Human

Loving even a little bit of hell

I was in my sleep state in my cell when I heard a large clamour coming from outside my door. I sat up quickly, my instincts kicking in right before my door slid open. Standing in its place was Marlow, looking as though he was ready for a fight. I looked at him curiously. It had been 6 days since my old platoon had come to see me. He stepped into my room, moving to the side to reveal the General. I frowned a little, very confused about the sudden turn of events. Following the General was Rosie. I stood slowly, noticing how everyone was extremely tense. I could faintly hear someone speaking to Neo in the background but I ignored it, knowing that I was facing several very on edge soldiers. 

"Whats going on?" I asked cautiously, observing their official line in front of me, the General in the middle. They looked like a firing squad about to execute a traitor. The General squared himself up, and prepared to speak but he was interrupted by Neo.

"WHAT?!" I heard him shout, causing my eyes to widen slightly. It was very disrespectful to raise your voice to orders as I am sure he was just given. The General scowled before speaking.

"We're moving you out, lets go." His tone was plain but there was an undercurrent of anxiety and uncertainty. My eyes widened to their full capacity as I moved back and collided with my bed, feeling the rough edges underneath my fingertips. 

"What?" I whispered, fear leaking into my voice. It shouldn't have come as such a surprise. I gave them information, they were preparing to combat the threat now whilst also eliminating an unnecessary risk: me. My heart rate sped up as I glanced between Marlow and Rosie. They were going to be the ones to eliminate me? Did they volunteer? Was there a vote amongst my platoon? Did they really hate the idea of me that much? And then I knew my answer. I relaxed my tense state, letting my head drop forward and my hair fall to cover my face in defeat as I accepted my fate. Of course they hated me. In their eyes, I was the shadow of the girl they knew, the girl they mourned. The same type of monster that killed Elon. My presence here was too painful. It was time to go. Once I accepted all of this, I straighten up but I refused to wipe away the tears in my eyes. They would know that I am saddened by this. That I will feel this. But as I looked at them, their expressions were not what I expected. They were confused by my reaction.

"Do you not want to leave your cell?" The General questioned, looking at me cautiously. I thought for a second before replying.

"Not if it means my death." They looked even more confused than before. 

"There may be a riot but I will not allow you to die whilst you still hold valuable information." Now it was my turn to be confused.

"What do you mean? I thought you wanted me dead?" There eyes widened in realisation. The General smirked.

"Thats the thing, Ms Luna." He spoke my name mockingly, causing my eyes to harden despite the lingering tears. "I would love to kill you but apparently your brother and your old platoon still find a use for you. Though allowing a firing squad to finish you would truely make my day, they have decided to learn more about the robot life by keeping you around, and providing you with a more comfortable room." My eyes widened in shock. I was leaving my cell, but to live amongst them, not to die. Tears of a different kind began to fill my eyes before I recovered from my shock and pushed them back. I cleared my throat.

"So I'm getting a new room?" I questioned, clarifying the situation. The General smirked.

"Unfortunately. Mr Chaise and Ms Black will be escorting you there. However, before you leave I would like to impose some rules upon you." He looked at me carefully, making sure I was listening. I nodded and stood up straighter, understanding that there would be restrictions upon my new freedom. 

"Firstly, you will be handcuffed at all times. This is not only to ensure that you do not do anything that may harm anyone, but also to make others feel more comfortable around you." I nodded but internally knew that if I really wished to escape, a pair of handcuffs would not stop me. "Secondly, you will be escorted at all times. I will not have you running off to leak information to the robots." I nodded again, finding all of these rules reasonable so far. "And finally, you will be helping us to hack into the robot base to extract information about this so-called 'Shift' that you have come to warn us of." At this, my eyes widened and my breathing increased.

"General, I would love to help you infiltrate the robot's system but I cut my connection to the mental link when I escaped. If I open it again, they will know immediately and terminate me." I say, my words coming out rushed. I have been tortured by the robots before, and that was only because I kept missing humans on the field. If they hacked me after discovering my long term betrayal then I would be mentally and physically tortured through my link until my brain and heart eventually gave out. Robots are very thorough.

"That is not my concern," the General stated, his eyes like steel. "You will find a way in." He glared at me steadily, daring me to challenge him. I took a deep breath before nodding. 

"Very well." The General said, looking satisfied but still wary. "Alright Neo, let down the barrier." The electric barrier slowly lowered, no longer separating myself from the General, Marlow and Rosie. I took a small step forward and all three soldiers quickly drew their guns pointing them directly at me. I stepped back to where I was before slowly lifting my hands and turning around, ensuring that they could see my hands at all times. As I faced the blank wall I had been staring at for weeks, a small amount of excitement flowed through me. I heard someone slowly shuffling towards me, preparing the handcuffs. I didn't move a muscle. Whoever was putting the cuffs on finally reached me before roughly grabbing my hands and pulling them down until they were placed together at my lower back. The hands were calloused but gentle. Only Marlow had hands like that. The cuffs quickly came down on my wrists, the thick metal of the electric cuffs tight upon my skin. I didn't move until two hands came down on either shoulder, telling me to turn and begin walking. Adrenaline was rushing through my body due to the excitement. Marlow and Rosie stood beside me, their faces hard and cautious. We all looked towards the General, who nodded at us before gesturing for us to follow him. We all began walking towards my door, a hand on both of my elbows. Just before we left the cell I touched my left forefinger to the protruding bone on my right wrist, on my robot arm. This lifted my electric shield, preventing any metal from coming within 2 inches of me. An extra precaution as I knew that I would not be facing a happy crowd as I exited my cell.