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4. The Forsaken Side of the World

Vanessa took off her hood and bandanna, fully revealing her round face. Her lips were very pale pink, with a few cracks on them. The silver hair on the top of her head stood up, unlike the fringe that kept her forehead covered. She continued to lead the way as she said, "What was your initial plan anyway?"

Corby's eyes became shifty. "Well … if there were about one hundred people available, I would have suggested attacking the Triumvirate by surprise. Ora would provide us with the best options for striking them, and she'd warn us of any surprise attacks they might try to pull on us. But given the current situation, none of that is happening."

"Got a plan B then?"

He frowned at Vanessa. "Are you going to kill me if I can't come up with one right now?"

She smirked. "I can't throw away the opportunity of having more workforce and an oracle as part of my crew. You may be a wanted man, but we can take the risk as long as your robot remains under our service."

Corby took a side glance at Ora, who kept flying next to him. At that moment he realized the robot was the only reason he didn't get blasted to bits. Still, it made him feel nearly useless. "How can I help out?"

"That's up to my grandfather to decide," Vanessa said.

As they went forward on the main street, Corby looked around. Nothing there looked like any building he had ever seen before—not even from pictures in books or e-books about Earth. If he had to take a guess, none of them had more than the ground level floor and maybe a basement. To his left, the village seemed to extend quite far away, and the same could be said for what was in front of him. To his right there were only two rows of buildings, and most of them were either crushed under boulders or had been pierced through by artificial ground that looked like tree roots made of multiple cubes. "What happened here?"

Vanessa pointed at the metal 'roots' with her right hand's thumb. "You want to find out what's up with those? I don't know. That mess was there before my grandparents claimed this place."

"Are these even human dwellings? They look weird."

"They are now. But before my family got here, we're not sure if this used to be a human village or … it might have been an alien one. If you think their outsides are unusual, wait until you see the interior of one."

He raised his eyebrows as he and the others went past the debris. "Let me guess: they're bigger on the inside."

"Not really," she said.

"Are they filled with crazy labyrinths?"

"No. The rooms are just weird. It's as if the ones who built them weren't concerned with having as much space as possible per room. My grandfather's house is up ahead, so you'll see what I mean soon enough."

They stopped in front of the metal door of one of the umbrella houses. The handle and lock seemed normal, but for the door they were on they stuck out like a sore thumb. She opened and went in, followed by Zoom, Corby, and Ora.

The crimson wooden floor of the room in which they entered was a triangle. The metallic, silver walls got closer and closer further from the exit until they intersected at the center of the building. In the middle of each wall there was a door leading to the next rooms.

"It's like slices of that thing they make on Earth," Corby said. "Uh … pizza."

Leading the way toward the door on the right, Vanessa asked him, "Did you ever have pizza?"

"I've made some a few times thanks to my home lab and electronic oven, but getting all of those ingredients was pretty expensive. Especially the ones for creating cheese."

"My grandfather had a dome farm when he still lived in the city. He got milk from his cows, made all the cheese he wanted, and had everything needed for the pizza he used to make for me and my cousin. Now he has no more cows, but we're helping him farm plants and raise chickens and fish. We make old style pizza every now and then, just without the cheese."

Corby furrowed his eyebrows. "Doesn't it feel wrong to raise animals and plants for food?"

She rolled her eyes. "How did you get any food in the wilderness? Did you ask your robot to do the killing for you?"

"Well, yes, but it's not like I had a choice. I even regret tearing those branches off trees—especially since it turned out to be in vain."

Vanessa grabbed the handle of the door. She didn't open yet, as she had one last thing to tell Corby. "Boy, you'll have to toughen up if you want to be of any use around here."

The thought of having to kill something with his own hands gave him the chills. He hoped that wasn't going to be some kind of challenge her grandfather would put him through.

Vanessa opened the door and said, "Hey, Grandpa! I brought two people with me!"

When Corby entered, his face was hit by a wave of heat. The room was dimly lit by the fire that burned inside some kind of six meter long metal stove with four rectangular windows in a row, each with a handle protruding from its top.

Sitting on a silver chair next to that stove was a stout old man with grayed out curly hair tied in a ponytail, and short beard. His skin was very dark, and judging by the way the light reflected on the guy's face, he was sweating. His brown eyes checked Corby and Ora with much focus. After getting up, he walked toward them, reached out with his right hand, and said, "Welcome to the underground! I'm Samuel Medley." He was even taller than Vanessa, standing at around two meters.

Corby shook the man's hand and smiled nervously. "Corby Yggdrasil."

Samuel let go of his hand. "Yggdrasil you say …" He stared for a bit at the young man's spiky hair and pale skin. "So that's what shut the Yggdrasils up twenty years ago." Chuckling, he ruffled Corby's hair with his large, heavy palm.

Now with the tips of his hair blocking the top of his view, Corby said, "Yeah. I apologize for all the nasty stuff the people from my family said about the modified. They've changed their views; although I guess the media didn't pick up on that part."

"You're not the one who has to apologize, kid," Samuel said. "Be glad you've helped them see the errors of their ways."

