by Aaron Denius
I turn to Grant to plea my case, but his look keeps me silent. He speaks sternly. “Go tell Ev.”
I don’t want to leave, but if Grant tells you to do something, you do it. His anger is not something I want to deal with, so I go.
I pass Hawk and a group of scientists along the way. He avoids eye contact with me. His chin is starting to bruise badly. I feel so bad about what I did. I’m about to apologize to him, but I hear Grant yell from behind me.
“Ev!” That’s all he says. Hawk looks at me briefly, and I shoot him a smile, but it’s not reciprocated.
I walk out and weave my way through the maze of doors and hallways. I pass many armed drones on the way to her room. The door swings inward when I knock, so I slowly push it open. Ev is lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.
“He’s alive,” I say as I sit on the corner of her bed.
“Thanks.” She doesn’t budge. There are so many questions that I want to ask her, but now is not the time. I stand, and she turns her head to look at me. “Will you please stay for a little bit?”
I smile and sit back down. “Sure.”
She moves her feet, and I lie back at the foot of the bed, perpendicular to her. My feet hang off the edge, and I swing them slightly. I feel comfortable next to her; she calms my nerves.
We lie in silence for a few moments, and then she asks me something that hasn’t graced my mind yet. “Do you think they attacked because of us?”
I know Grant said that the outsiders came over to stop them from destroying the world, but Rene also told me that I was created because of the end of the world. Am I the reason the world is ending? Is Ev?
“I don’t know,” I say. I don’t like not knowing. As we lie in silence, all I can think about is how much has been kept from me. I think about the lies and deceit that have been spent on me. I’m filled with an overwhelming desire to find everything out. There will be no more secrets kept from me and, if Rene doesn’t want to tell me, I will find out on my own.
I stay with Ev until she falls asleep, and then I sneak quietly out of her room. The library is the first place I want to go to. I feel I need to learn more about the outsiders. Brianna is the person I should talk to, but she’s probably[A4] with the other scientists in the medical ward. Right now, the library will have to do.
The number of drones in the hallways is much less in this part of the compound. As I walk toward the wing that houses my room and the library, a drone approaches me. “Is Dr. Anfang okay?”
A drone has never initiated a conversation with me. They usually only speak in response to a question I have asked them. “He will be,” I reply.
“That’s good.” He smiles. Another thing I haven’t really seen but once.
“80?” I pry. I know I’m probably just making a fool out of myself, but he’s the only one I’ve seen smile.
“You remembered? How?” he asks.
“I guessed. You’re the only drone who’s smiled at me before.” I smile back at him.
He drops his head in shame. “I know. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“Why would you be sorry?” Everywhere I go, it’s nothing but questions.
He doesn’t look at me when he answers. “We aren’t really allowed to engage with anyone but our own. If they knew that I asked you a question without you talking to me first, I would get in trouble again.”
“That’s horrible. Who made those rules?” I’m getting angry.
“Dr. Anfang,” he says apologetically.
I stop walking. That can’t be right. Rene would never do that. At least the man I called my dad wouldn’t.
“Why would he do that?” I’m asking myself as much as I am asking him.
Before he can respond, he shoves me behind him as an outsider jumps out of a door down the hall and shoots his gun. 80 falls back into my arms and knocks me to the ground. Immediately the hallway is filled with more drones, and they riddle the outsider with bullets. I look down to see blood pouring from 80’s right eye.
“Help!” I scream.
Two drones run over to me. “Are you hurt, Atom?”
“I’m fine! 80 has been shot.” I lay him on the ground.
The drones look at 80, and one of them places the barrel of his gun to 80’s head. “No!” I push the gun out of the way just before it fires. “What are you doing?”
“What we’re supposed to do,” the drone replies matter-of-factly.
“You can’t!” I plea. “He saved my life! He didn’t even hesitate to risk his life for mine. I can’t let him die. We need to get him to the medical ward.”
