Oculus (Oculus #1) (15 page)

“Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution.” -
Brave New World
, Aldous Huxley

I
ONCE READ ABOUT A
man that went insane after being stuck inside a huge lodge with his family. Evil spirits haunted him until they finally convinced him to attack his loved ones. I’ve always liked the story because in the end the kid got away. After a few days stuck inside this shack I think it’s best that I’m staying here alone.

Going out during the day is impossible. The cameras might not be able to see me passing from shadow to shadow at night, but during the day they would spot me for sure. Even with the lax security Fenra Corporation has, that would be tempting fate. Beyond that, the people are always around, even in this remote area, during the day.

Over the years I’ve slipped in and out of Corp secured zones, but I’ve never really spent any time in one. Over the last few days, I’ve had a chance to really study the people that live here. From what I’ve seen they all seem to be surprisingly happy. Kids laugh and play, people greet each other pleasantly on the street. Granted, I’ve seen the ugly underbelly of Fenra and know things aren’t always so cheery, but the average person seems pretty content.

It’s hard to wrap my brain around how someone could be happy living here being a slave. Most of these people are owned by Fenra. They are totally dependent on The Corp for food, shelter, medicine, electricity, and security. None of them are allowed to own weapons, and the buildings here are totally indefensible. If an outside threat made it past the wall, the people here would be screwed. I suppose that’s what Fenra wants. If the populace was well armed and in secure positions, they wouldn’t be so easily enslaved.

From what I can tell, the big attraction of this place seems to be in the amenities provided to The Corp servants. The electrical grid here is pretty stable, and food appears to be plentiful. I hear grumbling from people about short rations when they think no one is around. The people I have seen appear to be in good health, and are dressed in decent clothing.

There is a movie theatre near the center of the complex, a few disc rental shops where employees can check out movies, and a fairly large library. After some after-hours recon, I found the movies being shown, the discs being rented, and most of the fiction books in the library are unfiltered Corp propaganda.

On the second night of exploring, I enter the library. The security on the building is almost non-existent. Simply a set of motion detectors and a lock. Bypassing both of these takes seconds and I let myself inside, excited to see what they have to offer. Sadly, the books on the shelf are all written by the same author. O’Rhion C. Pratteo. I roll my eyes at the audacious attitude the Corps takes towards their ‘sheeple’ populace. The author name is an obvious anagram for The Corporation. Someone out there has a fucked up sense of humor.

I pick up a few of the fiction books at random. Each is about the evils of nonconformity. Evil terrorists prey upon stupid protagonists that should really know better than to question their beloved corp. After reading through these I decide their fiction is far too distasteful for me and begin looking on other shelves.

There is a nice collection of how-to manuals, technical journals, and operation trainers on a large wall at the far end of the library. For a week, I’ve been learning everything I can about the compound and its inner workings. Other than spying on the populace, dodging security, and running, it’s my only entertainment.

When the sun drops down below the horizon, I will slip out of the compound and run until I feel relaxed. Each night my runs have been getting longer and longer. Between my agitation at my forced inactivity and Anna’s letter, I’m running nearly half the night. I’m really starting to question what the hell I’m still doing here. At first it was just an audacious place to hide. I should have stayed here for a few days, a week tops, then moved on. I’m sure there are lots of Resistance members looking to hire me for my next job. Instead of leaving though, I keep finding reasons to hang around.

It’s odd, as I’m sitting in the middle of enemy territory, but I feel comfortable here. Before I read Anna’s letter, I had attributed this to my growing mental instability. Now? I’m beginning to question everything that I thought I knew.

Fact A: I’m not, nor have I ever been, losing my mind because of genetic degradation.

Fact B: My dreams, which have always been vivid, have become almost hyper-realistic. All five senses are being treated to a mind-blowing level of sensory input. My libido, which normally is fairly in check, is now on overload. Many of the interactions with my dream girl are now bordering on the pornographic.

