Humanoid

Humanoid By: Sabrina Ruths

Intro: I could hear the ticking in my head; a steady repetitive pattern echoing in my skull over and over.

Its annoying gears accompanied by my foot tapping on the hardwood floors. How long does it take? I let my honey blonde hair sweep over my face. It had been two days since my dad left for a job interview for NASA. I had no idea they took so long just to ask a person a few questions then say yes or no. I mean, knowing my dad I thought they would have accepted immediately. He is a world renowned scientist. I mean, come on! Who wouldn’t want one of the most brilliant scientists in the world? He revolutionized robotics; the first to master them. He made them capable of so much more than being a walking, talking computer. He gave them the ability to act, understand, and think like humans to better understand our problems and how to solve them. There had been a faulty experiment where one of the robots had experienced what seemed to be emotion. During one of the tests, he was asked to kill an ordinary house fly for my father, but he refused to hurt it, exclaiming it would wound the creature. My father was shocked and impressed but turned down Mark I or Humanoid as he called him. He knew something like that could and would go beyond his control.

It eludes me why he would want to keep the thing instead of disposing it like he did with the many creations that was invented in the laboratory under the house, but I guess this one was more sentimental to him. Most people would be freaked out that your dad makes living creations in a three story underground locked base, probably bewildered how you could afford something like that too. It’s not too hard when your father is a millionaire, but I didn’t care right now. What concerned me was the fact that he should not be taking this long. I starred at the ground and counted the seconds in my head.

Then, I felt a rush of cold winter air hit my heated skin; I knew it could only be one person as I leaped from the chair I was sitting in by the door and embraced him in a tight hug.

“I got the job!” He swung me around as he hugged me back. Smiling like a sun fish the way his face stretched out, it reminded me of a slinky.

“Of course you got the job!” We jumped out and down like a bunch of screaming girls at a boy band concert. After we calmed down gave he his serious look, which meant only one thing.

“Movie night?” I asked.

“Move night.” He confirmed. I ran toward the kitchen.

“I’ll get the popcorn!” He sighed in knowing he would have to choose a movie on T.V. Knowing how picky I was it wouldn’t be an easy task. As I took out the popcorn heated in the microwave and a large bowl out of the red wood cabinets and laid it onto the marble island in the middle of the kitchen. I had gotten the extra butter brand, a.k.a. movie theater popcorn. I skipped out of the kitchen, bowl in hand.

“What this thou movie the good sir has chosen?” imitating an older accent. He stood in front of the T.V., until he saw a show that perked his interest, in a bad way. The title read “The Kimsworthy Show: Future robot malfunctions”. He scoffed knowing it was referring to him.

1

“They’re just jealous that they didn’t make a worldwide craze.” I said as I flopped onto the couch already stuffing handfuls of popcorn into my mouth. A small smile cracked onto his lips as he continued to click through the endless list of Netflix channels and movies. I watched him scroll down from horror to comedy and children’s movie.

“How about this, ‘Barney’s Adventures?’ ” I glared at him. “Do I look like I’m three?” He stopped to stare at me then shoot his trade mark grin. “Yes.” I threw the closest thing around me at his face. It was only a pillow but it managed to knock him back a good couple steps.

After the small talk between flipping channels we finally decided on a horror movie, just to watch the idiots on the screen. “What is she doing?!” I yelled at the T.V. waving my hands in the air.“ Who goes into the basemen when a guy comes at you with a chain saw?! Huh?! You go for the door, not the basement!” I glanced over at my dad noticed he was asleep during the so called scariest part, which annoyed me. Instead of ignoring it, I decided to quickly and quietly get up and sneak around the couch toward the end where he sat. Putting my hands closer to his throat I lightly grabbed his neck then watched him jolt up from his current position on the couch, screaming and shouting.

“Ahhhhhh~oh my god!” I fell on the ground from laughter while feeling my stomach burst from the inside out. My laugh sounding like a mules cry didn’t help that. He on the other hand seemed as if he would become one of the cartoons with the steam coming out of their ears which didn’t help ether.

“What was that for?!” he said impatiently and annoyed. I continued to laugh as I talked unable to stop. “You fell asleep!” He didn’t seem too happy with his answer.

“Since I’m so funny you can be grounded this week.” I stopped with those words to turn to him in the most serious look. “What?” thinking I heard him wrong. He smiled evilly this time.

“You heard me, you’re grounded.” I grit my teeth and darted my eyes at him. “Why?” he calmly responded, “For not respecting your elders.”

I was ticked. That wasn’t fair. All I did was wake him up because he fell asleep. If was me he would have done the same thing. My hot temper rose within me, making me say words I wish I hadn’t.

