Subject Nine

SUBJECT NINE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUBJECT 009

STATUS: CRYOSTATIC

HR: 12 BPM

BP: 50/10

O2: 11%

CRITICAL WARNING: ERROR 40. INSUFFICIENT OXYGEN INTAKE.

CRITICAL WARNING: ERROR 20. INSUFFICIENT NUTRIENT DISTRIBUTION.

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES AUTHORIZED

INITIATE EMERGENCY RELEASE

Y/N

ADMIN> Y

EMERGENCY RELEASE INITIATED

Chapter 1: The Release

…

…Falling from perfect, agonizing bliss. I could feel my mind hallucinate on drugs and hypoxia before my body hit freezing cold air, emerging from my tomb of what would have been a watery grave.

I lost myself. I don’t know how long I was gone.

Bitter concrete scratched my skin. Something forced air into my lungs; something stabbed its way into my heart. I could feel my body struggle and fight for life before I could feel myself re-entering atmosphere.

“…Steady on. Few more.”

Slowly, my sense of touch began to come back to me. Numbing aches faded into pins and needles, and then pressure as hands shoved into my chest. I let out a cough involuntarily as I gasped for air.

“…There we are.” Silhouettes above me. One of them smacked the other. “Keep going. Not out of the woods yet.”

“Yeah.” The other one kept a mask on my face, and suddenly I could breathe again.

It took so much effort. It was so fucking hard. I almost wanted it all to just end. But I was terrified of what I would see if I went under again. Those horrid shapes of my mind trying to make sense of the infinite black. Trying to grasp for anything made of reality. Coming up for air and finding nothing. And then the cycle repeated, over and over again.

I couldn’t go back. I could never go back.

“We got movement.” The guy on my left shone a light in my eyes—fucking agony. His accent sounded British to me, but I couldn’t place the region. “Subject Nine. Can you see me? Are you able to hear me?”

I tried to think of something to say. But words didn’t exactly cooperate when someone was in the kind of state I was in. I almost forgot to breathe—jolted with a gasp as the other guy stopped pumping oxygen.

“Yeah, take it easy. It’s alright.” They exchanged glances as I tried to relax. He put a hand on my shoulder as he refocused on me. He seemed younger than the other guy, pale like me, with short feathery brown hair and an eager smile. “My name is Harbor. My mate here is Reyes. You got a name, son? Can you speak?”

Every time I took a breath to say something, it was like my words died where they stood. The only noise I could make was a quiet groan, followed by silence.

“Think he needs time.” The man named Reyes moved my body to sit up straighter. This one was taller, darker than myself and Harbor. He kept wild curly hair restrained with a low ponytail… his face showed his age. A beard with some gray peppered through it. Sounded uniquely American, but not quite right. “…We need to move.”

“Right. You’re going on a trip with us, Nine. You okay to walk?”

Guess we were gonna have to find out. I was pulled up by my arms and chest by both men, and I felt myself stumble as weakness stripped me of any ability to stand on my own. My body was absolutely fucking freezing. I think they could feel me shiver.

“Steady, now. Take it easy. Not far.” Harbor guided me up a few stairs, with Reyes supporting me from the back to make sure I didn’t fall.

“…Not much time, Tony.”

“I know. But we can’t exactly rush him, can we?”

Once we made it upstairs, gentle light and warmth started to permeate an icy cold chamber of some kind. As I dragged myself forward, I watched the walls around me, trying to get my bearings.

I found people, floating silently in giant tubes of fluid. Those faces… that pale skin.

I fought nausea as I realized all of them were corpses.

“…Could’ve been you, Nine.” Reyes followed my gaze as we ventured onward.

“Hm? Oh, yes. You’re quite the lucky bastard, that’s for sure!” Harbor let out a laugh. “I think if we had found you two hours later, we would have made it back empty-handed! Now, easy on the next steps…”

We climbed up one more staircase, a little longer this time, but finally I could feel strips of sunlight on bare skin. The fresh air was almost intoxicating after breathing nothing but dust and artificial oxygen for so long. The quiet whispers of trees, as their branches swayed and spoke with the wind.

“Feeling okay?” Reyes studied me closer.

I found myself falling in love with the scene before me. Harbor smiled gently. “…Been a long time since you’ve seen the sun, yeah? Well, you can keep staring at it through the window. We’re just parked here.”

There was some sort of souped-up mud cruiser nearby… more advanced than I remember cars being, before I awoke. I crawled into the back seat with the boys’ help, and Harbor helped to strap me in, as I found my shaking hands to be too weak to pull the belt over myself.

I paused as I stared at my hands for a second.

…There were lines. Lines of perfect precision, carved directly into my skin. I felt them over with my fingers… they felt like indentations.

My face must have given me away. Harbor studied my hands, then gave me a rub on the shoulder. “…We can explain more when we get back to headquarters. But… you’ve been through some pretty dramatic changes.”

I tried to keep myself steady as it started to slowly sink in.

“…You’ve been in cryostasis for a very long time.”

He gave me a look of pity and a tap on the arm before closing the door. Once he made it into the passenger’s seat, he gave Reyes a nod, and the car started moving.

I leaned back in my seat, finally relaxing as I felt some semblance of safety. Not like I had much of a choice—I didn’t know these guys, but they were the only people who seemed interested in saving my life. I could feel my body begin to give out and go limp as hunger gripped me, and exhaustion seeped deep into my bones.

I couldn’t even muster the urge to cry. Or scream… anything. I just stared through the window, letting my vision swim as colorful leaves and trees swaddled me into a deep darkness.

Chapter 2: The Lab Rat

“…Tony.”

The world blurred; my thoughts slurred. I struggled to open my eyes as I fought for information about my surroundings.

“…Anthony.”

“What?” I could hear Harbor’s voice in annoyance nearby.

“Pay attention.”

“What—oh!” Harbor suddenly jumped as he dashed over to me… I think I was laying in a bed. “Oh! Subject Nine! Looks like we were able to salvage you after all!”

I tried to say something, but it felt like something was caught in my throat. I felt for whatever was on my face before Harbor pulled my hands away.

“Easy, mate, you’re fine. Just relax. Marcus, can you help me?”

“Think he still needs the tube?” Reyes rested his grip around my wrists—I could feel my heart race as I worried about what could come next.

It felt so familiar… so distant in memory. And yet the pain was so fresh.

Hey, let’s fix that dose. Patient’s awake.

“Nope, he shouldn’t now. I need you to relax, Nine. This’ll just take a second.”

I choked as Harbor pulled something out of my mouth, then as I was freed, let out a stronger cough. I found myself with greater strength, much easier to recognize wherever the hell I was. It just looked like someone’s room, except there were cabinets full of medical supplies and haphazardly placed equipment. Like a makeshift hospital room.

“There we go. You’re sounding much better.” Harbor offered a wild grin as he shook my shoulder. He placed the tubed mask elsewhere on a table, then found a cup of water. “Here. Sit up for me, won’t you? Ventilators can be sort of rough on the vocal cords.”

After some rest, and whatever drugs they were pumping into me over the course of my sleep, I found that it was much easier to move. Somehow my stomach wasn’t eating itself anymore. I still shivered, but I could sit up without help from the others, and held the cup somewhat steady. I slammed the water as if it were a shot. Guess I needed it.

“How are you feeling, Nine?” Harbor looked eager and hopeful as he took the cup away. “Any better?”

I cleared my throat and finally gathered enough strength to speak. My voice sounded rough and hoarse, but it was still there. “…Much better.”

“Aha! He speaks!” Harbor laughed as he threw his hands out. I could tell he must have been working on me for a while—the relief was palpable.

He settled into a nearby chair, struggling to contain his excitement. “Now I know you’ve got questions, but first I wanna know your name. Can’t just call you Subject Nine forever, can we?”

“Right…” I glanced at Reyes as he leaned back in his chair on the other side of me. “My name is, uh…”

At first I was confident that I could present them with my name. But as I trailed off, searching my mind for what was normally such a basic answer…

…I felt my heart skip a beat as I realized I didn’t know it.

“Um…” I stared at the sheets as I tried to break through to my memories, feeling like I was trying to punch through a wall of concrete. I could feel my head starting to hurt as some sort of clicking sound came from my person.

“…You don’t remember.” Harbor lost his smile, looking more solemn. And we were making such good progress, too.

“I…” Nothing was coming to me, and I reached out for answers. It was as if it had been completely erased.

That scared me. I was afraid of digging further.

…What else was I missing?

Harbor studied me closely. He almost seemed too nervous to ask his next question. “…What year is it?”

“I… heh…” I glanced away anxiously. “…I doubt I’m gonna get it right.”

“No, go on. What’s the last year you remember it being? Before you woke up?”

I braced myself for his reaction. “…2028.”

Harbor did his best to control his expression. But I could see a little bit of a wince. And the very air seemed to change… he and Reyes stole glances at each other as I could feel my body tense up.

“What—what year is it, actually?” I urged them for answers.

Harbor took in a breath, thinking to himself.

“Harbor.” I leaned forward, desperately.

“It’s… I’m sorry.” He flinched at my reaction. “…It’s 2225.”

My body froze as I tried to process what the hell he just said. It was… just a few years shy of two centuries…

I couldn’t even speak. I tried and nothing would come out. All I could do was slump forward with my head in my hands. It was the only thing I could do to shield myself from the world. I was somewhere foreign, where my records wouldn’t even make any goddamn sense.

Nobody would even fucking remember me.

“…You were around during the Euro-American War.” Reyes piped up, keeping his steely gaze trained onto me. As if he were expecting me to lose my mind and start going feral.

Instead, all I had left in me was a quiet answer. “…Yeah.”

“…That gives us context.” He let out a sigh as he wrote something down in a pocket notebook.

“…I’m truly sorry, Nine…” Harbor clutched his hands together as he looked back up at me. “…You were in stasis for quite a long time.”

I didn’t say anything. Not like there was any point.

“…Let me tell you some things, now.” Harbor eventually found his own notes, studying them for a moment as he recalled information. “…Your designation was Subject 009, codenamed simply ‘Nine,’ under a laboratory ran by Project Midnight. An ancient organization, really. Uh, by our standards, at least.”

“…So I was a lab rat?” I rolled my eyes at him.

“Ah… you were unfortunately something far worse.” Harbor let out a sigh. “…You were a prisoner of war. A British-American dual citizen, thought to be a traitor to your homeland, it seems…”

A traitor? God, I sure hoped not. I figured it was the people in charge at the time who were the true traitors. But I chose not to say that. Didn’t know what kind of company I was with yet.

“…They redacted your name, I think, but they did elaborate on your near-fatality.” Harbor furrowed his brow at his notes and stolen information. “…You had been seriously injured in an explosion. And…”

I breathed in, trying not to lose my cool. I feared what he was going to say next.

“…And they… opted to… fix you.”

Harbor glanced up now, studying my face. My expression was unreadable.

Reyes was drawing something in his book. “…Explains the prosthetics.”

That’s what these lines meant, then. I stared at my arms, hands in my lap, as I followed the patterns of lines. All leading up to my shoulders… wasn’t sure if it included my shoulders or not.

As far as I was concerned, they felt real. I could even sense touch and temperature with them. But, yes… they were still prosthetics.

My arms were gone. And… I think my legs, too. A paraplegic, relying on now-obsolete prosthetics to keep me moving.

“…Are you okay, Nine?”

Harbor attempted to bring me back to reality. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I nodded. “…Is… is that all?”

“Well, one more thing. You should know about this.” Harbor set his notes aside and patted behind his neck. “…You have computer hardware embedded in your head. And it can be accessed using that port on your neck.”

“Port…?” I made a face as I felt around the back of my neck, indeed finding a divot where someone might pull the cover off and access a computer.

Would that mean they would… access me?

“Found it?” Reyes seemed more interested in the conversation now. He scooted his chair closer to look at me more carefully. “If you want, we can work on that. I want to do a system check on you, make sure everything’s on the straight and narrow.”

“Ahah… not really my expertise.” Harbor itched his arm. “…I do more of the human side of troubleshooting. Speaking of that—before you boys start digging into that computer, I at least want Nine to eat something proper. Not just live off a feeding tube.”

“Yeah.” Reyes packed up his things, and offered a hand for me to take. “You need help getting up?”

“I… I might.” This made me nervous… wasn’t sure exactly what I was getting into. But now I knew for sure these guys weren’t hellbent on torturing me for as many answers as they could wring from me. Harbor seemed genuine—I don’t think anybody could fake passion like that. And Reyes seemed pretty serious about helping me with this new metal in my head.

I took his hand, and Harbor followed as I slid myself out of bed. I felt much steadier than before, but the blood rush to my head made me stagger.

“You alright?” Harbor chuckled as he held his hands out, waiting to catch me.

“Yeah.”

I let out a sigh, letting myself relax. Just stay focused… get some food in me. Get some answers… relearn how to be human.

One step at a time.

Chapter 3: The Machine

“…So what do you remember so far, Nine?”

I didn’t answer yet. Too busy absolutely demolishing my food.

“…Nine?” Harbor smirked slightly.

I held up a hand, pointing at myself, because I was still chewing. Maybe took a little longer than he would have preferred. Finally, I finished my bite, partially stalling for time.

“Um…” I glanced back at the kitchen as I cleared my throat. “…Not much. Well, bits and pieces.”

“Like what?”

“I remember being in the military.” I picked at my food again—some sort of hearty beef stew. I hadn’t tasted comfort food like that in apparently centuries.

“You remember which branch?” Harbor itched his face curiously… I think he was dancing around the deeper questions he really wanted to ask. Starting small, I suppose.

I swallowed my next bite. “Army. I served under the UK against the United States.”

“Records say you’re American.”

“I was a dual citizen, until I wasn’t.” I rolled my eyes. “They started deporting dual citizens back to their home countries. I was swept up in that whole mess, too. Tried landing in Pennsylvania, and they told me to book a ticket back to London.”

“God.” Harbor scoffed out air.

“That was before they detained me…” I smiled in amusement, before pausing to eat some more. “…before they realized I was special forces.”

“And then what?”

“That was when they really wanted me out.”

“Were you born in Pennsylvania?”

I nodded as I chewed on a particularly tough piece of beef. Starting to get stuck in my teeth. “Mhm. Born and raised.”

“Done a lot of travel?”

“Uh, sure. About as much as any other army bastard.”

“Hah… of course.” Harbor seemed amused, but something about the way he fidgeted anxiously… more listening than talking. Something didn’t feel right.

I decided to pry. “So what even is this place, anyway? Did I get dragged from Project Midnight to Project High Noon, or something?”

“No! God, no.” Harbor spat out a laugh, acting as if that was completely outlandish. “One thing’s for sure, mate—you’ve retained a little humor, somewhere in there.”

“Well, then where the hell am I?” I smiled a little, only half-joking.

