by C. W. Ashley
"Francis Hughes Model 1.0," she said, cutting him off. "But 'Mode' will suffice if you prefer."
Iggy shrugged as she ultimately named herself, thinking that it kind of suited her. When he took the 2nd glance, he began to appreciate her unusual beauty. Despite one half of her face being a dark grey metal that contrasted with the fleshy color of her skin on the rest of it, she was still striking, like a piece of chaotic art. The fact that her legs were mismatched based on the amount of metal and skin covering the surface didn't make them any less shapely or appealing to Iggy's eyes.
"Hey Tin-Girl, scan me. I want to see what my public files say." Clarissa asked from the voice box with noticeable snark.
"Clarissa LaVaye, Eighty-Nine years old, Birthplace unknown. Vampire. Armed and extremely dangerous. High authority in the shell of Folsom. Closely associated with the Cook syndicate." Mode said succinctly.
"Not bad! Birthplace was a long-shot though, I don't even know where I was born," Clarissa said with an audible clap
"I thought you said you were 88," Iggy asked curiously.
"Well my birthday was coming up sometime this week, hell it might even be today," she said with a snicker.
Mode’s brow furrowed slightly as she turned around to look at the backseat as if she was trying to look right through it.
“What’s wrong?” Iggy asked.
“No public files, accessing classified missing person’s report…” Mode stated before pausing, leaving both Iggy and Clarissa in bemused suspense. “Sylvia, twenty-five years old. Birthplace Unknown. Werewolf. Also known as the Fenrir, exceptionally lethal. Avoid at all costs.”
“Missing person’s report? You mean that Sylvi- uh Sil leaving home was unexpected?” Iggy asked.
Mode turned back to Iggy, her disturbing gaze holding for a few too many seconds while she was silent as if she was processing some extra information. “I have no more information on her, Randall. In my incomplete state, I have limited access to data. How did she come into your capture?”
“Capture? No, Sil just sort of...found me. She feels at home in this vehicle so...she travels along I guess,” Iggy said.
“Don’t leave out all the hot sex you have with her, Crasher. I’m sure Tin-Girl’s database logs all the details,” Clarissa snorted.
“I..well...she…” Iggy stuttered.
“Yes, you’ve been having sexual intercourse with both the Werewolf and Vampire, I detected multiple traces of your semen on their bodies on-encounter.”
“Hey...that’s...oh god really?” Iggy said with a hot face.
“Guess I didn’t absorb all of it!” Clarissa chortled.
“Father’s programming left me with very little information on human relationships outside of established traditions. Do you plan to marry them both?”
This fucking conversation!
Clarissa’s mocking laughter filled the entire car as Iggy’s face swelled with embarrassment. “Sorry Crasher, I no longer have the finger for your wedding ring! But Sil could double up as a wife and the family dog, what do you think?”
“I... I think with any luck we can still get to Maim Creek on time, now that we are out of that forest, how is she anyway?”
Iggy felt he had to change the conversation, he had no desire to reveal his recent feelings about Sil or Clarissa to his new mechanical guest. “She’s sleeping again, I think those last two ‘shifts’ really took it out of her. She looked almost human back at the house…” Clarissa paused, her jaw audibly clenched in pain and frustration. “Fuckin’ poachers, shooting off my damn finger. When this deal is done, I don’t want to even look at guns for another decade. “
The reminder of why they were traveling soothed Iggy’s mind. She never explicitly said it, but he quietly hoped that whatever plans Clarissa had for the future, he would be able to keep in contact with her. Her version of freedom had become a part of his.
“So, Mode, what happens now? I mean I’m sure you’re upset about your dad…” Iggy tried to say sensitively.
“I do not feel any sadness, Father was very clear that life in this world is fragile and finite and that his was coming to an end. His existence and words are all stored in my memory, clear as when he was living,” Mode said.
Iggy took his eyes off the road to gaze at Mode as she spoke, trying to pick up on anything distinctly human about her responses. The organic parts of her face all moved naturally, but there was something deeply unnerving about the way it would drop back into ‘neutral’ expression after every sentence. Iggy wondered if she was truly sentient or if she was just programmed sophisticatedly enough to appear that way. Iggy had gotten used to being looked at with primal desire and curiosity by Sil and underlying admiration from Clarissa. But with Mode, she simply stared right through him.
