But he didn’t.
He limped slowly, moving directly in front of me. “If you want her, you’ll need to go through me first.” He had no intention of moving and that scared me. I wasn’t willing to risk his life when I wasn’t in danger.
Colton
and
Sterling
were, and I needed to protect them.
“Emile!”
Colton
screamed. A guard stood behind him with the gun pointed at his right temple. I lifted my foot to run and help him, accidentally freeing one of the guards.
Click. Click. Boom
. “Go help him,”
Sterling
whispered, blood oozing down his chest. He’d been shot near his heart. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening.
I stared at
Sterling
’s body, the life draining from his eyes, before looking back at
Colton
.
Sterling
fell to the ground, his hand reached out to me as if to say thank you. If I didn’t move now, they’d both be dead. I lunged forward, grabbing the gun from the guard’s hand.
“I think that you should back away now, sir.” I was trying to keep calm, but failing miserably. I’d just witnessed one man - a stranger who once wanted nothing more than to help me - die in order to protect both
Colton
and me.
The guard threw up his hands and slowly backed away.
Colton
nodded and kicked the man down to his knees, his weapon drawn in case he needed to use it. I made my way back to the two guards still lying on the ground where I’d left them. I wanted to kill them because to me, they were McVeigh in one way or another. He made them. He ordered them to destroy me. They were just like him, an extension of McVeigh, and for that, they didn’t deserve to win. But what I wanted and what I did were two different things, because I didn’t have control of what I did.
There was the sound of a gun going off in the background. I wanted to scream
Colton
’s name, but I couldn’t find my voice. My eyes closed as my body fell to the ground.
“Sir, do you really think we can beat her? She’s already killed a decent amount of guards.”
McVeigh was laughing at the worried guard, not because he felt there was a chance of them succeeding, but rather because he found it amusing that the guard would think he’d be concerned for their safety. “I will continue to send my men until I get what I want. If they have to die, so be it.”
The guard was pacing the room, his hand reaching for his gun. “I don’t think I can do this anymore. I don’t think it is worth risking my life for some Program that you’ll probably never find.” He pulled his gun from his holster and pointed it at McVeigh.
“Now, Alex, I don’t think that’s a smart move.” McVeigh hadn’t bothered to turn and look at the guard. He knew he’d win. He always did. Alex lowered his weapon and shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir, but she can’t be worth all of this trouble.”
And then there was a bang.
Alex was gone.
There was a struggle in front of me.
Colton
must have been wrestling the two guards. “Wake up,” I tried telling myself. I knew it wouldn’t work. I was
awake;
I just wasn’t able to function at the moment. It wasn’t that I needed my Pod, either. So what the hell was going on? I could feel
Colton
grabbing my hand, trying his best to pull me up.
If he died now, it was my fault. I couldn’t lose him, not now. Not him. He was the one person I needed to protect, outside of my family. If they killed him with me lying here lifeless, I’d turn myself in. I’d stop fighting. There wouldn’t be a reason left to fight.
Short voltage spasms started throughout my body, forcing my body to shake.
Thirteen. Emile. Thirteen. Emile. Blank. Thirteen. Emile.
She was trying to force her way back through. “No!” I screamed, once I was sure that I could speak.
Colton
gripped my hand, not saying a word. I knew he was in trouble, and I knew that I needed to help him.
I forced my eyes open and jumped to my feet. One guard had
Colton
in a headlock while the other was trying to wrestle the gun from his free hand. I needed to act now. “Let him go! This isn’t his fight,” I said through clenched teeth. They were here for me, for Thirteen.
The one guard laughed and turned to face me. “You will address me by my name, which is Alex. As for your friend, I can do whatever I want.” He turned back to
Colton
and pulled the gun from his hand. Alex. This was the same guard that didn’t want to risk his life to catch me. What was he doing here now, then? What would have made him want to fight?
I noticed a blinking light on his back, located where a hard drive would be installed on a program. That was it then, he was a Program. He was like me. All I needed to do was pull the hard drive from his back and it would deactivate his Program. Then there’d only be one threat left to take care of.
Colton
looked me in the eye sensing that I had a plan. “Go for it,” he whispered.
I walked up behind Alex, my eyes focused on the task at hand. He turned to face me as I stood behind him. Alex pointed both guns to my chest and smirked. “Do you really think you could kill me? I have two weapons. You have none. I’m pretty sure that I have the advantage here.”
Was he honestly that oblivious? Didn’t he know what he was? Wasn’t he aware that the bullets wouldn’t hurt either of us? I laughed, shaking my head. “No see, that’s where you’re wrong.” I tripped him, the guns both flying two feet in front of his body. He tried crawling to grab them, but I had already managed to pul
l the hard drive from his back,
completely shut
ting down his P
rogram and body.
One guard remained, and he wasn’t letting go of
Colton
without a fight.
I could hear their hearts racing,
Colton
’s because he was anxious and the guard’s because he was fearful. Unlike the other guard, he was human. He’d be easier to kill, and he knew it.
Colton
broke free of his choke hold and flung the man to the ground in front of him. “You are no better than Charles McVeigh, and for that very reason, you don’t deserve to live.”
Colton
placed his foot on the guards back, making sure he wouldn’t move. I ran to where the two guns fell and threw one to
Colton
. Before he could pull the trigger, the guard put up one last fight, reaching behind him to grab hold of
Colton
’s ankle, hoping to trip him. It didn’t work. As
Colton
’s finger pulled back on the trigger, sending the bullet soaring through the guard’s right temple, the room fell silent.
