Part 7: Bloody Metal Hands

The elevator was moving, but none of the floor lights were illuminated. The car slowed. Before the doors opened a gunshot rang out. She drew her pistol and the doors opened. Landon stood before her firing down the hallway. He turned and fired at the glass. As he sprinted toward the damaged glass Ace dove from the elevator car and tackled him away from the pane.

They slammed to the ground. Landon rolled and looked to her.

“Abigail?” he asked, confused.

She looked to her side as Heavy ran at her. She clamored across the Italian marble floor away from her attacker.

Landon fired at Heavy, the bullets bounced around his legs and into the ground. He continued toward Ace. She fired at Heavy landing a bullet in his eye. He stumbled and tripped around her, slamming into the bullet riddled window.

The panes shattered as the machine fell out of sight. Glass danced lightly on the tiles. The two agents looked to each other breathing heavily.

“How did you get here? I lost you in…” He paused trying to catch his breath.

“You have to go back and save me,” she said through gasps for air, “I can’t be here when you come back.”

They pushed off the ground and walked toward each other.

“I don’t understand,” Landon said, “You’re right here.”

“But if you don’t go get me, then I won’t be here. I’m not your Abigail and she can’t…”

She began walking down the hallway Landon had came from. She checked a corner and disappeared around it. Landon looked back to the broken window and then followed her.

He found her in a room similar to the one in the ISO-squared labs. She was typing into a computer.

“I’m sending you to moments after you and the machine vanished,” she said, not looking to him.

“Why not for the amount of elapsed time?”

“She…” A lump dragged her throat down, tears beginning to well in her eyes, “can’t become me,” she responded.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to put her through that. It’s too much pain to put on someone else,” she said, lowering her head and flattening her palms on the desk.

“But if we change things…” he started but was quickly interrupted.

“I am the target. The person I’ve become is the target. If she doesn’t go through the events I went through she won’t become me. She’ll be able to have a different life. You have to bring her back to yours and her time. Forget you briefly knew this version of her.”

She was staring at him. Only the hum of the computers filled the room.

“What happened?” he asked.

She looked away and began typing again, “I’m preprogramming the device to jump you to her and then return you both to your time. The only caveat is when the timer goes off you must be touching her.”

Her finger slammed against the return key and the computer began to whine. Across the room a hole in the wall slid open and a drawer came out. A wrist bracer sat on the drawer. Ace made her way to the device and inspected it before picking it up. Landon took a deep breath as she made her way back to him.

“Wrist,” she said unlatching the underside.

He held out his left wrist and she slid the bracer onto his forearm. She pressed a single button near his elbow and the bracer tightened down to his wrist size. Several small needles pierced his wrist from inside the bracer.

“Ah!” he said stepping back and shaking his wrist in pain.

“You are the battery; it only works if it’s attached to a person. Come with me,” she said walking passed him out of the room.

He followed her in silence back to the elevator lobby. She stopped by the elevator doors and faced him with her back to the missing window. The bracer on his wrist began to make a humming sound.

“That is warning that you’re about to jump. The new design won’t hurt like it used to.” A loud thump came from outside the window.

Ace closed her eyes. Landon took a step forward. She lifted her hand for him to stop. He complied.

Another thump came from the outside, this time it shook the floor. Her eyes opened and she looked at Landon. The hum was almost so loud he could barely hear.

“You have thirty seconds once it starts the jump process,” she said her eyes welling up with tears.

“What happened to make you the way you are?” he asked, stepping forward again.

Another loud thump. Long mechanical fingers came from the window opening and dug into the marble tiles.

Landon stepped back, pulling his sidearm, “Abigail!”

“Take her dancing,” she said quietly.

The hand pulled up the damaged Heavy machine. It looked to Landon and then to Ace. It moved its free hand toward her. It’s long fingers wrapped around her torso.

“Landon,” she said. He looked to her.

“I lost you,” she said as a long blade pierced through her chest. Her eyes widened.

Landon jumped forward. Heavy’s hands slid off the tile, dragging Ace through the window. Her body collapsed out of the hole as a swirl of particles engulfed Landon.

The lobby sat empty, only glass debris and bullet casings littered the floor.

Part 6: Jump

Ace was not proud of what it took to drag Samantha’s unconscious body through the hospital’s parking garage. In fact, if asked she would never tell, and leave it to the asker’s imagination.  She would often refer to this segment of her life as her dark period. Samantha was kept locked in a small room with a slit for a window. Ace would feed her but never communicated with her.

As the months went on, Ace became more mobile. Eventually she removed her cast herself and began the long arduous task of physical therapy. After a time Samantha stopped pleading for her freedom and they lived in silence.

When Ace could walk again she took to running during the evenings. Since her escape, VIG had plastered her photo on every news media channel that could fill 30 seconds with it. Most ran her story for days, “Deranged Hospital Escapee Kidnaps Government Agent”.

