Chapter Thirty-three
Guns. That was the only thing that registered in my mind. The androids had guns. I had lost mine back at the Institution, and I panicked inside, desperately wondering what we were going to do. I saw one of them raise their weapon, and I frantically shoved Michael out of the way, the bullet skimming my hair. I pushed him forward, and we ran.
The snow was hard to run through, and I hoped that would help us get away, rather than help the androids gain on us. We sprinted through the trees, the crunching of our shoes against the ground the only noise above our labored breathing. The snow seeped through my shoes, leaving a stinging sensation as well as a soggy one. I could feel Michael right beside me, and I was suddenly glad that he was now able to keep up.
I heard the androids behind us, along with the ringing sound of their pistol shots as they hit the trees and echoed throughout the forest. A few times I heard them alarmingly close, and I strove to pick up the pace.
We darted past trees and bushes, nearly falling a few times in the snow. After a few minutes I realized I could no longer hear the androids behind us, and I slowed slightly to look behind me. They were gone. I slowed to a stop and so did Michael. “Where did they go?” he asked nervously, looking around.
I was quiet, watching the trees.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard a footstep and then something was being pressed to the back of my skull. “Don’t move,” a deep voice commanded, and Michael froze beside me. I heard the android take in a breath to say more, but before he had even uttered a sound, I had whirled around and knocked the gun from his hands. At the same time, Michael had grabbed the second android, taken his gun, and snapped the barrel in half with his fingers.
The android lunged for my neck, but I held him off. I kicked him hard in the shins, and he stopped momentarily in shocked pain. I took the opportunity, and we ran.
We sprinted across the snow, hearing angry shouts from behind us. I didn’t wait to see if they were going to follow us, I just kept running.
Michael and I ran for about fifteen minutes before we finally slowed down to catch our breath. We looked around warily, expecting, but not hoping, to see androids stepping out of the trees. After a few moments of silence we concluded that we had lost them.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “They must have been left over from the attack on the camp,” I said.
“Yeah,” Michael replied, still scanning the area around us.
“Let’s go,” I said, and we hurried on. We half-walked, half-ran, for another ten minutes before we stopped again to look around. I surveyed the area, looking for any signs of people, when I heard noise and quickly turned in that direction.
“Drew!” I heard a voice exclaim quietly. I looked over and smiled to see Marian hurrying my way.
“Marian!” I replied. “Where are the others?”
“We’re all spread out in groups around this area,” she told me. “Come on.” She beckoned for me to follow her. She glanced at Michael, and her eyes widened slightly. He smiled back, and she seemed to realize what had happened; her expression softened into one of ease. “Hi, Michael,” she said with a grin. “Welcome back.”
We walked a ways through the woods until we met up with a small group of about a dozen or so androids. I saw Jessica among them, and when she noticed us, she immediately jumped up and raced our way.
“Michael!” she cried, throwing her arms around him and hugging him. He hugged her back and then Jessica started gushing about how glad she was to see him.
We all waited around for Beatrix, Cassandra, Cameron, and Yvonne to show up, and they wandered in about an hour or two later, looking completely exhausted. They were all glad to see that I was okay, and they were gladly surprised to see Michael.
“So what happened?” Cassandra asked me once we had all settled around. “At the Institution?”
I explained to everyone how we had escaped, with a few gasps from Jessica at the part about the lethal injection. I briefly explained about what Glen had told me, leaving stunned looks on most of their faces. And then I recounted my encounter with the robot Drew, causing all of them to gape in horror and ask me multiple times if I was serious, to which I replied with a sober nod.
“What are we going to do?” Jessica asked slowly, a thoughtful but fearful expression on her face. “We can’t let the creators do this.” She cast us all a worried glance.
I was silent for a moment, a thought arising in my mind. One that would be dangerous, but seemed to be the only right thing to do. I looked around at all the others, and I suddenly saw in them the people who would help me accomplish what I needed to do. They had all gone through hard things in their lives, and their scars remained in their expressions, actions, and decisions. They all had been molded into survivors.
