Cryo-Man (Cryo-Man series, #1) (26 page)

Nej nods. “I know the humans and robots were at war long before I was born, long before my mother’s mother’s mother was born. Most humans have been killed but there are still some cities they control, that robots have been trying to conquer for years.”

“I’ve been through one of them, too.”

“Most of the cities eventually crumbled but the explosion slowed down the robots,” Nej says. “Supposedly they’re regrouping so it won’t be long before the humans are wiped out completely. The only area safe from the robots is my father’s land.”

“How did the robots take over in the first place? And is there one… I don’t know… all-mighty central robot that controls them all?”

Nej shrugs again. “I… I don’t really know, my brothers never said anything about that.”

“But you’ve heard theories from someone else?”

“Not theories, bedtime stories,” he says. “My mother used to tell me when I was a little boy. I don’t know how I still remember them.”

“Tell me.”

“I… I’m sure they’re not real, she was probably making them up to get me to sleep,” he says.

“Please, I could use a good bedtime story,” I say.

Nej sighs. “The most accepted theory is that when robots were invented, they became too smart, too self-aware, realized they didn’t need human masters. But the fairy tale my mother told me is… she said the whole robots-taking-over-the-world thing was actually perpetuated by humans. She told me that one powerful family has controlled the robots throughout the years and seeks to take over the world. Crazy, huh?”

It
does
seem hard to believe but considering everything that’s happened since I was woken from cryostasis, it would be foolish to dismiss any possibility. Besides, if 37 has the ability to control robots – and commit evils as he sees fit – then why wouldn’t other humans be able to do the same?

“My mother used to talk about the remaining human cities. I don’t remember if she ever told me where she was from but I have a feeling she used to live in one of them. Maybe she was traveling to one before she came here and… met my father. One of her stories I never forgot was about underground lairs in the city, where they kept magical boxes full of information. Apparently these boxes told the entire history of humans going back hundreds of years.”

“Magical boxes?” I ask. “Like computers?”

Nej puts his mouth to his hand. “That
is
what she called them. I’ve been trying to remember that word for years. You’ve heard of them?”

“I have,” I say. “They were invented not long before I was born. I’d love a chance to see one of them again.”

“She also told me there were hidden places where men conducted experiments that allowed them to make copies of each other,” Nej says.

“Cloning?”

“
That’s
real, too?” he says, shaking his head. “I always assumed she was making it up.”

“The technology existed in my time but was rarely used and never on humans,” I say.

“I asked my father about it once and he told me it didn’t exist,” Nej says, a hint of sadness in his voice. “He told me that my mother was a liar but I guess he was the one not telling the truth.”

I can’t keep neutral any longer; I may never have a better chance to prove that 37 isn’t the loving father Nej has convinced himself.

“It’s an amazing, dangerous world out there. The humans could use a strong young man like you to help with their cause, to help fight off the robots. 37 tells you lies to make sure you don’t leave.”

Nej shakes his head vehemently and begins to back away. I can tell he doesn’t want to hear the truth, even though he must realize deep down that what I say is true.

“As a father, I’d lie to my sons if it kept them safe,” I say. “Not that I’d expect them to hide in fear for their entire lives. You have to admit, staying in this forest isn’t exactly living. Help me get out of here. I’ll go with you, wherever you want to go, I’ll protect you from the robots. I can take you to the city so you can help fight.”

Nej stops and looks around the stadium. The black sky has begun to turn a rich purple. The invisible parts of the crumbling stadium can now be seen in dark shadows, as can some of 37’s lands through the hole in the collapsed section across from us. From this view, I can’t see the overgrown homes inhabited by 37’s people but I know they’re out there, safe, protected by the old man’s crew of robots. Still, if I were Nej – and I’m hoping he’s thinking along the same lines – I couldn’t stay anywhere near the man that made my mother disappear…

“I know you’re a smart kid, even if you don’t let the others catch on. And I also know you’re a good person. I see the way you vote for mercy on prisoners when 37 and your brothers and stepmother want them dead,” I say.