The drone steps toward me. “Sir. Atom. We aren’t supposed—”
“I’m not asking you!” I stand and push one drone over to 80’s legs. “Pick him up and follow me.”
They lift him off the ground, and I speed them through the hallways to the research and development wing where the medical ward is. Every drone we pass stares at us. We reach the hallway with the door with the high-tech lock, and I see it’s about to close.
“Wait!” I yell. The door latches, but a second later, it flies back open. Hawk stands on the other side.
“What are you doing?” he asks as he holds the door open.
“He’s shot!” I say as we run past him.
“But it’s just a drone!” he shouts after me.
“I don’t care!” I shout back. We reach the medical ward and burst through the doors.
“Grant! I need a doctor,” I yell out to the room. I’m not sure if he’s in there, but I know he will help if he is.
Grant runs over to me. “What happened? Who is this?”
“His name is 80. He was shot.” I push past him toward the operating rooms.
He chases after me. “Atom, he’s just a drone. We don’t—”
“He saved my life!” I stop and square up to Grant, our faces mere inches from each other. “I don’t care who or what he is to anyone else. His life will be saved. If one more person protests, they will be next on the operating table!”
The anger that comes out of me is nothing I have felt before in my life. It scares me, but at the same time, I want to push it further. The doctors and scientists must sense that about me because they spring into action. They take 80 from the other two drones and rush him into the operating room adjacent to Rene’s.
“He will live!” I demand as they close the doors.
“Atom.” Grant places his hand on my shoulder. Instantly I feel myself calm down. He tries to get my attention, but I keep looking toward 80. “They will take care of him.” The tone in his voice reassures me, so I turn to him. “Tell me what happened?”
I remember what 80 said about not being allowed to talk to me first, so I make sure not to mention that. “I was heading back to my room when one of the outsiders jumped into the hall and shot at me. 80 pushed me out of the way and was hit with the bullet instead.”
The expression on Grant’s face turns hard. He grabs my arms tightly and looks right through my eyes. “Is he dead? Is the outsider dead?”
“Yes.” I pull away from him. “Those two other drones shot him.”
“Good.” He turns to the drones. “You two. Get every available drone and do a complete sweep of this compound. I want every room checked. Twice!” The drones run off, and he turns back to me. “You come with me. We need to get Ev.”
I look back toward the operating room, where I can see the doctors hard at work. “What about—”
“Now, Atom!” He walks through the doors to the medical ward. I jog to catch up. “When you saw the outsider with the gun, what did you do?”
“What do you mean?” I don’t know what he’s talking about. Was I supposed to do something?
“What did you do? What did you think when you saw him?” He walks faster, and I struggle to keep up.
I think back to what I did, which was nothing. “I guess I just stood there. I don’t remember what I was thinking.”
We aren’t too far from Ev’s room,
but he stops and pushes me against the wall. “Your life is too valuable for you to freeze! The drills, the training that I put you through, are not games, Atom. They are to help you survive. You run, or you fight. That’s how you survive. If you just freeze, if you don’t do anything, you will die. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” I’ve let him down, and I know it. I have never felt so small. Right then, I make a promise to myself to never let him down again.
He lets me go, and we make the last few turns to Ev’s room. He pounds on the door. “It’s Grant.”
A few seconds later, she answers the door and recoils at the bright light hitting her eyes. “What is it?”
“Grab what you need to sleep in the training room. We’re staying down there tonight.” Grant’s voice is a little gentler when speaking to her.
She looks at me, and her eyes grow wide. “Atom! What happened? Whose blood is that?”
I look down and realize that I’m covered in 80’s blood. It’s on my hands, and I can feel the sticky substance on my face. Grant jumps in before I can say anything. “He’ll fill you in downstairs.”
“I’m fine,” I reassure her. She ducks back into her room and reemerges, holding a pillow and a blanket.
