Human Code

26 || T W E N T Y - S I X

"Scars. Ghost pains. All apart of the human existence."

*

"Liar, liar!" Axe repeated, over and over. Defective repetition... that had meaning. "Liar!"

I managed to stand and pulled Wendy with me. Will followed closely, running his hands through his hair. Behind us, down inside the halls, I heard rushing feet.

Androids.

Mary?

Watching Axe push Rory down on the floor, I tapped into my computers. "Communications," I said, my voice trembling.

Wendy grabbed my hand as she looked up at me.

Will pressed himself against the wall beside the door.

Letters appeared over my field of vision, blurry, but there. I watched my contacts flood over the right side and waited until a name that resembled Mary's appeared. "Call Mary Jordan," I said.

"She won't answer." Wendy pressed herself against my legs and gripped my fingers tighter. "She's... using computers."

Computers?

I looked back towards the center of the roof. Axe had pinned Rory down, knees on his shoulders. He pulled his arms back, forming fists. And continued to say, "Liar! Liar!"

"I'm not a liar!" Rory cried, folding his arms over his face. "I'm not a liar!"

"You're a liar!"

My vision blurred, and the letters vanished. For a second, I heard nothing but Axe's voice repeating in my head. Liar, liar, liar. And then, I saw something else other than what was in front of me. I saw the roof, yes, but before the rainfall. I saw Rory, standing on his own, facing the street down below. His hands were over his head, fingers gently pulling at strands of his hair.

And with a distant echo, like a ghost not meant to be heard, I swore his image said, "All of my strength was his. I won't accept defeat. I won't go down without a fight. Let him come. Let him get me. Because in the end, I'll win. I'm the only thing that matters. I'm what Bionics wanted all along. Because I'm—"

"You're a liar!" Axe pummeled the sides of Rory's face. The scene of the fighting returned, brighter than before, clearer. And it hit me... what I saw right before this, that small glimpse of the past, was Axe's memories. What he saw.

Is he sharing with me?

I stood straight and moved Wendy behind me. "Will," I whispered, glancing at my side. "Take her inside."

"What?" Wendy grabbed my pant leg. "I'm not leaving!"

"You are," I said without looking at her. I kept my eyes on Will, watching him slowly nod. And I spoke to him next, "Take her inside. Just keep her hidden. Find Mary. Get them out of here if you can."

Will reached out to grab my sister, even though she struggled and refused to let go of me. "What about you?" he asked me. "What do I..." His sentence trailed off.

It was obvious, wasn't it? What was happening to Rory would happen to me. Though, I didn't think it would be Axe that'd hit me. I think he was sharing his thoughts, his emotions because on this rooftop, he saw Rory's selfish, deceitful truths.

Regardless of what Rory said... he thought of himself. The victim act was simply that... an act. The replicas around the country were his casualties. All because he... wanted to be seen. And here I thought he wanted to be loved.