Mechanical (19 page)

What was I supposed to tell her?
Oh yeah,
by the way, I’ve been ordered to deliver you to your death. But
don’t worry, you have until Thursday.
“I just have a headache,”
I told her with an apologetic smile. It seemed to be my excuse for
everything.

“Aw, you should have told me earlier. I have
aspirin in my bag.”

“Oh, it’s fine, I’ll take some when I get
home. Oh, wait,” I said, smacking my forehead. “I left my book in
history class,” I groaned. “I have to go get it, I’ll see you
tomorrow.” I waved to Jessica and then headed off in the direction
of the history classroom, glad for the momentary change of thought.
I didn’t want to think about the inevitable any more than I had to.
I still didn’t have a plan.

I made my way past the few students still
left roaming the halls and suddenly I heard a familiar voice call
my name. I sighed inwardly. Not so much at the voice, but at the
butterflies that had just appeared in my stomach. Michael.

“Drew!” he called.

I kept walking until I saw the history room
and hurried in. I hoped he wouldn’t follow me, but deep down I knew
he would.

Mr. Jeffrey wasn’t there so I went on looking
for my book. I heard Michael’s footsteps enter the room behind me
as every muscle in my body stiffened. I wanted to run away as fast
as I could.

“Hey,” he called.

“Hello,” I said shortly, not looking up.

I heard him let out an exasperated sigh.
“Okay, what’s going on?” His voice sounded irritated. “Did I do
something? ‘Cause if I did, you could at least tell me.”

I had never heard Michael get angry before,
and even now, he seemed more hurt than irritated.

All of a sudden, I felt guilt gnawing at my
insides, mixing with the fear about Jessica and causing me to feel
slightly nauseous. For a moment, I could understand why emotions
were considered imperfect. Right now, they were just getting in the
way.

I looked over at Michael. Maybe I should have
told him. Maybe he deserved to understand. But wait,
he
had
been the one kissing Yvonne. My guilt quickly dissolved. “You
should know,” I said quietly, suddenly spotting my book and picking
it up. I turned to face him.

He looked confused and hurt. “Why have you
been avoiding me?”

“Why are you even talking to me?” I asked off
handedly, clutching the book to my chest. “You have a
girlfriend
.”

Michael looked even more confused. “What?” he
asked forcefully.

“You know what I mean,” I said, walking
towards him. “Does the name Yvonne ring any bells?” I couldn’t seem
to stem the flow of words and only after they had been spoken did I
realize how insanely jealous and childish I sounded.

Suddenly, recognition dawned in Michael’s
face. My heart plummeted.

“Yeah,” I said and started to walk past
him.

He reached out and gently grabbed my arm.
“Drew, wait,” he pleaded.

I yanked my arm away, but stood there
watching him, waiting for an explanation because no matter how mad
I was at him, part of me still wanted to hear it from him and not
just Jessica. “You kissed her,” I said and I couldn’t help but
notice how hurt my voice sounded. I wished I was better at covering
it up.

“She
kissed me,” he protested.

My heart sank a little. I had been hoping
that maybe this whole thing had been a misunderstanding. But he had
just admitted to it. “Yeah, big difference,” I retorted, ready to
walk out again. My heart was pounding, but from anger or nerves I
couldn’t tell.

“She saw me walking one day and followed me.
I don’t remember where I was going, the store probably. Dad had the
car ...” He was talking quickly, his words tumbling together. “I
didn’t like her even from the start. Her attitude and the way she
talked seemed so snobbish. It was actually kind of creepy, you
know. Guys don’t like girls who throw themselves at you. At least
I
don’t.” He wrinkled his nose, something that would have
been comical in any other situation. “She said she recognized me. I
didn’t want to be rude and tell her to go away so I just walked
along and kind of nodded to things she said, not really listening.
And then all of a sudden...” He shrugged. “She kissed me.” The look
on his face was stricken with guilt. “I backed away and told her to
leave. That’s all that happened. I swear, it was the weirdest thing
in the world. I had no idea who she was.”

