Deadly Betrayal

by Maria Hammarblad

  John gave a slight shrug. “Let’s stay the night and see how we feel about it. I don’t think we have a better option.”

  My husband looked at me.

  “I don’t… I go where you guys go. We’re here…”

  It didn’t make sense even to me, but he nodded. “I want to go get Samuel’s head. Do you need anything from the ship for tonight?”

  John said, “Whiskey.”

  I filled in, “Clothes, toothbrush, dinner.”

  He nodded, but I doubted John would get the one item on his list.

  Eli looked at his hands for a long moment before lifting his head and glancing over at Adam. “Do you require company?”

  Adam smiled. “You can come if you want a fieldtrip, but I will be fine on my own if you want to stay here with them.”

  “I will keep Alex and father company.”

  “Alright. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  He winked at me and left, making me bounce off the chair to run after him. I didn’t even realize I went into the scary corridor on my own. Clearly not as eerie as it had been.

  He stopped to wait for me but didn’t say anything. I tucked my hand in his and followed him to the elevator, interpreting his silence as whether I was there to kiss him goodbye or intended to go with him, it was okay.

  I stopped by the lift door and he met my eyes.

  “Coming? Staying?”

  “Staying. I wanted to ask you to bring something. You know those colored pencils and sketchpad we found?”

  His eyes smiled and he looked proud of me. “You want them for Eli.”

  “Can’t hurt. He seems to be an artistic soul, maybe he’ll love drawing. If he doesn’t, no biggy.”

  “Alright. But it’ll cost you.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s the price?”

  He grabbed me with his arms around my waist and lifted me so my feet hovered above the floor. I giggled and held on to him.

  “First of all, I won’t let you down until you kiss me. The price for the art stuff… Surprise me.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to be let down.”

  “I can hold you like this for a very long time.”

  Good point. I’d tire of it before he did. I still waited and pretended to think about it.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  To me it seemed to take forever before Adam returned.

  He was quite able to take care of himself, but I still didn’t like being separated. I knew he had to go all the way to the moon and back, but with the technology of this era I expected everything to be instantaneous.

  When he finally entered the kitchen, he put a big box on the counter and pulled out a beer and a sandwich for John.

  “Does this look like whiskey to you, son?”

  “Sorry, I get these beverages mixed up. Have your sandwich.”

  John rolled his eyes, but smiled too.

  Adam handed me a sandwich and sparkling water, and put the art supplies on the table in front of Eli. “Alex thought you might enjoy these.”

  Eli picked up a green pencil. “What are they?”

  I opened the sketchpad. “Back in the day, these things were really popular. I guess people don’t use them all that much anymore, but they’re fun.”

  I drew a flower. It was the outmost reach of my sketching abilities.

  “Ooh.” He tried the pencils and was soon drawing so quickly his hands blurred.

  Adam said, “I picked tortellini for dinner. Hope that’s okay for both of you.”

  Eli pulled a paper from the sketchpad and pushed it over to me, face down.

  “Is that for me?”

  My new brother nodded. “I’ve never done this before. It might not be any good.”

  “You’re kidding, right? Didn’t you see my attempt at a flower?”

  I could feel Adam’s gaze on me. I glanced over and he smiled.

  John said, “Quit stalling. Turn it over.”

  I did, and the picture took my breath away. The pencil drawing was of me, on the beach. Eli had probably never seen an ocean in real life, but his capture was perfect and the image so detailed it could have been a photo.

  “It’s fantastic.”

  *****

  Late at night, Adam sat staring at the connections in the robot hand that crawled around the floor on our last visit. He had been doing so for the past twenty minutes.

  I couldn’t stop yawning. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I poked his shoulder.

  “Husband.”

  “What is it, sweetheart?”

  Eli answered in my place. “Your wife requires sleep.”

  Adam put the hand down. I thought he wouldn’t let it go even if I tried to take it, but maybe I still held more allure than a severed limb.

  “You should go to bed. I will keep working on this and keep an eye on things.”

  “What things?” Eli sounded curious.

  “All of them. Our ship, the entrances, the mainframe.” Adam stared into nothingness for a moment. “I still don’t trust you. It’s not personal.”

  I thought he spoke to Eli, but the computer’s faceless voice answered. “I understand. Given time I will prove my allegiance.”

  Right.

  All this was great, but didn’t solve my immediate problem.

  Adam kissed my hand. “Want me to follow you to the bedroom and tuck you in?”

  Was something amiss with his logic circuits?

  “I’m not sleeping in Cheryl’s bedroom.”

  Not tonight, and not any night. Last time I was there it had a dead body and a head in a jar.

  “Of course you’re not. I think I went machine on you, I’m sorry. We will clean out that room, get rid of her bed, and switch everything around.”

  “I was thinking maybe you can follow me to the shuttle. Or John could, but I don’t know where he is.”

  “I have a better idea.”

  He scooped me up, making me yelp and laugh, and carried me along the corridor, past the kitchen. This was further into the complex than I cared to be, but I needed to overcome my senseless fear of it.

