Machine God: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (29 page)

“Careful, girl. The beam burn, remember?”

“Stop being such a wuss.”

They bantered while I sat down on the opposite side of the table. Glitch targeted the bar for some drinks and ordered a big round for all of us. I watched him with faked interest because there was nothing else to do. Everyone seemed occupied with fun. My glance traveled to the citizens dancing near the bar. Hecto’s deep voice buzzed through the music. I knew he was addressing me.

“So you led the survivors from the digging site all the way underground, back to our cluster. And then you infiltrated the occupied floors with nothing but a Dust Viper?”

“Guilty on all charges,” I said.

I straightened up and expected another verbal skirmish. Hecto’s injury saved me from a bar fight, but he was a decent talker and thrived on challenges.

Like me.

“Looks like you actually saved the cluster.”

Wow, I didn't expect that answer.

Maybe Ceedee, sitting on his lap and acting all schmoozy, reduced his need to engage with me.

“We all saved the cluster. I was lucky to fight along the brightest and bravest from the Bulwark.”

Ceedee chuckled.

“Are you trying to make me blush?”

“That would be impossible.”

Glitch arrived with a tray of liquids. He gave a rainbow-colored drink to each of us and spoke up.

“Let’s give a toast to all the brave warriors who gave their lives to save our society. Their names shall linger until the last wind of dust has brushed over our corpses. Bloowwww."

Morbid poetry.

But way better than his tech-lingo no one understood.

“And let’s especially thank our mysterious man from the ruins, who should have been killed in the sandstorm but followed his courage, went back to our cluster and saved us all. May the Bulwark grant him special permissions from now on.”

Everyone in the area raised their colorful glasses and locked eye contact with me. If I had a name, they would have shouted it with endless fire inside.

“Salute,” everyone said and downed their liquids. 

Pictures of old Nathan, the digger, and Naif flashed before my inner eyes. I thanked them in silence and wished they’d find peace wherever they roamed. I’d miss them, that was for sure. 

Although one thing worried me—did the Bulwark know one of their soldiers was an actual Technoid? And more importantly, was he the only one undercover or did more metal freaks lurk in the cluster? Orden and her damn higher-ups kept too many secrets. With time, I’d unleash them all. 

I put down my drink and leaned back into my couch. Took a deep breath and devoured the chanting sparking the air around me. Opened my eyelids and watched the people losing themselves in the party flow.

Ceedee sat on Hecto’s lap and teased him. The two turned tomato-red. Wasn’t sure if that was because of the drinks or the flirting. I swore, one minute later and they’d needed a soundproof room. To my right, Glitch cracked jokes with Darwin, something about mech parts and gun reloading times. Back on the disco floor, Orden danced herself into a frenzy. She swung around a citizen and caught everyone’s attention. Looks like she carried a human side under that armor of frost and iron. 

“What’s going on with your troubled mind?”

Ann-Lyze’s voice pierced the noise of the party. She sat down right next to me and eyed me with her deep, brown orbs.

“You know, the past days. Weeks. Everything I have experienced since Ceedee found me in the ruins.”

I purposely omitted the torn-apart pod the team had found me in.

“You worry too much. You saved the lives of a million people."

"Yeah. It's just...the turn of events is a bit off-putting."

She touched my hand.

"Don't let the Technoid's babble get to your head. We have come so far, you and me.”

Ann-Lyze whispered to my ear to make sure no one else understood the next words.

“Your secret is safe with me.” 

She clanked glasses with me. Her eyes followed Glitch who walked toward the dance area.

“Now are you in the mood for a little swing on the floor?"

“Scientists can dance? I thought geeks don’t carry one inch of rhythm in their body.”

“Hey now, I may be a nerd, but I’m still multi-faceted. I have parts in me you don’t even know of.”

No doubt about that.

Everyone around here was a mystery, including me. 

Especially me.

“Come on now, let’s have some mindless distraction. We've earned it."

I admired her new-found confidence. She smiled, even with her eyes, but behind the iris, I discovered her inner pain. Ann-Lyze was still coping with her loss, but at least she counter-acted her grievance.

She put down my drink, touched my hand and pushed me through the crowds on the dance floor. Behind me, I heard Glitch whistling but maybe it wasn’t because of me. 

Once we entered the stage, the party people looked at my direction. Former soldiers, diggers, engineers, scientists as well as citizens from other sections made way. Some bowed, some shook my hands, but everyone seemed to show deep admiration for me.

Nice for a change.

Ann-Lyze rotated around and grabbed both of my hands.

“See? You’re among people you can trust.”

Maybe.

“Now relax and lose yourself into the rhythm.”

During the dance, I closed my eyes. Little flickers appeared on the inside of my eyelids. Spots that reminded me of the planets shining on the nighttime sky. 

They say we’re all made of stardust, so whenever we look up, we actually stare at our star siblings. It sounded like a schmaltzy story, but whenever my eyes connected with the firmament, I felt a deep sense of belonging. As if the siblings of the stars were calling me, saying:

don’t worry, you’re one of us.

Maybe I was.

The legacy of the Machine God may continue…

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Author’s notes

Thanx for reading ‘Machine God’, I hope you enjoyed it

I wanted to write an apocalyptic tale about the fight between free will and fate, set in a devastated world full of danger and mysteries. My influences came from dystopian Japanese animation, where the protagonists often tried to find their identity and purpose in life, while facing the most horrendous situations imaginable. Machine God can work as a standalone, but if the book turns out to be successful, I’m going to conclude the story in the sequel. 

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