by Vu, Andrew
“So, you’re going to kill us?” Isaac asks bluntly.
Apollo isn’t expecting the question and dwells before he answers. “Yes.”
“Why?”
Apollo lowers his head, not knowing the answer. He struggles to understand the reasoning and all he can say is “Because we were told to.”
“So you always do what you’re told? Even if you think what you’re doing is wrong?” Isaac shoots back.
Apollo doesn’t hesitate this time. “I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing before taking on this task. I sympathized with your cause, I saw that we were the big bad hunters picking on the little guy. But, you know what I realized?”
“What?” Isaac says dejectedly.
“You aren’t the little guy. You are the future. You represent a change and from what we’ve seen, change is dangerous. Much like yourselves.”
“Change? What are you talking about?” Isaac says in a perplexed tone.
“I assume you know what the Event is?” Apollo says.
Isaac thinks about Apollo’s question in his head. After a few seconds it seems he’s come to a conclusion.
“That’s what this is all about, you think we’re going to blow up the world?” he yells. “Our little family? You think we’re capable of that? You’re delusional.”
“The humans who were against the Ark Project were also viewed as delusional, and they ended up being the ones who were right,” Apollo says.
“Yeah, and now you’re free because of it.”
“The irony is not lost on me.”
“So, then we come along and you think we’ll form some kind of secret society, one that will blow you up? That’s the wave of destruction you speak of? Why? Because we’re not like you, because we’re abominations? Savages?”
“I suppose,” Apollo says quietly.
“How do you respond to that? With more destruction. It doesn’t matter if you’re a dog, wolf, human, whatever. You all walk around and think you’re civilized, that your new intelligence makes you better. But, inside, you’re as savage as you were before the humans gave you the smarts. You just don’t want to admit it.”
“Say what you say,” Apollo responds apathetically.
Isaac’s voice quickly turns angry. “Don’t kid yourself, you don’t believe in any of the junk you’re spewing. When you captured us, you and your human friend didn’t want us killed. And now all of a sudden you’re going to execute us like criminals? What happened? Your friend die or something?”
“Don’t say anything about Commander Trevor!” Apollo says furiously. He speaks with anguish and raw emotion. “That human was killed because of your kind. He was my friend, my brother in arms. Is it personal? Perhaps, but don’t even pretend that I don’t know what you halfkinds are capable of. His death opened my eyes - I now see the damage your kind can do. I saw it in Tiago, that’s why I killed him. All of you are so thirsty for freedom, you’ll do anything for it. Our ancestors had that same thirst and we all know how that turned out.”
Isaac, a little astonished asks, “Is Tiago really dead?”
“Yes,” Apollo says.
He shakes his head in disbelief and says, “Well, I’m sorry your friend died.”
“I don’t believe anything you halfkinds say anymore.”
I look at Isaac and his face sours. He realizes that no matter what he says, nothing will help.
“I should’ve killed you back in the sewer,” Isaac says sorely.
“Yeah, you should’ve,” Apollo responds. “Fire.”
Just like the others, a comet of energy zips from his helmet and through Isaac’s brain. He probably doesn’t even have time to realize what has happened before he blacks out of consciousness and his head hits the floor.
Immediately, Iris Lawton bursts into hysterics. She lunges at her brother, and picks up his body to place it on her knees. She grabs him tightly, holding on for dear life, and buries her head into his chest as tears pour out of her eyes.
Iris then let’s go of her grip slightly and rubs his face with the back of her hand, wiping the blood off his fur. She gazes into his soulless eyes and cries even harder as she places his limp head over her shoulder, clutching her dead brother’s body like a mother and a newborn.
I watch and I can’t help but feel her pain. Her tears are the culmination of a lifelong struggle to be accepted, to have that one word that has been tossed around so much - freedom. And now she sits there, dead brother in her arms, the last of her kind, looking up at the barrel of a smoking gun.
Apollo has it aimed directly at her head, but she doesn’t feel fear, she doesn’t feel anxiety, she only feels the grief of her loss.
His helmet is armed, his shot ready to fire.
“I’m sorry it had to end this way,” Apollo says.
“Fire.”
