Serial Escalation

by Sean E. Britten

  “That’s right, Fred, that’s a smart move from the eggheads that work behind the scenes on making Slayerz such a great game.” The second man said, “Let’s take a look at the remaining contestants, shall we?”

  Baxter Webley / Reaper

  Billy Blight / Wing Chun

  Church Harper / Jeannie St Sunshine

  Donna Pardee / Raptor Rawlins

  Drago Vorobyov / Wolf Hutchins

  Drake Mooney / Billy-Bob Boomer

  Francois Connard / Neena Twist

  Jacob Schmidt / Pedro de la Mar

  Layla Jackson / Thao Seong

  Q. Chrissie / Maurice Lester

  Santa Muerte / Priest

  T-Bone West / Runner

  Titama / Anaconda

  Ursula Paxton / Dogboy

  Yoyo Yokatomi / Mark Rizzio

  Thao scrolled through the list of remaining contestants, five and a half teams struck off the list. He switched to his map.

  “There’s a minigame nearby, it says we can earn more weapons.” Thao said, “We could use them, I guess.”

  “Not yet, that’s what they want us to do but those games can be deadly.” Layla said, “Just keep moving.”

  Ahead was a large building with huge stone arches across the front. The massive windows were mostly broken or clouded over but covered in grids of small bars. Low steps led up to the baroque front entrance with ‘New Detroit Public Library’ written above it in stone.

  Beyond the library was a large park filled with dead trees and bushes around a web of pathways, and across the park was the wall of the arena. The two of them had moved almost to the edge of the map. The wall sloped inward slightly as if it was forming the base of a tremendous dome that would cover the entire ruins. Toothlike spars studded the wall every so often around the top fringe although Thao wasn’t sure what purpose they would serve. Even without worrying about the metal bracelets the wall would be too smooth and sheer to climb.

  Layla stopped at the corner near the library. Her G36 was hanging by its strap on her side. The bloody gashes on the right side of her face were still bleeding, red running down her neck and into the collar of her uniform.

  “What else does the map tell you?” Layla asked, “Any other teams close by?”

  “Drago and Wolf Hutchins are the closest.” Thao said, “That’s the big Russian that threatened you back in the starting area. He said he was going to get you, remember? Should we be worried?”

  “Of course, and we should stay worried. Worried keeps you alive in places like this.” Layla said.

  Looking at Thao, Layla suddenly reached across her body and grabbed her right arm with her mechanical left hand. The thick, super-hard porcelain fingers sunk into the flesh below her elbow as if she was going to tear right through it. An electric shock went through Layla’s body, sending her rigid. Teeth clenched, she spasmed for a few moments and then let go, her left arm whirring as it dropped to her side again.

  “What are you doing?” Thao shouted.

  “Just testing it out, seeing if that extra level of protection from removing the kill switch really works.” Layla said, “I don’t plan on losing my other arm but-, they didn’t mention how much it would hurt too, ow.”

  “Great, I hoped you weren’t so desperate to get rid of me you’d literally rip off your own arm like Baxter did!” Thao said, “Guess we’ll have to keep trusting each other!”

  “We have to keep working together, skinny, doesn’t mean I trust you.” Layla said, “Memory loss or not, I haven’t forgotten what you are.”

  “Oh, yeah? What about you, then? How can I trust you either?” Thao said, “I can’t remember anything about what I was accused of but it said you snapped and murdered your commanding officer, right? That you went nuts and killed him, do you remember that?”

  Layla loomed over Thao, face bloody. Thao remembered how angry she had looked when the screen had given them her backstory, back in the central building. He backed up as she jabbed her left index finger at his chest, worried he had crossed a line. His heart was hammering in his chest.

  “Yeah? If that’s what you’re worried about then you should know, when I put my fist through that son of a bitch’s head it wasn’t because I went nuts. I knew exactly what I was doing.” Layla scowled, “Come on, let’s get inside.”