“He didn’t get a chance to tell me much about you,” Iggy said while pulling into a gentle curve on the road to the mountains. “I’m not really sure what his plans were for you.”
“He told me to live life, understand humanity and improve on it in every way possible. I’m not sure how to complete that task, but I will start by finishing my own construction,” Mode said.
With the amount that she knows I shouldn’t be surprised.
“Back at the lab?” Iggy asked.
“Preferably, but I could start anywhere with a workbench and key parts. Some are back at home, others need to be located,” she said blankly.
“Sounds like a job, Tin Girl. He’s still working for me so get in line,” Clarissa interjected.
“Your assistance would be most welcome, Randall, though I have no money to pay you,” Mode said with a more conversational variation of her cold tone.
“Okay, well just help keep us all alive while we get to our destination and then I’ll think of something afterward,” Iggy said with uncertainty.
“I will continue to guard you,” she stated firmly.
A Werewolf, Vampire and an Android, you couldn’t make this stuff up.
In Sil, he saw a wild passionate creature. A genius of the big waste, but curious and naive to the rest of society. Clarissa was a world-weary powerful specimen of deadly intellect and ruthless actions with a small but noticeable side of insecurity. Mode seemed to almost a hybrid of the two, as new to the world as a child but an archive’s worth of data. He didn’t think about it consciously, but Iggy wanted to get closer to her. He was once again intrigued.
As the Blockgain approached speeds of 180 MPH the jagged hills of Maim Creek became more visible. Small but vicious-looking mountains made of red and black rocks sat across the horizon in an intimidating fashion. The late morning sky was painted a dark orange and the air was bitter and rough like a discarded ashtray. The big waste was warning the weak away from here, but Iggy had come too far, he had no choice.
Holding a sleeve over his mouth to cough heavily as his throat adjusted to the new air, he began to hear the engine volume increase notably. As he leaned into his dashboard, he realized that it wasn’t his engine making the added noise, but something else in the vicinity. Sil was asleep to the world but Clarissa and Mode picked up on it immediately, with the android lifting the assault rifle and turning to peer out of the window, being able to see perfectly in the light grey haze of the atmosphere.
“A poacher vehicle is pursuing us, Randall. How do you wish to approach combat?” Mode asked calmly.
No, no, no. I can’t fight an Interceptor now! How long have they been following us?
Iggy’s hand trembled as he spotted the large sand-colored battle vehicle closing in on him. It was more tank than car; six heavy-duty wheels and thick angled armor plating around the body and hood. Long serrated ramming spikes sticking out from the front of the grille and twin grenade launchers were affixed to either side of the hood.
Iggy’s body went cold. His fearful mind brought him deadly premonitions of the mangled steel and burned chassis of his Blockgain Chaser. Turning to Mode and speaking into the voice box, he yelled in a hoarse and desperate tone. “I�
��m gonna try and outrun it, but I’m not sure if I can! Hold on to the safety bars and Sil, Clarissa. Mode, you ready to shoot if they get close?”
The android nodded calmly, aiming her weapon at the car window. “Good luck Randall,” she said in her fixed tone.
The whooshing blast of the Blockgain’s boosters screamed across the Hangman’s Hills, reaching speeds of over 200 MPH. The interceptor was only slightly slower, not having a boost function but a mighty engine that let it keep Iggy’s vehicle in front of it as they tore past a blur of wrecked infrastructure. The Poachers inside the interceptor didn’t speak, even out of the view of the public they would stay in silent focus determined to see their ‘poach’ through to the end. Their training made them like machines, personality and conversation were taught as an obstacle to efficiency.
The rushing world around them was now one of populated society, with mostly-intact highways weaved around the hills. Medium-sized buildings housed gang hideouts and powder dens. Mutant run open markets littered the road-sides and nomad vehicles made up sparse traffic on the wide tarmac. A pre-skirmish billboard was heavily adorned in graffiti, with ‘WELCOME TO MAIM CREEK BITCHES’ scrawled in hot pink obnoxiously.
