Lifeboat

37. Uploaded

Lights. Flashes of blinding lights. Hands held up and waving in front of me. Voices, male, female, yelling for attention from left and right.

I took control of the situation. My muscles reacted in autopilot. My fingers grasped out and took hold of the guard in front of me.

His neck snapped under the pressure of my fingers. His eyes rolled upwards, suddenly opaque and free from any reflections.

The next target rushed towards me without concern for their safety. My instinct kicked in once again.

Kick, bend, spin then raise. Four solid movements to send my opponent off balance. Another guard fell to the ground.

Vaguely, I could make out Dante calling to me. Shouting at me to look left, right, behind me, beware!

A cold hand gripped mine and focused my mind on the moment.

Erica.

She had arrived. Within the space of a heartbeat, the tall woman had taken hold of two guards and sent them down, face first into the sand where they gasped and thrashed for breath and life. She released her grip only when they ceased to move anymore.

I swallowed dryly and focused my attention on the General.

A fleeting glimpse of the other P. O. L running in to drag away the Doctor and Dante played out in the corner of my eye. Although my mind, soul and body were building up for the fight to come.

He had to pay. No matter the outcome. If I survived or lost my being within his program of sequences, I no longer cared. What I did right now mattered I could feel it. It itched through my veins. The purpose of these few seconds pulsed around my body.

Now or never.

The General scrambled to reach the doorway back into the building as Dante and his wife strode away in the opposite direction.

Above us all, I became distinctly aware of a searing, tangerine light, that ripped across the sky. The dawn was upon us.

General Tander let out a screech of frustration as I flung myself out lengthways to enable my fingers to wrap around his ankle.

The man crashed to the ground, his chin made an audible crack as it connected with the sandy earth.

I never let go for a second.

Waves of blackness drifted over my mind. Yet I continued to maintain my grip on his leg. I could sense him squirming in his struggle to be free, but I held him fast.

Erica's face filled my vision. An angel from above.
"Let him go." She said to me. "He must pay for his crimes. He has to be dealt with properly, or you will never have peace."

The tall woman's slender arms reached out to me. Her eyes softened and took on a surreal orange glow within the dawn's freezing light.
"Give him to me, Poll. Your work is done."

Something adjusted inside my chest. My breath became deeper and my eyelids heavier. I relinquished my grasp on General Tander's leg and watched with relief as Erica bound his arms behind him and yanked him within the safety of the building.

I was alone.

Outside, in the dawn light. No friends. No family. Maybe it was what I deserved? After all, I was only artificial intelligence. Only a program. Perhaps I deserved to be decommissioned. Useless waste of resources. P. O. L

Right now, I wished to be gone, forgotten and lost. No more.