor and slowly pulled several knives of various sizes and thickness out. June watched him closely.
“You like the pack?” Chunks asked, turning it back and forth. June could immediately tell from the marks and tattoos that the leather was human, not synth. “Took me a year to get the right strips together to make it. It’s my baby.” Chunks picked up a medium size knife, bone handle, double edged blade and approached June. “Don’t worry, bitch, I won’t cut deep.” He grinned and kissed the blade. “But, I may take a nipple.”
***
The Boss hopped into an ATV waiting for him. “Drive to the top of Bronner’s Ridge.”
The young man driving nodded. “Yes, Boss.”
“Keep your fucking mouth shut!” the Boss snapped. “Just drive.”
The young man faced forward and stomped on the accelerator. The Boss reviewed the footage on the vid cam, growing excited. “Stop here.”
The ATV halted in front of a small shack. The Boss got out and kicked in the door. The driver averted his eyes, but he could hear the screaming as the Boss had fun with whoever was unlucky enough to be in the shack.
***
June, battered, bruised, humiliated, ignored, forgotten, murder and blood on her hands and grief in her head, had had enough.
“You really are pathetic people,” June said, gritting her teeth as Chunks slashed out, cutting across her belly.
He watched the blood well and smiled, placing a finger to the drops and licking it off the tip. “Save your fuckin’ breath, bitch. I’m gonna cut you, no matter what you fuckin’ say.”
Chunks slashed again, this time across June’s thigh. She refused to cry out and bit down on the inside of her cheek, focusing on the pain, using it.
