Human Code

01 || Wendy

Wendy

*

No, no, no.

The call ended. A panicked Wendy looked at her phone. She pressed the buttons on the sides, at the top. Nothing. Dead battery.

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Javi," she whispered at the blank screen. "You always say charge your phone, and I always say yeah. But noooooooo." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I didn't this time. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't."

"Oh, Wendy!"

Wendy's eyes opened and her head snapped up. The surrounding air was filled with whimpers from students, her friends. She had hurried off on her own the moment the afternoon assembly went terribly wrong. No one mentioned androids visiting from Bionics before the classes sat down in the auditorium.

No one told Wendy they'd be looking for her.

"Wendy!" a voice called again.

She didn't know why she was so important. The androids who came were horrifying. Each had red eyes, dark clothes. They scared everyone in the school the second they walked on stage. And when the android with the black hoodie grabbed the microphone and called her name, she did the one thing she knew she had to do.

She ran.

"Come on." Footsteps followed the taunting voice. There was something about it that had her attention—a sound and tone so familiar—but her instincts told her she needed to hide. Javier explained to her that androids could see everything that moved. So, if she remained still, it couldn't find her.

I know you're coming, Javi. Peter Pan always saves his lost boys.

"Wendy, Wendy, Wendy," it called again. "I just want to talk to you."

Wendy pressed her hands flat against the floor. With her legs stretched out in front of her, she focused on her shoes. A distraction. They were the same shoes Javier bought her last Christmas. She loved the yellow fairy on the side; they easily became her favorite pair of shoes. They calmed her down.

"Wendy!" This voice was different. Smaller, frightened. Wendy looked left to see her friend, Paulina, curled up beside the end of the seats with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her tearful eyes peered in Wendy's direction. Slowly, she rocked as she lowered her voice to a whisper, "Wendy...."

Wendy sucked in a deep breath. Paulina was terrified, and Wendy knew she couldn't have been the only one. The students were spread out, huddling close to one another for protection. But Paulina was alone. She had to have called out to Wendy for help. To be with her.

Wendy couldn't leave a fellow lost boy alone.

As a teacher screamed at the front of the auditorium, pleading with the androids to let the students go, Wendy got on all fours and crawled. Slowly, quietly, she made her way over to Paulina. With extended hands, they grabbed each other, and Wendy gave her a weak, reassuring smile; she tried her hardest to hide her own fear.

"It's okay," she whispered, squeezing Paulina's hand. "It's okay."

Paulina shook her head, shutting her eyes as she shook her head. "They're going to kill us. They're bad." She sniffed. "My mommy saw the news and the robots hurt people."

Wendy had seen the news, too. Her mother always watched the reports in the mornings with her coffee. So, Wendy knew. But she didn't believe it. At least, not all of it.

Not all androids were bad. Javier was an android and he was the sweetest of them all.

"My brother's coming," Wendy whispered. "He'll protect us."