New Breed

Outside the City

“I told Stacey to not bother me today.” Amelia used a polite smile on Shawn. He stood outside her apartment with the morning sun flickering across his hair. His striking facial features were pulled into a whine.

He stepped into the apartment without an invitation. “I haven’t seen you in weeks. Now you say that you aren’t coming to the office and we aren’t allowed to visit.”

“Yeah,” Amelia shut the door. “Because that would be disturbing me in my work. I didn't want disturbed. I’m on the brink of something great.”

"Wha..."

There was a knock on the apartment door. "Amelia, it's time to go. Howels says that if you are not in that car in the next five minutes we are leaving without you." Sparrow's sweet voice was coming through the door.

Shawn raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going? Howels? The detective?"

Amelia had no time to explain. She was sure that Sparrow's words were true. Howels was not patient enough to wait for her. "Follow me, I'm try to give you an excuse on the way down." She pulled a coat on and threw the door open.

Sparrow was making his way down the hall with anxious glances back. His surprise at seeing Shawn was not disguised at all. "What is your coworker doing here?"

"BattleCat." Amelia held the door for her pet before locking it. The tiger raced toward Sparrow without a pause. "Shawn was visiting when you arrived." She accidentally strolled past Shawn with a few steps.

"I thought you told the office not to bother you." Sparrow tipped his head back to follow Shawn's jogging advance.

Amelia shrugged. "He showed up and wants to know what is happening."

"We can't tell him." Sparrow held the lobby door for the group. "Howels would leave all of us here for that."

Howels leaned over the steering wheel as the group approached.

Amelia could sense the anger in his eyes. She glanced at Shawn over her shoulder. "Shawn, we have to go somewhere important without you. Please don't tell anyone I'm hanging out with the detectives."

"Where ever you're going, I want to tag along." Shawn held a stern look on his usual calm face. "You are hiding too much from me. I want to know what's going on. I'm your friend."

Shawn slid into the backseat while Amelia calculated her options. It was easier to let Shawn in the car. Howels would have a difficult getting him out if he sat in the middle. She couldn't leave him because he would talk to Stacey or worse, YOKO. Shawn had a habit of gathering gossip with ease.

"Great." Howels glared into the rearview mirror. "Another civilian to take into danger. Does he know about the investigation too?"

Shawn was taken aback. "I was at the company when you questioned Amelia."

"Hmm." Howels's eyes flickered to Amelia. "He's out of the loop? Why is he in the car?"

Amelia wasn't sure how to answer. Outside The City was dangerous. Shawn had no protection and would slow them down. But she didn't want to leave him behind and didn't want to hide this from him. If the company, or just Williams, was involved in murders then it involved Shawn as well.

Shawn might even know more about the board members and the hidden information than Amelia. They told him their secrets as he charmed his way into their hearts. It would be best to keep him close and measure how much he knows about the murders.

"He wanted to talk to me." Amelia nudged Shawn's shoulder. "Shawn knows Williams and was coming over to tell me the latest gossip."

Shawn knitted his eyebrows. "What gossip? Williams is the same as ever. He still is locked in his office, working on the new security system."

"New system?" Howels nodded to Sparrow.

Sparrow must have understood the small gesture. He took out a notepad and started writing. Amelia wondered about the psychic connection they had. She mused that it was not far from what BattleCat and she now shared.

Howels was interested in the new system. But Amelia was more focused on what else Shawn had said. He said that there was no gossip about Williams. The news of the break in should have been throughout the office by this time.

Amelia wondered if she had done a better job than she thought. No, she was careful but there were still signs of disturbance. Williams would have noticed that the papers in the floorboard were moved.

"The new system is designed to keep all hackers out. It will be launched in the next month." Shawn was going into details about the programming and how the employees would need to get new cards.

Howels was staring at Amelia. "Why didn't you know about this?"

"I haven’t been at the office." Amelia answered automatically. There was something strange. She didn't see any files on the new system on Williams's hard-drive. He didn't have anything for this new security he was launching soon. "Shawn, when did they start work on the new system?"

Shawn shrugged and looked at the ceiling of the car. "Maybe a few months ago."

"When the murders started becoming regular?" Sparrow perked up from his notes and swung his head around. "Was it after rumors of the hacker in your current system?"

Shawn bit his lip. "I guess. I'm not a part of security. I only hear whispers of these things. But hacking? What was hacked into?"

"Emails." Amelia stared out the window as she answered. The company was deeper into this than she thought. If the files weren't with Williams, which meant that someone was helping him. It could be another board member.

The building grew smaller and shabbier as Howels drove to the outer rings. Amelia listened and recorded the conversation in the car. Shawn might let something slip that the others wouldn't find important. She was starting to feel like a detective.

This was more than Amelia's importance in the investigation. She might have to protect the company from Howels and Sparrow. The police could try to bring down the president and the whole company. It wasn't the company's fault that some of the members had become corrupt.

"Amelia." The message printed across the screen. "Let me run to the outer edge. I will clear the area for the car." BattleCat stared at Amelia.

