Code of Pride by Ryan Kirk

Author:Ryan Kirk [Kirk, Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Waterstone Media
Published: 2018-06-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Nat had already packed up her meager possessions and moved them to the van. Even though the total amounted to little, the process took her longer than expected. Getting in and out of the cave wasn’t an easy proposition. Getting in and out with the odds and ends she had accumulated over the past few months was even more difficult. Beyond that, she often found herself drawing out each step of the process, agonizing over pointless decisions.

She figured this was what moving meant to most people. For years she had lived out of her van, driving to whatever part of the city most interested her at the moment. So even though she’d never moved, as most people thought of the term, she’d never had a home either.

Her time here was different. Sure, it was a cave underneath a local park, but it had acquired a particular warmth, a place in her heart not even her van possessed. She supposed it had become a home, perhaps the first she’d had since Jack died.

But it was home no longer. Despite the challenge of moving heavy equipment without assistance, she had completed the task. Br00-S required so little that it was almost as if he didn’t exist, and now the place was almost completely empty. She didn’t really know why she lingered in the cave.

That last bit was a lie, she admitted to herself. She knew why she was still here. Despite everything, she still hoped he would come to his senses. Given the amount of time he’d been gone, though, it didn’t seem likely. With one final sigh, she took a last glance at the cave and started working her way out the protective gates. As she did, she heard a clanging of metal against metal at the far end of the entrance. Instinctively, she pulled out her high-powered stun weapons, designed to send enough energy through a system to overload even a robot’s systems. There was a slight chance whoever was coming was friendly, or just exploring, but that was a slim hope to hang one’s safety on.

When Br00-S stumbled around the corner and into her sight, Nat almost shot him. Not out of anger or spite, but because she didn’t recognize him. His once-beautiful and graceful frame was now covered in mud, muck, and what looked like seaweed. One of his arms was missing, and his clothes hung from his shoulders in tatters. He was dripping water, dirty liquid leaking out from both his legs and from the gaping hole in his shoulder that had once led to an arm.

He squatted down, and the light in his eyes momentarily faded.

Panicked, Nat dropped the few supplies she had saved for her trip and ran to him. Although he wasn’t technically alive, he looked more like a machine than Nat had ever seen him before. It was tough for her to look at the remains of him.

“Br00-S, what happened?

His eyes wandered up to her and relaxed there for a few moments, as if trying to remember who she was.

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