Real

by Dena Nicotra

  “You should try to lie on your right side,” she said, face blank.

  “Where’s Mic?”

  “Mic’s busy.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  “I don’t care what he’s doing, I want to see him. Now!”

  A slow smile, drenched with sarcastic bitchery, formed on her face. Her teeth were overly white, and somewhat large.

  “That’s just too bad, isn’t it? I can’t help you,” she said. Her strong east coast accent was like nails on a chalkboard. I pulled myself up on my elbows, and eyed her warily. The anger within me was building like an F5 tornado.

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  “My name’s Doctor Janelle Riggs,” she said, white teeth flashing again. I instantly hated her. She reminded me of the type of woman that ate nothing but salads (dressing on the side), worked out fanatically, and filled her closet with designer clothes. Her stiff posture and overly taut face suggested she probably grew up with her very own pony, had a frilly pink bedroom and went to a highly privileged private school. The kind of woman that clung to the way things used to be, at everyone else’s expense.

  “I strongly recommend that if you want anything else tonight, you address me with the respect and politeness I deserve.” She smiled again and locked eyes with me. Her expression said, “I dare you.” All right, bitch. Challenge accepted.

  “Okay, Janelle. First off, respect is earned, not given. As for politeness, you don’t want to see me get rude.”

  “Is that right?” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. Still smiling, she pushed my shoulders down, forcing me flat on my back. Then she jammed a syringe in my arm with enough force to cause me to cry out. Then she hit a button on the machine, causing the beeping to begin again. If that wasn’t enough, she increased the volume. “Mic mentioned that you were rough around the edges. I guess politeness isn’t your thing. Maybe you can try harder next time.” She made a point of dramatically emptying my water pitcher in the sink. When she was done, she walked to the door, flipped off the light, and left me laying there with the noise.

  “Fucking bitch!” I shouted. I could hear her chuckling to herself as the sound of her fancy heels clicked further and further away. Ten minutes later I was dying of thirst. Evidently the empty water pitcher had more significance than I grasped. I don’t know how much time passed before the machine finally stopped beeping on its own, but I was drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted from shouting at the closed door. Sleep came in short sessions that were filled with nightmares. By daylight, I’d made a promise to myself to get even with that bitch, whoever she was. Clearly, she didn’t know who she was messing with.

  It was Maude who, yet again, came to visit when I wasn’t at my best. She was frowning as she pulled up a chair and sat next to me.

  “I hear you had a rough night. You’ve really got to stop taking out your frustrations on everyone around you, Lee. It’s not winning you any friends.”

  “Friends? I’m sorry, what made you think that I need friends?”

  “Everybody needs friends. Especially in these trying times. Oh, you put on a good front, but I can see right through that.”

  “Cut the maternal instinct, Maude. I’m not going to be pacified with a good scolding for my poor attitude and a pat on the head. Who’s Janelle?”

  Maude adjusted her glasses and pursed her lips. “She’s a biogenetic scientist and she’s worked with Mic for years.”

  “Well, isn’t that special.”

  “Yes, it is. She’s very gifted in complex genetic studies. In fact, she’s received many, many awards for her work in genomic data and digital medicine.”

  “Well la-de-fuckin-da.”

  “Honestly, Lee! You’re ugly attitude is doing nothing for anyone, not even yourself. Can’t you see that?”

  “I can see a lot of things, Maude. I can feel even more. I’m sick and tired of everything that I am going through, and the more I see and feel, the madder I get! How long before you realize that all of this,” I spread my hands for emphasis, “is at the hands of your precious nephew and his super smart cronies.”

  “Did someone mention me?” I hadn’t noticed Giz had stepped into the room, Alice at his side with the baby on her hip.

  “Well come on in, we’re having a formal gathering in here. The topic up for discussion today, ladies and gentlemen, is Lee’s ungrateful attitude.”