She couldn't just agree aloud to his request. "Howels. We should let BattleCat out to clear the outer edge. It will be safer to send a scout."

"BearSaw is there." Howels studied her through the mirror. "But I guess another Type 1 would make the job smoother." He pulled into the shoulder.

After BattleCat leapt from the car, Howels paused before returning to traffic. "This is the last chance for Shawn to leave."

"Why outside The City?" Shawn's voice was a whisper.

Amelia shot a look to Howels to quiet the tall detective. "Shawn, something is happening. The company knows that there is a growing number of New Breed nearing the border. We are looking into the growing number. We also have to see where the army of New Breed came from. The army that attacked last week."

"If the company knows then why haven't they released a warning to the people?" Shawn scooted into the vacant seat. "Williams should have held a conference warning the outer districts of the danger."

Amelia tinted her head. "It appears that Williams is hiding information. He might be a part of this email hacking and the murders."

"What?" Shawn's eyes grew too large for his face. "The company is involved in the murders? Why?"

Amelia shrugged. "That's why we are checking out a location on a map. The map was in Williams's office. It's where the reports of advanced New Breed numbers are coming from."

"You have a map of the targeted area?" Howels face was stern in the mirror.

She didn't tell them the area. They had guessed it was in the same place from the reports. Amelia had a dot on an actual map to tell her where the New Breed were located.

Amelia thought that she could leave the humans in a safer place while she seeked the location. This was a huge slip up. why was Shawn making her thoughts foggy? When she was human, Amelia wondered if she held a crush for Shawn. As a robot, crushes and love were something not possible.

Howels returned to the highway and headed to the outer districts. "I guess you can play guide, Ms. Curta. Also, if you continue to hide important information, I will arrest you."

"I thought we were friends." Amelia smirked. "Besides, you're working outside the police department. Won't they wonder why you didn't arrest me sooner?"

Sparrow inhaled so deeply that it could have been heard in a crowded room. He had his lips pressed tight. His wide eyes were forced to the buildings Howels was speeding past.

"With the police work they have done recently, they might not even notice." Howels was aggressive.

Amelia assumed that his anger was stemming from his disappointment in his colleagues. She understood. The company was appearing less of a white beacon and more like point of greed.

"We'll be at the border in a few hours. Traffic is bad right now." Howels sighed out his small talk. "If you want a restroom break or anything, just let me know." His eyes were on the road.

Shawn leaned into the front seat. "What if I want to go on this trip but change my mind later? Do we get a flee break instead of a pee break?"

Even without emotions, Amelia felt the disappointment in Shawn's joke. It was nice to hear him sound like himself. She did miss her friend, bad sense of humor and all.

"I wasn't offering you a rest stop." Howels words were growls. "You were given a chance to get out of the car. I don't want to hear anything from the backseat. The ones I typically keep back there are scared into silence."

Shawn sat back and buckled. He opened his mouth a few times, but must have decided against whatever his question was. "Scared by what?" He finally peeped out the bottled query.

Howels held up the Magnum. “I have a short temper.” He was using his monotone voice, but Amelia could sense the impatience in it. “I don’t like chatter from back there. So, your next sentence better be important or an emergency.”

They drove the rest of the trip in almost silence. Amelia pondered on what they would discover outside. She had never been outside the city. From what she remembered of history class, it was odd for New Breed to gather in one place.

New Breed were not a collective mind. They should not be able to organize their ranks and attack in formation. That is what they did. And the location being examined could be the next spot they are organizing.

Do the New Breed sense the humans within The City? Perhaps the protection offered by the BioPets near the border was no longer enough to protect the humans within. The City needs to create a group of BioPets to keep at the border at all times.

“BattleCat: It’s clear. There were few New Breed in the area.” His message ran at the top of Amelia’s vision. “There should have been more. Why are they gathering?”

The BioPets have freethinking. That fact was controversial, but appeared truer every day. Amelia wondered if New Breed also were freethinking AI.

BioPets and New Breed were similar. If more research could be done on a New Breed, maybe Amelia would have more answers. She wondered if it would benefit their group to capture and dismantle a New Breed.

Buildings had faded into small, shambled houses. Tall, golden grass replaced the road ahead of them. They had reached the edge of The City.

“It’s on foot from here.” Howels put the car in park. “Watch your backs and scream out if you see anything.”

Shawn was frozen in his seat. “I thought BattleCat came ahead to clear the area.”

“He could have missed something.” Amelia slid out of the car with ease. “New Breed can hide better than anything else. They don’t have a noticeable heat signature and their electric components are hidden by the armor.”

Sparrow was turned in his seat. “It’s okay, Shawn. My Type 1, BearSaw is also here. The two BioPets and Howels will be able to handle anything.”

“Amelia, you should have sent your prototype ahead as well.” Howels loaded the Magnum and shoved it into a holster. He appeared more focused than the other humans.

She struggled for a lie that wouldn’t cause Howels alarm. “It needed repairs and updating.” Amelia gave a fake shrug to seal the lie.

