Alicia Artificial

by Azza Sumner

  Chapter 7

  Adam had no idea what time it was when he woke up looking at an unfamiliar ceiling. He felt horrible. Something has digging into the edge of his mouth. He tried to focus his eye on it and realised to his disgust it was a foot. He turned his head and saw Alicia sound asleep with a little drool running from the edge of her mouth. It wasn’t how he liked to picture her so he turned his head the other way and found Tracy’s face with mouth wide open on the other side. Some of her hair was being sucked in and out of her mouth as she breathed. Adam started to tremble with fear as he tried to recall the night before. Looking down he saw Felicity was curled on top oh him with her feet in his face. She was wearing what appeared to be a motel robe. He felt suddenly sick. There was a soft knock on the door and a woman’s voice called out politely “House maid.” Adam couldn’t move. He didn’t want to disturb the hornets nest he was laying in. The door opened and a woman’s head poked into view. She looked shocked as she stammered “Err, I’ll come back later.” and disappeared closing the door.

  Adam looked for an escape route. It was like he was standing in a mine field. Any wrong move and he would awaken the sleeping dangers. He could envisage the anger and the fury of the girls as they automatically jumped to conclusions. Of course it would all be his fault somehow. In truth he had no idea how he had wound up in this situation. He gathered he was in a motel room, but had no recollection of coming to one. He remembered appreciating how the drinks over dinner were helping him forget the stress of things, but that was all.

  He carefully managed to reach an arm over the deeply sleeping Alicia and gradually rolled from under Felicity and over Alicia. He was on the edge now, so it was an easy escape. Unfortunately he hadn’t been as careful as he hoped. Felicity screamed as she jumped from the bed. She was clutching the robe to her and checking herself in a panic and screamed “Where’s my clothes?” Adam cursed. Why did Felicity choose now to forget she was normally a quiet cat. He soon heard Felicity wretching in the bathroom. Alicia stirred and blinked a few times. “Good morning honey.” she slurred looking at Adam. “Sleep well?” Adam grinned innocently saying “Slept like a log. All night.” Alicia looked over his shoulder and asked someone “Ummm, why are you walking around naked Tracy.” Adam quickly pulled the sheet over his head and froze. He didn’t want to look or accidentally see anything. He closed his eyes just to be safe. Tracy murmured in a half sleep “I’m not naked. I got panties on. I’ll find a robe if it bothers you. Is prince charming still alive?” Alicia snapped the elastic in his shorts causing him to jump and chuckled “Yep, still alive.” He didn’t seem to be in the immediate danger he had expected so he dared to ask. “What happened? I can’t remember anything after the restaurant.” Alicia teased “Oh you don’t remember? Well after the nightclub and then the motel spa we all had a foursome.”

  Alicia laughed at the horrified look on Adam’s face and giggled “Oh wake up silly. You wish we did. You were blind drunk the after the nightclub. We carried you up to the room. Then us girls had a spa alone, ordered deserts and had some champagne. Lots actually. We had a hen’s night while you lay there unconscious the whole time. It was fun. I guess we all passed out though in the end.” Tracy slurred in agreement “That’s what my memory images show, but I can’t remember taking my bra off. Can anyone see it? I don’t normally drink.” Felicity let out a loud and sorrowful meow which echoed in the toilet bowl. At her age she wouldn’t likely be a drinker either. Adam pulled the covers over his head and and snuggled closer to Alicia. He was relieved nothing had happened. So relieved he fell asleep again.

 

  When the taxi dropped the four seedy and stumbling passengers back to the flat they found the front door was ajar. Adam was certain he had locked it. He grabbed a tomato stake from the small front garden and carefully went inside. The place was trashed. The posters were torn and everything was tossed about. Nothing was in it’s original place. Even the fridge was laying on it’s side. Who ever had been here was very thorough in their search for whatever they were after. It had to be Khall’s men, which meant the flat was no longer safe.

