Maria looked out the window as the sun finally rose. The golden light of dawn rushed over the field as Maria’s hope rose with it. Maybe she could hide with Rhonda and as time passed maybe everyone will slowly forget about her all together. Maybe she was finally safe.
“You poor dear, you must be starving.” Rhonda stated as Maria turned back to her.
“I am a little hungry,” Maria agreed though that was an extreme understatement. It was nearly a fabrication of the truth.
“I will take you to this family owned diner for breakfast. I think you would enjoy that.” Rhonda stated as Maria’s very heart quivered with the notion of being in public.
“I just want to go home.” Maria whined as Rhonda’s eyes softened as she reached out to her, hugging her.
“You don’t have to worry anymore. I am going to protect you. You don’t have to be afraid.” Rhonda whispered as Maria nodded. She could not avoid everyone for the rest of her life, besides it was still very early. The only people she had to worry about were unfocused workers coming in to prick up their daily dose of caffeine and a few waitresses who were still fighting the temptations of sleep. If anyone recognized her, she could simply run out the shop and steal Rhonda’s auto-flyer and fly back to the tank or just speed away before she was spotted again.
Maria’s stomach growled in an affirmative manner for she was not sure when the last time she had eaten and the idea of a full breakfast was tantalizing. Her lips refused to decline and the only sound that her vocal cords seemed capable of producing was a longing moan.
“Um ok but I don’t want to stay long.” Maria managed to say as Rhonda nodded.
“Of course,” she agreed when the craft came to a stop, lowering itself onto the ground. Rhonda opened the door then led the way to a small diner. She pulled the door open with a metal handle then slipped inside as Maria followed.
“Will that be a table for two?” a waitress asked in a bored tone of voice as Rhonda nodded. There were no robots lurking behind the counter or cleaning booths. It really was a traditional diner.
Rhonda sat down as Maria sat across from her, looking out the window at the auto-flyer parked outside when the waitress set a menu in front of both of them then left. Maria glanced down at the menu deciding what to order. She quickly settled on French toast when she saw a couple enter with their teenaged son in tow. They were seated a few booths down. Their son was lean and alert, in his prime, and his parents’ postures seemed unnaturally stiff. They did not speak to one another, instead they merely stared in various directions.
Maria looked around at the others suddenly uncomfortable. There was an old man eating a large omelet. His head was shaved, exposing the soft wrinkles and folds on his scalp. His bright blue eyes were downcast but he glanced at her when he noticed that she was openly staring at him. There was also a man sipping his coffee at the counter. He seemed slightly too muscular for his age and there was a hardness to his eyes.
The waitress returned with two glasses then filled them to the brim with a large pitcher of ice water. Rhonda told the waitress her order as Maria requested hers as well.
“You seem jumpy Maria,” Rhonda stated as Maria glanced at the door feeling restricted.
“Um, I just thought it would be less busy.” Maria stated a Rhonda nodded.
“Oh, I am sure we will get our food soon.” Rhonda said misunderstanding her.
“Yeah hopefully we will leave soon.” Maria agreed when she saw a man at the counter. He was standing behind an old cash register. He stood with his arms held at his sides like a soldier awaiting his next command, eyes focused straight ahead.
“Are you nervous around people? Have you been isolated so long that you fear them?” Rhonda asked as Maria turned to her.
“No, I just want to go home.” Maria stated when the waitress emerged carrying a large round tray. She placed a large plate in front of Maria and the other in front of Rhonda who nodded her thanks then picked up her fork.
“You really should eat something” Ronda suggested as Maria looked down at her food. The French toast was thin, saturated in sugar and cinnamon like her father use to make it. It was golden brown, crested with burnt eggs that clung to the edges of the bread. The bacon was not overly crispy but the fat was an appealing tan color. The hash browns were slowly fried so every potato shred was thoroughly crispy forming a coppery mound that filled her plate.
“Your orange juice,” the waitress announced placing a second cup in front of both of them then poured a generous amount in each before hurrying off once more.
