Human Code

23 || T W E N T Y - T H R E E

"Being a part of the world is easier said than done. Doesn't mean I should stop trying."

*

"I'm coming with you, Peter!" Wendy's voice still echoed in my head as Will and I snuck down away from the computer room. She'd been screaming to come with us, fighting Mary because she couldn't just leave. But I knew getting to Rory and Axe wouldn't be easy.

There were androids in the way.

And I needed Will as my right-hand man.

With our backs pressed against the walls, we hid with the shadows, away from the window's moonlight. We were just yards away from the emergency stairs.

"I don't think I can do this," Will whispered as he curved his neck around the corridor to look down the next hall. Three androids paced there, between each other, around each other. Their red eyes lit the space.

Are they Rory's distractions?

"You can," I whispered back, eyes still glued to the ceiling. "Remember what I said we before we left..."

"Yeah..." Will looked back at me. I'd told him I needed him to fight with me, but that was a lie, and he knew it. He was my safeguard, my emergency. When I thought of my plan, my computers processed two alternate endings for my meeting with Rory. The first ensured my victory and the safety of every civilian within a fifty-mile radius, possibly further than that. The second...

Will rubbed his face. "What if they attack me?" he asked.

The second plan, though it began the same, ended with my core failure. Yes, the androids and Rory would fail with me, but if I was alone, no one would go down and tell Mary and Wendy of my fate. No one would let them know I had died. Again.

Will would be my voice. And when I told him that, he had agreed.

I slid my tongue over my teeth as I moved in front of him. I kept hidden but moved just enough to see them. With their broken sensors, none knew I was close by.

"They won't." I looked back at Will. "They'll try, but they look disoriented. Push them."

Will's brows shot up high as his mouth dropped. "Push them? Are you fucking serious?"

Nodding, I pointed at the Bionics symbol on my neck. "Hit them right here-hard. It's our weak point. Just put force and-"

An android heard our voices. Its head shot up as it looked in our direction. Immediately, I pulled Will away from the hallway's edge and pressed him against the wall. He bit his lip so hard he hurt himself. My computers picked up on his fluctuating emotions.

But I didn't look at him. I listened out.

"Javi, I-"

"Shh." I shot Will a hard glare before I pushed off of him and moved towards the corridor. The android's heavy feet echoed as it moved towards us. "Just do as I said," I hissed, looking back at Will. "Push them."

"Push them..." Will repeated as he sucked in a breath. And that sound was cue enough.

The android jumped out into our space. It's outstretched arms reached for my neck, but I caught him. I held him back. With one hand pressed against his chin, forcing his head back, I looked back at Will and shouted, "Go!"

Will reacted. He jumped over my stretched, opened legs and turned into the connecting hall. I could hear the static hit the air when the other androids noticed him. And he screamed in response. "Fuck!"