Prototype Exodus (Prototype D Series Book 2)

by Jason D. Morrow

  “You think I’m going to take that metal netting off of you?”

  “Not to question you, sir, but I have done nothing wrong. I am simply following orders.”

  Prototype D was a clever one, Bracken knew, but this seemed a little too obvious a ploy. Bracken shook his head. “Something else. I don’t buy it.”

  “Prototype D is outfitted with a newer, custom leg. One is the standard gray metal, while the other is white. My legs are both the standard gray.”

  Bracken looked down at the robot’s legs and his heart started pounding harder, his left hand now trembled in beat with the right, thought he clenched his fists so hard, no one else would notice.

  “Where is Prototype D?”

  Prototype A shook his head. “I do not know. Last I saw him, he was in a holding room with Nolan Ragsdale. Ragsdale is the one who brought me up from the robotics lab. Roger is the one who ordered me to trust him.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes.”

  Bracken swore and spun on his heels. He charged toward the metal door and slammed it shut once he got into the hallway. He didn’t bother locking the door because the robot was bound. He barged into the control room, his face hot, his hands trembling uncontrollably. He walked to the console next to the operator and shoved the man out of the way. The man said nothing as Bracken let his shaking finger hover above the red button.

  Bracken stared at the screen, watching the robot making no attempt to flee the room. Bracken had left the door unlocked. If it was Prototype D, then he would have tried to get out of there, right? And the legs…they were different. Bracken swore under his breath again, knowing he couldn’t take any chances. His finger smashed against the button.

  There was a flash of blue light and the robot fell to the ground limply. The lights in the room dimmed for a moment, but quickly went back to normal. Bracken watched the screen, knowing he hadn’t killed Des, knowing that the robot was on the loose again and he had Nolan Ragsdale to thank.

  Bracken had little doubt that Nolan and Lester had planned this together. They had wanted Des to survive because they were going to use him somehow, but they didn’t want Bracken to know he was still alive. This was a move for power. They were planning a war. If war was what they wanted, Bracken was more than happy to give it to them.

  25

  Des and Nolan had gone past guards. Past security cameras. Into the parking garage. Into Nolan’s truck. They now drove through the streets and Des couldn’t help but notice Nolan looking at his rearview mirror every couple of seconds.

  “Where are you taking me?” Des asked.

  “A safe house,” Nolan said. “It’s not too far past the Southern Zone entrance.”

  “The Southern Zone?” Des asked. “I won’t be able to leave.”

  “Which is exactly what I want for the time being,” Nolan answered.

  “Why?”

  “You just have to promise you won’t go and see Hazel. You would put her in too much danger.”

  Des knew he wouldn’t go to her house. Not after what happened last time. She and her father had nearly been killed. Des knew the stakes.

  “Besides,” Nolan continued, “they won’t be looking for you at the safe house.”

  “You expect them to know that Prototype A wasn’t me?”

  “There’s a good chance Bracken will figure it out. I just don’t know.”

  “And what if he has already found out? What will you do?”

  “I suppose I will find out whenever I go back,” Nolan said. “I’ve got very little time to figure out how to raise an army.”

  “An army?”

  Nolan didn’t answer, but Des didn’t need him to. The time had come. The Outlanders were finally tired of being treated as second-class citizens and were now ready for a fight.

  “Are you going to lead them?” Des asked.

  “Not just me. A team of us.”

  “Us?”

  “That’s right,” Nolan said. He turned his head to look at Des for a brief moment and then back at the road. “If you’re ready for that kind of thing.”

  Des stared out the window as the empty buildings passed by them. The roads were clear of other vehicles as they had always been. The citizens of Mainland didn’t drive, rather they relied on trains to take them places—not that many had too far to go. Nolan led them through alleyways and streets until they reached a security checkpoint leading into the Southern Zone. The guards showed no suspicion and even saluted Nolan as he drove through. The truck wound through more streets until Des had no idea where he was anymore. He checked his archived memory, locating himself on the map, realizing that he was more than a mile away from Hazel’s home.

  Part of him wished he had never come back here. Even to try to get answers. It had been a noble effort, but it had been wasted. Now he found himself deep into another conflict that had nothing to do with him. He was ready to leave again more than ever. Maybe he would scale the wall and leave for good. Surely the drones wouldn’t try to keep him in the city. Yes. Maybe that would be best.

  “I don’t know if I’m ready,” Des said. “This isn’t my fight anymore.”

  “It is your fight,” Nolan said. “You’re as much of an Outlander as the rest of us.”

  “I came here for one purpose,” Des said. “I wanted to find out who was responsible for the nuclear blast that killed my friends.”

  “You don’t think Bracken and President Morris knew about it? This fight is against the people responsible for that, Des.”

  Des shook his head, still staring out the window. “I can’t be sure that even you didn’t know about the nuke. The only friend I’ve ever had here was Hazel. She’s the only one I trust.”

  “You trusted me,” Nolan said.

  “You forced me to. You were the only one who could find out anything. But you still didn’t. Instead, your boss, Lester, ordered me to be executed.”