“Maria, are you ok?” Rhonda asked as she nodded then picked up her cup and took a swig of orange juice. The favor filled her mouth but there was something slightly off about the taste. She spattered coughing up the juice, which sprayed onto the table.
“Honey, are you okay.” Rhonda asked again, getting up as Maria nodded.
“I need to rest. I think I am going to be sick.” Maria said for she could feel her head pounding within her skull.
“Maybe you are just hungry.” Rhonda suggested as Maria turned to her suddenly suspicious.
“I have to go,” she announced as Rhonda watched her puzzled.
“Go where Honey Bun?” Rhonda asked, blocking her in the booth.
Maria reached for Snickers but Rhonda beat her to it. She held the toy in her hands looking it over as Maria began to weep. She flexed her fingers with her arms extended but Rhonda raised Snickers well beyond her reach.
She began to wail. Her head felt like it was being split down the middle and everything seemed frizzy and indistinct. She was aware that the others were crowding around her. She backed into a large window, her back resting against the blinds.
Someone picked her up, casting her over their shoulder. She screamed, squirmed in their arms pounding on their shoulder blades with her hard little fists. She scanned for any machines that she could use to her advantage but the store had nothing that she could command.
The door was pushed open as her vision slowly receded. Her shrill voice faded as she grew still. Her consciousness slipped away abruptly as a needle with withdrawn from her arm, which was held steady by a soft hand.
“At least that will shut her up.” Rhonda stated casting the used syringe into the trash.
The Dreaded Touch of Cold Steel
Maria’s face was pressed against a rough cot as she slowly opened her eyes looking around. Sterile white walls surrounded her as she sat up suddenly frightened. The room was bare, with only a metal table with a poorly constructed lamp, its naked bulb was left exposed on top of a metal rod.
Maria got up though she still felt dizzy and exhausted. She leaned against the wall looking for a window but the room was completely sealed off and she could not sense the comforting buzz of technology with her realm of control.
She hugged herself as she scanned the room desperately for Snickers but it was nowhere in sight. She was alone in this mysterious place.
She shivered when the door was opened and a rather large woman entered. Her hair was gathered into a neat ponytail. There was something familiar about her face but Maria’s mind was still sluggish from her odd dreamless sleep.
Maria stepped back as the woman approached her. She attacked the woman’s mind seeing no escape when the woman raised her hands to her head, pressing a stuffed toy against one of her temples. It was Snickers Maria thought excitedly as the woman straightened herself relived to have been freed from Maria’s spell.
“If you do that again I will have them take your cot.” the woman stated as Maria reached for her toy eagerly. The woman pulled it away then looked down at her.
“You have to do as you are told.” the woman stated sternly as Maria nodded wildly.
“I will do anything just give me Snickers back,” she whined as the woman threw the toy against the far wall. It fell crumpled on the cot as Maria rushed over to it. She picked the toy up then pressed it against her chest when the woman sat beside her on the cot then turned to her as Maria watched her fear
fully.
“The General wants to speak with you about the war.” the woman explained when Maria realized that she knew who this woman was.
“You are the one who drugged me in that diner!” Maria exclaimed.
“Stay focus.” Rhonda commanded as Maria got to her feet, shying away.
“I trusted you and you led me into a trap. You said you were going to bring me home.” Maria yelled as the woman got up after realizing that Maria was not going to listen to what she had to say.
“You are home.” the woman stated as Maria shook her head.
“You lied! I hate you.” Maria yelled as the woman backed off.
“Fine I will inform Homeland Security that this is now solely the military’s issue and that your ACPC does not have to be removed but you should know that the military is not going to be nearly as patient as we have been.” Rhonda stated as she exited the room.
Maria watched the door close, locking her inside as she squeezed Snickers so tight that she was in danger of tearing one of its seams, releasing large chunks of cotton. She pressed her face into Snicker’s short fur to muffle her cry when the door was opened again.
