by Mark Summer
"Of course not, but that's the royals for you, they are all batshit"
Tina loosened her grip and Kevin fell to the floor with a thump.
"Ace I'm sorry, I really am but If I didn't do it they would kill me"
Tina stepped back, her eyes turning white, her arm began to morph and change his eyes were frozen with fear as Tina stabbed him in the chest with her arm blade. Blood poured out running over the nice carpet.
Tina then grabbed Kevin by the head pulling him to the bed.
"Ace please"
Tina left him the there to die as she exited the room, Hank was sitting on the floor of the hallway.
He stood up when he saw Tina
"What the hell happened"
"We have to get back"
"No, we have to see Nancy"
"Nancy is bullshit, I need Tina to come back to the apartments"
"Why, what happened in there"
Ace didn't answer, Hank also was frozen when he saw down the hallway all two Cyborgs made their appearance.
"We are fucked" whispered Hank
The cyborgs walked up to Tina
"What is your function here"
"I'm transporting this Prisoner to the Center City Detention center"
The two cyborgs looked down at Hank who seemed to be the size of a small boy compared to the very large Cyborgs.
They seemed to be scanning Hank
"This prisoner is a runaway"
"Yes he is being brought to Detention Center 332"
"No, he is marked for termination"
Hank gulped and his hands became wet
"Please step away," said Tina
The two cyborgs looked at Tina and then stepped aside allowing Tina and Hank to walk out of the hallway and down the stairs and back outside.
"That was close"
"We are not out of it yet"
Tina stops and points at three more Cyborgs down the street, the lamp posts shined on the tanned bodies of the female cyborgs. They took out their guns and aimed them at Tina and Hank
"This isn't good"
"Run now"
Hank's feet moved first and his mind thought of nothing but to get away
The bullets flew hitting Tina in the chest and then in the head. Blowing holes into her mechanical brain.
Hank was a hundred feet away he looked over his shoulder seeing Tina get blasted. She was fighting back too her arm a blade, she ran at the other cyborg's jumping on one. Her thick legs grabbing the other cyborg around the neck.
Hank ran and ran
Chapter Nine
Nancy was on her bed, she had just got out of her shower. Her show was over and she felt tired. The room was large and was clean and tidy. Nancy felt small inside the large space. The other actors had left to drink in the city center. Having gotten special permission to walk around at night. The Royals were much more lax with the greens. Even though Nancy was anything but she was a royal. Even though she ran away from home and joined the theater group three years ago. They never noticed and never asked she felt like part of a family for the first time in a long time.
Nancy's mind was somewhere else manly she was dreaming of the boy she loved. He was a gray, she wanted to be near him, to touch him.
The bed was large and comfortable and Nancy moved to the center she closed her eyes imagining the boy on top of her. To smell him and to kiss his lips and to speak to him.
The mysterious love of the young woman.
"Please, send him to me," she said to no one
"Please send me my love"
The loud buzzing sound of the phone beside her awoke her from her daydream, she crawled over to it
"Yes"
"Miss Sterling there is a man here to see you"
Nancy couldn't believe
"Send him up"
Nancy slammed the phone down and jumped from her bed she ran to the bathroom and checked her face. She brushed her hair and then went to her closet and threw something on. A nice evening dress, she put on some makeup and went to the bed again and waited.
The knock on the door put a spring in her step and she went to it and opened it. Hank ran inside looking like a scared beast.
"Hank what is it, what's wrong"
"Things are happening, Nancy, we have to leave now"
"Why don't you calm down and sit down"
Nancy went up to Hank and brought him a soft chair and had him sit, Nancy pulled the other chair next to him.
She rubbed his shoulder but Hank looked as if his thoughts were racing a thousand miles a minute
"Just tell me what happened"
"I was coming to see you and"
"Yes"
"Nancy it's horrible, those things out there are after me"
"What things, who is her"
"Tina the cyborg"
"OK let's back up a second, can I get you something to drink"
"There is no time, they will be here any minute they are tracking me"
"The cyborgs are tracking you"
"I did a stupid thing, I shouldn't have pressured Ace into it"
"Your friend Ace"
"Yes, He knows how to control the cyborgs and I used one to get me here"
"Why did you do that"
Hank turned to Nancy
"Because I wanted to see you"
Nancy's heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest, she hugged him and kissed his lips.
They fell to the ground in a loving embrace, her mouth to his and she then ripped off her dress. And slowly she took off his dirty clothes. She smelled the room felt darker. The two rolled on the floor as lovers do and he then was on top of her. He was kissing her hands, and then her soft neck. Nancy kissed back backs and kissing and licking.
Their lovemaking was cut short by a knock at the door. Hank become scared again.
