Another man sat beside her with a furrowed brow and bulging muscles. He nodded. “I still regret that I convinced another to escape with me.” The man’s eyes glazed over. “I jumped from the tree, barely making it over the fence and almost breaking my bones, but I made it out. And I waited for Seventy-Two. I watched him from the trees. They didn’t see me, but they saw him. They shot him. No warnings. No commands. Just bullets. It’s my fault.”
“No,” Nick said. “It’s not. It’s those guards, those keepers. Whatever they are and whoever they work for. It’s not your fault or any of our faults. Not everyone in this world is as evil.”
A young woman with a heart-shaped face and large blue eyes shot Nick a look. “How do you know?”
He had already decided he would not tell the others he was an Original. Despite sharing the same plight, he remembered James’s warning about what the clones thought of the Originals they had been derived from. He couldn’t trust them. “Look at this place, at these people risking their lives to transport us out of the reach of those camps.”
“I’m not so sure,” James said. His brow creased. “A few selfless people hardly prove that the rest of the world isn’t selfish.”
The blue-eyed clone nodded. “I saw what the keepers did to the others. And the men who came to buy us were no different.” She shuddered.
Nick shook his head. “It’s true that not everyone is as kind or trustworthy as these people taking us to America, but not everyone is as cruel as those men running the camps.”
The bulky male clone raised an eyebrow. “How do you know the people who promised to take us to America aren’t just sending us off to be sold? How do we know they’re not any different?”
James sneered.
Nick looked back at his clone’s face, so similar to his own, yet the thoughts percolating behind those brown eyes, his brown eyes, were far different than his own.
“He’s got a point,” James said. “If we want to survive, I’m not sure how much longer we should trust our lives to these people who claim to be helping us. I’m not sure they even see us as human. Hector told us that most think we’re fugitive prisoners or demons. They think we’re crazy. Why shouldn’t we expect to be cast away or taken advantage of?”
“You have to believe that things will get better, or else why live at all?”
“We only live because they made us to be sold like products,” James said. “Our entire existence consists of counterfeit human lives. We might look like the real thing, but no other human being will see us a fellow person. They never gave us any say in our lives and we hardly have any say now.”
“Things will be different,” Nick said. “You have to trust me.”
“You keep saying that. But so far, I don’t feel any freer.”
It would be their last day in Mexico and the first time the owner of the facility, Adriana, attempted to transport any clones into America. Adriana, a thickly built woman with heavy bags under her dark eyes, told them they would steal north after dusk. The clones would pile into the enormous hollowed-out husk of a wind turbine tower. Her company shipped the turbines regularly from her manufacturing plant. Energy conglomerates upgrading their wind farms in the Midwest or expanding offshore farms in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic most often bought from her.
In the warehouse, Adriana employed a group of Naturals, a ragged group of individuals who grew their hair long and wild and detested modern contrivances like AR lenses, Chips, and receivers. They passed out bowls of beans enlivened with spicy chorizo, garlic, onions, and chunky tomatoes.
“Thank you,” Nick said as a Natural handed him a bowl. He spoke to James in a low voice. “You don’t think we’ll be safer across the border? Why don’t you trust me?”
“I do trust you. You’re the exception.” James ate a spoonful of beans. “But I can’t trust people I don’t know, no matter what you say.”
“You’ll have to try. Maybe you’ll find others like me.”
“Tell me how the hell we’re even going to blend in. If we all have to hide, we’re hardly better off than before.”
“No, I don’t think you’ll have to hide,” Nick said. “You might be able to integrate with a Natural community, like these people. Naturals run the gamut from neo-hippies to paranoid survivalists, so people tend not to ask them too many questions anyway. Plus, they’ve been exempted by the US government so they can remove their Chips, and their children aren’t required to get one implanted. Instead, they get old-fashioned comm cards for an ID and to link their universal credit accounts.”
“So you think we can just walk into a Natural community and become part of it?”
“Actually, yes. There’s one just outside of Annapolis in Maryland, close to DC.”
James grinned. “Ah, so that’s the trick. You plan to get us close enough to Washington for you to reunite with Kelsey. I hope you’re right and she’s still there waiting for you.”
“Either way, you’ll be close while I get in contact with the right people in Washington.” Nick brushed aside the thought that Kelsey might already be with someone else. He couldn’t wait to cross the border so he could safely contact her. From everything he’d witnessed and heard, he’d become paranoid that someone or some software program might be scouring Net communications in an attempt to locate him and James or any of the others in the small group of clones that had managed to escape.
“I hope you’re right.”
“About what?”
“All of it. For your sake, maybe you can finally marry Kelsey and get your Chip back. I would just like to be able to live like a normal human.” James scoffed. “Hell, I say that and I have no idea what a normal life would entail. Everything I know comes from the stories you’ve told and the crap they taught us back in the compounds. Who knows? It could be one big lie.”
Nick could tell James that he would find people in the Natural community that didn’t want to kill him or throw him back in a prison, that he might even find comfortable housing, a steady job, and people he might befriend. But Nick didn’t expect the clone to believe any of it. Maybe James would acclimate to life in America and settle down once he no longer feared for his life. Maybe he would learn that soldiering was not the only viable life path. “I’m going to get some air.”
