Prisoner 3-57: Nuke Town (19 page)

‘
Would
you look at that?’

The
voice paused in front of the video game arcade entrance.

A
game was facing out onto the mall. A sign announced, “The
Latest Release”. It was Prisoner 3-57: Ghost. A red gun and a
blue gun were holstered beneath a screen. On the screen a giant robot
was dancing across the surface of the moon. Bullets were flying
towards the screen, as if the players were being shot at.

‘
We’re
famous,’ laughed the voice.

A
gunshot rang out. My bolt jolted. The screen of the video game
shattered.

Suddenly,
the world began to spin.

‘
Eh?’
my voice came through my own lips.

I
was looking up at the ceiling.

I
forced my head up and looked down. Blood was pouring from a wound on
my abdomen. Unconsciously, I touched it with my fingers. I was
bleeding pretty badly. I still couldn’t feel any pain. The meds
that Rose had given me had numbed my body completely. It was a weird
sensation. I am aware that I have suffered horrific wounds, but my
body is telling me that everything is fine. A figure stood over me. I
looked up at Lena. The teenager had the barrel of her gun pointed at
my head.

She
shot me?

‘
Why?’
I had to know. ‘She was you’re mother.’

‘
I
do what I am programmed to do,’ said Lena, in a very matter of
fact way. ‘She wasn’t my mother. She was just some sad
old lady that couldn’t let go of her dead daughter.’

‘
When
did you die? Was it when that sniper shot you?’

‘
You
aren’t really very smart, are you, 3-57? I was never in the
game. This girl,’ she gestured to her own body with a wave of
the hand. ‘This girl died nearly four years before the sun
started to die. She was hit by a hover car. She is as dead as a can
of spam.’ She laughed. ‘Jane used this game to bring her
back. She is so fucked up that she even brought back to life her
abusive husband. You remember him, right? You stuck an axe in his
skull. The woman was a sad lonely old bitch.’

‘
I
loved her,’ I growled.

‘
She
didn’t love you, she was a suicidal depressive.’

‘
How
can you say that to...?’

‘
She
isn’t anything to me. That was why it was so much fun to carve
her up. Saul had such a fun time. We chopped off the little fingers
first and then carved on her skin for a while, but she wasn’t
screaming enough so the arms and legs had to go.’ I moved fast.
I lifted my hand and raised the gun to her head. Lena reacted with
lightning quick reflexes. She slapped the gun from my hand, pressed a
knee into my abdomen, and shoved the barrel of her gun into my mouth.

‘
Goodbye,
3-57.’

She
squeezed the trigger.

I
had one move I could do.

I
turned my head.

The
bullet blew out the side of my right cheek, removing several teeth
along the way. I released a war cry from deep within me, as I forced
myself up. Years of daily sit ups added in my ability to shift the
dead weight of the small framed girl. Lena fired several more times,
but the barrel was protruding out of the hole in my cheek and just
shot off into the distance. My ears were ringing from the noise. All
I could hear was a high pitched whine. I threw a hook with my one
free hand. I caught her on the side of the head. It wasn’t a
great blow, as my body seemed to be losing strength. It had to be
from the wound in my stomach, from where she shot me through the
back. Did I lose too much blood? Either way, the force of the blow
was strong enough to knock her off balance. I slipped a hand around
the back of her right ankle, pulling her foot forward, as I shoved my
shoulder into her mid-section. I grabbed her gun hand by the wrist,
as she fell. I landed on top of her. Lena kicked and punched. From
the open mouth, wide eyes and thrashing I think she must have been
screaming and alerting her friends, but I could hear nothing. My ear
drums were destroyed. I gripped her wrist as tight as I could, and
dug my fingernails into the skin.

She
dropped the gun.

A
palm was pressed into my face, as she attempted to push me away.

I
wrapped my hands around her throat.

I
begin to squeeze.

Her
face began to turn red in seconds.

Her
eyes looked like they might pop out of her head.

It
felt wrong to be doing this. I had fought so hard to protect this
girl.

Lena
scratched at me, dug her fingers into my cheek, kicked and fought as
hard as she could, but there was no way I was going to lose this
fight. She might be evil to the core, but she was still a sixteen
year old girl. I was far too strong for her. I closed my eyes and
squeezed and squeezed. I wasn’t even aware of how much time
went by. I could have been there for half an hour for all I know. I
didn’t want to be doing this. I had fought so hard to protect
Lena in the last game. She had been a friend. She was Jane’s
daughter. I loved Jane. I loved her so much, but even she was gone
now. Everyone was gone. Everyone I cared about died around me. I
didn’t deserve this. I am trying so hard to do the right thing.
I don’t want to hurt any more of my friends. It is all because
of Prisoner X.

He
is making me do this.

I
will make him pay.

I
will cut his fucking head off.

I
opened my eyes.

Lena
was looking up at me. Fear and suffering was etched across her face,
but the lights within her had gone out. I released my hands from her
throat and picked up her gun. Slowly, I got to my feet. The world
felt like it was tilting. Blood was pouring down my face, across my
chest and out of my abdomen. My torso was covered in horrific burns.
I had gunshot wounds in my back, chest, shoulders and thighs. It
wouldn’t be long until I was dead. I know this. I can feel my
life slipping away from me, but I had to keep going. Iaso was still
out here and Rose was missing. I had to save my sister. I had to. I
had to keep her alive. I had to kill Prisoner X.