“Guys...” I said aloud, looking around at them. “We need to go back,” I saw hope slowly slide into their expressions, “and finish what we started.”
Chapter Thirty-four
We decided that we no longer needed a small operation; we needed a big one. A huge one. Most of the flawed had agreed to come, and all our weapons from camp were promptly retrieved and distributed. There wasn’t enough to supply everyone with something, but there was enough to supply most of us.
The plan was relatively simple and a lot like our previous one. Yvonne would still hack the computers and some of us would still guard her. But the attack portion of our plan was different. We weren’t sneaking in; there was no way we ever could. Instead, we were breaking in. We were going to force our way in even if it cost us our lives. We were going to go back to the Institution and finish everything once and for all.
There were no cars to take us all there, so we decided to walk. No one minded much. We were all fueled by anger and determination.
Yvonne walked alongside me, and I couldn’t help but smile at the realization that Yvonne and I were finally on the same side. We weren’t manipulating each other anymore. We were simply fighting for what we both believed in.
We seemed to reach the Institution sooner than we needed to. Something inside of me still told me that risking everyone’s lives was pointless. But at the same time I was ready to end this. I couldn’t wait any longer.
Guns raised and aimed, we barged through the Institution’s front doors and into the lobby where a startled and bewildered creator sat at the desk. I couldn’t help but smile at his expression upon seeing how many androids followed me inside. He opened his mouth to shout out, but one of the flawed had already knocked him out before he could even take a breath.
We marched past him and down the hallway leading toward the server room. We heard the thundering of footsteps that I used to dread, but now no longer feared. The androids rounded the corner, guns in hand, and Yvonne, a few others, and I sprinted away while a group of flawed held them back.
We reached the hallway to the server room, burst open the door, and hurried inside. I heard a shot and felt a bullet whiz by, but the creator who had fired was already out cold, Yvonne standing over him.
I ran to shut the door and heard androids hurrying down the hallway. I gripped my gun, not wanting to use it, but knowing that I would if I had to. It felt hot and dangerous in my hands, and I wanted to drop it, but I held on firmly.
Yvonne started typing away on the computer, and I could hear the shouts of androids and flawed outside of the room. I glanced around. Yvonne and I were the only ones in here, and she was steadily typing and clicking away, already done with the password and logging into the programming software.
I heard a bang on the door, and I jumped. Yvonne turned around but only for an instant before she was back to studying the computer screen. I heard the sound of a gun and jumped back as a bullet shot through the door. I immediately cocked my gun and shot at the bottom of the door, hoping to shoot the android’s foot or leg and wound him. The bullet made sharp whizzing sounds as it collided and passed through the wood. I could almost sense Yvonne rolling her eyes at me. You’re weak, Drew,
she would say. And maybe I was. Or maybe I was brave to decide for myself that I would never kill a human being. Maybe the creators were weak for mindlessly killing others. Maybe bravery is the ability to fight your desires, not to prove how cruel you can be. A thought flew to my mind; a thought that had never occurred to me before because I had never considered it to be true. Maybe I am brave.
I heard a shout through the door. My heart was pounding, and I stayed to the side in case any more bullets flew through. I cast a glance at Yvonne, wondering how far she was and how long this would take her. We had only been in here a few minutes, although it had seemed like hours. Through the door, I could hear the sounds of a battle going on. A battle that made me sick to my stomach. The sounds of bullets whizzing by and cries and shouts from androids and flawed all mingled together to create the noise of something terrible and ugly. Something the creators had created.
I partially opened the door to look around and saw dozens of androids and flawed, probably all of them, enclosed together in the hallway, shooting and fighting. One of the androids shot at me, and I raised my gun to shoot back, hitting her in the arm, and causing her to drop her weapon. I scanned the crowd for Michael and was relieved to see him in the far corner, wrestling a gun out of an android’s hands. Jessica and Marian were standing back to back, shooting at anyone who came their way, and although I couldn’t seem to spot Cassandra or Cameron, I knew they were most likely all right.
I shut the door and turned back to Yvonne. “How long?” I asked.
She shook her head, not looking away from the screen. “I’m not familiar with the software,” she explained. “I need to figure it out before I can disable it.”