The months turned into years. Ace was tired; tired of hiding, and tired of being alone. Samantha’s cell had gotten an upgrade. It fit more like a bedroom, and the two began speaking in short sentences.

One morning Ace awoke to find a small note on her nightstand. She instantly noticed it was out of place and upon further inspection recognized her own handwriting. There were three words on it, “Save him. Ace.”

She flung her covers back and stormed across her secret hideout to Samantha’s room. She nearly busted the door down as she entered, scaring Samantha from her bed.

“How did he die?” She screamed.

Samantha cowered on the floor by the bed.

“How? When? Answer me!” She screamed again.

“The heavy machine forced him out of a window,” Samantha cried.

“When?”

Samantha began crying, “The future…”

Ace turned away and slammed the door, locking it behind her. Samantha’s waking could be heard through the steel door. Ace walked slowly across the cold floor until she reached her computer terminal.

She began searching for the same keywords that brought her to find the orb. She found another facility, once run by a facility until it was bought by ISO-squared and shut down for unethical testing circumstances. A marketing ploy she thought. Something in her gut told her to check it out.

She gathered her things: a flashlight, handgun and tactical vest she’d bought from a military surplus store. She missed her old gear.

She made her way down to a later 90s model pickup truck and removed the tarp from it. She climbed in and pulled the keys from their storage in sun visor.

The truck started without issue. She pulled out of the parking garage and made her way out of the city. It was going to be a long drive to Pennsylvania.

At first it felt like breaking and entering as she slid the large metal door to the side. She paused a moment as the screech echoed down the concrete halls. She flicked on her flashlight with her left thumb and drew her pistol. It was 3 a.m. and there were no lights.

The layout was similar to the facility she’d met Wyatt in. She followed signs toward the main computer room. She checked her corners as she entered the large room. Two staircases edged the sides of the room. To her right was what seemed to be a control booth with large glass windows separating the two rooms, and directly across from it hummed another orb.

Her pistol quickly found its place in her holster as she sprinted to the orb. Etched in the dust on the orbs panel was her handwriting: Do it, Ace.

She took a deep breath and reached out for the orb. Inches from her palm wrapping around the smooth metal casing of the orb, a hand reached from the dark and latched onto her vest, yanking her away and tossing her across the room.

She shattered through the glass of the control room and bounced off an old computer terminal. Ace was dazed as she tried to pull herself up from the ground. The hand wrapped around the back of her neck and lifted her.

She saw her attacker for the first time. It was the heavy machine, only this time he was different. Before he hand been a behemoth of machine, and now he was slick, small red LEDs accented his shape. He threw her again, deeper into the control booth.

She slammed against the rear wall of the room, cracking the drywall. Her tailbone crashed into the ground as the heavy machine made his way to her. She drew her pistol and fired at his head. The bullet’s ricocheted off his helmet, destroying whatever they hit next.

Her pistol clicked empty. He was towering over her. The machine reached down for her. Just before his fingers could wrap around her she slithered between his metal legs.

With running speed she clambered from the ground and over the first computer terminal. The heavy machine spun and jumped after her, smashing through the three rows of computer terminals.

He stopped at the front of the room. Ace was gone. His head lifted. She was in a full sprint across the main room. Heavy burst through wall of the control room, running after her. His feet made loud thumps as he gained on her.

She wanted to pause when she reached the orb to see how far ahead of the machine she was, but she didn’t. Her palm slammed onto the orb, the pressure from her skin skidded against the spinning metal.

Light enveloped her, and just as Heavy reached her she vanished in an explosion of particles. His momentum carried him through the orb and it’s terminal. A crash of metal and wires and sparks spilt across the front of the room. Heavy lifted the orb from the ground, examined it a moment and crushed it in his fingers.

The particles rushed passed her eyes, burning and drying them. She was cold and hot and sore everywhere. The space around her ripped open as someone might rip open a plastic bag. She flung hard, slamming into a tile wall.

The whole room shook and in that moment she realized she was in an elevator. She coughed up mucus and spat it on the ground. Condensation had built up on her sleeves. She wiped the water onto the ground as she stood.

The elevator was moving, but none of the floor lights were illuminated. The car slowed. Before the doors opened a gunshot rang out. She drew her pistol and the doors opened.

Landon stood before her firing down the hallway. He turned and fired at the glass. As he sprinted toward the damaged glass Ace dove from the elevator car and tackled him away from the pane.

They tumbled across the ground. Landon rolled and stopped, his gun aimed at Ace.

“Abigail?”

Part 6: Plan?

“Agent,” one of the suited men called to Ace to get her attention. She turned her head to the suits.

“Who are you really?” the tall one continued.

