Robots of Avery Five.

Chapter 12

Sleeping was the last thing Sadie wanted to do. She rolled on the bed, making the sheets into a bundle. The contact with the mattress fabric was making her whole body itch. Her nails gashed her shoulder, her fists thumped the cushion, and her legs pedaled in anger.

“Sadie, you are in heat.” Cam sat in the space beside her. His master reached behind her head, picked up her pillow, and flung it at his face.

“I am not in heat. Not everything’s about s*x, Cam.”

With a frown on her face, she got up and snatched a pair of shorts from a chest of drawers. Her nose and lips pointed upward as she saw part of the old firearm under her clothes. She banged the drawer close and left the room.

--------------------------------- 

From the kitchen, Sadie brought a cup to her lips while she watched Alex’s sleep in the living room. She put the metal container down, realizing it had been empty for a long time.

Why did she think he would make her life better?

Nothing had changed. The only reason he was there was because of her pregnancy. Her life didn’t matter. She rubbed her flat stomach, trying to check for signs of movement, but everything felt normal.

“How far along are you?” Kimiora whispered behind her.

Sadie blinked and turned around. “Um, I’m not sure. I’m not even sure it’s there.”

“Have you seen your period? That’s usually a sign.” The farmer got closer. 

“Clone women don’t get those.”

“Oh, right.” Kimiora gave her a closed smile, and turned to a fruit basket that was sitting on the counter. She pulled an inch-sized sphere off a stem and put it in her mouth. She massaged the side of her neck while panning her head in a slow motion.

“I don’t wanna sound intrusive, but,” she swallowed, “do you know what it was like in your past life? I know they don’t tell everyone.”

“You mean what crime I committed? No, the Human Federation never added details of my past life in my file. I was only given a case number and a new name at my rebirth. Well, I do know my immediate family was from Earth for census purposes.”

It was hard for Kimiora to imagine being rid of her place in life, or to find herself alone, and labeled at birth. She felt lucky, pitying the clone while she remembered Ms. Stone’s last words. “What if I could get into the Federation’s network and retrieve your records?”

“You can do that without getting caught?” Sadie straightened her neck.

Kimiora’s eyebrows twitched. “How do you think I lasted so long in Avery without an arm comm? I aim to remain humble, but I’m the best.”

“If they didn’t tell me what I did, it was probably because I did something awful. But I prefer to live with the truth.” Sadie took a deep breath. 

The human grabbed the clone by the hand and pulled her into her bedroom. The bed stood in the middle between two nightstands. A pink mirror hung from the wall to their left. Kimiora lifted a tablet that was lying on one nightstand and sat on the floor with her legs crossed.

“Give me a minute.” She typed with intensity on the flat board, then a hologram of a cube appeared in front of Sadie.

“Add your case number.”

Sadie complied and tapped her fingers on the cube. 

Almost an hour passed before Kimiora raised her head again.

“Yes,” she scream-whispered. The clone’s information began to come out of the cube.

Sadie dropped to her knees with a racing heart. She grinned as she began to read, then her semblance turned one-hundred and eighty degrees.

“How bad is it? Did you kill someone?” asked Kimiora. 

The clone girl turned her head, forgetting how to breathe and how to speak.

“My...my name,” she gasped.

“What are you trying to say?” Kimiora shook her head and looked down at her device to find out on her own. Her eyes popped as she reread some of it. “On the twelfth day of June, in the year two-thousand, four-hundred, seventy-seven, Mrs. Helen of Singapore was sentenced to cloning for adultery. Before the disintegration of her human body, her belongings were given to her next of kin, her husband, Li Jie of Singapore and her son, Hammond of Singapore.”

 ----------------------------

A constant buzzing awakened a half asleep Alexander. Annoyed, he swung his arm, making a bug glide away undisturbed. He sat up on the couch and lifted his arm to check the time, then he remembered where he was. It was hard to believe the farmers liked living with so little technology.

Feeling naked without his arm comm, Alex’s forehead rested on his palms, recalling the decisions he made that led him there. He rubbed his hands while seeing the faces of the man and the woman he killed. If he could have gone back in time, he would have done it in a different way. He imagined going forward with his business deals, but there was something he would have kept the same—that one night with Sadie.