Nej finally turns to look at me. His eyes are afire from the mention of 37’s wife being his stepmother. I’m certain he’s never thought of her that way until now.

“It’s not right what’s being done here, I
know
that you realize that,” I say. “Humans are just trying to pass through the land, they don’t even know about you and your family living here.”

Nej shakes his head again. He turns his head just enough so I see the glimmer of a tear in his eye.

“No, they mean to hurt us,” he says, trying to sound defiant though I hear his voice tremble. “My father is only protecting us.”

“That’s not true,” I say. “I was only passing through, I meant nobody harm. I just wanted to find out about my sons, I just wanted to find my… my Heaven Box.”

My voice cracks at the mention of the Heaven Box. Even if I somehow convince him to let me go, I still don’t have the box’s coordinates, still don’t have any clue where to dig. The best I could do is travel in the general direction where I was heading before and pray for a miracle. Even that tiny chance of finding it would be enough to keep me searching.

But Nej shakes his head and turns away again, destroying any semblance of hope I might’ve had.

“I should’ve listened to my father and kept away from you,” he says. “I won’t make that mistake again.”

He storms away, ignoring the apologies I call after him. He disappears through the stadium concourse, once again leaving me alone, once again leaving me with an utter lack of hope I haven’t felt since 37 first captured me. I have nothing to do but stare straight ahead for hours and ponder my failure.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

             
When 37 comes to collect me from the stadium later in the day, I’m worried, not just for myself but also for Nej. I rarely see the old man, who prefers to control me remotely. He wears his hiking boots as well as a small pack on his back. I want to know what’s inside but don’t have the gall to ask right now. I wait for him to question me or punish me, give me any indication that he knows about Nej stealing his equipment and coming to see me. But he says nothing, which actually makes me more nervous.

             
37 wears a dour expression, strange considering his range of emotions normally runs from happily evil to angrily annoyed. Now he looks like someone just kicked his favorite puppy.

             
“I’m only going to tell you this once,” he says as we exit the stadium. “You are not to say a single word today. Do you understand?”

             
“Yes,” I answer simply.

             
He nods and we continue past a line of robots standing guard outside the stadium. Though a number of 37’s ‘collection’ constantly patrol the forest – always on the lookout for more human prey – most of the robots remain guarding the few buildings within the center of the territory. 37 has told me on more than one occasion that he prefers having me do his dirty work since it’s more entertaining for him.

             
But now I walk slowly behind him, heading toward a group of houses in a section of forest I’ve yet to see. Actually,
mansions
would be a more accurate description, half a dozen of them in a cul de sac that’s surprisingly well maintained. At the end is the largest house of all, not a single weed or misplaced piece of rubble to be found on the property. For a moment, I feel liked I’ve been transported to a different time and place, to a life I once knew before the world went to hell.

             
Still, I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right. This neighborhood street is too quiet. When I glance toward the window of a nearby house, I see the curtains flutter for a moment before being shut. Someone doesn’t want to see what’s happening out here.

             
Or what’s
about
to happen. I have so many questions I want to ask but 37’s warning to stay quiet echoes through my mind. We approach the second-largest mansion on the street and 37 bangs on the front door. He sighs as we wait and is about to bang again when the door opens to the teenage girl.

             
“Daddy,” she says. “What are you doing here?”

             
“Come with me, Aliciana,” he says.

             
“Where are we going?” the girl asks. “I should really change my clothes and do my hair. Can you come back in like an hour?”

             
“
Now
,” 37 growls.

             
“Oh,” Aliciana says. “Okay.”

             
The annoyed, insolent look fades from the girl’s face. She can obviously tell something is wrong, too. 37 turns and begins to walk away. Aliciana hurries to keep up, stumbling several times once we’re off the clear street and enter the woods. For someone that’s spent her entire life within her father’s forest, Aliciana is surprisingly clumsy in this environment. It’s not long before she can’t keep silent any longer.

             
“Where are we going?” she asks, drawing out the last word in a long whine.

