by S E Anderson
The plaza loomed before us, the tower standing tall scraping the edge of space with its antenna fingers. The fountain glowed an eerie orange as the lights that lit it flickered off and on, casting dark shadows into its deep interior.
"We can jump from here, can't we?" I said. "To the other side of the plaza, and—" Zander nodded silently. "Do we, though?" Another nod. He held out his hand again, his eyes fixed on the empty pavilion in front of the elevators.
I took it, but before we could go, I felt the wind draw out of me. Within seconds, I was on the ground, my duffel bag crashing to the side with a harsh thud out of reach. Zander and Blayde were gone, probably already at the tower, but I was alone and pinned to the ground. A ravenous robot woman had wrapped her hands around my neck, squeezing.
The air thinned immediately. I struggled to push her away, but I was getting weaker too fast. My grabbing became more frantic yet less effective as the air was cut off from my lungs. I scratched at her face, but she felt nothing. An empty look glazed her eyes, like she were a porcelain doll strangling me. A porcelain doll with an iron grip.
I reached into my pocket, pulling out the small metal device belonging to Blayde. With the last of my energy, I pressed it against the woman's stomach and squeezed the button.
With a shudder, the hands at my neck loosened. The possessed woman fell over, frozen. A hole cut her stomach clean, and I could see right through her. My eyes fell on a mix of blood and metal pooled around the hole that had once been her stomach.
I sat up, gasping for air. I was alive. She hadn't killed me, but had I killed her?
Was I a murderer now?
This couldn’t be happening.
I jumped to my feet, the other shoppers turned to gaze at me with empty stares. They could see me, and they were coming for me. The ICP must have reached a better antenna because the possessed were getting faster and better coordinated than the soldiers on the roof.
Maybe it was their proximity to their leader's consciousness, but they seemed more vicious, a glint of a killer's light in their dead eyes. I turned to run, the only thing I could think of doing, picking my bag off the ground and swinging it over my shoulder as I sprinted for the pavilion.
My heart did a double-take as I turned around the fountain. Hundreds of possessed shoppers were moving my way, half standing guard, half closing in, all their eyes riveted on me. Running out of places to hide, I turned and did the first thing that came to mind. I jumped into the fountain.
It was surprisingly deep. I made my way to the centerpiece of the monument, swimming the length of an Olympic pool to get to the middle, which in itself had the diameter of a small island. The base was wide enough that I couldn’t see where it ended.
I crawled up the shore, my Chucks now soaking wet and heavy with water. But I felt safe here in the forest of marble trees, water separating me from the possessed. I breathed hard, relieved and grateful the crowd was only armed with their most recent purchases.
My heart sank when the first man put a foot in the water, followed by his other leg, falling face-first into the pool. Soon, he was back up, swimming like any human would do, not the least affected by water, a robot's worst enemy.
I had to get out of here.
I ran deep into the forest, trying not to slip on the marble. The artist hadn't skimped on detail; the trees were so realistic I could have sworn the leaves rustled as I passed. My wet feet slid over the smooth surface, but I did not fall. The canopy of carved leaves was thick enough for me to get a good grip.
I heard the of the first man setting foot on the centerpiece. I ran faster, the light dimming this far underneath the treetops. City light entered the thicket through panels that had been removed between this tier and the one above, but there weren't many of those. Orange dappled the dark trees, making the place look like an eerie, burning forest. But I had experienced pure darkness before. It did not scare me anymore.
More thuds. They were closing in. That was the part that scared me. They could swim, they could run.
But could they climb?
I pulled myself up the nearest tree, my soaking clothes dragging me down and leaving a visible trail for my pursuers to follow. For now, all I could do was put some distance between us. I reached for the next branch, pulling myself higher through the carved treetop, my arms burning as I climbed. Unfortunately, the leaves didn't push away, being made of marble; they were stuck, an extra obstacle for me to clamber around. The artist had left himself a way of crawling between tiers—something I was thankful for beyond anything else.
