The Utopia Project

Chapter 4

Andrew
The next day, I sit in the small cafeteria eating a muffin. Tiana is nowhere to be found. There are other people in the room. Some are laughing and chatting in groups, and others are sitting alone. A girl at my table is sitting alone. She has dark skin and hair that's dyed part green. She wears a plain grey sweater. She seems to look worried. I move next to her. "Hey," I say gently. "Hi." She says, with slight annoyance. "You okay?" I question. "Not really. I'm just conflicted. I hope you understand." I do. I haven't been conflicted in a while, but the past few days, I've been conflicted about a lot of things. "I've been there. I am there. Right now." I empathize. "What's eating away at you?" I probe. "It's just the whole runner situation. The way that Kara's doing things...it's not working." She confesses. "How so?" I ask. "Well, she wants to malfunction androids so that they can join our group. The problem is that we can only malfunction one at a time. And if you haven't noticed, the government's security is fucking massive. Once we malfunction the android, they catch a glimpse of it over their fancy security cameras. They're able to hijack the android and kill it before it can come to us. Kara knows this, and yet she won't do anything about it. For a group that's supposed to be efficient and sturdy, she seems to love delaying the inevitable. Anyway, that's my rant. I have some errands to run, and I was just in here to kill time." She gets up from the table and exits the cafeteria. "Never got your name!" I call to her as she's opening the doors. "Kayla," She introduces. "Andrew," I say. I finish my muffin and throw the wrapper in the trash. Tiana barges into the cafeteria, swinging the doors open. She and Kara are both arguing. "If you don't change the way things are, nothing will get better. These times are not the times to procrastinate, Kara! How stupid are you not to see that?!" She berates. "I've done a lot for this group. I've done a lot for you and Andrew. We're changing things, Tiana. We're making progress. It's small, but it's still happening. It might be slow, but eventually, things will work out." She says firmly, trying to remain peaceful and calm. "You don't know that! Just because you say things will work out doesn't mean that in 20 years everything will be sunshine and rainbows! In 20 years, we might be dead or worse! We might be slaves to the government or living in bunkers because the air is too toxic to breathe! There's no time to wait! Open your eyes!" Tiana throws her hands in the air. "What do you know about being a leader? You don't know what I sacrifice just so these people can be safe!" Kara retorts. "I don't know if you forgot, but I was a commander! I kept my people safe and fed and clean! We didn't try to stop the government, but we were efficient!" Tiana screams intensely. "Yeah, and how did that work out for you? It burned to the ground. That's why you're with us." Kara says coldly. It's the angriest and most fierce I've seen her since I got here. Tiana slaps her so hard that she hits the floor. Tiana places her foot on her stomach. "Go to hell." She says calmly. She walks out. I follow her back to the dorms. "Hey, Andrew." She says sheepishly. "Hi," I greet her. "I saw your little...conversation." I grimace. "I just wish I could get her to step up." Tiana complains. I think about it for a bit. She doesn't need to get Kara to step up. She could be the one to step up. "Tiana, you were a commander. If she can't run this place, you can. She's not some higher authority. She's just a person. You have the right to lead as much as her. If you help the people here, they'll love you." I persuade. "That's a better way of looking at it." She smiles. "Thanks. You give solid advice." She compliments. "What we're you guys arguing about anyway? You weren't exactly clear." I wonder. "The way they're going about malfunctioning androids isn't working. Whenever an android gets malfunctioned, the government takes notice before it can get to us. I was telling her that we should find a way to malfunction more androids quickly. But she wouldn't listen." Tiana retells. "Ok." Is all I have to say. "Y'know what? Fuck it. I'll step up. I'm hosting a meeting. Whether Kara decides to come is her decision, but I'm having a meeting with this group about this, and we'll carry out a plan from there." Tiana decides. "Uh, alright." I chuckle. She takes my hand. "You'll be coming, right?" She asks romantically. "Of course." I wink.