Iggy’s heart was hammering through his chest, he was so close. But despite his highly skilled evasive driving, the interceptor was hot on his tail, trying to line up for a shot. Iggy was ignorant of most weapons but even he knew a citadel-crafted grenade launcher could turn his muscle car into a fireball.
“Just hit Maim Creek, Landlady! Now we just gotta shake this poacher!”
Clarissa once again gripped Sil and the safety bars inside the backseat as Iggy tightly drifted towards a dirt road that lead into a natural scrap yard. Seeing it as the only chance to outmaneuver their dangerous pursuers.
Huge remnants of pre-skirmish machinery lay half-buried in the landscape. The rusted remains of large aircraft made up most of the ancient debris, creating somewhat of a natural maze for the vehicles navigating the area. Iggy felt his own hot breath blazing over his knuckles, as he gripped the steering wheel in desperate survival. Mode looked over to him calmly and laid the assault rifle in her lap.
“The armor of the interceptor would repel all gunfire from this weapon with relative ease. On the contrary, the Blockgain Chaser will not survive a direct hit from the grenade launcher. What is your plan, Randall?” Mode asked.
“I’m still figuring that out, Mode. Just hang on!” Iggy barked through clenched teeth as he whipped the car around a partial jumbo jet wing.
Mode nodded, and placed her hand on a safety bar as her head moved left and right as if she was scanning everything around them. It looked unnatural like some sort of wind up doll, but Iggy was grateful for any support he could get in this chase.
Approaching top speeds, Iggy steered through as many tight junctions of debris as he could. His expert driving narrowly keeping him from any nasty collisions with the large heaps of scrap that seemed to go on for miles.
A lot of planes were downed during the skirmishes here, or was it something else?
Despite the hasty but skilled maneuvers, the interceptor never seemed to be more than one corner behind the Blockgain. The interceptor was an S-Class vehicle with unparalleled acceleration and grip. The six tires were also fitted specifically for the terrain of the zone, unlike the ‘all-purpose’ tires that were currently on the Blockgain. Only Iggy’s laser-sharp steering was keeping him out of the grenade launcher crosshairs.
Iggy cursed audibly as he saw the beige half-tank swerve around every corner in pursuit of him, not seeming to lose any speed. Iggy heavily considered using another boost but was not confident he could maintain the Blockgain’s agility once pushing it past 200 MPH again. After cutting a hard 90-degree turn at a rusted jet engine, the voice box crackled on.
“I can hear how fuckin’ close they are! Tell me you’ve got a plan, Crasher.”
The plan is to not get my vehicle blown up. Man, they’re fast!
“This scrap yard is a maze to drive through, they’ll make a mista-”
The thundering blast of an explosion ripped through Iggy’s sentence and the impact was so close it busted the window glass on the passenger side, a wave of fiery light and burning heat assaulted Iggy’s senses before dissipating. Mode didn’t move an inch.
“SHIT! Did they hit us?!” Iggy screamed as he refocused his eyes just in time to swerve around a fuel canister the size of a truck.
“Interceptor’s weapon was an indirect hit. Damage moderate, mostly to the exterior.” Mode said unflinchingly, overlapping with Clarissa’s cursing from the voice box mixed with Sil’s waking barks.
“Nishin! Move home faster! Home can’t be hurt!” Sil demanded from the voice box.
The Blockgain fishtailed slightly, but Iggy was able to steady the vehicle immediately. The Derbies condition drivers to stay focused and keep the car's level right after impact, and that conditioning kept Iggy alive once again. His head throbbed as he tried to filter the voices of his companions to focus on his enemy. Glancing at the side mirror, he saw that the interceptor was fishtailing dramatically trying to regain control and trailing much further behind him.
That’s it! I knew it!
Tapping lightly on the brakes, Iggy slowed himself down, bringing himself in line with the recently stabilized interceptor. Iggy clenched his teeth and bared a wild grin as he kept turning to the side mirror and checking the open paths in front of him.
“Crasher, are you fuckin’ slowing down? Did they damage the engine?” Clarissa asked in a panic.
“Negative Clarissa, the engine is operational, Randall is decreasing speed manually,” Mode responded.