I reached the edge of the tier, the point where roots and branches melded. I pulled myself through a breach in the marble, crawling through what I hoped was a tunnel. It was like spelunking back on Earth, only it wasn't muddy. The trees and roots wouldn't move out the way. I squeezed through the last few meters of marble, and I was out. I had reached the second tier.
I was a good three stories high. I didn't want to look down, already aware that I was high enough. Nothing compared to the highway, but it was worse when you were being chased by a herd of semi-mechanical aliens. I leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree, catching my breath.
Only ... eight more tiers to go? I wasn't sure. I hadn't counted. I didn't know what would happen when I reached the top, but I had to keep moving.
Did I hear feet behind me? Movement? I had to climb faster.
I was out of breath in minutes. It was a difficult climb, the trees slippery, and I was slowing down. I was tired, hurting, and out of shape on top of it all. It's not like I worked out to prepare for this trip.
This was supposed to be a vacation.
I hoisted myself through the trees. My shoulders smarted, but I had to ignore them if I wanted to live. I was breathing heavily now, the only sound in my ears the air rushing in and out of my lungs.
After an eternity of climbing, I reached the top, the strange, winged beast on its perch impolitely refusing to share his spot on the pedestal. But what I saw from my vantage point was enough to give anyone a heart attack.
I felt like I was on the top of an anthill, looking down on the mound, which was swarmed by the possessed. They were climbing toward me, faster and faster, a whole army on the hill. I couldn't go any higher.
My pursuer poked his head out of the tier underneath, making his way over the canopy of trees to where I stood. I gripped the laser pointer, trying to think of any way to get out of this without harming anyone else. I thought of the woman I had shot, killed maybe. What would I do to protect myself? How far would I go to survive?
As I thought this, the other possessed shoppers came closer. I had a decision to make, but there wasn't much to decide. I had climbed into a corner, and there was nowhere left to run.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
You’d think at this point I’d catch a break
The possessed were getting closer. In terror, I climbed on top of the griffon statue—was it even a griffon? I wasn't paying all that much attention. I had to put as much distance as I could between me and them. But I couldn't get much higher than that.
The griffon turned its mighty head around and glared at me. Well, I say glared. There wasn't much room for movement in that bronze face of his. I stifled a scream, scrambling to get off its back, but the possessed were coming closer and there was no way out.
The mechanical griffon stretched its wings and began to beat them, slowly but surely, until we began to rise through the air.
This time, I couldn't hold back the scream. Not that you could hear it with the roar of its wings beating the air around me. I realized then that the ICP had taken control. How, I did not know. There were no wires or antennas, but it was carrying me and I was at its mercy.
I had seen enough Discovery Channel specials to have a good idea of what was about to happen. It would carry me up and drop me, letting the ground do its dirty work.
If this really was a dream, then a fall would save me. I would wake up before I reached the ground. But I wasn’t dr
eaming, I couldn't be. I could not bring myself to imagine this kind of horror.
The griffon flapped its wings harder and we gained altitude. And we were gaining it fast. How could this thing even fly? I made the mistake of looking down and was shocked to see the fountain shrinking below us. We weren’t even close to the top of Da-Duhui Tower.
Blayde and Zander had to be at the top. Had to be. The possessed were climbing the sides of the building like it was a child's playground. The ones below looked like insects now, like the ground didn't exist anymore.
They turned their heads as the griffon climbed higher. Still, they showed no expression, but they were moving smoother, like the ICP had gained stronger control over them. We were running out of time.
Then, just to make my day even worse, one of them jumped.
She leapt at me, arms outstretched like a furious cat. She grabbed my leg. The added weight shifted the griffon's flight, and it let out a weird mechanical screech. Shit, the ICP was giving itself opposing orders. We dropped a few feet, my stomach jolting, and I clutched the griffon tighter.
"Get off!" I shouted, shaking my leg as hard as I could. Not surprisingly, at this point, she didn't listen.
