Program Erin

by Alex Fall

  Her laughter died down and we stared at each other for a moment. As always, my gaze won out. "Well...back to the subject at hand," she said. "I'm not particularly keen on housing a Benevolent in this building."

  "I'm not a Benevolent."

  "So you're telling me the girl isn't your child servant?"

  I felt myself sneer. "Don't assume I'm anything like those people. The girl was someone else's servant, and I saved her!"

  Bella looked me over before letting out a short "Hmph." She led me down the hall and showed me to a cafeteria area where families take turns cooking. She also told me that the front office is now my designated area, and not to go snooping around in other rooms. I inquired about showers, but she said the closest thing was a drainage ditch nearby where they were set up to catch and fetch rain water. This type of living was extremely sub par. The last dwellers at least had washers and dryers. It'll have to work though.

  As we headed out of the mess hall, I inquired about a few more things. "I need to get some more clothes for Sharon."

  "Who?"

  "The girl that's with me. Also, why was there a boy on the roof last night?"

  "For usurpers. That's what we call any greater that comes in for the purpose of taking Dwellers for themselves."

  I felt that familiar hatred wake up inside me again. It made me want to go beat something. "One more thing, where did the blanket come from?"

  Bella turned and looked at me. "Blanket?"

  "Yes, I woke up with a blanket that did not belong to me."

  She scowled while thinking. "Maybe one of the others staying in the office rooms. There's no telling." After walking a bit more she switched subjects. "I find it curious that you don't know much about the Greaters. Why is that?"

  "I'm not from here."

  "Ha! Where else is there?"

  "The Decapolis. It has five plus cities full of people."

  "No that can't be, there's no other people left other than what's in Lenburg."

  "That's exactly what I thought until I came here."

  She grabbed my arm to stop me, but quickly let go when I clenched my teeth and drew a sharp breath in pain. "Oh, sorry...but, you're telling me that you are from somewhere else beyond this city? Beyond Lenburg?"

  "Yes. The Decapolis. Though it's so far away that it doesn't come up on GPS."

  The lady knitted her eyebrow and looked off into space. "Then....how did you get here?"

  "Through a warp gate. Some kind of pre war tech."

  Her green eyes snapped back to looking at me. "A warp gate?...can you take us there?"

  "I could, but I don't know how to turn it back on, otherwise I would have gone myself."

  The hope faded from her eyes and she turned away. "Ok....I suppose that's always the way it is."

  I looked out a window to see the rain drizzling and dripping off the roof. "I intend to change things, make it less controlled by the privileged."

  "Well that's fine and dandy, but what can you hope to do? Why would you even bother?"

  "Because the privileged turned me into a monster. Privileged is just another word for evil." The woman scanned me then looked back off into space. "Do you know who the 'big man' is?" I asked.

  "Of the benevolents? I'm not sure. It could be Abel. He's one of the ones that helped overthrow everything in the beginning."

  Abel....at last, I have a target...

  * * *

  The gentle hum of the bike engine, was in a sense, relaxing. The sky was such a beautiful sight, fresh air was something that used to just be a figure of speech, and the wind, though chilled, was more welcome than any time before in my entire life. The day came. After all I had been through, the day came at last. I was finally free, finally out of the accursed cell and facility. The burns on my hands stung terribly, and I knew THEY wouldn't ever give up until they hunted me down and recaptured me. Still, I relished the moment. My savior and I rode off on the bike to wherever his partner was, but he told me it would be a while. I leaned against Arty's back and adjusted my grip around his waist so I could sleep on the way there. He was so warm...I soaked it in, thankful for the first good day in an infinite series of bad ones. I felt his hand examine softly the burns on my arm. "It's alright. I found you."

  My eyes popped open and I sat up in bed. That last part...that's not how that memory went...