“I already told you…” Maria began when her father’s murderer entered the room, holding a loaded gun. She backed away knowing that she could not stop the mechanical device from firing if he chose to pull the trigger. Her breathing quickened as if she couldn’t take in enough oxygen, as if she was already dying.
“So we meet again,” Ricky whispered as she backed into a wall. He pressed the cylinder of the gun against her forehead as she closed her eyes tight.
“Now are you going to be good?” Ricky asked when she heard others enter the room.
“I asked you a question.” Ricky stated as the gun clicked loudly.
“Please don’t,” Maria whimpered when Snickers was pulled out of her grasp. She opened her eyes to see that one of the soldiers had taken it.
“I will do whatever you ask.” she stated after Ricky pressed the gun hard into her forehead getting impatient.
“Good now you are going to allow these fine gentlemen to handcuff you then you are going to wait until they tell you what they need for you to do. Do you understand?” Ricky demanded as Maria blinked very deliberately.
“Good,” Ricky said as he backed away allowing her to distance herself from the wall when one of the soldiers handcuffed her. She winced as they were tightened, pinching her skin.
“You are to follow him out” Ricky informed as she nodded then followed one of the soldiers out of the room as the rest surrounded her.
She was led down the hall with the gun pressed against the small of her back. The one holding Snickers, carried it low, as the toy dangled from its sturdy dog collar swinging limping like a hanged victim.
There was nothing that she could do she thought bleakly when the progression stopped. They were in an open room with a single robot placed in the center. It had large treads that functioned like wheels, which adaptable to various sorts of terrain. There were braces were large guns were once affixed to its shoulders and fastens were grenades once hung at its sides.
A large man stepped in front of Maria. She had seen him before but only once. He was that man that she saw standing amongst the silent ranks of war machines, the very same one that challenged her before she got away in that tank.
“No one escapes from me,” the General stated as she looked down at her shoes.
“Now can you control that machine like you did the others” he finally continued after an odd silence fell around them. She nodded then commanded the machine over to them. The machine perked up at the summons then rolled over as fast as it could. The General smiled, pleased with her success.
“It seems you are going to be our secret weapon.” he stated happily resting his hand on Maria’s shoulder.
Her Father’s Dying Wish
“Stay still,” a scientist commanded as Maria tightened her hold on Snickers. The scientist drew a blood sample within a large syringe then backed away as others finished conducting a basic medical exam. Their gloved hands prodded as they peered into her face’s many orifices. She cringed at their touch as lights were flashed in her eyes and mirrors were shoved into her mouth.
“Dr. Shaw the medical examination has been completed.” one of the scientists announced as a man overseeing the others nodded calmly.
“Retrieve the brain interpreter and any other non-invasive brain scanners.” Dr. Shaw told the nearest scientist, who nodded the left the small crowded room.
“Now Maria tell me how you can do these things.” Dr. Shaw said sitting on the cot beside her.
“I don’t know any more than you do,” Maria confessed.
“Then tell me about the extent of your odd dominion over machines.”
“I can use my Artificial Cerebral Processing Chip to send signals,”
“Did you have to learn that skill?”
“Not really,”
“Does your father have something to do with this?”
“I guess,”
“Describe his treatment.”
“He gave me medicine when I was little,”
“Why?”
“Because he did not want me to inherit my mother’s disease.”
“What was your mother’s disease?”
“That was just it he said no one knew what it was. The doctors were baffled by it. It killed almost everyone on her side of the family.”
“It lasted for generations without anyone finding a cure?”
“Yeah but it only seemed to be in her family. It must be an extremely rare genetic disorder.”
“I got that brain scanner, Sir” a scientist announced by the door as Dr. Shaw turned back to her.
“You better not tamper with the results or I will get Ricky,” he threatened as Maria remembered the feel of the icy steel pressed against her skin. She felt so helpless in his presence because she knew that she could do nothing to stop him. There was nothing that she could do to save her father, nothing that could be done to revert her life back to the way it was long ago.