  The two of them hurried up the front steps of the massive library. Their drones were circling overhead. The old fashioned architecture was meant to be a symbol of hope for the city, and a connection with a history it didn’t actually have, before the quake hit. The wooden doors swung open easily, their hinges smooth. There was a round desk in the library’s entryway. Most everything seemed to be in order compared to the ruins outside but someone had painted huge, unfamiliar letters in white across the wall above the desk, ‘Остерегайтесь библиотекарей’.

  “Looks like a paint cannon, not real graffiti, must have been the Slayerz producers.” Thao said, “Do you know what it means?”

  “I don’t speak Russian.” Layla said, “First thing’s first, I need to stop all this damn bleeding. Head wounds always run like crazy, and I don’t have time to bleed.”

  Assault rifle raised, Layla moved around the desk and starting rooting through it. She pulled the drawers open and rifled through their contents. Pens, scissors and blank plastic cards were sprayed across the desktop. Eventually, she placed a red stapler on the counter separating her and Thao.

  “Won’t you need a first aid kit for that?” Thao said, “Wouldn’t we be better looking in one of the bathrooms or something?”

  “They would have gone through the whole arena looking for stuff the contestants could use. They wouldn’t have left things like first aid kits lying around. We’re going to have to make do with what we’ve got.” Layla kept pulling apart the desk, “I thought librarians were boring, looks like one of ours had a little drinking problem. Lucky me.”

  In one of the last drawers Layla had found a small flask. Unscrewing the top, she sniffed at it. Layla drank a short slug of the warm vodka and then opened the stapler she had found, pouring some of the alcohol over the staples inside to sanitise them. Handing the stapler to Thao, Layla sat in a squeaking chair behind the desk.

  “What am I meant to do with this?” Thao said.

  “I need you to do it for me, I can’t see what I’m doing.” Layla said, “Very carefully, you’re going to use the staples to seal up the cuts on my face.”

  “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding, I can’t do that.” Thao said.

  “You can and you will, I can’t shoot if I’m going to be distracted by blood constantly running into my eye.” Layla said.

  “Oh, God.” Thao said.

  Layla leaned back as far as the chair would go as Thao came around the desk. He inspected the thick gashes in his partner’s face. One had carved into Layla’s cheek while the other cut down her forehead from her hairline, clipping through her right eyebrow and across the bridge of her nose. In spite of himself, Thao got to work on stapling Layla’s forehead closed first. Layla winced as the sharp metal points dug into her skin but didn’t make a sound while the stapler clacked, pushing against her skull.

  “Careful, it doesn’t have to look pretty but it needs to stay straight.” Layla said.

  The shakes in Thao’s hands got worse as he came to the bloody wound in her cheek. Working as quickly as he could, Thao sutured the wound unevenly down toward the corner of Layla’s mouth. Blood welled through the staples but by the time he’d finished both cuts were closed. More than a dozen crooked staples glinted in the red mess on the right side of Layla’s chiseled face. Layla sat up and splashed the last of the flask of vodka across the wounds.

  “Now, what?” Thao said.

  “We can still get cleaned up, dry off, assuming this building is safe.” Layla said.

  Shafts of weak sunlight cut through the library from its broken windows and skylights overhead. Layla and Thao moved through the entryway into the library’s m
ain body. The building was still dark with deep shadows between the aisles of mouldy books and damaged computers. Layla gestured to a tripwire on the floor and stepped over it, motioning for Thao to do the same. Rows of large, heavy tables filled the space between the entryway and the shelves. Every footfall seemed to carry into the shelves. The camera drones had moved into the library with them and their buzzing, which the pair could ignore on the street, suddenly seemed incredibly loud.

  Something scurried in the rafters, high above the library shelves. Both Thao and Layla froze, and Layla aimed her gun at the ceiling. Thao scrambled for his baton, snapping it open out in front of him, and the two of them waited for a few moments as nothing happened.

  “What was that?” Thao said.

  As soon as he spoke there was more movement. Something dropped, landing almost silently in one of the aisles.