“Mom wouldn’t have minded your just temperamental cause she died last month!” The look of surprised horror and anger quickly flooded his face. Mom was a touchy subject right now, one word about her and both of us would flip a lid, which meant he wouldn’t take my statement too lightly.

“If you want to go there then you can stay in that room of yours for a month!” I got up to his face, close enough I could feel his breath. Intensifying my glare at him I heavily breathe in his face.

“Fine!” I spun around to the steps to the second floor. I stomped my foot hard enough on each step to make sure I heard a crack in the board. As I marched down the hallway I could feel the warm tears run down my check. I slammed the aqua bedroom door behind me as I entered my room to make my presence known downstairs.

It wasn’t fair! Ever since mom died he had these moments where he would just freak out and lose it, he was acting like a chick! I mean, even though I scared him it was his fault for falling asleep during the movie no matter how tried he is. I’ve done worse things on worse nights and he was fine with it. It’s like he was taking out mom’s death on me which I can’t even control!

2

I collapsed onto the bed and screamed in my controller shaped bean bag pillow. I stayed there awhile to think and calm down a bit. After I regained my self-control I sat up straight.

“So I’m grounded for a month now.” I thought aloud, “Great, just great.” I stood off the bed and my feet hit the cold wood floor boards. I swayed for a moment trying to let the feeling of blood flow pass into my feet as paralyzed as they were. A sigh escaped my lips as I went toward the dresser where my phone was. It was slim and advanced technology one of the newer models. I needed to talk to someone.

I scrolled through the long list of contacts when my fingers stumbled on Anne. As if cued by fate my phone rang from her contact. As I answered I could hear the panic in her voice. It was shaky and she seemed to be panting extraordinarily hard.

“What’s wrong?” I instinctively asked her. “Have you seen the news?!” she answered as if it was weird I didn’t know, as I processed all the possible scenarios that could have gone wrong and I started to panic.

“No, why?” I asked suspiciously. “It’s everywhere! You know that little harmless helpful robot your dad built and everyone just had to have it and it went global which means their everywhere. Well, yeah, their making one of the biggest massacres in human history!” I tried to talk but she continued to ramble on until I cut her off.

“Wait, so you’re saying the machines my dad built are, rebelling?” She screamed at me. “No! It’s more than that, they’re on every channel, every T.V., every computer and probably listening to this conversation! I have to go. Their all down my street along with reinforcements, you may not hear from me in a while Alexa, but just worry about yourself for now! Lock down the house!”

And with that the line went dead only leaving a blurred static. I considered this might be a prank, but I don’t think Anne would ever lie to me, or I to her. It was enough to be worth looking into. She did after all say it was on all broadcasting signals. I sprinted out the door and down the stairs to the T.V. which was still off and my dad watched me in a confused and dazed way from the couch where he was curled up.

“What do you think you’re doing? You’re grounded!”

I ignored my dad and flicked on the T.V. and just like Anne said there was the same thing on each channel, it was a white and black drone repeating the same words over and over.

“-Your resistance is futile, please refrain from any unnecessary force so that way it may make your elimination much simpler and efficient. `” My dad shuddered at the words and the image of his prize creation. As I turned toward him for an explanation sirens rang from outside our house.

“Hide!” He said pushing me under the coffee table. It had a skirt hung around the sides of marble.

From then on I relied on my hearing as the door was kicked in. I could hear the armed men invade our house. The dogs, the soldiers, and my dad arguing he was the only one here. I could hear the men talking next to me; I dared not peer out beyond the cloak that kept me hidden from them.

“Are you the only one here?” Astern voice asked. What my guessed to be the general or leader of the squad that trespassed into our house. Then again, I don’t think they care when the world is being launched into anarchy.

“Yes sir. No one else is here with me.”

3

“Good. As you might have already known your little project has malfunctioned on us. Do you know what it’s doing to the human population?”

“No sir. I have no knowledge of what its goals are, and what it has accomplished but-” the man cut off my father.

“It’s tiring to wipe out the human population Mr. Halro! They’ve already succeed in wiping out one forth already! We’re not asking you, we’re telling you have to come with us and make a solution to this, and shut down program if you will.”

“What makes you think I can?”

“You can because you made them. Take Mr. Halro to the car, then sweep the house for anything important, burn the rest so the droids can’t scrap anything important.”

“No! You can’t do that!” I could hear him struggling, being dragged out from the house and into the car as the door slammed and the sirens dimmed off.

The squad continued their search for more than half an hour until they found something.

