by Dusks, Rydre
Jules's expression subtly lifted from this. As I thought, smokes were hard to come by here in the desert. "...Fine. Don't move now, ya hear?" He aimed the gun, and for a brief second I thought he would actually shoot me.
The blast erupted, and the glass cooler behind me shattered. I feigned my murder by pushing myself backward against the unbroken bottles and dropping my items, slumping in a pitiful slouch on the floor. Jules paused for a few seconds. I wasn't able to see what he was doing, but I soon heard his feet stepping toward the exit of the gift shop, and the lights shut off.
I waited for a bit longer before slowly easing myself up, wincing as glass fell off my shoulders. I kept a steady eye on the camera's location while feeling around for my bat, biting back a profanity as my fingers found sharp shards instead. Eventually they curled around the upper half of cold metal, and I picked it up. I found some new bottles and took them, making my way out of the gift shop and heading back to the tents.
After waiting for the space to be clear, I snuck back into the tent and stowed my supplies underneath my cot. G'tavei smirked when he saw them.
"Good timing. Your next work shift is in four minutes," he stated. "Where'd you find those?"
"The casino," I replied casually. "We're not running until tonight. The robotic guards won't see us at night."
"Can't," G'tavei said. "Night staff, remember? I have to work until sunrise."
I wiped my brow, smearing blood across my forehead and remembering my cut-up hands. "Then we'll leave before the sun's too high," I murmured while moving to my satchel to pull out some bandaging.
"What happened to your hands?" he queried.
"Long story. Broken glass."
"Well, here." G'tavei offered me the back of his schedule paper once I was done cleaning myself off and dressing my wounds. He'd scratched out a simple map of the fence around the men's side with circles around certain portions.
"Over the week I've been testing out parts of the fence to see if there are any weak spots in the electric current, and there are three. With something sharp I could cut it through to let us out. And I can be delicate about it, too. No one would notice until we were actually gone."
I smiled and slipped the paper under my pillow. "We'll find something sharp, and I'll leave you and your brilliant mind to the cutting."
G'tavei saluted before I stepped back out to go back to work.
I didn't tell Rook about my little plan. Even though Rook had been friendly, I didn't want too many close connections inside the camp. If I became close to Rook I'd want him to come with me, and unfortunately the escape act would be easier with just two people. Besides, Rook had survived a long time in camp, and I didn't even know if he'd trust me enough to want out anyway.
I was pulled into a guardhouse later that day. The guard Jules was there ready for his bribe, and I gave it to him. He'd erased the tape of the gift shop situation earlier. I was impressed with how quickly I'd managed to find a guard to manipulate, but I wasn't about to gloat about it.
I stayed awake that night. I'd managed to find a pair of wire cutters in the "treasure trove" dressing room that Rook had stolen most likely from a guardhouse, and within minutes, G'tavei had them tested out a couple of times on some chain link wire wrapping around a dilapidated house and had found them suitable.
I kept clear of the patrolling guards but took a couple sneaky trips out to gaze at the far away fence. I saw G'tavei's group trudging across the desert, and every once in a while G'tavei stopped and turned toward the fence, then caught back up with the other night staff.
When the appropriate time rolled up over the hills, illuminating the cold sand with a soft glow of orange, G'tavei met back up with me. I'd strapped the bat to my back with the belt from my street jeans as a worst-case scenario. Should I have to defend myself from anyone, I felt better being armed even if a bat was a poor weapon of choice against guards with guns.
G'tavei beckoned with his finger for me to follow him, and I did so silently. Our sprint was swift and uneventful, much to my satisfaction. We made it to the designated spot in the fence, and G'tavei set to work. Each time he touched the metal to the fence, it racked a sickly buzzing through the area, but his face showed no worry. The cutters had rubber on them, but I wasn't sure just how long it would last. The fence clicked and snapped as he cut through three spots.
"It'll be big enough to duck and go through," the android said. "But don't touch the sides or you'll be burnt to a crisp."
Snap, snap...
I chewed on my lip, scanning the desert for guards or the day staff. It would be another half hour or so before authorities began waking prisoners up.
