by Magus Tor
He could see a large swath of trees a few blocks from him. Crouching as low as he could, he continued forward alongside more abandoned cars. Once he made it to the trees, he found a group of shrubs and hid himself. Once hidden, he thought for a few moments, trying to come up with a plan. After convincing himself that he should keep moving, Drew made his way back to the street. Just as he was about to cross, he heard something he had just been introduced to the other night. Drew heard the distinct sound of the “robot” as he fired his enormous machine gun. Drew threw himself under a car and watched at street level as the robot made its way onto the street, facing Drew.
The car above him lifted up and the robot stood over him, silent and still. Then it spoke, “Your choice is simple. You can work with me and live, or you can die.”
Drew really didn’t know what to make of the situation, so he slowly moved to a seated position, carefully reaching for his gun. He said nothing.
“Choose. Do you want to live or die?” The robot had a voice that Drew was sure he had heard before.
Figuring that choosing life would buy him a little bit of time, Drew answered, “I want to live.”
“Wise. Follow me, we have work to do.”
“Where are we going?” Drew made sure not to sound scared.
“The others will fill you in when we get there.” The robot remained silent as they moved through the streets.
As they worked their way through the city, Drew recognized the staircase to the library. This is my chance, Drew thought and quietly ducked between two cars. Luckily, the robot walked with a purpose and it was some time before he realized that Drew was gone.
He remembered what Max had told him, and crouched behind the information desk. There, on a shelf under the counter, sat the usual supplies; paper, stapler, tape and pens. It was then that Drew realized the top sheet of paper had writing on it. “Open the drawer and take what is inside. Use it sparingly. M.”
Opening the drawer right above the paper, Drew picked up the only item inside. It was a small bottle of some cheap cologne. He dabbed on a small amount and realized why. Max is one smart girl! Drew knew that by putting on the sickly sweet smelling liquid, Max would instantly know when he was nearby. He made his way to the children’s area and slowly approached the cardboard house.
Max stood slowly, and whispered Drew’s name to let him know it was safe to come to her. He took a couple of steps and felt something hit his head. The sound reached Drew’s ears a fraction of a second later. The next thing Drew heard was Max scream. He could hear gunfire as he faded out.
*****
CHAPTER EIGHT
Drew gasped for air as he sat up in bed. As he struggled to catch his breath, he could hear the alarm clock buzzing. Swinging his feet over the side of the bead, he reached over and turned off the alarm. It took a few minutes for him to steady his breathing. He recalled hearing Max scream and that is pretty much it. He reached over on his nightstand and grabbed his cell phone. The light was flashing telling him he had a message. “I am okay. Going to work. Talk later.” It came from Max’s phone. Good. At least I know she is fine.
After Drew got his paper from the porch, he decided to brew his own coffee and read the paper at home instead of going to The Bean. On the front page was the headline: Sudden Influx in Brain Hemorrhage Deaths Over Last Six Months. Curious about the story, Drew continued reading. In all, there were 35 deaths linked to brain hemorrhages. The article explained that there were no apparent reasons for the influx and that the hospitals were working closely with the CDC to figure out what was causing these deaths.
Drew started to flip through the paper to find the second half of the story. While reading the article, he came to a picture of a man that had died. The newspaper and police were trying to identify the man. The person in the photo was T.
For the first time since Drew began working at the alarm company, he called in sick. He then sent a text to Max asking her to call as soon as she got a chance. Within minutes, a text came back from her asking what was wrong. “Come right to my place after work. It’s important,” was the text he sent back. “Okay. See you around 4:00.” Drew made some phone calls to a couple people back in the agency, hoping to find out who T was so that he could be identified. With only a letter, he wasn’t able to find much out, but he told them where to find the picture and hopefully they will have some luck.
Drew turned on the news and made himself more coffee. As he sat in front of the TV, he flipped from one news station to the next, finding that everyone was talking about the deaths. It seemed that Chicago wasn’t the only city involved; San Francisco, Dallas, Manhattan and Miami were also reporting multiple deaths. Why are we just hearing about this now? Drew almost asked the question out loud.
Time seemed to drag as Drew waited for Max. Everything he tried to do to pass time couldn’t get him to stop thinking about T. Granted, he didn’t know him long, and T was quite mysterious, but still, he did know him and had just seen him two nights before in the game. Finally the doorbell rang and Drew went down to let Max in. Once back in the apartment, Drew told Max about T.
“What? How?” Max was stunned.
“He had a brain hemorrhage. It is happening in waves all over the country and they don’t know what is causing it.”
“When?”
“Apparently he was found this morning. He was sitting in his car and the door was still open.”
“I can’t believe this. He was so excited last night. I found him in the game, and he said he only had one more kill to make. He didn’t want to leave me alone in the game, but I told him to go ahead and win because I had you to be with me. He got me back to the library and walked back towards the zoo.” Max had tears streaming down her cheeks. Slumped in the chair, she looked like she had lost her best friend. Feeling a bit awkward, Drew moved closer and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and let her cry.
