Still Human

Heilick sat down on the lumpy armchair, breathing a sigh of relief. He had been on his feet all day, doing recon in the Beta sector. He was sure he had almost been detected a half dozen times, but luckily, he had managed to get out safely. His mission had been a necessary one. If they were going to strike the next day, they needed to be sure. Uncertainty would get them killed.

No one was back yet, so he took the opportunity to take his shoes off. He never did this when the others were around because he was well aware of the stench his feet gave off. He hadn’t washed them in a few days, and his leather boots didn’t help matters. He thought about fetching a basin of water, but he was sitting quite comfortably and as he was alone, he didn’t care.

He closed his eyes, his mind taking him inexorably back to the moment it always did. The girl, a flash, the swirling motion, the knife coming out of nowhere, a scream, and the blood, so much blood.

“Heilick?” a voice pulled him from the gruesome images he was so used to revisiting by now, but he was still glad when he saw Chelsea standing over him. She was dripping wet, her hair matted and dirty. He raised an eyebrow at her. “One of them chased me through a dirty alley, and it was raining,” she explained. “How are we on water rations?”

“You can take a shower,” Heilick said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

“I was thinking more for you,” Chelsea said, wrinkling her nose and pointing at his feet. “Those dogs are nasty.”

Heilick laughed, but not for long.

Tiredness had become a long-time companion for him by now, he was used to it. But he knew he would perform so much better if well rested. If only he could sleep a dreamless sleep. Better to go over the plan. Better to make sure they were ready.

“Where are the others?” he asked Chelsea. She shrugged and took off her torn jacket, and walked towards the shower area.

Heilick stood. He would let her wash before questioning her. He understood. She needed time to process, and that was how it was for him too. The days had all been the same lately – except for that day, that day would always be different - but otherwise: the recon, the fear of being spotted, the fear of being caught and becoming less than human. Getting in and getting out as quietly and as efficiently as possible. It was all leading up to this moment. The time had come to do what they needed to do. The last meeting tonight would determine if they were going ahead with the plan, but Heilick saw no reason not to. It was time.

*

Chelsea let the cold water wash over her skin, but only for a moment. Water was a necessity, and they didn’t have the luxury of an unlimited supply. Before applying any soap, she looked down at the large gash in her side. It was deep, and it hurt like hell, but she was sure it would be fine. The soap stung. She cleaned the cut as best she could. They had a couple of bandages left, but she wouldn’t be able to do it herself. She didn’t want to tell Heilick, he would just worry. She could tell Colter. He would help her, and wouldn’t fuss.

She dressed in the sweatpants she always wore in the evening. Pulling on her top was painful, but she grunted her way through it. That bot had almost cut her in half. She had been spotted climbing over the south wall and the thing had chased her for half a kilometre. She’d had to shoot it in the end. That would take some explaining to Heilick. She’d had closer calls before then. He’d understand.

Heading back into the main living area, feeling marginally better, she grabbed the chair Heilick had been sitting in and sat down. She said nothing as Heilick prepared some food for them. She hadn’t asked him to, but was grateful for the effort. It was always nice to eat after a long day in the city.

The food wasn’t great. Ration packs of stale-tasting gunk, but it was better than nothing. She grunted a thank you when Heilick dropped a bowl in her lap, before sitting down on an upturned bucket. Chelsea glanced at him. She noticed he’d put his boots back on. She hadn’t really minded the smell; she had only been teasing him. His face was gaunt and he looked worn out.

“You can have the chair back,” she said, eating a mouthful of gunk. He shook his head and ate. Chelsea didn’t bother pressing the matter. They ate in silence for a few minutes, both too exhausted to engage in meaningful conversation.

When they were about halfway done, Mias walked in. When Chelsea saw him, she immediately knew that something was wrong. Mias’ usually genial face was livid, and he looked strained.

“What is it?” she asked.

*

Mias looked at them. He saw Chelsea’s face. She knows, he thought. But that wasn’t possible. It had just happened. She couldn’t know, they couldn’t know. But they were both staring at him. And then Chelsea spoke. And Mias knew he had to give an answer he did not want to give. The moment flashed before his eyes then, and he felt his eyes burn, red hot. The tears came before he could stop them, and he threw a hand up to his face to wipe them away. But of course they saw. Neither of them moved, except to pause in their eating. Mias chanced a glance at Heilick, who looked angry.

“Spit it out,” he said, standing up.

“Colter is dead.”

Heilick sat down again, but Chelsea stood up and screamed in the most harrowing way imaginable. It echoed around the walls, showering Mias with cold grief. He was drowning in it, and he could not contain his own sobs now.

Heilick was patient. When the sobs had died down, he asked the question Mias had been dreading.

“What happened?”

*

Chelsea listened, but it was as if it were happening somewhere else, to someone else. Colter couldn’t be dead. She had seen him that morning. They had talked, and laughed and hugged. She could still feel him. Everything was moving in slow motion. She focused on Mias, forcing the sound to come back.

“- and they spotted us coming out of that hatch near the factory in Alpha sector. We were surrounded in seconds. I pulled my disrupter on them. I shot maybe two of them, but they kept coming. There were too many. Colter didn’t have time to get his gun out. One of those things jumped him, and… and…” his voice faltered, but he swallowed and continued. “It was all I could do to get away. I shot a couple more of them and managed to get down into the access tunnel before they could catch me.”

Silence followed his words. Chelsea sat down again. Disbelief washing over her. The cut in her side seemed to pulse, sending waves of pain through her body.

“We need to recover his body,” Heilick said after a few minutes. Chelsea looked at him.

“Are you crazy?” she shot. “You want to end up the same way?”

“We can’t leave him,” Heilick said quietly, but Mias shook his head. Chelsea looked at him instead. She knew him well enough to know that he was on the verge of breaking down again.

“There’s nothing left to get. It’s too late. They will have already changed him.”

Chelsea pictured Colter in her mind’s eye. The tall figure standing in front of her, with his long dark hair falling in greasy locks around his pale face and genial expression, winking at her. But then the image changed. His handsome features were replaced with cybernetics covering his face and arms. The blue eyes had become dark and featureless. His smile replaced with a stoic manner.

Chelsea turned away from the others and stared out the grubby window. Night had truly fallen now. They were safe here, she knew. The bots never came out this far from the city. There were no lights here. The darkness was everywhere.

*

Heilick paced the room. He glanced at Chelsea. She was tough, he knew. Mias was now sitting in the chair. Heilick knew that Mias blamed himself for Colter’s death. There would be time later to place blame. For now, they had work to do.

“We do it tonight,” he said, turning to face them, and for a second, their faces disappeared and he saw the young girl instead. Eighteen or nineteen, not a bot, just a girl. He saw himself pulling out the knife. Not a bot, just a girl. He reacted quickly. It was too late. Just a girl. He saw the blood, and felt it trickle down his hands. He shook the image away. Both Chelsea and Mias stared at him, waiting.

“We plant that bomb and destroy those bastard bots forever! They will not win! We do it now, we do it for Colter!”

He looked at his compatriots. Their determined faces and slight nods felt comforting. He had known they would be with him.

Whatever happened next, this was it. Heilick knew one thing for sure: he would not become one of them. They would set the bomb, and get out if they could, and die if they couldn’t. But Heilick swore to himself that the bot factory was going down in flames.