Tiana
I sit in the leader's chair. All 12-13 or so people in the group, including Andrew, are sitting around me. They all give me weary looks, except for Andrew, of course, who gives me reassuring smiles. Kara didn't come, as I expected. "I have something to discuss with you all." I begin. I hear whispers. "The way that you're going about your runs and malfunctioning androids, it's not working. Once an android is malfunctioning, the government takes notice and does their job, and they do it quickly and efficiently. So we need to be faster and more efficient than them. Things need to change. We need a way to take out large groups of androids." I present. "Any suggestions?" I push for the crowd to answer. Arya raises her hand. "We could alter the computer's programming, so it's able to malfunction more than one android at a time. Don't know how though." She looks down, disappointed. Another hand raises. "Forget about hacking, we need to be prepared! Weapons, medkits, ammo, supplies. We should go into their armory and see what we can find first!" It's Damien who suggests that. "Exactly was I thinking. Thank you!" I congratulate. "Also, here's a map of the building we'll be sneaking into, so you know exactly where to go." Sophia hands me the map. I look at it. It's a diagram of the building. It starts at the roof, leading down floor by floor. There are 5 floors, and the armory is on the third. The control room is on the 4th. The highest measures of security seem to be on the stairwells leading to each floor, in the lobby on the first floor, and in the elevators. "Ok everyone, I've come up with a plan," I announce. The crowd is eager to hear what it is. "Ok, so we start on the roof and make our way down. We take out the guards on the roof and make our way down to the control room. We disable the security cameras and go down to the armory. We get the stuff and get out of there. If we have to shoot our way out, we will." I propose. They nod their heads in agreement. "Good." I finish. When I get back to the dorms, I go into the bathroom and wipe the sweat off my forehead. That made me so uncomfortable. I always hated presentations. I bet Andrew loved them. He seems like the type. In the village, it wasn't as bad because at least I knew them. I've only known these people for a few days. It scares me how easily I was able to convince them. Are my words that strong? Am I that strong? Shit. It worries me. Andrew opens the door. "So, we're doing it." He closes it behind him. "Yeah, in a few hours. Once the sun sets." I inform him. "I just wanted to say, thank you, for setting me straight. Without you, I wouldn't have any idea what to do. Back when I thought you were dead, I was truly scared. I had no idea what to do and I didn't know how I was going to save the world with no one else by my side. But of course, you showed up and these people are here with me now. You're an extraordinary person, Tiana. I don't care if that sounds stupid or doesn't land as well as I meant. I mean it." He finishes his heartwarming speech. I inch myself closer to him. I feel the urge to get closer. I lean in and press my lips up to his. For the first time since we met, I feel secure with him. Our relationship feels stable. I trust him. I understand him. He's gone through more than I have, and I still know him. I don't just like him, I love him. "Sorry, I just needed that. To take all of this planning off my mind." I assure him. "Want to go back to the dorms?" He asks confidently. "My pleasure," I say. We end up in the room together. In the same bed. We kiss. Cuddle. But that's it. Nothing more. Nothing less. All I know is in the end, I'm smiling. I never thought I would smile for him. But I am.
Andrew
Everybody from the group stands on the roof of a skyscraper. Everyone except Kara, unsurprisingly. The building we need to go in looks below us. Parachutes are strapped to our backs, and everyone is waiting for the signal, to make our way to the roof below. Things are tense. There is much anticipation. Tiana raises her hand, and motions for us to go. We all give each other a steady look in the eyes. We jump off the skyscraper. Everyone can activate their parachutes with ease. I jump and go soaring down to the ground. I reach for the button to trigger my parachute, but I can't exactly reach it. I fumble it, but I can't get a good hold on it. The wind whips in my ears, making it hard to think. I'm panicking. Focus. If I focus and stop panicking, I can think straight. I take deep breaths. I