  “Bitch would be more like it,” Giz added casually. Alice playfully swatted his shoulder as Bady let go of a long strand of spittle that stuck neatly to her tiny fist. I sighed heavily and looked up at the ceiling. Was there no end to this attack on my nerves? Oblivious, Alice moved in closer, offering her child to me. As if holding her little Bady Bug was going to make me feel all better.

  “No, thank you, Alice. I don’t want to hold her.”

  “Suit yourself, but you don’t know what good these little hugs can do for your heart.”

  “Trust me, nothing is going to help my heart right now,” I said dryly.

  Alice backed up, visibly offended. I sighed and held up my hand.

  “Look, I get that you all want to make me feel better. I’m just not ready to feel anything but angry right now.”

  “Well, get over it. Mic did you a favor, and in time you’ll see that.” Giz was being bold in front of his lady. Obviously, my refusal to hold his kid made him mad too. Maude stood up from her chair and pushed it back against the wall. “I’m leaving. I’ve done all that I can to reason with you, Lee. If you refuse to be rational, there’s nothing else I can do.”

  “Then go. In fact, why don’t all of you go?” None of them responded. I made a face that I hoped everyone recognized as sheer exasperation. I truly wanted all of them out of my personal space. Laying there with them staring at me was more than I could stand.

  “I’ll go get Two,” said Alice. Her voice was breaking, and I refused to acknowledge the fact that I’d hurt her feelings. Damn people. Why in the hell didn’t anyone understand how I was feeling? I’d been altered against my will! Synthetic shit was now in my body and I’d never be the same! I hadn’t even had a choice! Alone in the room again, I allowed the tears to flow. There might be a million reasons why I should feel gratitude. Right now, I couldn’t think of any of them. Right now, I just needed to deal with things the only way I knew how.

  Chapter 6

  I spent the next several days healing and quietly adjusting to my new physicality. I could do more pull-ups and push-ups than I ever could, and I could run for miles without ever breaking a sweat. I developed a daily routine that kept me busy and helped me avoid everyone but Two. Mic had all but given up trying to explain his decision, and I’d all but come to accept it. What else could I do? As the advantages to my predicament manifested, it became slightly easier to deal with it all.

  I was not only physically stronger than I’d ever been, I didn’t seem to require as much sleep. According to Mic, that was a direct result of synthetic enhancement. Although, I resented having to take the synthetic blockers; those tiny red pills told my body not to attack the foreign shit inside me. I tried very hard not to think about that, because everything inside me wanted to reject the concept of simp technology keeping my body functioning. I couldn’t wrap my head around any of it. The more I thought about it, the harder I pushed my workouts.

  It was now early December and the damp morning air made my nose run and my toes numb. I’d finished a series of laps around the rooftop parking structure and had made a pot of coffee before the sun had risen. Returning to the rooftop just as dawn broke, I wrapped my hands around my coffee cup and looked out over the broken cityscape. The view from the roof was dreary and a thick layer of fog settled over the shards of metal and glass that had once represented a prosperous city. The fact that Mic’s offsite facility stood with little damage made me realize the significance of his power. Apparently, I.D.E. facilities were prize possessions in the synthetic hands of the enemy. So much for equa
lity in warfare. Hearing shoes behind me, I instantly jumped to my feet. Mic’s presence was the last thing I wanted.

  “Who told you I was here?” He shrugged. “There’s cameras, plus it’s really no secret that this spot has become your hideout.” He took a seat on one of the barricades near me and cleared his throat.

  “What is it, Mic?” He always did that little throat clearing thing when he was uncomfortable with something he was about to say. I felt my heartbeat quicken in the seconds he took to formulate his thoughts.

  “It’s not good news, Lee.”

  I looked him square in the eyes. “Is it ever with you?” I shook my head and looked away. His chiseled face no longer fascinated me. His very presence now made me instantly on edge. “Spit it out,” I demanded.

  “Redburg was attacked last night.” The cup slipped from my hands, shattering on the cement at my feet.

  “How bad?” He shook his head. I bent forward, resting my hands on my knees and fought feverishly to get my lungs to take in air.

  “We got a transmission from Dallas as the attack was underway. The little I saw before it cut out was…gruesome.”