"Please don't answer it"
"Don't worry my love, no one will take you away from me"
"You don't understand"
"Hush, if you are scared hide in the bathroom"
Hank nodded and ran into the bathroom
She rose and took her dress and put it on and went to the door. She opened the door and there standing between two Cyborgs was Frank Sterling.
"Dad what the hell are you doing here"
"So the rumors were true, you ran away"
"That was years ago"
"Why didn't you call or get in touch"
"Because I hated you"
Frank's eyes darkened
"I've come to take you away from here"
"You can't take me anywhere, I don't belong to you"
"May I come in pumpkin, I want to talk to you"
Nancy sighed she still had the feeling for her father even though she would never admit it.
"Very well, but they can't"
Frank nodded to the two cyborgs
Nancy moved aside and let Frank enter but she closed the door on the two Cyborgs
Nancy sat on the bed her arms crossed Frank walked to the center of the large room
"They know how to treat their actors"
"What do you want, I have a show tomorrow and I need my rest"
"Bliss is coming"
"Yes so"
"I'm going to say some things that you will find disturbing"
"The earth is dying, and the Royals have already put into work an escape plane to leave the planet"
"What are you talking leave"
"The palm is to use Bliss"
"I didn't know Bliss was a spaceship"
"It is not, but when word gets out of our plan well all the other classes will revolt the surface will be unlivable"
"So it will just be the royals"
"That is right, we will us Bliss to transport us to the colony ship that is awaiting us in Antarctica"
"I can't go, I won't"
Frank turned to Nancy
"It is not an option, if you don't you will surely die, do you think your acting friends will trust you when they find out who you reall
y are"
"I never wanted to be a royal"
"Why do you hate me so"
"Because you pick on those weaker than you"
Frank smiled a noise came from inside the bathroom and Nancy stood up
"I want you to leave"
Frank put up his hands and walked out of the room shutting the door behind him
He then looked at the two cyborgs
"He is in there"
The cyborgs moved toward the door
Frank stopped them
"don't touch Nancy"
Chapter Ten
The night was long as Ace stood next to his mother's stiff body. His face was damp from tears. Tina returned and walked into the room, she looked down and the dead woman.
"What happened"
"They poisoned her"
"Who"
"Who do you think, your masters"
Ace walked past Tina and into his room, Tina joined him shortly after
"But you are my master"
"I just hacked you, I control you but I didn't build you"
"Build me"
Ace looked out his room window out to the empty city streets.
"We have to leave, by morning others like you will come and kill me"
"I can protect you"
"You will die trying I'm afraid"
"Master, I want to make you feel safe"
"Safe is something I can never feel again, they took my mother I have nothing preventing me from going through with the plan"
"What plan do you speak of Master," said Tina
"The only plan that works when the people are pushed for too long, the only plan that matters in this day and age, Revolution"
Tina didn't seem to understand the emotional weight of what Ace was saying.
He walked away from the window and grabbed a black book bag from under his bed and filled with a flashlight, his computer and a change of clothes.
"Where are you going"
"We are going to find the one who built you"
"The original master," said Tina
Ace nodded "He lives in the dark of the subway, his name is Jung"
Tina repeated the name over and over
"I would like to see Jung"
"You will my friend cause you are the only thing that is going to get me there safely.
Ace was right about this, the city after midnight was super dangerous if you are caught it is game over. The cyborgs were ordered to kill on spot. Ace walked with Tina back to his mother's room. "I hate to leave you, but I have no choice"
Ace leaned down and kissed his mother on the head
"When the others find your mother she will not be harmed," said Tina
"She will be transported to a clean facility where she will be buried with honors"
Ace didn't say anything he just took his bag and left, Tina followed.
Chapter Eleven
Hank was waiting in the bathroom, his heart racing. Nancy knocked on the bathroom door.
"They are gone"
Hank opened the door and Nancy ell into his arms.
"I'm sorry Hank"
"Why didn't you tell me who your father was"
"I hate him"
Hank sighed and walked to the center of the room.
"What am I supposed to do now"
"Listen why don't you come with me on my tour"
The door then smashed open and the two cyborgs entered the hotel room their guns pointed right at hank.
Nancy runs in front of Hank defending him
Frank makes his appearance
"Step aside sweetie, that boy is an enemy of the state"
"He is not the enemy of nothing he is my lover"
Frank nodded and one of the cyborgs went up to Nancy and pulled her aside.
The other cyborg took Hank by the arm.
Hank struggled and bit the cyborg her gun fell to the ground and it bounced to Nancy who picked it up.
She pointed it at Frank.
