pg. 6

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Long chapter alert

Huddling together in front of the truck we waited, agonizing our present predicament.

Skylar hung to Logan's side, pressing her face into Logan's obliques for comfort. The youngest two, Joseph and Ruth, hid behind Logan's tall frame. While Junior and I closed the sides hiding them as much as possible.

Where was the person who had called us out? What do they want?

Together our four pairs of eyes slowly searched the surrounding area.

The deserted road had started grating my nerves raw for some reason.

Dust washed over us in a thick cloud, prickling our eyes. The wind loudly whistling into our ears.

Slowly a small figure in the far off distance appeared.

I clenched my jaw, angry that we can't do anything to prevent this.

" Logan do you see what I see" I whisper.

" Yes" Logan said straightening her shoulders, ready to look intimidating to whoever was coming.

The figure quickly came closer and the dust cloud waned as it got close enough to be within viewing distance..

It emerged as a four legged animal with perked up ears and a coat blacker than obsidian.

A dog.....

Though I had never seen this particular dog breed before.

I craned my neck for a better look.

The dog stopped a couple feet from us, sitting on its back legs...watching us carefully with its big blue eyes.

Intelligence seeped from this animal as it took two deep breaths wiggling its nose frantically.

It tilted his head to the side playfully and panted, his big pink tongue bobbing from his mouth.

It got up confidently, tail wagging high above its body, trotting towards us.

Immediately I looked fearfully at the fast incoming dog. Facing upwards toward Logan questioningly, I waited for a reaction. Her face stayed frostily calm and calculating eyes flicked down to my own, reassuring me with a look.

Nobody moved.

At a distance it looked like a regular sized dog, up closer it was clearly massive with a coat of short wire-y hair. He wiggled around with his strong body slapping us. Gently pushing its large head between us, curious to see Ruth and Joseph hiding behind us. They huddled closer to Logan's back.

When it was done he walked back to the same place he had sat.

We looked around confused and profoundly relieved the dog didn't attack us or show signs of aggression.

" Hello again...."

We looked around again, expecting to see the person that call us out this time.

" Over here.... I am glad you had the common sense to be nonthreatening."

All our eyes snapped to the dog.

It opened its mouth yawning, displaying a row of white sharp teeth.

Words began spilling out of its mouth again.

" Why were you being followed? Be truthful, ladies" he urged with none of the friendliness he'd shown before.

We stared and the dog stared at us back.

Logan swallowed hard, slowly measuring her words. " I am a mechanic by trade but I specialize in robotics. My trade is very rare and very sought after. I would be a very convenient person to have as a prisoner, not to mention the free labor." She shrugged tersely.

The dog licks its chops before continuing " what about your companions?"

Logan tensed and her jaw muscle bulged but she kept calm.

"My wife is a college crafts teacher and was once an elementary school special education teacher. So she can make many things by hand and is good with children but as you can see she is...." Logan stopped for a moment looking for the correct words to say.

She was at a loss for words with how to delicately describe her beautiful wife without possibly subjecting her to more danger.

" Yes, I can see.. She must be very desired" The dog completed her sentence.

Logan clenched her hand in a tight fist.

" Go on...." The dog whined.

" The younger ones are my adopted children. They are prime slave stock for those with means if they are captured....do I need to say more?"

" No..." The dog whined again.

I realized why I couldn't place the breed. It wasn't just any dog, it was a new tissue based synthetic cyborg. A custom product made of designer genes.

It was advertised as leagues better than an antique breed. It boasted a short growth span, higher intelligence and had a organic computer laced brain for enhanced functions, whatever that meant.

Its life span rivaled that of a human. Getting dubbed 'A forever companion' by the company growing it.

Its owner must have been extremely wealthy to even consider such a luxury.

But is it the original owner we are talking about or the new one that had somehow acquired this dog.(@minipurse)

" Mhhhmm, We need your expertise. This isn't a request. It would be in your best interest to barter some of your skills for a safe passage. No? " The dog licked his snout menacingly.

Logan squared her shoulders and nodded silently.

" Good" Another male voice chimed in. We looked beyond the dog, farther away down the road. The voice that had spoken to us had finally appeared.

A silent shadow of a human drifted slowly to his animal friend.

Strangely, he looked very average in everything except his pupil-less eyes. He was not impressively tall or exceptionally good looking. Brown hair, pale grey eyes, and a soft glowing tan could have made him a background character in any place in the world.

His eyes bore holes into each of us. Examining each person with open interest.

" I am æxom series 53. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Though this may be an unusual way to make a request, it is sadly necessary. With the current circumstances, it is inevitable seeing the quite changed scope of our existence."

Logan's eyebrows shot up all the way up her forehead." What?! I had only heard rumors ?" She said in awe, stepping back a little.