  Sharon stretched in her sleep next to me. It's been nine days since I got to this dweller building. I've spent all of them resting, healing, and conditioning, as well as finding out more about the city and its people. My burns were no longer so sensitive, just fresh scars that were trying to heal. My addiction to sleep drugs was slowly making a comeback, but there was little I could do. My dreams were still nightmarish, but tonight was the first normal one in a long time. Sharon and I were able to bathe again for once, but the filtered water still left everything with an odd, distasteful scent. And as always, I was cold.

  The dwellers here in the school didn't seem as community based as the first building I had gone to, but they still knew and associated with each other. Many of the dwellers also knew of me, and most of them seemed to have a certain fear of me. Even the woman around the corner that came in the first night and put the blanket on us seemed unsettled once she found out I was Sapphire Eyes. I also learned that the reason there were so few dwellers in this particular area was because the area got hit by Usurpers pretty hard, thus the roof security boys. Another point of interest was the fact there were almost no dwellers with major diseases. Apparently when the power hungry group seized the city a while back and forced the drugs on everyone, they also rid the city of diseased ones, Greaters and Lessers alike. Whether it was the drugs that killed off the sick people or some horrific act on the part of the power group is still to be determined.

  Interestingly, the Greaters stayed armed by finding weapon factories and forcing Lessers to work them. It was suggested that a specific set of powers were assigned as overseers so that if the Dwellers ever rose against the Greaters, they couldn't succeed. I had been brainstorming what kind of powers would be needed to oversee security like that, but no specific "golden" combination stands out.

  Bolts have a curious power. While they are electrical based, it's not as much of a blasting power as the Directorate programs were (but at least Bolts don't stop their own heart when they use their own power). From what I have been told, Bolts can generate current, and to a degree can manipulate electricity that's stored in machines and batteries, but have a hard time firing off electrical bolts through the air, on account of air's natural electrical resistance. What that means for me is that Bolts have to take a moment to charge up to fire off bolts at even a short distance, giving me more time and tactics to play with while in combat. However, Bolts tend to carry metallic objects with low resistance, such as chains, wires, poles, etc to be able to jolt their target with more ease. Also, many have personalized tech that feeds off of their bodies, as if they themselves were electrical generators, which in effect gives them crude augments.

  On the subject of augments, it seems to be that Lenburg does not have access to the same level of technology, or perhaps the type of technology, that the Decapolis had, meaning that high end augments and technology such as Templar units are extremely rare here. Going through my pack, I discovered the Kryo kinesis unit that Wyatt gifted me with before we parted. This leaves me with a very powerful asset. There does, however, seem to be more complex machinery and security systems, such as the integrated warp gate we encountered upon arriving in this part of the world.

  "How long have you been up here?" asked this couple of hours' roof security. I removed myself from my thoughts to see the teenage boy (probably seventeen), tall and somewhat stout, with dirty blond hair and a whiskery face, here to start his shift. Apparently no one has told him what a razor is for...

  "An hour and twenty seven minutes," I replied, pensively watching the city.

  "That's specific...You shouldn't be up here. They'll see-"

 
"My eyes? I know. But considering the midday time with its low traffic, and the fact that I'm hidden from street view where I'm sitting, it'll be safe enough."

  The boy shook his head, dismissing the conversation. He set his bag of various personals down and sat against the AC unit that I was perched on. After several seconds, he asked, "Why are you up here?"

  "Why are you?" I retorted.

  "Roof security, why else?"

  "Exactly, why else?"

  The boy narrowed his eyes, trying to process my statement. "...what?"

  A sound of exasperation escaped my mouth. "I'm here for security too. It's also quiet enough to think."

  "Why would you need a quiet place to think?"

  "So I don't end up at your level of intelligence..."

  He glanced up at me for a moment, then chuckled to himself at the comment. "My names Gunth by the way."

  "Quaint..."

  He bobbed his head to an imaginary beat for a few seconds. "If you don't tell me your name, I guess I'll have to call you Quaint."

  "You already know my name."

  "Which is?"

  I closed my eyes and rubbed a temple to vent irritation. "Sapphire eyes."

  "Come on, that's not actually your name is it?"

  "It is to you."

  "How old are you?"

