Prototype Exodus (Prototype D Series Book 2)

by Jason D. Morrow

  “That’s when I heard the guns fire off. I thought they were shooting at me, but when I looked back I saw that they were shooting at my friends. Sam. The four of them had been running toward the Outlanders to try to save me. And save me they did. The price was four young lives, but I was alive and the Outlanders never found me.”

  Hazel sat stunned. She had always known about her uncle, but she never knew that he had been killed by the Outlanders. Anytime she ever asked about him as a kid, her parents just told her that he had died in a terrible accident.

  “Your grandparents were distraught. People in Mainland were outraged. It was horrible. As the days and weeks went on, I grew to hate the Outlanders with every fabric of my being. I blamed them for killing my friends. My brother. I blamed them for making me feel like it was all my fault. So, I decided that whenever I was old enough, I was going to become a soldier and I was going to kill as many Outlanders as I could. I wanted to become their number one enemy.” John gripped the sides of his chair tightly as his face started to turn red. “I let my anger determine who I was going to become.”

  “And you had every right to,” Hazel said.

  “Then of course, years later,” John said. “The Outlanders took your sister away from us. They took your mother away from us. They took my sight away from me. The drove a wedge between you and me for the longest time. I hated them. I wished that once and for all that the Mainlanders would just bomb them all to the hell they came from.”

  John spoke with passion and ferocity. The tears rolled down his cheeks, and he made no attempt to wipe them away. Hazel could feel her own face getting hot, and the water stung her eyes terribly.

  “But then you did what you did,” John said. “And you exposed not only the truth about the Outlanders, but the truth about the Mainlanders. About how the Mainlanders were just as bad as the Outlanders. In reality, the Mainlanders were worse. I didn’t want to believe it, but the evidence was there. I see that now. But that knowledge doesn’t give me peace about your mother or sister. It doesn’t give me peace about Sam or my friends. I have learned that to live in hatred against the Outlanders is misplacing my hatred. My hatred has been turned, and it took a lot of thinking on it before I accepted it.”

  “Who do you hate then?” Hazel asked.

  John waited a beat and finally wiped his cheeks with his hands. “Oppressors,” he said. “I hate the people that starve for power and will do anything just to keep it. The Mainland government has fueled the fire of our rivalry with the Outlanders. Because of the leadership we’ve had over the years, the Outlanders have had to fight for food, to fight to live. If it hadn’t been for people like President Godfrey and Morris, or that brain dead boss you had, General Bracken, my wife would be sitting next to me. Your sister would be singing songs. My brother would pay me a visit once in awhile. We would be living in peace.”

  Hazel pulled her shirt to her face, trying to dry the tears away, but failing. The way he talked about her family with such passion hurt her deeply. She missed them. She missed being near them. Talking to them.

  Hazel sniffed and tried to wipe her nose with the bottom of her shirt. “What should I do then?”

  John shook his head. “I would never tell my daughter to go to war. As a father, I could never do such a thing. That said, you and I both know what the right thing is. And I know you’re going to do the right thing.”

  “And what if I didn’t?” Hazel said. “What if I stayed here with you and let someone else take care of all that?”

  “Then I would love you and love having you near me,” John said. “I imagine we would play games together. Listen to the news. We might even try to take on another project together.”

  Hazel buried her face in her hands, unable to stop the steady flow of tears that leaked between her fingers. “I miss Mom. I miss Lillian.”

  “I do too,” John replied, his voice sounding thicker.

  “I’m afraid,” Hazel said. “I’m not brave like you are.”

  “Oh, you’re braver than me,” he told her.

  “I’m not ready to lead,” Hazel said.

  John turned his wet face toward her and smiled. “A leader rarely is.”

  31

  It was late at night, John was in bed, Gizmo was recharging, and Hazel waited to hear Esroy’s answer to her proposal. The screen was nothing more than a dim glow to show her that Esroy was aware. She had told him all about what Nolan had said—about programming a new archived memory. The truth. She told him that she was willing to give him a body when this was all over.

  “Give me the body now and I will do it,” Esroy finally said.

  Hazel shook her head. “How does that make sense? I need you inside the computer.”

  “It’s just that you’ve told me this before, Hazel. You promised me a robot body a long time ago.”

  “And that was before you were Prototype E,” Hazel came back. “You don’t know the damage he caused—the damage you could cause.”

  “But if I help you, you’re willing to risk it again?”

  Hazel swallowed. “Esroy, if you help us with this then it will show me that you do want to help. That you’re not the same program that tried to kill Des and fight for Bracken.”

  “You know this kind of programming isn’t easy,” Esroy said.

  “How long do you think it will take?”

  “With you and me together it would be a week, at least.”

  Hazel sighed loudly.

  “By yourself it might take months,” Esroy said.

  “Yeah, I know. Which is why I need you. I want to be a team again, Esroy. We can be the way we used to be.”

  “It would be good to have some use again,” he said.

  “I bet.”

  “And I will have access to the network?” Esroy asked.

  “Limited by me,” she answered. “I assign portions of the network.”

  “I see,” he said.

  “You won’t have uploading capabilities.”

