Artificial Mates - Chapter 147

The truck stopped with a whooshing sound. Grant was sitting in the front along with Alter at the wheel and Nicolai in the middle. From where they were they could see smoke rising from Texson city. The night was slowly pulling away in the chilled morning breeze.

“Let’s get as close as we can without them noticing,” said Grant. Alter cut the headlights and approached slowly on an adjacent road. It forced them on a long detour to avoid the guards blocking the entrance of the city. They wore black uniforms, they were military. Due to roadblocks, Grant signaled Alter to stop the truck near a deserted factory. It was safer to continue on foot.

“Come on,” he whispered to the group as they hopped in a corner of a dark street with elongated shadows. Most of the street lights were dead. Demos joined them, he checked the map and separated the group into two units. Grant was in the middle of the first group, with Nicolai and Alter by his side and Demos took the lead of the other group.

“I’ll find a way to get Alter inside the lab. Those with Demos will stay outside to help the extraction,” the group nodded in silence. Everyone knew what to do, Demos briefed them on guns and basic combat technics. There were no doubts, no hesitation. Total faith.

“Let’s go,” Grant whispered. They stayed low, hidden in the shadows as they moved. Most were unarmed and yet deadly as they could strike faster and punched harder than any human. With the 3 laws abolished they could act freely for their own survival. Still, Grant told them to inflict pain only if necessary. He didn’t want to spill more blood, not after his previous experience. Atlas needed to be stopped, it was not a war against the humans. They all agreed to his logic.

As they got near Lab 87 the smell of smoke got thicker. There were cars burning in the middle of the street. The gate of the lab was wide open and three trucks were half parked on the pavement and the asphalt. A buzzing group of military men were busy carrying boxes and evacuating civilians occupied the entrance. In the far, echoed of a machine gun was heard. Grant stopped and crouched with this back against a dumpster.

The group was two streets away, Grant waved his hand to Demos.

-They are evacuating. This is bad, we have very little time. We need to get inside now, Demos frowned.

-What if Olga was wrong?

A dull explosion shook the facade of the building. The military rushed out of the way, others aimed at the shattered glass entrance. Screams rose as two cybots appeared at the front door.

“Run rats!” yelled one of them. Grant welcomed the diversion he was ready to make a run for it on the other side of the road when out of nowhere shadows moved from an overgrown field next to the lab. Nicolai grabbed Grant by the collar and pulled him back behind the dumpster just in time before the group of 13 cybots noticed him.

“Shit, they are going to attack them from behind,” he whispered. He watched the event unfold in complete helplessness. The first truck roar to life, as it switched on its headlights the new enemy were caught in them. They fired a round at the driver, blood splashed the windshield and the man fell dead on passenger beside him. The soldier sitting next to him pushed him aside and seized control of the vehicle, yelled as he steered it away. When the cybots fired another round on the side of the vehicle he pressed his feet on the gas petal. People were yelling and kicking inside the truck. The tires squealed as the first vehicle sped onto the main road. One cybot broke from the group and ran after the truck, firing at the occupants in the back. Shots lit the dark street with orange sparks. In seconds the robot fell and lay idle. The rest of them turned to the two remaining vehicles. A loud voice barked orders, the military was attacked on both sides. They were doomed. The weapons used by Atlas’ allies completely destroyed the side on two vehicles rendering them useless.

“Those men are done for,” Alter commented. Nicolai was still holding onto Grant’s collar.

“What do we do?” he asked while frowning. Everyone in the group looked up at him. Instead of reassuring them he froze, averted his eyes.

-Demos…I don’t know what to do.

“Kill those things. Altas must not gain control of the factories,” yelled a loud voice over the chaos of gunfire. Grant looked up, snapped from his state of shock. The one who spoke seemed to be in charge of the humans. The sheer violence of the attack was terrifying. It was a massacre. An execution.

“We are here to stop Atlas and we are going to stop him. We stick to the plan,” Grant said with determination. The group around him nodded. “There’s an entrance on the side of the building through the cafeteria, we’ll use the humans as a diversion,” he explained. Everyone smiled except Demos. His face was closed, jaw tensed. He held Liliane’s gun, the one they got off the terrorist.

“Go, go, go,” Grant waved and they backed away to another street and rounded a factory facing the Lab. They crossed the street as the group of cybots closed around the stranded military. Terrible screams rose in the cold morning light as the sun gradually rose. The front of Lab 87 was blood red from the carnage.

-Grant, we can’t just let them die! said Demos. Grant didn’t answer.

They reached the side of the lab, easily hopped over the fence and inside the facility. This side of the building was also destroyed. Glass panels shattered, wall riddled with impacts, the yard littered with debris, and bullets. Demos remembered how they go out in haste with bodies lying in the corridors. The group made it inside the cafeteria, it was eerily silent.

“In formation,” Demos whispered. Those carrying guns protected those without. Grant stood in the middle. They crossed the room without problem and went down the first bas.e.m.e.nt the same way they escaped earlier, through the fire exit. The staircase was pitch black. No one had flashlights, most were equipped with night vision. Those who didn’t grab the arm of the one in front and let them guided down the pit. The descent was laborious, the air thin and hot. No human could advance in such conditions. Reaching the 14th landing Grant paused.

“This way,” Grant urged and pulled the door leading to offices. He peeked in both directions to see if it was empty then waved the others to step into the light. Demos narrowed his eyes at the familiar corridor. Grant didn’t wait for them and dashed straight to an unmarked door. They followed behind without question. As he pulled the door open he stopped.

“What—” Demos pushed those standing in front of him to join Grant. When he peeked inside he saw Olga sitting on a chair at a workstation.

“Didn’t I tell you not to come?” she said half smiling. She had a sweater wrapped around the waist soaked with white liquid, soot, and burns covered the right side of her face. Her hair was mattered on the side, the shoulder burnt black with synthetic skin peeling away. The other members hurried inside, cheering with joy.

“What happened to you?” asked Grant. She turned back to her workstation ignoring them.

“Is Liliane, ok?” she asked without looking up. Grant pressed his lips together. He wasn’t sure. Nicolai patted Olga on the back. She didn’t react.

“We came to save you, as I see you don’t need saving,” he pointed to the guns tucked into her belt and the huge one resting against the table. Olga finished her typing, saved the files and pulled a black box plugged to the console. She swirled around in her chair and glared at them.

“Why are you here?” her eyes rested on Grant. “I’ve sent you a message telling you they are going to destroy this f.u.c.k.i.n.g facility. The military built a safeguard inside the whole thing and they were going to blow everything up. Do you understand what they are going to do? So why are you here?” her voice rose up and everyone went quiet. Smiles faded.

“I couldn’t decode your message,” Grant averted his eyes. Olga struggled to get out of her chair. They watched in shock as her cooling liquid dripped from her wound and onto the floor. She limped to Grant and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. “They are going to blow up an EMP, if we don’t get away from the blast we’ll all be scrap metal. I was able to get a backup of their servers before they wiped it,” she waved the black box into his face. “Now we better get out and quick,” she pushed Grant away.