“Ah… well…” He made an awkward face, as he realized maybe I wasn’t as far off as I thought. “…You’re being hidden, actually. You’re technically considered salvage by the government… we wanted to get you out before they could get their hands on you. Crack you open like a high school dissection project.”

“…Fuck.” I breathed out in astonishment. Had it really gotten that bad?

Apparently so. Reyes found his food, finally, as he joined us at the table. He kept everything very specifically separate from each other. “You’re a weapon, Nine.”

“I’m… excuse me?”

“Yes, ah…” Harbor let out a sigh. He seemed to be trying to skirt around the subject… or maybe just trying to let me down easy. “…By government standards, you are considered legacy weaponry. And they’re starting to crack down on salvage projects, demanding that their property be returned to them. And since you’re now attached to that property…”

I stopped eating as I began to realize what this meant.

“They would, uh… acquire you. In your entirety.” Harbor laced his fingers together in an attempt to stop fidgeting. “…And nobody knows where projects like you end up going.”

I was stunned into silence. I looked to Reyes for clarity, and all he offered was a somber nod.

“We’d like to at least run a few short tests, just to see what that hardware is capable of.” Harbor treaded carefully, knowing this might be a touchy subject for me. He was right. “We’re not going to do anything like what Project Midnight did—”

“Hey.” I sat up straight, speaking more sternly. “You’re not cutting me the fuck open.”

“We’re not! We won’t!” Harbor flinched as he was misunderstood. “I just meant—I mean, I think Reyes was thinking—”

“I want to run a diagnostics test on your computer.” Reyes kept his cool, poking at small slices of potatoes. He didn’t even look up at me.

“So, what?” I threw my hands out, still feeling defensive. “You’re gonna poke around in my head? Just because?”

“I want to run a diagnostics test,” Reyes now bore his gaze straight into me, “to make sure your hardware won’t kill you.”

I paused for a moment.

“And if it’s damaged,” he went on with a bite to his tone, “then we fix it. Or we replace the hardware. That way it won’t kill you, do you understand me.”

Harbor and I were both shocked into silence. I glanced for help and he could say nothing. So I only nodded.

“Finish your food. Then we’ll get started.” Reyes studied his own food again, his commanding air suddenly fading away. Yet I still felt the effects, finding it difficult to say anything new, or even an affirmative.

So I just followed his directions, finding a few more pieces of the stew to eat and then finishing its broth.

“…Need you, too.” Reyes tapped Harbor’s arm as we began cleaning up.

“Uh—why me?” Harbor furrowed his brow.

“I don’t know how that computer is meshing with his brain. Need you to monitor the human parts while I work the machine parts.”

“Oh. Fair enough. Off we go, then.”

We put away our dishes, and I followed Reyes as he guided us through a new hallway in some sort of large house. Or a bunker… I still wasn’t fully clear on what this place even was, yet. It had the vibe of someone’s house, but it had been expanded and turned into a headquarters for whatever group these guys were.

God, I hoped they weren’t lying to me.

Reyes opened the door to a server room, and started clearing off a few things from a table. “Sit here.”

I found my seat, and watched his hands as Reyes poked around the back of my neck. The cover was removed, the port exposed. He gave pause at the type of connection it required.

“…Fuck.” He sighed as he dug through some cables.

“What?”

“Need the adapter for that kind of port.”

I stifled a laugh—guess some things will always stay the same.

“Here, Nine.” As Reyes worked on finding the cable, Harbor asked for my arm. He poked at the shoulder to undo the sleeve… turns out I had a little nub underneath there. “…I want to monitor your pulse.”

“Sure.” I lifted it out, and he slipped a band around my arm. With his other hand, he held a small screen, waiting for the vitals to appear on it.

“Right, got it. I’ll be right back with the rest of my things.”

Reyes approached again as Harbor excused himself. “Hold still.”

He carefully plugged in the cable, and once it made its connection, I startled at how it felt. Immediately, I knew things about the computer he connected me to—I didn’t understand half the shit that came to my mind. Something about a command prompt… random files.

“Stop.” Reyes made a face at his computer.

“What, me?”

“Yes, you. Stop poking around.”

“Sorry.” I tried my best to clear my head. “…I didn’t mean to.”

“…You’re not doing that?” He kept a hand on my shoulder and glanced between me and the computer.

“Well, I am, but I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I don’t wanna mess up your files.”

He started to understand faster than I did. “…Okay. It’s fine. Just try to relax.”

“Alright…” I let out the air I was holding in, letting my arm rest at its side. I studied the detached arm next to me on the table… a small light flashed on the band attached to my left nub.

“…Can you see what I’m doing?” Reyes started clicking around certain files, exploring whatever was in my head.

“Yeah.”

“Interesting.” He absentmindedly spoke as he started checking the integrity of the hard drive.

I flinched as he tried opening a test image. Piercing pain as it refused to open.

“…Corrupted data. You okay?” He kept an eye on me as I held my head.

“…Yeah. Ow.”

“That hurts?”

“Just a headache.”

“Everything holding up alright so far?” Harbor returned with a bag of random things. All medical devices.

“Just doing a little prying.” Reyes nodded to him. “Was waiting for you before I started running tests.”

“Well, I’m here. Don’t let me keep you.”

“First thing I’m gonna do is check how much data is corrupted. See if we can save anything.” Reyes rubbed his chin as he found his diagnostics tool. “Usually just missing data, found during defragmentation of your hard drive.”

“Uh…” I blinked at him as I tried to decipher that nerd shit. “…What is that?”

He took a second to rephrase. “…Like a puzzle with some pieces missing. You can’t see the full picture without them.”

“…Do whatever you gotta do, I guess.” I wasn’t sure how exactly that was going to help, but he seemed to know.

“I also want to know what kind of hardware you have.” Reyes began the diagnostics as he refocused on me. “It seems like a completely functional computer. Which means it should have all the parts already in there. But I don’t know how good they are.”

“Right.”

“So if something’s broken, this test is gonna tell us that.” He watched the screen as the bar slowly crawled along the window.

As it found different chunks missing in my memory, I felt myself wincing as things were pushed and pulled, some declared unsalvageable, some reacting upon prying. It was like all my thoughts were being scrambled in real-time. I really wished it would stop.

“Hey. Relax, Nine.” Reyes spoke softer as he tried to ground me. “Just take a breath. Try not to do anything.”

Clicking came from my head as a slow, hot pain started to pierce into my brain. “Agh… is it… supposed to hurt?”

“Uh…” Reyes looked less certain, looking to Harbor for help.

Harbor stepped in, taking a quick look at me, and pointing a thermometer at my head. “…You’ve developed a fever.”

“Oh, shit.” Reyes looked antsy as he deciphered what that meant.

“What?”

“…I think he doesn’t have proper cooling. Or it might be broken.”

“…Can you stop it?” I gritted my teeth as the pain got worse. It was like knives, splitting my skull open.

“I’m sorry… I can’t.” Reyes motioned to Harbor. “Try a cold pack.”

“What do you mean you can’t?” I snapped back without meaning to.

“Listen, it’s moving a lot of shit around at once. If I stop it, it might corrupt everything.”

“Fuck…”

It was getting really difficult to sit still. Harbor placed a cold pack onto the side of my head. “Easy, son… relax.”

I sucked in air through my teeth. “Trying.”

Reyes silently read the program’s messages as it began encountering errors. I couldn’t fucking think straight. It was as if every thought I had

every thought I had

every thought

repeated itself.

“Nine, are you with me?”

are you with me?”

“We have to stop.”

stop.”

gonna have to cut it

cut it

cut

incision here. Let’s check BP.

BP looks good so far.

I could feel my pulse in my ears. A machine breathing for me. Gentle beeps, minor warnings.

I looked down as best I could.

My chest was carved open, with little clamps and tools dangling out of my person. A resting place for the guiding hand.

Hey, let’s fix that dose. Patient’s awake.

Relax, Nine. It’ll be over soon.

We gotta do something about that dose, Teegan.

I’m working on it.

My heart rate elevated as more drugs sent me into a meager panic. I couldn’t cry. I couldn’t scream. Too little strength, something stuck in my throat.

He’s still awake, Tee.

I know. It has to be gradual.

It’ll be okay, Nine.

You’re gonna be okay.

Nine…

…

…Nine…

“…Nine!”

I felt hands trying to pull me back into my body. Shaking me by the shoulders as systems began coming back online.

“Nine. Wake up.” That was Harbor’s voice. As my vision slowly returned to me, I saw him hovering over me as I lay sprawled on the table. “Come on, there you go.”

“Uuughhh…” I could only get out a low groan. My head was fucking killing me. It might have literally been killing me.

I could hear metal and cables being moved around in a box nearby. Harbor kept my focus. “You back with me, mate?”

“Y… yes.” I mustered some kind of reply.

“Good. I was worried I’d have to stick you with more epinephrine if you couldn’t wake up.” Harbor let out a sigh of relief as he put one of his tools away. “…I don’t like giving doses like that all willy-nilly. You already had plenty back at the lab.”

“…Got it.” Reyes spoke quietly as he found something in a small box. He walked over to me on the table, gently pulling my head to face him. “…You doing okay?”

“…Hurts.” I shut my eyes as the searing pain began to slowly fade from the cold pack.

“I know. I’m sorry. I think I know how to fix it, though.” He studied my head, pushing a bit of hair away to find something attached to my head. With a little pressure, and a small click, he had found a panel to open the side of my fucking head. You know what? Of course. I was not shocked in the slightest.

“…I need to turn the computer off, Nine.” He set a hand on my arm as he tried to prepare me. “…I think that’s gonna turn you off, too.”

“…What do you mean…” God, the lights were agony.

“You just threw a memory leak error. Your entire system crashed, and it took you down with it.” Reyes found what he wanted, but I couldn’t see it. He waited to finish his thought. “I can fix that if I give you fresh hardware. But you have to be put to sleep for a little while for me to do it.”

“…Okay.” No choice, clearly. It was that or burn a hole through my skull.

“Alright.” He looked to Harbor for confirmation, and Harbor nodded as he watched me carefully. “…Just relax. I’m gonna press the power button now.”

I was so tired of this.

“One… two…”

click

I’m so tired of this.

I felt my consciousness gently slip away from my body. Vision tunneled as I fell limp on the table. Overwhelming fatigue…

…Back in that ethereal place again.

Chapter 4: The Dreamer

…Hey, Nine.

Wh… what?

REYES, M: Nine, you’re on my terminal right now. Can you see this message?

Where am I?

REYES, M: Don’t panic. You’re still asleep on my table in the engineering room. I still had you connected while installing the new hardware.

REYES, M: I want to run one more diagnostics check. That new hardware should run nice and smooth. Can I get started?

…Yeah. I guess you can.

REYES, M: Okay. Running now. Tell me if it hurts.

SYSADMIN > syscheck -d -n

SYSADMIN > Running diagnostics check and defragmentation tool…

…

29%

72%

99%

100%

SYSADMIN > Diagnostics check complete.

Results:

(C:) Drive: 92% OK

ERROR: 8% drive data has been corrupted. Would you like to attempt recovery?

Y/N

SYSADMIN > Y

What the hell is all this stuff?

SYSADMIN > Running data recovery tool…

REYES, M: Just trying to figure out what’s broken so we can fix it.

REYES, M: I think some of your missing memories might be on this hard drive. Who knows, we might even find your name.

REYES, M: Harbor is asking how you’re feeling.

I don’t… really feel anything, to be honest.

It just feels like talking in my sleep.

I think I’m dreaming.

REYES, M: Yeah, we noticed. Turns out you can create text logs in your sleep. Probably recording memories in real-time.

That’s… really weird. And kind of cool.

REYES, M: Yeah, you never need to write anything down again. Unless your files got corrupted, obviously.

REYES, M: But you pay for the convenience.

SYSADMIN > Recovery tool complete.

REYES, M: Ok cool. Let’s check those files. Do you mind?

Yeah, sure.

…

REYES, M: Got some old text logs from 2 centuries ago.

Let me take a look—

Mr. Ward. Please, come in. Take a seat.

I took my seat in front of my lawyer. I knew what she was going to say to me.

Didn’t make it any easier.

…We’ve assembled her affairs for you…

…I’m very sorry for your loss.

It’s… it’s alright. I lost her long before she actually died. I guess I’m glad she’s not suffering anymore.

…I suppose that’s a good attitude to have. But it doesn’t make it any easier…

Hey, listen. I’m being forced to deploy tomorrow. Can we keep this quick?

Yes, of course.

I’m sorry. I just have a flight tonight.

No, I understand.

I—I don’t mean to be rude

REYES, M: Hey, Nine. Come back to us.

REYES, M: Nine.

I’m… I’m here.

REYES, M: You okay? You’ve been moving in your sleep.

REYES, M: Harbor’s having a hard time keeping your temperature down. We need you to stay calm.

I’m sorry.

REYES, M: It’s alright. I can’t imagine how this must feel for you.

I did everything I could.

REYES, M: Are you talking about the text log?

I didn’t mean to hurt you.

REYES, M: Hey… it’s okay.

REYES, M: You don’t need to cry.

You don’t even remember who I am, do you?

REYES, M: I’m sorry, baby, but I don’t think I remember your name.

REYES, M: But I know you’re my son. You’re my boy. I can never forget that.

…You did, eventually.

REYES, M: Hello, baby. I didn’t know you were coming to visit today.

WARD, A: I… I remember your name. It came back to me.

WARD, A: I think it was

WARD, A: It was…

…It’s alright.

It’s okay.

Just…

Just forget it.

SYSADMIN > System boot… press any key to continue.

99%

100%

Lights pierced my vision as I slowly awoke on the table.

Harbor backed away, pulling a cold pack away from my head.

I wiped tears from my face, trying to keep my breathing steady.

I glanced over. Reyes was staring at his terminal, trying to process what he just saw.

I pulled myself up from the table, and disconnected the cord. The terminal disappeared—I was finally free.

Harbor stared at me for a while… trying to suppress tears of his own. “…I’m so sorry.”

I didn’t say anything at first.

He glanced at the floor, disturbed and somber.

I slid off the table, deciding that I needed to be anywhere else but here.

“…Where are you going?” Reyes turned back to call after me.

“…Hungry.”

I found my escape through the door. The others decided to let me wander.

I think we all needed time, after that.

Chapter 5: The Weapon

“So you’re Subject Nine, huh?”

I was startled almost into choking on the food I had in my mouth. I glanced around, halfway finished with a burger I had haphazardly slapped together, and found a woman taller than me, muscular, and definitely has seen better days. She almost looked older than Reyes.

She found her seat without asking. “I take it you boys played nice.”

I struggled to finish my bite before responding. “…I don’t get your meaning, ma’am.”

“Harbor and Reyes.” The woman smiled slightly. “My doctor and engineer that saved your life.”

“I—yeah.” I cleared my throat and cleaned my hands with a napkin. “Yes. We talked.”

