Cybernova, page 11
She’s smiling now, the idea of sticking it to ‘em lighting up her face.
There’s the Ash I know.
“But the thing that really keeps me going is the thing that’s always really been driving me, ever since my parents died of cancer when I was little. Healthcare should be free to everyone, and the fact that it’s not is horrendous! The number of times I’ve heard, ‘Oh, it’s too bad. If your parents could afford the treatments, they would be alright.’ It’s bullshit! Most forms of cancer, like so many diseases, have been fully treatable and preventable for years now, but it’s only available to the elites, to the rich and powerful. Fuck that. So hell yeah, I’m so happy I ran into you guys and that we’re finally going to do something about it. Who knows how far we’ll get, but we gotta do it. Do it for the ones we’ve lost,” she looks me in the eyes, and I nod knowingly, then she turns to Zeke and says, “and the ones we refuse to lose.”
“Thanks for sharing, Ash. That means a lot, and I know how hard it can be. I’m happy we’re all here, together again. Thank you both for opening up and just for everything.” I put an arm around each of them and pull them into another hug. With everyone spread out on the couch, it’s an awkward but hopefully endearing half-side hug.
They hug me back and we all share a laugh at the awkwardness of the hug. I feel so relieved and happy. It’s been a while. I smile wide at them and gesture to the TV, “What do you say? Next time we’ve got a moment, we play some games instead of crying our eyes out?”
“Now you’re talkin’!” Zeke says, nodding his head enthusiastically. “It’s been a while since I schooled you.”
“Oh really? We’ll just see about that.” I say, sitting up straighter and puffing out my chest to act tough, glaring at him.
“Yeah, as if either of you would be the one schooling anybody,” Ash says, smirking and crossing her arms with confidence.
“I wouldn’t be so confident if I were you. I’ve clocked a lotta gaming hours since we last played.” I reply.
Truth be told, she’s way better than either of us at nearly every game we’ve played together. Shooters, fighters, driving games, platformers, you name it, she’s the queen. But I’m feeling confident, or I guess stubborn is probably the better word.
We all pretend to glare at each other for a moment, acting tough and confident. I’m trying not to smile or laugh, but it’s tough. Then, all at once, we burst into laughter, collapsing into the comfortable depths of the old couch.
“Man, I missed this, you guys,” Zeke says as our laughter slowly fades.
“Me too.” Ash agrees.
“Me three,” I add.
We all sit there for a minute, enjoying the silence of a shared moment of vulnerability.
“Well, I guess we better get back to planning,” I say, standing and giving off as much energy as I can.
“Right, I’ll work on the van. You two keep plannin’ the details.” Zeke orders.
Without another word, we get to work.
Ch 7
SHINIGAMI surround me, closing in fast. I sprint down the street, not knowing where I am or how I got here. All I know is that I’m unarmed, unprepared, and going to die. It’s like I’m running in slow motion, with the quick, quiet footsteps of what seems to be ten Shinigami creeping ever closer. One of them jumps out at me, slashing straight through my left arm before I have a chance to do anything. Strangely, it doesn’t hurt as much as it probably should.
Just then, I hear a voice calling out my name a couple of buildings away. It sounds like…Astra’s voice! But what’s she doing here? She’ll get killed by them for sure! I try to shout back, to tell her to get out of here before it’s too late, but no sound comes out. It’s as if I can’t speak at all, and I’m running slower than ever now, my vision starting to blur… The shouting is getting louder. It’s definitely Astra…
“Olly…Olly! OLIVER!” She shouts repeatedly.
I can see what looks like her form rushing toward me as what now seems to be at least a hundred Shinigami close in, grabbing hold of me and driving their arm-mounted arc-blades through my back, my arms, and my legs. It burns in a way I imagine being shot into the Sun itself burns. I can feel my flesh melting as the wounds cauterize themselves. It's the kind of pain that begins to fade out after a while as my pain receptors become overloaded with inputs. I try to scream, but my throat closes up with pain. My entire body is spasming, held upright only by the very things causing the pain, the Shinigami’s blades.