Ironically it was in the living room. It was the lab entrance, but they didn’t know that.

“Sir, come see this!” Footsteps past me and headed toward the book shelf not too far away. You needed a finger print to get in and right now my father’s wouldn’t work because of the new security wall he put up and accidently locked him out. He had asked me for my help when he got back from his job interview to fix it. I don’t know how I could have helped but I agreed.

“It requires his finger print, sir.”

“Get his prints of his cup on the coffee table.”

I heard people working on the slate of marble above me. I tried not to snicker knowing that no matter what they did they would never get the vault to the underground lab open. I heard the buzzer denied entry for the federal police squad over and over. They stumbled around like lost sheep not knowing why it didn’t work. After almost a half an hour of this someone received a call from a higher military office. The man had everyone clear the room and surround the outside of the house.

“General Kevin, Stop. There has been a breach in the walls at Cloverton; the town east of you.

They’re coming to that house, you need to get what you need and evacuate.” What exactly do they want from here?

“We can’t, not yet. We still haven’t found the proto type and we both know hacking into him means we link to all of their main frames and shut them down from the inside.”

“Alright, we’ll hold them off for as long as we can and send a team to hack the lab security system. Don’t let me down.” With that the call ended and he left the room, making it abandon.

Now was my chance to escape, I could easily lift the window and run out but then what?

Guards were everywhere, they’d find me and lock me up and ask me questions. How much did I know? What do you have that they want? I didn’t know, and honestly I didn’t care. I just wanted to get away from these freaks.

I brushed past the table skirt and climbed out from under it as stealthy as I could. I looked around to adjust to the equipment they had set up around our living room. A stand where they cleaned his tea mug for finger prints and other lines of hacking technology linked up to the door next to the book case. For 4

some reason I felt as if I needed to see it in a closer angle so my feet unwillingly guided themselves forward it. The finger print scanner was highlighted in red because of all the errors they had. Then I thought that spun through my head. “I need you to help me with the locked lab later, and only you can help me with it.” What if my finger print had been registered in the base and I came through? I couldn’t leave anyway or I’d get caught and if I was wrong I’d get captured anyway, but it’s the only idea I have.

So I slid my finger onto the red glass surface. It moved horizontal and vertical blue lines across the pad to scan the small extension of my hand.

I held my breath from what seemed to be an eternity, as the locked then clicked open and the door opened wide. Others must have heard because soldiers flooded into our small living room. They surrounded me and the door, pushing me further into the gate way. Fear bolted though me like lightning and I grew deaf with fear. I could see them yelling at me, pointing to the ground most likely saying “Get on the ground and put your hands behind your head!”

I instinctively ran into the vault like door and it automatically shut behind me. As I ran down the stairs I could hear the bolt locked again as it currently was. The pounding on the steel door faded as I sprinted down the fleets of stairs leading downward into the abyss.

As long as I lived here I had never come down into his lab. I was always told I wasn’t allowed but maybe he put in the fingerprint in case of an emergency like this, or he could have just gotten the prints mixed up.

As I hit the last step the lights turned on automatically as well as many of his machines. Glass tubes contained everything in sizes of house fly’s and insects to bigger machinery and robots. The walls were white as well as the tiled floors, the only hint that color existed down here was the blue glow on the rims of life sized glass containers. I walked alongside them until I found one that caught my eye. It was a person, or so it seemed. He was breathing and a monitor kept his pulse in check. His golden hair was shaggy and ruffled and his features on his face seemed so gentle and smooth like butter or glass. Before I could rationalize any ideas I immediately opened his container to let the blonde boy go. When I turned around to my horror I then read the label under his cell.

“Humanoid.” I started to tremble. I knew the first model was supposed to resemble of a human unlike all the others after it but I didn’t think he could make him so, realistic.

His eyes fluttered open and I began to back up into the control panel. He took a step toward me and then another. Before I knew it, I was standing face to face with the enemy. The one my father treasured and I helped him build. I braced myself for pain, but it never came. He didn’t do anything. He stood there, almost what seemed to be dazed as my pulse raced faster than stallions.

“You’re Alexa Halro, right?” he asked me in soft and caring manner. I gave him a puzzled expression, now taking a bit more time to look him over. He was detailed, down to the last hair. You could easily mistake him for a human with a quick glance. This humanoid kind of reminded me of my mom.

Her voice had that sweet natured feel to it, and his eyes…. They reminded me of her lime and turquoise ones. He didn’t talk in the mechanical either like way the other ones did, and I don’t think he wanted to hurt me.

