by Aaron Denius
The coast is clear, so I lead KJ through. Seconds after we step out, the door behind us clanks shut. The sound of the metal door hitting the metal frame is not discreet.
“Over here!” a drone's voice calls from the fog.
“Run!” I push KJ, and we both take off in a sprint. I keep pace with her to make sure we don't get separated and lose sight of each other. She’s not very fast, so it won’t take long for the drones to catch us.
Right now, the fog is giving us cover, so they can't see our moves, but I'm sure they’ve spread out to cover more ground. If we make a wrong turn, we risk running into one of them.
We keep a steady pace, but I can hear the drone behind us gaining. In front of us, the fog reveals a high wall. When we reach the large concrete obstacle, KJ grabs my arm and pulls me toward the right. She keeps running, and I pull up next to her, making sure that she stays between me and the wall. If a drone sneaks upon us, I want to make sure I can protect her.
A few dozen feet down, KJ stops and starts climbing the wall. “Follow me.
When I look, I see that the wall has some chunks taken out in what looks like a makeshift ladder. As I'm about to place my foot in the first gap, I see a silhouette running right at me. The drone spots me and increases his speed, raising his rifle at me. I leverage myself low and on my toes. I only have one chance to use his momentum to make this quick.
The drone is only a couple of feet from me when I step off to the side and launch my body at him from a low angle. I grab the arm with the rifle using my left arm and put my other hand behind his head. Using our combined momentum, I spin him around and throw his face into the wall. The cracking of bones reminds me of when I kicked the Cabra.
He's not dead, but I know how drones are programmed to treat injured comrades. They are dispensable. He won't be alive much longer. I grab the rifle and kneel next to him. “I'm sorry.”
I leave him there in pain but hope that he can experience a moment of authentic human life in the little time he has left before they find him. Death without living is meaningless.
“80?” I hear KJ whisper from above my head. She must not have seen what happened. I'm glad she didn't witness it.
“Coming.” I throw the rifle strap around my shoulder and climb up. When at the top, I almost run into her and knock her over.
The wall was built alongside a building, blocking windows and doors. Once I reach the top. KJ climbs down the other side, keeping close to the corner formed by the wall and the building's exterior. I skip the last half of the wall and drop down beside her.
She pushes me against the wall with one hand covering my mouth and the other holding up a finger to her lips. “Quiet.”
“Where are we?” I manage to whisper through her hand.
“Cabras.” That’s all she says. She looks confused by the rifle that I gained since she last saw me, and I shrug it off.
KJ starts walking through the heavy fog, and I stay close to her, ready to use the rifle at any moment. Though the drones that were chasing us were formidable foes, the flesh-thirsty Cabras, lurking unseen, have me on edge. There could be hundreds surrounding us, and like before, the chill of their eyes is upon me.
The air is still and colder in here, and the stench of death offends my nose. Movements in my peripheral and small sounds pull my rifle's aim in all directions. After a hundred yards, I sense that we are in the heart of this area and exposed to attack from all directions.
On cue, KJ runs. Faster than she did on the other side of the wall. Her urgency causes my heart to skip, and survival instincts of fear and flight kick in. They trained me to fight, but here, my training would get me killed.
I catch up to her as she reaches a building and climbs through a window on the ground level. I step in after her. She pushes me down and puts her hand on my mouth. When I look back out the window, I see about two dozen Cabras close in on the grounds outside the building. We were seconds away from certain death. Frustrated because they lost us, the Cabras fight amongst each other and disperse.
KJ stands and pulls me by the arm. She walks us along the inner walls, keeping us away from the debris-strewn center of this building. I can see that she's trying to get us to a door on the far side of the wall, to our right. A task that would be much faster if we walked through the middle.
When I see why she is taking us on this path along the perimeter, I stop. In the middle of the floor, around fallen rubble and furniture, are about twenty sleeping Cabras. All shapes and sizes. Men and women. Old and young.
KJ tugs at my arm, but before I keep moving, an older Cabra sits up and looks straight at us. His eyes have a faint red glow in this dark room. I raise my rifle and aim it right at his head. A soft hand pushes the gun back down, and I look to see KJ's eyes pleading with me not to shoot.
I lower the rifle and walk behind her, keeping an eye on the Cabra. His stare never leaves KJ as he adjusts his position to keep her in his sight. The expression on his face is a battle between human compassion and animalistic hunger. Does he know her? They were all once normal humans. Just as much as I've turned away from my instinctual programming, they have reverted.
We reach the door, and she pushes me through first. When I turn, I see her looking back at the older Cabra. She makes a gesture with her hands, and the Cabra lies back down. KJ walks through the door and shuts it behind her. With tears running down her cheek, she puts her arms around me and lays her head on my shoulder.
I wrap my arms around her, caressing her head with my left hand. “Who was that?”
My shirt grows wet with her tears. She sniffles. “My father.”
I don't know how to process this information. I'm speechless. I keep holding her while she sobs as I replay the last few moments in my head. He did recognize her. The bit of humanity that was aching to reach out was love for his daughter.