  “Glad we weren’t here.” Alicia said joining him and gabbing his hand. This was it. Adam was pissed now. He didn’t have much of value, so he treasured what junk he did have. The laptop and the wristband were still in his possession so at least they were safe. His old desktop computer was gone, but there was little of interest on it anyway. He returned to the front step and realised something else was gone. His crappy little car. It wasn’t even worth a thousand dollars, but it had served him well and been a true friend.

  Alicia sat with him as Felicity and Tracy searched the area together. They wanted to make sure nobody was staking the flat out for when they returned. When they were satisfied they returned and Tracy asked “Should we call the police?” Adam thought for a while. There was nothing of real value missing apart from the car. If the police became involved, how much could he tell them. He understood now why Alicia had not reported her father’s murder. Adam answered Tracy with “No. There’s nothing of real value missing or broken. Besides I’m going to take that bastard down. Screw waiting the government. I have to do it so you girls can be safe. I don’t need the attention of the police right now.”

  Alicia hugged him saying “You don’t have to do anything. We made plans last night. We have abilities you don’t have. We had already decided to take care of him ourselves.” Adam stood up saying “I can’t allow that sorry. I took the job to be your guardian. It’s my responsibility. This is my fight. You girls have been through enough.” Tracy placed a hand on his shoulder and said “Don’t be a sexist jerk. This is our necks on the chopping block. Drop the cliches and the chauvinistic crap. You sound like an anime character.” The girls all looked at him in agreement. It seemed like he had no say in the matter. He accepted his defeat stating “Well then we do it as a team then.” Alicia smiled and added “Of course silly. None of us can drive.”

  Alicia stood to attention and saluted asking “First orders sir?” Adam thought about it and replied “We need a car and supplies.” “Easy.” Alicia replied “My dad’s car should be waiting at the garage where it was being serviced. It’s a big four wheel drive thing with lots of room in the back. If we can get to the bank I can draw out a few thousand easy. My credit card hasn’t been maxed out yet either.” Adam smiled as it looked like things were coming together. He said “I still have around eight thousand left from what your dad gave me. Lets go get that car.” A thought came to him as he added “We should all go. We stay in a group from now on.”

  When the taxi dropped them at the garage where Alicia’s father’s car was being serviced the mechanic recognised Alicia. She told the mechanic that her dad had sent his new assistant with her to pick up the car. Adam asked to settle the bill as the car was being bought out. “That’s a big bill.” Adam said to the mechanic looking at the invoice. “It’s a big vehicle.” the mechanic replied pointing to the machine pulling up out the front. It was a shiny black hummer with all the options. He looked to Alicia for an explanation. “Well we did live out of town.” she shrugged.

  Tracy suggested they might need some kind of light weight armour and weapons in case it got rough. Adam suggested a good pair of sneakers should be all the protection they needed, but he was shot down. Alicia felt they needed protection in close quarters combat should they confront guards. They stopped at the weapons shop, but didn’t have a license to carry a firearm or taser. There was no body armour they liked. It was all heavy and bulky. When they left the store they noticed Felicity was no longer with them. Adam returned inside and found her staring at something on the wall above all the knives and hatchets on display. It was a glove with three long blades attached to the back like long claws. They looked razor sharp. Felicity looked at Adam pleadingly. He reached up and grabbed the glove. It seemed well constructed and had a bar sewn into palm to give it strength. “Ok.” he said in reply to Felicity’s subtle whining. He also grabbed four
large hunting knives and a heavy hatchet he liked the look of as he went to the cash register. Felicity was still trying to lick his face in appreciation as they rejoined the others on the footpath. She only settled down after an icy stare from Alicia put her in her place.

  Next they tried a variety of clothing and camping stores with nothing inspirational coming to mind. At one store Alicia had suggested long black leather coats but Adam just shook his head. It wasn’t enough. On the way back to the car they passed a pawn shop and something caught Adam’s eye. There was a selection of various swords. Most were only for decoration. They would bend or snap easily. There was a few that were real however. He picked out one that felt comfortable. It was heavy in the tip, but not so large as to be cumbersome. He liked it but the price tag was a little steep. He had a wedding to pay for soon. He returned it to the rack with a sigh, but Alicia and Tracy found ones that appealed to them. None of them had any experience with weapons or even fighting, but it made them feel safer.