  “I suppose I understand.”

  Hazel didn’t want to say it—that she was afraid he might try making a copy of himself onto the server so he could travel through it as he pleased. She was still working with a dangerous program here. But Esroy knew the system. He was a program that had worked with her for over two years. Esroy might be able to help her, but again, she didn’t trust him. Even though she wanted to badly.

  “Let me ask you something,” Hazel said.

  “Yes?”

  “What do you think about the robots out there? The ones who have only been told lies. The ones who only believe whatever has been uploaded into their minds?”

  “I think they have it better than they could,” Esroy said.

  Hazel looked at the screen, puzzled.

  “Well,” Esroy said, “at least they have legs.”

  32

  The time neared six, and the sun was fading behind the cracks of the building. Des didn’t stare through the walls anymore. He didn’t watch for Nolan or whoever he might be bringing with him. He just sat and waited.

  He was glad that he didn’t get stiff like humans did. Sitting in this position for long periods of time might make a person sore or feel pain. But Des could sit like this for days if he had to and would feel no different physically. From the outside, he wouldn’t look any different than any other inanimate object, collecting the overwhelming amount of dust that rested on every object in this house.

  For those hours, Des thought about his short life. The beginning. The present. He thought of the future and wondered if he even had a future to contemplate. He understood his mission. He knew that he was meant to help the Outlanders and their struggle. But what was after that? Was there a future beyond this fight? He didn’t want to die, but if that was his future, he supposed he was all right with it. It wasn’t as if his life had been full of joy. There was Hazel, but she had her own world, her own life. In the grand scheme of things, he had only known her for a handful of days before he had left Mainla
nd. He loved her. He cared about her. But he knew she did not feel the same. Not the way he did.

  Des felt a responsibility for Hazel. She was his creator and for that there was a natural respect and a need to do what was right by her. He felt like he owed her everything. He didn’t feel the same way about Nolan, of course. But Nolan was presenting a path that paved a life of freedom for Hazel. Des cared about the innocents in this world. He cared about getting rid of Esroy once and for all. He cared deeply about finding justice for his friends, the murder victims of a nuclear blast. But Des was quickly starting to realize that life didn’t always give answers to those who sought them. Answers were so often elusive when dealing with evil people. Who would want to claim full responsibility for the nuclear blast? Who would want to bear the shame? Des still didn’t know what he would do if he found the culprit—that person who changed the coordinates during those last few seconds before launch.

  How could he have come back thinking he wouldn’t be drawn into something? When he last left, he had left the city in a mess. The government was crumbling. The people were angry. The Outlanders were settling in. There had been no place for Des, yet he now felt like he should have never left in the first place. What could he have changed if he had stayed? Or would things have remained the same? At the time, he had feared for his life as well. Not only did he want to find those people the Mainlanders weren’t supposed to know about, but people like Bracken and Morris were still in power and they probably wanted Des killed. This was made evident by the week’s events.

  Des’ keen noise receptors picked up footsteps coming down the alley and toward Des’ building. The footsteps were light and not very far apart. His first thought was that it was Nolan, but these footsteps didn’t belong to him. They belonged to…

  “Hello?” the voice came from the front door.

  Des bolted up and walked toward the stairs. “Hazel?”

  “Des?” She closed the doors behind her and walked to the bottom of the stairs.

  “I’m up here,” Des called out.

  Hazel made her way up the stairs.

  “So, he talked you into it,” Des said.

  “Yeah.” She was on the second floor with him now. She looked small. Weak. Not weak in the no resolve sense, but just…Des didn’t know the word, so…human…

  He hated how humans were weak. How they couldn’t take a bullet without coming near death. He hated it mostly because that made Hazel vulnerable to attack. It would take nothing for her to be killed in a fight.

  “What does he want you to do?”

  Hazel took a deep breath and told him all about making the new program. The truth program.

  “How could you be working with Esroy?” Des asked when Hazel was finished.

  “Just the one on my computer,” Hazel said. “Not the mystery Esroy that the other robots mistook you for.”

  “It doesn’t matter!” Des turned and stared at the wall, not knowing what to do with his anger. Working with Esroy was beyond irresponsible. “It’s a terrible idea.” He heard the door to the building open downstairs. The footsteps were heavy this time. Heavy and determined.

  “You know,” Nolan said when he reached the top of the stairs, “I chose this place because I thought it would be inconspicuous, but the fact that I can hear both of you from the alley is really cause for concern.”

  “It’s not a good idea for Hazel to be involved in this,” Des said. “This is too dangerous. She was in the last conflict we had, and I don’t want her life to be in any more danger than it needs to be. We certainly don’t need her bringing Esroy in on this.”

  Nolan sighed loudly and walked past Des toward a dust-covered chair. He bent over to wipe the wooden seat with his sleeve and sat down slowly. He then looked up at the towering robot, crossed his legs, and rested his elbows on the arms of the chair. “We’re all in danger, Des. Whether we’re fighting or standing idly by, or in hiding, we’re all in danger.”

  “Yes, well there is a difference in hiding and making yourself a target,” Des snapped.

