Program Erin

by Alex Fall

  I caught the charge in my hand and sunk my superheated fingertip down into the top. The fresh burns felt like I stuck my finger in a bucket of razors, but the grenade didn't explode. I tossed it aside like it was of no consequence, making sure to mask my pain perfectly and keep my gaze locked on the girl.

  "What's the matter? Didn't see that coming?" I asked.

  She hovered in the air for a second, then landed softly. "No Burn can melt a grenade without causing it to explode."

  She's baiting me to reveal how I did it. She doesn't know that I melted the detonation device in the top of the grenade. "Did you honestly think I'm just an ordinary Burn?"

  She drove in again and we traded blows and my shotgun shots. Most of it was dodging and yet she managed to land a loose couple of hits on me, but the turning point was my single blow. Using a masterful feint, I bypassed her defensive maneuvers and sunk my elbow into her cheek. Though she attempted to fly, it was still enough to knock her onto her back. The challenge was nice, but I went to raise my shotgun and finish the job. My gun froze to the nearest object, rendering it immobile. I swirled to see that a huge frozen structure was sticking off the taller building. It wasn't a bridge, but it closed much of the gap between the two buildings. The Freeze sat down, exhausted from all his work, and the other two ran to make the jump. *Cuss*! The last thing I need is more interference!

  I growled while I kicked the icy pillar to shatter it and pull my shotgun free, but by then the Flyer had already cleared out of the way. Certainly, a Flyer has the advantage in open air, so I turned and bolted for the door that led into the building.

  "Oh no you don't!" The girl said. She hooked her arms under mine and began to rise in the air.

  I can't continue to make burns on myself since I haven't healed from when the other Burn got a hold of me. Struggling against the Flyer, I grabbed her arm to pull myself in, then struck her eye socket. Next was was a pressure point in the shoulder, but as her arm failed and I slipped out, my hand clenched from the burn. I must stop using that hand. As soon as I landed, a Brute tackled and carried me, aiming to body slam me into a thick pole that used to be for a billboard. I would surely die if I hit full force, and he held my arms and torso tight so I couldn't squirm. Headbutting a person with super strength is pointless. My shotgun was knocked away when he snatched me. This would be easier if I could burn. Think, think!

  Got it. I paired my legs and kicked his leading leg out as he went to step with it. Our legs tangled up and he tripped, tossing me out of his grip to save himself. We skid to a halt, and without delay, I turned myself around to wrap my legs around his neck and began to choke him out. Pulling a hidden firearm from the Brute, I fired madly at the third Greater. He juked around and changed directions to avoid my fire, though I still struck him in his armored chest area. This is the guy I hit with the shotgun earlier, so he must be in pain.

  After firing four shots, the Brute stood as if my weight were just a nuisance. I released my chokehold and dropped down on my hands (which stung my palm so bad, I couldn't carry out my movement.) I barely had time to collapse and roll away, preventing the strengthened Greater from snatching me back up. The armored greater raised his weapon at me from behind. The flyer landed and set up to aim. This is not in my control. Fine, since you're all so eager to play with fire…

  I sent a small flash of fire right into the grenade I had disabled earlier. The explosion was near enough the armored one to throw him to the ground, but the Brute and Flyer turned away to avoid the blast. I spun and nailed the Flyer in the ear. The Brute peeked up and moved upon me from the front, so renewed my spinning momentum, dodged his blow to my stomach by performing a much practiced duck, and also nailed him in the ear with my foot. Keeping with the pattern of acrobatic dodging, I avoided the Flyer's bullet beautifully, throwing myself back enough to pluck up my shotgun and return a blast of my own. The Flyer moved in to shoot, but two more fireballs destroyed her weapon and comm unit, simultaneously scorching her hand and neck. Movement. I turned used the Brute's own momentum to throw him into the Flyer. The armored one raised his wretched weapon yet again, so this time I melted it with unwelcome fourth flash of flame. Another shell sat him back down and I turned at the remaining two Greaters as the Flyer produced another gun. My burns and palm hurt, so I made a note to stay off of them. We all paused in a four person standoff.