***
After a while, Drew and Max decided to order in and took their Chinese food up to the roof. There they could enjoy the night air and figure out what happened to their friend; or at least who their friend was.
“I don’t really know that much about him,” Max said softly.
“He definitely was a man of mystery. I only knew his name and that he lived nearby,” Drew responded to her quiet statement.
“What do we do?” Max’s question sounded almost desperate.
Drew decided that the time was right to tell Max about himself. He explained being a part of the CIA for years and why he quit and moved to Chicago. He also told her that he put a few calls in to see if his contacts could find anything out about who T actually was.
“I knew there was more to you than what you were letting on!”
Drew replied, “Yeah, customer service rep is a pretty boring job. It’s safe, though, and that’s what I was looking for.”
“Well, I’m glad you told me. I actually feel safer knowing that you have some serious skills! CIA, wow.”
They continued to talk about Drew’s life, but found themselves back on the topic of the game, T and the deaths. Drew could tell that Max was more than just a little nervous about the prospect of dying and he didn’t want her to feel like she was in this alone.
“Would you like to stay here tonight? I don’t want you to be alone. The guest room doesn’t have a bed yet, but you are more than welcome to use mine. I can take the couch,” Drew said with a very caring voice.
“I don’t want to impose. I’ll be okay.”
“I’m sorry, I should have been clearer, I insist. Really, you shouldn’t be scared and alone.”
“Okay, then. Oh, I don’t have anything here with me.”
“That’s okay, you can wear something of mine to sleep in and we can go to your place in the morning so you can change.” Drew really didn’t want to let her go. “I think we should call in to work tomorrow. There are some things we need to figure out.”
“If you think that’s best. Thanks Drew. I appreciate you letting m
e stay here.”
Drew walked over to Max and pulled her close. They held the embrace for a long time and then Max looked up into his eyes. They shared a kiss and then Drew pulled back and apologized. Max told him to shut up and they kissed again. After holding Max for a little longer, Drew said, “Let’s go inside. I feel like we are being watched. Maybe we could watch a movie?”
“That sounds nice,” Max replied.
Both feeling comfortable cuddled together on the couch watching an old movie, neither tried to make a move. Just being close to each other seemed to be what they needed at the time. When the movie was over, drew grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts for Max and showed her where the bathroom was.
Drew flipped the news on and watched for a few minutes while Max changed. When she entered the room, Drew couldn’t help but smile. She looked like a little girl wearing her father’s shirt. Cute was the best word he could come up with to describe her. Drew turned off the TV and brought her to his room. He pulled back the sheet on the bed and asked her if she would like a blanket.
“No, this will be great.” She walked towards the bed and looked at the nightstand. “Oh, my gosh! I have the same alarm clock! I won it the first time I went to The Bean!”
“That’s where I got mine! I won it the first day I stopped in on my way to work. What a small world!” Drew said, watching Max climb into the bed. He never realized just how tall the bed was until he saw her efforts to get up there. “Sleep well, Max,” Drew said and then kissed her on the forehead.
“Thank you. Sweet dreams,” Max replied back. Max took a few steps towards the hallway and Max quickly spoke, “Drew?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you stay in here tonight? Can you just lay with me?” Max sounded like a little kid after a nightmare.
“Sure. Do you mind if I set the alarm so we can get up and see if the news has any more information on T?”
“That’s fine.”
Drew set the clock and climbed into the bed. Not wanting to make Max uncomfortable, Drew decided it was best to lie on top of the sheet. Max reached over and held his hand. It wasn’t long before both were sleeping.
***
When Drew roused from sleep he reached over to find Max’s hand. That’s when he realized that he was back in the game. He looked around and seemed to be in some sort of office. He could hear massive amounts of gunfire outside, so he crawled to the window and peered out from between two slats in the blinds. From this vantage point Drew could see almost the whole block. There was a crowd of people emerging from a parking garage and the robot was in the middle of the street. Even with all of the people firing on the robot, he didn’t go down. The robot made a sound that resembled a laugh and then lifted two giant machine guns and started firing on the crowd. People went down, one after another, until no one was left standing; nobody except the robot.
While scanning the street through the blinds, Drew realized that he must be on an upper floor of the library. He crawled to a door that led him out onto a terrace. Standing up he realized that he was looking down at the main floor of the library. He could see the information center and moved to the stairs to go down. Once on the first floor, Drew went to the drawer again and applied the cologne. He then went to the cardboard playhouse and waited for Max.