James shrugged. “Sure.”
As Nick walked toward an exit, Adriana tapped him on the shoulder. “You’re different, aren’t you?”
He stopped and gave her a sideways glance. “Sorry?”
“You’re not stilted or serious like the others.”
He couldn’t recall breaking out in uproarious laughter or telling jokes to the groups of clones scattered about the warehouse. “I’m not exactly a comedian.”
“No, but I saw you smile.” She gestured with a slight nod to James. “He doesn’t. That’s something most of these replicate persons haven’t mastered. The stories they’ve told me give me no reason to think that they’ve grasped the concept of happiness or contentment.”
“That’s probably true. Conditions in those camps are awful. And I only spent a day and half there.” He shook his head. “I mean only a day and a half awake. I spent too many years sleeping.”
“I thought so.” She offered a conciliatory smile. “You’re an Original, as they call them. I want you to take good care of them tomorrow and when you make it into the States. This will be the first time we have a chance to send them away from here. I can only pray that the United States government is more receptive to their plight than ours. ”
“It’s no different than Costa Rica or Nicaragua or Guatemala, huh?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s better to avoid attracting attention to these people. In my position, I can’t openly talk about them. At best, I would be dismissed as a crazy hippy cult leader. At worst...” She indicated the clones and shook her head, letting him imagine the consequences. “In a day and age when information travels across the world through an AR lens or receiver in a
fraction of a second, it’s strange that word of these clones hasn’t exploded. It makes me wonder if there isn’t someone else, someone powerful that has taken an interest in protecting these secrets. I’m afraid that those militias controlling the clone trade in Central America have also gained significant influence in Mexico.”
He frowned. “It worries me that no one has done anything about this influx of clones. The UN banned human cloning years ago. Almost every country in the world has restrictions on human cloning.”
Adriana appeared sorrowful. “Not quite every country, though.”
“True,” he said. “There must be someone—maybe some country—controlling the Chip network to help conceal all of this.”
Adriana nodded, closing her eyes. “On my worst days, I worry there will be no hope for these people if that is the case.” Her lips curling in a sad smile, Adriana patted his back. “But this is the first time that I’ve seen an Original traveling with a clone. If that doesn’t convince people that something’s going on, I don’t know what will.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “You will have the potential to bring light to this in a way that we haven’t been able to. Once you cross those borders, all you need is to tell your story with James. I promise that it will spread through the Net like wildfire. At least, it will in your country where the Net is free.”
“Do you think we can do it? That we’ll make it across safely?”
He hoped that she would give him another reassuring pat, joyful optimism glinting in her eyes. Instead her eyes shone with a distinct wetness, her expression grim. “I don’t think our plan is watertight, but it’s the best we can do. I imagine these people hunt along the borders for fugitive clones. And if it isn’t someone on our side of the fence...well, you know how Americans are about their borders.”
***
Adriana ushered Nick and the clones toward one of the larger turbine towers that lay across an autodriving transport trailer. As the clones filed in, she shook their hands, kissed them on the cheeks, or hugged them. Nick could see a glimmer of worry in her eyes as though she said a final goodbye to family members that she might never see again. Compassion shown out through her dark eyes.
“Remember, the inside of the turbines are shielded to prevent basic tomographic inspections from detecting you,” she said to the clones. “But, if you’re too noisy, they’ll detect abnormal sounds and require an internal physical inspection. We can’t help you then.”
Nick approached her with a hand outstretched. “Thank you for everything.” His thoughts flew toward Washington, toward Kelsey, all seemingly within grasp for the first time. “Thank you for your kindness and—”
A thunderous explosion sounded outside the warehouse. He ducked and Adriana fell. Dust filled the air and his ears rang. Startled, his heart thudded against his ribcage. Another explosion destroyed the retractable door to the warehouse. Dark silhouettes moved within the billows of smoke filling the building. These attackers shot balls of flames that caught hold around the warehouse. Fire engulfed electric tools and spare parts from the unassembled wind turbines.
He yelled out for Adriana and James. Nick couldn’t hear his own words as dust and debris fell around him. Soldiers wearing the familiar uniforms of the guards at the clone facility broke through the clouds of smoke. He tried to help Adriana up. One of her aides ran toward them. As he neared, a gunshot tore through the air and a rose of blood blossomed over his chest. He fell limp next to Adriana.
Yanking on Adriana’s arm, Nick managed to stand her up straight and run with her. They took cover behind one of the white turbine blades lined up near the trailer. James followed, carrying another clone with a profusely bleeding leg. As the ringing in Nick’s ears faded, the report of rifles and frightened screams of cut-down clones welcomed him back to his senses.
James caught his breath next to Adriana and Nick. “They’re going to burn the whole damn place down.”
“Bastards,” Adriana said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Tomorrow’s news streams will say this is an accident. Another cover-up.” Blood trickled out from her fingers as she clutched her stomach. She reached out to Nick and cupped his face with one bloodied hand. She offered a weak but sincere smile. “You and your brother must escape. For me and for the others. You must show the world what’s going.”
