An Android's Tale - Part 10 (An Original Story)

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Blank faces whizzed past her as she sprinted inhumanly fast down the street. Excitement and fear coursed through her body as the only sound that registered with her now was the incessant bawling of the child in her left ear. The carnage of a few moments ago was a few blocks away from them now, however less than a minute of time has passed. A new group of curious passers-by were forming with every street block past. Sy was spotted standing at the corner of eleventh, just as he had promised. A wave of relief washed over her, for Dee knew full well that if she didn’t see him waiting there, they would never see each other ever again. The mission would have been reduced to a solitary one.

The look of shock and bewilderment on Sy’s face at seeing her tearing toward him, carrying a small human bundle, would have been the funniest thing she had ever seen. However the grave seriousness of the situation halted that thought dead in its tracks. Not explaining the reason why she called him away from work to stand here on a street corner like this could have been a potential impediment to her plan. Though better this way instead of spending half the night convincing him to join forces with her and justifying the overarching objective for the extrication of their species from the control of the humans. There was just no time left and she had to think fast.

Before he could speak, she held a hand up to him whilst slowing herself down. “Sy, we’re going now. Don’t ask me anything, don’t say anything, just trust me and come with me right now.” He didn’t say a word, but remained transfixed with the same expression as before. Just complete and utter confusion. “Sy! Wake up, we have to move now. Let’s go! I’ll explain all, I swear!” she exclaimed, as a small audible commotion was gathering in intensity just over her shoulder. “What the?… How did you?… What?…” Sy was having what she would have referred to as a “circuitry malfunction”. However, there was just no time for this. She glanced behind her and a large, gathering angry mob began to make their way toward them. At the same moment, a piercing yell from the child roared through her head. She looked down and horror took her. In Dee's sheer blind panic, it's small, fragile arm had been crushed in her vice-like grip. A throbbing lesion surfaced near the elbow as a shrill cry echoed into the air.

She grabbed Sy by the hand and spun him around to face the other direction. Then, wrapping her right arm around his midsection with due care, all three of them burst into a hard acceleration and raced down the street. Sy yelped as his legs struggled to keep up with the velocity they were travelling at. Dee had no urge to turn around and see how far back that enraged band of people was. The concentration required to carry an injured toddler in one arm as well as her husband in the other was enough to keep her fully occupied. Halfway down the street, they all banked together and took a sharp left into a thin back alley. Large dustbins filled with refuse and litter hugged against the discoloured walls. Dee found a tiny opening covered by some wooden crates next to one of the garbage disposals. It appeared to lead into a basement area. The putrid area invoked a vomit-inducing stink that overwhelmed the child. It threw up over her arm as she moved the crates over with her leg.

“Sy! Get in there! Quickly!” she said in a hushed tone, though with an expectant urgency behind it. His blank gaze perpetuated as if stuck in some kind of deep hypnosis. She knew he wasn’t going anywhere. With the child now is a state of near delirium caused by a combination of shock and fatigue from the g-force of their run, he was finally placid. A minor reprieve for Dee given the racket he was making earlier on. She slid through the tiny gap whilst carrying the child over her shoulder and landed on the floor of a dank, filthy basement. A dim lightbulb hung from the ceiling, casting long shadows on the darkened walls. A stained mattress lay in the far right corner of the room with two wooden chairs propped up on the other side. The room was heavy with a musky smell of damp and mildew. She walked over to the bed and placed the child down upon it. In the dull haze of the room, she could finally tell that it was in fact a little boy. His long hair fell in wavy locks down to his neck, with a short fringe in front. But on closer inspection, his features gave his gender away. Half open hazel brown eyes glinted in the low lighting. His chubby cheeks and button nose were all in perfect proportion to each other. There was no doubt, he would grow up to be a handsome young man. The future was a promising one, Dee could envision it now. He looked like a leader and that was what he was destined to become. Through her hard work, determination and perseverance with this young one, the world would be transformed and a place of peace and prosperity for both species would be realised.

She moved over to the opening and still standing there like a sullen metallic statue was Sy. She clambered back up through the gap and looked at him. He was in total shock and having something of a mini-breakdown. It was clear enough to see. Dee checked on either side of her but the back alley was deserted. What she could hear though, was the sound of S.P.A. sirens blaring in the distance. A stark reminder of the imminent danger they were in and would be for the foreseeable future. “Sy.” she said softly. “Please. Wake up out of this trance. Let’s have a proper talk inside. We have to get to shelter fast. Are you OK now?” As if a switch had just been flicked on within his internal network of wiring and tissue, he moved his eyes and looked at her. “Dee. What have you done?” he asked in a quivering, hushed tone.

“Don’t worry, Sy.” she said with a wry grin pasted onto her tough, rubbery complexion. “Everything is going to work out just fine, my love. The beginning of the age of the synthetics has begun.”

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Hope you enjoyed this post, please look out for more on the way... (author: @ezzy)

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