“What are you thinking about?” Daniel asked, stepping closer to me so that our hands brushed as we walked.
“Cars.’
He blinked. Clearly not the answer he’d been expecting.
“Or, rather, I guess more thinking about how the world has changed. Wondering what it used to be like.”
“Better,” Daniel replied firmly. “If you are talking about the world before Mechanicals. The world was better.”
“You sound very sure of that.”
He laughed humourlessly. “You are talking about a world where they didn’t take living, breathing children and try to turn them into machines.”
I grimaced. Every time he talked about it, the horror of what had been done to him struck me anew.
“How much do you remember of what they actually did to you? The surgeries, I mean.” I asked in a small voice.
His eyes fixed on the middle distance and he half shrugged. “Enough. But the worst of it – the biggest changes – were done when I was too young to remember. Grateful for small mercies and all that.”
The next time his hand brushed against mine I caught it, squeezing his fingers with my own.
He didn’t look at me, still half lost in those terrible memories, but he squeezed back and didn’t let go.
We walked like that the rest of the way. Hand in hand. Not speaking. There really wasn’t much to say.
“You took your time.”
I didn’t even see Sarah and Robert until they slipped from the trees and out into the road to intercept us.
I tried not to smile. “I thought you were only going to wait a few hours?”
She opened her mouth then snapped it shut and turned away.
“We should get moving,” Robert said, filling the awkward silence. “We saw smoke from the city. It looks like there might be rioting. If it gets out of hand you know they’ll send in the army.”
“There was a Mechanical,” Daniel said softly.
It was all the explanation Robert needed.
“Ah. Then I suggest even more strongly that we move on as quickly as we can.”
The events in the town left Daniel more shaken than he admitted to me. I could tell. Despite the fact that the road made for far easier travel he insisted on heading back into the countryside. I didn’t blame him. Any chance of running into other people was too big a risk. I still hadn’t figured out a way to disable his tracker and sticking to the roads made it far too easy for them to follow our movements.
The countryside meant far tougher going for me, however. Most days I found myself lagging further and further behind the three Mechanicals. Sometimes they would get as much as a mile ahead of me before Daniel would stop to them to let me catch up. Those were the scary times, when I would have to just keep on going, trusting that even though I had lost sight of them they wouldn’t just abandon me.
Each night Sarah would make snide comments about it, but thanks to Daniel’s reassurances I no longer let her get to me.
Five days out from the town the Mechanicals were keeping a pace I could manage for once. Robert was a little ahead, following the thin, faint trail through the trees. Sarah bought up the rear, her eyes constantly roaming, constantly alert.
Daniel and I walked together. Not holding hands; both of us instinctively knew Sarah would have something to say about that. I didn’t really care what she thought but I didn’t need to hear it. But we walked closely enough that our shoulders brushed often, our hips bumping when the path narrowed.
From ahead of us, just around a bend in the trail, Robert cried out.
For a second my blood turned icy, until my brain registered that his cry had been one of excitement, not fear or pain.
Daniel and I broke into a run at the same moment. In seconds we came around the corner and found Robert crouched down in front of an ancient oak.
“What is it?” Daniel asked, stepping forward to peer over Robert’s shoulder. At his exclamation I hurried to join him.
I couldn’t share their excitement, I had no idea what I was supposed to be looking at. Something had been carved into the base of the tree, the bark cut neatly back from a patch of trunk about an inch square. Inside the clear space was what looked like a lot of scratches.
If Robert and Daniel hadn’t been gazing it with open excitement I wouldn’t have looked twice.
“What is it?” I asked, ducking down to get a closer look.
Daniel grinned. “I forget that you don’t have a Mechanical’s eyes. It’s a map.”
I blinked at the tiny space with it’s incomprehensible scratchings. “A map?”
“I don’t suppose you carry a magnifying glass around with you in that bag of yours?” Daniel asked with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “No - although –.” I started rummaging and pulled out my screen. It just took a second to power up and then I clicked on an icon. It was a standard app on most screens, but I’d never had much cause to use it. What did I have or do that was worth taking pictures of?
The camera wasn’t the best, but once I’d snapped the picture I could zoom in, enlarging the square inch of carving.
I sucked in my breath. The map was perfect. Detailed even in its scale.
“How?”
“A precision Mech, no doubt,” Robert said, glancing at my image and then back down at the real thing. “There are a few of them. Working in the labs more often than not. They have even more enhanced eyesight than the rest of us. And most have a laser enhancement in their fingers.”
“Enhancement?” Sarah scoffed from behind us. “You make it sound like some kind of favour they’ve been done, not a mutilation.”
Robert shot her a repressive look but she only glowered at him and turned away.
I glanced back down at the map on my screen. “So, this is what I think it is, right?”
“A map to Sanctuary,” Robert replied with a nod. “I’d heard rumours that they had hidden maps all over, but I didn’t believe it until I saw this.”
