“No. I just wanted to let the two of you know I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
John blinked a couple of times. “What?”
It probably wasn’t what he expected after bringing me to a jungle.
“You and you. There aren’t words to describe how awesome you are.”
They exchanged a glance and shrugged, but both looked happy.
Once we reached an overgrown path, John went first and Adam made up the rear.
John said, “Keep your eyes open. Cheryl had decent security systems even in my time and that was a decade ago.”
“Eve improved them. It was never enough.”
Both John and I stopped, turned back, and stared at Adam. He blinked a couple of times. “I have no idea where that came from, but maybe I should go first.”
John shrugged and made a “help yourself” gesture. “Son, you might carry hidden code not even you know about.”
Adam tilted his head to the side and locked his gaze with mine. “Maybe, but I have left this place once and I don’t think I will pose a threat. Keep an eye on me just in case.”
*****
Adam steered us around hidden traps I would have stumbled right into, and when he stopped I had no idea of why.
“We’re here.”
Where? In the middle of nowhere?
He bent slender trees to the side and broke off thick vines, penetrating a curtain of growth that hid an entrance to a bunker. I wouldn’t have found it even if I’d known where it was.
The thick metal door looked impenetrable, but Adam traced his fingers along the upper frame. “There used to be a camera here, connected to the main computer.”
He grabbed something and pulled, and got a handful of cables.
John glanced around and bent down to free something from the tall grass. “This one?”
From the looks of it, someone tore the camera down and crushed it in a fit of rage. Someone very strong. Eve might have done it if she had a reason. Maybe their mother realized her mistake and attempted to lock the unstable android out. Or, there might be more of them out and about.
Adam’s strong hands cleared the vegetation from the door. Beneath the greenery was a keypad with weird symbols. It lit up with a faint glow.
John said, “I guess there’s still power.”
“Great.” Adam made it sound as if the topic of discussion was poison or bombs. What could be in there that was all that bad?
“Do we have a code?” For all I knew the thing might be wired to explosives that would dispose of anyone entering the wrong set of numbers.
John said, “Maybe, unless she changed them.”
He bent forward, but Adam caught his arm. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” John sounded more curious than anything.
“I don’t know.”
I had a decent guess. “From what I understand, Cheryl wasn’t exactly happy with you leaving.”
It was an understatement. She allegedly altered Adam’s appearance to look like John, and attempted to reprogram him to take John’s place.
They both stared as if they’d forgotten I was there and able to speak. I cleared my throat. “Wouldn’t it make sense if she set a trap for you, in case you returned? Like you worried about with the planetary defense?”
John nodded.
Adam said, “I used to have a code, but I don’t remember it.”
Odd. I would have expected the ability to return home to be a part of his programming. Maybe he replaced it with the ability to return to me.
I reached out to touch his arm to catch his attention. “Did you get to choose the code, or did your mother give you one?”
He frowned. “I think I chose it. I remember sitting with her by the main computer.”
“Are there any numbers you like better than other numbers?”
My husband glanced into my eyes and answered without hesitation. “Three point one four one five nine two six five three five nine.”
I interrupted his recitation of the endless number. “You like Pi. Is there any chance you would have used a part of Pi for your code?”
He turned back to the lock and his fingers danced over the keypad. Moments later the door clicked open and a whiff of cool air flowed over us.
John peeked in. “Stay close to your wife.”
Adam said, “With all due respect, I am less likely to be seriously damaged by whatever security measures await. I will go first, and you will follow with Alex.”
I didn’t like being thought of as someone who couldn’t take care of herself. The humiliation didn't lessen from them being right.
John said, “Alright.”
Adam took the lead down a short staircase, through a corridor with an eerie corrugated floor, and into a lift. I expected flames to shoot up and swallow us, or the lift to fall, but it sank smoothly into the ground.
*****
The lift stopped without dropping us to our deaths. The computer they mentioned must not have found a reason to obliterate us yet, but that could change in a second.
Adam stepped out. I followed and John came right behind me. He held his right hand on the blaster on his hip and touched my shoulder with the left. “Do you want a gun?”
“No. I want you to have them, because you being armed makes me feel secure.”
“Alright. Follow him, but keep your eyes open.”
The corridor that stretched out to both sides of us was so brightly lit I needed to squint.
“This corridor is a large oval, kind of like on the Bell. On the inner side are laboratories and workshops, and on the outer side you’ll find the kitchen, living quarters, and stuff like that. There are three storage floors below us. Or at least that’s what it was like when I lived here.” John’s voice was so quiet I barely made out the words.
Adam took a few steps forward but stopped at the first open door. I peeked around him and clasped both hands over my mouth to stifle a scream.
I couldn’t see much of the room except a bright, white floor, but a man’s head was well visible on it.
