Synthetic

Chapter 05: Eventual Escape

Ciela? Pretty, but peculiar, being named after the sky in such a smog-filled place. "Either way, it's quite a distinct name," I cogitated before climbing in. "Someone else has to recognize her here."

She got into the tunnel behind me, coughing after kicking up dust in the long-inactive passage. "Okay, I think we're ready to go. I've packed some of the spare clothes and photos. I mean, if anyone's still alive down here, we'll have to identify them somehow."

"Excellent choice." I replied dumbly, surprised I didn't consider that advantage. I pulled out the map I found, deciding the route with a simple calculation. Yet, a doubt stirred inside me. What if we never made it out of here? Would I trust an outdated map? How about some vague pictures and memories? I hesitated before dismissing the thought. There was only one way to find out. "N-now, we'll have to make sure we don't get lost in here. The vents next to our stop may be hazardous to pass by, so we'll have to watch each other closely." I activated my signal lights, which glowed a cold, eerie blue in the steel tubes. "Follow me, please," I said before crawling into the murky, grey innards of Enterprise.

The first few minutes of navigating went by quickly. Though Ciela wasn't too nervous, my body was stiff with anticipation, with sensors at their peaks and the olfactory receptor in my chest sniffing out traces of old biological residue. So far, I only smelt the fresh oils on my comrade. Not a good sign if we were searching for life. The air was rank with the scent of tarnished metal; yet starved of sound aside from the whirr of my internal fans and Ciela's soft breaths. I took it upon myself to break the disconcerting silence.

"So, about these memories of mine. Do you think I truly was an employee here?" I tipped my head inquisitively. "Then...what could have possibly happened to me?"

She went quiet, the tentative motions of her palms and knees being the only sound she made. "I honestly don't know. Perhaps you remember some human caretakers a little too vividly." Her eyes slowly widened as she seemed to piece something together. "That machine you were building with my mom, though...could it be the reason?"

Now, there was an idea! I tried to pull back memories of that machine, closing my eyes and attempting to access that inexplicable sense inside. "Hold on for a minute, please," I gave a gentle order, closing my optical sensors in a bid to keep myself focused. Nothing came, not even after my allotted sixty seconds. I shook my head. "Negative. I'm afraid I cannot-" I attempted to continue, but my elbow slipped on the metal surface, resulting in a great crash and the duct swaying erratically. I grabbed hold of the surface with one silicone-padded hand, snatching Ciela's forearm with the other before she hit the side of the passage. The tube landed in its poorly suspended spot on the wall with a similarly loud clang, jiggling in midair as we struggled to keep our footing.

With a terrified yelp, my comrade eyed my silver hand upon her arm in shock. "A-are you serious?" She stammered, trying to wrench herself free from my grip. "If I knew that'd happen, I wouldn't have suggested it!"

"Apologies. I...I didn't think I'd get distracted like that." I felt a pinprick of shame in my heart, so to speak. Her remarks had a sting to them, and her face softened at my reaction. At least I knew the two of us could feel something.

"Well. At least we know there's no memories beyond that thing you and Mom were building." Ciela shrugged, gesturing at me to move forward.

I nodded, reaching out to begin crawling again. However, another metallic thud sent me into a stupor.

The worst part was that we were completely still.

Ciela pulled out her pistol, aiming it at the pitch-black, barren opening behind us. "Dim those lights. I think we're being followed." I obliged reluctantly, the lights on my back going from a modest glow to that of a defective glowstick.

More low, shuffling noises sounded, surrounding us. I could have sworn I heard a pained, inhuman grunt.

Immediately, my fear got the best of me. "How are you supposed to aim in the dark?" I sputtered. "Sentries can smell your sweat and bodily oils. I-I doubt one would be up here, but..." I reasoned, fear tickling my servos. The vent rattled briefly, nearly tipping us over. Something was clearly climbing around outside.

"Can you shut it for a second?" Ciela gave a hushed growl. "One of you robots can't possibly get up this high. We're suspended. Even if it isn't a person coming after us, I'll bet my right kidney that I can outwit a-"

Her jaw hung slack when a slender, deathly pale metal hand slowly slid through a gap in front of us.

I froze, shutting off all my lights. A futile defense mechanism, if the sentry had seen my lights and smelt human skin already. Inside, I hoped Ciela would follow suit. Yet, a trail of blue across my vision and searing heat proved me wrong. The pulse from her raygun seemed to set the cold tunnel ablaze, grazing me and just missing the hand. It went into a frenzy upon sensing the heat, flailing and grabbing furiously as it inched towards our direction.

"Fall back!" I hissed angrily, unimpressed by her rash decision. Yet, as we turned to retreat down the tunnel, another hand clawed through the metal casing of the passage, snatching my neck and throwing me around with a strength unmatched by man or sentry. Ciela panicked, firing at one of the ghostly arm's exposed joints. It seemed to work, for it recoiled with a grating, unearthly yowl. I was ready to escape for good when a third hand quickly took its place, scrambling at the walls of the vent.

"Trapped again!? There's got to be more than one of those things out there!" Ciela growled in disbelief, terror in her eyes. Her hands trembled as she readied another shot.

"From all I know, these vents could barely hold up when the two of us shook them. Only one should be out there," I replied in a hushed tone. I checked my internal map. "But, there's no patrol routes here! We shouldn't see sentries here at all!" I sputtered, focusing on the limbs in a bid to aim my attack. I felt my face contort in horror.

"And...since when does one sentry have three right hands?"