  "Having trouble?" I asked.

  The armored Greater pulled yet another weapon and went to fire. I intercepted him with a shotgun blast (how can he even move after so many shells?), but it opened up 2 seconds of reaction time for the other two Greaters. The Flyer seemed to be more exhausted than the rest of us, so it was the Brute that closed the distance first. I dodged his first swing, but only had the reaction time to block the second hit. Though I raised my arms, it had so much power behind the punch, I flew off the ground and landed near the edge of the building. My burns stung terribly, and my arms went numb from the blow. I seriously hope he didn't fracture something. Gathering myself back to standing, I noted the armored Greater go for my shotgun. Since he was the nearest, I bull rushed him. Due to another shot from the Flyer, I did a dive roll that put me within arm's reach of the armored one. From laying on my back, I kicked the shotgun away and out of his hands, then locked his legs with mine and tripped him. The Flyer aimed again, so I rolled the armored one on top of me. He took the bullet, then my legs shoved him off of me, allowing me to kip up back to my feet.

  Brute.

  Weaving around another blow from the Brute, I yanked his shirt and tripped him as he went past. The unrelenting armored greater came at me again, so this time, I grabbed his hands with mine, rolled onto my back and planted my feet in his gut, sending him over me, the Brute, and the edge of the building. Bullet proof armor works on bullets, not six and a half story falls into concrete.

  The Brute watched for a moment in disbelief, but snapped back to attention when I headed for the doors. I kept the Flyer behind cover with some well aimed shotgun blasts and entered the building. I ran as fast as my injuries permitted, but pain was increasing, and I was getting tired from exertion. I randomly stopped before ground floor and rushed to find a spot to hide for a moment. Here in the dark, on the second story, I hid in a room to take a breather. The other two Greaters rushed to ground floor and began their search upon realizing I wasn't there. How many shells are left in my gun? Not many, even with these extended magazines. Where's my medicine? I dug through and administered some vitamin B solution. Those greaters aren't nearby, are they? I will make burns if I have to. Alright, now just take a breather.

  Once I recovered some of my breath, I searched for a window that offered a suitable landing. Making sure to land comfortably and quietly, I hit the ground running.

  The other two Greaters didn't detect my getaway, but shockingly, I saw the armored one that fell sitting against a decommissioned ground bound vehicle. How? Sure he looks mangled, but how? How can he still be alive?

  "Mira!" He began to shout.

  The Flyer girl came into view as I ran for the warehouse. The armored Greater pointed her and the Brute in my direction. I kept ahead of them, though the warehouse wasn't far now. Despite my fatigue and pain, I kept my pace. Soon enough, I jumped the fence and ran through the front doors of the warehouse.

  "Sharon? Sharon?!"

  "Sapphire?" She replied, peering from around the corner of a small room.

  "Sharon! Hide in one of the rooms! Stay hidden!" With that I tossed her my bag, ran past, and readied my shotgun. As soon as one of the Greaters came in view, I took a shot at them. Though I didn't hit, I got their attention, which is just what I wanted. Turning around, I ran further in and through the doors that were covered in warning stickers.

  Behind me, I saw that both the Flyer and the Brute halted. I too slowed down to hear their conversation.

  "She doesn't know?" Mira asked.

  "No way I'm going-"

  The Brute's sentence was cut off by a new, much more worthy of my
attention noise. I became aware of that high frequency whine that my ears barely detected days earlier, but along with it a round red light lit up on the wall, very near to the entryway. In the dark interior of the building, I saw a small station integrated into the wall, where a white metallic something was stationed. At first, there appeared to be simply an egg shape with flat frontside and backside, a round post that connected it to the ground, and a red light in the center of the egg shaped bulk. Quickly, it separated along well crafted lines within the white armor plating, unfolded and stood. It rose on two bulky legs that formed the post when docked in its station, and its upper body had two minigun arms that unfolded out of its side, with a small plasma beam that unfolded near its top, between the arms. It stood about five feet tall. The whole process of unfolding into battle ready position took no more than two seconds. Now I realized why there were gun marks around the door, and why the Greaters hesitated to follow me in. This place is secured with pre-war security drones!