KJ breaks away and climbs up the stairs that fill this small room. I follow close behind, silent and unsure. She rises, stepping her way through her tears. Ones she has shed many times before, I'm sure.
We make it to one of the top floors, and I get an eerie sense that I have been here before. She stops short of the window and looks at me, her eyes giving me the okay to speak.
“How?” That is all I can muster.
She leans against the open windowsill. Wisps of her hair dance in front of her face as a breeze blows into the building. She takes a deep breath. “My parents kept Pocket a secret when my mother was pregnant with her. They would have been punished if anyone found out that they exceeded the two-child limit. The scientists were rigorous when they first arrived. They used drones and superior firepower to enforce the rules. When they handed out the vaccines, my family only got four. My father sacrificed himself so that Pocket could live.”
I didn't know someone could be that selfless and sacrifice themselves. It is the antithesis of what Dr. Anfang and everyone at the compound is doing. I grab KJ's hand, and she lets me hold it.
She continues, “Pocket and Jean don't know he's here, and my mother doesn't know that I come to see him.”
Now I know why this room is familiar. “Is this the building where you rescued me?”
“Yes, it is.” KJ smiles. “I was here watching my father when I heard the commotion in the alley. I ran and looked out the window and saw you in trouble.”
“I can't believe I was that lucky,” I reflect.
“Yes, you are.” She kisses my cheek. “Now you know what comes next.”
She climbs out the window into the thick clouds, and I follow. The wires strung between the two buildings feel much thinner than they did before. The breeze gets a little stronger halfway through, making the trek more challenging. Knowing that these wires have a secure end, I gather my courage and glide to the second building.
With her experience, KJ breezes along the wires. I take a little longer, and when I climb through the second window, I see her standing at the door, anxious to continue. We speed to the ground floor, and she stops me befo
re I step out of the building.
“We shouldn't be seen together.” She places her hand on my cheek. It's warm against the skin that still hasn't recovered from the cool air in the clouds.
“Right,” I reply, not hiding my disappointment.
“We'll see each other again.” She kisses me hard on my lips. There is a passion behind it that warms the rest of my cold body. She pulls away. “Whatever series of events and coincidences we both had to go through to have found each other, I am grateful.”
“I, uh…” bumbles out of my mouth.
She laughs and runs out the door. I watch her fade out of view as the door closes in my face. I stare at the darkness surrounding me. What kind of an idiot answer was that? She poured her heart out to me and 'uh' was all I could muster?
I shake it off, and the image of her kissing me with so much passion projects in my brain. My smile strains the muscles in my cheeks. I open the door and run. The adrenaline from the escape and the kiss carry me back to the stadium. The night has engulfed my surroundings, but it will be hours before I can go back to sleep. I need to find 13. I need to tell him what I found so we can get started tomorrow.
I reach the stadium on one of the sides away from my entrance, so I walk around until I find it. The fog isn't as dense here, but the stadium's top disappears in those low-hanging clouds. As I turn the corner, I spot a shadow standing at the entrance, holding a gun. I correct my posture and head right to the shadow to try to emulate a drone as much as possible.
When I'm a few yards away, the figure recognizes me and lowers his weapon. It's 13.
“Are you alone?” he asks.
“Yes,” I snap back.
“Good.” He turns. “Come with me.”
He leads me through the ground levels of the stadium and to the open field in the middle. It's the first time I have been out here since I first arrived from the Egypt compound. That feels like ages ago, but I have no time to reminisce, because 13 continues walking toward a set of concrete stairs. We climb to the very top of the stadium. My legs shake on the last few steps, and my lungs struggle. Today has taken a physical toll on my body.
We stand next to each other, and I look around to catch my bearings and take in the view. The clouds are so dense that they seem to wrap around both of us. I can't even see the field below.
“Here, I brought you one.” 13 pulls a protein pouch from his pocket and hands it to me.
The instant it hits my hand, a pang strikes my stomach, and I realize that I have not eaten a single thing today. I rip it open and consume the entire thing in one gulp.
“I'm glad I brought that.” He chuckles.
“Me too.” I laugh. “I found a place. It's perfect for turning the drones and acclimating them. It's in an abandoned part of the city with smaller buildings. They are all still in good shape.”
“The place with the bad water?” he asks.
“Yes.” My skin shivers. It's colder up here. “I did see a few drones patrolling there, though. So, we need to be careful.”
He looks me in the eye. “You need to be careful. I found out that Lucie has been getting drones to keep an eye on you and report back to her. She knows about KJ. She doesn't know who she is or what she means to you, because the drones aren't sure how to relay that information. But she does know that you have spent time with her.”
I'm at a loss for words. I thought we had been careful, and no one had followed us. I guess when I'm with her, I am less concerned with my surroundings. Does that mean that they are also aware of my plans to turn the drones?
13 answers my question for me. “I asked if they have seen you do anything else. They said no, but Lucie told them to follow you if they ever saw you wander off alone. Since they have seen me with you when we have talked about the plan, they haven't found it suspicious. It's why I brought you up here. They believe we are patrolling the perimeter together.”