  “Did anyone survive?” I whispered.

  “I don’t know, Lee.” It was happening all over again. The people I cared about…gone. I thought of the brutal last image I had of my father and wiped at a single tear that rolled down my cheek.

  “There’s something else you should know.” Mic’s face was awash with guilt.

  “Oh God, what?” I was sure whatever it was, I wasn’t going to want to hear it.

  “Deraline and Eli appeared to be leading the attack.” He raked his hands through his hair. “I just don’t understand it! Their coding should have been impenetrable,” he said, shaking his head. “My theory. Out the window, just like that!” He snapped his fingers. Every fiber in my body went numb. I stood up. Clenching my fists, I looked down at him. It occurred to me that he would never see things the way that I did. He would never take responsibility for the horrors, the deaths, and the destruction he’d caused.

  He would always manage to find a way to focus on his theories, and the associated setbacks or victories. Somehow, he viewed himself as an equal victim in this. I found myself fighting the sudden urge to kill him with my bare hands.

  “Shut the fuck up, Mic!”

  “Wait a minute, you’re not blaming me for the message here, are you? You know this is Aaron’s doing, not mine!”

  I just turned my back to him and ran. All I could think about was getting back there. I had to try to help anyone that might still be there, alive and desperate. Mic called my name over and over as he chased behind me. “You can’t save them, Lee!”

  I packed what little I had and stormed into the common room where the rest of the group, minus Two, was sitting. Everyone stopped talking as I entered, except for Janelle. She had her back to me, and hadn’t noticed me. Her nasally voice was too loud for the circumstances. “You know what I’m saying? I mean, if anyone survived, it would be a miracle,” she finished to the wide eyes of the rest of the group. Noticing their lack of focus on her, she turned in her chair to look at me.

  I’d avoided this one since the night she came into my room. Now she’d made herself a target. She was talking about MY people. Strangers to her. Statistics.

  “Never, ever, mention my people like that again.” I moved across the room with a new speed. Now, inches from her overly pointy nose, I glared at her and silently challenged her to open her mouth to say another fucking word.

  “Your people? What are you, queen of the provincial tribe now?” Dismissing me, she turned her attention to Mic, who had followed me into the room. “Did you see how fast she moved, Mic?” Mic shook his head, trying to warn her. Everyone else had gotten up from their seats and taken safer places at a distance.

  “You, pretentious bitch!” I said, pushing her. The look on her face when she turned around gave me a slight sense of satisfaction. I raised my right fist up and grabbed her by the back of her neck with my left to pull her in closer. I got so close to her face I could feel her breath on my fist. She flinched, as if realizing for the first time how serious a threat I was to her physical health.

  “Oh, my God! Take it easy, take it easy,” she said, raising her hands up.

  Suddenly, Giz was at my side, pulling me back.

  “Whoa, Lee, c’mon now. It’s not her fault.” I could hear the baby crying, which somehow only served to make me madder because it made me think of Little Otto, and his mother, Sue. I raised my finger and pointed it at her. “I don’t like you, but I’m going to warn you just this once. Stay out of my way.”

  “Don’t like me?” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “You don’t even…”

  “Don’t, Janelle,” Mic warned. “She doesn’t need to know you not to like you,” added Giz. I glared at everyone in the room. “Who’s got a hovcar I can use?” Alice’s eyes gave it away as she looked up at the woman I’d just threatened.

  “Fob,” I demanded. She looked at Mic for backup, but he just nodded. “Give her your key fob, Janelle.” She reached into her nice fitting cream slacks and withdrew the fob. Her eyes never looked away. I had to give her one thing, she had balls. Not that they would do her any good under real pressure. Clutching the fob, I spun on my heel to address Mic. “Show me the feed, Mic.” Without a word, he led me to his office. The rest of them stayed behind me, talking crap, I’m sure.