“You all did more than that, it seems.”

I stared at her, trying to figure out what that meant.

“Smile.” She glanced up at one corner of the mess hall. I followed her gaze to find a camera pointed at a downward angle.

I must have missed the one in the engineering room. “…You saw them poking around in my head.”

“I also saw your seizure.”

“My… I had a seizure?”

“Yes… unfortunately for you.” The woman leaned back in her chair, unphased by the reveal. “That means you’re more liable than I thought.”

“I’m sorry—do you intend to use me, somehow?” I felt myself getting defensive, without really knowing why.

“Well, sure. We didn’t just come track you down for no reason.”

“Excuse me?”

“That computer makes you dangerous, Nine.” She maintained her cool demeanor. It freaked me out. “And so do those hydraulics. Ultra lightweight, adding no more than your typical body weight. If done correctly, you can snap bones with those arms.”

I felt my heart race as she read me like a book. She knew shit about me that I didn’t. I glanced down at my hands, following their lined edges with my gaze.

“…Maybe ‘use’ is the wrong word.” She let out a sigh as she tried to retrace her steps. “…But we could still use your help, if you were to offer it. We saved you because we didn’t want you stripped for parts like a fucking used car. But the fight is still ongoing.”

“I’m—I’m sorry. Stop. Slow down.” I held out my hands as I tried to digest the situation. “You’re talking like there’s a war.”

“There is.”

“Who are you guys?”

“We call ourselves Shadowdata.” The woman smiled proudly, then gestured to herself. “You’re looking at its leader. Call me Codec.”

“Okay…” I took a second to gather my thoughts. The more she told me, the more questions I had. “Are you hiding shit from the government?”

“Uh, yeah.” Codec grinned. “You.”

“They told me that the government’s been cracking down on salvage projects.” I treaded carefully, but I still wanted answers.

“That’s correct.”

“Which country is it?”

“Oh.” Codec’s smile grew wider. “They didn’t tell you, did they?”

“Tell me what?” I tried not to grip my hands too tightly.

“Where do you think you are, right now?” Codec grew more serious. She sat up straight, and that somehow uneased me further.

I tried to think of where I’d be. Of course, the obvious answer was the US. But that also couldn’t be true… unless they actually won the war. But it had been over 200 years since that war started.

I almost had a heart attack at the thought that the war was still ongoing.

Even more dread seeped into my bones when I thought about them winning.

“…I would like an answer.” She rested her arms on the table.

“I… I don’t know.” I tried not to let my anxiety show too much. I don’t think I did a very good job.

Codec nodded slowly… further testing was required. “At least tell me what planet you’re on.”

“Earth.” Well, at least that one was easy.

Codec breathed in slow. I hesitated for a second.

That look on her face… like she was going to go scold somebody.

I felt my heart stop.

I wasn’t even on fucking planet Earth.

I had a hard time breathing. I urged her for answers. Immediately, so many more questions, and I couldn’t choose any of them. “…Codec.”

“I need you to listen to me very carefully, Nine.” Her face grew darker as she leaned forward.

I challenged her directly. “Where. The fuck. Am I.”

“Shut up, listen to me.”

“I swear to god.” Clicking from my mind…

“Yeah? What will you do, huh?” Codec raised her voice as she met me in overwhelming measure. “Kick my ass and storm out of this building? Realize there’s nowhere to run? Stranded in the middle of the jungle, just waiting to be picked off by some massive predator, or be captured by the Federation? Just to be yanked apart and all your meat thrown into the fucking garbage?”

I felt my hands shake as ancient urges came back to me.

It all came flooding in, drowning me where I sat.

I almost did clock her in the jaw.

…I never meant to hurt you.

Stabbing pains wracked my brain again, familiar and foreboding. I withdrew into myself as my hardware overheated. The logic just didn’t make any goddamn sense… infinite calculations all pointing at fucking nothing.

Codec stood up, and approached me where I sat. She turned me away from the table and towards herself. “Look at me, Nine.”

Babe, please. We can talk about this.

Can you just put that thing down?

I could feel my systems seize. Something still wasn’t working. It was like

my mind

eating itself.

My body fell limp, and I felt her catch me as I was dragged to the floor.

“…I need Anthony Harbor and Marcus Reyes in the mess hall, immediately.”

…Can’t you just…

…talk to me?

Please… just let go of me.

Please.

…At one point, I thought it was a dream.

A long nightmare, blurry and delirious.

I struggled to open my eyes. I felt myself floating freely… sensory deprivation.

My body was completely numb. I wasn’t even sure if I was breathing or not.

Couldn’t move my head. In my state of drugged paralysis, comatose and slow, all I could do was stare at the doctor beyond the glass. A weapon on standby.

CRYOSTASIS: ONLINE

PATIENT SYSTEMS CHECK: OK

ERROR: HULL BREACH DETECTED

ERROR

I felt my consciousness slip away from me as the prickling cold began to etch its way into my organs. I was so desperate for air… I was so desperate to stay alive.

But I haven’t been alive for a very long time.

…

“…Triggered by states of extreme distress.”

“Looks like it.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Nothing, yet. But he knows this isn’t Earth.”

“Oh, god. Codec.”

“You’d rather he didn’t know anything?”

“Tony.” Reyes spoke up. I heard him before I saw him.

“Nine? Are you awake?” Harbor held my head, and every tiny movement felt like it was going to make me puke.

I didn’t answer. This seizure was so much worse than the last.

I could feel blood trail from my nose.

Couldn’t move anything.

“Nine? Can you hear me?”

I closed my eyes again. Hoping that I would just die where I lay, on cold tile, knowing that I would never return home.

“…He’s conscious, but unresponsive. Listen, we need to get this computer under control.” Harbor and Reyes worked together to move my body up from the floor. I felt my limbs go limp. “I’m worried this thing is going to fry him dead.”

“Do what you have to. But somebody needs to tell him everything.”

“I’d rather it be you than me, commander. With all due respect.”

“She can come with us.”

“That’s fine. Call me when he’s ready to talk.”

“Easy does it, mate. Just try to stay calm for me, okay?” Harbor worked together with Reyes to move me to some other room. It was mostly Reyes doing the work.

I could feel my blood rush away from my head. Feeling everything giving out.

The world spun as he lost me.

…

> PM_OS2 INSTALLATION BOOT DRIVE

BOOT FROM THIS DEVICE? Y/N

SYSADMIN > Y

SYSADMIN: You’re gonna be okay, Nine.

SYSADMIN: We’ve got you.

…

…I was somewhere new, this time.

I could feel things moving again. No more clicking hardware as my hard drive tried and failed to find the correct data. Missing bits and bytes, ones where zeroes should be. Overloading everything until the temperature gave me a heat stroke.

I woke up staring at the wall, laying on my side. Harbor was checking on me. “…Hey, mate. You back with us?”

“…Yeah.” My voice had little power to it. But I guess that was expected.

Harbor offered a meager smile as he rubbed my shoulder, giving me a pat. “…This one was rather rough on you. You were seizing for about five minutes until you finally calmed down enough for us to move you. Reyes suspected the issue was your hard drive. It wasn’t loading things correctly, I think.”

“It was overloaded,” Reyes corrected. He stood with his arms crossed. “Too much shit being opened, or messed with, or whatever, all at once. Ended up crashing everything.”

Someone else sat nearby, as well. I think it was Codec, waiting her turn.

“Can you sit up for me?” Harbor offered his hand. I took it and lazily pulled myself up from the bed.

“…Where am I?” I stared him down as I gripped his wrist. I didn’t let go. “…Where am I, really?”

“I… could you…” Harbor pulled against my grip anxiously. He tried his best to be gentle, but to be frank, he had no power in this situation.

“I’m not gonna do anything,” I decided to reassure him. “…Not gonna hurt you. Not unless you be honest with me.”

“Let him go and let me talk.” Codec stood up now, staring me down with piercing eyes.

I challenged her with a stare, but decided to ultimately relent. I could probably hurt everybody in this room if I wanted to. But I needed answers more than I needed blood. So I let Harbor go.

Harbor hovered near Reyes and away from me, anxiously rubbing his wrist, as Codec took over.

“…Are you going to listen?” She raised an eyebrow at me.

I just stared back. I didn’t say anything.

“…Okay.” She let out a sigh as she found her chair, and sat it in front of me. She kept her fingers interlaced. “…You are on a colony planet called Eden. It’s a goldilocks planet a little further away from Earth. But you’re not in the solar system anymore.”

I shut my eyes as my fears were justified. It had indeed been just enough time for space travel en masse. But as for who was in charge…

“…When you were captured,” Codec spoke slower as she watched my reaction, “there was a top secret project called Project Midnight. Their entire job was to convert POWs into weaponized soldiers that would question no orders, and do exactly as they were programmed to do. Their entire purpose went against every committee on the planet, related to human rights. There was no legal way to do it anywhere on the entire planet.”

I was starting to get it now.

“…So they didn’t.” Codec leaned back, looking more sober. “…They built their ships, tracked down Eden, and set up shop here. By the time the Euro-American War was over… the project had been basically finished. But the US lost. And they lost because of Project Midnight.”

“H… how…?” I had a hard time finding my voice.

“Well… they were exposed.” Codec made a face. “Photo evidence leaked of the experiments that were conducted under the project. And the entire human race detested it. It tore the US apart from the inside out. And when they were divided… well, you can imagine how easy it was to finish that fight.

“But when the laboratories were raided… something very important was left behind in their rush to escape capture.” She stared me down. “…All the subjects that were trapped in cryostasis were left to fend for themselves. The systems were forced to divide its limited resources to keep everybody alive.”

I thought I was going to vomit.

“…You are the last living test subject.” Codec spoke softer. “…And you almost didn’t make it.”

I stared at the sheets of my bed, trying not to shake too violently.

Harbor, finding that it was now safer to be around me, offered a little bag from his pack of medical items. “…You need this?”

“No, I…” I drew in a shaky breath, trying to steady myself. “…I’m alright.”

“You look like you’re about to throw up.”

“No. I’m good.” I shook my head. “…Just need a second.”

“…Do you have questions?” Codec glanced between me and Harbor.

“I—I think I just… just need to process this.”

“…I can give you space to do that.” She nodded and stood up from her seat. “Listen. I know it’s a lot to take in. But the sooner you knew what happened, the better. It would’ve been reckless not to.”

“I appreciate it…” I gripped my arms in an effort to keep myself comfortable. “…I’m sorry for snapping.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m just glad you didn’t knock my lights out.” Codec offered me a fist to the arm and a wink.

“Heh… yeah.” That helped a little bit. I glanced to Harbor next. “…You too.”

“It’s alright. Really.” Harbor waved away the apology. “Frankly, I think I would have killed someone if I found out the same news you just did.”

“Yeah, I almost did.”

“Ahah…”

He gave me a small smile, then gathered his things to excuse himself. “Well, you’re looking better, now. But I want you to get some rest. Reyes and I will be nearby. Oh!” He pointed at Reyes. “The radio.”

“Yeah. It’s on the table.” Reyes nodded towards a small device on the table next to me.

“Ah, right. So Reyes and I are on channel two. Everybody in Shadowdata are channel one.” Harbor offered me the radio, and I took a second to orient myself with it. “If you need us, just give us a shout.”

“Okay…” I almost hesitated. Didn’t really want them to leave yet. But I was absolutely exhausted… might have been best if I got some sleep. It was apparently night, now, according to the radio’s clock.

“Alright, rest easy, Nine. Good night.”

I nodded at the others as they left me in this room… a little bleak, and small, but it was a roof over my head and a warm bed. I placed my radio on the table again, and flopped myself backwards with a heavy sigh.

…I wasn’t on planet Earth.

For so many years, to me, that was just a metaphor. Being on drugs or feeling sky-high when I met someone that gave me feelings. But now it was very literally not Earth.

…Maybe I could work with that.

I settled into my bed, finding the covers far warmer than anything else I’ve experienced lately.

Chapter 6: The Soldier

Path was pretty easy to follow. The sun was relentless on my skin, that was for damn sure. Maybe Eden’s atmosphere was different, or something. But I could feel myself cook as I ran.

I had been running for maybe about an hour, now. Changing my pace from a slow jog, to a full sprint. There’s a dirt path out here, and various trails that reconnected to Shadowdata HQ, including the one circling it. I asked Codec if I could get some cardio in. She said she was glad to see me feeling more human again.

So, here I am. And I guess I wasn’t the only one.

“What’s up, soldier boy?”

Someone called out from my right, and I found what looked like a mechanic, crawling out from underneath one of those mud cruisers. I slowed my pace and veered right to meet him where he was.

“You look like you’re about to pass out.” The mechanic grinned as I hunched over to catch my breath. “Water?”

“…Yeah. Please.”

He handed me his bottle, and I waterfalled it. Drank maybe a little more than I meant to. But he didn’t seem to mind. He only chuckled as I handed it back.

“…Your sun’s fuckin’ killing me.” I wiped sweat from my face.

“I can tell.” He gave me a smack on the arm. “Hey. Come take a break. We got some guys prepping food inside.”

“In—in the hangar?” I glanced back up, looking at the building near us. To me, it looked like a hangar to store vehicles. But maybe I was wrong.

“Well, yeah. We’re connected to the rest of HQ. You’re on the north side.”

“Oh, okay.”

I followed him inside, and the blast of cool air was a godsend. Maybe I really did look like I was about to pass out—this mechanic watched me closely as we walked.

“I’m fine.” I swatted his hand away as he hovered too close.

“Okay. I’m just—just making sure, man.” He looked worried. “…Heard about your rocky start with us.”

“Yeah. I’m alright, though.” I wiped my face with my shirt. “Good enough to run.”

“Fair enough. Hang a left here.”

The mechanic opened the door and let me inside. It was a little hotter in here due to the stoves running, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Two other people were picking away at some food laid out on the back table, and one of them was finding her seat at the center of the room.

“Hey! Are you Nine?” She gave a crooked smile.

“Uh, yeah.” I watched the mechanic guy abandon me to grab his food. I hung back for a second to talk and cool off. “You know about me?”

“Everyone heard about the salvaged test subject.” The girl rolled her eyes, as if I had said something stupid. She held out her hand. “Mandy.”

“Mandy… good to meet you.” I met her with a steely cold hand, and she took notice with a laugh.

“Your hands are freezing.”

“I know. Sorry.”

“So that’s Noah,” she pointed at the mechanic I had spoken with already, partially stuffing his face with food as he returned to the table. “Big gal is Roxy.”

“Hi. Sorry I forgot to tell you my name.” Noah spoke with his mouth full as he sat down.

The other girl, Roxy, glanced back at me silently as she found her meal. She seemed to have a hard time making eye contact with me… very softspoken. “…Hi.”

“Yeah, hey. Good to meet you all.” I glanced at the buffet table. “Do you mind?”

Noah shook his head. “No, please. Grab whatever you want. We’re on break. We got time.”