             
“You’ll see,” 37 says brusquely.

             
“Does this have anything to do with my mother? I haven’t seen her all day, she normally doesn’t stay out very long.”

             
37 snorts as he continues to stomp through the forest. I don’t know how old he is but 37 still moves well through the woods, hopping over fallen logs, splashing through shallow creeks, never once slowing down even as his daughter lags behind. She trips several times and skins her knee on a rock but her father never stops to help, even when she cries out in pain.

             
“Hurry up,” he growls.

             
“But I’m
bleeding
,” she says, a bit too dramatically considering the size of her tiny scrape. “I need to go home and clean this. I can’t let it turn into an ugly scar.”

             
37 shakes his head but never looks back. “Move it!”

             
His yelling wipes the feigned pained expression off her face and she hobbles to catch up. We walk for nearly an hour, covering the length of land I could cross in about five minutes. Aliciana asks a few more questions but 37 doesn’t respond. It’s becoming harder for me to keep quiet, especially since Aliciana and
I are
both
trying to figure out what’s going to happen.

             
“I really
hate
being in the woods,” Aliciana says. “I think I just saw a spider. Why can’t you have one of the guys do this with you? Why does it have to be me? God! Will you answer me already?”

             
37 finally stops and spins around. His lips are curled into a smile but his eyes gleam with a familiar cruelty I know only too well.

“I’ve taken care of you for years,” he says, his voice eerily calm. “I have given you everything I could, kept you safe from the evils of the world. But you are a female, unable to be any use to me, unlike your brothers.”

“That’s not true, Daddy,” she says.

“It
is
true, but it’s
my
fault for spoiling you. I’ve made your life too easy, just as I’ve done for your mother,” 37 says.

He continues to walk. Aliciana remains still for a moment, unable to decide if she wants to follow. But I’m guessing the thought of being alone in the forest is why she comes tripping after us. She doesn’t stay quiet for long and the complaints return. Apparently she forgets that something is odd about her father bringing her all the way out here.

“My feet hurt,” she says. “Are you going to tell me what we’re doing? I can’t shoot animals or capture humans or do whatever else you guys do out here. That’s what your dumb robots are for.” Our eyes meet and she doesn’t hide her disgust. “That thing is so creepy when it looks at me. Can’t you take off its head and put on a normal robot head instead?”

We’re getting closer to the outskirts of 37’s territory. We pass through the section where I slaughtered the band of humans yesterday. If I look closely enough, I see splashes of blood against trees and ferns but no bodies are to be found. Nej must’ve been busy before he came to see me last night. I’m not surprised that Aliciana doesn’t notice anything beyond her own discomfort.

“You haven’t heard a single word I said,” 37 says, shaking his head.

“You haven’t
said
anything,” the girl complains.

“It’s time you learn about life, learn about survival,” 37 says. “And the only way to do that is on your own.”

“What are you talking about? We have robots for survival,” she says.

“
We
don’t have anything.
I
have robots,
I
have control over them,
I
have lands that are safe.
I
survived the outside world to get to this point in life but I didn’t do it so I could be saddled with an anchor,” 37 says. “Your brothers hunt, your brothers work hard to maintain the land, keep it clear of weeds and plants. Even moronic Nej can fix the robots and dispose of human bodies that occasionally litter my land. Everyone contributes in some way except you and your mother… at least now that she’s older.”

If I had to guess, I’d say 37 is twice the age of Claudette but this isn’t the time to mention that.

“But Daddy – ”

“You are my daughter, or at least that’s what your mother convinced me years ago. I still have my doubts since I’ve only created sons in the past. Still, I can’t just throw you into the stadium and watch you hunted down like a dog,” 37 says, the thought of which causes Aliciana to gasp. “This way you’ll have a chance to survive,
if
you’ve learned anything about robots over the years.”

For the second time in two days, I approach the small clearing before 37 stops me. I try to look across into the trees – not that I expect my mind to play the same trick on me twice – but 37 stops me in a spot where I don’t have a clear view. Instead, I watch Aliciana’s expression change from confusion to fear.