It made sense, so I closed my eyes and prayed for patience. The minutes ticked by and seemed like hours. Every cry from outside the door made my heart bleed, thinking that it might be someone I loved. I knew I couldn’t exit the room and leave Yvonne unguarded, so I merely stationed myself by the door and used my gun to guard off anyone who tried to enter.
Suddenly the sounds from outside stopped. There were no more shouts or gunshots. I thought about opening the door, but was afraid to, unsure of what I might meet.
“Drew,” I heard Yvonne’s voice from across the room. It was oddly quiet and almost shocked. “I did it.”
I didn’t know what I had expected this moment to be like. Had I expected to run around shouting and laughing? Had I expected to be hugging everyone and basking in our victory? I didn’t know what I had assumed would happen, but I just stood there, silent. I was shocked. Had I not believed we would get this far? Had I never really envisioned what this might feel like? I stood there, staring at Yvonne, and she stared back at me. Suddenly a small smile crept into her features and Yvonne was grinning. “I did it,” she repeated. “We did it.”
I smiled back and ran to the door, Yvonne right on my heels. Outside was just as quiet as Yvonne and I had been a moment earlier. Androids stared around in confusion and the flawed watched them in shock. It was so strange to see a place that had been a battlefield only moments before morph into something so eerily peaceful and quiet.
I slowly stepped out into the hallway as if afraid I might break the spell if I walked too loudly. The air seemed thick and hot around us, as if left over by the battle. Many of the androids lay wounded on the floor and were being helped up. I saw a heap lying in the corner, and with a catch in my breath, I saw that it had the same auburn hair and blue eyes that I did. I noticed Michael glancing in the same direction and then turning to look at me. She had never been human, I reminded myself. Shutting down her programming had shut her off, as well.
I saw Jessica and Marian heading our way, wide smiles on their faces, radiating the glow of success. I saw Cassandra across the room, and although she looked bloody and disheveled, a large grin painted her features. I looked over to congratulate Yvonne, but before the first word even left my lips, someone had barged through the double doors at the end of the hallway, a large bang echoing throughout the corridor.
All heads turned in his direction as Glen stormed our way. His gun was raised. He was aiming at me. His eyes burned living hatred. I opened my mouth to say something but no words came. The gun was fired. I was too shocked to move. I stared at Glen, not even registering in my mind what had truly happened. The gun had been pointed at my head; I would die. But just then, a dark flash of something tall and beautiful pushed me to the floor right before the bullet whizzed past my ear and pierced her in the heart.
Chapter Thirty-five
Yvonne sank to her knees, her face oddly expressionless. I cried out her name although the sound of my voice didn’t seem to reach my ears. I knew the flawed had reached Glen and taken his gun away but my eyes were glued on the girl in front of me.
The beautiful girl who had risked her life to save mine. Selfish Yvonne no longer seemed so selfish. I couldn’t feel my legs; my body was shaking, but I somehow managed to reach her before she fell completely over. I gripped her shoulders, holding her up as she leaned her head against my arm. Oh God, don’t let her die, I pleaded silently, tears sliding out of the corners of my eyes. Yvonne couldn’t die. Yvonne was indestructible, undefeatable, but for the first time, I realized how truly vulnerable she was.
I sat on the ground as Yvonne stared up at me, her dark eyes alive with something I had never seen before. “Drew,” she said, a smile playing on her lips. Suddenly she coughed; blood spilling out of the corners of her mouth, her smile gone.
“Yvonne,” I replied, my voice choking. Her breathing was labored, and she closed her eyes momentarily, squeezing them shut as if that would dull the pain. “Why?” I asked quietly. “Why did you do it?”
A tiny grin melted into her expression, although her eyebrows furrowed in pain. Her eyes were bittersweet, something I didn’t know Yvonne was capable of conveying until now. “Because I love you,” she replied softly, and those three words shocked me more than anything else I had ever heard. “You’re the little girl I grew up with,” she added. “How could I not love you?”