"Nancy what are you doing"
"I told you to stay out of my life"
"Nancy please"
Nancy fired a shot at frank
The cyborgs reacted in defense of Frank and shot Nancy on the spot. She went down with a storm of bullets. There was silence for a moment while Hank and Frank both saw the girl they both loved lying dead on the hotel floor.
Frank turned to Hank his hand on his shoulder
"Take him away"
Chapter Twelve
She had long red hair and wore a long flowing green robe. She looked like a human flower. She was surrounded by nature on all side. The underground garden was deep and wide. How the government didn't know about this place was a mystery.
Her name was Rose and she spoke in the soft and direct way
"Hello Ace how nice of you to come"
"You were expecting me"
"Of course I was, Jung had very nice things to say about you"
"What did he say, I'm curious"
"He said you will be a great assist to the revolution"
"Do you believe this"
"It doesn't matter what I believe"
Rose walked around the garden as if she was walking on air. The underground garden was another world.
"How is this place possible"
"We are government funded, even the government knows the importance of having a functional garden. Their plans require nature so we provide them with nature."
"How can I trust you if you work for the garden"
"Come let me show you something"
Ace went with Rose along with Tina they come to another part of the garden this one was a large underground warehouse.
There was row upon row of small sealed cabinets.
"What is this"
"This is our seed library, this is the heart of the operations"
Rose turned to Ace
"The planet is dead, the powers that be are planning on leaving the planet, do you know this"
Ace shook his head
"There are a billion people left on the planet, the five families are maybe a thousand, they wish to use this seed library for their mother ship"
"Mothership"
"Soon they will have the means to take off"
"How long"
"We don't know, but we aren't going to let them get away with it"
"Where is Jung"
"Right to the point"
"Well I don't mean to be rude but I don't know if I believe you"
"Why is that"
"For one, my mother was poisoned and it may have come from your garden"
"I'm sorry I truly am"
"Save it, I just want to speak to Jung"
"I'm afraid Jung has been captured"
"Captured"
"Yes he is being held at the detention center 493"
Ace shook his head
"We have to get him out"
"That is going to be a pretty complicated task, there is a whole cyborg army there"
Ace thought about it for a second, he had heard of center 493 before, it is a secret command center.
"Jung wants you to go use your skills at hacking to take over the army"
"How am I going to do that"
"Simple"
Suddenly the lights in the garden go out
"What the hell is going on"
"We have been hacked"
"Tina use your flashlight"
"Yes master"
"come on Rose"
Ace Takes Rose by the hand and they run deeper into the underground
They run and run until they reach a light at the end of the tunnel.
The emerge and see that they are standing on the beach.
Ace has Tina shut the large metal door to the tunnel
"Who hacked you"
Rose sits down on a rock and catches her breath
"They call themselves the Spartans"
"What do they want"
"The Spartans are terrorists who want to destroy the E.D.L."
"The
earth defense league"
"Yes Jung and I created the E.D.L in an attempt to organize our revolution"
"Why do the Spartans want to destroy you"
"Because they believe we are working with the government"
"I'm going to ask you once"
"Who are you working for"
"I'm working for the E.D.L. the preservation of planet is my only concern"
Ace looks at the Pacific ocean
"So what do we do now"
"Plan C"
"What about plan B"
"That was you but the Spartans botched that plan"
"So I still don't know the plan"
"Do you know the work of E E Cummings"
"Sure I carry your heart"
"Yes well Jung put into the cyborg's system a reset code"
"what's the code"
"A poem, now that's the easy part, our goal is to get to the emergency speaker systems"
"If the cyborgs hear the poem they will be reset and Jung will do the rest"
"Do you trust Jung"
Rose smiled
"With all my heart, Jung is a brilliant man"
"OK so where is this speaker system"
Rose rose from the rock, she pointed toward the cliff up the beach.
"It's not far, but it will be guarded by several Cyborgs"
Ace nodded
"Very well Tina, take us, prisoner"
"That won't work this time, we will have to fight our way through"
"Are you serious"
"As a heart attack"
Rose stood and pulled out a handgun from her belt
"Fuck it I have nothing to lose anyway"
Chapter Thirteen
The Jail door slammed on Hank he walked into his dark cell
"So who are you," said an older man's voice
"Hank, and you"
"My name is Jung"
"Nice to meet you"
"So Hank do you like chess"
Hank noticed the older man was hunched over a drawn chessboard on the ground. It was drawn with chalk.
"I never really played before"
"Come to sit down, I'll show you how"
"I don't feel like playing chess"
"You are already playing it, you've been playing it all your life"
"What do you mean by that"
"I mean what I said"
"You don't know anything about me"
"I take it someone close to you was taken from you"
Hank looked at the old man who was staring at him with blue eyes, his skin was pale and his hair was like snow.
Hank walked over to him and sat down in front of him.