  “I don’t know, I’m operating on the same info you have.” Layla said.

  The thing scuttled behind the shelves, making a robotic clicking sound. Layla took aim at the rows and rows of books but nothing burst out of them. Moving quickly and quietly, Layla darted into the shelves and around a small intersection with Thao following. Thao bumped into the corner of a shelf and sent several books spilling to the ground in a cloud of dust.

  Something scurried around on the pair, clicking, on multiple legs like a spider the size of a dog. Layla hesitated, assessing the bot as it darted vertically up the side of a bookshelf. Multiple camera lens eyes studied the two of them in return. The robot had eight legs, six of them ending in round, black footpads that stuck easily to the shelves. The other two arms ended in flat claws. Thao spotted a large basket on the robot’s back,

  “It’s a librarian bot.” Thao said, “They used to stock the shelves, find books for people and carry stuff in those baskets.”

  “Uh huh, and why is it still active?” Layla said.

  Without a sound, the library bot ran across the shelves, bounding and launching itself at Layla. The soldier fired, a couple of rounds drilling through the bot’s body. It kept coming, spindly legs thrashing. Layla blocked with her mechanical arm and threw the bot sideways. It crashed into a shelf of books, the whole thing collapsing and smashing to the floor. Recovering her shooting stance, Layla fired another short burst and one of the bot’s legs ripped free.

  Thao looked up as he heard more mechanical scuttling from all corners of the dark library. The first bot raised its claws, meant for delicately handling books. The claws folded outward and then started to spin. Gaining speed, they looked like miniature propellers that began whirling so fast they could cut through flesh and bone like butter. The bot hurried forward but stopped as Layla and Thao backed up.

  “What is it doing? They’re not security drones!” Thao said.

  “Obviously they’ve been reprogrammed, and had some improvements made.” Layla said.

  At the sound of their voices, the bot dashed across the floor. Layla fired, bullets chewing through the robot’s back. It fanned its whirling claws at the duo’s legs but Layla danced away before kicking the bot in what passed for its face. Several of the camera lenses cracked. Aiming downward, Layla fired a longer burst straight into the main body of the library bot. It went still, claws stopping and falling to the floor.

  “There’s more of them coming!” Thao said.

  They could hear more spiderlike robots dropping and chittering across the tops of the nearest shelves. Thao held his stun baton up like a sword, trying to be ready to fend them off if he needed to. A few bots dropped to the ground or darted across the shelves.

  “Come on!” Layla shouted, “This place is infested with them!”

  “Hold on.” Thao shushed her. When he spoke again it was in a whisper, “They’re attracted to our noise, every time we make a sound that’s when they move closer.”

  There were two spidery bots clinging to the shelves nearest Thao. Their claws were raised and folded back as if about to start spinning. Another had dropped to the ground further down the aisle from Layla. Unlike the others, there seemed to be something wired to the basket on the third bot’s back, a dark brick with colourful cords sticking out of it. Thao pointed at it frantically and Layla nodded. The object was some kind of bomb being carried by the library bot.

  “Move very quietly back toward the library entrance.” Layla whispered.

  Layla eased forward, body armour creaking. The robots rocked slightly but didn’t move. Together, the two of them passed back around the intersection between the shelves. Walking as fast as they could without making too much noise, Layla and Thao headed toward the tables at the front of the library. The robots scurried through and over the shelves but kept their distance. As they moved beyond the shelves, however, Thao saw a row of the mechanical spiders forming across the main exit.

  “Shit.” Thao said, “They’re not coming for us but they’re not going to let us leave either.”

  The camera drones whirred, orbiting the room above. There must have been dozens of other cameras recording their every move around the rest of the library, as well as the eyes of the library bots themselves. Even though he was whispering, one of the bots darted forward at the sound of Thao’s voice. It stopped only when he did. Its claws raised and started to spin. Layla checked the load on her Heckler & Koch G36C.

  “Okay, get ready.” Layla said.

