As soon as they are back on the ground, they walk straight to the nearest house with a door open. They carefully push it and enter the house. This is a clear violation of private property. If the owner gets up and sees them, he will have the right to shoot them on sight. Pam and Jack are not comfortable with what they are doing, but they cannot help it. They need to find out what is disturbing them.
After combing the house from the ground up, they realize it is unoccupied. There is no one there. The kitchen also reveals the smell of something rotten. And as Jack opens the refrigerator, he quickly closes it as the smell definitely comes from inside. He opens it once again with, this time, his forearm protecting his nose and notices that all the food seems to have spent way too much time inside and that it has begun to rot. It looks like the house was abandoned.
Pam and Jack agree to investigate a couple more houses. In each case, they reach the same conclusion. As they leave the third house, Pam walks straight in the middle of the street and starts shouting “Hello!! Anyone there?”
Surprised by her sudden lack of cautiousness, Jack stares at her with insisting eyes as if to say ‘quiet’. But Pam ignores him. She waits for a response. Nothing. She tries again, and the same cause producing the same effect, she doesn’t get any answer.
“I think we’re alone here,” Pam says to Jack, “where has everybody gone?”
“I have no idea,” Jack answers, “what do you think we should do?”
“Well, so much for our preparation. I think we don’t need to be quiet anymore,” Pam says, “let’s get back to what we came here for. We will try to get answers when we are done with our mission,” she adds.
They turn around and head back to the store. This time they do not make any effort to hide their presence. They believe they are alone. Pam grabs the hammer they brought and throws it against the store window. The hammer goes straight through the glass as if it was nothing. After Jack rolls his sweater around his arm and removes some of the shattered glass from the sides of the window, they both enter the store.
They leave after almost one hour. Their arms are full of all the things they need. They put everything on the sidewalk in front of the store and decide to drive the car back here to load it with everything they took.
As they walk down the street, they suddenly hear a voice shouting behind them.
“Hands where I can see them!”
This voice comes as a shock to them. Up until now, they thought they were completely alone. They even acted as if they were completely alone. But they were not. Apparently, someone was there and saw what they did. They think it’s the police and start wondering how they will be able to justify what they have just done.
“Turn around, now! I want to see your faces. Slowly,” the voice shouts.
They comply, following the orders they are given.
But when they face the voice, they realize this is not the police. They are standing in front of a civilian. He is carrying a shotgun. Could it be one of the many mercenaries that went after the rich? They heard about them on the news. They know they exist but never had a chance to see one for real. These people were never captured. They either died trying to defend what they stole or escaped by killing everyone that stood in front of them. If that man really was a mercenary, then Pam and Jack know that their lives are absolutely irrelevant to him.
But the man doesn’t look like the picture Pam and Jack have of a mercenary. He is dressed more or less like them. For all they know, he could as well be in the same situation as they are.
Pam decides to use this to their own advantage and to dominate the man in front of her. She starts bombarding him with questions. Her goal is to destabilize him. She wants to make him feel like he is the intruder here, not them. And it works. After a minute or so of a brutal verbal attack from Pam, the man lowers his gun and approaches them.
“Sorry,” he says, “you are the first people I’ve seen in a month.”
“What do you mean? What happened here?” Jack asks.
“Well, as I said, a month ago our small city was like any other. People lived here and life was quite smooth. But one morning, we saw a horde of robots coming. They asked everyone to leave their houses at once as they were being relocated to a Metropolis,” he says, “by the way, I’m John. I’m the owner of the store you’ve just robbed.”
“I’m Jack. And this is Pam, my wife. Sorry about your store, but we needed supplies,” Jack says.
“So what happened next?” Pam asks.
“As I realized what went on, I decided to leave. I used the back door and hid in the forest. From where I was, I could see the entire village,” John says.
“And? …” Pam asks.
“And of course people did not want to leave. We never received any notice from anyone. We knew about the relocation process. We heard about it on the news, but we never thought a small city like ours would even be on the radar. You see, the population here does not even reach two hundred souls. We thought we were safe, and that no one would come for us. Long story short, people refused to leave, they started fighting back… Sorry… The riposte was immediate. Everyone got killed by those robots,” John explains.
“What the … what did you just say?! The robots killed the entire population because they did not want to leave?” Pam shouts.
“You heard me fine,” John replies.
“What about the children?” Pam asks.
“Unfortunately, our little city was on the decline. It was only populated by adults. We’ve tried to attract families, but the conditions are too rough around here. We don’t even have a school. Neither here nor around. That prevents many potential candidates from moving here. But after last month’s events, our lack of fortune became fortune, as no children were part of the victims,” John answers.