I found my plate and started loading it with random meats and vegetables. I didn’t even recognize some of it… maybe foreign plants, grown here instead of on Earth. I poked at one with my fork, and the leaves gave way to some kind of blue fruit.

“Welcome to the colony, Nine.” Mandy leaned back as I found my seat.

I shoveled food into my mouth immediately, giving her a nod. “…Thanks.”

“How do you like it here so far?” Noah glanced over to me.

I tried to finish my bite before speaking, but it was like a demon had taken the wheel or something. I felt like a ravenous hog. Needed to compose myself. “…It’s hot.”

“Wow! Observant.” Mandy poked a little fun.

“Yeah, well,” I rolled my eyes, “you try waking up from an ice nap and call this place normal.”

“That’s true.”

“Better than a dirt nap.” Noah scoffed.

“Debatable.” I chewed on a chunk of meat.

“Soldier boy’s got jokes.”

“How do you know I’m a soldier?” I blinked as I corrected myself. “Or, was?”

“You’re a PM guy.” Noah shrugged. “We all get briefed on who’s coming in from where. Project Midnight was known for its POW program. So, you put two and two together…”

“You’re really lucky, by the way, Nine.” Mandy seemed impressed by the mere thought. “We thought PM was defunct for forever. And I guess it technically was. But they found one teeny tiny life signature down there…”

“Harbor said that they tried pinging for a heartbeat.” Noah grinned wildly. He had something stuck between his teeth. “They almost didn’t catch you.”

“Well… I guess I’m glad they did.” I stared at my food as I said that. Part of me was not fully sure if I even believed my own words.

“…I…” Roxy tried to speak up, and I glanced up at her. She got spooked and stopped talking.

“Sorry?” I tried speaking softer, clocking that maybe this one was too shy to really talk. But I didn’t want to come across as intimidating. So I did my best.

“I… I like your arms…” Roxy stared elsewhere.

“Uh… yeah, thanks.” I flexed my hand, staring at the lines running along my arm. Still took some getting used to… “Apparently they have hydraulics or something.”

“Wait a minute. What?” Noah almost choked as he set his fork down.

“Oh, god.” Mandy let out a sigh as she glanced up at the ceiling. “Here we go.”

“Do you know the PSI on those things? Have you tried using them?” Noah looked starstruck as he tried his best not to overwhelm me with questions. “I need to see you punch something, dude.”

“Uh… I mean, sure.” I shrugged. “Haven’t tried it out yet. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to.”

“Better have it and not need it!” Noah finished his food eagerly. “Hey, let’s wrap up. I wanna have you try punching some shit.”

“Heh… okay.” I wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea.

“Come on, Noah.” Mandy sighed. “He just got here.”

“No, I don’t mind. I really don’t.” Part of me also wanted to see what kind of power I had… everyone kept calling me a weapon. Wanted to see how true that really was.

We finished up our food, and with me feeling energized and ready… I almost felt excited about this. Some old feelings started to come back to me… anxiety and anticipation all leading up to something relentless and thrilling.

I think I liked training. Not sure really what that said about me—I liked the feeling of running, of how it felt to just expel all this nervous energy. But this was different. This was combat.

I guess being a soldier never really leaves you.

“Just down here—we have a small training area.” Noah and I waved goodbye to the girls, then escaped to the hallway. I recognized Codec’s office in passing, so I guess we were heading south.

“Guess you’re into the combat shit, huh?” I prodded at Noah.

“More like the science behind the combat shit.” Noah grinned proudly. “I like learning how the mechanics behind machines work. Combat suits and stuff like them have all kinds of checks and balances. You gotta know engineering, and you gotta know physics.”

“Fantastic.” I nodded with certainty. “I don’t know either.”

“Well, you got a computer in that skull of yours, don’t you?”

“I don’t even know how to change the settings on my phone.”

“Oh. Heh…” Noah looked less hopeful. “Well—just focus on the punching part. I can do the rest.”

“Roger. Just focus on the punching part. I’m good at that.”

“God, I’m so stoked. Okay, okay—just in here.”

We entered the training room, and I found that it was empty for now. Most folks seemed to be working on different tasks, so it was just us. I found a punching bag hanging from the ceiling, and glanced back to confirm that Noah was ready.

“Okay—wait.” He fumbled with a small tablet from his pocket, and set it up for analysis. “Go ahead.”

“Alright.”

I took my stance, letting out the air I was holding in. I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous about this… performance anxiety, maybe. But as I honed my focus, things started to slowly lock into place.

DETECTING…

I balled my hands into fists, and swung a hard right hook. In hundredths of a second, I could feel calculations—

ADJUST ANGLE… OK

ADJUST POWER… OK

ACCURACY 99.9%

ENGAGE

Just as my fist made contact, something urged me further forward. I felt overwhelming power shoot my hand even faster as I slammed so hard into the punching bag that I dented a hole into it.

The sound was thunderous, and some of the beads came bleeding out as I pulled my hand free from the bag. Noah took a step back with a gasp. “Woah!”

My hands shook as I tried to hide my smile. That felt great. Noah shoved at me as he showed me his tablet, analyzing the movements I had made and displaying some numbers I couldn’t decipher. “Dude, you punch as fast as a bullet flies! I’ve never seen something like that before!”

“Well, ah…” I chuckled as I glanced back at the bag, making a mess of the floor. “I put a hole through the bag, so—”

“No, you don’t understand.” Noah gripped my shoulder as he stared me down. “You could dent steel with power like that.”

“Oh, shit.”

“God. Holy hell.” Noah pushed his hair back in astonishment. His hype was hyping me up, to be honest. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

“Don’t worry. I think you’re fine.”

“You should talk to Codec about this. I could send her this data if you want. She might hook you up with some decent work if she knew what you could do.”

“Yeah?” That might be good, in all honesty… as much as she gave me the creeps, Codec seemed to manage this place well. A hidden facility, likely some old abandoned base, repurposed for claiming test subjects that the government would have thrown out into the trash anyway.

I could actually live life, if I helped these guys. I might need to keep a low profile… but I wouldn’t be dissected and stripped for parts.

…That made this choice pretty easy to make.

“Lemme go talk to her.” Noah patted my back, carrying his tablet with him. Then he gave pause. “If… if you want.”

“Y’know what?” I nodded slowly, then gave him a small smirk. “Go ahead. Tell her I’m ready for whatever she’s got.”

“You got it, soldier boy. I’ll see you around.”

Noah left the training room, and I stared at the beads on the floor as the punching bag deflated.

I couldn’t stop smiling as I searched for a broom.

Chapter 7: The Number

“Come take a seat, boys.”

I allowed Harbor to go first, then followed and shut the door as we settled in front of Codec. She held a tablet in front of herself, facing us, and patiently waited for us to sit.

“What have we got, miss?” Harbor sat up straight, eager to work.

“Found a life signature about forty miles out, in an underground bunker not dissimilar to Nine’s.” Codec pulled up the map, and we leaned closer to study it. “I believe this one was O2-7O. Nine, that was a medical project conducted by the first colonizers of Eden. Hid it and ran when they were found out.”

“Someone’s still alive in there?” I glanced between her and Harbor.

“Typically, yes. If there’s a ping.” Harbor gently collected the tablet to study some of the medical data pulled from the survey. “…Not cryostatic, but the vital signs point to comatose.”

“…How are we gonna get them out, then?”

“What I want you to do is this.” Codec collected the tablet back, finding the entrance coming from the west. “You enter, find the patient, get them moving, and bring them home. The only issue might be that the Feds have already targeted this place in the past. So there might be activity irregularly.”

“…And that’s where I come in.” I started to understand it now.

“Yes. You’re this team’s brawn, Nine. If there’s trouble, I expect you to do what you can to get yourself, Harbor, and that patient out.” Codec stared at me with a dark look in her face. I had no idea she could get scarier. “…Even if it means spilling blood.”

“Roger that.” I stayed as stone-faced as I could. “I’d hate to break bones, but if that’s what it takes…”

“They don’t care about you, Nine. Remember that.” Codec spoke softer. “You’re a number to them. A mistake they want to hide.”

I nodded, solemnly. Knowing she was right.

“All they care about is the results. Whatever money they can save by taking back these subjects, and stripping them for whatever they’re worth. And your number becomes a statistic.”

Yeah, that really boiled me. I think I felt less bad about the thought of knocking teeth out.

“When do we start?” Harbor refocused the conversation.

“Tonight, midnight. We need to keep this short and sweet, so I’m sending you for extraction, and Nine as backup. I can’t risk losing anybody else.”

“Got it.” Harbor patted me on the shoulder as he stood. “Let’s get moving. You need to grab some gear.”

“Alright.” I nodded to Codec as I followed. “We’ll keep you posted.”

“You can do this, Nine. Good hunting.”

In the dead of night, nocturnal activity. I was no stranger to riding out in the middle of nowhere during night missions. At least this time it wasn’t “hurry up and wait.” We came out here for a reason. And we were gonna get shit done.

Harbor manned the cruiser, and I let the wind hit my face as we hit higher speeds. As we began to approach the bunker, the dirt trail began to fade into a grassy clearing.

Nobody out here yet. Good sign for us—they might have forgotten about this place.

“Right, let’s get started.” Harbor put the car in park, and looked at me. “You ready?”

“Let’s do it.”

We slipped out of the car, and I found my gear: a couple of pistols, some ammunition, a combat knife, and some kind of multitool Harbor claimed I would need. It performed simple tasks like opening doors if there was no need for clearance. But, well… I could do that, too.

Coming into this mission knowing my own strength was pretty helpful. Maybe it was selfish, but I found myself eager to show off a little bit.

I maintained my focus, though, as Harbor led the way. He shouldered his medical bag, crossing it over his body, and started searching for an entrance.

“Let’s try here,” Harbor waved me over as he found a buried staircase.

We clambered our way down, kicking away dirt and rocks to make our way back up easier. I cleared away webs and roots to find an old door, sealed tight.

I tried my multitool against the sensor. It denied entry.

“Ah… okay.” Harbor let out a sigh. “I guess this is going to be harder than I thought.”

He began climbing the stairs again, but paused as he heard screeching coming from the door. I had decided to punch a dent deep enough to get a hold on the door’s inside edges, then painfully pulled the doors apart, one section at a time.

Harbor watched, dumbfounded, as I pulled the other section aside slowly and meticulously, radiating a horrible grinding sound as I fought against the internal mechanics trying to keep it closed. Once it was open, I took a step back, dusting my hands off with a sigh.

“Oh my.”

“You, uh…” I wiped sweat away as I pointed inside. “You got the light. You wanna go first?”

“Oh, uh… sure!” Harbor let out a laugh as he turned on his torch, and ducked under the roots as he led the way. “Nicely done, mate.”

“I’ll be honest, I’ve been waiting to do that.”

“Hah!”

This place was pitch black… but as my eyes adjusted, it seemed to get easier to navigate. It was an absolute mess—scattered papers, blood stains long dried out, chairs and tables knocked over, carts and medical devices long defunct.

I blinked as dust disturbed me. I bumped into a cart and kicked up more dust with a harsh cough. “…Fuck.”

“Yeah, you get used to the dust after doing a lot of these extractions.” Harbor studied the signs in passing, as he watched his map for the right location.

“They don’t give you masks?”

“Well, they do. I just don’t typically use one.”

“Why not?”

“I’m dying young anyway!”

“God.” I scoffed as we went on.

As I caught up with Harbor, he glanced at me and found himself jumping in his spot.

“Gah! Oh, goodness.” Harbor clutched his chest. “It’s just you.”

“What do you mean? I’ve been here the whole time.”

“Your eyes…!”

I squinted at him. “…What about them?”

“They’re glowing!” Harbor looked shocked. “I suppose they changed out more than just your limbs, didn’t they?”

“Oh.” I set a hand near one of my eyes, and sure enough, there was a reflection of a faint glow against my hand. That was weird. But maybe that explained my ability to adapt to the dark so well.

“Wait—stop.” Harbor set a hand against me to stop me from wandering too far. “…We turn left here.”

We squeezed past old tables as we trekked down the hall. Here, we found rooms with locked doors, and Harbor stopped at one of them. “Right here.”

We opened the door, and found the room just as dark as everywhere else. An old machine was beeping errors at scientists long dead. Harbor approached swiftly as he realized the patient was dying.

“Nine, I need your help.”

“Tell me what to do.” I jogged over to meet him on the other side of the bed. I got a better look at this patient… a girl, with long black hair and a horribly emaciated body. She couldn’t have been older than thirteen. I could feel a pang of pain in my chest at the sight.

He took off the old mask and vital monitors, and replaced them with his own, that would alert him remotely. He found a resuscitation mask, and handed it to me. “Start using this. Just a normal rhythm. I have to pull her out of the coma.”

“Okay.” I set the mask against her face gently, and squeezed the bag. I tried not to get distracted as Harbor kept moving.

He wiped her arm clean with a swab, and stuck her with some kind of drug. He waited for a few seconds as he placed a bandage on the arm, then shook her shoulders gently. “Come on, love, that should be enough.”

“It was drug-induced, right?” I glanced over at him.

“Yes. But I fear she might be too far gone…” Harbor pushed away some of her hair, studying her little face. “…She hasn’t been getting food or fluids in a while.”

“Should I…”

“Wait—wait.”

We paused as the body jolted gently. Harbor tapped my arm. “Keep going. Give her some air.”

I refocused and squeezed the bag again. The girl fought for life with a hard gasp. I knew how difficult this must have been… I was doing what the guys had done for me. But the only person who could really save my life was myself.

I could only hope that this girl wanted to live as badly as I did.

“You alright, dear? Can you hear me?” Harbor moved her head slightly, as she breathed a little easier.

She let out a quiet whine as she tried to move, but couldn’t find the strength. As time went on, she seemed to get her bearings.

“Nine, help me sit her up.”

“Yeah.” I collected her carefully, and watched her head fall forward lamely as we sat her up together. She was really easy to move… didn’t weigh hardly anything.

“I want to give you some water, love. Is that alright?” Harbor found his bottle, and offered it to the girl. “Here… steady.”

She lifted a hand slowly to steady the bottle, and she drank every drop until it was gone. It seemed to make her feel better… she lay limp against me as she settled down.

Harbor backed away for a second to find her chart near the bed. He took the sheet and folded it into his pocket. “Can you tell me your name?”

The girl couldn’t find the strength to speak, but she did try. She breathed in to talk, and caught some dust with a cough.

“…Let’s get her out of here, Harbor.” I glanced up at him, collecting her more into my arms.

“Right, all fine. Just wanted to make sure she stayed conscious. Let’s get moving.”

He led the way as I tried to carry this girl as gently as I could. I could see tears rolling down her face as she shook, withdrawing more into me. I’m sure she was freezing. I don’t think my arms gave much warmth… so she stayed closer to my chest.