After what seemed like an eternity, he realized that Max wasn’t coming. Was she in that group of people? Was she okay? Where is Max? Drew had all questions and no answers. Deciding it was best to avoid the robot for now, he waited to leave the building through the back. He worked his way up the alley, but when he was just about to emerge on the next street he heard something behind him. Turning, Drew instinctively drew his .40 from the waistband of his jeans and pointed in the direction of the noise. The shadow of a man slowly moved out from a dumpster and Drew fired. The man went down.
Drew turned back around and left the alley. He was able to make it to the zoo without incident, but once inside the gates, he was hit.
*****
CHAPTER NINE
“Drew? Wake up.” Max’s voice was soft but still brought Drew out of his sleep and out of the game. “The alarm went off. Let’s see if they found anything out about T.”
“Where were you?” Drew’s question almost sounded angry.
“What do you mean? I haven’t gone anywhere. I’ve been here all night.”
“No, in the game. I saw a huge crowd of people get killed and I couldn’t find you. I waited in the library for you but you never showed up.”
“I didn’t dream last night. It’s the first night in weeks that I woke up feeling rested.” Drew could see a freshness in her face that he hadn’t seen until now.
“Thank God. I thought for sure he had gotten you.”
“Who?”
“The robot. Have you seen him yet?”
“Yes. I figured that T had already told you about him. He is the leader of a group of ruthless men. It is almost as if he is un-killable. We figure he is the leader of the game. He tries to recruit people to help him kill.” When Max said that, it sent chills down Drew’s spine.
“He gave me the choice of being with him or dying. I chose to be with him but then got away from him. That was the other night.”
“Oh, Drew, you can’t be on his side. Please tell me you aren’t. He’ll use you to get people near him and then he will take the kill.”
“After what I just saw, you can bank on me not being on his side.”
They left the bedroom and went into the living room to watch the news. No new details had been found as to what was causing the mysterious hemorrhages, or who T really was. Drew and Max decided to go over to The Bean and see if anyone else had heard anything. Drew found a smaller t-shirt for Max to wear with the jeans she was wearing last night, and when they both were dressed they headed out.
At The Bean, Adam was at his usual post and smiled as they walked in. “Hey! You guys finally ran into each other!”
“Yeah, you could say that,” Drew answered. “We’ll have the usual, Adam.”
“It’s a shame about T, huh?” Adam didn’t sound surprised at all with T’s death. “It’s too bad. I was starting to like the guy.”
“Did you know anything about him?”
“No. The police came in here yesterday to ask about him. It seems they saw his alarm clock with the store name on it and thought we would know something about him.”
T had a bean alarm clock too? He doesn’t seem like the type to use silly stuff like that. Drew was starting to see T in a different light. He also found it weird that all three of them had the same clock.
When the coffee was ready, Drew and Max settled in on the smaller couch by the window. Drew was still thinking about the alarm clock, but quickly changed thoughts. It was silly to keep focusing on a stupid alarm clock when there were more important things to be thinking about.
“My contact sent a text while you were getting dressed and let me know that they would be calling me in about an hour to let me know what they found out.”
“Good. So they should be calling soon.”
“Any minute.”
As if on cue, Drew’s phone vibrated on the table in front of them. He answered, listened for a few minutes and hung up without saying a word.
Puzzled, Max asked, “Well, what did he say?”
“He said we needed to meet with him so that he could tell us everything.”
“Oh. Why couldn’t he tell you on the phone?”
“Not really sure. He just said we needed to meet in person. C’mon, we have to leave. We’re meeting him at the lake.”
Together, holding hands but not speaking, they walked to the bench where they first sat and talked together. They sat down and waited. Drew had an uneasy feeling. It’s not like his contact to be so secretive. Usually he just gives Drew any information he needs.
Drew’s contact showed up after about 10 minutes. “Let’s go sit over there,” he said, pointing to a small picnic table under a tree.
The three of them walked over to the table and took a seat.
“I wasn’t able to find anything on your friend, T, but I did find out some information on another person you know.”
“Who?” Drew was now thoroughly curious.
“Well, I was reading the article about authorities looking for information on your friend and it mentioned that according to Adam at The Bean he lived in the area. I found nothing on T, but in my search I found out some interesting facts about your friend, Adam.”
Drew looked confused, “Adam? He’s not a friend; he just works at the coffee shop we all go to. What did you find out?”
“Ok, it seems that Adam used to be an accomplished scientist that worked for a company called Center-Tech. He was head of the department that was working with nanobot technology. He had tried to convince the president of the company to allow him to move forward on a project that would change the world.”
“What would that project be?” Drew asked the question cautiously.
“Well, apparently Adam was trying to create a nanochip that could be consumed by a person unknowingly. With the chip inside the person, Adam would be able to control the person’s thoughts, particularly during the REM stage of sleep. Obviously, the president of such an important company refused to allow such research to be done. When he denied Adam the chance to develop the chip, Adam went a bit crazy, claiming that he had already created the chip and that the president would be his first test subject. The threat didn’t sit well with him and he fired Adam.”