“Why don’t you ask Samantha?” Ace spoke.

Samantha smiled back at Ace, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Agent Vasden is an integral part of VIG, you are the one in question here. Not her,” the tall one said, pulling his sidearm.

“I said you don’t want to do that,” Ace said, pulling her blanket back from her non-casted leg. Samantha edged toward the door as Ace spun her weight and placed her good foot on the cold tile floor.

The tall one nodded to his lackeys They stepped forward, each grabbing one of Ace’s arms. The bed rolled away from the hallway and toward the window overlooking the city. The bed bounced to a stop against the window sill. The shortest man unlatched the  window and swung it open filling the room with cold wind. The tall one approached, Samantha leaned against the door.

The suits pushed Ace back, her head hanging out of the window.

“Let go of me,” she screamed, her voice lost in the wind.

“Since you are not an agent of this company, you are not required,” the tall one spoke, almost laughing.

Something snapped in Ace, the knife still in her hand. It flipped and then she slammed it into the short one’s ribs. He released her arm and stumbled back. Samantha panicked, her hand clutching the doorknob. Ace rolled; her momentum slamming the other suit into the window frame. She put her good foot on his leg and flipped him over her head. He spilled out of the building, bouncing slightly off the glass until he came to a stop at the ground.

Ace sat up. Samantha was gone, the door still hanging open. The tall one’s handgun was aimed at her head.

“Very impressive, little girl,” he spoke. In a simple move, Ace fell off the bed onto her good foot. All her weight collapsed as she bent her knee. The tall man couldn’t keep his aim as Ace sprung forward and slammed her shoulder into his crotch. He plummeted to the ground. The gun skidded across the floor toward the open door.

Ace rolled, grabbing a wheelchair as the tall man gasped for air and rolled away from her. She pulled herself into the wheelchair. And started rolling toward the open door. She scooped the gun from the ground and entered the hallway. Samantha stood at a corner near the elevators. Ace began rolling forward, switching the gun from hand to hand as she went.

“Freeze,” she shouted. The elevator door opened and Samantha jumped in, pushing several people out onto the floor. Her fingers slammed onto the door close button. Ace dropped the gun into her lap and began rolling faster. She dove from the chair and slid across the floor in her hospital gown into the open elevator. The door closed and bounced off her casted leg. She let out a small squeal.

Samantha slammed her heel into Ace’s back applying pressure. Ace grabbed Samantha’s planted foot and threw it to the side, dropping Samantha to the ground. The doors bounced again off her leg. She pulled her leg in as she climbed on top of Samantha, lifting her by her shirt. She pulled back her fist once, it hung in the air as Samantha pleaded for mercy.

Ace’s fist slammed into Samantha’s face.

Part 6: Drive. Run. Fight.

Bullets hit the back of the van, echoing inside. Samantha swerved into the oncoming lane of traffic. Ace tumbled against the passenger’s side of the back.

“Be careful,” Ace shouted up to Samantha.

“Get him secured and let me drive,” Samantha retorted from behind the wheel. The van swerved back into its lane. Samantha checked the side mirror. The white pickup was gaining on them.

Ace braced herself, planting her knees against the cot where Wyatt lie unconscious and her feet against the driver’s side panel. She reached over the body and pulled the thick strap over Wyatt’s body. The buckle clicked into place and she pulled as the van swerved again, her whole weight pulling the strap tight.

Ace slammed down against her knees on the hard metal floor of the back of the panel van. She looked to Samantha who paid her no attention.

The glow of the city began to light up the sky ahead of them. The echoes of more bullets hit the back of the van.

Ace pulled herself to the middle portion of van. Samantha smacked the roof of the van.

“The rifle,” she yelled.

Ace looked up to find Samantha’s carbine fastened to the roof. She reached up and released the straps. She flipped off the safety, and slid the side door open. Her hand wrapped tightly around a strap and she looked to Samantha one last time.

Samantha swerved into the wrong lane, causing Ace’s weight to shift out of the open door. She saw the enemy for the first time. A white pickup, older model with a .50 caliber light machine gun mounted to the roof.

She fired a couple of times, sending bullets through the windshield and into the passenger. The driver glanced at his fallen friend and then revved the engine, rear-ending the van. Ace shook and continued firing. The bullets pierced the windshield and hit the machine gunner in the legs.

The van began crossing the long bridge into the city. Ace leaned back in.

“I need more ammunition,” she yelled over the roar of the engine.

“I don’t have any, that’s an emergency firearm,” Samantha shouted back.

As he fell he sent an arch of bullets into the sky. The truck sped up again and tapped the bumper of the van. Ace started to fall out, her wrist catching on the strap.

The truck sped up next to the passenger side of the van and then swerved into the side, sending the van broadside into oncoming traffic. It lifted onto two wheels and the began rolling.