She dug in harder. I hissed, the pain becoming intolerable. I squeezed my legs for support, reached down, and punched her in the head. Nothing.
I struggled to get my balance on the griffon, clambering wildly to get back up on my ride, feeling her dig deeper into my skin, and the tears flowed once more. The woman’s nails broke my skin, and blood dripped onto her nails.
Terror ran through my veins, raising the hair on my arms and neck. My hands trembled, and I shoved them against the griffon’s neck, stopping them from shaking and helping me regain balance.
It was something. But I couldn’t hold on forever.
I raised my throbbing leg and slammed it against the bronze. Boom. The woman's head must have been jumbled enough for a second that she let go, and she plummeted toward the ground. No one watched her fall but me, and I knew I had just signed her death warrant.
My eyes closed, even though I couldn’t see her hit the ground. But I knew. I knew. I even told myself I could hear her bones crunching as they met the plaza face-first.
When I opened them again, Da-Duhui Tower was long gone. We were climbing over the city now. I saw the tops of the buildings like one smooth expanse of bright orange land. I could see the palace from here, the disco lighting on the lawn still flickering. I wondered if the people in their floating bubbles would be all right. I wondered if any of us would.
I clutched the griffin tighter. It could drop me any minute now, and it gave no care for my safety. If I fell, I fell, and its job was done. I wouldn't give the ICP the satisfaction.
It jolted, trying to buck me off its back like a rodeo bull, jerking in every direction. I wrapped my arms around its neck and squeezed. It wasn’t as if it needed to breathe; it was a robot. It screeched and swooped as I pinched my knees around its bronze body, my ass burning like I had sat on a fire.
It flew higher, and the air was getting thinner. There was a light above me. And another and another. I realized we were flying through the thickest layer of smog above the city then they were there: the stars.
An alien sky.
All I ever wanted to see in my life was right there above me. A sky with constellations I couldn't possibly imagine. Stars I could see back home yet were totally different. A sky no one from my planet had ever seen. Tears stung my eyes, but something else was fueling them, something different from the anger and pain.
Joy.
I had lived a life on my own planet, the pale blue dot, insignificant and grounded. I lived with astrolust in my veins but no way to satiate it. I dreamed of alien skies and alien planets in a world that wasn't ready to leave its solar system.
And here I was, fighting for my life above a city which had never even heard of my home.
I realized then that my life was complete in a way. I had accomplished the one thing I truly wanted I never thought would be possible. It was as if a genie had granted one impossible wish, and now I could die happy.
Everything else was bonus.
But I wasn't about to skimp on that.
As the griffon reached the end of the ICP's reach and turned into a sharp dive, I tightened my knees and arms, and leaned into the fall. I closed my eyes against the rush of the wind and flew, soaring through the smog toward the city of Da-Duhui.
I forced my eyes open and kicked my heels, forcing the creature to spread its wings. They caught the air and we swooped forward, falling past the antennas of the tower. In a split-second, I made up my mind and reached for them.
The collision was like hitting a cement post, emptying my lungs in one quick blow. I tried to regain my breath as I slid down a pole, watching the griffon crash into one of the buildings from afar. Glad I jumped when I did.
I slid like a fireman down the pole, but the friction burned my arms and made me want to let go. I held on tighter. The second my legs touched solid ground, I fell to my knees. I was on top of the tower, higher than we had been before, on a ledge with the antennas and wires that controlled the city's broadcasting.
Below me on the observation deck, Zander and Blayde were fighting.
I saw then why the griffon had become less agile. The ICP had been siphoning its control into the possessed version of Sonota, suddenly more fluid in his motion and able than his original blundering self. He was fighting the siblings, the glowing metal rod that was the ICP's brain balanced precariously on the wall beside some large interface. He seemed able to predict where his attackers would strike next, spinning at the last second to deflect their blows.
