Artificial

07 | Tables Turned

"Mira. Mira, someones at the door."

I groan, mentally telling the voice in my head to shut the hell up. Sharp knives poke at my brain, bright light burning my irises from within. I want to close my eyes, to shrink away from the glare, but my eyes are already closed. The red indicator is back. Beeping in my head like a siren, flashing like a gong in my head, wreaking havoc. My brain's being torn apart from the inside, ripped apart by its seams.

"Fuck," the voice mutters under its breath.

Cool water touches my brow, along with the sensation of being lifted off the ground. That finally wakes me. My eyes shoot open, and I hit the ground hard.

Elias is kneeling over me, a wet towel in his hand, his arms outreached like he was going to pick me up. I scream, scrambling backwards on the ground. How did he get out of his handcuffs, and what was he doing with a towel? Was he trying to suffocate me in my sleep? Strangle me with the towel?

I have a blaster in my hands in seconds, and Elias doesn't react.

"You should open the door," he says again.

But before I can reply, a loud bang shakes the room as the door is kicked off its hinges. Both of us are on our feet in an instant, and men in black uniforms rush into the room. I raise my gun, then lower it after I realize who they are. Fathers men.

"Hold fire!" I shout, raising my hands into the air. But they don't listen. A blaster goes off, and I feel a heavy impact hit my shoulder, sending me crashing into the opposite wall. I feel the warm trickle of blood down my chest, before I feel the burning pain. The beam had burned a golf-ball sized hole into my left shoulder.

They must finally recognize who I am, because no more shots are fired at me.

I'm about to shout for the men to not aim-to-kill, but the words falter when my world comes back into focus. The man who shot me is now on the ground, his blood pooling around his head.

Through my buzzing ears, I hear screaming. They fire their blasters, and they click uselessly against Elias. He picks them apart like ants. Bone shatters under his punch, and he doesn't stop. Not after the fourth punch, or the fifth. He keeps going, more and more blood splattering the wall with every passing second.

With my right hand holding the wound over my left shoulder, I throw my blaster at Elias's head as hard as I can. His momentary pause is allI need to lunge forward and kick his feet from under him. He crashes to the ground, and using my left hand, I hold him by the collar of his shirt while I launch a fist into his face. He catches it, and blinding pain from my left shoulder sends stars into my vision. His body hits the floor with a thud as my left hand gives out, and I stagger backwards.

Unfazed, Elias gets up, wiping blood off his face. There are holes in his torso and chest, and he still has wounds on both legs from where I had stabbed him yesterday. Surrounded by bodies and covered in blood, for the first time, I see Elias for what he is. He isn't a man, but a machine. Devoid of any morality and inhibitions. A machine with a purpose none other than to kill.

My breathing turns shallow, sweat dripping down my neck as I debate my probability of survival. My fathers men didn't last ten seconds. He takes a deliberate step in my direction, those empty eyes locking onto me.

I lurch for the door, sprinting as fast as I can down the hall, making a beeline for the stairs. My steps pound heavy against the ground, deafening the empty stairwell. The door slams above, and I hear the unmistakable sound of chase. I reach the lobby in seconds, stumbling as I burst through the door. The desk receptionist screams, and the lights begin to flicker as Elias closes the distance between us. Fuck, fuck, fuck fuck!