“That's good. And I will be more aware and careful moving forward.” I still can't believe that I was so naive to think that I wasn't being watched. Of course I am. Lucie has been suspicious of me since she first saw me walk up with Farouk.
“Tomorrow, I will assign two drones, along with you and myself, to patrol Badwater. We can take advantage of that and force those drones to drink the first two vials.” 13 smirks. He's proud of his plan.
“That's perfect,” I comply. “Is that place called Badwater?”
“I don't know. But it's what I'm calling it.” He laughs again. “What else did you and KJ do?”
“We kissed.” It slips out of my mouth. My cheeks turn red, and I'm embarrassed I let that out.
“That's where people put their lips together, right? Didn't Paz and Farouk do that?” he pries.
I try to recall. “I think so.”
“Why do people do that? Are they blowing in each other's mouths?” The genuineness of his inquiry is charming, but it still makes me laugh.
“No.” I stop laughing, questioning my idea of kissing. “Or at least I hope not, because then I've been doing it wrong.”
A guttural laugh escapes his mouth. It's the first I've heard him let loose. He's still growing and changing, but it feels great to have another person going through what I've had to go through. It's nice not to be alone with my challenges.
For the next few hours, we joke and talk. He asks me questions about anything and everything, and I do my best to answer each one as best I can. It reminds me of the nights I spent with Atom on the library roof at the Egypt compound.
When our laughs turn to yawns, we head back down the endless stairs to the field and then to our separate rooms. I don't bother removing my clothes, and I collapse on the bed. My body earned sleep today.
A knock at my door wakes me. I stand, half alert, and put my shoes on my feet. I'm not sure what time it is or who it might be, but I'm not in the mood to keep up appearances. I crack the door to see 13 flanked by two other drones.
“You have thirty seconds to fall in line!” he shouts, playing his role of the senior drone with perfect precision.
His demand brings me to full alertness. I know what we are doing. The adrenaline kicks in as I take two of the vials from under my bed. I make sure they are still secure in the socks, and then I place them in my pockets, tapping them to ensure their safety.
I fall in line behind the other drones and let 13 lead us to our destination. The drones here still see me as a traitor, so they don't speak to me. We reach the exterior of the stadium, and 13 hands each of us a rifle. A few blocks down the side of the stadium, I spot Farouk with a group of other scientists, gathered around four large metal cylinders. It's the first time I have ever seen him at work.
After a long walk, we arrive at the small town of Badwater, as 13 called it. He stops us and looks right at me. “80, where did you see the propaganda?”
It takes me a couple of seconds to realize that he doesn't know where to go from here and wants me to lead them. I step forward. “This way.”
When we make it to the center of the town, I realize that many buildings look the same. I'm not one hundred percent sure which of them might be the right one. I try to retrace the steps that KJ and I took and take an educated guess, picking the second building on my left.
Once through the front door and in the hallway, I spot faint footsteps in the dust on the ground. This is the right place. I lead them up the stairs and to the entrance of the apartment.
“It's in there.” I look back at 13, unsure of what his plan is.
“Guns up and enter,” he orders us. His confidence reassures me that he has a plan.
I crack the door open and lead with the gun, as I was trained, even though I know we won't find anything inside. We enter, and 13 signals with his hand for the other two drones to check out the rooms on the right as we check out the ones on the left. The drones proceed with stealth, and we hustle to the other side.
“Give me the vials.” He sticks his hand out.
I pull the socks from my pockets an
d unwrap them. “What are you planning to do?”
“Just be quiet and follow my lead.” He grabs the vials from me and runs back to the main room. “54, 46!”
They run back to the main room, guns ready to go off at any moment. I pace behind 13 with my own weapon ready in case things go south.
“Swallow these.” He hands a vial to each of them. They grab them and stare at the liquid in the vials. My heart pumps in my throat. I did not expect 13 to be this direct, and I fear for the glass vials. I'd hate to disappoint Paz by breaking either of them.
54 and 46 look at each other. 54 speaks. “What is—”
“We've been exposed to a foreign agent here that will break down our functions. This will stabilize it.” 13 does not sway from his role as a leader. “80 and I have already had ours. Now drink. That's an order!”
Both drones drink the liquid and hand the vials back to 13, who hands them over to me. I wrap them up in my socks again, which draws suspicious looks from 54 and 46.
“What did you give us?” 46 asks.
Before we answer, the drones collapse to the floor, and their bodies convulse with violence, causing them to slam their heads on the floor and walls. Both wail from pain as their bodies shut down. They gasp for air as their breath and movements slow. At last, they stop and lie motionless.
I step over to 46 and bend down next to him. I check his neck for a pulse and feel a faint pump about three times in fifteen seconds. Next, I lick my finger and place it under his nose. The sudden burst of coolness on my skin lets me know he's still breathing.
“Help me move them in here.” I motion for 13 to grab 54’s body as I lift 46 and drag him to the bathroom. Their forms are so stiff that they seem heavier than I’d expect.
We perch them up against the wall and check again to see that they are still breathing. Their bodies are motionless; they almost look dead. I hope that the vials do their trick and that the drones will start to turn when the symptoms wear off.