press the button and my parachute triggers. It pops out of my bag, and I begin to glide down to the roof. I land, and it slumps to the ground, trailing behind me. I cut it off. The guards have already been taken out. People begin to make their way down to the control room, but Kayla urges us to wait. She pulls out her crossbow and opens the door to the stairwell. She shoots two of the security cameras and goes down the first flight of stairs. The others follow her lead, sweeping the area for security cameras. We make it down 3 flights of stairs and reach the control room, with its familiar widescreen TVs and giant computers. Two guards are monitoring the security. They are in chairs, engrossed in whatever lives of androids are being broadcasted on the TVs. They are taken out quickly. We disable the security cameras. We go down to the armory and are greeted by two guards shooting at us. The gunshots ring off in my ears and bullets whiz past me. Tim gets shot just above his stomach. He doubles over in pain and other people try to support him, while Tiana, Tori, Kayla, and many others shoot at the guards. One of the guards is shot in the head, by Tiana. The other one scrambles away before anyone can get a good shot in. "Alright, take anything that could be useful!" Sophia ushers us. "Follow his instructions!" Tiana orders. We take all the stuff we need. Guns, melee weapons, medicine, first aid kits, building materials, and food and water. More guards get there. We retaliate, shooting at them. I and a few others retreat to the back end, at the stairwell. "Andrew, here!" Tiana hands me a pistol. I grip it and hold it steady. It feels strange to hold it. I was never taught to fire a service weapon. I aim it at one of the guards. I examine different body functions I can disable. I squeeze the trigger. I'm shaking. I can't do it. I hide in cover. "What the fuck, Andrew?!" Tiana scolds me. They shoot for me instead. They get hits on the guards, but none of them are fatal. They have to leave before anything worse happens. They retreat to the stairwell and we all sprint to the roof. Once we get there, we run miles and miles back to the Bunker. We don't get everything though, thanks to me. Tim is given medical assistance by Lily and other doctors. Kara comes out of her dorm and sees everyone. "Tiana," she glares at her. "What?" Tiana growls. "Get over here." She demands. Tiana comes to her and crosses her arms. "What the hell were you thinking?!" She accuses. "What do you mean? I got you weapons, medicine, food and water, valuable supplies!" Tiana rationalizes. "You almost got my people hurt! Tim has a bullet in his stomach because of you!" She retorts. "Tim was the only one injured, and he'll be fine because of the medical supplies we picked up from that run." Lily says. She steps in between Kara and Tiana. "I thought I could trust you, Tiana. I thought you were alright. But you're the most untrustworthy person here! You're trying to sabotage my leadership and you're doing risky things that'll backfire on this group someday!" Tiana isn't finished retorting just yet. "I'm helping your people! They support me, and we are doing things to help this group stay afloat. You haven't been able to get ahold of weapons until now, because of me! The long terms effects that this will have will be tremendous!" Tiana reasons. "You're out of this group. Go to hell." Kara settles, and she walks away. "Coward bitch." Tiana grumbles. "It's okay. You have the upper hand." I try to calm her. "You're not much better! I put a gun in your hand and told you to fire, and you just stood there! We would have been digging graves if we stayed any longer at that armory, and it's your fault! You're the biggest coward here! If I give you a gun, you fire it! End of story!" She pushes me and walks away. One of the runners, Lana, approaches me. "I'll teach you." She hands me a gun. Minutes later, we are at the shooting range. "Okay," Lana instructs. "Hold it tight, and don't lock your elbows." She adjusts me. "You look down the sight so you know exactly where to hit. You squeeze the trigger, take a breath and fire." Lana explains carefully. I do exactly that. I pull the trigger, and the gunshot goes off. The sound blasts my ears and knocks me back slightly. I hit the target just below the middle. "Damn good shot." She congratulates. I practice more. It gets easier and easier with every shot. Eventually, I am done and leave to go to my dorm. Everything feels just a bit easier after today.