“Get out…while you…still…can…” I try to warn her, but the words barely come out of my mouth. Each syllable is agony, and each word is a Herculean task to utter. My vision and the intense pain both fade away to nothingness as I lose control of my consciousness, unwillingly fading into the embrace of death.
“Oliver, wake up! Wake up, Olly!” Astra’s voice grows louder and louder as the world fades darker and darker around me.
Suddenly, I’m awake in my room in the bunker.
“What the…but the…” I pause for a moment, “fuck, it was just a dream!” I exclaim, the truth hitting me as a wave of relief washes over me, followed by a second wave of embarrassment at having Ash shake me awake from it.
“It was, but damn, it must have been some dream. You were screaming and tossing around like crazy, muttering about…Shinigami?” Astra replies, standing over me, holding my shoulders, and looking over me with a very concerned expression on her face. The room is incredibly dark, but I can make out her figure as I fully wake up. She’s wearing just a tank top and short shorts… I catch myself looking at her a second too long before snapping my eyes back to her face.
She removes her hands from my shoulders, seemingly just realizing they’re still there, and we both look away from each other for a second. It’s only now that I notice I’m covered in a cold sweat, and my heart is still racing.
“Yeah…it was nothing really, just a stupid dream, fighting off some bad guys. Sorry to worry you, Ash.” I pause for a moment, “and uh, thanks for waking me up.”
Astra gives me a look that says, “I don’t believe a word you’re saying, but sure.” She obviously knows I’m lying about the dream and its effect on me, but all she says is, “well, whatever you were dreaming about, try not to scare me like that, alright? You sounded like you were being attacked in here!” With that, she turns, walking out of my room and back to hers, closing the door firmly behind her with an echoing, metallic clang.
I push myself up to a sitting position on the edge of the bed and try to calm myself down. Between the dream and that awkward encounter with Ash, I’m gonna need a minute to gather myself. I really am hopeless when it comes to her.
After a few minutes of staring into the void, I find myself wondering if I’m making a terrible decision. What if all of this is a huge mistake? That dream was a little ridiculous, but not that far off from what could actually happen to me if I continued along this path. What if I end up getting Astra hurt, or Zeke, or Dex?
“No, don’t be an idiot,” I say out loud to myself, accidentally.
I can imagine what any of the three of them would say if I expressed these doubts to them. They’d all say something along the lines of “they signed up for this, they knew what they were getting into, and if I back out now, then everything we’ve been through would’ve been for nothing.” The more I think about it, the more sure I become. Dex has no other options, Zeke would sooner smack me upside the head with a tuning wrench than see me give up on this, and Astra explicitly told me she wouldn’t forgive me if I pushed her out of my life again, so…let’s just say giving up is NOT an option.
“Alright, that’s that, then,” I mutter to myself, clenching my fists and rising from the bed with a newfound resolve and determination. I flip on the dim, bluish light of the wall-mounted lamp, turn to look in the wall-mounted mirror, put my fists on my hips, and raise my head high. “From here on out, there will be no more excuses, no holding back! Oliver Wolf will take down CYBR Corp and keep his friends safe at the same time!” I’m not exactly one for power posing and mirror speeches, but I honestly feel really good about this, about myself. It’s something I haven’t felt in a while.
“That’s more like it!” Ash chimes in from the other side of the door, startling me.
After a brief pause to jump back into my skin, I throw open the door and see Ash standing across from me in the bathroom doorway. She must have been heading to the bathroom to take a shower and happened to walk by right as I said my little speech. Surprisingly, I don’t feel nearly as embarrassed as I could be. Who is this confident person anyway? That being said, I’m one hundred percent blushing.
“Oh, hey Ash, I didn’t know you were there, but thanks for the support!” I say with a smile, willing my cheeks to cool down.
Astra smiles back at me, then heads into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I close my own door again as well. I can faintly hear the water turn on as Astra hums a tune. I can’t quite place it, but something in the back of my mind is tingling with vague recognition.