I kept my eyes fixed on the tree. As much as I cared for Daniel, and as much as I believed what had been done to the Mechanicals was wrong, I couldn’t deny that the idea that there were so many Mechanicals out there, organised and free, and hating humans, made me nervous.
My discomfort obviously showed, because after we’d decided to stop there for the night, after I’d eaten and the fire had died low, as Daniel and I lay side by side he brought it back up.
“The map – it made you nervous,” he whispered in the dark. “Why? We’ve been searching for Sanctuary all along.”
I rolled onto my side to look at him. The fire was just glowing embers, but it was just enough light to make out the smooth planes of his face, the strong jaw and the high cheekbones. He lay on his back, fingers locked over his chest and his eyes fixed on the tree canopy overhead.
Instead of answering his question I asked one of my own. “Mechanicals have been breaking their programming for far longer than we realised, haven’t they?”
His lips quirked in a half smile and he rolled over so we were nose to nose.
“Yes.”
I pursed my lips. “The Government must have covered it up. We only found out when they started killing people.”
“When the deaths were public, you mean,” Daniel corrected. “There were others before that. But they were covered up, made to look like accidents. But like Sarah, Robert and me, not all Mechanicals that break their programming go on a murderous rampage. Some – a lot - just disappeared.”
“Why? Why cover it up, I mean.”
“Because they knew exactly what would happen if the general public found out. The government wasn’t ready to give up on us just yet. They thought they could fix us, make the programming harder to break. Introduce fail safes. They failed instead.”
I pondered that for a minute, watching the firelight dance in his glittering eyes.
“You still haven’t told me why the map makes you nervous.”
I closed my eyes, not want
ing to see his reaction when I admitted my fears.
“I hadn’t realised how organised you – they – were. Secret maps? Sanctuary itself? It’s all so much bigger than I thought it was.”
“And it scares you?” Daniel’s fingers found my cheek and I slowly opened my eyes. He smiled gently at me. “I have to admit, it scares me a little too.”
“Really?”
He shrugged in the darkness. “Of course. Something is building between the humans and us. Something big. I’ve heard rumours. I see it in Sarah’s eyes when she looks at you. I never planned to get caught up in a war.”
“What did you have planned? That day in the stadium? When you followed me and broke your programming?” I asked quietly. “Did you plan to join the others at Sanctuary?”
“I didn’t really have a plan. I was supposed to be testing how well I could blend into a human crowd. It seemed to work quite well at first. I have to admit, I had some vague idea of living amongst the humans. Pretending to be one of them. But, honestly, I only thought of going back to the lab.”
“Back?” I pushed myself up in surprise. “But – after everything they did to you?”
I saw his teeth flash in the dark as he smiled. But there was nothing in his words to smile about.
“What else did I have? What else did I know? I grew up in the lab. It was the only life, the only family I remembered. The idea of leaving was terrifying. But the mob didn’t give me much choice.”
“You could have gone back after we’d shaken them. Surely you could have found a way back through the city.”
“Perhaps, but once I was running it only seemed to make sense to keep running.”
“Do you think we will be able to stop once we reach Sanctuary?”
The moment of silence stretched on long enough that I started to wonder if he had fallen asleep. He didn’t do it often. Maybe an hour every few days, but when he did it was sudden – like he simply shut down.
Then he spoke. “I honestly don’t know. If I thought I had any other choice I would head in the opposite direction. As I said, I don’t want to get caught up in a war. I don’t want YOU to get caught up in a war. You’ve seen how Sarah feels and acts towards humans – do you think those at Sanctuary are going to be any better? They are organised, and they are planning something. I wouldn’t want to be a human when it all comes to fruition.”
I shuddered and Daniel’s arms snaked around me, drawing me into his chest.
“Is the jacket not warm enough?”
Despite everything I found myself smiling. I snuggled in tighter, even though I was actually far from cold.
Daniel’s shirt smelt faintly of wood smoke and I let myself bury my nose in it. His fingers tangled in my hair and for a moment I let myself forget about laboratories, the government, and rogue Mechanicals.
Instead I only thought of the warmth of Daniel’s skin. It was just a degree or so cooler than a normal human, but not enough to be truly noticeable with the heat of the campfire washing over us.
Beneath my hand his heart beat steadily, if a little faster than a human heart. It was a strange counter to my own Mechanical heart. That didn’t so much beat as pulse, and only a handful of times a minute.
How strange it was that his heart was more human than mine.
The same thought seemed to have gone through his mind. He moved one hand from around my waist and pressed it against my chest, his fingers feeling scalding hot against my skin.
“How does it work?” he asked, curious.
I covered his fingers with my own. “I don’t know exactly. It’s a pump, just like a real heart. But the actual mechanics of it are beyond me.” I frowned into the darkness. “Not that I haven’t tried. Ever since I was old enough to really understand that I didn’t have a heart like normal people I have read everything about the research, studied as much robotics as I can – of course I realise now that so much of what is out there is lies. Kendall clearly couldn’t make even half of his research public knowledge.”
“Perhaps one day -.”
