Of Gears and Humanity

| 05.2

[DAMIEN]

"We live in a world divided," I whispered to the air as I ducked behind a rock.

A Sector drone hovered nearby. The red light from its built-in eye scanned the ground near my feet. Shifting back against the stone, I pressed myself flat against it. The drone, not detecting any movement, turned to leave.

I let out a sigh of relief. "And we shouldn't be."

It was as if it moved me. The first line from the fallen journal gave me hope, a new look on life. To think how one simple moment changed what I believed. Granted, my thoughts had been shifting away from cyborgs, machines, and the superiority all Attributions established in the world; I long thought that was just my human intuition. But to see something so mysterious on the opposite side, why the danger lured me in.

Grinning to myself, I slid away from the rock and hurried towards another.

It was more than danger when I thought of it. The drones could do more than me—even though that should've been enough to terrify me. But if one of those metal birds in the sky caught any movement, my movements, Arvon would be alerted in a heartbeat.

Now I hadn't thought of a story to cover my tracks to explain why I decided to leave the safety of my Sector. I also hadn't thought of a matching story for the lie Unique would've started. I sort of moved on to the idea that once I reached the Gate, the dark and mysterious creature without a name would be there waiting for me. Was it foolish? It had to be. But I believed I would have been more foolish to not take the chance.

With my back pressed against the second rock, I turned my gaze to the sky. The last patrolling drone hovered nearby, almost above me. I held my breath when it inched closer. For a split second, I thought, if I needed to, I could run; I wasn't as fast as the Attributions, but my legs could take me far within seconds. But when it passed, heading back closer to the Sector, I knew I didn't need to run.

At least, not in the direction it was headed.

Once I saw it was a good distance away, I pushed off the rock and hurried towards the Gate. With the books latched together in a bag hanging on my back, I felt them thump against me. Each slap close to my spine made my mind race. I thought of the map curiously drawn on pages, colored with greens and reds; colors I'd never seen with my own natural eye.

But there was more than the maps. Than the drawings. There were the stories I read about a royal family who protected the Gate. How they took tours to ensure Attributions hadn't made it onto their lands. Those stories, the paths the family took each year, were so precisely detailed, I couldn't ignore the dangers paired with my adventure.

Even the last page sealed my fate: Days were meant for adventuring. Only I chose to roam at night.

Arvon said he and the others found me at night. It could be why it brought me comfort and eased my thoughts and anxieties. And as I approached the Gate, saw it clearly in the distance, I felt nothing—no fear, no worries, no regrets.

I pulled the bag I carried in front of me and reached for the journal. I thought I could flip through a page or two while I walked. Lose myself in a tale as I waited for the mysteries of the Gate to find me. But once I got closer, I heard voices. Frustrated shouting.

Had the mysteries sought me?

There was no containing my smile. "Well, look at that," I whispered as I dropped the bag, letting it return to the spot on my back. The first book I'd had for years was right; human intuition was never wrong.

And if I believe mine, then I knew the voices belonged to humans. Not shadows. Not creatures at all.

*

"At least I'm nice!"

The voice was more like an echo the closer I approached. It was a woman's voice, too, I could hear it clearly. As I walked, I listened, and wondered what she looked like on the other side. The shadow I had seen in the morning could have been someone else; though the scream I heard was a woman, too.

"Unlike some... horses."

The tone of the echo made me laugh. The more I listened, the more I wondered if she was a woman at all. The frustration sounded younger, possibly my age. At least, this was something I could think of based on the videos the Attributions let me watch when I was allowed to relax. Movies, they were called; stories acted out by the humans when they were alive.

I couldn't help but picture the voice carried by the air to be a girl with red curly hair, possibly glasses. It just reminded me of a movie I'd seen one too many times.

"Who am I to assume what she looks like?" I shrugged and focused on the Gate. "Her appearance isn't what I'm curious about."

It was her existence. Their existence. To know I wasn't alone in the world, that there were others like me. It was all I needed to see. Proof for myself.

But as I got closer and the voice stopped, I wondered if she left. For a second, I slowed my steps and listened to the surrounding space. Nothing hit my ears but the winds pushing through the fallen buildings. The rubble whistled, animal-like. If one didn't know it was just the dead memories of the past, it could be easily confused with ghosts. At least, that was what I learned from movies and books.

When I reached the Gate's wall and heard nothing but silence, I figured she had gone. I couldn't have been the goal if that was the case. But even if I wasn't, it didn't bother me. I'd return again the next day and the next, until I laid my eyes on whoever was curious enough to approach the Gate. Curious like I was.

I turned, ready to leave.

But then I heard a whimper. "Wonderful," it said. She said.

With a sharp, I faced the wall again and listened again. Listened closer. My ear pressed against the cool metal and stone.

Then I heard her once more. "This isn't wonderful at all."

I smiled. How else was I supposed to react? The voice was there, just opposite the wall. I had to see her, see a face. See a human.

Pushing off the wall, I grinned and spoke loud enough I hoped she could hear me. "What isn't wonderful?" I asked.

A part of me expected an answer. It didn't have to be words; I would have accepted a sound, a gasp. When she screamed on the other side, I nodded. It meant she both heard and understood me. Or, at least, I hope she understood me.

There was another whimper. A cry. The sound of her pushing off the ground was loud enough for me to hear and I feared right then she'd leave.

Quickly, I reacted. "Don't!" I shouted. "Don't be afraid!"

There was a moment's pause. More gasps. More whimpers. But eventually, the voice responded, "Afraid? I'm not afraid!"

Well, doesn't she remind me of myself?

"Oh?" I looked down the wall. Just a few yards to my left was a door; an iron gate to the wall built to divide us all. If I got her to follow me to that door, if we opened it, then we wouldn't be separated at all? Just as the journal stated. "If you aren't afraid, how about you follow my voice?" I called out to her.

Another pause. More movement. Was she considering the option? Would she do as I asked?

"Why would I?" she called back.

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. I wasn't sure why but simply speaking through the wall brought me joy. Sliding my hand over my head, I scratched the back of my neck and said, "Well, you said you weren't afraid. Why not prove it?"

So I can prove it to myself.

*

[Thank you for reading! <3]