Fact C: The girl I remember, the one they used to take me to play with, was the other half of my experimental pair.

Theory: If I’ve been dreaming about this girl my entire life, it’s possible the girl of my dreams is the other half of my experimental pair. Further, since most of the dreams involve interactions that I’ve never experienced, the girl could actually be alive and we could have some sort of psychic bond. As my dreams have increased in their detail and intensity the closer I got to Fenra, it is possible that my other half is here somewhere in Fenra.

That would explain a lot of things that I’d been attributing to my budding madness before. The unexplainable pull I felt to come back to Fenra. The fact that I’ve stayed here far longer than I should have. My nightly trips around the compound, almost like I’m searching for something…or
someone
.

It even explains the changes in my dreams. Since I arrived here, a growing sense of unease has permeated my dreams. I’m still dreaming about the girl, but half the time instead of trying to seduce her I’m trying to protect her from danger. From what danger, I have no idea. I wake up from those dreams doubly frustrated, with the urge to rip off someone’s head. It’s gotten so bad lately that I spend half the night reading.

Besides the books, I’ve reread Anna’s letter so many times that the paper is starting to wear. I still get pissed every time I read through it. Why the hell didn’t she tell me? I thought we could talk about everything, but she kept so much from me in the end. She told me her reasons, but they sound like bullshit to me. Even after a few days, I think I’m still in shock. The funny thing is that she’s the person I’d have talked to about something that was bothering me like this. Thinking about her has left me feeling very lonely, so much so that I’ll stay up part of the day watching The Corp slaves go about their lives. Watching them has really made me think.

I was never going to be allowed to have this. My life would have consisted of a cage, even if it was a nice cage. I would have been let out to kill, then put away like the dangerous animal that I am. The girl was obviously some sort of control or leverage for Talpa to keep me in line. Maybe they intended to threaten her safety if I refused to comply with orders. It would have been simple enough for them to give her a time-released poison before they let me see her. That way I would be forced to let them take her away to give her the antidote. It is the way I would have done it. Sometimes the things The Corps do make me feel like less of a monster. So they probably had a much worse plan in mind.

I open the panel on the back of the shack and check the sky. The sun is now completely down and there are enough shadows for me to make my way out of the compound. Tonight, I think I will try running a little longer. Maybe I can burn off some of this energy. Slipping out of the shack, I easily make my way towards the wall. Shift change happens just after sunset. I know from observing them that most of the security people are more concerned with heading home or stowing their gear than watching their monitors.

Once I’m over the wall and past the outer security perimeter, I start slowly. Being cooped up has made me stiff, but it only takes me a few minutes to get loosened up. Then the trees are flying by as I speed my way out into the forest. Peace descends upon me as endorphins begin to pump through my bloodstream. I wasn’t made to sit in a room for as long as I had been. My designers had made me to hunt, to kill, to stride across the world like the light hand of death. I need to find out if I’m right about the girl, one way or another, so I can be away from this place.

I’m an hour into my run when it happens. Sharp, searing pain in my head brings me to a crashing halt. Picking myself up off the ground I dodge into cover, already checking my head for a wound. Shockingly, there is no blood or obvious damage to find as I put my back to a tree. For a moment, the entire forest is still. Then the nocturnal noises that had been silenced by my crashing into the ground begin again. I stay crouched, unable to find anything wrong with my head. At least on the outside.

Standing, I start running again. It takes me a moment to realize it, but I am now running back towards Fenra. That feeling, that sense of urgent danger, is back. The same ominous sensation I felt in my dreams lately. Giving myself over to instinct, I swiftly run back to the wall. Getting in is always harder than getting out. Normally, I would sneak in, but I don’t want to take the extra time. I set off the alarm at one section of the wall, and then run full speed to a section further down. I wait for security to converge on the first alarm before making my way over. I am moving through the compound by the time security makes it to the second alarm site.