  I snapped my head to lock onto his eyes. "Why the *cuss* do you need to know that?"

  The tension from my stare only made him develop a goofy grin. He seemed satisfied to get a rise out of me. "Cause you act all superior but you look so young underneath all the..." He swirled his hand over his chest and abdomen as if to fill in the last word with a gesture.

  I narrowed my eyes. "The what?" I swear to God, if he says "clothes" or anything along those lines...

  "Burns?" He squinted in anticipation of my reaction.

  "....Hm." I returned to scanning the distance. "I can assure you that I'm no teenager."

  We both sat in silence for a moment. In that time, I returned to my thoughts and an unanswered question came into my head. "How do you tell the difference between Greaters and Lessers just by looking at them?"

  Gunth looked up. "You don't know?"

  "No...I'm not from here. My powers aren't either."

  "Hm...strange. Other than the clothes and powers, the injection sites I guess."

  "Injection sites?"

  He pulled one arm out of his long sleeve shirt to show me his bare skin. On his upper arm was a small round blemish, a tad darker than his normal skin tone. "Pretty much everyone has them. Dwellers only have one spot, cause the first series of injections tells if you're reactive or not. Greaters have more than one, cause they're given injections until their power is matured."

  "How many spots do the greaters have?"

  He shrugged. "Depends on how many it takes..."

  "So always more than one?"

  I had more questions, and but I didn't even get an answer to that one. Instead, a distant noise pleaded for my attention. It was revving, like that from an engine, followed by slamming doors.

  "Sapphire?"

  I held a finger up and shushed him. For a moment there was nothing...then raised voices. Mixed in was a woman's voice, a young woman...a panicked young woman.

  I stood and headed back inside the building. The confused looks of the boy followed me. "Sapphire?" he asked again.

  My reply was one word. "Usurpers."

  I moved quickly through the building and retrieved my pistol. As I was headed out of the building, I saw that Gunth was following me.

  "Stay here, boy."

  "This is my job, girl."

  I turned and grabbed his collar, stepping close into his personal space. "You are not my equal. Don't pretend that you are..."

  "What the Dibble?!" Said another boy. It was Buster, the first roof boy I met.

  "Buster, I need you to hold my shift until I get back," my follower said.

  "No, he's not going anywhere," I replied. "This is MY business."

  Buster passed his dark colored eyes from me to Gunth and back. Gunth clenched his teeth behind closed lips, looking for a way to defy me. He slowly pulled his shirt up enough to reveal that he had a pistol of his own.

  "The longer you stall me, the more Dwellers that get taken advantage of," I said.

  "I need to fight also," Gunth said in almost a whisper.

  I hardened my face. "Got something to prove? Can you use that gun?"

  Buster nervously interjected, "Gunth? I don't think-"

  "Yes I can."

  I released him and turned to walk out of the building. "I'm going at my own pace. If you fall behind, I'm not responsible."

  "I understand," he replied as he followed closely.

  We both stepped outside and paused. The noise was faint, too hard to pinpoint, but a short shout set the location. I took off running and jumping through and over obstacles to get there. My short term companion followed at a fast speed, but didn't know how to flow over landscape like I did. If he couldn't keep up, it was all glass. He didn't need to risk dying at his age anyway.

  Going around and through a couple buildings, I came to watch as a greater tripped and forced a girl into the ground. It hurt her, I know it did. My blood began to boil, setting the mood. He put his knee into her back and began to bind her hands. Powerful men and young women don't mix. Not waiting to find out what this guy's next move was, I picked up a plastic bag that was blowing along as litter, wound it up and slipped my hand through the loops. Before the enemy could do anything else to his victim, I silently came out of a busted out window from behind, slipped the bag around his neck, and pulled it tight to choke him. His hands reached up to pull the bag away, but his strength wasn't that of a Brute. Good, onto step two.

