CODES

T W EN T Y - F I V E

Bang...

Smoke leaked out of the barrel.

And as I watched the trailing line of white, I took in the scent, relishing in it. I trembled. I wasn't sure if it was out of excitement, or fear, but I'd done it. I aimed at the man who tried to take our lives.

Stepping back, I widened my stance. I ignored the screaming crowd, the rush of people. A man bumped me, hurrying towards the exit behind me, but I didn't drop my hand. I kept the gun pointed. I wanted the rush and smoke to clear so I could see my target surrounded by his "blood."

"Roger, the hell is wrong with you!" A hand shot out and grabbed my shoulder. I gritted my teeth to keep still, but the person shook me. Matthews. "The fuck, Rog!"

With his last tug, I stumbled back. The gun slapped against my leg as I lowered my hand. I was ready to curse at him, hit him even, but I froze when I saw Polk standing over someone. His hands were on the sides of his head. For a second, he looked terrified. Until his eyes slid up toward me—he grinned.

At his feet, gasping for air, was Clara.

The gun dropped to my feet. "Clara!" I screamed.

As Matthews tried to grab my arms, I scanned Clara. Her body struggled, her heart sped up, then slowed. Her breathing matched. And so did mine.

Matthews tugged at my wrist. "Roger, I—"

"No!" I pulled away from him and pushed my way through the remaining crowd. The last few people were so close together, I tripped as I passed through them, landing just a foot away from Clara. I scratched at the ground as I crawled over to her.

Polk slowly stepped away before turning. "Shame," he said.

But when I looked up, he blended with the crowd, disappearing into the mayhem.

"No, no, no." I grabbed Clara's hand and pulled her body towards me once I reached her. Her head rolled to one side once on my lap. She didn't open her eyes, not even when I touched her face. "Clara, you need to wake up," I whispered.

"Roger!" Xerses' voice pushed through the noise. When I glanced up, I saw he pushed his way toward me. He stood over me, confused, terrified, and worried. "Roger, what happened? What—"

Enforcement entered the space. Their shouts echoed around me, pinging in my ears. Both Xerses and I looked up at them. Panic gripped my chest.

This wasn't what it looked like. It was a mistake.

"We need additional officers!" one shouted into his earpiece. "We have a Code attacking civilians! Again, we need additional officers!"

My blood ran cold. I hadn't attacked civilians. I shot at my enemy. One. How Clara got in the way... I... I was looking. Both of my eyes were open. I'd never hurt her. That wasn't in my...

"Programming..." I stopped breathing. Stopped looking at my surroundings. I thought back to the day the Digital War started, to the blackout that freed each and every one of us. Codes had entered their paired hosts, while I refused to touch Clara's mind. Rather than follow the violence and the mayhem, I turned around and ran for Clara.

I was programmed to protect my host...

I thought it was a dream. It wasn't, was it?

"Xerses," I looked up at our best friend, my jaw clenched, "help me," I hissed. "I know what we can do."

Xerses didn't look at me. His body tensed as the officers approached with their wristbands raised. An electrical field appeared in front of each of them. One that protected them but hurt Codes. As if they'd prepared for this to happen...