“Wait… what are you talking about?” she asks. “Daddy?”

37 doesn’t look at her when he speaks. His jaw is clenched but he doesn’t exactly look as guilty as a father should feel for what he’s about to do.

“I can’t have people around that I don’t trust, especially those of no use to me, family or not. Family turned their back on me once; I’m not taking that chance again.”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” she says desperately.

37 holds out the small pack to Aliciana. She looks at it but doesn’t budge, reluctant to accept it since doing so would seal her fate. But there’s nothing she can do to avoid the inevitable. 37 shoves the bag into her arms.

“There are enough supplies in there to last you a week, longer if you preserve them,” 37 says. “Good luck.”

He turns to leave but the girl tries to stop him.

“Please, Daddy, whatever you want me to start doing, I will,” she begs, tears streaming from her eyes. I take no enjoyment in the fact that her sneer of contempt for me is long gone. “If you’re trying to teach me a lesson, I’ve learned it. You can trust me, I swear. Just don’t do this to me.”

I hope 37 shows leniency to his daughter but my warning to Nej is coming true already.

“Even if I
could
trust you right now, I won’t be able to for long,” 37 says.

“Please don’t leave, what will Mom say?” the girl cries.

37 stops abruptly and turns around. Without warning, he slaps the girl hard across the face. She stops crying, her mouth hanging open in shock.

“Don’t make me tell you again,” he says. “I’ve instructed my robots to kill you if you try coming back.”

For good measure, 37 uses the remote to move me toward Aliciana, who slowly backs away as I loom over her. I want to apologize but that won’t do either of us any good. As I get closer to the clearing, I once again try to break free from the invisible grasp of the override signal. I wiggle a few fingers but can’t muster any other movement. If 37 could just let me move a few more steps forward…

The girl eventually turns and takes a few steps, heading toward a place that would mean freedom for me but could very well mean death for her. I’ve been silent up to this point but I can’t anymore.

“Head west and stay near the trees, hide at the first sign of noise,” I tell her. “Go that way for a few weeks and you’ll come across a city. But be careful of the robot army surrounding it. You can cross the river more easily on the western side.”

Aliciana listens to me but she shakes her head, becoming more desperate. She tries to walk back toward her father but my arm shoots up to block her path.

“Father, please…”

“The next time his arm moves, it will smash open your head,” 37 says.

She walks away, the sound of her crying slowly fading. If she keeps up that noise, she won’t make it very long. 37 turns me back toward him. In that moment, I have a quick view across the clearing. I don’t see the familiar face I did yesterday but I think I spot a blur of movement among the distant trees. Unfortunately, we don’t hang around long enough to see.

We stomp back through the forest. 37 begins to whistle, as if this had been nothing more than a leisurely stroll.

“How can you do that to your own child?” I finally ask, unable to bite my tongue… or my robotic voice box.

“You don’t know what it’s like to be me,” he says. “Humans always out to get me; they get ideas in their heads. Believe me, that girl wasn’t as dumb as she let on. It could’ve been dangerous to keep her around after the changes I’m making. She’s not dim-witted like Nej. No, I’m not making the mistake of trusting others again.”

“So you’re psychotic
and
paranoid?”

The words escape my mouth before I have time to think. I know I’m pushing my luck but it’s hard to hide the utter contempt I feel for him. I expect 37 to yell or threaten me but he does neither. Instead, he begins to laugh. When he forces me into the path of a low-hanging branch and watches me bump my head, he laughs even harder.

“I don’t have to explain myself to the help, whether you have a real brain or not,” he says once his laughter dies down. “I’m starting to grow bored of you anyway. You may be quicker and more powerful than the rest of the robots in my collection but you’re also the most exhausting.”

“You could always kick me out of your territory, too,” I say.

37 shakes his head. “I’d be much more likely to send you into the arena to battle against robots that don’t talk back to me. I know you can’t feel pain in your body but how do you think your head would feel after being bashed in?”