John explains that after everyone got killed, the robots took the bodies and loaded them into their trucks. He doesn’t know where they were taken. A few robots stayed behind for a few days. They looked around the village, probably in search of some survivors. And then a helicopter or something like it came back to pick them up. This is when John decided to get back to the village. He had hardly slept or eaten during that time. He felt grateful the robots finally left because if they hadn’t killed him, Mother Nature would certainly have in a matter of a few extra days. John has been spending his time in the village since that day, not really knowing where to go or what to expect.
After John’s description of the events, Pam cannot help but think about her sister. Her last contact with her ended in a suffocated scream. She tries to find logical reasons that would make her believe her sister didn’t share the same fate as the poor people here. Her sister lived in a larger city, not in a remote village. Things are easier to cover up when no one can see you. Like here. And as far as she knows, the robots reacted to the people defending themselves. Probably with weapons. Which is the kind of behavior her sister’s neighborhood would never engage in. Too comfortable, too weak. And therefore there wouldn’t be any reason for the robots to exterminate them. Not that Pam is trying to find an excuse to the robots’ actions here, but she’s trying to hold onto something that would convince her that her sister is safe and sound.
“You took stuff from my store,” John says. “Under different circumstances, you’d either be dead or in jail by now. But that was before … Did you find everything you need?” he asks.
“Sorry about that,” Pam says, “we thought the village was abandoned and we didn’t think it would harm anyone.”
“No harm done. Don’t worry. I guess you should come back to the store with me. I’m sure you haven’t seen everything and I know the stuff I will show you will be of interest to you,” John says.
Pam and Jack step aside for a moment, wondering if they can trust this man they’ve just met. They conclude that if he wanted to hurt them, he would have done so earlier when he was pointing his gun at them. They decide to follow him.
Back in front of the store, John takes a
quick look at the things they brought on the sidewalk.
“I think you guys are amateurs. Come on in, I’m gonna fix you up with more useful things,” John says.
“Ok, what I’m going to show you is not legal. Well, was not legal. I only keep it for my best customers and the people I trust,” he adds.
He pulls a key from his pocket and opens the door to a small room behind the counter. The room is pitch black and Pam and Jack have no idea what to expect. John turns the lights on and unveils nothing less than an arsenal.
Semi-automatic weapons are neatly organized side by side against each wall. John has his own organizing system; based on ascending destructive power. The floor is covered with metal boxes that Pam identifies as ammunitions. On one corner, a couple of larger wooden crates display the words ‘Danger’ and ‘Explosives’. No need to say more, these two terms are explicit enough.
“Take everything you want,” John says, “I’m a one-man army and I don’t need all that.”
“Thanks, John,” Jack says.
“How can we pay or repay you?” Pam asks.
“From what I can see, you guys are up to something. I want to be part of it,” John says. “And for some reason, your face looks familiar, which makes me more willing to trust you,” he adds as he stares at Jack.
“It’s possible you saw me. I came to your store with my father a few years ago. We needed to upgrade a few tools,” Jack says.
“Must be that, then,” John says.
Once again, Pam and Jack move a little away from John. It’s one thing to follow the man to his store, it’s another to take him back to their refuge. He means one more mouth to feed and they don’t know what to expect from him. They don’t know what to think of him and if he can be trusted. Of course, he witnessed the massacre of his people, he’s been hiding since then. Of course, he is a man who has been running a store in a small village for years. Those are two elements that would normally plead in his favor. But also what kind of a man hides a stash of weapons in his store?
They come back to John, and Pam starts talking to him
“Look, John, we are not up to anything. We are just trying to assess the situation. We are not warriors, we will not wage a war against the robots. We just need time to understand what is happening and see what we want or need to do,” Pam says, only distilling as little and as vague information as possible.
She pauses for a moment to look at John’s facial and body reactions. She doesn’t notice anything in particular. She decides to continue.
“But one thing is sure, we don’t know you. I don’t want to speak for Jack here, but I personally don’t understand your motives to help us. And as far as I can see, you may have made all this story up,” she says.
“I get you. I would think the same if I were you. The situation calls for self-protection first, so I truly understand your position,” John says. He stops a few seconds and then adopts a more solemn tone.
“Now, to answer your doubts. I didn’t make anything up. I saw everything with my own eyes. My wife was one of the victims. I’ve loved her since the day we met,” he adds.
John pulls a picture of his wife and him from his shirt pocket and hands it to Pam.
“She has always been there for me. I have tried to always be there for her. And until she died I thought I was doing a decent job. But I wasn’t there the day she needed me the most,” he says.
John starts weeping a little. It takes him few seconds before he can continue.