With her free hand, she retrieved something from her pocket and placed it, wet with crimson, into his hand. Her comm card. “Use it to get out of here.” Her eyes seemed glassy and the color drained from her face.
He grasped her fingers as her palm slid off his cheek. “Goddammit.” He lowered Adriana to the floor as her breathing slowed and her eyes closed. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Sweat and blood trickled down James’s forehead as they ran along the side of the warehouse toward the rear as the fire, screams, and soldiers followed them.
“Are you hurt?”
James shook his head. “Just scraped up.” He huffed and readjusted his grip on the clone that he carried. “He is, though.”
The startled yells and cries of the clones gave way to groans of agony and the occasional gunshot. Nick coughed. His lungs burned as the smoke obscured his vision and burned his eyes. “We’re cornered.”
James shook his head. His nostrils flared and twitched. “They can’t do this to us. We didn’t make it this far just to lose everything.” He wrapped one arm of the other clone around Nick’s shoulder. “Help me with him.”
Nick helped the clone up. The man’s skin was already turning pallid. “Can you hold on to me?”
The clone let out a weak moan in reply. Nick figured it would have to be good enough as James pulled out the pistol from his waistband.
“I’ve only got a few rounds left,” James said. “We’re going to have to move smart.”
“Make them count.”
James moved low across the ground. He flitted to the massive turbine blade nearest them and signaled to Nick to join him. “Stay close to me. The infrared on my AR lenses isn’t very helpful right now with the fire and smoke, so I’m assuming they aren’t much better off.”
A soldier with an assault rifle swung around the turbine blade. James pistol-whipped the man. The impact cracked the attacker’s gas mask and knocked him to the ground as a flurry of shots rang out from the man’s weapon. James kicked the downed soldier in the ribs and then crunched his boot into the crook of the man’s elbow. As the soldier yelled, James tore the rifle from the man’s weakened grip. Other voices rang out above the crackling fire. James handed the pistol to Nick as he struggled to keep the other clone up.
James leaned down and plucked two grenades off the soldier’s vest. With a grunt, James threw one of the grenades over the turbine blade. It clattered across the ground and exploded. Chunks of concrete flew up and the turbine blade shuddered.
“Let’s go,” he said.
They used the smoke as cover as the soldiers swarmed to the site of the explosion, shadows moving in the smoky darkness. A shape burst out of the plumes and pivoted to aim at James. Nick swung his pistol up and fired until the gun clicked uselessly. The first couple of shots slammed into the soldier’s body and sent him sprawling.
“Thanks,” James said, his face covered in soot and wet blood.
Plunging forward, they broke free of the smoky warehouse and ran out into the dry night air. Two transport trucks hummed in front of them. The four soldiers guarding the idling vehicles appeared surprised at the three haggard men emerging from the inferno. Before the soldiers took aim, James threw the last grenade. The device thudded into the cracked ground near the soldiers as they dove away from it. An explosion tore through the air and mangled one of the transport trucks. Fragmented pieces of metal whistled through the air, piercing the glass and tires of the other truck. A splintered metal shard impaled James’s leg and he fell.
As Nick bent to help, James brushed him off. “No, hold on to him. He needs your help more than I do.” He grimaced, pushing himself up. Pulling the shard fr
om his leg, he said, “Go, go.”
Nick heaved the other clone over his back in a fireman’s carry. He jogged as best as he could away from the smoldering wreckage. His lower back ached and his quadriceps burned with effort as they ran up the road toward the manufacturing facilities.
“Where the hell should we go?” James said through gritted teeth. He hobbled along, favoring his right leg.
“We’ve got to find cover, somewhere to escape.” Nick tried to peer into the darkness. Maybe they could hide within the buildings. But hiding might only delay their capture or death. An expanse of grass and arid dirt surrounded them, leaving them little choice for cover. They needed to leave. He worried that no matter what direction they headed, they would move too slowly with James’s maimed leg and the weight of the barely conscious clone on his back.
When they reached the small, flat building that served as Adriana’s business office, his heart fluttered. “There, there!” He sped up, ignoring his aching muscles as he sprinted toward Adriana’s black Jeep.
“What the hell good does that do us?” James asked. “We can’t start it. Adriana’s dead and in the damn storage warehouse.”
From his pocket, Nick withdrew Adriana’s comm card. He held it up to the door and the vehicle unlocked, the engine purring to life.
With James’s help, Nick loaded the injured clone into the backseat. James used his arms to pull himself into the vehicle and tore his shirt off. He tied the cloth around the clone’s bleeding leg as a tourniquet and pressed into the man’s wound. The blood didn’t slow.
“He’s going to die. I can’t stop the bleeding.”
Nick nodded, plugging their destination into the Jeep’s old holoscreen. “We’re going to get help.”
“Where?”
“We’ve got to get to US border security.”
“They won’t let us through,” James said. “We’ll be good as dead.”
“They can’t turn away a dying man.” Nick injected confidence into his words, though truthfully he didn’t know what the customs agents or border patrol would do. “Besides, I’m a US citizen. They’ll have to perform a DNA check on me, and they’ll be able to match it up to the Chip database.”
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