"Show Grandpa what your robot can do, Corby!" Vanessa said.

Corby looked at Ora. "Right." He brought out his papyrus device and unfurled it. "I think my robot can be of service to you guys."

Samuel smiled. "Anyone can be put to use around here. Humans, robots, animals, it doesn't matter. There's value in everyone."

"I agree, but I bet you haven't seen something like this before! Here's what I want you to do: intend to do an action after about one minute."

"All right," Samuel said.

"Ora, check what will happen within two minutes from now, then send the video to me."

Ora landed on the stove and spread her bright blue circuitry wires all over the room. When she retracted the extensions, the video got sent to the papyrus device and started playing. It showed future Samuel sitting back on his chair and opening the stove's middle windowed door by pulling the handle of the door's top. Then he closed it and asked, "What now?" That was when the video ended.

Present Samuel stared with his eyebrows raised for a second, then nodded. "Impressive. That is exactly what I was going to do."

"You're not going to do it now though," Corby said. "Showing you the future changed it."

Samuel chuckled, sat on the chair, opened the oven door, then closed it back. He pointed at Corby. "Your robot may be able to predict the future, but you cannot."

Corby put his device back into his pocket. "Which is why I'll ask you this: what can I do to help out around here?"

As she lay flat on the stove's top, Ora said, "I need to be recharged. Battery is at 10%."

Her owner looked around. "Don't absorb the fire! I'll … have to find a way to recharge you."

"You could use the artificial light we've set up in the greenhouse," Vanessa said. "It's almost as good as sunlight."

"No! I want Corby to recharge me!" Ora said, reaching out for him with her right claw.

He could feel a drop of sweat going down his forehead. "Ora, um … can we talk about this later?"

Ora continued to hold her claw up. "Battery is too low. I cannot even fly anymore."

"We could recharge her with Zoom's wireless charger if you don't have one for her," Vanessa said.

"I don't need the charger," Ora told her. "All I need is Corby."

He had a pitiful look on his face. "Oh, boy … Okay, fine. I guess I'll have some explaining to do after this." Touching her claw with his right hand's index finger, he emitted his violet circuit lines, which were promptly met with Ora's blue ones.

She didn't just settle for feeding that way. Instead, she jumped on top of his arm, grabbed it with her claws, and spread her wings out, flapping them frantically while absorbing the charge.

"This is embarrassing," Corby said, his hair waving due to the current she was creating.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow while tilting her head. "What the hell is happening?"

Her grandfather giggled while watching Corby swing his arm around. Ora refused to let go and continued to beat her wings at high speed.

Corby tried to take her off, but she held on tight. "Ora! Control yourself! That's it. I'm stopping."

Feeling the absence of the violet glowanade, she snapped out of her trance. "Where did it go? I was so happy ..."

"Back inside, where I should have kept it," Corby said, finally able to take Ora off his arm. He placed her on the floor.

Vanessa scowled at him. "Are you crazy? What made you think it was a good idea to inject yourself with that stuff?"

Corby sighed and rolled up the sleeve on his right arm. "See these scars? Because I was bleeding after the explosion at the refinery, the scattered glow that was on the ground got into my bloodstream. If there's anyone to blame for it, it's the guys who thought it was a good idea to overcharge the glow."

"You can recharge batteries with it," Samuel said. "That might be useful."

Corby grinned. "I can do more than that. I think I can show you by using the artificial ground that's been poking through the wall of this cave."

"All right. Let's go."

Corby, Ora, Samuel, Vanessa, and Zoom gathered in front of the artificial ground.

"Okay," Corby said, "I just have to bring these out ..." He extended the circuitry lines from all ten of his hands' fingers.

Ora, flying beside him, could not resist absorbing the lines with hers, so he stopped.

"Ora, I'm trying to give a demonstration here! I'm sure I've recharged you well over your batteries' capacity since you were already trying to get rid of the excess energy by flapping your wings. Now back off and let me do this!"

"Understood," she said, lowering her head.

He brought out the glowing circuitry lines again and sent them into the metal ground, making it look like waving, blocky tentacles. This action damaged the roof of the closest building further, so he stopped controlling that tentacle and focused on the other four at the top. "I can make them do almost anything I want. It's like they're a part of me now."

"Can you make them change shape?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure." He united the four tentacles into a cuboid shape. Immediately after, he put his right hand over his forehead and exposed his gritted teeth. "This headache … I'll just return these back to how I found them before it gets worse." He turned the cuboid back into the four tentacles and put each one back in its former position. "Man, it's like having a steel rod piercing through my skull!"

"Your ability seems useful," Samuel said, "but, if it causes you so much pain, I'm not sure we should make you use it in the first place."

Ora flew in front of Corby. "I can help you avoid the headaches if I keep your glowanade from overwhelming your body."

"We can try that some other time. Right now I need to rest."

Samuel gestured with his hands toward his house. "There are three unoccupied rooms that I've furnished with beds and stuff just in case we'd get more people. You can choose any of them."

"Thank you," Corby said. "Hey, there are two other people I haven't met yet. Should I go say hi to them before I go to bed?"