She nodded slowly as he placed the scanner onto her head. She was encased in complete darkness. It felt like she was disconnected from the world. Her loneliness seemed more acute somehow, magnified by the surrounding nothingness. She felt like an inextinguishable consciousness lost within an empty void, like her dead father’s lost soul.
Ricky was a murderer. He killed her father in cold blood. There was no remorse in his eyes, just a robotic sense of indifference. There was a murderous quality about his apathy, about his cold unfeeling actions. There was something she despised about his autonomous nature, something she feared hidden within the depths of those diabolical eyes but she mustn’t allow her actions to be dictated by fear any longer.
Her father did not die fearing for his own life, he was only concerned about her safety. He wanted to protect her from danger, from the world that he knew would be against her. That is why she was home schooled and why he rarely let her out in public. He would have never wanted this life for her but he was gone along with his protection. If she wanted to change her life she would need to be the one to do it.
The scientists removed the scanner as he looked at her puzzled. She looked away knowing what she needed to do. Her eyes were silent and calculating as she waited patiently for her chance, determined to ignore all the distractions around her.
The door opened as Ricky and the others entered to test her abilities further. Snickers was plucked from her arms as she was restrained and a gun was pressed against her back. She got up slowly then allowed them to lead her out the door as the scientists whispered to each other, baffled by the results.
She was led into a large room with the same robot as before. She sighed wondering if they had anything else planned. The General walked over to her, kneeling before her. She stared past him as he explained what he expected her to do.
“The robot is being controlled by a human controller. I want to see if that m
akes a difference because the last time the robot was simply turned off.” he explained as Maria nodded stiffly. The General got up then backed away as she focused on the enemy robot.
“Begin,” the General stated as the robot rolled about across the floor beyond her control. She blocked the controllers signal then commanded the machine over to them. The General glanced down at her unsure whether she had overcome the other signal so quickly or was it still under the influence of the controller.
“Are you doing this?” the General asked as Maria turned to him.
“Of course I am,” she stated as the lights went out, plunging everything into complete darkness.
“We are not going to tolerant your tricks.” the General stated when she assaulted the one holding Snicker’s mind. There was the tense hiss of air passing through one’s teeth as she wiggled free. She stumbled toward the robot before restoring the lights once more.
“Maria, stop this nonsense.” the General told her when the robot broke the chain connecting her handcuffs freeing her hands. The one with the gun aimed at her as the robot neared them.
“Drop the gun.” she commanded as the robot drew near, its size and iron-clad limbs compensating for the fact that it was unarmed.
“Stop this Maria,” commanded the one with the gun as the robot neared.
“I know you won’t shoot me,” she stated as the robot snatched the gun from him then pointed the barrel at the one that held her toy.
“You wouldn’t,” Ricky stated as the robot fired at his feet.
“Don’t think I won’t kill you after what you have done, now throw Snickers to me,” she commanded as the solider complied. She picked up Snickers then backed away as the robot rushed back to her side.
“Maria!” the General yelled threateningly when she called the army of war machines from the other room. They swarmed around her shielding her from the General’s wrath.
One blasted through the wall, revealing the outside world. She rushed out into the parking lot when the machine blasted another hole through the fence as the rest stood guard. She could hear the General barking out orders as the others scrambled to recapture her.
Maria stole a personal auto-flyer then glided through the hole in the fence to safety. She squeezed Snickers as she left her existence of captive behind, vowing never to return. Her father spent his whole life trying to protect her, sheltering her from danger. It was her father’s dying wish that she retain her freedom, that she live a normal life and she will not fail him. She will not allow his sacrifices to become meaningless. She will not allow his death to be in vain. She was going to end this, for good.
The Termination of Fear
Maria landed behind a dilapidated building within a neglected urban area. She knew there would be plenty of resources to live off of and that there were places even the cops were wary of. She would be able to hide within the ransacked buildings. She will stay here until she finds a better place to call home.
She slipped from the auto-flyer with Snickers tucked