When The Universe Wants To Die By Killing Its Other Worlds

3. Life

The Alternative Earth

Robot vigilantes roamed the dark streets of San Fransico, looking for humans and fugitives. All the vigilantes had facial recognition and so could arrest suspects and take them to their supreme leader. Rian, a cyborg vigilante always felt more human than robot. Sure he killed people and felt nothing and sometimes spoke in that robot tone, but part of him strived for something more. Like a real relationship and actually feeling something. "Rian!", a fellow vigilante shouted, "Stop daydreaming!". Rian snapped out of his dream of touching a flower and looked at his colleague. "Why'd they send you in the vigilantes?", he asked, "Your nothing but a burden". Rian was used to these comments and didn't retaliate. Rian hadn't always used to be this soft, when he was being trained he was a killing machine and this was how he earnt his place in the vigilantes, by being ruthless. But as time went on, he felt something deep inside him switch. This switch wanted relationships that meant something, something more than just killing or getting with a suspect to arrest. Rian was 6'2, blond had blue eyes that were dead and if you didn't know he was a cyborg, you would think he was just a kid from college. "Let's go!", the team leader, Lock said. Rian lined up with the others, tightening his grip on his gun. "You see this house", Lock said, pointing at the 3rd window on the second story of the apartment block. They all nodded, Rian couldn't see. "This is the residence of a Jay Alonge", Lock explained, "He is wanted. Get in there and scoop him up". They all entered the block, keeping noise low. Rian followed as he wasn't sure where he was going.

They reached the apartment door and kicked it down. The vigilantes scoured the apartment and there was no sign of Jay. "Target has fled", one of them said into his earpiece. Rian could hear Lock curse from the earpiece. "Turn that place upside down!", Lock ordered, "He must have gone somewhere!". The one with the earpiece repeated what Lock said and they all proceeded to trash the apartment. Rian followed two others into the bedroom and wrecked the place. "Find!", someone shouted. Lock had come up to see what the find was. He took it off the vigilante and saw what it was; A pass to use the planet transporter. "God damn it!", Lock said, punching the wall in anger. "What is it, sir?", Rian asked. Lock took his fist out of the wall and turned around, "I hate to inform you, but our target is no longer on the planet". They all groaned and cursed. "I will select five people to travel to the other earth where our target has traveled to", Lock said. He looked at his team and chose carefully, "I want Rian, Kodak, Jason, Corey, and Tyler. Let's go", Locke said. The rest of the team clapped for the selected team, Rian smiled but inside he was terrified. Then Rian got a lightbulb moment and then embraced the mission. His lightbulb? He was going to fake his death and stay on earth to experience life.