  Holding the plastic bag, I spun my body around hard, which made his head spin even harder in a wide arc, ending with his cranium smashing into a light pole. I let go of the bag and the man rolled away, almost unconscious. I heard the click of gun ahead me and I looked up to see another greater several feet down the street, aiming a rifle at me. When I looked up, he gasped. "S-Sapphire eyes? You're...alive?!"

  I simply whispered one word in reply.

  "Run..."

  Noting that I refused to show even the slightest hint of hesitation at his gun (a good bluff on my part if I do say so), he turned and flew away. Ah, a flyer. Before he gained any meaningful distance, a bullet sounded off and the Flyer flinched and twirled back to the ground, landing poorly and sliding to a halt on his side. Gunth stepped out holding his weapon. Not waiting for him to take care of things, I ran past the boy and jumped onto the Flyer, forcing him back to the ground as he began to take off again.

  The greater was hit in the leg, so I nudged his wound with my knee, thus the subsequent pain bought enough of a split second for me to chuck his knife away before he got to it. Next, I wrestled the rifle away, then rifle butted him in the face and chest as many times as it took to make the Greater stop struggling, which really wasn't that many. A yelp behind me had me spin around to a kneeling position and aim with the rifle.

  Gunth fell down, seizing. Behind him was the first Greater, holding a metal rod and his head. Hm, a Bolt. I shot him straight in the chest with the light rifle. He spun away and hit the ground, no movement left. I got up and stood over Gunth.

  "Told you that you shouldn't have come," I said with a scoff. I left him recovering to go stand over the Bolt.

  He suddenly brought the rod up and knocked the rifle from my hands. That trash was playing dead! He had chest armor on! Before he could bring the rod around, I stomped his arm back to the ground, and with one fluid movement, kneeled, shoved my elbow into his throat, pulled my pistol with my other hand, and aimed it against his forehead.

  "Go ahead and electrocute me. It'll only cause my muscles to contract and fire the gun," I warned.

  He growled at the checkmate. "Drop the rod," I demanded, pouring my death glare into his eyes. The rod chimed on the ground and rolled away.


  "You like beating on girls?" I asked, nodding toward the bound girl nearby.

  "You like beating on children too? Is it because they're helpless?" Bending down until my face was in his, I said, "I'm going to show you what it's like to be helpless..."

  I flipped the pistol around and gripped it to make a harder fist, and before he could shock me, I beat him.

  My anger was blazing, but through that, he still sent a shock into me.

  And then I lost control...

  I poured out my fury in the form of blows and breaks, until all that was left of him was a gurgling, bloody mess. I don't know for certain what all I did. The bloodlust and vengeance screamed within me, blinding me and causing me to stop hearing. Even the Dweller girl quit fidgeting and whimpering to watch in horror. Gunth was the only reason I stopped. He grabbed me and pulled me off.

  "Sapphire! Don't kill him!"

  I elbow bashed him in the head to make him lose his hold. "GET OFF OF ME!" I screamed in an enraged voice.

  He went to grab me again, but I bashed twice more to keep him away so I could finish brutalizing the Bolt. Gunth fell to the ground with blood on his face, holding himself in pain. "Sapphire....stop! You're hurting Dwellers now!"

  I kneeled down to continue beating the Bolt, but after the first strike, I paused. Drawing deep breaths through clenched teeth, I turned and looked back at Gunth. He was holding his hand over his eye and drops of blood flowed from his nose, watching me warily. Why did he bother saving this garbage beneath me? Didn't he want to come out here and fight? I glanced to the Dweller girl that I saved, only to see her trembling in fear at the sight of me. What is her problem? Doesn't she know I saved her? And then there was the Bolt...bloodied, struggling to breath under my weight, and too weak to offer any resistance. A familiar thought plagued me. I'm a monster...

  "If you live and I ever see you again, I'll finish this," I uttered at the beaten man beneath me.

  I rose and left the scene, the anger dying down and pouring off of me. Gunth would know what to do with the Greaters and the Dweller girl. I didn't return to the school immediately. I had to calm down. Instead, I found an old, empty oil change station and wandered through missing garage doors, settling into one of the corners.