  Before Thao could ask, Layla shouldered the weapon and strode toward the entryway, firing. After they’d been moving and speaking as quietly as they could for the past couple of minutes, the noise from the G36 seemed especially ear-splitting. Rounds chewed through the nearest bot’s face and body. Sparks exploded from its casing and it spilled to the floor. The other bots erupted into action as soon as Layla made her move, claws spinning like Cuisinart blades. They came vaulting over the shelves and tables toward Layla and Thao.

  Layla fired in long but controlled bursts, her mechanical arm minimising the recoil. She mowed down two bots and sent their remains tumbling backward. Thao ducked and weaved through the tables, trying to keep out of Layla’s field of fire and avoid the attention of the machines. One of the robots landed on a table above Thao, claws whirring. It sawed through the thick edge of the table near Thao’s face and sawdust sprayed into the air. Moving on instinct, Thao jammed his electrified stun baton into what would have passed for the bot’s neck. The bot spasmed for a moment but then recovered as Thao removed the baton. Thao moved around its claws, climbing the table, and then hit it again, pressing the electrified fork into the bot’s weak spot. It shook wildly, sparking, and Thao held the baton down until the bot overloaded and shut off.

  Layla stopped, forced to reload, and another robot launched itself toward her. She shot out with her mechanical left hand and grabbed the bot around the middle. Its claws clattered harmlessly against her arm’s plates of armour before she squeezed and crushed the bot’s outer casing, destroying it. Tossing it aside, Layla reloaded. Shouldering the G36 again she fired another long burst into a robot as it tried to move around her. Thao looked up to see a final library bot coming toward them from the shelves. The package in its basket was beeping.

  “It’s the one with the bomb! It’s coming for us!” Thao shouted.

  “Get behind me.” Layla said.

  Thao sprinted to Layla’s side. Firing her G36 one-handed, Layla gripped the side of the nearest table with her mechanical hand. A couple of the final bot’s legs were torn off by bullets and it stumbled sideways but kept coming. Muscles bunched in Layla’s back and her spine and whole left side seemed to lock up with a series of muffled mechanical noises. She lashed out, flipping the long and enormously heavy table with superhuman ease. It spun through the air and came down on top of the last library bot with a tremendous crash. Layla grabbed Thao, her side unlocking, and shoved him to the ground underneath her.

  The robot’s package exploded, the blast powerful enough to tear the table that Layla had just used to crush it in two. Splinters sprayed through the building. An orange fi
reball consumed the surrounding shelves and billowed toward the roof as the blast wave rattled through the building. Pieces of the table hailed against the walls and the ceiling but it had absorbed most of the explosion.

  “Aren’t libraries supposed to be quiet?” Layla said.

  The two of them climbed back to their feet as the smoke started to clear. The explosion died back to a few crackling fires. Thao only nodded, feeling ill and overwhelmed.

  Chapter Seven.

  “Companionship is a natural human need, but in this busy day and age who has the time for all the hassle of a relationship? Swiping left or right, conversation, securing consent? There must be a better way, without the risk of rejection, pregnancy or painful emotions!”

  Rows of scantily dressed women, frozen in place, fill the raised platforms on a showroom floor. Glassy eyes stare ahead above fixed smiles. The sexbots come in all shapes and sizes, some more anatomically unlikely than others. Across the showroom are the male models, grinning and flaunting chiselled physiques, pelvises thrusting with metronome precision.

  “Here at Plug and Play, our top-of-the-range models are fully customisable when it comes to face, body, hair, voice, genitals and personality. Want to own a living copy of your ultimate dream girl, favourite adult star or celebrity? We can do that! We can even work from photos, so if you’d like your droid to look like your ex-boyfriend or dead wife, it can! Gentle but robust, their entire processing power is harnessed to give pleasure, beyond human measure.”

  “If you’re not quite as picky, we have a range of models imported from South-East Asia and East European countries to browse. Our Cherry 2000 range has recently had their prices slashed due to some minor waterproofing issues. All models come with parts that are easily interchangeable and dishwasher safe!”