Samantha clung to the steering wheel. Wyatt’s body floated lightly in the slack of his straps. Ace bounced violently off the monitors in the back of the van, her wrist still tightly tied to the strap. Her shin slammed into the sliding door releasing the mechanism. It started to close. She pulled her leg in, feeling the blood soaking through her pants.

The van came to a skidding halt near the end of the bridge. The passenger tires spun as the van laid on its side. Ace’s eyes opened as a gunshot rang through her ears. The driver of the pickup stood between a bullet hole in the windshield and a dead Samantha.

She crawled down the side of the van and quietly unmatched the back of the van. The door fell open loudly. She hustled and pulled herself up and began running toward the truck.

The driver round the side of the van and took aim with his handgun, firing once and hitting Ace in the vest. The momentum through her forward, landing on her hands and ripping the palms of her gloves.

She pushed herself up and continued toward the truck, leaving a trail of blood behind her. Her tibia was broken and it was slowly her down. The pickup driver, frustrated, lowered his gun and began briskly walking toward the truck.

Ace climbed into the bed, her body falling into the back and onto the wounded gunner. She pulled a knife from the right breast of her vest and slammed it down into the gunner’s neck.

She extended her arm as high as she could and grabbed ahold of the LMG handle, using it as leverage to pull herself up. She put her broken leg into a bent position and aimed.

The pickup driver fired at her, still walking forward. The bullets bounced off the front of the LMG and top of the pickup. Ace ducked for cover and squeezed the trigger the gun firing. It fired four times before vibrating her off of it.

The pickup driver fell, blood soaked.

Part 5: New Friends

Samantha watched her screens, still rubbing her neck. Suddenly, Wyatt’s heart rate vanished from the monitor and the screens dimmed. She pulled her pistol from the desk and spun to the open door of the van. A bright flash of light and particles exploded.

Ace and Wyatt landed in front of the van. Ace’s hand stretched out and curved as if it still touched the orb. Wyatt looked at her with confusion. Samantha stepped out of the van, her handgun still aimed at them. She approached them slowly.

“Wyatt, who is this?” she called out, checking over her shoulder.

The two stood not moving. Not breathing.

Samantha looked into the van: Wyatt’s heart rate monitor flashed with the words No signal.

She moved forward. She circled to the side, keeping the gun trained on Ace. She took her free hand and touched Wyatt’s gloved hand. It was cold to the touch. She backed away, lowered her gun and moved quickly to the van.

Her fingers typed quickly on the keyboard, sending an encoded message back to VIG headquarters.

Suddenly, Ace’s eyelashes began to grow heavy as she blinked for the first time. Her whole body relaxed, her heart starting again. As Samantha typed, Wyatt’s heart rate monitor began to rise and fall again.

Both of them fell to the ground, the their muscles giving out on them. Samantha abandoned the van and the keyboard, and rounded the van. She aimed the gun at Samantha.

Ace pushed herself up, drawing her pistol and aiming up to Samantha. Samantha froze, her gun aimed at Ace.

Wyatt tried to wave Samantha off, “Sam… stop…” he began coughing.

Ace’s eyelids fell, seemingly bringing her whole body with it and she passed out in the mud. Seconds later the same happened to Wyatt. Samantha backed away slowly, lowering her gun again.

She finished her message to VIG: Wyatt in serious medical condition. Have unidentified friendly with Wyatt. Need emergency medical evacuation.

She pressed send and waited. And waited. No response. She jumped out of the van and made her way around to Wyatt. She knelt by him and slid her arms underneath his armpits and lifted. They moved backwards, his legs leaves ridges in the mud. It took some effort but she got him into the back of the van and strapped to a fold out cot.

It took a moment to catch her breath as she stared at Ace. As she approached the helmeted girl a set of headlights approached from the base.

“Shit,” Samantha said aloud. She knelt down and started to lift Ace. Her head bobbled as Samantha dragged her to the van. Ace was much lighter than Wyatt. Suddenly, Ace’s muddied hands reached up and grabbed Samantha in the face.

“Stop!” Samantha yelled as she dropped Ace to the ground.

“What’re you doing?” Ace yelled through her helmet, coming to a stand. Samantha looked to the headlights.

“What’re you looking at?” Ace said as her head turned to where Samantha looked. She knew.

“Let’s go, Samantha,” Ace said. Samantha’s head snapped back to Ace.

“How do you…?” Samantha started.

“Now’s not the time,” Ace said as she climbed into the van and slid the door to a close.

Samantha sprinted around to the driver’s side and flung the door open. The keys twisted easily in the ignition and the van seemed to roar to life.

Part 5: Take It to Them

The UAV flew over coast line and turned slightly as it approached the river. It was nearly silent as it passed by above the clouds. The camera switched on and rotated toward the ground. The camera rotated away on its gimbal, switching between lenses. It settled on an IR lens. It passed over the compound and began marking targets.