Iris Lawton sits there, still clutching her brother’s body, in shock. Apollo turns around and looks at me, bewildered at what has happened. Blood trickles down his snout and he sniffs it. His legs start to shake and he strains his body to stay up. It’s no use, though, because his legs give in to the weight and he collapses. He falls lifeless in a pool of his own blood.
I snort the air and breathe in the smoke from the barrel on my helmet. He’s the only kill I plan to make.
Iris is still stunned and slowly sets her brother’s corpse to the ground. She approaches me softly, curious yet reluctant.
“Are you going to hurt me?” she asks me.
“No.”
“Why… why did you do it?”
I look at Apollo, blood still spilling from his head. I think about how in the blink of an eye he changed from easygoing suck up to a maniacal, cold blooded murderer. It was done all in the name of a human, his master. It is at this moment I realize what Tiago was trying to say.
Dog and wolf, that’s how it ended.
“I did it because I call no one my master,” I say.
Iris is unsure of my words, but her reaction tells me she understands the subtle message in it.
“Are Tiago and the others really dead?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say.
“Then, I guess I was right all along.”
I don’t know what she means, but it doesn’t matter. She gets up and stands over her brother. Iris is the sole survivor in a family of eleven, possibly the only halfkind on Earth. She takes a few moments to soak up this information.
I still see water coming from her eyes and she walks around the room, pacing slowly, peering at walls as if there’s something to look at. I imagine that she’s looking at faded memories in her mind, places and events that will only haunt her for the rest of her life. And as these thoughts consume her, she falls to the ground and weeps softly and tenderly.
I approach her warily, unsure of how to react. But as I see the raw emotion pouring from her soul, I lose my inhibitions and nudge my head against hers as a sign of comfort.
At first she scoots back, surprised by the gesture, but she looks at my eyes and sees that my intentions are genuine. She lets go of any fear and moves forward to give me a heartfelt hug. Her eyes bury into my body and I can feel her tears as she lets her emotions go.
As she sits there, gripping my fur tightly, I look outside. Through the door, the sun stretches out over the horizon. The streaks of warmth hit my paws and warms my coat.
I close my eyes to imprint this moment in my memories. I want to remember it as long as I can.
Chapter 33 – Iris Lawton - Countdown
December 31, 3040 11:57 PM
I walk outside of my quaint little cabin and breathe in the crisp winter air. I have a large coat on and I sip on freshly brewed hot chocolate. My legs tread through the snow as I lose myself in the millions of stars that fill the sky. The moon is glowing, radiating its bright blue and green shade across the landscape. It’s quiet, the only thing I hear is the rustling of pine trees in the wind.
The Northern Lights flicker across the sky so beautifully. Its illumination is vibr
ant and haunting. The colors dance wildly, the stars are their partners. It’s a sight that I thought I would never see.
It’s been over a month since my ordeal in Primm. After my brother died, along with his murderer, Fenrir Snow helped me escape from that hellhole. He confirmed that I was dead to his superiors and we waited until nightfall to make our move. The Li station had been damaged, but Fenrir made the quick fix and it became usable, so I said goodbye to my home and left Primm forever.
We secretly arrived in the Wolf’s Den, the northern part of Canada. We journeyed far away from the cities, deep into seclusion. Using his contacts, he found me this abandoned cabin in the woods. It was rundown and empty, but in a month, I was able to shape it into my home. Thanks to the insta-item he provided me, I’m able to get what I need to survive out in the cold. It’s now furnished and I have enough food to last me for months. It’s just a start and eventually I’ll have to figure out a way to make credits to sustain myself. Perhaps I can sell things via the infospace, while continuing to live anonymously. I can’t rely on Fenrir forever, but, for now, I am happy with what little I have.
I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for him. When he shot his partner and I saw the dog fall limply to the ground, I was stunned. I thought I was going to die right there and then, but when I looked up, I only saw the affliction on Fenrir’s face. He looked tired and weary. Perhaps he was broken from all the death that evening. I felt the same way and when he came to comfort me, I could sense his grief, his conflicted feelings. I hugged him because he needed one.