  The transmission was grainy, but I could still make out the fear in his voice. Dallas was whispering, and it was tough to make out everything that he said. “I’m gonna try to get as many as I can, but we’re badly outnumbered, Mic! His next words were garbled, and it was clear that he was running with the tablet because the imagery was bouncing and frantic. I could see bodies in the street, and the sounds of people screaming in the distance was almost unbearable to listen to.

  That’s when I saw her. Deraline was skipping down the middle of the street, swinging a severed head by a long, silvery braid, and shouting in a sing-song voice, “ready or not, here I come!” Eli was at her side. The view began to shake, and it became clear that Dallas was running. The transmission went dead after that.

  I slammed my fist down on the desk and closed my eyes for a second. It was beyond bad. It was a massacre. My mind went back to the day I’d met Deraline. She was an infant upgrade 9035 Alpha Composite. She’d been loved by human parents. I’d come to accept her as a little sister…what a fool I’d been. She was what she was designed to be. A monster. A sack of wires with a man-made human face that tricked you into thinking she was a human being.

  I glared at Mic. “I fucking hate you.” He didn’t reply. Instead, he clicked off the monitor and nodded. “I know.” Useless words from a useless man. All of his brilliance had been wasted on technological inspirations that robbed the word like a Trojan horse. I left him standing there in his office. I didn’t look back. He hadn’t offered to help the people of Redburg. He hadn’t offered to help me.

  I paused on my way to collect my things to talk to Maude in the hallway. “I’m sorry for the way that things have turned out,” she said, taking my hand and patting it. None of this is anyone’s fault, Lee, and I know you’re upset.”

  I pulled my hand back. “Upset? I’d use another word for it.”

  “Of course, you would. You’re cut from a different cloth, Lee. You can’t help being what you are, any more than he can.”

  “At least I can be proud of what I am.” With that, I headed to the hovcar. She was right. Mic wasn’t my type. He was meant for the likes of women like Janelle, and for all I knew, they’d been more than friends. That no longer concerned me. All I cared about now was getting back to Redburg, and my people.

  Two’s presence in the hovcar caught me by complete surprise. “What the hell are you doing here?” I asked. Despite my reprisal of simp hatred, I felt a sense of relief seeing her sitting there. “What the hell took you so long?” Instead of responding, I pitched the hovcar into
high gear, and left the I.D.E. facility in the distance. “How much do you know?” I asked, as the city fell beneath us.

  “More than I’d like to,” she said, lighting two cigarettes and passing me one. I set the auto-pilot, and turned my chair to face her. “Is there any chance that we can save any of them?”

  “That’s not a question I can answer, Lee.”

  “Okay. Let me rephrase. Are you ready to kick ass?” She blew out smoke and reached under the seat, pulling out a pint bottle of cinnamon flavored whiskey. “I was created ready.” I took the bottle from her and downed a large swig. If I was going to die this night, at least I could say I’d done my best. As I handed her back the bottle, I noticed lights to our left. At the same time, the incoming message light flashed on the dash. “Reinforcements at your side.” The quiver in the voice was unmistakable.

  “Giz, what the hell are you doing?” I asked. “You can’t do this on your own, Lee.”

  “You should turn around now, Giz. Go back to Alice and your family. This is not your fight!” I said.

  “You’ve always been a bitch, Lee. Why can’t you just admit that you appreciate my skills? I’m every bit the bad-ass that you are. Besides, I know how to fight this fight better than you do.” Two laughed. It sounded funny to hear her openly let go like that. I looked at her incredulously. “Why are you laughing?”

  “Because, he’s right.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She took another sip from the bottle and passed it to me. “Trust me on this one. He’s the guy we need on our side.” Now it was my turn to laugh. Not that I was in the mood for humor, but Giz being the guy I needed? Truly, that was funny. I gave him instructions to stay behind us, and told him that we’d be landing on the outskirts and walking in. The last thing I wanted to do was draw attention to the hovcars and have them waiting to ambush us.

  “So, tell me, Two, what do you know about Janelle?” She made a low whistle and focused on the dashboard. “Okay, spill it, sister,” I said, taking another sip from the bottle. “I can tell you this, she means more to Mic than you realize.”