“Yes?’ I replied cautiously, still expecting him to try to slaughter me here and now. He smiled in return to what I had said then continued to talk in his flowing voice that reminded me of ice cream for some reason.

5

“Your father has told me a lot about you, I aid him in his experiments but he never lets me leave beyond the lab. I’m fine with that though.” He cocked his head to the side making his bushy hair sway over to his face. “He couldn’t bring himself to shut me down, so instead he said he’d try to fix me and assign me to a commander.” He beamed with a wide smile and illuminating his eyes with wonder.

“Do you want to be my commander?! I’ll do everything you ask of me I promise!” He pleaded to me with watery eyes and the cutest face while I stood completely dumbfounded to his last comment.

“Commander?” I said more to myself then to him. No wonder my dad didn’t make any of the others like him, he was too human and if something were to happen to one of the drones then it would be a family member dying and nobody likes going through that, trust me I know.

“Sure, why not?” I told him questionably. The smiled spread wider across his face if possible and he gave me hug for some reason I couldn’t understand. I was still confused until I realized something. He could help me. He could help me get out of here and maybe, just maybe, help me stop and clean up all this mess. I know that’s the same thing they want him for but all they want is to terminate all of them including my dad’s proto type. If my father saw something in this machine then so should I, I just don’t know if it’s smart to trust him or not. I backed out of his tight embrace and stared him down.

“So what do I call you?” He looked at me as if I wasn’t speaking English. ” Uh, Mark I, of course.” I only returned another confused look to him.

“No, I’m not calling you a number. Hmmm, how about Oscar?” He smiled to that.

“So you’re changing my name to Oscar huh?” I beamed with pride at the name I had chosen.

“Yes. Yes, I am. Do you like it?”

“No. I love it.” For brief moments in our conversations it felt as if I was talking to another human being. Oscar held himself so naturally and the way he talked was so fluent and his ascent was perfect even though he was just bolts and gears, although I would never say that directly at him.

“So is there another way out of here, other than the main door?”

“Actually, yes, there’s escape door over there that leads upward into the edge of Cloverton City from here.” He told me as he pointed in its direction.

“Really?!” This was great, we found another way out and I could meet up with Anne there, but introducing Oscar may be a problem.

“Come on!” He didn’t move an inch as I tugged on his hand to let from the emergency exit.

“One, I’m not supposed to leave and two, couldn’t we just use the house door?” I shoot him a look of concern and anger.

“You have to come with me. That’s not a request it’s a command.” This he seemed to take seriously, like if he didn’t do it he would die. ” And we have to take this way out because there are guys up there looking for us, really bad guys who want to hurt and us and choke us for information we don’t have.” He started to walk slowly and talk as I pulled to the exit.

“Why do they want to hurt us?” I was cut off guard by his words. They hit me like a truck. If I say the wrong thing he might snap and I needed him to find my dad and help put an end to this mess.

6

“They want to use you as a plug for a virus to kill off the other drones.” I glanced over to see his jaw drop as we kept walking. His expression made me want to laugh, considering the fact that everything I do he has a big reaction to. I wouldn’t blame him; I mean he’s never been exposed to this kind of thing before.

“So you’re saving me?” I smiled at the way he put it, like I was some sort of hero. “Yeah, I’m saving you from the bad guys who already took my father.”

He refused to move and inch now. Oh dear god what did I say? ” You mean they have Mr. Halro?

They have him!? Well we have to go back then.”

He tried to turn around but I wouldn’t let him, I kept an iron grip onto his wrist.

“He’s not there anymore I don’t know where they took him and besides we have bigger problems.” He froze and gave me his full attention as if I was going to continue, so I did. I guess I should tell him now what’s going on, because if I don’t that’ll be the next question I get to hear.

“Oscar, all the others robots, they’re not like you. They want to kill everything and everyone except for themselves. They want to kill my dad and me and everyone else in this world. Please, I need your help. We can recue Mr. Halro later, ok?”

He surprisingly nodded and we continued to walk up the steps. They were longer but less steep than the other set of stairs, hasn’t my dad heard of elevators?

For every five steps there were two dim red lights on each side of us, other than that it was dark but warm. I realized the heat was coming from Oscar. He was producing heat from the gears and software working inside. I looked over to him again examining his face, it let off a glow in the dim light that I thought was beautiful; it marveled me how a being that wasn’t alive could feel so much like they were. I felt the heat in my hand increase realizing I still had a lock onto his wrist. I let go and let my hand fall to my side. Oscar being a robot didn’t know what that meant anyway, but it still was embarrassing in its own little way. I doubted he even noticed he seemed too lost in thought.

