Coyote

[25] aftermath.

Beltan News: The movie Lost Angels, starring Orion Grey and Sasha Benzino, will be released in four months after Xay Mai Name Productions reached a distribution deal with the streaming service Vice+

Wolf watched as those he assumed to be friends, spouses, or family members searched for the people who had entered the city after Wednesday lowered the electromagnetic field. Enough light came from the drones hovering in the sky, allowing people to see in the dark. Venus wouldn't see daylight for the next one hundred and seventeen days.

Some drones had logos of news stations, while others didn't. They must've belonged to people who were curious enough to check if the disappearance of Coupon City was true or not, rather than wait for the news to tell them.

With the increase in Fake News, Wolf couldn't blame them.

"They're gone. It's all my fault." Tears pooled in his eyes, but he managed to hold them in.

"Everyone is responsible for their actions, Wolf," Wednesday said. "These people are still searching because their minds know the truth, but their hearts are having a hard time accepting it. You did what you had to do to stop The Forgotten Nuns from luring more people and turning them into golems. I know you, Wolf. I know you better than anyone else. You'll wallow in self-pity for a long time before you start taking bounties again. But I'm here to tell you, I won't allow that to happen."

She continued. "You owe me a sleeve, and the only way to get it is by taking more bounties. If you want to cry about Olivia, Victoria, and all the people killed by the golems, fine, I'll give you a couple of days, but only after you take Sister Mary to the GSF and collect the credits we're owed. I'll not repeat myself."

"Yes, ma'am." He wasn't in the mood to argue with her. She was also right. There was a time and place for him to mourn the lives lost, but not now and here.

Bright lights from a hover-car hit Wolf's face before the driver turned them off. Patrick stepped out of the vehicle and headed in Wolf's direction. The coyote hadn't realized he was still carrying Olivia on his shoulder until the synth showed up.

Patrick gazed around; he had no emotion on his face. Even if he did, Wolf couldn't tell. The whole emotion-chip was still a new concept to him. It would take time before he would be able to read synths as well as he did humans.

"What happened here?" Patrick asked, his eyes glued on Wolf.

"The city disappeared," the coyote replied.

"How is that possible?"

Wolf shrugged.

Patrick turned his attention to Olivia's body. "Is she asleep?"

"She's dead."

Patrick remained silent.

Wolf didn't know what he was thinking. With the emotion-chip, would the synth cry for her? Show concern? Scream in anger at the loss of Olivia's life? "She's dead," he repeated himself.

"Affirmative." Patrick nodded.

"Wow." He didn't know what to expect from the synth, but it wasn't that answer. This wasn't the military or some shit like that. Lives were lost and this synth—with supposedly an emotion-chip—showed no empathy at all. "That's all you have to say?"

"Careful, Wolf. Don't go picking a fight with something you can't beat," Wednesday said.

"Well?" Wolf asked Patrick.

"I understand your frustration. But you see, I didn't know Ms. Olivia for long. We met recently. I may have an emotion-chip installed, but it doesn't allow me to fake my emotions. For me to care about her death, I would've had to have known her for a long time and create memories with her."

He stared at Wolf for a few seconds before continuing:

"It seems you grew quite fond of Ms. Cyb... I mean Ms. Olivia over the short period you were together. How long was it? Twelve hours? Maybe a bit more or less? The one trait I admire in humans is understanding... Or is it sympathy? Maybe it's empathy?

"You can meet someone and instantly like them because you share the same love for music or movies or celebrities, or you may have the same passion and ambitions in life and that's enough for you to be friends... or more, as time passes by.

"I can't do any of those things because at the end of the day, no matter how many chips they install and update to make me seem more human, I'm still a machine."

Wolf's heart ached for judging him. But when Patrick spoke, he sounded more human than most. As machines became human-like, humans turned into machines. "I apologize. I didn't mean to—"

"All in the past." Patrick extended his arms. "May I have Ms. Olivia now?" Wolf handed her over, and Patrick carried her. "Goodbye."

"Wait."

Patrick turned to him. "Yes?"

Wolf wasn't sure if Patrick knew of Olivia's clone situation or not, but he wanted to tell him anyway. When he tried to speak, to let him know that she was gone and she wasn't coming back, he couldn't find the right words. "Never mind."

Patrick went to the hover-car, put Olivia's body in the back seat, entered the driver's side, and left.

"Wolf, we need to go," Wednesday said.

Wolf sighed, then headed to Sister Mary. With her lower half and arms disintegrated, he had wrapped her in his jacket—a precaution in case she tried to escape. He also didn't want anyone to see her and start asking questions.

He picked up the jacket and slung it over his shoulder. Sister Mary had been silent ever since Coupon City vanished.

Most people had already left. Those who remained were few compared to the number of vehicles left. Wolf searched until he found one he was comfortable driving. He would have left that duty to Wednesday, but he wanted to focus on something else other than the events that had occurred, and focusing on the road was the best option.

A three-seater jetcar with maroon paint and a large engine on each side caught his eye. He opened the door on the driver's side, unwrapped the jacket covering Sister Mary, and threw her on the passenger's seat. She landed with a thump, giving him a cold stare.

Wolf gulped before putting on his jacket and entering the car. "Wednesday," he called while checking himself in the rearview mirror. Bruises and cuts covered his face, with dried blood around them.

"I know, I know." Wednesday connected herself to the jetcar and started the engine.

With a smile, Wolf put his hands on the steering wheel. "Now let's go collect our credits." He stepped on the pedal and drove into the night.