I stared at him, thinking about what he had
said, longing to believe him. Yvonne had kissed him? But he hadn’t
liked it? He hadn’t liked
Yvonne?
How was that possible? She
was long-legged, thin, mysterious gorgeousness. She was the epitome
of android beauty and Michael hadn’t liked her?

But it was totally like Yvonne to not tell me
the whole truth. She would never admit that a guy had actually
turned her down. The thought of that possibility had never even
crossed her mind.

“I’m sorry, Drew,” Michael said. “Really.”
His shoulders drooped. “I like
you
. And I’m sorry that this
whole ... thing ... got in the way of everything.”

He looked completely dejected. And I felt
awful. I should have let him explain it himself. I had been stupid.
Why hadn’t I listened to his side instead of just taking the
details from everyone else?

I guess that’s just what humans do.
The thought crossed my mind and I couldn’t hide the tiny smile that
appeared on my lips because of it. “I’m sorry, too,” I said quietly
and for a second I wasn’t sure if he had even heard me. “I
should’ve listened to you,” I admitted.

Just then I noticed Michael looking at me,
directly at me, studying my face and my eyes. I looked up at him
and then, just like that, he leaned over and kissed me.

I was too shocked to do anything. My arms
tingled, my whole body tingled and the butterflies in my stomach
went berserk.

I had never been kissed before. Ever.

It was an odd sensation, his lips against
mine, but I eventually closed my eyes, leaned into it and wondered,
briefly, if this was what being human was really like.

Yvonne had once told me it was fun to kiss
guys, but I hadn’t really understood what she was saying. After
all, I had had nothing to compare it to. I could only suppose.

But at that moment, when I asked myself if
what Yvonne had said was true, I had to admit that she was
right.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Michael's kiss was absolutely
amazing
.

I wished it could last forever, but it was
cut short when the door burst open and I saw standing there not a
teacher, like I had suspected, but one of the creators from the
Institution.

I quickly stepped back from Michael,
startled, and looked quizzically at the creator. Panic washed over
me, engulfing any irritation I would have had towards anybody
else.

“It was you
.” His voice was dripping
with rage. His eyes glimmered with vengeful hate. My heart went
from the racing caused by the kiss to a dead halt. Oh no. They had
found out. “You were the one helping them escape!” he snarled.

I took a step backward, and Michael stepped
in front of me. “Who are you?” he demanded, although I could detect
a hint of uneasiness in his voice.

The creator paid him no attention but just
started walking towards me, his anger boiling up and washing over
me like waves. I desperately looked around and spotted a door at
the end of the room that adjoined into the other classroom. I
instantly bolted towards it, grabbing Michael’s arm and pulling him
with me. “Drew, wha...?” he stammered, but there wasn’t time for an
explanation.

We ran into the other room and dashed for the
exit to the hallway. Once in the corridor I saw three other
creators start to run towards us, their expressions matching the
first creator’s perfectly. I panicked, noticing that the first
creator had run into the other classroom and had made a beeline
towards me. Michael and I started to run the other way down the
hallway but once we rounded the corner, I noticed more creators.
Why did they
all
have to come? I darted to the door of one
of the classrooms when all of a sudden I felt someone grab the back
of my shirt.

“Michael!” I heard someone scream and I
looked over to see Jessica being held roughly by one of the
creators. Michael froze between Jessica and I, knowing that if he
made a move they would seize him, as well. His gaze darted back and
forth between both of us, his expression one of complete disbelief
and fear.

“She’s due to be brought in,” one of the
creators commented, gesturing to Jessica. She struggled to try to
get out of his grasp but he pulled her arms tightly behind her,
making her wince until she stopped.

“No!” I cried. “You need to let her go,” I
said firmly, although I knew deep down that no one would take me
seriously.

The creator shook his head and laughed
mockingly at me. “And while we’re at it, take him as well. As for
you, young lady,” the creator glared at me, “shut-off time.”