We walk to my room. “You can shower downstairs,” Grant tells me before I walk in. I go into my closet and pull out a clean jumpsuit. I look into the bathroom but decide not to go in there because I don’t want to see what I look like in the mirror. Hopefully, there will be a towel in the training room shower. I grab my pillow and blanket and walk out.
By the time we reach the training room, I feel as though 80’s blood has penetrated deep into my own skin and joined my bloodstream. My hands have begun to shake. I throw what I don’t need down and head directly to the shower. I make the water as hot as I can possibly handle, strip down, and step in.
The water pooling at my feet turns from a clean, clear hue to red. My thoughts flash back to the scene, all of my senses collectively remembering every detail. The sight of the bullet leaving the barrel of the gun and drilling itself into 80. The deafening bang that caused my ears to ring. The weight that my hands felt as 80 fell into my arms. The burning odor of the guns fired by the other drones and the salty taste of 80’s blood hitting my lips. My stomach curls, and I can’t hold anything in. I vomit what feels like every protein pouch I’ve had in my brief life.
I crouch down and let the tears come. Everything from the last couple of days has caught up to me. What I thought my life was is nothing more than a veil to what it really is. Lies, fear, pain, and death have replaced the false sense of joy that I once felt. As I watch the water turn from red back to clear, I suddenly get it. I know why I’m here. I know what my purpose is. Survive.
I stand with a new sense of understanding and let the hot water hit my face, cleaning any tears that might have stuck to my cheeks. I shut the water off, dry myself, and change into my clean jumpsuit. I toss the old one into the trashcan and walk out to the training room.
What I enter looks nothing like the training room. It is a dense, dark forest with moss lining the ground. There is a slight, crisp breeze, and I can smell the pine trees. I look up and see a sky filled with stars. I jump when I feel something grab my hand, and I look down to see Ev attached to the other end. “I asked Grant if he could put on a simulation. I hope you don’t mind. I thought this would be more relaxing.”
“It’s perfect,” I say.
She leads me to the center of the room, where she has arranged our pillows and blankets. I spot Grant sitting in a chair against a far wall. He reads from a tablet in his hands and pays no attention to us. We lie on the ground, staring at the stars, and I tell her everything that happened. I don’t miss a single detail, including what 80 said to me about Rene’s rules for the drones. I tell her how the drones nearly killed one of their own because he was injured, and I tell her about the revelation I had in the shower. Aside from asking a few questions, she just listens. When I finish with everything I needed to say, we just lie in silence, holding hands, until we fall asleep.
CHAPTER IV
It’s still dark when I wake up. I look to my side, but Ev is no longer there. I sit up and check around the room but see no sign of her or Grant. Just as I get to my feet, Ev walks out from the bathroom, drying her hair.
“Good morning,” she says as she shoots me a smile.
“What time is it?” The simulation is confusing me.
“Eleven.” She tosses the towel over a rack and walks over to me.
“In the morning?” I ask.
Ev begins to fold her blanket. “Yeah. Grant said to let you sleep.”
“Apokalupto.” The simulation changes back to the training room, and I run to the elevator, leaving my pillow and blanket behind. “I need to see if 80 is okay.”
“Wait for me.” Ev drops her half-folded blanket and runs into the elevator with me.
We jog to the medical ward. The hallways are teeming with drones patrolling the compound. The medical ward has a small fraction of the people who were here yesterday. It’s mostly just doctors in here. Brianna walks over to us.
“Where is Grant?” Ev asks.
“He’s working,” Brianna answers.
“How is he?” I look toward the operating rooms.
“He’s stable. They put him in a medically induced coma, but Rene should fully recover.” She responds.
“I don’t care about him. How’s 80?” I don’t really mean that. I do care about him, but it’s too late. I already said it. I can feel Ev’s disapproving eyes on me.
“The drone is fine. He’s awake if you would like to see him.” She starts walking toward the operating room, anticipating my answer.
I follow and answer as a formality. “I would.”