John approached the doorway, motioning to us to stand back. I saw his shoulders relax so the room was probably void of obvious danger, but someone’s head was on the floor.
He disappeared inside and returned with the head. It looked remarkably alive for being severed from its body, and had belonged to a man with dark brown hair.
“It’s an android.”
He held the head up so we could see the face. “Adam, this is how you originally looked. This might even be one of your first heads.”
I was grateful the face didn’t resemble them. This was probably the appearance John originally chose for his son and I was relieved it wasn’t a carbon copy of him.
John held the head out to me. “Any chance you’d carry this?”
“No.” I imagined it opening its eyes and the mouth attempting to bite my fingers like an android zombie. Even besides my overactive imagination I didn’t want to feel its skin or hair.
Creepy.
Adam took it. “This is my brother”
“Maybe. Or an earlier version of you.”
*****
We walked past a few open doors that led to sleeping quarters or equipment, but didn’t make any more unnerving finds. The place was so big. What had it been like to live here?
John nodded to one of the rooms. “That used to be our bedroom.”
Curiosity got the better of me. I had to peek in.
The large room held nice-looking furniture and many features I could associate with him, like the art. Not so much the head in a jar.
There was a head in a jar.
A jar filled with liquid that bubbled slowly, making the woman’s long and blonde hair move. When I looked closer, a foot stuck out from behind the bed.
A decomposing foot, but definitely a foot.
The head opened its eyes and stared at me.
This time I couldn’t hold it back: I screamed. In my defense
it wasn’t a hair-raising horror movie scream, more a yelp, but still enough to make both men appear by my side.
John looked in and said, “Damn.”
Adam said, “Mother.”
They sounded equally stunned.
I remembered Eve’s voice stating, “Cheryl is dead. She coveted a level of allegiance she didn’t deserve.”
“She can’t be alive, can she?” I didn’t like the way my voice wavered.
“No. She’s probably just on display for viewing pleasure.” John didn’t sound his usual calm self.
“Because, she opened her eyes.”
“Are you sure?”
Adam frowned and took a couple of steps into the room. Right now I really, really wanted the fully functional version of him.
My feet tried to follow him, I have no idea why because I didn’t want to go in there, but John’s strong hand on my shoulder kept me in the corridor.
All three of us stared at the head in the jar and there could be no mistaking the mouth’s movement. At least some part of Cheryl remained alive, and it said, “Kill me.”
Chapter Twelve
Adam stood frozen, staring at the body and the head.
John squeezed my shoulder so hard I thought he might break my collarbone.
My mouth formed words without my brain helping. “We have to help her.”
We should probably bury her, or something.
Adam said, “I will do it. We didn’t part on good terms, but she is my mother.”
John said, “No, I’ll do it. She was my wife.”
I said, “Guys, I think we’ll get through this one better together.”
Adam ripped a sheet off the bed and covered the body. A part of my mind still worked and wondered how the whole compound didn’t stink.
“Stay here.” John gave my shoulder a final squeeze and entered the bedroom. The head watched him and I could see its mouth form the word, “Sebastian.”
It was his original name, the one he carried when married to her. The one he dropped when fleeing from her.
He pulled out one of his giant guns and changed a setting. The head mouthed, “Thank you” and then it was gone. Disintegrated.
Eve told us about killing Cheryl the first time we encountered her. It was a long time ago. The poor woman had existed as a head in a jar for longer than I could keep track of.
I admired John’s hands being so steady. Mine sure weren’t.
He spun around and left the room, marching past me into the corridor. Adam followed and closed the door.
John said, “Let’s get this done and get the hell out of here.”
*****
Adam took the lead again and I expected every room to hold a new horror, but we only passed two more doors on our way down the corridor.
He turned into a room on the left side and I followed. It was a vast laboratory.
John nodded to a chair. “Sit down, son.”
I averted my eyes when Adam opened the hatch in his head, revealing the charred mess he had to live with for so long.
“Does it… Do you need… uh… repairs in more places?”
“I do, but this is a priority, don’t you think?”
It wasn’t a statement, he was really asking.
“I agree.”
John came over with his hands filled with mysterious devices. “There’s a kitchen two doors down to the right. Would you mind going there to see if you can find me a drink?”
I shook my head and sat down. “Absolutely not. We’re staying together.”
He sighed. “It was worth a try.”
Adam opened a hatch in his left arm and took out a charred circuit board. The removal made his arm fall limp and he held the part out to me with his still functioning hand.
“Would you please see if you can find one of these?”
One of them probably knew exactly where they were, but looking for it gave me something to do. I suspect that was his intention.
*****
John and Adam worked for a long time. I did my best to assist, but wasn’t much help.
When they finally closed him up, Adam said, “I will attempt to rebuild my databases.”