  “And you think Hazel working on a program will make her a target?” Nolan said. He smiled widely and shook his head. He motioned to a couple of chairs. “Why don’t you two grab a seat and we’ll talk.”

  Hazel moved toward a chair to sit, but Des stayed fixed in his spot. “I’m fine standing.”

  “I’m not,” Nolan said. “You’re making me nervous.”

  Des stared down at him for another long moment but finally relented, grabbing the chair and setting it down next to Hazel and in front of Nolan.

  “The two of you coming here means that you have agreed to work with me,” Nolan said.

  “I have conditions,” Des said.

  Nolan held up a hand. “I get it, Des. Listen to me. I picked the two of you because you are the best for this job and you’ve had some experience with it before.”

  “You still haven’t told me what you want me to do,” Des said.

  “I want you to be the face for the robots,” Nolan answered. “Hazel told you about the truth program?”

  Des nodded.

  “She’s in charge of that. And she’s going to be the face of the Outlanders. The people.”

  Des looked at her briefly, then turned his head sharply at Nolan. “And what does that mean exactly?”

  “It means that the two of you are going to lead the Outlander revolution,” Nolan said. “Hazel for the humans, you for the robots. But there is a lot of work that needs to be done before we get there.”

  Des looked back at Hazel. “I don’t want you to do this.”

  Hazel stared at Des, her eyes calm and her posture relaxed. “Des, I’ve already given this a lot of thought. I didn’t want to do it at first, but I do now. I’m ready.”

  “It’s too dangerous,” Des said.

  “I’m sorry,” she answered. “But you forget that it was I who made you. It’s not your job to look after me. You have to look after yourself and the robots we free from Bracken’s grip.”

  Des stared at her as she said this. He didn’t know what it was or why, but he felt betrayed. In just a few words Hazel had effectively reduced Des to a small child—in a, I’m the parent, you’re the child so listen to me, sort of way. He was powerless to stop her. If she had made up her mind, what was he going to do? Lock her up?

  Des turned his head and stared at the floor in front of him. His anger was gone and replaced with fear and embarrassment. How foolish had he been for trying to keep Hazel from harm? “I…” He didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry. I just…I have always felt it was my duty to protect you. And now it feels stronger, I guess, because you’re the only person I have left who I care about.”

  Hazel leaned in closer to Des and rested her hand on his. The pressure sensors in his fingers could sense the warmth in her touch. She squeezed just enough to tell him that she cared about him too. “I know, Des. I know. But we have a responsibility. We are the only ones who can do this.”

  “What about you and Lester?” Des asked, looking at Nolan.

  “The people are done with us,” Nolan said. “I have too much of a sketchy past and the Mainlanders still view me as a traitor. That’s why for the last five years I’ve helped Lester mostly in secret and out of the public eye.” He shrugged. “And Lester has been mostly powerless for the last five years. Morris and Bracken still have all the pull in the government. People don’t realize that Lester Vaughn has been breaking his back just to keep the Outlanders within the Mainland walls. The time to move is now, and the people who can do it are you two.” He nodded at Hazel. “Hazel has a foot in both camps. She has been a Mainlander her whole life, but was a key player in the Outlander invasion five years ago.” He then nodded at Des. “And you were her creation who played an equally important role. Both of you have the background to persuade the people, and the experience to lead them.”

  “And how is this going to work?” Hazel asked.

  Nolan nodded. “Right, well, it starts with your
program. I will have a way to work your programming in the next batch of updates.” He turned to Des. “But that sort of depends on what you found out about Esroy.”

  “He’s alive,” Des said. “He’s gathering a large following in the sewers. It’s hard to tell how many, but he seemed confident.”

  “Does he know you’re here?”

  “I spoke with him, yes,” Des answered.

  “I don’t understand how he got there,” Hazel said. “How is there another copy?”

  “I don’t know,” Des said. “How much access have you given Esroy two to the network?”

  “None! He has never had access,” she said. “The only way I can figure there to be another copy is that he made a third one when he managed to sneak a copy of himself onto Prototype E. I mean, he used to have unfettered access to the network. He could have had a copy of himself before you even came around, Des.”

  “Well, his followers are building him a body,” Des said. “Probably a powerful one. But as independent as he has been, he must have had help from someone that knew he was on the network.”

  “Well,” Nolan said, “none of that matters. What matters is that he is here and he’s ready to strike.”

  “Who is he ready to strike?” Hazel asked.

  Nolan looked from Hazel to Des and back to Hazel. “I assume he’s going after the government.”

  Des nodded. “Everyone. Humans in general. He says he wants to free the minds of the robots and be rid of the humans.”

  “Great,” Nolan said, looking up at Hazel, “you created a program that wants to annihilate what’s left of the human race.”

  Hazel uncrossed her legs and leaned forward in her chair, her hands on her forehead. “That’s just it,” Hazel said, looking back up. “I didn’t. I made them to have emotions and thoughts that were identical to human emotions and thoughts. Des is from the same program and he’s not trying to destroy the rest of us.” She shook her head.

  It was Des’ turn to rest a hand on Hazel’s. “It’s not your fault.”