The fence was halfway cut before a shot blasted through the air. G'tavei stumbled sideways and landed on his hip with a gasp. That was enough warning for me. I tugged on the robot's arm.
"Get up! We're spotted!"
He was too heavy to lift, but he was quick to agree with me and scrambled away from the fence. We ran back to the tents and slipped inside ours before the shouting could be heard. From the sound of the gunshot we'd been too far for a guard to see us clearly, even if he'd been human. I slipped under my covers as G'tavei carefully rolled under his. His broken cot creaked, but it was the only noise we made.
Five minutes later a guard unzipped the tent and looked inside briefly, then left us alone. I turned to look at G'tavei, who showed me his fingers in the shadows. They were dark and flaky.
"Problem, Crow," he whispered. "That fence burned right through those wire cutters."
I sighed as G'tavei slipped his hand back under the sheets. "I guess it's time to think of a plan B."
As the light filtered through the small hole in the tent flaps, G'tavei peeled off his sheets and examined a bullet-sized burrow in his side.
"Problem number two," he uttered with a grimace.
We exchanged worried looks.
It would be another week or so before I tried escaping again. I needed time to form a plan. In the meantime, G'tavei kept undercover with only a few dilemmas. The bullet hole in his side hadn't been spoken about yet, but it was no guarantee that the guards hadn't noticed.
The days didn't change until a robot guard entered our tent one afternoon and walked right up to G'tavei, picking him up and dragging him out with ease.
"G'tavei!" I shouted and stood up from my cot, racing after them both.
The guard turned toward me sharply. "Stay out of this unless you want to share the punishment."
"Vasu es he getting punish phoro?" I demanded.
"It's none of your business, duster."
I followed adamantly behind the guard and G'tavei's weakly struggling figure as they headed for the warden's cabin.
"Don't do this, Crow--I'm not worth it," G'tavei tried to urge.
I ignored him.
As they entered the cabin, I saw that the main entrance was walled with armed guards. The first guard tossed G'tavei to the floor as Stone walked in, smoking a cigarette and looking over a sheet of paper.
“Back off, duster,” one of them threatened. I scowled and began to storm past them. The guard that had spoken grabbed my arm. “I said back off!” A gun pointed toward my head.
Stone’s voice could be heard further in. “Go get the whip.”
I wouldn’t be intimidated into going back to the tents. “Let me through!”
Stone spoke up again. “Go ahead and bring the other inmate in.”
With the okay having been given, the guard holding me pushed me inside with him.
"Mr. Brotheresa," Stone started. "It says here that you failed to show for roll call yesterday morning. You know what that tells us?"
G'tavei picked himself up off the floor. "No, but I wasn't there because I'm night staff. We sleep until four o'clock. They do roll call for us separately."
Stone huffed, setting the paper on a table and leaning against it to remove his cigarette from his snide lips. "I think you'll learn pretty quickly, Brotheresa, that you can't go around
pretending to be something you're not. Other prisoners are complaining about your flawless behavior."
"That's a bad thing?" G'tavei wondered quietly.
Stone glanced at his guards. "You know what that's starting to look like to us? You're starting to look awfully fishy. So we're going to do a test today."
"...What kind of test?"
One of the guards along the wall stepped forward. He held a long whip, and he let it loose to coil on the floor.
"A pain test," said Stone.
I wouldn't let them do it. I just couldn't. Not only would that whip crack open G'tavei's fake skin to show nothing but metal framing underneath, but he was my friend, and I wouldn't allow them to punish him just to be sure he didn't feel pain. I wrenched my arm from the guard’s and walked forward, making sure they all could see me. "Ano," I started. "I take it phoro him."
Stone looked a bit surprised to see me at first, as if he forgot I existed, but then his lips curled into a hellish, greasy smile. "Ah, the black sheep. I was wondering when you'd finally decide to show your face."
"Eso, here I am, ready to be hell phoro you," I hissed, already tasting bitter resentment on my tongue.
G'tavei looked guilty that I had come in after him, but he was already being escorted out the door. "Crow, don't do this. C'mon."