  “I think you’re misunderstanding things,” Nolan said. “He ordered it to get you out of there. If he didn’t do it, Bracken or Morris would have had you killed. This way I was able to get you out. Otherwise, you might be fried by now.”

  Des turned to look at Nolan. “You mean, Lester doesn’t want me dead?”

  Nolan shook his head. “Of course not. This whole nuke thing was the last straw. It’s clear that the coordinates were changed at the last second and there are only a few people with the ability to have done that: Bracken, Morris, and Lester.”

  “And you think it was Bracken or Morris?”

  “More than likely Bracken,” Nolan said, “though I’m not sure why he would have done it.”

  “I would guess he might have been trying to kill me,” Des said. “But it doesn’t make any sense. How would he have known where I was? How would he have seen me? Or did he know I was there at all? Maybe we were just getting too close to Mainland, and he didn’t want another threat.”

  “I wish I could tell you,” Nolan said. “Regardless, this fight is happening with or without you.”

  “What chance do you have?” Des said. “There are literally thousands of robot soldiers opposing you.”

  Nolan pressed sharply on the break and Des had to hold his hand out in front to steady himself. Nolan put the truck in park and turned square to face Des, his jaw tense and his blood pressure rising. “Des, think about it. What are all those robots programmed with?”

  “Soul.”

  “That’s right. That means they have the ability to think for themselves.”

  “So, you want to recruit them? What about the upgrades? Their memories are wiped almost every day.”

  Nolan nodded. “That’s right. And that means we can exploit that. Hazel told me all about your incident at the druggist. She told me what the robots said to you.”

  “What, about Esroy?”

  Nolan nodded. “That’s right. You know Bracken is in charge of the daily updates for the robots.”

  “Okay…”

  “Well, if they know any
thing about Esroy, then they either aren’t getting their updates correctly, or something strange is happening with Bracken.”

  “What are you thinking?” Des asked.

  “I think there’s a copy of Esroy somewhere,” Nolan said. “And I think Bracken is still working with him. But we aren’t sure. That’s where you come in.”

  “Me?”

  “We need you to help us find him.”

  “What is special about him?” Des asked. “Even if it was possible that he was still out there somewhere, what would it matter?”

  “Think about it, Des. Those robots thought you were Esroy. They bowed to you. That means he’s gathering his own army. He’s going to try and fight against the government. Maybe with Bracken, maybe without. But if we can turn their fight into our fight, then we can take over.”

  Des didn’t like the sound of this. It seemed so power-hungry and overbearing. It was like Nolan was excited about Esroy being alive and gathering an army.

  “But there’s a lot of unanswered questions,” Nolan continued. “I have no idea how deep this goes. I’m going to set up a team and we’re going to meet at the safe house in a few days.”

  “And what am I supposed to do until then?”

  “Find out as much as you can about Esroy,” Nolan said. “Make sure he actually still exists.”

  “How?”

  “Sneak around. Ask around. Those robots already think you’re Esroy. Start with them.”

  “But it’s illegal for me to be walking through the streets. I’m unregistered.”

  “Those robots think you are Esroy,” Nolan repeated. “Don’t forget that.”

  “Not all of them,” Des said to himself.

  The two of them didn’t say much as Nolan took him to the safe house. Des wasn’t sure what to think of all this. As Nolan drove him, all he could do was point his gaze to the outer wall. Using his night vision, he could see the tall structure that blocked all of them from the rest of the world. He wondered if other places were as poorly managed as this one, if corruption had invaded so many other cultures and cities like this one. He wondered if there was any place that lived in peace.

  He wanted to find that place. He wanted to be there. He wanted to leave here forever.

  “Des, there’s something else that had come to my attention,” Nolan said as he stopped the truck in front of the safe house.

  “Okay…”

  “It may give you a little more motivation to help me,” Nolan said.

  Des shifted in his seat. “What is it?”

  “Lester brought something to my attention and I had no idea it was a real thing,” Nolan said. “I didn’t even believe him at first. But I want you to think about the EMP chamber you were in. Then, imagine one that’s bigger than that.”

  “Okay.”

  “Bigger,” Nolan said.

  “How big?”

  “City-wide,” Nolan said.

  Des looked at Nolan sharply. “What?”

  “Before building the robots, Bracken set up a program that gave him an out in case the robots got too strong,” Nolan said. “It’s a giant EMP generator that would shut down and destroy every electronic device within the city. That includes robots.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Below the military compound. I just wanted to tell you that before you got into this too deeply. I wanted you to know what you’re up against. If it comes down to the wire and Bracken gets desperate, he will use it against you.”

  “But that would destroy his entire force,” Des said.

  “With the plan I have, hopefully he won’t have a force.” Nolan sighed. “But we will have to see. We have a lot of work to do.”

  “Do you really think Bracken would shut down the entire city electronically just to stop me?”

  Nolan shrugged. “He’s got a small number of human soldiers on his side. If things get bad enough, it’s possible.”