“You’re okay, baby…” I mumbled as we squeezed past the tables again. “…Not far now.”

“Rather fragile, this one.” Harbor climbed up the steps with me, glancing back to check on me. “Can you sit in the back with her?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“I just want to make sure she won’t hurt herself.”

“I think she needs a blanket.” We emerged into the night sky, feeling warmer up here than we were down in the bunker.

“I’ve got one in the trunk. Hold on.”

Harbor shuffled around the trunk as I opened the car door, and protected her head as we squeezed into the back together. I decided to take the center seat, so she would have room to lay comfortably.

“Hh…” The girl let out air in an attempt to speak. She grazed her hand against me, letting out an airy whisper. “…Who… who are you…?”

“My name is Nine.” This whole situation was pretty upsetting. I don’t know how Harbor handled it.

“Nine…” The girl closed her eyes, with a confused look. “…Like the number?”

“Yeah… like the number.”

“You’re cold…” She curled up closer to the center of my body.

“I know… I’m sorry.” I glanced up as Harbor offered the blanket. “Here, this should help.”

I got her situated with the blanket wrapped around her, and she shivered as warmth began to seep in. She seemed more relaxed now… the blanket protected her from how cold my arms and legs were.

“All ready?” Harbor sat in the driver’s seat.

“Go ahead.”

We started back onto the dirt trail, and the girl let out a sigh as she was soothed by the car’s movement. She rested her head on my chest as she finally relaxed after everything.

This girl was going to have a rough recovery, I think. But already, she fought to stay alive, seeking warmth and comfort. Fighting to breathe, to drink water, to warm herself up. There was spirit in there, somewhere.

…She was gonna be okay.

I watched trees pass us by as the girl fell asleep in my arms.

Chapter 8: The Hero

“Harbor to Nine.”

I heard my radio pipe up as I was finishing up some noodles. I set my chopsticks down with my other hand. “This is Nine, send traffic.”

“Heh… I’ve need for you in the medical bay, Lieutenant.”

I rolled my eyes at the nickname. Maybe I should work on catching myself with my old radio habits. “What’s up?”

“Amelia would like to speak with you.”

“Who?”

“The girl from our most recent mission.”

Oh, shit. She remembered me? I was a little shocked by that… but it might have been easier for her, because she wasn’t hooked up to a bunch of fucked up computer hardware. I decided not to say that out loud.

“I’m hearing that right?” I leaned back in my chair. “She wants to see me?”

“Seems like it. You told her your name, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“How many other Nines do you know, personally?”

“Two or three.”

“You think you’re smart, yeah? Just get your arse down here.” Harbor chuckled through the speaker.

“Roger. I’m there in five. Out here.” I couldn’t help a little smile as I clipped my radio back to my belt.

Guess I better finish up lunch.

“…Hi, Nine.”

“Hey, hon. How you feeling?”

I peered my head through the curtains as Harbor guided me inside the bay. I wasn’t really sure how to approach a teenager… so I figured I’d just act as normal as I could.

“I’m better…” Amelia sighed as she itched her arm. She still looked exhausted and thin, but a lot of color had returned to her overnight. Several machines hooked up to her person, with an oxygen mask and a feeding tube. Out of one medical facility and into another, unfortunately…

“I’ll be nearby.” Harbor nodded to me before finding another patient to attend to.

I found my seat next to the girl, trying to act as casual as I could be. But in all honestly, I was pretty nervous. Why would this kid want to talk to me, of all people? I suppose she would only really know myself and Harbor, but still.

I needed to say something, though. “You slept okay?”

“Um… kind of.” Amelia shrugged. “…I just woke up.”

“Yeah. You had a rough start.”

“Yeah…” She stared at me for a while, and I could see gears turning in her head. She almost seemed afraid to speak.

“What’s up?” I let out a scoff. “You okay?”

“Um, yeah. Are you a robot?” She finally blurted out, eyes wide and studying me carefully.

Oh, lord. What was I supposed to say to that? “Uh—I mean… what… what do you think?”

“Well, you have robot arms.”

“Yeah. Legs too.” I patted my pants.

“Woah…” She couldn’t see the lines on my legs, but she seemed to trust me. Suddenly she looked starstruck. “Is that why you’re named Nine?”

“No.”

“Are you the ninth robot?”

“…Uh…” Fuck. This kid was grilling me.

“But that doesn’t make sense, because I think your body is flesh.” Amelia looked away, tapping her chin with her finger. “It was just your arms that were cold.”

“You wanna keep guessing, or do you want me to tell you?”

“So you are a robot!”

“No!” I spat out a laugh, bewildered by this kid’s train of thought. She was going a mile a minute. And I thought I was scatterbrained.

“Okay, fine. Tell me.” She patted her hands onto the sheets, finally giving up.

“I’m human,” I tapped against my arm, “but my limbs are fake.”

“Woah… how?”

“They’re prosthetics. Just fake limbs.”

“Do you put them over your real ones?”

“You wanna see?” I glanced at the curtain, a little anxious that Harbor would catch me tearing my arm off and making this poor kid have nightmares for the rest of her life.

But she didn’t seem phased by the thought at all. Instead, she eagerly leaned closer, desperate to see underneath my prosthetic. “Show me!”

“Okay. But you have to keep it a secret.”

“Oh. Okay.” Amelia lowered her volume to a whisper.

“Alright. Just don’t freak out, okay?”

My other hand shook a bit as I felt for the twisting mechanism to break my prosthetic loose. I twisted my left arm at its base, and slid it off, revealing the nub that used to be my real arm.

Amelia let out a gasp, but then shut her mouth and watched the curtain. Once she decided the coast was clear, she had many, many more questions. “Who chopped your arm off? Did they eat it? Are all of your limbs like that? Did they eat those too?”

“Good god, Amelia—”

“Are you gonna have those for the rest of your life? How old even are you, anyway? Did you come from one of those labs like me?”

“Hey. Slow down—”

“I just wanna know!” Amelia couldn’t stop her smiling. “You’re so cool!”

“I’m… I’m what?”

“Yeah! You’re like one of those action heroes from those movies.”

“Oh, god.” I rolled my eyes at that. I sure fucking hoped I wasn’t, really.

“Where did your arms go?”

“They were taken from me.” I latched my prosthetic back into place, then tested my coordination to make sure it was fit snug.

“By who?” Amelia tilted her head.

“I… I don’t know. Some bad people, I think.”

“Why?”

“Because I was dying.” She seemed morbidly curious enough—maybe honesty was the best course of action, here.

Amelia lost her smile, but still dug for answers. “What were you dying from?”

“Well… I was a soldier… and something happened to me on the field.” I gave her a shrug. “…I don’t remember much more than that.”

“So you did come from a lab.”

“Yeah.”

Amelia glanced down, furrowing her brow. “…I hated that place.”

I nodded slowly, letting that thought digest in my mind as old feelings began to stir.

Get comfortable, kid. I hope this hurts.

…I hated that place, too.

I became lost in thought before Amelia asked for my attention again. “…Did you come from the same lab as me?”

“Um…” I pulled myself out of my own head, refocusing on her. “…No.”

“So where are you from?”

“I’m from, uh… just a different lab. There’s a few of them scattered around the planet.”

“Were you born here on Eden?”

“No.” More thoughts… it was like something was digging at the back of my mind. Trying to claw its way out.

“Are you from Earth?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow…” Amelia let out a sigh. “What’s Earth like?”

I took a second to think… what was Earth like? “Well… it was pretty similar to Eden, in a lot of ways. Lots of trees, grass, sun… cities, towns, that sort of stuff.”

“Where are you from?”

“Pennsylvania.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s—” I cracked a smile. “It’s a state.”

“Oh, okay.” Amelia seemed to hug herself as she asked her next question. “…Did you have friends?”

“I think so.”

“Do you remember them?”

“Not… not really.” I stared at the floor as I started coming up blank.

“…Do you think…” She looked more sorrowful as she stared at her hands. “…They remember you?”

…So were you just gonna sit there and stare at me the whole time, or are you gonna buy me a drink?

“…I hope so.” I blinked as a new voice pierced my thoughts. Someone so familiar, and yet so distant…

“…None of my friends remembered me.” Amelia let out a sigh. She let her hair fall forward as she hid underneath it. “Or my mom.”

I glanced back up, feeling a sting in my chest. That was why she was asking all these questions… she was hoping maybe I could relate.

Maybe I could. But for the life of me, I just couldn’t remember.

I gave her a look of pity as she went on. “…My mom disowned me. She said I was better off in that lab.”

“Oh…” I let out a sigh, inching a little closer to try and offer some kind of gesture of support.

“…And then she forgot about me.” Amelia sniffled as she stared off into space.

I nodded slowly… knowing exactly how that felt. How old memories came to me… knowing who exactly I had lost.

I rested my arm around her shoulders in a half-hug. “…Mine too.”

“Really?” Amelia glanced up at me with watery eyes. “…I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay…” It wasn’t, really, but I felt the need to stay strong where Amelia could not find her strength.

This entire situation was horrible. Two abandoned patients, finding solace in each other’s stories. Maybe that was really why she wanted me here.

Maybe she knew.

“…Was she nice?”

“Wh… what?” I couldn’t stop my voice from cracking.

“Your mom. Was she nice?” Amelia rested her head on my chest as we sat.

I flinched at the question. Maybe I wasn’t as strong as I thought I was. I took in a shaky breath before answering. “…Yeah. She was.”

“That’s good, at least…”

“…Yeah.”

I hid my head behind her as Amelia tried to turn around. “…Are you crying?”

“No.” I shut my eyes as I could not stop myself. “…Yes.”

She laughed a little at that, offering to hug back. “Action heroes don’t cry.”

“Oh, yeah, they do.” I huffed out.

We stayed there for a time, as we wallowed in our plight and suffering. At least, for the first time in years, for either of us, we were finally not alone.

“…You need to watch better action movies.”

Chapter 9: The Lover

“…So were you just gonna sit there and stare at me the whole time, or are you gonna buy me a drink?”

“…That depends.” I offered this guy a sly smirk. “…You gonna come sit with me? Or are you gonna keep playing hard to get?”

“Touché.” The man rolled his eyes, and found his seat next to me. I waved down the bartender for a couple of shots.

“What do you want, slick?” I turned back to him.

“Uhh… let’s do vodka.”

“Oh, you wanna get drunk.” I scoffed.

“Maybe.” He rested his head on his hand, raising an eyebrow at me. “If you’re buying.”

“Yeah.”

“Then I want the good shit.”

“Heh… okay.” I nodded as the bartender got our order, and filled a couple of shot glasses full of vodka.

We cheered to each other, and threw back our shots. Vodka always hit me pretty hard—the searing burn in the back of my throat made me cough. The man next to me laughed as I lost my composure.

“You’re not so tough, man.”

“I’m in the army.” I shrugged. “All we drink is the cheap shit.”

“Yeah?”

“We can’t drink on deployment. Or at least, we can’t get caught.”

“Then you better not get caught.” The man leaned closer, flicking his hand at my head. He leaned against the bar with a smile. “Name’s Jakob. My friends call me Jake.”

“Jakob with a C, or a K?”

“With a K.”

“Kakob.” I couldn’t help myself. “Or is it Jakok?”

“Oh my god. You’re stupid.”

“I might be.” Yeah, maybe this stuff was a little strong for me. I could already feel my face getting hot. The words slipped away from me before I could catch them. “…You wanna be stupid with me?”

Jakob stared at me for a while, seemingly trying to make his decision. Then he decided he wanted me a little more drunk than that. “Buy me a few more. Then we’ll talk.”

“You think you’re slick.” I gave him some attitude, but ultimately relented. Dude was pushing all my buttons. And I kind of liked it.

We hammered back a few more, and chatted the night away. Jakob was an artist, and a photographer. Turns out he didn’t live too far away from this bar here in Philly.

He asked if I wanted to come back to his place. I was too stupid to say no.

I entered his apartment, and was dazzled by the scenery before me. This guy was an absolute wallflower. Hanging photos of various events in his life—old school photography. Polaroids, some developed perfectly, some faded or darkened with time. Old friends and new, family members and baby pictures. Fairy lights illuminated the apartment in a low purple glow.

I was in love with the scene. Jakob trailed his hand around my back as he slipped past me. “…You wanna come sit down?”

“…Your place is fucking gorgeous.”

“Heh… thanks. I worked hard on all this stuff.” Jake smiled as he surveyed his own work. He looked back at me, with a sway in his step and warm, dark eyes.

We sat for a time, turning on the TV and turning it to something interesting. Ignoring the politics of the world, and just trying to feel okay for once. Some cheesy movies… gentle songs.

It all came so naturally to us. Jakob leaned against me as we winded down from the night, and I could feel the siren’s song of intoxication lulling me into a heavy stupor.

“…I’ve never had a guy compliment my photos before.” Jakob looked up at me.

“Well… you do a good job.”

“…You wanna take a photo with me?” He smiled as he found his camera on the coffee table.

“…I would love nothing more.”

He squished his face against mine, and it made me laugh as he captured the moment. The photo took some time to set, but once it did…

…It was one of the few happiest moments in my life.

He wrote down his own name with an unsteady hand. Then when he wanted to write me down next to him, he paused as he glanced up at me, embarrassed. “I, uh…”

“What?”

“I don’t think I ever got your name.”

…

…I opened my eyes as fragrant memories faded into the back of my mind.

I was in my bed. In my dormitory, here at HQ.

It wasn’t Philadelphia.

It wasn’t Jakob.

I wasn’t me.

But I remembered how deeply I had fallen in love, at one point in my life. A man that had found such passion in capturing the best moments of his own life, and finding joy in capturing the best moments of other people’s lives.

All I did was march.

I let out a sigh as I sat up straight. I looked at my arms, and they were still prosthetics.

But I remember so vividly how at one point in my life, I was nothing but flesh and blood. Drunk and stupid. Falling for a man who had so deeply fallen in love back.

…Maybe I should go look for some more work.

Chapter 10: The Human

“Alright, love. Let’s see what we’ve got.”

Harbor found his charts, and sat near myself and Amelia. It had been a couple of weeks since she had been recovered, so lately she’s been eating breakfast with me. As usual, plenty of questions… Most of which I didn’t really have the answers to.

Harbor had some of them, though. “Your name is Amelia Choi, designated as Patient One-Thirteen under Project O2-7O. Evidently they were conducting stem cell research in an effort to control cancer.”

“Huh.” Amelia snacked on some bacon.

“Could’ve done it legally.” I furrowed my brow as I drank some of my coffee.

“Oh, you know. Those pesky laws.” Harbor rolled his eyes as he went on. “Amelia, it seems they had reached a breakthrough in your case. These notes claim that you are theoretically cancer-free.”

“Wow!” She beamed over at me. “I’m gonna live forever!”

“Theoretically?” I couldn’t help a little smile. Only scientists would reach such an insane conclusion and only call it theoretical.