“Alright Landon… Sorry, Wyatt. We’ve got fifteen hostiles, suggest approach on the northeast side of the compound,” Samantha said from the safety of her van, four miles from the compound.

“Affirmative, Samantha,” he said as he slid open the side door of the helicopter. The chopper hovered thirty feet above the ground. He attached his carabiner to the rope and awaited the pilot’s go ahead. “So tell me, Samantha, what made Landon so spectacular?” He asked. The pilot waved him down.

He leapt from the chopper, the carabiner catching his weight as he fast-roped to the ground. He boots slammed into the marshy grass, as he unhooked from the line. The chopper turned away from the compound as Wyatt pulled his rifle from his side.

“He wasn’t you for starters,” her voice through his earpiece, “you’ve got a two mile run ahead of you, maybe you should focus on the task at hand.”

“Or you could tell me the story, and I won’t have the breath to ask questions.” He smirked to himself.

“Start running, 6-2-3,” she said.

He slung the rifle onto his back again, pulled his sidearm from its holster on his leg and began his run toward the compound.

The first half mile of the run was relatively silent, Wyatt could hear Samantha’s fingers type something occasionally. Every so often he would check his heart rate in his VIG, and then go back to focusing on each step.

At the one and quarter mile mark a chime went off in his ear, followed immediately by Samantha’s voice, “Halt.” He did, and dropped into the prone position.

“Unexpected bogie at your 3 o’clock,” she said in his ear.

He rolled to his side and pulled a suppressor from the front pocket of his holster and quickly screwed it onto the front barrel of his p226. The bogie stood 20 meters away, cigarette hanging from his lips, AK-47 hanging from his shoulder and back toward Wyatt.

“Bogie is taking a leak,” Wyatt whispered, “how proceed?”

“Let him finish, and then interrogate,” Samantha responded.

Wyatt pushed up from the ground and took wide steps toward the bogie. The grass sloshed under his weight, plus the weight of his gear.

“Did Landon ever tell you these bio-suits are uncomfortable?”

“Stay on task 6-2-3.”

The bogie shook twice and zipped his pants. Wyatt’s silencer pressed against the back of his head, “You gonna wash your hands?” Wyatt asked.

“Really? A one liner?” Samantha chimed in.

“If you’re not having fun, command,” Wyatt was cut off as the bogie spun, knocking the gun down. He faced Wyatt, and it was then that Wyatt realized the bogie had been standing on the low side of a small hill. The bogie lifted his foot and kicked Wyatt square in the chest.

Wyatt fell back into the mud and slid a foot.

“Switching to helmet cam, give me a second Wyatt,” Samantha’s voice had become stressed as the screens in front of her showed Wyatt’s vital signs going crazy.

Wyatt shook his head and looked up to the towering man, “That all you got?”

The bogie grabbed Wyatt by his vest and picked him from the ground. The bogie smiled.

The camera on Wyatt’s helmet kicked on with an audible click. The bogie looked at it and Wyatt slammed his helmet into the bogie’s head. The bogie stumbled back dropping Wyatt. He reached around his back, grabbed his rifle, aimed and fired four times into the bogie.

A splash of muddy water came from the ground as the bogie let out its last breath.

Wyatt took a moment to regain his composure.

“Investigating,” he said as he climbed up from the mud, his gun still aimed at the bogie.

He knelt down by the corpse, pressed his fingers against neck of the bogie and waited for a heartbeat. Nothing.

He holstered his sidearm and began looking over the corpse, “We’ve got a logo on his BDU.” Wyatt unhooked his VIG from his arm and snapped a picture, sending it back to Samantha.

“Give me a second for the computer to cross-reference the logo,” Samantha said as a loading bar appeared on one of her screens.

“Aside from the A-K, there are no other weapons. And beside the fact that he’s a beast no distinguishing characteristics, shaved head, normal face, big muscles,” Wyatt spoke, his voice coming out of Samantha’s headset.

The computer chimed and Samantha froze as she looked at the screen.

Part 4: Tiny Details

He coughed violently. His eyes fighting to open. He could feel the cold steel of the needle in the back of his neck. Three lights glared at him. A deep breath pursed his lips. His hands were bound. His skin warm. His whole back ached. A silhouette of a man stood over him. His eyes closed.

Samantha lay across from him. Her hair laid across her face, covering her closed eyes. Was this his life now? The silk sheets were nice, and she smelled wonderful. She was still naked, and he wondered if this is what “making it” was. Yet, he still felt like something was off. He blinked.

The lights glared again. He jerked as if he fell in a dream. The silhouette faced away from him speaking a low slow voice. The figure of a woman in a lab coat came toward him and placed a hand on his forearm. His eyes jerked down.