  It stepped out of its docking and recharge station, and immediately the bullets rained down in my direction. It seemed to be firing only one minigun, perhaps because it was out of ammo on the other, but the threat level was still intense. While it was unfolding, I had already turned to run, but its quickness had me diving for cover. I barely made it behind one of the large storage shelves in this warehouse. Upon getting further in, I saw that all the shelves and machinery had that white armor plating, meaning that the drone could roam around and fire as it pleased without damaging anything. Scrambling to my feet, I bolted down the aisle before the drone came in view. As I turned a corner, a plasma beam roared through the air so close to me, I dove again out of reflex.

  This drone isn't like other fighters. Its aim will be far more accurate than a person, and its weaponry is stronger than any single Greater could carry on them. I already figured it could see in the dark, but even though I stayed out of sight, it still knew exactly where to come find me. The only things working in my favor were that it was not quiet when it moved, and it didn't fight intuitively. This reminds me of Directorate training. My body was already back to being worn out and silencing my breathing was out of the question. I rounded yet another corner, but my confidence waned at the noise I heard. Nearby, another drone was disconnecting from its station.

  Slipping under a small vehicle once used to help load trucks, I came around its other side for cover, dashing again between some sets of armored shelves. I felt like my heart almost jumped out of my throat when I saw the second drone step in front of me. Still running at it, I blasted my shotgun straight into its central red spot. It seemed to have no effect, leaving me no choice but to get closer. BOTH of its mini guns lit up, and its beam weapon tracked my movements closely. Through some unknown feat, I had just enough reaction time to drop to the ground and scramble between its legs before any of the weapons got me. I stood at the same time it spun around, and I performed a strong palm strike in its center to knock it over. Unfortunately, all it did was step back a couple of steps. I will not be foiled by this machine! I ran up until I was flush against its front side, meaning its mini guns couldn't aim inward and hit me (a minor design flaw I picked up on earlier.) I transferred my shotgun to my hand that had a burned palm, and superheated my other hand. Before it could move away, I shoved my hand into the central part of its body, growling loudly at the burns it left behind.

  No...

  It's armor. This is high grade antipersonnel armor, even for pre-war technology. Even with my heat, I did no more than put an impression of my hand into its outer plating. The armor had something in it that even I had difficulty melting.

  *Cuss!* I may die in this building!

  No! I refuse to lose to a machine! NOTHING is above me!

  The other drone came in sight at the other end of the aisle behind me, so I weaved behind the second drone so that the second drone took the weapon fire of the first drone. The bullets were deafening, as was the plasma beam. I dashed away, scorching the area and filling it with smoke while they both swirled to locate me. There was no apparent way to beat these drones, so perhaps escape was my best option. The few times that I could get a glance out of the main doors, it seemed as if the Greaters were waiting outside to make sure I didn't come back out. If I could trick them into thinking I was dead, I could escape both the drones and the Greaters.

  Oh the pain. It's starting to settle in, or perhaps the sedatives were wearing off. Either way, it's beginning to slow me down. How can I escape? If I don't, I will get killed. There were no windows, and the air vents were too small for a person. I wall jumped up to grab the top of the armored casing on one of the shelves. After making it up, I retrieved a couple grenades from my pack. If this doesn't work, my only choice is to make some absurdly powerful burns.

  The first grenade went down and detonated next to a drone, leaving my ears ringing from the noise. Before the smoke even cleared, bullets and plasma fire tore into the ceiling and shelves. It was so well aimed, one bullet even passed through my hair. My heart was beating faster and faster, and the pain and anxiety were beginning to dull my thinking. I laid flat on the top of the shelf and tried to calm down. Taking a peek over, I saw the two drones split up and patrol mine and a couple other shelves. How did they know I was still here?