“Emile,” he mouthed. He was in shock, his body not willing to move. I walked over and stood beside him, trying my best to comfort him although I knew there was only so much I could do. There was blood all over
Colton
. It managed to splatter all over his face. He looked at me with his eyes on the verge of tears. “Did I do the right thing?” he asked.
“Yes,
Colton
.” I closed my eyes, my hand wrapping around his. “You did exactly what you needed to do in order to live.”
28
invasion
T
he day flew by as we sat in silence. I was beginning to understand what Hayden meant by ‘you’ll know when to run.’ We’d need to leave soon; there was only so much we could fight before McVeigh eventually got what it was he sought. But where would we go? I let the question settle in my mind for now.
“What’s going on with you?”
Colton
turned to me, his voice almost bitter. “You’ve been acting strange over the past few days. Something is going on, and you’re not telling me what it is.”
But what was there to tell him when I wasn’t sure what was happening? I had an idea, sure. Thirteen was slowly regaining control of my body. But I didn’t know if it was her doing or McVeigh’s. I wanted her to disappear. If she went away, life would be easier – livable e
ven
– but I knew it was wishful thinking. No matter how much I
might want her gone, she was here to stay. She wa
s a part of me whether I like
d
it or not.
If I could fight her off just a bit longer, maybe then I’d be able to run and get both of us out of here. But could I? Did I actually have enough strength in my body to fight her off for long? I’d need to. I would need to try my hardest to hide her, because the minute I let her through I would be gone.
“Thirteen,” I whispered, not bothering to elaborate.
Colton
nodded, understanding what I meant; knowing I didn’t want to talk anymore about it. “How long do you think it’ll be until the next group gets here?” he asked, changing the subject. Somewhat.
Truth was I was sure they were already on their way. McVeigh wasn’t foolish. He knew that the probability I’d defeat his men was great. Why else would he have sent a Program? He was stepping up his game, so to speak. Soon enough I’d lose, and that was what he was waiting for.
“They’ll be here soon, but I think it’s time we get out of here.”
Colton
stared at me, clearly baffled by my words. “You think it’s time? Are you sure?”
It was the only thing I was sure of. If we didn’t leave now, we’d be in more danger. It was time to run, to start over and hopefully escape this mess. It seemed impossible, but at least it was hopeful, and hope was the one thing we needed right now. “Yes, I’m positive. The longer we stay, the easier it is for them to kill us.”
He lowered his head and let out a sigh. “I suppose you’re right.”
I reached my hand out for his, hoping to remove his fears, but my hand never met his. It landed limply at my side. “Oh, no,” he cried out, rushing to lower me onto the couch. “Stay with me, Emile. You can fight this, just try. You can’t let her win like this.” And I wanted to fight because I knew that he was correct, but there was no fight left in my body. Her presence was draining mine, and I had to do as she wanted.
My eyelids closed, the pixels slowly forming together to create the image she wanted me to see. Although the reality was that any image Thirteen wanted me to see was one that McVeigh had planted. She wasn’t real. She never lived. Any images that she might recall were either from inside Vesta Corp, or they were false memories that had been implanted in her hard drive to appear as memories.
This memory was one of Thirteen’s though, from inside Vesta Corp. The day Douglas Todd walked into the Pod room on Level One and stated that she had shown promise. That image was quickly replaced
by
one
of
McVeigh. He was talking t
o Douglas Todd about the young P
rogram and the plans he had for her.
“There’s so much that we could do with her. There's so much that we never thought possible.” He beamed, a glass of whiskey in his hand. McVeigh was thrilled with Thirteen, thrilled with the life that he had created.
“Charles, you do realize that she is a computer Program, correct? I mean, it’s not like she’s
that
special. You do have thousands of Programs down there, you know?” Todd laughed, taking a seat in the red upholstered chair before McVeigh’s desk.
“You don’t understand,
Douglas
. That Program, she’s my dream. She is what I want for the human race. She is everything that I've ever hoped to accomplish when I took over Vesta Corp. Those other Programs you speak of, they are nothing compared to her.” He took a sip of his drink, placing the glass on a black leather coaster sitting atop his cherry wood desk. “She’s only a few weeks old, still living on Level One, and yet she’s able to feel, to understand the concept of life and what it holds. How many Programs on Level Three can you name that can do that? If she can do that this early on, can you imagine what else she’s capable of?” His lips lifted at the corners, a menacing smile forming at the promise of Thirteen.
“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Charles.”
I never thought I’d agree with Douglas Todd, but in this case, he was right. McVeigh was so quick so say that Program Thirteen was his dream, yet he wasn’t fully aware of what she was capable of.
I replayed his words in my mind. “She’s only a few weeks old, still living on Level One, and yet she’s able to feel, to understand the concept of life and what it holds.” How could that be possible? This was before Hayden installed my program on top of Thirteen’s. She was already alive. But how?
My arm jolted forward, hitting
Colton
in the chest. “Ouch.” He winced.
“Sorry.” I opened my eyes and turned to check on him. “Did I hurt you bad?”
“No, it was just a smack. Nothing I can’t handle.” He smirked, jumping up from the couch.
What are you doing? Stop fighting me
, a female voice begged desperately. I looked at
Colton
, confused as to where it was coming from. I was the only female in the house, and I was pretty sure I hadn’t said a word. “
Colton
, did you hear that?”