The Pieces of My Self

62 - Darkness Rising

LILLIAN

The Dome, 22 June 2174, Wednesday

Damn robot! I was blind and my heart was racing. I felt helpless having to rely on Usher for my survival. Faith and trust are not in my genes. The darkness and closed space and loss of firm ground overwhelmed me. Metal arms cradled my back and legs as I swayed, suspended by a cable attached to some unknown point in the surrounding blackness. I felt an upward tug, accompanied by the sound of wire reeling in.

I heard Usher's voice—Knightly's voice—"That's as far as she goes. I need to climb the hoist cable. Hold on to my neck."

What did he think I was doing? I felt myself hyperventilating. "I can't see a damn thing!"

Usher's calm voice seemed surreal, given the circumstances. "It's okay. Feel your way around. I can see in this light. Just hold on. There's a long drop."

Yeah, just what I need—a long drop. I repositioned myself with the robot's help, swinging to its back. "I'm ready." But I knew I wasn't.

Usher pushed from the shaft wall toward the center, then bounced as he hit the hoist cable. I almost slipped, but a metal arm caught me in its grip.

"I will go slow," he said, stopping as I adjusted my hold.

My hands were sweating, and it was hard to keep a grip. What happens to my kids if I croak? My shoe is loose. Maybe it'll come off. I need new shoes. Odd what you think about when you're about to die.

I felt an upward thrust and heard the clank of metal hands palming the cable.

"We are going up one level, where the elevator opens to an outside courtyard. The soldiers are on the inside. We have to be quick to cross to the Northeast Tower."

I felt dizzy. The concept of up and down seemed to lose meaning, and the glow of phosphenes bled across the unlit shaft. I desperately hugged Usher's neck, fighting the rise of vomit in my throat as the robot scaled cables in near total darkness.

"Feel for the guide rail with your hands and feet," the robot said. "Try to support yourself. I need to leave you here for a moment."

Leave me? I groped with my left hand until I found the rail, shifted my weight from the robot's back to the rail mount, and swayed like a drunken tightrope walker. The metal was greasy and slippery and smelled of rusting iron. I could feel a narrow ledge with my feet, so I kicked off my loose shoe to get better traction.

"I'm good," I said, but knew I wasn't.

There was a faint light above me—enough to see Usher's dark form scramble up the cables, leverage against the rails, and push open the landing door.

Light flooded in.

"Climb up here," he said.

I discovered humans can do extraordinary things. The prospect of death is a great motivator.

With a lot of effort, I shinnied up the rail and grasped his hand. He hoisted me up. I crawled through the opening and lay on the floor, exhausted.

"You can rest for just a moment, then we need to move. Got to go to the old Information Science and Cryptography area. High security. Only two ways in. One on this level, the other is underwater. If we go over the bridge, we'll be exposed to gunfire. I suggest we work our way around the perimeter, almost to the tower. Then, we make a quick dip underwater. I can protect you from the crocs."

"Crocodiles? In the pond? That may seem like a good solution if you're made of titanium. I've got a better idea. You and the Sentinels form a shield around me, and we cross the bridge very fast."

I pushed into a sitting position, where I could see my surroundings. We were in a small courtyard between buildings labeled C-1 and C-2. Behind me, to the right of the elevator, a two-story windowless wall displayed a giant logo of Blackbird Empathics. On the opposite side of the concrete bridge, more than the distance of a soccer field away, a similar wall was filled with the image of Artois Mangalotte posing like a Greek hero. That was our destination.

"Very well. We need to go," he said, extending a hand, pulling me to my feet.

Across the bridge, three Sentinels accompanied four soldiers as they stepped out of an elevator. The commandos looked toward us, raising their weapons.

I twisted my ring, yelling, "Protect me!" as the soldiers began firing. The soldiers fled into the tower when the Sentinels turned on them.

Two more Sentinels entered from the left and right corners of our courtyard, then formed a phalanx, surrounding me. We raced toward the bridge, with Usher behind, shielding me from a cloud of projectiles that whammed and zinged against the robot bodies.

The three Sentinels from the other side marched toward us, then joined the shield.

"We are almost there," Usher said. "The Upload Center is on the bottom floor, near the waterline. Six of us should be able to clear out the soldiers and—"

He cut the remark short when two robees launched from the building entrance, buzzing toward us, painting the Sentinels with pricks of laser light.

One Sentinel swatted a robee out of the air, dashing it against the bridge. The second robee flew higher, out of reach, lasing three Sentinels. A sequence of beats, Bam! Bam! Bam!, like drumsticks on a snare, issued from the building. Projectiles guided toward their targets, hitting the Sentinels in mid-thorax, dropping them onto the deck.

The two Sentinels still standing jumped over the metal bodies and raced toward the head end of the bridge. Usher lifted me off my feet and followed, running.

Another sequence of beats from guided weapons: Bam! Bam! Bam!

The two Sentinels dropped.

I felt a fire in my abdomen. Usher rocked with the direct hit as he cradled me in his arms.

I was dizzy, fingers slipping across the warm wetness, and the robot's face was fading. There were so many things I wanted to say, so many thoughts bursting out, like water behind a broken dam. With all my strength, I touched my head to his and whispered words—not enough, never enough. When blindness came, I could still hear the buzz of robees moving in for the kill. Then, Bam! Bam! Bam! and I was falling.