The Spare

A mechanical BEEP woke Max from his dark sleep. The first thing he saw upon waking were Helix's unfeeling eyes... open and lifeless... staring past him at nothing. She was less than a foot away, her warm blood seeping onto his sleeve. Max bolted upright and scurried away from her, only to back into Bliss's body—lying facedown near the couch.

"We're so fucked," said a voice in front of him.

He looked up to find Colin, crouched beside Helix's desk, staring at his employers' bodies. For once, Max agreed with him. Not because he had committed murder. It was more complicated than that. Much more complicated. It was because he knew that he had done it all for nothing.

Another long BEEP sounded. Max wondered who would be first... Helix or Bliss.

Probably Helix. She was the newest model. But, as the third BEEP sounded, he saw that it was Bliss. With a wet rasp, she sat upright, a fresh stream of blood-red fluid draining from her neck. She turned her head mechanically and stared at Max, before pulling the handkerchief from the table around her wounded neck. Waiting.

A final BEEP sounded and Helix's eyes blinked. She sat up slowly... and pulled the knife from her chest in jerky, clumsy motions. She would lack the grace and elegance of her elite programming until her RAM fully booted back up. It was a small price to pay for immortality. After all, synthetics could not be killed. Only an idiot would try it.

Or a human being with nothing to lose.

Helix rose to her full height and stared down at Max, her voice now relying on the monotone signatures of her rudimentary programming.

"Attempted shutdown of a synthetic. There are only two sentences for humans who commit that crime. You can accept death, or ask to be—"

"Spared."

"Ah..." she rasped, "you like that word now, don't you?"

***

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much for reading The Spare! If you enjoyed this chapter (or any other), please consider leaving a vote or comment below. I would love to hear from you!

Question for the week: Do you think Helix will "spare" Max? Why or why not?

Please stay tuned for the answer—a new chapter will be posted on SUNDAY.