Samantha was awake, her hand on his shoulder. He smiled a confused grin at her. He slid backward off the bed and backed away slowly. She rose, keeping the sheets up to her neck. He could tell she was trying to calm him down, but she had no voice. Her lips moved, and he backed farther away until his back pressed against the window overlooking the city. It gave, the way a touch screen gives when you push too hard. The colors of the city began to flatten out into a bluish-white.

He looked back at it. The room was gone, the windows, the city. All gone.

The Landon machine opened its eyes. The emerald glow faint; they turned to Abigail. The machine stood and moved as silently as possible toward her. It reached out with its still flesh hand and pulled back the fur of the deer skin. Her chest rose slowly with her breath.

The Landon machine’s mechanical hand extended toward her, the fingers rolling backward exposing a knife. It pulled back its arm and hesitated.

He jerked hard to the left, bringing the entire bed to the ground. The female in the lab coat rushed toward him. He pulled hard again at the straps. The woman yelled out to someone for help. Two large men appeared from no where and began lifting the bed back to its feet.

He shook hard again the opposite direction, dropping the bed onto one of the men. He pulled a knife from the man’s belt, flipped it open and cut the strap as quickly as he could. The other man grabbed the railing of the bed and began to pull it back. Landon flung the knife around, planting the blade into the man’s neck. As the man fell away, Landon pulled the intravenous tube from his arm.

The woman grabbed at Landon’s free arm, trying to restrain him. He pushed her away by her neck and immediately went to work on the restraint on his left arm. It came free quickly, as did his feet. He pushed himself up from the ground, his bare feet on cold tile. He ripped an oxygen tube from his nose and looked around the room.

The woman cowered in the corner, and the two men laid still on the ground. He moved toward the door a number pad next to the door.

The Landon machine twitched slightly; its arm pulled back farther: preparing.

“Open the door! Now!” Landon screamed at the woman. She obeyed, crawling across the floor and then barely reaching up to type in the number to unlock the door.

The doors slid open and Landon stepped through.

Abigail’s eyes opened. She quickly rolled away as the Landon machine’s arm rocketed forward, slamming the knife into the stone ground. She grabbed her spear and maneuvered to her feet, the spear aimed at the machine.

Landon ran quickly down the dark hallway. Stopping only a moment to check a corner. A guard sat at desk facing away from him. Landon moved up silently, placed his hands on either side of the guard’s head and snapped his neck. He grabbed the guard’s firearm and continued toward the main lobby of the floor.

Abigail circled around the machine toward the water. It lunged forward faster than she expected. Its knife clipped her arm. The spear bounced from her hand and rolled across the floor.

A guard appeared from nowhere, smacking Landon in the face with the butt of his gun. Landon fell, aimed blindly and fired at his ambusher. The guard fell after three shots. He sat up as the lights in the lobby began to dim.

He rose and quickly ran toward the elevator, slamming his hands into the down button.

The machine struck again. Abigail barely managed to dodge the attack. She slid to a stop on the stone. She was cornered.

“I have come for you, Abigail,” the Landon machine said.

“I have come for you, Landon,” Xander said.

Xander rounded a corner into the Lobby. He began walking slowly toward Landon.

“Somehow, you have defied all odds, Landon. You left your time, and managed to survive here. But now, I will make you mine,” the Suit said from no where.

The Landon machine pulled back its arm to strike again.

Landon looked around, but didn’t see him. Xander slammed his fists together. Landon turned and fired at the nearby window. Xander began running at Landon, who turned away toward the window. He fired again as Xander gained on him. The glass shattered as Landon leapt through it into the air. Time seemed to linger as the shards fell below him and his brain realized how far he would fall.

The Landon machine’s arm jutted forward, just before the knife hit Abigail it vanished. The machine was gone. She was alone again.

Part 4: Newton’s First Law

It had been so long since she’d seen any new technology, or since she had seen other humans that when it happened she reacted in the way an animal would. She dropped behind a large rock, her spear pointed behind her, but ready to fly at an instances notice.

The sky seemed to darken as she hunched over the fallen deer. She noticed then that the air was still, and not a single animal made a sound. Suddenly a burst of light ripped from the sky to the ground, singeing the grass in a single around the light. Her eyes stayed focus on what was in the light. It faded and the sky returned to normal.

This is when she found herself behind the rock, staring at the orange shape in the center of the burning circle. The orange faded away leaving a brown metal shape. It didn’t move, and neither did she. Her breathing almost stopped in an attempt to keep quiet. It felt like forever until the object moved, and that was the first time she blinked since the light faded.

The brown metal hinged open like the bloom of a flower. A human, curled into the cannon ball position, crouched in the center. The figure was familiar, but different. It stood revealing naked torso. It’s left arm leading up the left side of its head was completely covered in metal. But she’d seen it before. The body wasn’t covered in metal, it was metal.