“I plan on it. I would love nothing better than to expose him for exactly what he is. A monster.”
“A monster who saved your life. For that I must be forever grateful – even to the man I despise.”
I didn’t answer, but I also couldn’t deny to myself that I owed Kendall for more than just my heart. For Daniel. As changed and altered as he was. Kendall hadn’t been wrong when he said Daniel’s life on the streets – if he had truly been born on the streets – would have been brutal and short. As changed as he was, surely some kind of life was better than none at all? I fell asleep pondering it. I wasn’t sure the Mechanicals would agree with me.
Sixteen
I woke the next morning to a cold patch of earth beside me, and an empty clearing around the burnt-out fire. There was a momentary twinge of panic until I heard voices through the trees.
I rose, tugged my stolen jacket tight against the morning chill and stepped through the trees.
I should have expected it. All three Mechanicals were clustered around the map tree. Sarah crouched on one knee, running her fingers over the markings.
“I think I recognise these lakes.” She touched one area and then slid her fingers down a few millimetres. “Which puts us just about here.”
Daniel lent in closer. “Then we can’t be more than a few days walk from the Sanctuary.”
“A few days for us,” she said, standing up and brushing off her knee. “If you insist on dragging your human pet with you it will take us far longer.”
“I can keep up,” I blurted out, stepping between the trees.
None of them looked surprised to see me. With their enhanced hearing how could they be. Sarah smirked, happy to have riled me.
“Sure you can.” The sarcasm dripped from her voice and I flushed. The problem was that she was right. There was no way I could actually keep up with the Mechanicals if they were going full speed.
I glanced at Daniel and he shook his head.
“We are not leaving anyone behind. Not now.”
Relief flooded through me. Though I hadn’t actually expected anything less from him, I couldn’t ignore Sarah’s accusatory gaze. She hated me, which I thought was a little unfair as I’d saved both her and Robert, but her hatred of humans went too deep for her to shift, and I couldn’t entirely blame her.
Robert ignored the glares Sarah shot my way. “If that’s the case I think we should get started. We have some long days of travel ahead of us.”
It didn’t take long to get on the move. It wasn’t as though any of us had any baggage to pack up. I snatched up my backpack and the left-over food from the night before. I could eat on the move.
Daniel kicked dirt over the smouldering remains of the fire and we set out.
Even though they tried to keep to a pace I could manage I found myself dropping further and further behind more and more often. Their eagerness to reach the Sanctuary was evident and even Daniel was finding it impossible to keep to my slow pace.
Finally, late in the afternoon on the third day, as it started growing dim beneath the trees I lost sight of them completely. We had been travelling parallel to the road through the forest. The Mechanicals didn’t want to travel on the road itself, it was too exposed, but the forest was hard going, the undergrowth was pretty thick and the ground was uneven under foot.
I paused to catch my breath and as I stood there, hands on my knees, a noise reached me.
It was something I hadn’t heard in a while. The steady beat of a ‘copter.
It took a while for me to realise what I was hearing. What before had been the rare sound of a distant ‘copter had become an almost constant buzz. Closer, then further away, but never really fading.
“They’re circling,” Daniel said, making me jump. I hadn’t even heard him coming back to look for me. But I was glad he had. “They have been for quite a while now.”
I glanced upwards again as the buzz drew closer. I thought I alr
eady knew the answer, but I asked the question anyway. “Why?”
“Why do you think?” Sarah snapped from where she and Robert marched on. “You.”
“We don’t know that,” Robert chastised her quietly.
Sarah snorted but didn’t bother replying. I looked up at Daniel, noting the tightness around his eyes. He was worried. Very worried.
“What are you thinking?” I asked. My voice was barely a breath, but I was fairly sure Sarah and Robert could still hear me.
“The men in the alley – back in the town. I think they probably went to the authorities. A human girl travelling with a Mechanical? We’re pretty distinctive. And I would be very surprised if your parents haven’t got a reward posted for any information on your whereabouts.”
A reward that would likely be more money than those men would see in a year. It wasn’t hard to imagine that they would have gone running to the authorities as soon as they’d come around.
Even just knowing we’d been in Newcastle was enough to narrow down the search.
I offered Daniel a wry smile. “I am not the only one being searched for.”
He grimaced. “ I know. Kendall can’t publicly put out a reward for my return, but no doubt he’s pooled his resources with your parents.”
Neither of us mentioned the fear that they were the same resources. That my parents were more deeply involved in the Genesis Labs Mechanical project than I ever realised. How else would I have come by my Mechanical heart?
Daniel’s fingers found mine and he gave them a tight squeeze. “We’ll make it, Ellie. It’s not far now. And then we’ll both be free.”
I nodded, but didn’t mention that I’d been free any way. Rich, privileged, and human. The life I would walk back into if I went home was a good one. If my parents had been a little distant, a little self-absorbed, I couldn’t complain really. It had afforded me freedom above all else.
Metal in the Blood (The Mechanicals Book 1) Page 14