I quickly get dressed in a fresh pair of black jeans and a t-shirt. The shirt is light grey with a yin-yang on it, but the yin-yang is a black wolf and a white wolf circling each other. I may have a few wolf-themed shirts, to say the least. I finish getting dressed, throwing on my electric blue skate shoes and recently-patched-up leather jacket. Then, I run a comb through my hair in an unsuccessful attempt to tame the beast.
I head out into the common space to see Zeke and Dexter discussing the plan over instant coffee and bowls of Fauxtmeal, the so-called “wonder of modern science.” Since much of Earth became unsuitable for farming several years ago due to a combination of flooding, drought, and never-ending snowstorms, governments began to rely on scientists to create the closest approximations of plants and meats that they could 3D-print or grow in test tubes, or wherever it is this ‘food’ comes from. So, instead of eating oatmeal, we eat Fauxtmeal.
And here I was, thinking society never amounted to anything.
I chuckle quietly to myself.
“Morning guys, how’s it goin’?” I say somewhat cheerfully as I walk over to the small kitchen counter, pouring a packet of instant coffee into a disposable plastic mug with some hot water from the electric kettle and scooping a bowl of Fauxtmeal.
I move over to the small folding table and sit in the cheap plastic folding chair next to Zeke, taking a sip of my coffee as I try to wake my body up. Apparently, people used to make designer coffee beans and roast them in fancy ways, but all I’ve ever known is the indistinguishable bitter-burnt taste of these blackish-brown granules they call coffee. Rumor has it the rich and powerful still import real beans from Africa and South America, or the parts that aren’t underwater, that is.
“Well, what’s got you so damn chipper?” Zeke retorts as his mouth forms the slightest hint of a smirk.
“You’re as pleasant as always, Zeke.” I shoot back. “And for your information, I am ready for a smooth, successful heist! I can’t wait to not be tied to this piece of junk.” With that last comment, I tap the top of the external battery unit that I have strapped around my waist.
“Well, we would all love for the heist to go as smoothly as possible, but I definitely wouldn’t count on it.” Dexter chimes in, his face contemplative.
“I know, I’m just trying to stay positive…” I pause for a moment, taking a big swig of my coffee, “for once in my life.”
The table falls silent as we all eat Fauxtmeal and sip coffee, thinking about the daunting task ahead of us. I may be trying to stay positive, but I can guarantee something will go wrong with this plan. There are just too many factors. Unfortunately, as is the case with most things, there’s no way to know what will go wrong until it’s happening. There’s no cybernetic implant to see the future, not yet, anyway. I find myself thinking about that nightmare, the Shinigami closing in around me, their arc blades searing their way through my skin. I feel an itching, crawling sensation all over my body as goosebumps erupt from every pore. It’s like I can still feel them, see the flesh melting from my body…
No! I refuse to let fear get in my way, not this time.
Having finished his breakfast, Zeke stands, tosses his mug, bowl, and spoon in the trash, and sits back next to me. He’s been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few minutes.
“Alright, look, are we not gonna talk about the elephant in the room?” Zeke bursts out suddenly. His face is filled with concern.
I look at Dex. We share a mutual eyebrow raise followed by a shrug, and then we both turn to face Zeke.
“Hello! Astra?” Zeke exclaims, pointing aggressively toward the hallway where Ash is. “She was compromised, CYBR Corp troops tracked her apartment, which is tied to her, so our entire plan won’t work, will it? We’re screwed. I’m rethinking the whole plan!” With that last comment, he throws his hands up and slumps in his chair. I haven’t seen Zeke this frazzled in a while. I always forget just how New York his accent becomes when he’s stressed.
“I didn’t want to say this before, but you may have a point there, Zeke,” Dexter replies, contemplative. “While it’s true that she isn’t publicly wanted like the rest of us, they clearly know she’s involved in some way. While I was netrunning yesterday, I found some traces of reference to Miss Odelle. It’s difficult to say whether or not the CYBRnetrics workers will be looking for her or not.”
“There we go! At least someone around here has some common sense!” Zeke shoots back.