The body stretched as it stood. The left arm, left side of the neck and head, and the whole lower half of the body were metal. This creature had once been human, but she was hesitant. It looked like Landon. She wanted it to be Landon.

It called out, “Abigail.” It was almost his voice, but the machine sound was more prevalent than Landon’s original vocal chords.

“Abigail,” it called out again, his voice distressed.

A sudden wave of emotion came over her. Her body shook as she realized he had finally come back for her.

“Here,” she shouted as she stood from behind the rock.

The Suit took his time walking down the hallway. The flesh on his face dangled with each step. His grip on Landon’s throat was loose enough for him to breathe but tight enough so he couldn’t get away. The Suit whistled as if this was an everyday occurrence.

His toes dragged across the tile, his feet still cold. The yellow of his prison outfit had been darkened in his arm pits and smeared with mud and blood. He was tired, beat down and in his core wasn’t really sure why he kept fighting so hard for someone he barely knew.

But there was a connection. And now she was somewhere. Hopefully, still alive. With what little strength he had left he lifted his arm and wrapped his fingers around The Suit’s hand.

“Fight all you like, Landon. It’ll be over soon.” The Suit finished and went back to whistling.

A set of double doors slid open as The Suit approached.

A medical chair sat in front of the two of them. The Suit lifted Landon and placed him into the chair. Straps automatically locked Landon in place.

The Suit stepped back ripping the remainder of his face off. A scientist appeared with a new face on a silver tray. He stared only at the floor as The Suit lifted the synthetic flesh and placed it over his metallic skull.

“We are born animals, and some of us will die animals,” The Suit said as he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled his pistol and fired once into the scientist. The tray crashed to the ground and spun on its edges.

Landon thought of being at a restaurant and hearing a waiter drop a tray full of dishes, and suddenly the image appeared above him.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” The Suit made minor adjustments to his new face. “You think of a memory and this wonderful device shows it to the rest of us. It also works the other way. If I want to implant a memory I can. Like…”

The Suit approached a computer terminal and typed a second, “this one.”

A projection of a young Landon riding a blue bicycle appeared above them, and then suddenly he was struck by a school bus.

Landon screamed out in pain as the projection burned into his memory.

“That one is my favorite. Oh, this is a good one too.” The Suit said clicking another button.

A projection of Landon perched upon a building appeared above them. In his hands was a large sniper rifle with a small computer attached to it. He pressed a button on the screen and it lit up with the familiar HUD of Xander’s time device. He dialed in a time. The date and time looked familiar. He aimed and fired. In a moment the bullet vanished from the air in front of the barrel is a puff of particles.

Half a second later on the screen a heat sensor image of Abigail’s office appeared. A hot spot formed and immediately traveled straight through Abigail’s head.

Landon shook, his body full of regret.

“Funny, you didn’t seem this upset the first time you killed her.” Then The Suit burst into laughter. He typed another second onto the terminal.

Suddenly a needle pierced the back of Landon’s neck. He tried to shake.

“Careful now, that’s in your spine. We wouldn’t want to damage yourself, now would we?”

Landon’s eyes shifted to The Suit.

Part 4: Make Due

She’d been alone for two years. Her blouse was still purple, but barely. Her skirt had been stained brown and green with the Earth. Her bare feet squished into the ankle deep brown water. Her grip tightened on her spear, a stick fashioned with a piece of Xander’s leg for the blade. At the end of the stick a fashioned rope looped around Abigail’s body.

She aimed, her aim had become exemplary. The deer didn’t see her or hear her. Even if it had, it wouldn’t have developed its fear of man quite yet.

She let out a slow breath. At the end of her breath she threw the spear. It pierced the deer’s neck. It turned to run, but Abigail planted her feet in the mud. It ran anyway, dragging her forward. After a moment the spear slid from the deer’s neck. It sprinted away.

“Damn.”

She sloshed forward until her feet touched the grass. She picked up her spear and began running in the direction of the deer. Her breath was steady. Her feet thumped loudly on the grass. The deer ahead of her began to stumble and meander in a circle.

Abigail stopped, giving the deer a wide berth. It continued walking until it’s face slammed into the grass. She approached slowly, looking at the fear in the deer’s eyes.

“That a girl,” Abigail said, placing her hand on the deer’s ribs. She pulled a knife from her belt, another concoction from Xander’s leg.

She inserted the knife into the deer’s heart. The deer’s eyes widened and then hollowed. The deer was gone.

Abigail let out a sigh. And then it happened.

The bullet ate away at a piece of tile on the column that Landon barely made it behind.

The Suit adjust his aim, “Come now, Landon, we mustn’t behave like animals. We aren’t animals.” He fired again, sending another chunk of the column to the ground.