It was amazing to see Zander and Blayde working together. Their moves perfectly coordinated, their minds working in sync as they waged war on the robot mind in human form. They used a mix between any and every martial art move I knew, and some I had never seen before, combining their punching and jumping abilities.
They switched places in a single jump, disorienting their opponent. Blayde attacked with a powerful jump kick while Zander simultaneously dropped to the floor, swinging his leg around to destabilize Sonota. Yet the ICP was learning just as quickly, predicting their attacks. As fast as they tried a new sequence, it would leap, deflecting the highest blow, his joints twisting in impossible ways that would probably have killed the real human.
Sonota was possessed, and felt none of the blows inflicted upon him. The siblings were immortal, and felt nothing as he tried to fight back. What looked incredibly painful from up here were slight annoyances to the parties involved, and it was difficult to set any of them off-balance.
I crouched, one hand clutching an antenna for support, mesmerized by the dance below. Yet the only thing the siblings had accomplished was to slow the robot down. The annoyance on Blayde's face was apparent, though Zander's was a mask of concentration as they continued their perfected movements without a lapse in the choreography.
"Blayde!" I yelled.
She turned quickly, not wanting to miss her beat. I launched her laser pointer in the air, my aim, luckily, perfect. She leaped, swinging both legs in a pinwheel against where Sonota's head should have been, her arm vertical to reach for her weapon of choice.
She landed, jumping behind the man's back, Zander adjusting his moves to compliment hers. He changed his attack from offense to distraction and launched himself straight up, his legs and arms moving slower than before. I almost cried when Sonota grab Zander’s foot in midair, twisting it around ...
Only for Sonota to be struck down by the hot red laser.
Sonota fell to his knees, crumpling forward. There was no blood or sign of any injury, yet there he was, lying on his face. The strange tube Sonota had stolen from the ICP fell from the wall, rolling across the deck. Round and round and round, useless without any connection.
Blayde helped Zander off the ground, brushing him off tenderly. He nodded at something she said, smiling at her.
"You okay up there, Sally?" he asked.
He didn't need to yell that loud. The city was silent, the sounds of the highway indistinct. The once-possessed picked themselves up from the pavement, and some screeched at finding themselves clinging to the side of a building.
"I'm fine. Can you help me down?"
It was over.
"Security Protocol 001," came a mechanical voice out of nowhere. The rod flickered green. "This mayoral property has been outside of its authorization limit for thirty minutes. Self-destruct in 3, 2—"
"Sally, jump!"
Without thinking, I leaped off the building, arms outstretched, the voice looming in the background.
"1,0. Detonation." I grabbed Zander’s hand as the thing blew. It was powerful for such a small device. The shock wave hit just as I tightened my grasp. With a sudden tug, I felt myself lurch away, dissolving into millions of fragments.
It was dark, impossible to see, but I felt nothing and everything simultaneously—the emptiness surrounded me, the numbness devoured me. I felt gone, like nothing, and cold. I felt myself traveling fast, yet I was still in one place. I was me, I was all, I was a void.
Empty, safe. No trouble. Nothing.
Suddenly I felt my hands again, my legs, the blood pumping through my veins. I could feel it all, real sensations, not dulled senses. My eyes flew open, the light strange on my eyes like they had been closed for a long time and had been forced open by a crowbar.
I toppled over, unable to keep my balance. My face sunk into the cold surface it collided with, freezing my face. Snow?
Gentle arms lifted me up. "She didn't pass out this time," Zander noted.
"Good."
"She will, won't she?" he said.
"What do you mean?" I asked, struggling so he would put me down. I made it a show of standing up straight, my legs shaky but supporting me. "I'm fine." I looked around, my eyes scanning the horizon. Snow as far as I could see. After so much dark, the white was blinding. "Are we in Antarctica? Or in Russia somewhere? You guys are a bit off target, aren't you?" I turned around, surprised to see a manhole in the ice untouched by snow. A perfectly normal manhole in sharp contrast with the white expanse of land.