He still stops by once in a while, to make sure I’m safe, and in this short month, we’ve gained a mutual respect for each other. Hell, it’s not even that, I’d say we’ve become foundations for each other.
I consider this wolf that had a heart of stone as my family, not as a replacement for what I’ve lost, but an addition to what I will remember. And, although he doesn’t say it, I have a feeling I’ve become the one thing in this world that has helped him come into terms with himself, his purpose in this world.
That is a bond that cannot break.
I look in the darkness of the forest and it reminds me of the way I would view the world when I was young. I would look from my front porch in that house in Primm and see such a mysterious and hardened place. I was afraid of what it would bring to me, I was afraid of all the things my mother told me. There was so much uncertainty that it scared me. The only experience I had with living was in the confines of that house. Knowing that one day, I would face what lied beyond, it terrified me. I looked at my future and I saw the same darkness I see in the trees now.
When mother died, and then Leonard, and then all the others, I felt my fears were justified. We had faced so much adversity and all we wanted to do was to be left alone. That was really it. Oscar wanted to live in peace alone in Primm and even Tiago, though hard headed and angry, just wanted to be left alone on the Moon. But the powers that be couldn’t let us go and the ones I loved paid the price.
Yet here I am, the last one, the last halfkind, and I suppose I’ve done what my brothers wanted, I’m living in solitude. If only they could see me now, they would be so proud.
I take a sip from my hot chocolate and realize that it’s getting cold, so I walk back into the cabin. A fire is burning in the fireplace and I cozy up in front of it. I turn on my video feed so I can catch the countdown to the new year. The screen captures the atmosphere. Crowds are cheering, some drunk, but all look so happy. I see humans partying with dogs, pigs sharing the moment with tigers, rhinos and crocodiles downing a New Year’s toast together.
The moment looks so joyous and I think that could’ve been us. We could’ve been mingling with all these animals, we could’ve had the good times with them. If only things had been different.
Exactly five hundred years ago, the animals started their fight for freedom. It seems I’m starting mine as well.
I sit in the cabin and observe the scene, my first New Year’s Eve alone. I’m a bit envious. They don’t know what they have. I didn’t know, until I lost it all. But I won’t let it get me down. For the first time in my life, I feel hopeful about my future. I don’t know what it will bring, but I promise myself, I won’t be afraid anymore.
It’s 11:59, and the countdown starts.
Five…four…three…two…one.
Happy New Year.
Chapter 34 – The Superior - Postscript
January 1, 3041 9:05 AM
“Working on a holiday?” Bastion says to me as he walks into my office.
“Of course,” I say. “You know there are always things to be done.”
“I sure do,” he replies.
“I take it you’re here to give me your status. I understand you’ve finished your report.”
“I have.”
“And?” I ask curiously.
“As you detailed in your findings, Maya Lawton died of synconium poisoning. It seems it was caused by our implants.”
“That’s a shame,” I say disappointedly. “I hate it when our work goes to waste. And what of her children?”
“The United Species Alliance acted fast. They sent in a team to hunt and kill them.”
“Did they notice you?” I say sternly.
“Negative, sir, I was able to follow their movements unseen.”
“Good. So what of her children?”
“The Alliance was able to kill ten of them,” he tells me. “But, fortunately, the one you’re interested in still lives.”
“Excellent!” I exclaim. “So, where is she?”
“That’s the thing sir, she disappeared,” he says. I’m mildly annoyed by the news, but he carries on. “The United Species Alliance thinks she’s dead, but she was aided by the wolf agent, Fenrir Snow. They vanished through a teleporter. I should’ve stopped them.”
“No, that’s quite all right, Bastion. Remember, we are to remain in the dark at all costs.”
“Understood. Since they left Primm, we’ve failed to find any clues on Iris Lawton’s location.”
“Well our priority is to find her. She’s different from the others,” I say to a concerned Bastion. “She’s special.”
About The Author
Andrew Vu is a novelist who was born in San Jose, CA. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 2007 and currently resides in Oakland, CA. During his spare time, he enjoys movies, video games, and watching sports. He roots for his California Golden Bears, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Golden State Warriors, and the Oakland A’s.