Chapter Nine: The
Dance of a Thousand Swords

The
edges of my world blurred, as I limped through the mall. I was
practically dragging my leg. It was a weird feeling. I felt no pain.
Nothing seemed to hurt, but it was like someone was switching off the
lights in a house. One by one I was losing sensation and control of
my limbs. I was losing too much blood. Thankfully, the voice was gone
for now. Did it become weaker, as I grew weaker? That was a nice
thought. I liked the thought that I get to see that bastard die
before I do. Suddenly, the floor rushed forward and smashed into my
face. For one long moment I just lay face first on the floor. What
just happened? Did I collapse? Is this the end? I feel so fucking
tired. My eyes are just so damned heavy. I wish I could just sleep
for a little while, even a minute.

I
closed my eyes.

My
body began to drift away.

It
was time to sleep.

A
metallic scraping sound reached my ears.

My
body jolted awake.

Did
I fall asleep?

How
long was I out?

Unconsciously,
I turned my head to the right.

It
took everything I had just to make this tiny movement. I opened my
eyes, but it felt as if someone had taped my eyelids to my cheeks.
They refused to open. I dug deep and tapped into the last of my
energy reserves, but it might have been the last of my will power.
When I finally managed to force them open everything was blurry and
out of focus. I had reached my limit.

My
heart dropped down into the pit of my stomach.

Iaso
was walking towards me.

I
am fucked.

She
was dragging the tips of her twin samurai swords across the floor.
The Earth Force combat uniform had been disregarded. She was back in
her familiar attire. A short brown rag like skirt hid her modesty and
a cloth was wrapped around her large plump breasts. The rest of her
slim, sexy blue skinned body was on full display for the world to
see. Certain parts of her body seemed to sparkle, as if her skin was
covered in glitter. It was a beautiful sight to see.

Was
this how I was going to die?

I
don’t feel like I can fight back.

I
don’t think I even have any energy left to move.

Iaso
rolled me onto my back with her foot. The tip of a sword was placed
upon my chest. The gorgeous alien had hatred etched across her face.
If looks could kill then I would be a dead man. I could see the
disgust through the windows of her soul.

‘
Why?’
she asked me.

I
could just about make out her words.

The
gunshots had damaged my hearing.

A
frown creased my brow.

‘
Why?’
I repeated her question, my voice sounded foreign, as if I had a
speech impediment. Lena had blown out my cheek and several teeth. I
was surprised that Iaso could understand me at all.

‘
Why
did you do it?’

‘
What
did I do?’ I asked, my voice growing weaker by the second.

It
was only then was I aware of someone else. Hope blossomed like a
flower on a summer’s day. There might actually be a chance that
I would get out of this situation alive. Rose was approaching Iaso
from behind. My sister was tiptoeing like a child on Christmas Eve
that wanted to have a sneak peak at its presents. Her gun was aimed
at the back of the alien’s skull. I made sure to keep my eyes
on Iaso. I didn’t want to alert her to Rose’s presence.
We may only get one shot at this. Iaso is by far the greatest warrior
I have seen in this game. Speed and agility were qualities that she
had in abundance. I don’t doubt that she could kill us both
without breaking a sweat. Stealth and surprise were our only real
advantage.

‘
Why
did you do that to Jane? I thought you loved her.’

‘
What
do you mean?’

‘
WHY
DID YOU CUT HER UP LIKE THAT?’ Iaso screamed at the top of her
lungs.

Why
was she asking me this?

She
was the one that cut her up.

It
was Iaso and her friends that betrayed Jane.

Why
does she think I had anything to do with that sickening attack?

It
was like having a moment of enlightenment.

It
made sense.

It
finally hit home.

Iaso
wasn’t an AI.

She
couldn’t be, could she?

If
she was an AI then she wouldn’t be asking about Jane.

This
didn’t make sense. I was sure Iaso was an AI. I was one hundred
percent sure.

Rose
continued to sneak forward.

‘
I
thought you did it,’ I replied, my voice was growing weaker
with each breath.

‘
Why
would I do that?’ Iaso was spitting fire. ‘Jane was my
friend.’

‘
It
was the AI’s,’ I told her.

‘
What
AI’s?’

‘
Prisoner
X turned the AI’s against us.’ My eyes were starting to
close. I felt like I was sinking into a swamp of heavy sludge. I was
being consumed by darkness. ‘Lena and Saul did it. They killed
Jane. Lena was never real to start with. She died on Earth. They were
AI’s...’

I
began to slip into the world of dreams.

A
horrifying thought occurred to me. If Iaso isn’t an AI then we
are still missing one. Saul and Lena came at me. Lena even confessed
to not being real, but Prisoner X said there were three AI’s.
Did we already kill the other one? Sly and Levi were killed by an AI.
The others are all under medication. TJ wanted to run away. He didn’t
want to die, but Rose killed him...

Rose
killed him.

Rose
killed a human player.

I
turned my eyes towards my sister.