“They never finished their research.” Harbor shrugged as he searched for a missing page. “…Uh… looks like they had abandoned the project before studying its long-term effects on miss Amelia.”

“Guess we’ll have to find out, then.”

“Oh! And look what we’ve got here…” Harbor glossed over more notes. “Your birthday is on July 9th.”

“Cool! What day is it today?” Amelia asked casually.

“July 8th! You’re turning fourteen, dearest!”

“Woah, what!?” She recoiled at this. “My birthday is tomorrow?”

“Well, shit! We need to do something for your birthday, don’t we?” I elbowed the kid, and she could barely believe what she was hearing. “What do you wanna do?”

“I… I don’t know.” Amelia stared at the table as gears turned in her head. “…Can… can I have a cupcake?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Okay! And… um…” She almost panicked as she tried to decide right this second what she wanted. “Uh…”

“Hey, you don’t need to rush it.” I chuckled at her reaction. “We can figure it out—”

“I wanna play a video game!”

“Oh. Uh…” I glanced to Harbor, uncertain if we had anything she could game on.

“Ah, we might have an old system somewhere in storage. Or perhaps one of the breakrooms.” He squinted as he searched his memory. “You might have better luck asking Noah Wright, in engineering.”

“Okay. We can do that.” I glanced to Amelia, and she looked about ready to cry. “…You okay?”

“Y… yes…” She sniffled with a smile. “It’s just… been so long.”

“Well, wait no longer, girly. Finish up your food, and we’ll go ask Noah.”

“Okay!” She chowed down on the rest of her bacon before glancing back up at Harbor. “…Thank you, mister Harbor.”

“Of course, love. I’ve got to get back to work, now. You want these, Nine?” He showed the papers to me.

I collected them in my hands, giving them a quick once-over. “Yeah, I’ll keep these in her room.”

“Sounds good. Good luck to you on finding that console!”

We finished our breakfast, and Amelia practically dragged me out to Engineering. “I wanna play Tears of Blood!”

“That sounds, uh…” I scoffed at the name. “…Kinda violent, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah! It’s an old horror game. It’s on, like, every console. At least the older ones. I have no idea if they made new ones.”

“You like horror games?” I shuddered.

“Yeah. Do you not?” She spun around to walk backwards as she spoke with me.

“I hate horror.”

“Do you get scared?”

“Yeah. Especially, like…” I shook out my hands. “…Walking corpses, and shit.”

“Like zombies?”

“Well, I guess kinda like that. But I’ve seen games where it’s different. Like they really look like corpses. Eugh…” I almost felt nauseous just imagining one.

“Heroes don’t get scared, Nine.” Amelia grinned at me.

“I’m no hero, baby.” I rolled my eyes at her. “Contrary to popular belief… I am just a man.”

“Well…” She gave me a little wink. “…I think you’re a hero.”

Oh… that hit me in the chest, somewhere. I sheepishly itched my arm as we found the Engineering Wing. “Let’s… let’s just find your game.”

“Okay.” Amelia grinned at me. I think she knew how much that hit me.

We found the door to the break room, and gave it a knock. Roxy appeared out of the crack of the door, and stared at me silently.

“Hey, Roxy… uh—”

But before I could get my words out, Amelia shoved her way in front of me excitedly. “Hi! Do you know where Noah is?”

“Oh!” Roxy was shocked by a sudden tween appearing in front of her. She clutched her chest as she melted. “Oh, honey… you are adorable.”

Wow… guess Amelia had a certain charm that I did not have. Already, they were hitting it off.

“Thank you! I found a cute shirt recently.” Amelia grinned brightly. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little excited—”

“It’s okay! Noah’s inside. You wanna come talk to him?” Roxy opened the door further to the break room.

“Yes, thank you! Nine! Let’s go!” Amelia yanked at my arm.

I chuckled as I was dragged in, and gave a quick nod of thanks to Roxy. She smiled shyly… still didn’t really know how to approach me, I guess.

“Hey, what’s up, soldier boy?” Noah leaned back as he listened to the chaos at the door. He was already smiling because of Amelia. “You got a kid now?”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “I got a kid now.”

“How’d those hydraulics treat you during the mission?”

Oh, I almost forgot about that. We found our seats around the table, and Amelia squirmed anxiously as the adults talked. I figured I’d keep it short. “Yeah. Damn good. I tore the door right open.”

“Wow! Killer.” Noah clearly wished he could have seen that.

I decided to keep it moving. “We stopped by because we wanted to know if you had one of those gaming consoles. What was the game, Ames?”

“Tears of Blood!” Amelia leaned over the table. “Do you have it? Can I play it?”

“Uh, that’s a pretty gruesome game.” Noah laughed as he glanced to me for confirmation. “You sure she can handle that?”

“I’ll be honest with you, bro, I think she’ll handle it better than I can.”

“Hah! Okay.” Noah nodded matter-of-factly as he stood up from his spot, and found a small TV with something else underneath it. Amelia almost squealed as she realized it was one of the consoles that could play it. “I have it downloaded on this Silverbox. It’s only got one controller that works, though.”

“That’s fine.” I shrugged. “I don’t think I wanna play it. I’m just gonna sit and watch.”

“Tears of Blood is single-player, anyway,” Amelia said as she slipped out of her seat. She hovered over Noah anxiously as he wrapped up the power and output cables.

“Alright, sweet roll, here you go.” Noah bestowed the console upon our dearest cancer killer.

She accepted it with a bow and grace. “Thank you, sir.”

“Just don’t drop it, okay? I got all my save data on that thing.”

“Okay! Let’s go, Nine!” Amelia clutched the console tightly to her body as she called for me.

“Alright. Hey, thanks, Noah. I owe you.” I smacked Noah’s arm with a fist.

“Yeah, man. Let me run more of those physical tests on you next time, and we’ll call it even.”

“Hah… you got it.”

Amelia led the way back towards the dormitory, sometimes checking behind herself to make sure I was still following. “Gosh, I’m so excited! This is gonna be the best.”

“Let’s keep the console in my room,” I said as we passed by a few others. “Don’t want anyone thinking you’re just playing this thing alone.”

“You’re not my dad.” Amelia snickered.

“Yeah, well—I just—” I fumbled as I tried to justify my thought process.

“We can still keep it in there, though. If you want to.”

“Y’know what? I don’t think anyone is gonna give a damn, actually. Where’s your room at?”

“Yay! Just this way.”

She turned right where I would typically turn left for my own room, then bumped against her door as she opened it. It was still rather plain, but someone had offered her a desk, it seemed, with some drawings and extra paper in a neat stack.

I tried not to stare at the drawings. Felt like an invasion of privacy. In any case, I needed to help with the console setup.

“Here, this cable goes here…” Amelia sat with me on the floor, reaching to push the power cord through the console table. “…My arms are too short.”

“We can just move this.” I shifted the console table slightly closer to me, so there was more room behind it.

“Okay, there. And then the HDMI…”

She knew this shit better than me. I let out a laugh as she found the correct input. “…Wow.”

“What?”

“You’re smart, kiddo.”

“You know how to do this, don’t you?”

“Hell no.”

“What!?” Amelia threw her hands out. “You’ve never set up a console in your life?”

“I was an outdoorsy kid. Sorry.”

“You’re boring, is what you are.” Amelia rolled her eyes as she turned on the TV. She played with each input to figure out which one she needed.

“You’re one to talk.” I sat back as Amelia handled the rest of the process. “Are you the one who got all their limbs chopped off and forced into cryostasis?”

“Are you the one who had three surgeries and alternative methods to chemo?” Amelia set her hands on her hips with a tilt of her head.

That shut me up pretty quick. Both were pretty bad… but I also wasn’t a child. So I think she won.

“That’s what I thought.” Amelia sat down on the floor, now, and turned on the Silverbox to get to the menu.

I could see her practically shaking as the menu appeared on the screen, and she searched for the game she wanted. Noah had a random assortment of other games on this device, as well. Everything from little cartoon creatures to horror, to hyperrealistic shooter games. Guess he liked a little bit of everything.

She found Tears of Blood, and giggled as she made a new file. “Heehee… turn the lights off.”

“Oh, fuck that.” I pulled my knees up to my chest. Playing a game like this in the dark might actually give me nightmares.

“Come on, please?” Amelia tried her cutest face. “…It’s my birthday…”

“Your birthday’s tomorrow.”

“Still!”

“Uhhgghhh… fine.” I let out an exasperated noise as I stood up to flick off the light.

Now it was only the glow of the TV that allowed me any semblance of comfort. Amelia paused as she stared at my face. “Woah… your eyes are glowing!”

Oh, I forgot about that. “Uh… yeah. They glow in the dark.”

“You’re so spooky.”

“Sure.”

She began the tutorial of the game, practically flying through it as if she had spent hundreds of hours on it. I could barely keep up. “Jeez.”

“It’s just the tutorial! It’s easy.”

“Fair enough.”

“Now we get to here…”

Her character entered a dark room, with swaying slabs of meat dripping pools of blood down a filthy drain. It was pretty realistic… I clutched myself tighter as I tried to swallow the bile in my throat.

A distant roar, as something targeted her. She giggled as she ran away from the creature, some sort of massive human-spider hybrid as it crawled down the wall and absolutely booked it to come find her.

She ducked under a table, and the spider-thing ran its patrol. She tapped me with her arm, and I almost jumped. “This guy’s the first boss you have to fight. Right now you don’t have any weapons, though.”

“What about your crowbar?”

“That’s just a tool. The weapons are a different thing.”

“That’s kinda dumb.” I judged, for my heart was simply too weak for the raw power this game held over me.

She made a dash for the exit, but fumbled with the door, and a horrible screech of music sounded as the spider tore her poor character apart. I jolted in my spot with a noise.

“Hah! Did it get you?”

“…No.” My voice cracked.

The man let out a bloodcurdling scream as chunks of meat flew everywhere. The screen faded to black, as the news of his perishing made it to the player.

“I forgot which button opens the door. Heh.” Amelia itched her hair.

“Fucker. I thought you said you knew this game.”

“It’s been a long time since I last played it.”

“Ugh.”

“You wanna play?” She offered the controller to me.

“Oh, god. No. I might break the controller.”

“Whatever you say, you big baby.”

“The biggest.” I grasped my knees.

This game was long… it took quite a few hours for Amelia to make any solid progress. But the lore was pretty interesting… sometimes I stopped her, so I could quickly scan some of the documents she picked up along the way.

I eventually grew used to the noise of horrible strings and roaring monsters. As she played, I felt myself nodding off. The click-clacking of Amelia’s controller… the dim light emanating from the TV…

I didn’t even realize I was falling asleep until…

Until…

…

…I woke up strapped to a chair.

My hands tied against the chair’s arms. I wrestled against ropes, feeling the harshness of rope burn.

I glanced around, searching for signs of life. Signs of anything.

Pitch black, all around me. Vague shapes in the dark.

Hey, Private. Welcome to your own special hell.

I stared silently ahead, as someone in US uniform approached me. That smug ass look… I felt murder in my blood.

These people were fucking tyrants. Deporting citizens. Camps, to store the people they didn’t like. Human beings, starving on the streets, and can’t even rest on spiked benches without a fucking quarter to pay for a safe break.

The man leaned closer. I smelled tobacco and smoke on his breath. I leaned back, and he traced my arms with a knife.

He ripped dog tags off my neck. Studied them close, and pocketed them after. Confirming the kill.

Get comfortable, kid. I hope this hurts.

He grinned like the devil. Horrible pain stabbed through my nerves as knives entered my skin. Through my palms, down my spine. Along my neck.

Carved open like it was fucking Halloween.

I screamed until my voice gave out.

Until they decided I was ready to be put back together.

“…Nine? Are you okay?”

I pulled myself out of grim agony. Amelia was shaking my shoulder.

I stared into space as tears streaked down my face.

“Nine?” She looked concerned; I had a hard time telling her it was okay. “…Do you want me to turn the game off?”

I absentmindedly shook my head. Couldn’t speak.

“Are you alright?”

I shut my eyes and shook my head again.

She made a face, and paused her game. She sat closer to me, and slowly the numbing pain gave way to a warm hug.

“…I can tell you’re thinking about something.” She leaned her head against my shoulder. “…It’s okay.”

I could barely see the screen through watery eyes.

“…Sometimes I think about that place. And it hurts.” Amelia let out a sigh. “…But… you know… it’s over, now. And now I get to play video games with my new friend.”

I couldn’t help a small smile at that. She thinks we’re friends… well, maybe we were. Maybe she was just getting attached.

I guess I couldn’t argue with it. I think I was getting attached, too.

I wiped tears away with one hand, and slowly set my other arm around her shoulders. Something to ground me back to reality. Something nicer than those freaks back home.

Fucking traitor.

“I know I like to call you a hero, but…” Amelia smiled at me. “…You’re human, too.”

Slowly, I was able to focus my gaze onto her. Pulling myself back onto solid ground.

“…Not a robot.” She begrudgingly admitted.

“Heh…” I spat out a scoff. Couldn’t help myself. She had a point. “…Thanks…”

“…What were you thinking about?”

“Oh… bad people.” I sniffled as I unfurled my body from its fetal position. “…Really bad people.”

“The people that chopped your limbs off and ate them?”

“Y… yeah.”

“I hate cannibals.” Amelia pouted.

“Yeah…” I leaned into her, finding myself needing support. “…Me too.”

Chapter 11: My Name Is

Boots on the ground. Keeping my breathing steady. Running a few laps around HQ… I’m sure whoever was attending the cameras of this place were confused by my presence, so late at night. I think it was about one or two a.m. at this point.

It’s been about two months, give or take. Two months since I was pulled from deathly slumber by Harbor and Reyes. Two months since I upgraded my hardware. One month since we rescued Amelia. Two weeks since her birthday. We didn’t know when my birthday was. Decided maybe we could just choose some day in August.

I’ve been getting stronger. Found out I have a really, really aggressive appetite. Reyes thought it was because my hardware demanded more energy from the rest of my body. That, and working out on the daily. I could already feel the urge of hunger after only being awake for a little while.

Running helped clear my head. More nightmares, lately… it was the only thing I could think of that would help. Runner’s high, numb aches. Helped get me out of bed in the morning.

I slowed my pace, breathing heavy as I stumbled against one of the walls on the south side. Running really started to hurt once you actually slowed down.

I wiped away sweat, and checked the time on my phone. I had been running for almost two hours. Well, it was no fucking wonder I was starving. Guess it was time to head back in.

I found my entrance, keying in using my multitool, and found my way to the mess hall. Not much in the way of leftovers, this time. Nobody here but me. I didn’t even bother turning the light on. Not much looked good, in the fridge… but part of me was too hungry to really care. So I took something that vaguely resembled a burrito, and escaped to my room.