  As they left the central shopping area Alicia asked him to pull over at a motorcycle dealer she had just spotted. Some of the female rider’s body armour they saw was very light and allowed plenty of movement. Alicia suggested that by cutting away some sections and reinforcing others it would suit their needs without overly compromising their agility. It wouldn’t stop a bullet, but would soften impacts and reduce injuries from being knocked down. Adam didn’t see any problem so he agreed and they each bought a suit in their size. They all chose a suit that was mostly black and came with a matching face shield. Adam thought they would at least look like they were a little serious and prepared now.

  By the time they had done some grocery shopping the back of the car was getting full. The final stop they made was at an electrical store. Adam bought a bunch or motion sensors to cover the area surrounding the flat. After straightening the flat with the girls Adam went about installing the security system while the others played with their armour and weapons. The girls were like children with all their new toys. It was good to see them smiling and feeling a little more confident. He prayed they would never need the gear, but something told him it was inevitable. They had all been in minor struggles before and there would surely be more before the end. After dinner and showers they all sat together to watch TV. It felt good to be snuggled up with Alicia on the lounge while Tracy played with the laptop and Felicity lay across their feet. It was comfortable. It felt like family.

  It was around nine o’clock when Tracy looked up from the laptop saying the sensor on the path to the front door had just gone off. Adam grabbed his hatchet and carefully looked through the peep hole on the door. The girl’s all grabbed their weapons of choice and stood ready behind him. “It’s ok.” Adam said opening the door. Gem entered the room alone looking very serious and wary as she addressed them saying “Things have worsened. I am in a rush but I want to offer a little assistance. I do not know if we will ever get authority to act against Khall. Our hands may be tied.” She paused for a moment before saying to the girls as a group. “Transfer complete. Do you remember how how to escape a choke hold?” Felicity closed her eyes and soon nodded followed by Tracy. “Yes” Alicia replied “It’s like a how to guide when I think of the question. How did you do it?” Gem replied to her “I gave you a very basic training module for defence and common weapon use. It is very streamlined to be small enough for your interfaces to store, but it might save your life. You girls do not have the capacity for a full module. It only contains the most common scenarios for defence only and popular firearm use. This is just in case you are attacked. Khall has many men guarding the old tannery where his lab is set up. Stay away. It is dangerous. He has made biods injected with the new version of his drug. Investors are on their way. Fay is altering all their communication so the leak will not spread with any accuracy, but there is a limit to what she can do alone. Within a few days we expect that Khall will discover his messages have been modified and find other ways to contact his buyers. Good luck and be careful. Avoid Khall.” With that Gem turned and was gone again.

  Adam was the first to speak saying “Well that was odd.” Alicia agreed and added “One day we will have to visit this institute of theirs. They are a strange group.” They returned to their television watching. After another hour the sensor beside the flat activated. Adam checked his laptop as the girls armed themselves again. “Two biods with Khall in their network name.” he warned, “This is it. An attack.” He looked up noticing the door was ajar and asked “Where’s Felicity?” The other girls shrugged. Adam raced outside with his hatchet at the ready. He could hear the scuffling and grunting beside the flat. He ran towards the melee fearing what he might find. One guard was laying on the ground with blood pouring from his throat while the other wrestled with Felicity on the ground. Her face was covered in blood and it looked like she was loosing to the superior strength of the man crushing her. Adam raised his hatchet and swung at his head. The hit landed dead centre burying itself deep inside the man’s skull. Tracy rolled the man over and helped Felicity to her feet. Her eyes were closed and her face was covered in blood. “It’s not her blood.” Tracy assured them in relief. When she slit the first guy’s throat it sprayed in her face.”