  Adam turned to the right, into a living room area. The white walls held art, the furniture looked comfortable, and to make things even better, John was there.

  “Perfect. Maybe you two can sleep in here tonight. We’ll think of something more permanent later.” Adam sounded more content than I would have expected.

  Eli stood on the threshold, eyeing everything in the room. I looked at him over Adam’s shoulder, and he said, “I’m not allowed in here.”

  Adam put me down on the sofa. “Rubbish. Don’t walk in on our humans while they sleep unless you have to, because it will startle them. Other than that, of course you can come in here.”

  I didn’t let go of his neck, making him sit next to me. “You’re making it sound like we’re pets.”

  John laughed and Adam’s mouth twitched. “You’re so silly.”

  Maybe, but sometimes I felt like a pet.

  Eli finally gathered courage to follow us. I expected him to look at the paintings, but he watched me and Adam with an attentive look on his face.

  “Having a wife seems great. Do you think I could have one? In the future?”

  Adam smiled. “I’m sure you can. You just have to find the right person. That can take time, but it’s worth the wait.” He kissed my cheek. “I’ll see you two in the morning. Try to get some sleep.”

  Knowing he watched over me made me feel safe, but I would have felt even better if he stayed. And if I had a fluffy pillow and clean sheets.

  Eli looked at me and lifted his eyebrows in an endearing gesture that made me think he could see into my mind.

  “I will be right back.”

  He winked at me, eyes filled with fresh self-confidence, and jogged away.

  Adam said, “I have no idea,” clearly guessing what I wanted to ask even though I didn’t say it.

  Eli returned minutes later, carrying vacuum packed pillows and sheets. “Maybe this will he
lp.”

  Once the android brothers left, John sank down next to me and ran his hands over his face. “I’m getting too old for all this.”

  “Are you okay?”

  He shrugged and waved to me to get up, giving him room to stretch out on the side before patting the sofa next to him.

  Good idea.

  Sleeping on my own would be impossible, but with him that close there was at least a chance of rest. Staying in the bunker was tough for me, but probably much worse for him.

  John draped an arm over me. “I want a drink. I can’t believe they threw everything out.”

  “I know you do. If we have to stay here for a long time I think I’ll take up drinking too.”

  “Don’t. It’s a bad habit.”

  I nudged myself closer. “I worry for you.”

  “Don’t. It’s sweet that you do, but you don’t have to.” He sounded amused. “I’ll be around a while longer. You’ll have plenty of time to get tired of me.”

  He fell silent and I thought the discussion was over, until he gave me a gentle squeeze. “Cheryl and I lived at the lab for a few years. We had employees, it was a good crew. As her… disease progressed she thought they were stealing her ideas, and when she started talking about a place like this it didn’t seem like a bad idea. It was out of the way with few people to aggravate her, we could keep working, and I went to the village when I wanted company. They were far enough to not annoy her, but close enough to reach.”

  It sounded like he’d been happy.

  I wanted to think there had been a period in his life when he was truly happy, without being drunk and without having to worry about holograms or a girl lost in time.

  The rooms used for living area were friendly and it had probably been a pretty nice place to live. I just found it spooky because of the size, and because I knew too much about it.

  I felt John sigh. “She was getting worse, I knew she was, but I didn’t do anything about it. I could have sedated her and taken her to a medical station, done something, but I kept telling myself she’d snap out of it. One day the intruder alarms went off, and I went topside to check it out. It was this cute little girl from the village, maybe five or six years old. She was lost.”

  I was pretty sure I didn’t want to hear the rest, but he probably needed to talk about it. He had alluded to what happened many times, but never really talked about it. Probably not to anyone.

  He said, “I always wanted kids. Bet you didn’t know that.”

  “You still can. You’d be a great dad.”

  He laughed, but there was no joy in it. “No, I really can’t. Cheryl made sure of that. She didn’t want to risk any screaming little brats disrupting her work.”

  She what?

  John must have felt me tense; he brushed his fingers over my hair. “It’s a long time ago. I got over it.”

  I doubted the truth in his statement, but whatever she did to him, I couldn’t undo it. I forced myself to exhale and relax.

  “Anyway, Cheryl killed the girl. I couldn’t stop her, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. This beautiful little person had life ahead of her, and her family didn’t know what happened to her. Up until then I drank too much, but that was the first day I passed out in here. I should have gone to talk to the family, at that point I should have done something, but I didn’t. This sofa and I are old friends.”

  I wanted to turn around and hug him, but there wasn’t enough room, and moving would make me fall over the edge. I hugged his arm instead.

  “After that the days blurred. I remember the villagers coming here to look for her. I know they did, because I remember throwing up in the trashcan over there before talking to them. I don’t know how long I stayed, but one day I had a sober enough moment to realize I had to leave. So I left.”

  Hopefully, he couldn’t see my tears. I needed to make sure I didn’t sob, because he’d feel that, but he couldn’t see the tears that trickled over my cheeks.

  “I’m so sorry.” My voice was steadier than I expected.