"It's too late now," announced Stone. "He already volunteered to take your place, and that's not against the rules." That plastered smile told me that he was looking forward to whipping someone who'd display actual pain.
I took off my top and dropped it to the floor. I'd endured many injuries in the past. I'd never been whipped, but I supposed in Roavo there was a first time for everything.
"I owe you," G'tavei uttered, and he disappeared back out into the glaringly hot sun.
The guard readied his whip.
"How many am I get?" I asked as I knelt, gazing at Stone's relaxed position.
He shrugged. "However many I feel like."
I inhaled deeply and shut my eyes. The whip cracked against my spine, and the pain was severe enough to feel like burning ice. I choked on a shout, only letting out a whimper, and dug my nails into my thighs, trying to focus more on the feeling of my taut fingers and not the second strike of the whip. The pain didn't dull down. I counted the strikes, attempting to keep my mind alert and conscious as the agony swelled through my entire body. Tears brimmed my eyelids, but only from the attempt to endure the volunteered punishment.
"Okay, that's enough," said Stone, and it was only then that I'd realized I'd collapsed to my front. The guards came forward and picked me up under my arms.
"Well," Stone started, "you're definitely human."
I tried to stay conscious as the guards dragged me out of the cabin and back across town to the tents, finally dropping me just outside mine and G'tavei's. G'tavei opened the tent flap and helped pull me in the moment he heard the guards. I struggled to break free of his grip and climb into my cot on my own, resting down on my front and gasping for breath.
G'tavei didn't say anything. He reached into our satchels and pulled out both first aid kits, pooling together the packages of antiseptic and bandaging. The cleaning process stung, but I let him do it, knowing that if I didn't get them treated I'd get worse as the days went on. And it wasn't like I could do it myself.
"How many times did he hit you?" G'tavei finally asked. "I can't count them."
"I don't remember," I groaned into my flimsy pillow, voice a bit muffled. "Why doesn't Roavo have a doctor?"
"I heard a couple guys asking a guard about that last night. He said Roavo does have a doctor, but he's an on-call guy, and only shows up when Stone requests." He paused for a few seconds. "...I really do owe you. You may have just saved my life."
I turned my head toward him to see him. "G'tavei, there's nothing I need from you. I was only doing a favor."
He wore a sore expression. "You want me to be honest with you, Crow? I know Stone thinks I'm a machine. I won't live much longer here. I may not even live to see next week. For being a Strejc, you're showing an awful lot of compassion for a thing you normally destroy."
"You're not a thing," I breathed. "You're someone I can care about since I've got nothing else now. You're Toanwar's. Toanwar is my godfather and family. His Machinics hit close to home."
He relaxed his shoulders, and I thought for a moment I heard a squeak come from one of them. "If they kill me, Crow, would you do me one more favor?" I waited for him to continue. "Depending on what they do, will you find my memory data and personality chips and save them? I don't care if you have to open me up to retrieve them or not. I'd just like to know I'm in safe hands and not withering away under the desert sands somewhere."
"Of course."
I didn't believe G'tavei would be killed. Machines never really did "die." They quit working, or they stalled, or they shut down... but they never died. Dying was something that biological beings did. G'tavei would live on forever if permitted. If he were destroyed he could always be rebuilt.
Three days later our predictions were dead-on. One of the robotic guards stopped G'tavei on the way back from dinner, said, "You're coming out back. Your friend stays here," and wrenched the android in the opposite direction. We both knew what was going to happen.
G'tavei looked back at me, and he made sure he was just loud enough for me to hear. "Crow! Remember what I told you the other night! Please! You're a good guy--keep your word and I swear I will repay you one day."
He disappeared out of sight around one of the buildings. I wanted to follow, but knew better than to do so. Following would raise more suspicion, and I didn't want to watch anyway. Biting the inside of my cheek while thinking, I decided to race back to my tent. The Strejc inside of me felt a rising rebellion, and although I had tried to tame it since entering the camp, there was no fighting it now. I stripped off my uniform and fit into my street clothes again, cinching up the waist of my black jeans and noticing that my shirt hung a bit looser on me than when I wore it last. It felt good to put on my boots again, and with a growing desire for adventure I slipped out of my tent and made my way back toward the buildings, avoiding as many guards and cameras as I could spot. As it was dark by now it was harder to see me in my black clothes and with my dark skin--an advantage I had over the other inmates.