  When Adam looked at her Felicity seemed hyped up and ready for more. Her eyes had never looked brighter as they darted around seeking another victim. He was a little scared by the look in her eyes and could sense the blood lust she was experiencing. Adam was relieved she was ok as he said “Let’s get her inside and clean her up. Then I’m gonna kick her ass till morning.” Tracy took Felicity back inside as Adam rolled the two bodies into the shadows. They both had a taser each so he took one and gave the other to Alicia.

  After deciding what to do about the bodies he decided to just leave them covered in the back of the hummer for now. Tomorrow they could bury them somewhere. As he and Alicia finished loading the second body Adam saw something familiar down the street. It was his little car. He cheered as he ran down to find the screwdriver still in the ignition so it would hopefully still start. He guessed that the attackers had been using it. It was full of fresh junk food bags but he didn’t care. He had his old friend back and it would be handy for what he was planning.

  When Adam re-entered the house a freshly showered Felicity was sitting on the lounge looking as sweet and innocent as she could. She meowed cutely as he stormed towards her. He wasn’t going to fall for it. He grabbed her wrist and yelled at her “You stupid little bitch. You almost got yourself killed. We work as a team here right. A family. Nobody goes off alone. Nobody is allowed to die.” Felicity burst into tears and sobbed “I’m sorry. I know it was stupid. I don’t know what came over me. It was like an energy that had to be let go. I just had to kill them instantly. All of them. They all have to die immediately. What they did to me.….well they just all have to die.” She curled up into a ball and continued crying. Adam sat beside her and patted her head saying “I know, but I don’t want to see any of you die. Imagine what it would do to the rest of us if they got you. We will make them pay, all of them. It’s going to take all of us though, working together with co-ordination and patience. Just don’t do something that stupid again.” He went to stand but she grabbed him without warning. With her exceptional strength she pulled him towards her and planted a big kiss straight on his mouth. Adam pulled away speechless. “That’s it.” Alicia growled “We’re having you spayed.”

  Adam went to sit on the front step alone. For a while. The realisation of what he had just done suddenly hit home. He had just killed a man. In the heat of the moment he didn’t even think about it. The adrenaline took over and he just did it. He grabbed the hatchet and wiped the bloody weapon on the grass. It wasn’t long before Alicia joined him silently and put an arm around him to comfort him. After a while she said softly “It isn’t easy is it killing someone? You do what feels right at the time. If you don’t act you or someone close to you is dead.” Adam replied “I never really believed I could do i
t though. I never thought I would have the guts if it ever came down to it.” Alicia kissed his cheek saying “That’s because your a good man. In the end though when push came to shove, you had the strength to do what had to be done. You did the right thing. You saved her.” She smiled as she added “I still want her spayed though.” They both sat there quietly till it was too cold and they went back inside and climbed into bed.

  The next morning they awoke in each others arms. This was their little piece of heaven. An escape from the world. They could have easily lay there all day. Adam had the feeling something was wrong though. Something was missing. It occurred to him then that Felicity wasn’t laying on the foot of the bed. He jumped out of bed in a panic as called her name. He was worried he had scared her away or she had decided to do something stupid on her own. Instead the door opened and Felicity entered carrying a tray. “Good morning.” she greeted them “Breakfast in bed for two.”

  Adam and Alicia were speechless. Not only was she talking and acting like a normal girl, but she was dressed clean and tidy without any cat ears or tail. Alicia suspected that she was even wearing make up for the first time. Felicity placed the tray containing two plates of hot pancakes with syrup on the bed. “Please enjoy.” she said with a smile. “No more cat girl?” Adam asked. Alicia sat on the foot of the bed and replied. “Just taking a break for a while. I thought I might give being a regular girl one more chance.” She paused reflectively for a moment and explained “When I was a girl before, I knew nothing but pain and abuse. I hated being a girl. It made me a target. I was just a toy to be used and abused by men. My own drunken father sold me to those creeps. I never felt loved. Nobody cared about me. Now though...it feels different. I was kind of hoping that maybe you guys could think about adopting me.…just for a little while.”