Ironically, that was the starting piece in the domino effect. It was easier to wish that night away, therefore the pregnancy away. But he couldn’t fathom the possibility. If Sadie wouldn’t have gotten pregnant, he would have chosen any other girl, and he would have lived in an unhappy marriage for the rest of his life. At least now Sadie was close.

Sadie.

The girl was angry at him. He shouldn’t have said any of those things. He would have expressed his true feelings if it hadn’t been for the stupid s*x robot. Sadie thought the damn thing was better boyfriend materrial—they had no disagreements, she told him what to do, he protected her, and the s*x had to be better. Maybe she pitied Alex for being so bland.

His thoughts scrambled when an explosion made the house shake.

Alex didn’t even peek through the windows to see what was going on outside. All he needed to know was that everything had gone wrong, and he needed to protect Sadie. He barged inside the bedroom to find an empty bed. Cam lifted the black curtains.

“There’s been an explosion, Alexander.”

“Where’s Sadie?” Alex turned around without hearing Cam’s answer.

Before banging on Kimiora’s door, both girls ran into him. A choir of screams and propelling came from the front of the house.

“I suggest we leave.” Cam presented the gun to Alexander.

The human grabbed the weapon off his and holstered it behind him, inside his pants.

“Alex,” said Sadie. 

Alex held her hand when the ceiling came crashing down over the kitchen. Cam shoved them against a wall as one log speared toward them. The end of the thick wooden cylinder crashed onto the Ai-consort’s ribs.

“Cam.” Sadie jumped over the wood cylinder and tried to pull the robot from underneath it.

Alex stood by the log, squatted, and used all his strength to lift the thing mere inches off the ground. This freed Cam’s hands, which helped the robot push the piece of ceiling away from him.

“Moonlanding! Let’s go.” A straining Alex waited for Cam to crawl out, then dropped the log.

As they bolted out of what was left of the cabin, a stampede of farmers escaped the Ai-ways exploding behind them.

“Hello, tra-velers, may I take your bags?” a metallic being spoke behind them.

“Run, run, run.” Alex pushed everyone.

“Do you need a taxi?” The robot with aluminum muscles ran after them.

Kimiora shrieked as the bomb almost grasped her blouse. Alex wrested her front collar and threw her behind a turned-over meat cart. He did the same to Cam, and he covered Sadie’s head as the Ai-way burst into pieces.

The clone girl yelped and held onto her side. A piece of metal had buried into her ribcage and blood had begun to drain into her hands. Alex gazed at the wound and placed his hand over hers.

Hearing another explosion, he carried her bridal style and went behind another cabin. He placed her on the floor and looked into her eyes.

“It's bad, isn’t it?” she said.

Alex lifted her shirt. It was a small, but deep cut. Not knowing what to do, his eyes popped at Cam and Kimiora.

“It’s okay. Keep putting pressure on it,” Kimiora spoke to Sadie and nodded at Alex.

“What do I do?” he asked.

“Don’t worry. I got her.”

Alex panted, feeling powerless. If Kimiora hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have known how to take care of Sadie. More debris flung toward them, and Cam covered both women with his body.

Alex dusted his shoulders and peaked toward the street. A man, holding a spear jumped on one of the food carts yelling, “Hunters, let’s take back what is ours!”

The young Earthian sat on the ground, thinking how others took care of the mother of his child better than him. He was a little man battling the universe. At that moment, everyone seemed stronger and more capable than him. He glanced back at the beautiful woman with silver locks. True, he didn’t know how to tend to her wounds, but he knew how to fight, and he knew not to run away from his responsibilities. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her or for their child even if it meant he had to die.

“Stay with her.” He patted Cam’s shoulder.

The three watched him in awe as he went toward the explosions.

 ---------------------------

An Ai-way had cornered two girls. Frightened, the older one hugged the younger one onto her chest.

“Your taxi-is here,” said the robot.

“They don’t need a moonlanding taxi.” As the Ai turned, Alexander struck it on the face with an iron rod.

The robot fell, and attempted to get up again, but Alex continued to beat him until its head cracked. The younger child grinned at her savior and clung onto his leg.

“Get her out of here,” Alex spoke to the older sister as he gently unwrapped the child’s arms.