I was basically finished with my food by the time I unlocked my door. I sat at my desk, letting out a deep sigh. Some more time to think… I was just too restless to go back to sleep, at this point. So I started sifting through my papers and journal, skimming over old notes.

He ripped dog tags off my neck.

Confirming the kill.

I huffed out air. Well, he didn’t fucking kill me, did he now?

I stared at my own medical notes.

I wanted my tags back.

I’m not really sure why it came to me so suddenly. Maybe it was a symbolic thing, in my head. Proof that I was still alive. Maybe it was a middle finger to the big man. Something like that.

Maybe those tags had my name on them.

I breathed in deep as I searched closer, through my old notes. Subject 009… successful installation…

…The address of the lab. On some poor sod’s administrative letter to someone else.

I searched the address. It didn’t provide anything. I started searching my memories, of the sun that had first hit my skin…

…It was morning that day.

Harbor and Reyes had come from the east.

Yeah. That’ll do. I gripped my journal and packed my things, holstering guns to my belt and my knife in its sheath.

But I jolted as I stepped outside, turning the corner to find a small silhouette in the dark.

Amelia jumped as she shone light against my person… glowing eyes probably didn’t help. “Oh! Nine.”

“H—hey, Ames.” I stuttered on accident. Shit.

“Where are you going?”

“Out.” I shoved my journal into my satchel. “…Why are you up so late?”

“…I couldn’t sleep…” Amelia stared at the floor shyly.

“You think water might help?” I shrugged as I closed my door. “Snack, or something?”

“I… I just…” She gripped her torch a little tighter. “…I wanted to see if I could… be in your room for tonight.”

Oh. This must have been a bad one.

“…Sorry.” She smiled awkwardly.

“Hey, it’s alright.” I dismissed the issue. “Listen. I’m gonna be out for a while tonight. I don’t think you can stay in my room.”

“I meant, I wanted to stay with you. I guess.”

I had a hard time finding words. Wasn’t sure if I was comfortable with her joining me on my quest tonight… but I took too long to answer.

“…Where are you going?” Amelia studied me closer, noticing my guns. “…Is there something happening?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. I was…” I hesitated, but knew I couldn’t lie to her about this. For one, I was a piss-poor liar. She was too smart for that. But it would also weigh too heavy on me. I almost would’ve rather she joined me, than to lie to save face.

“…I was going to head back to my lab.” I finished my thought, with a more serious tone. “…I wanted to search for some stuff that might help me.”

“You mean the lab that held you?”

I nodded.

“…Why?” Amelia looked pained.

“I have questions that the lab could answer. If I dug deep enough.” At some level, we understood each other. I could see how seriously she was taking it. “…I can’t sleep without answers.”

She nodded, slowly. She stood up straighter. “…Let me come with you.”

Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of hearing. But I had a hard time saying no. Maybe I needed the support… as much as bringing a child along would guilt my conscience beyond repair. Especially if something happened to her.

But maybe she didn’t need to be defenseless.

I let out a sigh, and walked alongside her with a tap on her arm. “…Don’t tell Harbor.”

Amelia grinned silently with a nod, and trotted along to follow me.

“You know how to shoot a gun?” I asked as we found our way outside, to collect one of the cruisers.

“No.”

“Well, tonight’s your lucky night.”

“Okay!” Amelia hopped into the passenger’s side as I got the cruiser started.

“I want you to be able to defend yourself.” I started to focus on driving as we hit dirt pathways, out towards the west. I studied the moon as we went along.

“Yeah.”

“You’re small. I don’t think you’ll hit very hard. That means you’re gonna need to outsmart your opponent.”

“Should I kick people in the nuts?”

“That should be your first move.” I chuckled with a nod.

“Okay. Got it.”

“But you also need to pay attention to your environment. Anything can be a weapon, if you’re fast enough to grab it.”

“Yeah.” Amelia seemed to commit this closely to memory. “…Like in video games.”

“Life isn’t a game, kiddo.” I clicked my teeth. “You’re gonna have to learn that pretty quick.”

“No, I know.”

“I can show you what to do, when we get there.” I was able to cruise out in the open for the next while. “Stuff to look out for. Anything long, sharp, or blunt. Anything you can swing. Pipes, crowbars, concrete rebar.”

“Right.” She almost seemed nervous at the thought.

“…People like us…” I let out a sigh as it started to sink in. “…We have to fight really hard to protect ourselves.”

Amelia watched through the window as she listened.

“…Even if it means taking someone’s life.”

She nodded sadly. Knowing I was right.

The moon led the way as Eden’s atmosphere began to show some color on the horizon. Deep reds and pinks lit our faces.

“…Have you ever killed anybody before, Nine?” Amelia glanced back at me, studying me for a reaction.

I furrowed my brow as I tried to search through my mind. I let out a sigh as nothing came to me. “…I don’t remember. I might have, in the army.”

“Who did you fight?”

“The United States.”

“Woah…” Amelia recoiled. “…That was a really long time ago. That’s in our history books.”

“Yep, over two hundred years old.” I smirked as I glanced back at her.

“Old man.”

“I could snap you in half like a twig.”

“You won’t.” She grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes as I relented. “…I wouldn’t.”

We fell quiet as we ventured on… The gentle bumps and potholes lulling Amelia into a comfortable snooze.

I drove silently… keeping an eye out for any trouble. But we were practically in the middle of nowhere. Never even saw any helicopters, or ships in the sky.

We made it to the old bunker before we knew it.

I shoved the basement door forward with a grunt, and Amelia coughed as dust scattered in a massive cloud around us.

“This is your lab?” She rubbed her eyes free from dust.

“Yup.” I smacked dust away from my pants and shirt, then found my torch. “…Stay behind me. Watch your step.”

“Okay.”

We ventured into deep darkness… I could feel Amelia grasping for my arm to stay close to me. I blinked my eyes a few times as dust particles invaded my senses. Maybe we should have brought masks.

Amelia let out a soft gasp as she witnessed some of the pods containing old humans in fluid… corpses. I shone my light away from them. “…Don’t look.”

“…Were you in one of those?” She pulled against my hand.

“…Yeah.”

Amelia fell silent as I started searching through drawers and desks, invading old offices. Feeling a deep and utter hatred for this place, slowly gaining strength in my core.

My hand carrying the torch started shaking. I recognized the pod I came out of. Harbor’s voice haunted me as I struggled to keep my composure.

Steady on. Few more.

“It’s okay, Nine…” Amelia patted my arm.

I forced myself to look somewhere else. Just take a breath… not far now. I could feel it.

We jogged down a few more steps. Locked doors… easily broken with a simple snap of the door handles.

I kicked one of the doors open, and Amelia recoiled coughing as dust clouds settled.

This was it.

I balled my fists tight as I walked inside. I almost broke the torch.

An old chair… bloodied and long untouched by man. None but me.

Corpses, everywhere. Long decomposed with time. Amelia stared at them blankly as I started searching for one specific thing.

I found drawers full of random crap. Pens and pencils, staplers and medals. I searched bodies. I found records, with enough redactions to turn the entire page black.

That was when I got lucky.

In one broken safe, inside the interrogation office… the age-old familiar jingle of metal against metal.

I pulled dog tags out of the safe. Checked to make sure they were mine.

I wiped away stained blood and dust from the steel.

My heart stopped as everything came back to me.

Bastard’s lucky to have even survived this.

We need blood transfusions, stat. Keep it moving, people.

Get comfortable, kid. I hope this hurts.

Watching scientists lock me up. Leave me for dead.

Abandoning years and years’ worth of work.

The cold pierces my organs.

I’m sorry, baby… I don’t think I remember your name.

Abigail Ward’s time of death was 3:14 a.m. on July 8th, 2028.

I’m so sorry for your loss.

“…What?”

“I don’t think I ever got your name.”

“Oh, sorry about that. My name is

O POS

16853259

WARD, IAN B.

NO PREF

“…Nine?”

My face was wet. I had a hard time swallowing.

I vaguely felt Amelia’s hand on my shoulder. “…What’s…”

She leaned her head against me as she studied the tags in my hands. I had fallen to my knees—still as a statue, as she turned them closer to herself, to read them.

“…Ian Ward?”

Amelia tried to look me in the eye as emotions flooded me.

“…Is that your name?”

Finally… it all made sense. I broke my stare, sniffling with a smile as I focused on her. “…It’s me.”

She smiled back, a little teary-eyed herself. “…That’s what you came for, wasn’t it?”

I glanced back down at the tags, and found that the latch was still intact. I slowly snapped them in place around my neck again… finally named. A survivor of hell. The worst humanity could possibly offer to anybody.

My name is Ian Benjamin Ward.

I’m still alive.

And I am a motherfucking weapon.

Chapter 12: The Warden

I climbed out of the bunker to meet at least ten guns trained right on my person.

Instincts kicked in. My hands shook as I closed my eyes.

“Subject Nine!” The guy in the center of the circle, presumably the leader, shouted out his commands. “On your knees!”

Amelia stared at me from below the bunker. She knew better than to come out here. I knew better than to glance back at her.

I stared with glowing eyes as I slowly knelt down.

“Hands!”

I raised my hands, shivering with adrenaline.

One of the men approached me—and I approached the rest of the crowd. Rookie mistake.

Come on, Warden!

I wanna see you fucking bleed!

I snatched the soldier into my arms, slamming him into a chokehold and using his body as a shield, as the rest of them opened fire. I winced as bullets came dangerously close to my face.

I barreled down into the bunker again, leaving the body, and shoving Amelia along with me. “Keep your head down!”

“Wh—where do we go!?”

“Keep close to me!” I grasped her by the torso, lifting her somewhat so we could find cover. I found one of my holstered pistols and turned its safety off as we scrambled behind a broken table.

Radio signals made me flinch. Someone was trying to reach me—I opened fire at one of the soldiers approaching the table, and immediately three more guys started firing at me. I let out a hiss as a bullet just barely grazed my ear.

“Nine!” My radio blared out. “We’ve got activity out west—”

“Agh—I need support!” I shouted into the radio as I tried to shield Amelia behind me. “Midnight bunker!”

“Hold tight, we’re coming!”

“Fuck…” I hissed out, and retreated further into the lab with Amelia as more men came jogging down the stairs. Bullets scraped my arms and legs as we found a different room.

“I—I need something.” Amelia fumbled around my belt with shaking hands. “Ian, give me something.”

I found my knife and handed it to her. “Legs and throat, if you can reach it. Guess you’re gonna have to learn on the job.”

“O-okay.” Amelia shook violently as she hid behind me.

One soldier busted the door down. I tackled him against the open door, slamming his face and delivering a horrible hook into his chest. He choked as he grasped himself, stumbling to the floor.

Another soldier caught me by surprise. He slammed his gun against my head, and I fell onto my back, with errors blaring in my mind. Once the stars in my vision cleared, the man trained his rifle onto me—

He suddenly let out a cry as Amelia burst out from the shadows behind him, delivering a deep and dirty slice of the knife against his neck. She pulled him back quickly, as he fired his gun against the wall, crumbling down into a pile.

More soldiers came searching for us… I grabbed the rifle one of the dead soldiers had dropped, and pushed Amelia into cover as I aimed a wide sweep of bullets against the crowd.

That smartened them up quick. The final few men scattered behind cover, and my trigger stopped firing. No ammo left on this rifle. We needed out, now.

I grabbed Amelia’s hand as I guided her to a cover spot closer to the exit… hunkering down a pod with a floating corpse inside it. Someone fired at us, and it shattered the glass. I used the noise to hide my fire, picking off one more soldier out in the open.

“Masks!”

Oh, fuck.

A smoke grenade was tossed out, too far away right now, but it was gonna become a problem pretty fucking quick. My eyes adjusted well—but we had limited time. I pushed myself against Amelia, grabbing her hands. “On my back, baby. Deep breath.”

“Ah… okay…” Amelia grasped around my neck for dear life, and shut her eyes tight as we escaped into smoke.

Someone’s beam of light caught my silhouette, and I ran as hard as I could to escape the incoming fire. I heard Amelia scream out as we burst out of the smoke, and with her quick thinking, stole my other pistol out of my belt to shoot a soldier crouched at the stairs.

I climbed my way out of the bunker, and Amelia slipped off of me to run alongside me. She was faster than I was, somehow—the few remaining masked soldiers fired at us as we sprinted for freedom.

I cried out as a bullet sliced right through my right side. I stumbled over twigs and brush as we fought our way through the forest.

“Ian!?” Amelia paused ahead of me.

“Go! Don’t stop!” I screamed out, waving her forward. They must have hit a vein—bled all over the place. “Go!”

She hesitated only for a second, but finally split paths with me. There wasn’t enough firepower left in those soldiers to chase both of us at once. So Amelia escaped.

They were still on me.

I slid down a hill painfully, errors prodding at my mind as I couldn’t keep my balance. Nausea threatened me. But the bullets just kept coming. Couldn’t stop now…

I made a decent head start. I kept sprinting through the jungle, smacking trees and hopping over fallen logs. The terrain was starting to slow them down… but I was starting to get exhausted. I gasped for air as I found a river, shallow but raging, and slipped into its depths further down the stream.

Streaks of light searched for me under deeper waters.

I found a stone to keep me anchored in blistering cold. Hiding my body against the light… no heat seeking could pierce a boulder like this one, down here.

The pain was starting to get overwhelming. The lights kept searching around me… until they finally gave up.

Lights and bodies jogged further down the stream. I clawed my way back to the surface, using the rock to push against with my legs. I broke through to the surface with a gasp, and tried my best not to scream as the pain from my wounds stabbed through me.

I couldn’t fight against the current for long. The soldiers were gone, disappeared into the jungle… but I couldn’t make it back to shore.

The river opened up further, and I was starting to run out of strength.

I could feel my arms start to lose responsiveness. Bullets dug further into flesh, the harder I fought.

I slipped under the surface. Rested only briefly, before I barely clawed my way back up.

The current turned into a riptide, at some point. I didn’t see it until it swallowed me whole.

My body screeched as it slammed against stone.

My nerves died as I reached out to the moon.

Chapter 13: The Survivor

CRITICAL WARNING: ERROR 40. INSUFFICIENT OXYGEN INTAKE.

REROUTING…

Pacemaker revival. I vomited water.

CRITICAL WARNING: ERROR 9

WAKE UP, IAN.

GET UP.

I woke up choking. Face in the dirt before I realized I needed to breathe.

The river swished around me, now a gentle stream, as I found just enough strength to cough up water. Every movement was absolute agony. Hot, aching pain radiating from my side into everything else.

The moon slowly disappeared as the sky gave way to sunlight. I finally gasped in enough air, and flopped myself onto my back.

I rested for a few seconds. The pain never ebbed away.

I closed my eyes for just a minute.

When I opened them again, it was noon.

“…God damnit…” I breathed out as my strength failed me. At least my arms were somewhat responsive again… I just barely pulled myself onto my stomach, struggling to push myself up properly.