“Alright, guys, enough!” I interject. “I understand the concern, but there’s no other way that this plan could possibly work without her. We all know that. We talked about this yesterday. Not to mention, she’s still on the FOCC list, right? That wouldn’t be the case if she was truly on the wanted list like us. And on top of that, why don’t we disguise her the same as you? No one will even know it’s her. Plus, we only need her to stick around long enough to lure the manager out of the CYBRnetics Outlet and show her the fusion cell.” I continue, steadying my breathing as I talk and trying to sound as reassuring and confident as possible. “Besides, Ash practically threatened to kill me if I didn’t let her help us, so good luck telling her that yourself.”
“Telling me what yourself?” Ash interjects, seemingly materializing out of thin air. She’s standing where the hallway connects to the common space, dressed in her usual black t-shirt, blue jeans, and worn black combat boots.
“Oh, hey, Ash! Zeke has something he wants to tell you.” I answer mischievously, interested to see how this plays out and even more interested in staying the hell out of it.
Ash makes her way to the kitchen area, grabs some food and coffee, and sits at the head of the small table.
“So, what’s up?” She asks again.
Zeke shoots me a red-hot glare that I am all too familiar with, then responds, “I’m just…concerned that since your identity has been compromised, this plan will fail, and we need to find some sort of alternative plan.”
“I appreciate the concern, Zeke, I really do, but what other options do we have?” Ash responds, giving a subdued shrug and a slight eye roll. “Besides, I can handle whatever might happen.” I’m watching her face intently to see if Zeke can crack her. These two used to act like siblings back in the day, with Zeke acting like an overprotective older brother and Ash always playing it cooler than she actually feels. She hates it when people try to protect her or assume she can’t handle herself.
Learned that the hard way.
“That’s what Olly said. What are you rehearsing lines now!?” Zeke quips back, gesturing in my direction.
I throw up my hands incredulously, “don’t look at me, man.”
“Useless, that’s what you are.” He retorts jokingly. Or at least I hope it’s jokingly. He then turns back to Ash, “Right, so say we go through with this. What do you do if they recognize you? Other than running for the hills, I’m fresh outta ideas right now.”
Ash pauses, thinking it over. Then, I see a spark in her eye as she says, “I know what we’ll do. Obviously, I’m going to run and fight my way out with Olly if anything seems off, first of all. But, and this is a big ‘but,’ say they do capture me, then I can be our eye on the inside! You can tune in to my comm implant. I’ll tell them you forced me to work with you, feeding them false information while learning anything I can about their operation from the inside!”
As Ash unveils her plan to the group, excitedly gesturing to a spot on the back of her neck as everyone’s faces change from confusion to shock, mine included. The comm implant is a sound enough idea in theory. We all have them as part of the Holocomm system and can set up a call beforehand to capture any audio, but the idea of it… I’m too dumb-founded to say anything for a moment, and it seems Zeke is, too, but Dex speaks up for the first time in several minutes.
“No. Absolutely not. Astra, I may not know you very well, but I have no doubt you can handle yourself as well as anyone. That being said, you do not know what it’s like there. I do. I worked there for years, seeing the horrible things they do to criminals no one will miss, all of their nameless test subjects…I’ve been the one doing those things…” He shudders, his expression vacant for a moment. “No one can survive their torture. Trust me. You can’t go with them willingly.”
As soon as Dexter finishes speaking, a chilling, deafening silence falls over the room. I feel a shiver run down my spine, and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. My mind is reeling, trying to imagine what he could even be talking about, how it must have felt to be forced to do…whatever it was they made him do.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my fair share of fucked up shit in my years on the streets of Nova City, but I’ve got a terrible feeling that not a single thing I’ve seen or experienced comes anywhere close to what Dexter has been through. My mind runs through scenario after scenario, each a more twisted image than the last as my imagination runs wild, creating the most deranged things Dex could’ve been forced to do. The worst part is, no matter how dark my mind goes, I’m almost certain it isn’t dark enough to truly understand what this poor, sweet, caring man has been forced to go through, all for fear of the safety of those he holds most dear. It fills me with rage as the horrifying thought crosses my mind. I can feel my heart beginning to beat faster, my fists and jaw subconsciously clenching.