  Adam looked to Alicia hoping she would make this decision. She eventually responded after considering it and said “Trial period only. No more slobbering on my fiance though. Got it?” Alicia turned to Adam and asked “Sound fair to you dear?” Adam nodded. Felicity was about to pounce on him again but managed to catch herself. “Thank you both very much.” she said smiling at them.

  Before leaving she asked Adam “Also, do you think maybe you could wipe my memory? Not all of it, because I don’t want to forget why it’s ok to hate them, but maybe the worst bits. There’s way more in my head than what I need to validate how I feel. I’m not asking for a fresh start or anything.” Adam nodded and replied “As long as you’re certain.” Felicity thanked him and left them to eat their breakfast. Alicia kissed him again saying “That was sweet of you.” She scoffed down a pancake and asked “You do realise don’t you that teenage daughters are a real handful?” Adam hoped he wouldn’t regret agreeing later. He decided she must be a very tough girl to have been through the hell she had endured and still be willing to keep going.

  After breakfast Adam went to his laptop and started erasing files for Felicity. She couldn’t do it herself. Adam considered increasing her security level so that she could erase her own memory, but felt that it would leave her susceptible to regrettable erasing if certain moods hit her. For the next few hours he skimmed files trying not to look too closely. It made him feel sick knowing there was this much data tagged as assault or abuse. He just hoped there wasn’t much in her natural organic memory. He didn’t want to risk trying to access that yet even if it was possible. When he was done he found Felicity sitting on the lounge watching an anime. “It’s done. I erased it.” he said. “Erased what?” Felicity asked. “Never mind.” he replied. He realised that if he reminded her what he had done, she would only guess at what horrors must have been erased. He doubted though that anything she imagined would be as horrific as the glimpses he had unwittingly seen. It was better they were just gone as though they never existed. Adam was starting to realise the magnitude of the responsibility he had accepted. Messing with a person’s mind was nothing to take lightly. There were still enough horrors left to keep her cautious of certain people, just nowhere near the amount she had previously. It shouldn’t alter her personality too much.

  He found Tracy sitting on the front step and joined her. She seemed the most mature out of all the girls and they hadn’t spoken much. “Do you think we can do it?” he asked. Tracy shrugged and said “Gem’s data was uncertain. We are outnumbered ten to one. Most of them are stronger than us. All of them are stronger than you. Some of them are biods. It seems that his investors have left armed men there as well. Our only chance is to take them out in small groups. It wont be easy, but our only other choice is to be hunted and eventually be caught. I doubt they expect us to unite and fight back.” Adam asked “How many are biods?” Tracy guessed “Maybe a dozen.” Adam considered for a moment. “Maybe I can take care of them. I hacked Felicity. My main concern is how many people are going to die. Some of those men probably have families. They might be just contracted security guards.” “No.” Tracy argued. “If they agreed to have Khall’s injections than they are no longer innocent. They have to die. Too much screws with their brain. One day they would turn on those around them. As for the biods, they are a technology we have to control. If it falls into the hands of people like Khall and his prospective buyers, you get armies of super zombies under a mad man’s control. It’s already happening. We have to stop it no matter what those Lorene people say. It isn’t them being hunted.”

  Adam wasn’t fond of killing anyone unnecessarily but had to agree that Tracy was right. All evidence had to be destroyed. They couldn’t even spare biods because of the level of drug they probably contained. It occurred to them that Alicia and Felicity had the drug as well. He asked Tracy about the drug inside the girls. Tracy said that as far as she knew, Alicia had a small amount to combat her illness as she was being revived. As for Felicity she had no idea. She suggested that perhaps hers was an early version or they stopped giving her the drug once they decided she was a failed unit and demoted her to play thing. They just had to watch for psychotic behaviour. Adam hoped she was right. He couldn’t bring himself to destroy her as well.