Brianna holds the door open for Ev and me, but she doesn’t follow us in. 80 sees us walk in and sets down the tablet he was holding. A bandage covers half his face. He looks at us through his one uncovered eye.
“How are you feeling, 80?” I stand next to the bed and let Ev take the chair on the other side.
“Why did you do it? Why did you save my life?” His words have fear behind them.
I’m surprised by his question. “Why wouldn’t I? You saved mine.”
“That’s my job,” he says. “As long as I am capable of performing my duties, anyway. Which I am now no longer capable of doing. Without both eyes, I can’t shoot a gun. I am useless and should have been put down.”
Ev places her hand on 80’s arm. “But don’t you want to live?”
“I want to protect at any cost. That is my sole purpose.” 80 pulls his arm away, uncomfortable with Ev’s touch.
“Now you can do other things. You don’t have to be a soldier,” I say. To me, this sounds like great news, but I see tears running down the side of his face. I look at Ev, and she’s looking at 80. Her empathy must be better developed than mine because she also has tears rolling down her face.
“Can you guys just let me be?” 80 shuts his eye.
Ev grabs my arm and leads me out. Before we make it out the door, I turn back to 80. “Thanks again for saving my life.”
“It was my job.” 80 wipes his face, and we leave. Before I have time to register what’s happening, Ev drags me into Rene’s room. I don’t fight it. Instead, I just hold her hand as we stand next to his bed. His eyes are shut, and he appears to be sleeping. The glass cover over his body projects what I can only assume are his heartbeat, blood pressure, and other vitals.
Ev breaks the silence. “Why are you so mad at him?”
I don’t look at her. “Rene lied to me.”
“He was trying to protect you,” she responds.
“I find that hard to believe since he didn’t keep the same things from you that he did from me.” I don’t feel comfortable holding her hand right now, so I let go.
She looks at me. “Like what? I don’t know what he has or hasn’t told you.”
“Did you know about the others?”
I ask.
She sighs. “No.”
“Did you know that the drones are supposed to be killed if they are injured?” I press on.
She shakes her head. I can tell she is growing uncomfortable with the questions.
“Did you know about the outsiders and that they might attack?” I look her right in the eye.
“I didn’t. Atom, can we not talk about this right now?” She averts her eyes, and I know that she’s trying to avoid my next question.
“Did you know that we are the ones who are destroying Earth?” I want her to be as in the dark as I am, but I can tell by her body language that she knows.
She takes a deep breath and looks at me with resolve in her eyes. “Yes. You have to understand that he had to tell one of us what our true purpose is.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?” I’m hurt.
“I often wished he did. This is not an easy burden to carry.” She puts her hand on Rene’s glass case and looks at him.
I stare at her, hoping she will give me more. I grow anxious, and I can’t stand in that room surrounded by secrets anymore, so I leave. As I walk out, I can see Ev sit in the chair next to Rene.
When I get out of the medical ward, I weigh my options. Instead of heading back to my room, I choose to explore what I can of the scientists’ wing. I try to avoid being seen as I walk, but I realize that no one is paying attention to me. The drones and scientists I pass are all going about their business. Most of the hallways look similar to those in our part of the compound. I can only assume that most of the doors I pass are bedrooms. I poke my head into a couple of rooms with ‘Lab’ labeled on them, but they are exactly as advertised. Nothing that I see seems out of the ordinary.
I’m about to head back to my room when I spot Grant at the end of the hallway I’m in. He’s hustling toward a set of doors with a keypad, so I decide to follow him. I make my way as silently as I can down the hallway. Grant is too preoccupied with entering his password to notice I’m walking toward him.
When I feel I’ve gotten as close as I can before he sees me, I duck into one of the rooms labeled ‘Lab’ and wait. He finishes deactivating the lock and walks in. I make a quick decision, knowing that I might not get another chance if I don’t act now. I run for the door as it starts closing.