I stared at Yvonne in surprise, the tears coming freely now. They slipped out of my eyes and dripped down my cheeks. A tear landed on Yvonne’s face, and she weakly brushed it away. “You don’t have to cry for me, Drew,” Yvonne said. “It’s not like I don’t deserve to die this way,” she said with a strained, almost painful laugh.
I shook my head, wishing Yvonne didn’t believe that. Her breathing was slowing and her eyes were losing their light. Their beautiful light that I had seen sparkle so many times. The smiles were gone; we both knew her fate.
Yvonne looked up at me, her eyes hesitant yet determined; a searching look etched on her face. She looked reluctant, as if she wanted to think through her next statement but knew she had no time. There was a long pause. “Do you think He’d forgive me?” she asked so softly I wasn’t sure if I had even heard it. The whisper of a question so unlike Yvonne, yet something that sounded so good in her voice. Something so natural; so beautiful.
I stared at her, surprised, but only for a moment. “Yes,” I replied quietly, because I knew it was true.
She took in a shaky breath, her body shuddering against mine, struggling to hold onto the life she knew she was going to lose. She looked up, her dark eyes searching mine with a passion I had never seen before. “Would you?” Her voice was a whisper; a thought. Something spoken so softly but so clearly at the same time.
“Yes, Yvonne.”
A small smile spread across her face, crinkling her nose and lighting up her eyes, and I suddenly realized I had never seen Yvonne smile; not this way. Her smile wasn’t sneaky or mocking; it was true happiness I saw conveyed in her eyes. A happiness I had never seen on her before.
Yvonne had a beautiful smile.
I could hear the others around me shifting and watching us, but I only had eyes for Yvonne. The girl who had saved my life. The girl who had chosen to die for me. The least likely candidate. The friend who I had loved the most all along.
I stared into Yvonne’s beautiful, dark eyes as they slowly lost their light forever, and she died in my arms.
Chapter Thirty-six
A loud crash echoed through the room, and my head turned toward the sound, still muddled and slow. A woman walked through the doors at the end of the hallway, nearly tackled to the ground by the surrounding androids. I saw Glen being held off to the side and the look of disgust that washed across his face once he saw her.
Suddenly I stood, feeling all the pent-up anger I’d been storing over the hours, months, and years the creators had their hold over me.
“Drew!” the woman called, as a few androids held her back. I noticed a few flawed among them, but mostly androids from the Institution. Androids that, now that their programming was gone, had realized what the creators truly did to them. I frowned, wondering why she knew my name or felt the need to call it out. I supposed that most the creators knew my name by now, though.
“You killed her!” I shouted, feeling anger burst through me. Fury at Glen for shooting Yvonne, but also fury at every single creator because of what they did together. All of them, each and every one, had a hand in the events that lead to Yvonne’s death.
The woman faltered, but only momentarily, and as she neared me, I suddenly recognized her. The woman from the hotel – blonde and blue-eyed. She had been a creator – she had never quit – although I had suspected it for awhile. I opened my mouth to say something to her, anything at all, but she talked over me.
“We have to get out,” she called. “The building’s burning.”
I froze, confused. “Burning?” I asked sharply.
She nodded vehemently.
“Somehow there’s a fire.”
I stared at her for a long moment. It was plausible that with all the commotion, all the fighting and breaking in, that a fire could have been started along the way. I was just about to ask her where the fire was, to prove it, when a loud crash shook through the hallway. I steadied myself against the wall just as the door to the server room beside me crashed down, smoke pouring out into the hallway. A few people cried out, taking steps back, and I knew the fire had to have been going for awhile to be crumbling the building to pieces around us. I turned back to the woman. “Get everybody out,” I said and then looked around for Michael, Jessica, and the rest of the flawed. Now I understood why the air had seemed so warm. Heat was emanating from the walls now, smoke coating everything a dark gray. Michael and Jessica hurried toward me as I scanned for a safe exit. Just then the ceiling above us began to cave, sending plaster, and white dust crashing to the floor. I could see Cassandra and Cameron hurrying down the opposite hallway, and I hoped everyone else had gotten out as well. Jessica was tugging on my arm, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from the cloud of smoke and plaster.
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