“Do you know how it feels to be a coward? Do you know how it feels to leave the love of your life and your friends behind? I have spent the past month or so trying to put an end to my misery. And even that, is something I have not found the courage to do. Believe me when I tell you I feel like shit. I have no reason to live anymore. But still, I could not resign myself to escape this hell. And then I saw you. And things changed suddenly. Please don’t tell me you are not planning anything. I know people well enough. I saw your eyes lit when I showed you the weapons. You can’t fool me. You are up to something. I want revenge. I want redemption. And this is what you are to me. A way to redeem my soul. That’s why I want to help you, so I can help myself and find peace,” John says.
Pam and Jack stare at each other. They don’t know what to answer to that.
Pam looks one last time at the picture and gives it back to John.
“I’m sorry for your loss, John,” she says, “but if you happen to join us, there are a few things I want to make sure you understand.”
“I’m listening,” John says.
“First, we are not going to go on a rampage against the robots. We will not allow you to put us in jeopardy just so you can satisfy your desire for revenge. Do you understand?” Pam asks.
“I do,” John answers.
“Second, we are not staying here. The robots have come here once, they may come again. So you need to pack the bare minimum of personal items you want to take with you,” Pam orders him.
“Understood,” John says.
“Third, we have already set rules for ourselves, so we expect you to comply with them. Fourth, there are kids with us. I will not allow anyone to put them in any kind of danger. If this is the case, I will personally rip off the throat of the one who did. And fifth, if you agree with everything I just said, then you are no longer alone. We will stick to each other to protect ourselves,” Pam says.
“Thank you, Pam. I guess this is what I’ve been waiting to hear for a long time,” John says.
“Welcome to the group, then. Now go get your stuff and come back here as soon as possible,” Pam orders him.
“I’m done. I already have everything I need,” John says while tapping the pocket that holds the picture of his wife.
The three new companions go back to Jack and Pam’s car to bring it to the store and load it with all the stuff John gave them. On the way, they tell him they currently stay at Jack’s house in the middle of the woods. They warn him that getting there will require quite a long walk. But John is fine with that. He’s spent most of his life in this village and is used to trek in the mountains and the woods.
As they reach the minivan and John sees it, he cannot prevent himself from expressing a concern.
“I don’t think we will fit everything in that thing,” he says, “but I know where to find more appropriate vehicles”.
“What kind?” Jack asks.
“Come with me, and you’ll see,” John replies.
Once again, Pam and Jack find themselves following John. Pam is not very comfortable not being in charge, but she understands that John knows the place better than she does and agrees for the time being to follow his lead.
John takes them to a house and opens the garage. He confirms to Pam and Jack that this is not his place before they even ask. The former owner of the house has four quads and a big pick-up truck. They decide on the spot that they will leave their minivan and use the truck instead. Pam will drive it, and John and Jack will take a quad each and follow her. They will come back later to load whatever they have not been able to take and bring the other two quads to Jack’s house.
Now that they have capacity in the truck and quads to reach the house, nothing prevents them from taking the things they considered secondary until now.
Back home, after the necessary introductions are made, and after two other trips to the store, the new group stares at all the items they have brought back.
As they see the weapons, the teenagers start asking questions to their parents. This is the moment Pam and Jack had tried to postpone for as long as possible. But they’ve only managed to hide the truth from their kids for less than a week. Maybe it’s better that way. The time has come to explain the situation as it really is.
The kids are big. Fourteen and sixteen-years-old. They understand everything, and to their parents’ surprise, they do not seem to be worried. Pam is relieved. This is one problem less she will need to manage.
The team has large quantities of d
ehydrated food supplies now. It will help them survive a few additional months. John also removed most power cells from the store which will allow the team to enjoy the comfort of their house even more. Winter clothes and shoes are also part of the package. They will definitely be handy in the coming months. John took another CB radio as Jack mentioned the one they had was not working. John’s is slightly more modern and apparently more powerful than Jack’s. They should be able to try and communicate with other communities if they can find them. And finally, what takes most of the space are the weapons and ammunitions. After John’s description of how the robots exterminated the village population, it has become clear to Pam and Jack that they need to be able to defend themselves in case of an attack. Grenades and C4 explosives will also be useful in the event the group needs to attack a building or something big. They don’t really know what to attack yet, but they see now more opportunities to be successful in their resistance action than the day before.
“See Henry?” Pam asks, “I told you we needed to focus on our objectives. The means to achieve them will take care of themselves. So here you go, we now have what we need to inflict some heavy damage to GAIA.”
And as she turns to the rest of the group, she adds, “we now just need to identify exactly what to hit.”
ACTIVATION Page 10