He continued walking toward Landon and his shrinking cover. Landon slid down the column, his hand wrapping around a shard of the ornate white tile. Another shot echoed off the walls and more tiles littered the ground.

“Landon… Time is up.” The Suit quickly wrapped around the column, the barrel aiming at Landon’s head.

“Animals run and hide. Men stand and fight. Stand; fight me,” The Suit said with a grin on his face.

Landon stood slowly, the barrel remaining uncomfortably close to his head. He looked over, making eye contact with The Suit.

He took a deep breath before responding, “Fine.”

Landon lifted his arm, bringing the tile toward The Suit’s face, while simultaneously ducking away from the barrel. A shot rang out, sending a ringing into Landon’s ear. More of the column exploded, sending debris into the side of Landon’s face.

The pain was great, but it didn’t stop his momentum. The shard of tile pierced The Suit’s skin at the jawbone, tore away the flesh and then shattered as it hit the bone.

The Suit’s free hand leapt forward at immense and unpredictable speed, latching itself to Landon’s neck. It lifted him to a full standing position, his hand’s wrapped around The Suit’s arms.

“Good show,” The Suit said with an awkward grin on his face. It was at this time that Landon noticed there wasn’t any blood. His vision was hazy and blurred in one, his left ear had a constant ringing, and his skin burned with the debris from the column, but his mind was still sane enough to realize that there wasn’t any blood coming from The Suit’s face.

He reached out and grabbed the flesh, synthetic. He pulled, tearing it away and revealing a machine underneath.

“We’re not animals, Landon. Or at least, I’m not, anymore,” the grin never went away.

Part 4: Abandon

/ISO-Squared Server Access Request
/ISO-Squared Login Required
/Username: Alexander.Steele
/Password: ************

/Account Verification
/Pending….
/.…
/.…
/Account Approved
/Exiting Date: August 07, -1113 143341
/Entering Date: August 07, 2147 143033

/Begin Process Verification
/Enter Grounding Information
/39.0997° N, 94.5786° W
/1.00 ± 0.02 au x 0807(2147)/143033
/…
/Grounding Accepted

/Incoming Weight Measurement: 1898.284 kg
/Power Allocation: Yes
/Power Stabilization Accepted
/Verification Accepted
/Begin Transfer

Landon’s feet slammed against the tile floor of the 190th floor of the ISO-Squared Corporate building. Xander’s hands immediately pulled him down to the ground. The Landon lifted his feet and pressed his bare feet against Xander’s face, pushing his face away.

The turret on Xander’s back lifted and aimed at Landon, and began firing blindly. Landon shifted his weight to the left, the bullets shredding Xander’s left arm. The grip loosened, oxygen flooding back to Landon’s body. He rolled out of Xander’s grip and began running away. The turret continued firing  at Landon, the bullets riddling the imported italian marble tiles.

Landon dropped to his knees, sliding on his prison pants behind a large marble column. He could hear the bullets destroying the column.

“Stand down,” an older but familiar voice spoke softly into the large foyer.

The turret immediately stopped. Landon peered around the corner. The Suit knelt beside the damaged Xander and pulled cables out of the back of Xander’s neck. The green in his pupils faded out and the entire machine fell limp.

“Landon Daniels,” the older Suit said casually as he stood, wiping oil from his hand.

Landon stood and limped out from behind the column, his body drained of all adrenaline.

“Where is Abigail?” The Suit said, folding the handkerchief and placing it in his pants pocket.

“I think the better question is ‘When?'” Landon said, barely holding himself up, “What do you want with her?”

“She’s a priceless commodity, that girl. Amazing resolve. The cog in the machine, and the harbinger of my destruction,” The Suit said smiling. “You can understand my desire to kill her.”

The Suit took two large steps toward Landon and placed his hand on his shoulder. Lowering his head down to Landon’s height he lifted Landon’s chin, “This is why I did kill her. But you, you decided to change that didn’t you?”

Landon’s eyes looked over the Suit. His suit was a deep charcoal, with a purple handkerchief in the breast pocket. It clicked in Landon’s brain.

“You… But I…”

The Suit removed his hands from Landon, “Yes, you did kill me. At least a version of me. Much like you’ve killed countless versions of my Heavy machine throughout the years. But,” The Suit turned away from Landon and stuck his hand inside the suit coat, “this is the first time you’ve actually made it back to my penthouse. Your desire out matches that of all your previous models.”

He turned back to Landon, a silver handgun in his hand. Landon’s weight shifted to his back foot.

“I’m sorry, Landon. I do like you, but this… this is just how it has to be.”

He pulled the trigger.

The air felt warm on Abigail’s fingertips. She paused a moment and then pressed her fingers against lips. They cooled. She looked back up the hill. Tears filled her eyes.

“Please come back.”