  “It is what it is. I should have left or acted long before all this happened. I stayed alive, and one day when I was in a bar waiting for a holographic woman of all things, you and Adam stepped into my life. You have to know I couldn’t love you more if you were my own… whatever you are.”

  His words made me smile. It was complicated, and I wouldn’t be able to figure it out.

  “I love you too. Adam does too.”

  “I know.”

  He had stayed remarkably sober both on the Bell until Adam died and again when we left on our own. I just hadn’t made the connection to me.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The next morning, I yawned, stretched, and almost fell off the sofa. I would have landed on the floor if John hadn’t held his arm around me.

  He mumbled, “Careful dearest” and went back to sleep.

  The situation and comment disoriented me, but we were still in Cheryl’s bunker.

  I sat up, carefully this time, attempted to untangle my hair with my fingers, and gave up. Maybe Adam could find me a comb, or make one from weird things stored in the basement.

  John snored. He probably wouldn’t mind if I abandoned him. Roaming around on my own wasn’t appealing, but less scary than it had been, and I should be able to make the few steps to the kitchen without working myself into panic.

  I didn’t have to worry. Eli waited in the hall, far enough away to give privacy, but close enough to provide a sense of security.

  I flashed a smile. “Good morning, Eli. You look like you’re waiting for me.”

  “I am waiting, but I’m not Eli.” The android returned my smile. “I am Samuel. I wanted to meet you, so I offered to stay here. Adam and Eli are looking for ingredients to make you breakfast.”

  They looked exactly the same, but were clearly different personalities.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Samuel.”

  “I must admit I was apprehensive at first when my brothers reactivated me and mentioned a new sister, but Adam has assured me you’re nothing like Eve, and Eli says you wouldn’t hurt us. You managed to gain his trust, so you will have mine as well.”

  Definitely a different personality. Interesting.

  Would he too want to watch my cells?

  Samuel escorted me to the kitchen. “Adam tells me you have been caring for my head, making sure it wasn’t left behind anywhere. I appreciate it.”

  “You’re quite welcome.”

  What a surreal discussion.

  *****

  Samuel sat next to me in the kitchen. Funny how he looked just like Eli, but with such a different personality. Human twins were probably dissimilar too, but I didn’t know any, so I lacked a frame of reference.

  “Does it look different in here?” I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the entire place felt much friendlier.

  “We have been cleaning. Adam suggested you and father might like it better here if we cleaned and reorganized. I agree with his assessment. I like it better too.”

  I nodded.

  “May I ask you something? Do you remember your father at all?”

  “No. I am curious, Eli says he’s nothing like mother’s descriptions.”

  I didn’t mean to laugh, but a chuckle still escaped me and he lifted an eyebrow in an expression eerily like Adam.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Well, every person has many facets. From what I understand your mother was furious with your father. I’m guessing she embellished anything negative and neglected to tell you the positive. It’s human nature.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “It doesn’t sound like a good part of human nature.”

  “Maybe not, but you need to know that we sometimes do it. To humans, truth can be relative. When something is good, many blow it up to extreme proportions, and when something is bad, it’s the end of the world.”

  He smiled. “You’re saying humans tend to exaggerate.”

  “We do, but it
’s not always on purpose. It’s the subconscious playing tricks on us.”

  John came in, yawning and scratching his scalp. “Do we have any coffee? Hi Eli, Alex discussing philosophy with you? It’s too early in the morning for all that.”

  I said, “John, I would like you to meet Samuel.”

  John stopped, turned around, and stared. “You’re not Eli.”

  “I am not. I am under the impression my head has spent some time on your ship.”

  John’s eyes lit up. “Well, I’ll be… It’s good to meet you, son.”

  Samuel nodded and I rested my elbows on the table. “Good thing we came back here.”

  John leaned against a counter. “Are there more of you?”

  “No. Just the other Eve model, but Adam disassembled her completely last night. I believe he took some of her parts to repair me. My sister caused substantial damage to me before leaving.”

  He fell silent for a long moment. “I apologize if this is an intrusive question, but why did you come here? Why now?”

  John nodded to me. I said, “I don’t think that’s intrusive at all, it is clear-sighted. First you must know we had no idea you and your brother existed. If Adam had known, he would have been here for you a long time ago.”

  “That could have been at a great cost to himself.”

  “He would have come anyway. He’s just… He’s a really nice guy. I don’t think I tell him that often enough.”

  John smirked. “He’s actually so good and righteous it can be annoying.”

  “You’re just grumpy because he didn’t bring you any booze last night.”

  “Like you wouldn’t have wanted a drink.”

  “Good point. Anyway, to answer your question, of course you’re right. We’re in trouble, and we sought out this place because we thought it would be abandoned and fairly safe. We were wrong on the abandoned part, and I’m so happy to have found you and your brother. About the trouble, I think Adam can explain that more coherently than I.”

  Samuel smiled. “He did, last night. I just wanted to see what you would answer.”

  I returned his smile. “Wise move.”

  Moments later, Adam and Eli entered the kitchen, carrying boxes with pancake mix, jam, coffee, and other things.