Instead of making my way back to the shack, I let my feet lead me in a different direction. Moments later, after dodging three different security patrols, I find myself outside the old hospital basement. It only takes me a few moments to realize that the security I had ran into is not for me. They are encircling the entrance to the basement, waiting in ambush for anyone inside. They are after the Junior Resistance that likes to meet here. Unfathomable terror fills me and the urge to leap out and rush down the stairs is nearly overwhelming. If it weren’t so surprising, I think I might act on it without thinking.

Slipping around the perimeter the security teams have set, I make my way to an old scrap pile on the far side. Giving a metal sheet there a hard kick I send it clanging through the metal pile. Running at full speed I slip behind a large storage container, climbing onto it’s roof, seconds later the first security guy runs past. Ten men arrive and spread out in a standard search pattern.

Leaping from the container I am on to another ten feet away, I make my way over the sweeping security teams back towards the entrance to the hospital basement. I found an old airshaft in my earlier recon that I use now to make my way inside. Once I am into the sub-basement I feel drawn towards the area where the meeting had been held the last time that I was here.

Slipping over the edges of old walls, I have a good vantage point. The same kids are gathered below. The same kid is standing in front of the group, blissfully ignorant of the fact that security is about to come crashing down on them. Taking a big stone from the wall I throw it at the kid’s chest. I lob it, but he still goes down on his ass. The room exploded in panic and I used the confusion to give them a warning.

“It’s security! Get out! Get out!” I watch as most of them run towards the guy on the ground and help him up. He moves to the wall and pulls an old cabinet to the side, revealing a hidden opening behind it.

Well played, kid. Maybe you aren’t as stupid as you seem. No…you probably are. You’re just smart enough to have an escape route.

I leap from my perch to land among them, not paying attention to the screams my sudden appearance has elicited. I charge through the crowd like they aren’t there. At that moment, to me, they aren’t. I feel her before I see her. Standing with one hand on the wall, trying to avoid the people rushing around her. A chubby guy is about to run into her when I reach her. Straight-arming the charging chublin, I knock him back into the mix of people behind me.

Sweeping her up into my arms, I am able to see the girl’s face as her hair swings back. It’s her. The girl of my dreams. Here, in this shitty basement, about to be arrested by security. Her arms instinctively wrap around my neck and her hand comes down to stroke the side of my face. When she touches my bare skin I freeze, a feeling of absolute pleasure rips through me. Her fingertips race across my face, tracing the outline of my nose, cheek and jaw.

“You? How can you be here? You’re not real!” Her voice breaks as she says it and a small sob escapes. Behind me, the Junior Resistance has finally managed to slip through the opening. I can hear the approaching boots of security rushing down the stairs towards us. Wheeling with her in my arms, I leap through the opening behind the cabinet. Then I reach back and slide it into place.

The corridor we are in is pitch black. I can hear the distant footfalls of the Junior Resistance members retreating from me. Cradling the girl gently to me, I move quickly away. It won’t take the security force long to find the exit we used. I need to get her away from here before they catch up to us. At the turn the rest of our group took, I keep going straight. As I rush down the corridor, the girl in my arms speaks.

“No! Stop,” she whispers urgently. “You can’t go this way! There is a hole up ahead. It’s seven or eight feet wide. If you don’t turn back, security will corner us.”

I spot the gap she is talking about. As we near it, I pull her against me tight, enjoying the way she feels, and leap. We clear the hole easily and I keep running. Out of the corridor, up two flights of stairs, along a creek bed, through a storm drain, and out into the forest. I can feel the girl tense against me as we pass beyond the wall but she makes no noise.

I hold her against me and run as if the two of us weigh nothing. For the first time in my life I feel content. Holding her against me, letting the slightly lavender-scented perfume she’s wearing wrap around me, is intoxicating. There is no plan, no thought put into taking her and running from the compound. I do it purely on instinct. We are several minutes outside the walls, well past the outside patrol, before she speaks again.