I heard crackling from my radio. I tried clicking its button, and it squealed at me painfully. Guess these things weren’t waterproof.

I finally dragged myself to my knees, my arms shaking as I stumbled to my feet. I almost gave out again as I braced myself against a tree.

I studied the land around me… it was starting to sink in.

I was alone.

Shadowdata might have been looking for me. But so were the Feds. I could only hope I could make it home before they figured out my location.

I slid down the tree as I continuously bled. Gonna need to control that bleeding, somehow. I stripped my shirt, and felt for my knife before realizing it had been taken by Amelia.

Oh, god. Where was she? I almost panicked over the thought of her getting lost out here… I couldn’t remember which direction she had gone.

I could barely fucking think. That’s right, the bleeding. I tore my tank into a longer strip, and tied it tightly against my stomach. The contact stabbed more pain through nerves… I took a second to breathe before I passed out.

CRITICAL WARNING: ERROR 30

SEVERE BLOOD LOSS

Yeah, no shit. Thanks.

I needed fluids and food. I still had my pistol… only a few bullets left inside the magazine. If I could just find something to kill and cook… needed to make those shots count.

I stood up carefully again, and found my canteen inside my satchel. I’ll need to boil the water… that was the easy part. Hunting was another story.

I filled my canteen as full as it could be, and stored it away. I could maybe spearfish, seeing some distant shadows in the water… but I would have needed my knife to sharpen a decent spear. So I left them, choosing to sift through the wilderness as carefully and quietly as an injured man could manage.

There was fuck all, out here. Nothing but strange, alien foliage… I did find a single tree bearing fruit, though. Maybe that would be enough.

I slowly climbed up some branches, and snapped one fruit-bearing branch off the tree. Didn’t have enough energy to pick one at a time, so I let the entire branch fall. I almost fell back down, myself. One branch snagged my tourniquet—I sucked in air at the stabbing knife in my side.

Easier, now… I slid back down, stumbling onto my back. Wasn’t the most graceful way to grab food, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

I pushed my way back up, and slid the fruit branch over to me. The fruits were a little small, and… lavender purple… but they would have to do for now.

I tested the flesh. A little squishy, and bruised. I assumed there was some sort of pit or seeds inside it. So I rubbed it clean against my pants, and leaned against the tree as I crunched on one of them.

Sickly sweet, with a faint bitter aftertaste.

It was only after I finished one of the fruits that I realized it had medicinal properties, and side effects.

The medicinal property was pain relief.

The side effect was drowsiness.

CRITICAL WARNING:

…WHERE AM I?

…

…I couldn’t see shit.

Everything was blurry. Everything hurt. Everything was numb. Everything was broken.

I could feel heat and sweat on my forehead as I detected feverish temperatures.

It was nighttime, I could at least tell that much. The moon rose high once more, gracing me with a vague silhouette of light as I lay dying.

I heard the cries of distant fauna, searching for food on this nocturnal planet.

The whispering chirps of insects, foreign to me.

I breathed heavy, delirious, as lights began to shine onto me.

CRITICAL WARNING:

YOU’RE IN DANGER, IAN.

WAKE UP.

…

…Lights streaked across my vision. Loud and blurry; quiet, distant voices.

I felt really… really good.

“…Subject Nine?”

I looked at the person above me, about three seconds after they had spoken. Oh, these were the hard drugs.

“Can you hear me?” This person, I assumed a doctor, gently turned my head to look at them. A man, I think. Short hair, deeper voice. The lights were too bright to tell.

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. A laugh quietly escaped me.

“I need you to answer a question for me, Subject Nine.” They took their seat near me. I tried moving my arms—strapped to the railings along this bed. My legs were caught even tighter.

I could feel panic die in my chest. All I felt was euphoria.

I fucking hated this bitch.

“Do you know who Shadowdata is?” They asked as gently as they could.

Something inside me screamed at the rest of me to say no. But he was drowned out by the tides of narcotics.

“…They’re comin’ for me.” I showed teeth, in a lazy grin.

“Do they know where you are?”

“They’re gonna fuck’n kill you.” I slurred out my words.

“Do you work for them?” The man wrote something down.

God, it was agony. My screams replaced by hollow smiles.

“…They saved me.” I leaned my head to the side, and slowly I lost vision. The doctor tilted my head back up, and I gasped for air.

“Easy. Take it easy.”

“They’re comin’ for me…” I breathed heavy. It almost felt like the drugs were hitting harder. “…And they’re gonna fuck’n kill you.”

“What is your code telling you, Nine?”

“My code…?” I swallowed dry.

“The code, in your head…”

ERROR: AN UNKNOWN EXCEPTION HAS OCCURRED.

I drowned in nothing but feelings.

I missed Jakob.

“Nine, I need you to stay awake for me, okay? Do you hear anything?”

I almost forgot to breathe. “…Errors…”

“Errors?”

“…Where am I…?” I needed to know where she is.

“You’re in a hospital, Nine. I need you to relax.”

I needed Amelia. Harbor. Reyes. Somebody. I’d even take fucking Codec at this point.

I faded in and out as I cried for nobody. Screamed for help.

But my body didn’t do anything.

Nothing but smile.

Chapter 14: The Prisoner

…I had never woken up so well-rested in my life.

That terrified me.

As I came around, things became clearer to me. I breathed proper oxygen, and not whatever bullshit anesthesia they were feeding me before. My body was a little sore, but I felt around for my wounds, and found stitches that had long been healed over.

I was in a flat, white bed… in a flat, white room.

Now it was starting to really sink in.

Shadowdata didn’t find me first.

I felt for my dog tags. They were gone. Replaced with paper scrubs.

“Subject Nine?” A voice appeared through someone’s telecom. Wherever the hell it came from, I couldn’t see it.

“Oh, fuck me.” I shut my eyes.

“How do you feel?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Do you remember what happened to you?”

“Yeah. I got shot by a bunch of Federation pricks.” I stood up, pacing around the room. “Where the fuck am I?”

There weren’t even any one-way mirrors, or anything. Every surface of this goddamn cube were all white walls with a single embedded light above me.

“I need you to listen to me very closely, Subject Nine.” The speaker’s voice grew more serious. “You are a recovering patient in a hospital on planet Eden. Shadowdata are a very dangerous organization. We need your help.”

“Like hell you do.” I spat on the floor. “Who sent those soldiers after me, then?”

“What soldiers?”

“Oh, Jesus.” I almost broke walls right then and there.

“We never sent anybody after you. If you encountered hostiles, it was Shadowdata.”

“Bullshit!” I screamed out as I kicked one of the walls. Solid concrete—it left a dent in the wall. “Let me the fuck out!”

“I need you to stay calm, Nine. Your hardware is unstable.”

“You motherfuckers have been locking up innocent people and running experiments on them for centuries.” I stood in the center of the room with my fists balled tight. “You tell me who’s unstable.”

The speaker went dead for a few seconds.

I started searching for a way out.

“You said Shadowdata was coming for you.”

“Yeah.” I felt along the walls for some sort of seam.

“Can they track you?”

“I don’t fucking know. You tell me.”

“How do you know they’re coming to get you back?”

“Because I know them.” I kicked against my bed. “Because they’re the only people who’ve ever fucking cared about me.”

“They are terrorists, Nine.”

I laughed aloud. “You boys don’t know your history, do you? History, repeating itself, yet again. Why am I not shocked.”

“Pardon me?”

“It all starts with the ‘terrorists.’” I rolled my eyes as I continued searching. “…You start labeling the dangerous ones as terrorists. Then the people who disturb you. And then when they slightly inconvenience you. And then—shocker—you’re yet another fascist fucking state that I have to stomp out.”

I stood still with shaking hands.

“So don’t fucking test me.”

Papers could be heard shuffling around through the speaker. I didn’t hear any more voices after that.

…I’ve been running calculations for a while now.

I stared at the tray of food that had been slipped through some sort of small hatch in the wall.

It often disappeared as soon as it came.

It seemed to come once every four hours, on the dot.

So I waited.

Blaring alarms sounded as something jammed the entryway of the food dispenser.

I allowed myself a single, wild grin, as someone came inside to check on me.

Chapter 15: The Terrorist

Doctors and scientists scrambled for their lives.

Dog tags clicked and clacked against my chest.

Blood soaked me. Tasers grasped by my hand. Rerouting power. Suddenly, the raw power stabbed through their hearts, frying them from the inside out.

I tanked a guard’s bullets, bracing against his shots with my arms as I tackled him to the ground, crushing his windpipe hard enough to snap bones.

I stole his gun. Ten bullets.

I chose my targets carefully. Picked off the armed ones, and threatened the unarmed.

Eight.

Found someone’s keycard. Yeah, that’ll do.

I would tear this place apart from the inside, turning over every table and chair, every desk, break every human apart, until I found the one who ran this fucking place.

Doctors begged for mercy as I slammed them across hallways, launching them against walls and leaving them to run screaming.

I climbed stairs, I stalked down hallways. I sustained wounds. I didn’t fucking care.

This ends now.

“S… Subject Nine!”

A board meeting of suits scrambled away from me. Glowing eyes pierced through them.

I counted my bullets very carefully.

Four.

Three.

“Wait! Wait!” One of them cowered in the corner as I walked closer. “Subject Nine!”

“My name is Ian Ward.” I crouched down, grazing my pistol gently against the side of his face. I could feel him shiver.

“But that’s Warden to you.”

…

…These guys weren’t gonna give up so easily.

I cut the power at the fuse breakers in the basement. Emergency power illuminated this place in a low, red glow.

I had made my choice. Now I ran with it.

I sprinted through hallways as fast as I could, quickly scanning exit signs and fumbling for weapons as I ran. Some sort of distant rumbling startled me… were they bringing in heavy artillery? Just for me?

I felt my body shake with adrenaline as I cackled to myself. Just for little ‘ole me.

I escaped into broad daylight, and slipped past guards and soldiers as they began firing at me. I ran. I ran forever, as fast as I could possibly go.

I could feel my heart explode with the exertion. But I couldn’t stop.

Let’s go, Warden!

I would never fucking stop.

REYES, M: NINE

I flinched, distracted, as one guard caught my leg.

REYES, M: GOD please tell me you can hear this

WARD, I: YES I CAN I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING

I choked and growled as the guard yanked me into a stranglehold on asphalt.

REYES, M: We’re coming right now. You made quite the first impression with the Feds.

WARD, I: GKHJG

REYES, M: Oh shit.

The guard slammed my head against solid asphalt, then recoiled, dead, as I finally aimed my pistol at his face. I gasped as I crawled on all fours back up to run.

REYES, M: Watch your head, Nine. We’re coming with the heavy shit.

WARD, I: i’m ready just send it

I ducked under a large vehicle, seemingly a tanked-up cruiser, and shielded my head as something exploded nearby. Not just one—I barely peeked out before five more ransacked the entire facility.

The car above me creaked and almost trapped me under its weight. I crawled out from underneath it just as the car collapsed onto the ground.

Someone ran up and kicked me hard in the head, before I could even figure out what was going on.

…I think my brain was bleeding out of my nose.

Someone handcuffed me at some point. But that guard was gone. Now I saw familiar faces… a familiar girl, yanking me to the side.

“Ian!” Amelia grasped me tight as she took me into cover from the crossfire.

“Agh… hey, kiddo…” I mumbled with a small smile. My head was in agony, but all of this was so worth it. “Wh-why are you here?”

“I couldn’t leave you behind!” She struggled with the cuffs. “And I was really annoying to Codec.”

“That’s my girl.”

I wrestled out of her grip, and fought with the cuffs on the ground, finding just enough strength in my hydraulics to snap my hands free. It made my head swim. I lay limp for a second before she shook me awake again.

“We have to go, Ian. Please.” Amelia pulled against my arm. “Everyone’s trying to get us out.”

I heard someone shout as shots were fired dangerously close to us—Amelia screamed as I jolted awake, finding a soldier aiming straight for us.

I yanked his leg, forcing him to miss. I broke bones and stripped ammunition from his body.

But he didn’t miss a second time.

Chapter 16: Your Name Is

I seized up painfully as shots stabbed through my chest.

“No!”

Amelia let out a screech as she found a rifle, and slammed it against the soldier on the ground, knocking him utterly senseless.

I fought for air as my body fell to the side. Amelia shielded me from debris as another explosion rocked the earth.

“God…” I wheezed out as I looked down at myself. Three piercing shots, one of them dangerously close to the heart, mostly in my diaphragm. And I definitely felt it. “…Fuck.”

“No… no…” Amelia shivered terribly as she tried putting pressure on it. It only made it worse.

I gasped out painfully. “S-stop.”

“Ah—”

“Stop, baby, it’s okay.”

I pulled her hand away from me. She winced at incoming fire, but couldn’t leave me to die.

“It’s—it’s not okay, Ian…” Amelia pulled against my hand anxiously, to get me to move. “Please.”

“Stop, Amelia…” The pain almost stopped me from speaking.

“Ian, please… I just need time.”

She was desperate. Thought she could save me if she just had more time to do it. Never had she experienced such terrifying grief in her lifetime.

Neither have I.

But we both knew my time was up.

I ripped my dog tags off. I shoved my hand into her chest, just barely lifting it with the last of my strength. As she took the tags, my power gave out, and I dropped my hand to my side.

The only thing supporting me now was her.

“…Be good,” I gasped out, as crippling pain paralyzed me.

Amelia sobbed out. She pulled me closer… harder to breathe.

I wheezed out one last thing. Knowing it needed to be said.

“…Be a hero.”

She looked at me with a pained smile, and just barely saw me through her tears. She hugged me tight, and that was it.

ERROR: COULD NOT WRITE DATA.

She felt so warm.

I felt so numb. I was out of air; I was out of time.

My body relaxed without meaning to.

ERROR: AN UNKNOWN EXCEPTION HAS OCCURRED.

I was so proud of her.

I stared into the abyss.

I felt so happy.

PRESS ANY KEY TO KILL THE PROGRAM.

Chapter 17: Amelia Choi

…

…I couldn’t let him go.

I don’t know why I couldn’t. I guess I don’t need an answer for why. But I knew he was gone. I just wasn’t…

…wasn’t ready.

I clutched his dog tags tight against me. I gave him one final squeeze… while his body was still warm.

But I couldn’t stay here. We both knew that.

I slowly let Ian’s body slip from me, gently landing on the pavement. He looked like he was asleep… but he was so pale.

Ian Ward was gone.

Nine was gone.

I felt sobs control me. I could barely see through my tears as I felt for his gun.

He had some bullets left over.

And I was still here.

I stood up, feeling tears run down my face, clutching his weapon in my hand, keeping his dog tags against my chest.

I took a second to clasp the tags around my neck.

This was what I had to do.

There were people that needed him. And now that he was gone… all that was left was me.

I am Amelia Choi. Patient One-Thirteen.

And I will be the hero Ian Ward saw in me.