I ran a hand over his hair. I really hoped this would work.
The new him was sweet and caring, just like the fully functional version, but also seemed lost. I didn’t want him to spend an eternity wondering about all the strange things that happened around him. He learned new things, but forgot them again because of corrupted circuits.
As he had put it, he balanced on the edge of an abyss, and he seemed to slide further down every day.
John said, “Best case scenario, this will take hours. We should go all the way around. Make sure nothing is sneaking up on us, and check if there’s anything we need.”
I didn’t want to leave Adam all alone in this creepy place, but I didn’t want John to wander off by himself either. As if I would be useful if he encountered actual danger.
When I didn’t move, he nodded towards the door. “Come on, Hon. The sooner he can start, the sooner we’ll know if it worked.”
He didn’t have to say anything more. The sooner Adam was back to normal, the sooner we could leave. I was relieved I wasn’t the only one eager to get out of there.
This time I followed him, but I reached out to stop him just inside the door. John lifted an eyebrow and I whispered, “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?” He frowned and nodded as soon as the words left his mouth. There was a soft rattling, metallic creaks, and a weird hissing. In my imagination, a giant metal rat with paralyzed hind legs dragged itself over the floor, searching for innocent humans to sink its metal teeth into.
John motioned to stay behind him and I nodded. I had no intention of going anywhere else.
The corridor lay empty.
“Am I hearing things?” I whispered to be on the safe side.
“No.”
The sound grew louder, but I still couldn’t see anything. John tipped the muzzle of his gun towards the floor and reached back for me with his other arm, pushing me against the wall.
Looking down, the sight wasn’t as bad as Cheryl’s head, but still creepy. A metal hand pulled itself through the corridor, and the hissing came from cables dragging behind it.
It passed us and continued its arduous journey.
“That is creepy.”
John nodded. “It is. It must have been going around and around for a long time. Maybe years.”
I wanted to ask what powered it, but didn’t want to risk him picking it up and showing me. Had it passed us before, several times even, and I hadn’t noticed?
He led the way to the kitchen. It didn’t hold much food, but it had clearly been a cozy place once upon a time. I could imagine him in there. John liked to cook and he might very well have designed the food-related areas.
I slumped on a chair. John put his gun on the table and sank down next to me, resting his head in his hands.
“This must be so weird for you.”
He ran his hands over his face. “It is.”
“I kind of wish he had waited until we returned home.”
“I do too, but this way we won’t have to come back if he needs something more.”
He clearly didn’t want to check the rest of the compound any more than I did. I reached out to put my hand on his.
“I’m sorry you had to come back here.”
He gave a slight shrug.
“We were happy here, at least for a while.”
I didn’t expect him to talk about it.
Much later, I heard the soft clickety clack of the hand again. It passed the door and continued on its way, oblivious of the intruders in its world.
*****
John and I stayed in the kitchen for a many hours, and when footsteps approached I was sure it must be Cheryl or Eve come back to life to haunt us.
John lifted the gun and aimed at the door.
Both of us exhaled when we saw Adam.
; He lifted an eyebrow. “You two seem jittery. Want to leave?”
I said, “Yes” and John said, “Did it work?”
“I believe so. My self-checks report no anomalies.”
“That’s fantastic.” I grinned and he returned my smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.
John got to his feet. “Let’s get out of here. This place is fucking creepy.”
The hand approached again and Adam snatched it up. It kept making the same movement in the air as it had on the floor until he found a control and turned it off.
“Last time I left this place I promised myself I’d never come back. I hope it will be true this time.”
I wouldn’t mind never returning. Two severed heads were well over my limit for one day.
I walked between them to the lift, enjoying the feeling of safety they instilled.
Adam explained, “This is the back door. There are at least two more entrances that I know of.”
I stopped. “The head.”
Both of them stared at me as if I’d sprouted extra arms.
“Shouldn’t we bring him?”
John said, “We don’t have a body. I really don’t want to search all these rooms hoping to find one.”
Adam lifted an eyebrow. “We don’t know if he’s like Eve.”
“I guess we don’t have to turn him on. It just feels weird leaving him here.”
“And you’re the one who wouldn’t even hold it.” He sounded amused, and he had a good point.
John chuckled. “We’ll wait for you if you want to go back and get it.”
I looked down the corridor. It was brightly lit and nothing had attacked us this far, but just thinking of Cheryl’s head in the jar made my skin crawl.
“I’ll get it.”
Adam took a couple of steps before my mouth agreed to move. “We can go together.”
This time his smile was real. “Stay here.”
He was good at reading people. He must know how frightened I really was.
He walked down the corridor and I expected robotic monsters to jump out and attack him, even though there weren’t any there a minute earlier. Deeming from the way John held a hand on his weapon, I wasn’t the only one.
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