  Taking a risk, I dropped down next to the drone that only had one minigun to fire. It swirled to aim, but I stayed just to the side of its gun. I pulled the pin and stuffed the explosive up into the joints and mechanisms of the minigun arm, then turned to run. Don't shoot me...

  The explosion shocked my ears and resounded through the building. While I sprinted for the front door, I turned just enough to see the results. Pieces of its arms were scattered and the main bulk of the body fell back and sparked. It seemed as if the main body was actually still online, but its internal damage was too great to continue functioning properly. Had it not been for the grenade, I would have been fried by the plasma beam, because I noticed the plasma stream struck the wall. I ran for the main doors and burst through them just as the second drone opened fire. Two final stray bullets pierced into my leg and out the other side.

  There was no one up here. The Greaters must have taken their leave for some reason, and the drone returned to its station after I left its area. I fell to my hands and knees, gasping for air and crying in pain. My leg! The path the bullets took were close to the surface of my leg, but it hurt so bad! My hands stung to touch the ground, and I became aware of just how many scrapes, bruises, burns, and scars my body was trying to heal. Soreness was setting in fast, my ears rang badly, and the more I tried to calm down, the more I craved sleep meds.

  "Sapphire." Sharon came near but this time she couldn't help but look at my bruised and blood soaked body with uncertainty.

  “Medicine bag,” I choked out between breaths. I learned to keep gauze in there. These wounds have to be addressed. I could bleed out. Already I felt weak, but I was unsure if that was just exhaustion. Again, Directorate training told me what I needed to do. I didn't want to do it, but without proper medical personnel or facilities, I had little choice. After a small amount of special liquid under the tongue acting as a pain block, I braced myself, called on my sickness, and cauterized my own wounds from the inside. Pain blurred everything, but my drugs fought it back. It left me still on all fours, gasping and whimpering. I used the gauze to wrap my leg, stab wound, and burns as best as I could, yet by the end of it I was laying on the ground moaning in pain. Involuntary tears ran down my face. The suffering I was in left me with little desire to speak. Frustration was rising in me, a sort of rebellious denial that my body was begging for the time it needed to just take care of itself. I can't stand being this weak...

  "Sharon..." I said in the form of a shaky sigh. "We still need to hide."

  She looked to the floor. "Can we eat after that?"

  I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth. That hadn't even crossed my mind. "No...I don't have any food left."

  After a moment of sil
ence, she took my pack and somehow I dragged myself out of the building and down to a drainage tunnel outside the fence that I had noted earlier. The pain block ate at my consciousness, and as soon as we made it deep enough to be out of sight and in a dry area, I collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. Per my instruction, Sharon rolled a couple shirts and laid out the blanket. Using jackets as covers, we made this our bed. Resting after so much conflict was welcome. Sharon fell asleep even through her hunger. Sleep should have come easily for me. And yet...

  My *cuss* addiction is keeping me from sleeping! I just can't help myself right now though. I dug out a couple sedative darts from my pack, and after injecting myself, I gained access to sweet unconsciousness.

  Part 9

  "Erin!"

  Fake Arty opened his arms wide and moved forward to hug me. I put up my elbows to hold him back.

  "Oh God, Don't you have someone else to pester?" I said.

  "Well that doesn't make any sense. I'm a figment of YOUR imagination, how would I bother someone else?"

  "I was hoping you'd find a way..." I stepped away and looked around me. I was in the Grounded dance club that Arty, Elly, and I all took shelter at oh-so-long ago. Even though we were in the apartment-like rooms of the club, I could hear the familiar, irritating music playing in the distance and softly bumping through the walls. It was dark in this room, even for me.

  "Where's Elly?" I asked bluntly.

  "It’s just you and me," Fake Arty said as he put a hand around my shoulder.

  My irritation sparked, so I grabbed his hand and spun around. I twisted his wrist until the bones audibly snapped and then I punched him in the face. His body simply broke apart like pottery. Instead of finding satisfaction, I just yelled furiously and punched the wall.

  "That was aggressive. Why treat your savior that way?" He asked. This time he was standing near the entrance of the room.

  "You are not Arty!" I shouted. "You are a fake!"