Tiana
A day later, and it is time for us to do our second run. This will allow us to hack large groups of androids. Whatever Kara said about kicking me out was never followed up on. The group is preparing, and we are planning to infiltrate the building like last time, but with more manpower. I am loading my guns and packing my bag. Andrew is on the other bed. "This is it. This is the run that will change things. More androids will retaliate and we will get steps closer to taking down the government." Andrew affirms. "Yeah." I agree. Everyone meets on the same skyscraper, and we make the same jump. There are more guards on the roof, and they shoot at us in the air. I shimmy left in right to avoid bullets. I land on top of a guard and take him out with a knife. The other guards are dealt with. We shoot the security cameras in the stairwell and go down to the control room. We bar all of the doors and take out the guards. We access the computers. Kayla mentioned we would need to alter the computer's programming. But how? Derek manages to get past the first firewall but cannot get past the second one. "We need a very specific password for it and I can't figure out what it is." He says over the radio. "Maybe someone here knows." I propose. We go down to the armory and are confronted by guards. We fill the guards with bullets and only one is left alive, hardly breathing. I grab him and shake him down. "Listen to me, we need the password to the second firewall." I demand. "Please...just put—he coughs up blood. "Tell me and I'll spare you!" I give him my word. "Ok, it's OBEYORDERCONTROL, with no spaces and all capitals." He reveals. "Now, please heal me." He begs. "Like that's ever happening." I give him a cold look. "You evil cu—I shoot him straight through the head, blowing part of his face off. Everyone from the group gives me a grim look. We go to the control room and enter the password. After a third firewall, we finally hack the computer. We make it to the android database. We can hack a total of 12 androids. We click confirm and the download bar appears. The guards begin banging on the door. Both doors. "Oh god, what do we do!" The group panics. "We wait for them to come to us." I plan. "We take our best shots at them, and get out of here quickly." Two or three people guard each door and the rest of us are bunched up into a circle with our guns drawn and ready. The guards bust through the door behind us, and we shoot at them while the others shoot at the guards at the door in front of us. Kayla gets shot in the shoulder, in the stomach, and her legs. She can barely walk. "Kayla!" Andrew tries to help her. "We have to go!" I usher the group to the roof. "Tiana, she needs help!" Andrew exclaims. I help support Kayla and we rush to the roof. "She won't be able to run back, not like that." Tori says. "You have to leave me." Kayla decides. "Just go. If I die, I die." She says, certain. "I'm sorry, Kayla." Damien puts his hand on her shoulder. We all leave and make it back to base. Kayla was a good one. Too bad she had to go. I liked her alright, and she seemed to know what she was doing. Better than Kara, anyway. Andrew seems pretty broken about it. I just wonder what Kara is going to say about all this. I hang out in the lobby with the other group members, chatting about our experience, when I overhear Kara and Lily talking. "She did another one!" Kara says furiously. "Yes, commander." Lily admits. Dammit. Why did she have to rat me out? "Where's Kayla?" Kara asks frantically. "We had to leave her. She was so badly injured she couldn't have made it back. She ended things as a hero." Lily explains. Kara approaches me slowly. I stand up and stare her down. "Get out. Now. You're not welcome here." Kara points to the door outside. "Woah, Kara." Jack steps in for me. "Tiana has done a great deal for this group, she's helped us do things I could've never imagined is doing under your leadership. She has strength, and she knows how to lead a group." He vouches for me. "She's gotten people killed and hurt, Jack. She's no leader. "Yes, she is." Lily says. "Damn right." Damien adds. More and more people from the group come to my side. And finally, Andrew. "Listen, I'm sick of your shit, Kara. Tiana is a responsible, quick-thinking, and practical leader who puts the group's needs first. She's gotten one person killed and that was a freak accident. And of course, people are going to die! It's a dangerous world out there. I don't know what your problem is, but you're not a good leader. Tiana is better." Andrew defends me. Kara points a gun at me. "I guess I'll have to kill her then!" Everyone draws their guns. "Don't hurt her." Andrew points his gun straight at her head. Kara squeezes the trigger. "Dammit, why can't I do it?" She lowers the gun and sinks to the ground. There is dead silence for a minute. "Go, Kara. Leave." Jack orders. "Gladly." Kara takes the gun and exits through the front door. We all report back to our dorms. Kara was never fit to be a leader. She was too weak. She delayed the inevitable. She took things too personally and was too sensitive. That was her problem. I have enough experience to not repeat her mistakes. Jack comes in. "I can't believe it. She's gone. She just left. Just like that. She didn't even think twice about it. Just walked out like it meant nothing." He says somberly. "Well, thanks for sticking up for me back there." I say. "No problem." He chuckles. "I liked Kara, but her leadership was...poor. She was never that good at what she did. But you will be better. You'll bring something better for us, Tiana." Jack talks with hope in his voice. "I will. I promise." I tell him. It's a promise I know I will never break. "Oh, by the way, Kara had her own bed. I guess it's yours now." Jack offers. "I'm ok staying in here." I decline. "Ok." He closes the door. "Hopefully, from this point, things will change. Androids should be retaliating. They'll come to us, and we can gather an army. From then, we'll launch a full-scale attack." Andrew presents his ideas. "I hope. We just have to wait and see what the androids do and if we have a breakthrough, we'll use that to our advantage." I propose. "Good call." Andrew agrees. He moves to my bed and kisses me. I feel the love. The emotion. I love him. He's my soulmate. And I love where I am right now. I'm a little bit glad that village burned down.