Iggy glanced at the unfazed android and winked at her, still holding his crazed smile. “Postpone your fucking suicide, Crasher, and hit that pedal before they get off another shot!”
Just as Clarissa shouted the ‘Ka-thunk’ sound of another explosive round being loaded was heard from the pursuing vehicle. Iggy held his breath and felt the tickling crawl of a sweat bead making its way down his cheek. He then pulled the steering wheel ever so slightly to veer his vehicle leftwards in the fairly wide lane the cars were on.
That’s right, blow me up. I’m right here…
The boom of the grenade launcher was heard and the round exploded very close to the Blockgain once again. But this time Iggy reacted with automatic speed, yanking the handbrake and over-steering into a hard drift around a massive jet propeller on his left. Despite his ears ringing and his vision flashing, he maintained the perfect drift and weaved the Blockgain round the back of the rusted debris to emerge behind the interceptor. The powerful machine was spinning out of control, wildly propelled into the rotation from the recoil of its own weapon after firing from an angle.
“Yeah! Fuck you, Poachers! Everyone, brace yourselves!”
Just as the armored machine began to counter-steer out it’s spiral, Iggy had already lined up and saw his opening. He smashed the boost button and the Blockgain Chaser launched into the Interceptor, charging it from the side during its backspin. The sound was thunderous. Between the blistering engines, screaming passengers and the high-speed collision of metal it could have been mistaken for a demolition project.
Crushed by the impact of the Blockgain’s mighty charge, the half-crumpled Interceptor skidded over to a busted plane cockpit. The poacher’s bodies inside were bloody wrecks, with only one twitching slightly. Iggy’s world around him was spinning from the impact, but his chest rose and fell with the breath of pride. For he had just taken on a Citadel Interceptor and won. Tingling with elation, Iggy began to chuckle as he the gash on his head from the previous collision re-opened and blood trickled down his face.
“I don’t think I’m gonna get used to this derby shit any time soon, Crasher… congrats on whatever nuts plan you had apparently working though,” Clarissa spoke between heavy panting.
“Nishin, save house?!” Sil followed.
“I think they’re dead, that
interceptor looks like a beer can...” Iggy said while hitting the ignition trying to re-start the engine. “The Blockgain is pretty banged up too though.”
Mode, who was completely unscathed and unnerved leaned forward curiously as her eyes began to glow green once again. “One of the poachers remains alive. Remo Ferguson age 35 born in-”
“Mode! Hurry up and kill him! He’s still dangerous!” Iggy ordered while turning the ignition with more tenacity, still failing to start the engine.
“Affirmative Randall,” Mode said as she rolled down the busted window, attempting to aim the large rifle with her single hand.
Mode pulled the trigger and high caliber rounds slammed into the front of the interceptor, blocked by the plating and missing the small window. The heavily injured poacher slumped in his seat to take cover behind the dashboard. Mode attempted another burst of fire, this time the recoil pushing the shots over the top of the vehicle, missing wildly. Iggy saw that despite her impressive physical feats, she wasn’t strong enough to shoot straight at this distance with a two-handed gun using only one of her own. As soon as Mode’s 2nd burst ended Iggy heard the ‘Ka-thunk’ of the interceptor’s grenade launcher loading.
“No!! Fucking start!”
Twisting the ignition key with all of his might, Iggy cursed as the engine spluttered faintly, churning but not activating. Mode began firing at the Interceptor again, with no more accuracy than the first time. Iggy’s derby instincts were screaming at him to bail out of the car, but knowing that Clarissa and by proxy, Sil couldn’t leave the backseat. He held in his seat firm, gnashing his teeth as he punched the dashboard in rage while turning the key desperately.
“COME ON!!”
Clarissa and Sil both began to speak but the rupture of a deep explosion viciously canceled the commotion, a bright light blinded Iggy and the approaching heat was unbearable until he went numb.
Iggy’s eyes blinked open carefully to see that it was the Interceptor that had just exploded, not the Blockgain. After patting himself down and confirming his own survival, he looked out of his window to see five heavily armed figures walking around the wreckage before acknowledging the Blockgain Chaser.