Although I'd been quick, I wasn't quick enough to stop them. An explosion erupted from somewhere southwest, and my heart stilled for a second. That was it. That had certainly been G'tavei. The bluish glow that rose over the rooftops had come from G'tavei's power cell--signature to Machinics. Those brutish robotic officers had probably felt that the most effective way to kill their own kind was to use explosives. I smelled burning plastic and scorched metal, and it made me sick. I couldn't help myself any longer. A deep ache rested in my chest. It was as if those guards had just destroyed Toanwar himself. I was furious, but also distraught. My last piece of home... ripped away from me and detonated in an unforgiving hell.
As much as I'd told myself to accept G'tavei's destruction, I had to satisfy my craving for revenge. Hadn't that been what Rook had told me? I had to live life how I wanted it. Someone had to be punished for what I'd been through... what Stelliot had been through. If I found pleasure in beating someone, or something up, then by Sol I would do it with passion.
A couple of the guards had stooped over a smoldering mass a distance away, picking at scattered remains. I had to stop them. With a burst of adrenaline, I raced forward and dashed across the desert like a starving wolf on a desperate hunt. The guards didn't see me at first, too busy talking to each other and rummaging through G'tavei's pieces. They were sure to be too hot right now for a human's touch, which proved to me that these guards were robotic after all.
I slammed a furious foot into the back of the nearest one, sending him to the ground easily. My predictions were correct. They were metal... and heavy. Two others in the area turned on me, shouting, and drew their guns. I swung my hips in a leap and kicked the gun out of
one's hands just as the other shot, missing me as I dropped to the ground in the aftermath of my attack. The bullets slammed into the unarmed guard instead and sent him down with three in his face and three in his chest. The officer I'd kicked to the sand stood and tackled me, but at this point I had seized the ruined guard's gun. His throat touched the barrel, and I squeezed the trigger, assailing his neck with so many bullets that his head snapped and rolled off near his destroyed partner.
I had just one more guard to slay, and unfortunately he was still armed. Having wasted all the bullets, I held my stolen gun by the barrel and swung it as hard as I could at the remaining officer's face. He grabbed it and twisted it out of my hand, but managed to miss shooting me as I dropped back to the ground into a handspring, sending both my boots into his chin. He grunted and stumbled backward, but I knew it would take more than that to bring down a robot. Still swirling in an inferno of ferocity, I reached and grabbed one of G'tavei's dismembered legs by the ankle and threw it at the guard's knees. He stumbled from the hit and dropped onto his back, and with that, I wrenched the gun from his hands and brought it down repeatedly over his head, smashing his facial structure into pieces, and only stopping when sparks began spurting from his forehead.
I dropped the gun and staggered back once I had finished, gasping for breath and looking over the results of my battle. I felt like howling to the sky, claiming my victory with a scream of brutality. I felt good. I felt like myself. I felt... alive.
I didn't give a war cry though. That would have been dangerous and stupid. Instead, I checked over each guard's gun, seeing how many rounds were left in all of them. To my dismay, they had all been depleted save one that had a single round left, but I knew that wouldn't do very much. It also would have been nearly impossible to hide a long, heavy rifle under my cot.
Remembering my purpose for coming out here in the first place, I dropped back down to the ground and searched for G'tavei's memory and personality chips. Since he was a Machinic I knew what they looked like. A couple of years with Toanwar had expanded my knowledge of the inner workings of high-tech robots to a large degree. It took only a couple of minutes to find them and neither of them had been damaged in the explosion. I stuffed them into my pockets and sprinted back toward the tents before any of the other guards could see me. It surprised me that the other officers on watch hadn't gone to investigate. Then again, these low-level machines were probably used to hearing guns go off in the middle of the night to kill escapees.