  Des looked away and stared out the window at the building that would be his home for the time being. Thousands of robots, and a giant EMP. Bracken had thought of everything. If Des didn’t feel safe before, he felt even less so now.

  “Thanks for the ride,” Des said as he opened the door to get out.

  “I will see you soon.”

  Des shut the door and looked in every direction. There were no robots nearby. No one to see him sneak into the safe house.

  In a city full of people and filled with robots born of the same programming, Des had never felt so alone.

  26

  It felt strange for Des to be deep within the Southern Zone and not be near Hazel. The safe house was little more than a dank, depressing room that had been abandoned for years—probably decades. Boxes and crates lined the walls. Des looked through one or two of them, but they were mostly empty or uninteresting.

  The floor seemed to move when Des moved, the dust clouds kicking up too easily as the robot paced back and forth. Boredom threatened to drive him insane. He would spend hours looking through gaps in the walls to the outside world, and he wondered how many hours had gone by since he last saw a person walking or a bit of trash tumbling in the wind.

  He had found a home on the second floor of this building. Sometimes this place looked like it used to be an apartment building. He would find household supplies like kitchenware or stuffed animals, aged by mold and mildew, caked with dust. At other times this place looked like it had been an office building. Old computers with missing wires and bins filled with old printers and important-looking papers were stacked in corners.

  This building had little meaning to anyone now. It used to be a place someone called home or work. It was a place where people had spent so much of their lives, doing the things people did to get ahead in life. How many candles had lit this place in celebration? How many tears had been shed in despair and sadness into the pillows that now had more dust in them than feathers?

  Such a thing was impossible to know. The age and disrepair around him proved to Des this building was a survivor of the nuclear holocaust that had brought humanity to its knees. This city, whatever it was called more than a hundred years ago, used to thrive. People had chosen to live here and tried to contribute to society.

  Along with its people, this city had lost its name. It had lost what it once stood for—what all life had stood for back then. Back then, people weren’t trying to survive. They were simply trying to live. Now, living meant simply surviving. One was doing well if he wasn’t dead yet. Starvation. Plague. Famine. War. All of these things had destroyed most of humanity, and were still destroying it today. How many more wars would have to be fought before people realized they were moving toward their own extinction?

  On the second floor of the building, Des sat and shook his head, and he would have sighed deeply if he had lungs. He knew there would always be war. War was part of humanity’s nature. There would be no world if there wasn’t war. Wherever there would be life, there would be death. Where there were people, there would be battles. War was as much a fact of life as life itself. Des may have understood this, but he didn’t like it.

  The fact that the Outlanders were moving to finish the war that was started long ago—to march on the rest of the city with the intent of becoming equal with all the other Mainlanders—made Des angry. It wasn’t that he opposed the Outlanders and what they wanted to do, he simply hated that they had been forced to live on the outskirts of the city in the first place. He got the reasoning. He understood everyone’s motivations for or against the Outlanders. That didn’t mean he liked it. Des wanted peace. In the end, that was what most people wanted. But you couldn’t have peace without war, it seemed. War was meant to eradicate those who loved power more than they loved peace, and would do anything to obtain or keep that power.

  Des could see the drug store from this position. He sat near the head of a darkly stained mattress on the floor and had punched a hole through the wall to get a better look at the outside world. He had been waiting for the guards that had bowed to hi
m.

  Nolan had dropped Des off the night before. Then Des had waited in the safe house throughout the day, knowing the same guards wouldn’t be at their posts again until night. Now as he watched for them, he was beginning to wonder if they might have been assigned to a different post. If they had, he would have to figure out another way to find out information about Esroy.

  Des rummaged through drawers and closets, remembering that the last time he had met those two robots, he had been wearing a large black coat with a hood over his head. Eventually, he found a coat. It was slightly smaller and was technically navy blue and not the same black that John owned. But as this side of the world turned from the sun, it wouldn’t matter. The effect would be the same.

  Two hours later he sat at the head of the mattress again, this time the coat hung loosely around his body. The sun was gone and the moon shined brightly, casting an ominous glow on the rooftops and dark shadows in the streets.

  Shadows were good.

  The zooming capabilities along with the night vision allowed Des to see far into the night and with detailed clarity. He watched the guards with eager attention and waited. And waited.

  Finally, there was movement off to the side. Two guards approached the others and allowed them to leave their posts. The newcomers stood at attention and Des knew them to be the ones he had encountered a few nights before.

  This was his moment. He hadn’t come up with any plan. He didn’t know what he was going to say. First, he wanted to judge their reactions and see if they still thought he might be Esroy. The Esroy.

  Des walked down the stairs slowly as not to make too much noise, though he was pretty sure he could set fire to this building and the only protesters might be the rats that dwelled within. Regardless, Des remained vigilant.

  He stuck his shadowed head out the door and looked both ways into the alley. The coast was clear, and he moved with light steps until he reached the road. The road led straight to the drug store. It was early enough that he could see people walking in the distance, probably new Mainlander citizens who were going home. But it was late enough that he probably wouldn’t encounter anyone as he trekked through the streets.