Vanessa realized about whom he was talking. "Oh. My cousin and his wife. They're at home now, but … I think it would be better to wait until morning to meet them."

"That's okay; I don't want to keep them awake if they go to bed early."

"Let's go back to my house," Samuel said. "I'll make you some sandwiches. You look very thin."

At Samuel's house, Corby was given a room and some clothes—including light blue pajamas—sealed individually inside plastic bags. They were placed on a metal chair in one of the two large corners of the room, near the closed door that led to the outside.

"These clothes have never been used," Samuel said. "We found them when we visited Gruzifor a few months ago. What a beautiful place it used to be … Too bad everyone who lived there died of skin cancer. But at least they lived enjoying the sunlight."

Corby let out a laugh. "You've visited that ghost town recently?! Darn! If you had visited during the past two weeks, I would have tagged along right away instead of hiding there and trying to scavenge its husk."

"The stars don't always align, kid. Sometimes we have to go through difficult times until an opportunity shows up. Speaking of opportunities, from what my granddaughter told me, you would have been an icicle by morning if she hadn't happened to come across your little tent during her hunt for iron ores. So I guess you should consider yourself lucky."

"If it weren't for Ora, your granddaughter would have killed me with a bomb shot from that … that huge thing she carries!"

"We are fugitives, Corby. If the Triumvirate is still searching for you through the forest, my grandchildren are at risk of being killed by them while searching for useful materials. Vanessa spared you in hopes that you and your robot can help us turn the tables on the Triumvirate before they discover our hideout. It's now up to you to keep us safe; unless you want to leave the forest while luring the attackers away from it."

"As long as I've got Ora around to test my plans before I even put them into action, I'm sure I'll figure something out to keep you guys safe."

"Good. Well, I'll let you eat and rest. Tomorrow I'll tell you about this place and, if you want, I'll even throw in some bits of the Medley family history. Enjoy your sandwiches, and have a good night." With that, Samuel left the room and gently closed the door.

Corby looked at the nightstand that was next to his wooden bed. It had a silver plate with two sandwiches on it. He sat on the edge of the bed—which was covered by a floral brown blanket—and picked up a bread slice to see what was under it. Bright red slices of tomatoes, lime slices of cucumber with emerald edges, and a pale green sheet of lettuce. A colorful sight, and yet it made him frown. "I know fruit were supposed to be eaten by creatures, but putting in the leaves and seeds too? That's so needlessly cruel to these plants ..."

Ora landed on the bed and stared at him. "Are you going to just waste energy discussing a sandwich?"

Corby stared at her for a second. "You're right; no point in doing that. Might as well make their sacrifice be worth something." He put the bread slice back, picked up the sandwich, and bit into it. "It's like nothing I've ever had before. Got to admit, the sour taste of the tomatoes goes well with the sweetness of the lettuce and cucumber."

"Talking with your mouth full is dangerous," Ora said. "You might choke."

He shot her a nasty stare. "I wonder if my mom would have been as naggy as you."

Ora continued to watch him for ten minutes straight, making sure he'd not get himself hurt until he finished eating.

With his stomach now full, Corby unpacked the new pajamas, placed them on the bed, and started unzipping his jacket. He was so glad to take it off, since the entire underground was quite warm. Not as warm as the outside was during summer, but enough to be fine while wearing long-sleeved shirts of thin fabric. After he removed his black t-shirt, he stared down at his chest and saw the black text just above his left breast, written from his right to his left. He had no trouble reading it, already knowing what it said anyway.

The Triumvirate ordered the glow overcharge. Over 80 people died in the explosion. Witnesses are being murdered by the authorities.

Ora noticed that he kept staring at the text. "Are you reminding yourself of what happened that day?"

"No," he said, putting on the pajama shirt. "I'm just fueling my motivation to bring those bastards to their knees." He took off his pants and remained in his red boxer briefs while staring at the plastic bag containing white briefs left on the chair. He picked it up. "I'm not really fond of these, but oh well. At least I can have a replacement until I get my boxer briefs washed."

Ora watched as he changed, then she said, "Briefs seem to provide better support for your gonads. Will be useful if you have to keep moving while doing chores tomorrow."

He threw his old pants over her. "Yeah, yeah, will you stop staring at me and commenting on my body while I undress? It's awkward to the point where it makes me want to blindfold you every time!"

When she managed to take the pants off her face with her claws, she saw him fully dressed in the light blue pajamas. "Preference noted."

Corby folded the old pants and put them inside the top drawer of the nightstand, then got in bed, covering himself with the soft, thick blanket. He stared at the rectangular lamp that had yellow LEDs on the ceiling. "Ora, can you turn off the lights, please?"

She stretched out her glowanade circuitry and absorbed the electricity through the lamp, shutting down the lights for the entire house. This startled Vanessa and Samuel, who were in their own rooms.

"There's a light switch, i***t!" Corby yelled in the darkness.

When the light returned, Ora flew up to the switch on the wall and flipped it down, turning the light off just in their room this time. Then she landed on the bed. "Good night, Corby."

He grumbled something that contained the words "stupid robot" and went to sleep.