  He had one more thing he wanted to ask of Tracy. “If something happens to me, you’ll take care of them won’t you?” he asked. “Of course.” she replied. Adam thanked her and stood to say “Tonight we go.” She nodded in agreement and rose to her feet as well saying “Yes. First we dump our garbage though. We should all go together. If we cut out the controllers and use a lot of powerful acid from the hardware store it should destroy the rest of the interface remaining.” Adam had forgotten about the bodies in the hummer.

  Later that morning they drove far out of town and buried the bodies beside a rarely used track. Felicity had no qualms about removing the main interface controls which concerned Tracy a little. She hoped the girl had just become desensitised because of her past experiences. Even she as a trained nursing student would have been sickened by the gory task. They saturated the heads with acid and covered the graves. Death was a horrible thing to look at. On the way back to town Adam noticed Felicity was curled up asleep on the back seat. This seemed like a good time so asked the other two “Do you think Felicity is too young for any of this?” Alicia replied “I would agree, but they took her youth. She isn’t a kid. I doubt we could stop her anyway.” Tracy added “We can’t deny her seeking justice.” It looked like he was the only one that wanted her not to be involved. He started going over his own plan.

  After a big healthy lunch prepared by the girls Adam spent most of the afternoon modifying and upgrading programs on his laptop. He studied the maps of the old tannery that Khall was using on the edge of the next town. Tracy had said that this was the site Gem had downloaded to them and warned they avoid. It was only an hour or so drive south. The laptop was going to be his main weapon so he made sure everything was how he wanted it and the hacking tools were updated. The girls were modifying their armour for flexibility and manoeuvrability. Their mood seemed excited. It didn’t feel like they were about to go and attack someone.
There would most likely be more killing. He wasn’t sure whether it was a good or bad thing. He didn’t really want the girls in a fight, especially Alicia. Then he had to think of the cat girl. She was just a kid and a little uncontrollable.

  As the sun was about to go down in a few hours Alicia told him it was time to get ready. They all gathered in the lounge room with their armour and their gear at the ready. The girls looked fierce, but Adam felt he didn’t belong. He had decided a knife, hatchet and laptop was all he wanted. Felicity was wearing her cat ears again. Adam figured it wouldn’t matter. As long as she felt more confident by wearing them. They took a quick group photo before climbing into the hummer. Before they pulled away Alicia grabbed Adam’s hand and said “You know I love you right?” Adam nodded and said “I love you too. After this we can have the wedding if you like without having to worry about Khall and his men.” Alicia slapped him playfully saying “What do you mean ‘If I like?’ You still aren’t taking me serious are you?” Adam just smiled at her. Felicity yawned from the back seat. He glanced back and saw Tracy’s eyes looked to be getting heavy too. Alicia stretched and yawned soon after. He couldn’t imagine life without Alicia now. He couldn’t imagine being alone at all any more. This wasn’t a traditional family by any means, but he loved it. In the very short time these girls had been in his life, they had changed him forever. That’s why he wasn’t willing to risk their lives. If things went as he planned they wouldn’t see any fighting.

  As they waited for him to start the engine he reached for his phone and activated an app he had just downloaded and prepared. He felt guilty doing this to the girls. It wasn’t fair of him to take advantage of them like he planned but he had to do it. They would be angry at him for this, but he decided it was the best thing for their safety. “Sorry girls.” he muttered as they slowly opened the car doors and slowly returned to the flat dragging their feet. They lay on the bed and didn’t move. They could have resisted the urge to obey the AI if he hadn’t of sent commands directly to their body to lower oxygen intake and relax their muscles. They weren’t concious of it so couldn’t fight it. Once the body was tired, they didn’t fight the urge to go to bed. Adam was surprised it worked. He had to upgrade his software before he could gain access to Tracy so was concerned her own security modifications might reject his hacking. It could have all failed right then. It reminded him of the biod sci-fi book he had read. That protagonist had also put his girlfriend to sleep to avoid the fighting, but he also managed to get himself killed. Adam hopped for a better result, even if he was alone. He popped the bonnet of the hummer, pulled the engine fuse and jumped in his old car to speed off.