“Did it become damaged from breaking into your company?” Howels didn't wait for an answer. He was headed into the grass as Amelia glared on.

He knew too much. How was he able to gather so much information when Amelia couldn’t? She rationed that Howels was use to investigating and gathering rare gossip.

“How far is the dot on the map?” Sparrow had appeared beside Amelia. “We shouldn’t stay out here past nightfall.”

Amelia measured their average speed and the distance to the point. “If we hurry, we can make it back to here not long after sunset.”

“Get moving,” Howels barked. “You can walk and talk at the same time.” He led the group in single file through the tall grass.

A shimmer reflected off something just above the grass. BearSaw stood to full height several yards ahead of the group. BattleCat’s tail was soon visible as well.

The two Type 1s waited for the bipedal group to catch up. They walked in silence the rest of the day. Howels allowed small breaks every hour, but was furious with any light conversation.

Amelia pretended to snack as they continued on. She had planned this while preparing for the trip. It would be strange for her to not eat after hours of walking. This was the same reason she kept food at the apartment.

While reading comics and other literature about double lives, Amelia never considered the effort it took. She could be her new self around BattleCat and YOKO, but all others she had to present this persona. Perhaps, there would be a time when she could tell this group the truth.

She was pulled from her inner monologue by a beacon on her screen. This was the place that was indicated in the file. Williams knew something was here, but what could be found in a place like this?

Something was nearby with high heat signature. It was something large. Maybe a building? No, It was smaller than a building.

Amelia peered ahead. They had passed broken building lost in time along the way. But this was different. It was a large town or a small city that had been destroyed. The remaining buildings stood, unsteady, on the lumped earth.

Many of the building were covered in moss and vines. Trees also were visible sprouting from the crumbled roofs. It looked like a lost, forgotten world from a movie or an old book.

These old building could not be holding life. Nothing beyond a plant growing. There was nothing to throw heat, living or moving, within these structures.

Amelia heard the movement before her sensors indicated something was appearing from around the broken buildings. It was large with metallic legs crawling over the ancient cars and new forest growth. She knew what it was without a need for an image search.

The thing moving through the ghost town was known as a Factory. It resembled a robotic spider with square beams in jointed legs. Egg sacks clung to the massive back of this terrifying beast.

Not normal, natural egg sacks. These were translucent and pod shaped like eggs attached to an insect. But the pods were not a biological based carbon. Instead, they were some hardened and bulletproof glass. Scientists were unsure of the chemical makeup of the material.

They were more concerned with what the pods held inside. In each pod, the outline of a robotic animal was easy to distinguish. Every pod held a different structure of a New Breed.

Amelia recalled the terror she had in history class when the children were taught of these death factories. Each pod would manufacture and complete a New Breed. After the murderous robots were assembled, the pod would fall to the ground.

New Breed could slice through the strong plastic and emerge from the pod. This is where they came from. A factory could create hundreds of New Breed within a short amount of time.

“A factory?” Shawn’s voice was shaky. He was pale and trembled, as he stood transfixed at the monster creeping toward the group. “Why is it so close to the City? I thought they had moved to the opposite coast.”

Howels motioned for the group to move back. “They sneak here sometimes. The real question is… why was there a file on this factory in Williams’s office? Does the company keep track of the factories?”

“No,” Amelia rushed to defend the company that she loved. “It's the police and military’s job to keep track of these things. The company should have no connection to tracking the Factories.”

“We need to return.” Sparrow gripped Howels’s elbow and pulled toward the City. “A Factory this close means hundreds of New Breed are also nearby. BearSaw and BattleCat are no match for that many enemies.”

Amelia didn’t budge. “There is something in that Factory. What if it holds the chemical equation to the New Breed armor?”

“We’re not dying for a scientific advancement.” Sparrow held a fixed gaze that Amelia hadn’t seen prior. “The mission was to see why there was an increase in New Breed near the city and to discover why it was marked on the map. We have our answer.” He motioned to the Factory.

Pods began to fall from the metallic spider’s back. They ripped through vines and landed on rusted cars. Each pod sat still before rocking in place.

“Sparrow is right.” Howels withdrew his Magnum. “We won’t survive getting closer. We may not survive from this distance. It’s best to head back before those things hatch.”

Amelia stared at the Factory. She could sense something within its metal belly. The heat of melted metal guarded any other heat signatures as it forged their enemy.

She pulled herself away from the sight. Howels and Sparrow were right. They needed to leave right now before those eggs hatched. If those eggs hatched, they were all done for.

“Amelia!” Urged Sparrow. “We have to leave now.”

“But what if they follow us?” Shawn had ran already three yards, but he had turned back to stare at the group. “We could leave the right to the city.”

Howels sighed. He stared at Amelia, then at the eggs. “If they start to follow us,” Howels glared at the monstrous machine. “So I have to turn away from The City.”

“Where will we go?” Sparrow still had a hand on Howels’s elbow. “Out here… we’ll be killed without a clear destination.”