My heart beat furiously against its metal
cage. No. I had thought that possibly we would be able to work this
out rationally, but I could see that wasn’t going to happen. I knew
that I stood a chance, a good chance, at getting free from one of
them, but all? I couldn’t be sure. The only thing I was sure of was
that they made me too well. Too well for their own good, that
is.

I rammed my metal-lined elbow into the
creator’s stomach, causing him to keel over with a surprised groan.
An angry shout followed my action, but I was already running
towards Jessica’s creator and before he had time to think, I had
punched him in the face. Blood gushed from his nose and he
staggered backward, cursing at me.

I grabbed Jessica’s arm and we ran with
Michael right behind. I heard angry shouts and loud footsteps
racing after us, but I didn’t look back. We didn’t have time. We
bolted out the front doors and sprinted across the lawn.

“Who were they?” Jessica shrieked.

“No time to talk,” I replied. “We have to go
to your house. They know where I live.”

Michael’s face formed a puzzled frown before
he pointed towards his car. We raced over and clambered inside. I
saw the creators burst through the school doors, spot us and hurry
immediately to their own vehicle. Michael hit the gas and we sped
across the lawn. He veered the vehicle onto the road, making a
sharp turn and racing down the street. Cars honked as we ran a red
light, but when I turned back I saw that the creators were right on
our tail.

“Michael, faster!” Jessica cried. “They’re
actually
gaining on
us!”

Michael floored it again and we shot forward.
I looked back and smiled as the creators’ car slowly got smaller.
“They’re falling behind,” I told Michael breathlessly as Jessica
high-fived me.

But just as our high-five ended, I heard the
adrenaline-boosting sound of police sirens. And my heart sank. I
slowly looked out the window and sure enough, a police car was
barreling our way. “Uh, Michael, there’s a cop following us,” I
warned.

“What? Seriously?”

I nodded.

“Oh no,” Jessica wailed. “Does speeding on
account of running for your life fall under legal? What do we
do?”

I stared out the back window and watched as
the car got closer. “They’re coming,” I said again.

“Go, go, go, go!” Jessica was shouting at
Michael.

“What? No!” Michael cried. “This is gonna be
on my record! I can’t run from the police.”

“We can’t stop to talk with them,” I
explained swiftly, suddenly afraid that Michael might actually pull
over. “Glen and the creators will be over there in a second
claiming to be our guardians. We can’t give him that chance.”

“We’re not criminals!” Jessica wailed,
burying her face in her hands.

Michael urged the car forward again and soon
we were racing on. The police car kept on following us and I was
beginning to think they could actually catch us. Panic surged
through my veins as I thought of all the possible things the
creators could do if we were stopped, we’d be sitting ducks by the
side of the road.

“We can’t just keep going on like this,” I
said. “We’re not going to be able to get away by car.”

“How then?” Michael asked.

“Foot, I think.”

“Foot?” Jessica squealed. “But they have a
car.”

“We’ll need to jump out and run through
alleys or something. Somewhere that a car won’t fit and there are a
lot of turns so we can lose them.” I was already calculating the
distance between the Walter home and where we were.

There was silence and I could tell both were
thinking. “Downtown,” Michael finally suggested. “The farmers
market. It’s a huge deal with lots of makeshift buildings and
tents. And
tons
of people.”

“Great,” I replied. “Go there.”

Michael swerved, just barely making the turn
and I heard honks and the siren as the police car gained on us. As
soon as we neared the farmers market, I could tell Michael was
right. It was a big deal. Large tents and exhibits littered a huge
grass lawn that seemed to go on for miles. Hundreds of people were
milling around, buying and selling. It was the perfect place to get
lost.

“Okay, get ready guys,” Michael called just
before slamming on the brakes, bringing the car to a lurching halt.
Instantly we all threw open our doors and ran as fast as we could
into the dense crowd of people. After a few seconds, I heard the
siren stop and I guessed they had parked.

We rushed through the market, pushing past
people as we went. I heard Michael mutter something about his car
along with a disparaging remark about the whole situation, but I
ignored his distress, thinking about the alternative. “Is your
house a long way from here?” I asked.