He walked toward another Ai, and bashed its skull with one blow.

“Get outta here, Earthian.” Red beard waved a machete over his head.

“Only when this is over.” Alex swung his rod at another AI and kicked it on the chest.

Mischa turned around the corner as a hunter gave him a jab. Men and women farmers slashed the invaders, creating blood showers. Another hunter hurled his spear and pinned a fighter’s stomach onto a wooden panel.

The fight continued onto the main plaza, where the farmers saw the rest of the businesses being set on fire.

“Stop!” a voice thundered from a spacecraft.

A ramp came down, and a woman pushed Yagoda in a floating wheelchair. His associate carried an oxygen tank with him. The farmers dropped their weapon. Seeing their reaction, Alexander did the same.

“Farmers,” said the woman. “My name is Danielle Crowe, daughter of Don Crowe. My father, our leader, has died at the hands of a farmer. Now that you have felt the hunters’ power, I am willing to spare your lives. Surrender and there will be no more blood.”

The farmers stared at each other, looking for leadership.

“What happens if we surrender?” Alex whispered at Red Beard.

“We’ll all be executed,” replied Red Beard. “The lives spared will be those of women and children.”

Alex turned his head toward Red Beard, then saw the defeated looks on the farmers’ faces. He began marching toward the lowered ramp.

Mischa frowned and his partner shrugged.

“Ah, is that your second in command?” Danielle put her hands on Yagoda’s shoulders. The old man narrowed angrily under an oxygen mask.

Alexander stopped in front of the ramp as two men with spears stood in front of him.

“Sorry for the inconvenience.” Alex reached for his gun behind his back, shot both men in the face, and pointed the barrel at the leader of the hunters.

Danielle’s shoulders jumped. She didn’t grasp how such a small weapon had done so much damage.

A brave soldier yelled and swung his spear at Alex. But the Earthian dodged it, and shot the man dead before the long projectile fell on the ground. Danielle tried to escape back into the ship, when Alex shook his head at her. The farmers picked up their weapons and shouted at the hunters that were running back their spaceships.

 ----------------------------

Three hunters, including their leader, were now prisoners of war. They were lined up and herded out of the plaza, but Alex didn’t care for where they were being taken. He rushed down the street where he found Kimiora with her hands stained in blood.

“Kimiora, where is she?” he asked.

“She’s fine, she’s fine. I was looking for you. She’s with Cam at the clinic.”

Alex wiped the sweat off his forehead, put the gun back in his pants, and followed Kimiora.

The young Earthian barged into the clinic room, where the mother of his child had been recovering.

“Get out,” he ordered at Cam.

Sadie nodded at her Ai-consort, and the robot went toward the exit.

“Wait.” Alex looked at him and had a moment of silence. “Thank you.”

Cam blinked and left.

 ----------------------------

Sadie sat herself up on the hospital bed. The serum treatment was healing her wound faster than doctors expected. Alex glided toward her and stole a kiss from her lips, causing every hair in her body to be on fire. They burned in ardent passion, but they also burned in guilt and shame.

“Alex, we can’t—”

“Sadie, listen, I know I’ve mistreated you and that the things I’ve said made you feel used. But I swear to you, I don’t care that you’re a clone. The Federation put these lies in my head to make you lose your humanity. They are not what I thought they were, and I’m sorry that I’m just now saying it. I want to be with you, and I want you to be the mother of our baby.”

“Stop talking,” Sadie gasped.

Alex cupped her jaw with both hands and tried kissing her again but she pushed him.

“I thought you wanted to be with me,” he said. 

The more she looked at his features, the more she found traces of her and the more disgusted she was. Her tears fell, having to explain everything. It was easier to tell him the truth when she thought he despised her.

“Sadie, I know saying sorry won’t make everything better, but if you give me a chance—”

“It’s not that, Alex,” she sobbed. “Days ago, your words would have made me so happy and now they just make me want to die.”

“Don’t say that.” He cupped her jaw again.

“Kimiora hacked into the federation network. I know who I was before I was cloned.”

He listened attentively.

“My name is Helen of Singapore. Li Jie of Singapore was my husband. Hammond of Singapore is my son. Alex, I am your grandmother.”