What is going on? My eyes jumped from the man to Logan several times.

Logan regained her composure, gesturing to the back of the trailer in a respectful manner.

Silently, The man glided past us, the dog happily trotting next to its master.

We followed solemnly some feet away after them.

" what do you need?" Logan getting straight to the point as she sat at a small work bench anchored to the floor. Our group crowding the small space.

He opened his thin jacket pulling out a small round device. " I need you to replace this component in my brain and also in my heart. I have done all other repairs myself, this I can not do." He said with a polite tone.

Logan slowly stretched her hand out to the small device across from her. Delicately she studied it before gently placing it on the table again.

" I must stay in suspended stasis for these designated repairs. I will seal only the necessary personnel into a sterile containment bubble for the procedure. It will only take 4 hours at most, in total. I have no other option and neither do you" He ended coldly.

Logan stayed silent, staring at the table deep in thought. After a while she said
" Ok, I will do it but a clear agreement between us is a must before we start."

" Very well, I will start the preparations immediately. We will talk about the terms just as you stated later." As he turned around to leave.

A loud vroom coming from the outside shook the air. Someone else is here, coming to this place at the worst possible moment.

The dog barked and growled aggressively, running out of the trailer.

" We have unwanted company, wait here" He turned to say back to us for a split second, expressionless.

He became a blur of speed before the end of the sentence even reached our ears.

The crunch of metal and the shattering of glass violently cut into the tense silence. All of us stood frozen in place unsure of what to do.

Mustering up a little courage, I wanted to know what exactly we are dealing with since Logan hasn't said anything about our exploiter until now. So cautiously I scoot to the exit. My eyes readjusting to the brighter light.

Outside, a wreckage spilled its metal guts close to the road. I could feel the bodies of the others coming closer, also curious to see what was going on.

The body of the man called æxom unfurled from the middle of the crippled metal body, standing right over the mess.

As he moved away toward the truck , I noticed something being dragged in his lowered hand.

Somehow he had managed to capture one of the people who were inside.

They groaned pitifully
" pppllleeeaaasee, " the person rasped.

He looked down " Is that a plea for mercy? Tell me who sent you and why.....and I will make your death swift"

The person sobbed uncontrollably in agonizing pain unable to say more.

With strength inhumanly impossible æxom dangled the man with one arm high above his head.

" Guilty by association" æxom said nonchalantly into his face, condemning the man.

In one fatal tug he pulled the legs of the condemned. Tearing the body into two like a piece of cooked chicken.

I muffled a shriek, clapping my hands over my mouth. I continued to watch, my eyes unable to tear away from the scene.

He dropped the two halves onto the ground with a great big plop, splattering blood everywhere.

He walked over the debris searching for something.

Suddenly that something caught his attention and his hands gripped metal. The crackling and tearing of the metal being pulled apart was nothing compared to the wail that came from the frightened person he discovered.

The same thing happened. He dragged the survivor out and dangled the person in front of him repeating the same question to the captive as well.

The other person stammered
" Noo!! I..I..I was told to just take from others coming this way and to do we want with the people we captured. That's all... I dont know anything else...Pleaseeee?!"

This time he took the time to tear him limb from limb unlike the other person just split in half. Decapitating him in the end and leaving him in a pile on the ground.

I looked back into the frightened eyes of my family seeing the same tears that I felt in theirs.

Logan finally came to drag us back to the work bench.

" what is he?" I asked logan frightened of the answer.

" I am human" his voice rang out, I whirled around stunned that he'd come back inside, red blood staining his clothes and hands.

"Well technically I was, my body is just a shell that keeps me alive. I've lived and died like any other person but technology has given me a second lease on life. My death was early into my lifespan." He said with a darkened expression. Everyone stood in place, no one dared to ask anymore questions, the silence palpable.

After the uncomfortable silence from his explanation had grown, he left along with his dog without another word.

******************************

Logan later explained that she has the suspicion he is an advanced prototype from an exclusive company named Afterlife.

She had heard some crazy rumors of successful human implantation into artificial bodies, that could extend peoples life spans, and that it was entering critical clinical trials under the watchful eyes of the government, just right before the invasion.

She was once, she said, a subcontractor at a government facility that worked with maintaining the basic robots within different departments.

Several times she noticed that the work parts for machines were suddenly switched from one particular manufacturing company to a new one, a manufacturer called Afterlife.

A wild rumor swirled around the building about a new contract having been struck for more advanced tech by the government and a project being kept strictly hush hush.

She ignored the initial first rumors but was intrigued when she heard more information from later rumors after it was discovered that they were true.

*****************************

Listening to her past life made me sad for her....for all of us. Reminding me cruelly of what could have been and what reality really is, is so different now. The past had again creeped back into the present.

