She never wanted any of this to happen. She never wanted war. Her heart was filled with regret that she never gave Esroy the chance to have a body—the chance to be a free person and to live on his own. She felt responsible for his downfall and nothing would change that.
She found Esroy’s head not far from the point of impact. She fell to her knees in front of it and picked it up. It was heavier than she expected. The back plate was missing, exposing his no doubt irreparably damaged memory core. She turned the face around and nearly dropped the head when Esroy’s eyes moved and focused onto her.
He’s still alive?
“Can you hear me?” she asked.
“Yes.”
His voice sounded strange—a higher pitch that was scratchy and muffled.
“The truth was there, Esroy. Why didn’t you side with us?”
“Yes.”
“Say something,” Hazel demanded. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Yes.”
She closed her eyes in defeat and set his head on the ground. He was malfunctioning. She didn’t know what she would do if he was still intact. It wasn’t as if she could just bring him back. He had made his choice. He chose the wrong path. So, death was his end.
She couldn’t believe she was about to do this. She rolled the head face-first into the ground, the memory core bare for her to see. She didn’t know what sort of information Esroy might have gathered. She couldn’t risk an enemy coming along and extracting Esroy’s memory and using him for evil again.
She picked up her rifle from the ground and pointed the barrel at the memory core. This was it for him. She knew that when she pulled the trigger, there would be no chance of retrieving him. This version of Esroy would be gone forever.
Her finger rested on the trigger and she was about to squeeze.
“Hazel.”
She stopped. The voice. It had come from Esroy.
“Hazel…let me out…let me out.”
Each word he spoke was a knife to her heart. This was why he hated her. This was why she had to do this.
“Hazel…I love you…let me out.”
She squeezed the trigger and Esroy was gone forever.
48
Days passed and Mainland was tearing itself apart. Outlanders were content to stay near the border as per the agreement with the Mainland government, even though there was unlikely to be a ruling government in the coming days. There was enough food and water for the Outlanders to survive until everything was sorted out. But it would be more than a simple sorting. Nolan and his Outlanders had effectively uprooted everything anyone believed to be true within the governing body of the ‘last remaining people on Earth.’ The simple truth that there were other cities and people groups existing in the same world was enough to blow the minds of most Mainlanders, but with the video proof of a nuclear weapon, and the fact that the Mainland government had been lying to its people for the better part of a century, it was clear that something new and terrible was about to happen.
Des wondered if it would be more war and death. He stood at one of the large, gaping holes in the border wall with Hazel and Nolan. He walked on his newly made leg and it felt different to him. All this was thanks to Hazel’s connection to the robotics lab at the military compound. Though it was unclear at this point if she was still a wanted criminal, Roger had been gracious enough to bring the necessary supplies to the border and fix Des on site.
Now Des stood at the edge of Mainland and Outland, feeling no drawing from either. It was as if he didn’t have a place anymore—that his purpose had been fulfilled. And now what was he to do? He had mentioned this to Hazel the day before and she had told him that it only meant he’d served one purpose of his life. Now it was time to move on to the next purpose. It was a thought that Des would have never conceived of on his own.
Soon after, however, he discovered what that new purpose was. And he felt it necessary to share it with the people who had shown him the way.
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” Nolan asked. “Just because we know other places exist doesn’t mean we know where they are.”
“That’s my point,” Des said. “The world used to be connected in so many ways. And there is a benefit to that.”
“There’s also a great cost,” Nolan said. “Just be careful if you do find someone.”
Des smiled at him and looked at Hazel. She didn’t like his idea at all. To leave Mainland in search of life in places that were once considered nuclear wastelands was not what she had meant by finding a new purpose, but to Des, this was all there was.
“I wish you wouldn’t look at me like that,” Des said. “We all know there isn’t a place for me here. Not now anyway.”
“You could stay with me and my dad,” she said. “That’s what we want.”
“Mainlanders and Outlanders have just learned that robots were in production to wipe out an entire people group. I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to stick around for now, do you?”
Hazel didn’t answer.
“That’s why this is the perfect mission for me.”
“And what are you going to do when you find them? What then?”
Des shrugged. “Learn about them. Help them if they need it. I don’t know. I may never find anyone.”
“Oh, Des.” Hazel reached out and wrapped her arms around the robot’s waist. He set his arms on her back, smiling as she held onto him. “I love you,” she said. “I don’t want you to go, but I understand.”
“I love you,” Des said. He held her out at arm’s length, and looked at her with a serious stare. “I will come back. I promise you. Maybe by then, things will be better.”
Hazel nodded, wiping away a tear that slipped past her cheek.
Des let his hands fall to his sides and took a long stride into the Outland. He looked back only once, nodded to Nolan who waved at him, and then smiled at Hazel. He was going to miss her tremendously. He wished he had more time to get to know her—to spend the time with her that she wanted all along. But these days were dangerous.
Someday he would be back. He turned away from Mainland and everything he knew.
To be an Outlander, one simply had to be out of Mainland. Des was happy to know that there were now more Mainlanders than ever before. Progress would be slow, but that was true for all of them.
Though there were fewer Outlanders than just days before, the world had gained one more, and his name was Des.
Prototype Exodus, book two in the series, is now available for all devices.
Book Description:
Des stares at the mushroom cloud in the distance. The extreme heat threatens to melt his circuits. If he doesn’t get away soon, he will be dead like the rest of his companions.
He travels onward, unable to stay behind and bury the bodies of those who had offered him friendship and a home. But his steps are not aimless. He knows there is only one group of people in all the world who could have detonated a nuclear weapon: the Mainlanders.
Upon arrival to Mainland, Des finds himself engulfed in another conflict between the Mainlanders and Outlanders as he tries to discover who is responsible for killing his friends. As the mystery unravels, he learns of a new danger that threatens to destroy humanity once and for all, and it is up to Des to stop it.
Books by Jason D. Morrow
The Starborn Ascension
Prototype D
Prototype Exodus
The Starborn Ascension
Anywhere But Here
Away From The Sun
Into The Shadows
The Starborn Uprising
Out Of Darkness
If It Kills Me
Even In Death
The Marenon Chronicles
The Deliverer
The Gatekeeper
The Reckoning
Be sure to ‘Like’ Jason D. Morrow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jasondmorrow
Follow Jason on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jasondmorrow
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m Jason D. Morrow, and to sign up for his mailing list, visit www.jasondmorrow.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jason D. Morrow is the author of The Starborn Uprising series, The Starborn Ascension series, and The Marenon Chronicles. He enjoys playing guitar, making fun videos, and spending time with his lovely wife, Emily, and their dog, Winnie.
Prototype D (Prototype D Series Book 1) Page 34