We cleaned out a corner, moving around the crates and barrels that were strapped.

He would come back soon and we had to be ready.

But he didn't come back that evening.

The kids and I nestled in our familiar sleeping corner that logan always set aside for us at the end of the day. The wreckage and the dead outside reminding us of his power. We were somber.

The night seemed short, with the new sunrise coming before we knew it.

Another day.....

Everyone found a task to do anxiously. Logan always said busy hands, busy minds.

At midday we all heard a knock outside the trailer holding door and Logan looked around at us in a reassuring manner.

" It is time, I have the necessary equipment" I could hear him say from the spot that I was busying myself from.

She stepped outside from the sound of her footsteps and we didn't hear anymore for some time.

Logan reappeared later slightly confused, " He wants to meet each of us individually and take a blood sample, I don't know why he wants to do that but he says its necessary."

Slowly we filed out of the trailer slightly pensive. He waited outside with a large suitcase looking solemn. Logan hurriedly carried the suitcase away into the back, probably full of the equipment they were about to use.(@minipurse)

Skylar went first and I was right behind her in line.

He greeted her, bowed, and gently asked for her hand. " it will only be a pinch I promise" He said with a small smile flashing his eerily white teeth.

She gasped a moment later and he let go of her hand quickly.

Thank you was all he said as she shuffled away, going in the direction of Logan.

It was my turn and now that I am in front of him I see that he had a small device in his hand.

He greeted and bowed, stretching out his hand expectantly. Trembling I gave him my hand.

The device hovered over my hand, in a swift motion a small needle darted from the tip taking a small sample from me.

It hurt.... So I winced involuntarily. The device flashed and he stared into space, not letting go of my hand.

He blinked a couple times as if something got in his eyes when the device stopped. His head drifted downward along with his eyes to my body, stopping at my stomach. He muttered
" Interesting" to himself.

I snatched my hand away, worried and creeped out.

I didn't leave. I sat on the sidelines, preferring to watch carefully and scrutinizing his every move while doing the same thing over and over again to my siblings.

Ruth, who was at the end of the line, crossed her arms looking fed up. He did the same thing as before but Ruth shoved her hand into his without letting him finish.

Unfazed he still delicately held her hand and hovered the device to take a sample. He took longer this time than everyone else, including me, holding her hand.

He put the device in his pocket and fished out a ring from his pant pocket.

It was a simple silver band and he put it on Ruth's finger without explaining or asking permission.

Ruth's face twisted in outrage. She slapped his hand away with what looked like all her force.

Next she tried to rip the ring from her finger but she just turned red from the strain.

Exasperated she screamed "get it off!! Off!! Owww, Its pinching me"

Ruth raised her hand to slap him across the face but he was faster grabbing her wrist.

He smirked handsomely breaking the emotionless mask we had only seen him sport.
" AAhh, So much fire dear, don't lose it...... I'll see you in a couple years, that I can promise. I hope you will still remember me then" Bowing his head.

" Ya I 'll remember... Remember to scoop out your eyes and stab you in the back, you perv!!" Ruth said furiously kicking him.

Stunned by what was happening, my mouth fell wide open with shock. My stupor evaporated as I realized the danger Ruth was putting herself in.

I jumped in between them before either could do anything more to compromise the thin strand of peace between our group and him.

He chuckled walking away. I grabbed Ruth hugging her fiercely into my body. Tears streaming down my face "Ruth that was a stupid..stupid thing to do" Her hands clutched my shirt, wrinkling it. " I won't let any one try to intimidate me or harass me, I am not going to be a victim willingly even if he is stronger" her voice hoarse. That forced a small smile from me and a little laugh.

I kissed her head. That's my sister. She shoved her hand with the ring on it to my face, distraught.

" I would have thrown the ring in his face, IF I could get it off!" Her face flushing again. The ring making her finger an angry red color and I noticed blood around the rim of it.

Gently I tried to tug it off but Ruth yelped in pain. Its definitely on there good.

Skylar wafted over to us breathless "ALL of us are staying outside, ok. Logan locked the truck up and only she is allowed to be inside. I brought out some snacks and water till she is done.....also we are going to bunker two fifty six. Æxom is going to help us get there by guarding us."

Both me and my sister turned to Skylar wide eyed with a look of dread in our faces.

Skylar stilled and looked confused " what I miss?"

Ruth lifted her slightly bleeding finger, the ring shining in the sunlight.

Seriously if Ruth had a theme song it would be maneater, either one daryl hall& john oates or nelly furtado( you can choose). She doesn't take shit from anyone. Also, I will spill a small secret🙀, the device in Æxom's hand only reads dna from the samples.

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