As we reached further and further up the stairs I could feel the temperature decrease from the winter weather but in the little area surrounding Oscar it was warm and toasty. Like a fire place during Christmas time. Being around him made me feel almost safe and sealed away from danger. As we approached the top of the stairs the door was already wide open, the wind pulling it back and forth. I stepped ahead and pushed through into the cold icy air. My body shivered and demanded me to return to the little warmth of the stairwell. I pressed on though, no matter the temperature. The icy wind whipped my hair into a cyclone, but I ignore it.

“So what do you plan on doing now?”

“We’re heading for the town east of us. Anne is there and we need to find her, before it’s too late and there’s nothing left to find.” Explaining that to him made me think of all the horrible things that could have happened to my best friend, the one I swore to help no matter what her problem was. I could just imagine her short pixie cut brown hair cover in blood. Her lime green eyes usually so full of hope, now dead and emotionless on the floor.

“We have to hurry.” I quickly walked further into the woods as Oscar followed like a lost puppy.

We reached a clearing strip for a road, which lead to Cloverton exactly, where we wanted to go. As we continued down the road, we had come across a green road sign that read “Cloverton: 5 miles “. At this rate won’t reach her in time. Walking all the way there, it would be too late. As I continued to banter with myself I heard a car engine roar down towards us. The reckless driver gunned the motor harder and harder 7

letting the engine scream and moan as if complaining. Still a good couple meters away, the noise echoed in the woods to the point I thought it would explode. Then I spark hit me.

“Stand here.” I said as motioned him to stand on the left side of the road while I took a spot on the other side. He looked at me like I was crazy, knowing the bulleting car was approaching.

“Are you insane?!” He yelled at me after a moment passed and he noticed I still wasn’t moving as the car turned a sharp right around the corner.

“Just stand there.” I kept saying as he protested, unable to move because of the command I had inflicted upon him. I heard him wince as the driver realized we were there and he slammed on the breaks.

In that millisecond I knew he would hit me, he was going too fast and realized too late to stop soon enough. My heart stopped as I closed my eyes and covered my face with my arms instinctively. I braced myself for impact. I stood there for a second or two, mind racing. Thinking of the short pain I would feel.

For a moment I waited, but the pain never came. I slowly dared to open my eyes, as my hands froze in the same position.

What happened happened so fast if you had blinked you would have missed it; Oscar had jumped in front of the moving car and held it back, rooting his feet into the asphalt, tearing up a nice portion of the road as he stood his ground and refusing to let the car reach me. The strength he displayed proved he was not human even if he looked like one. It had been going at least seventy miles per hour at the time. I marveled at him arms dangling from my sides, speechless, motionless. I could just watch the boy a few feet away from me When the white van was steaming in the cold weather as the reckless diver screamed at the boy.

He jumped out the door and bolted as fast as he could away from us. I would have too if I saw a boy stop a car with his bare hands. He turned around to me, noticing I hadn’t moved and smiled. Lifting his hand to shut my open mouth that I didn’t even know was open. I was still processing what happened over and over again, but if I stared at him long enough he might think something’s wrong with me. I moved around the metal boy and made my way to the driver’s side while studying the very large dent imprinted into the front of the van.

“Hop in.” I patted the set next to me as I took my own. He did as want was told of him still smiling from my gawking state.

I turned the car around and headed back for the little town I so rarely got to see. Being home schooled and everything. When I was little, I used to go to regular school though. That’s how Anne and I met. She had been my best friend since pre-k and then on out she was my only friend. I shouldn’t try to think too much about her right now, it would just bring up more, what if’s. I keep my eyes on the road as I noticed Oscar messing with the window from the corner of my eye. I guess that’s what’s to be expected, he’s only seen these things on screens. He’s never gotten to interact with them.

“So what’s it like?” I finally asked him out of minutes of silence to keep myself distracted. I was going to turn on the radio instead but then I would hear the stupid board cast again of; “beep, take me to your leader, beep”. Besides, this seemed more interesting.

“What do you mean?” He questioned back, still messing with the window. “I mean what’s it like being a robot?”

This conversation had gained half my attention, the other half still on the road. He was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking.

“Well, I don’t know quite how to describe it. I mean how do you describe being human?”

8

This caught me off guard. “I guess it’s a warm feeling. You get these, feelings, that constantly tell you if your happy or in pain. It’s… It’s...something you can’t put into words.”

“Exactly” Oscar answered as he rolled up the window for the hundredth time. I quickly put on the child’s lock so he couldn’t do it again. He looked over at me, seeming a bit annoyed.

“What?” I glanced at him. Before he could answer I spoke out.

“You know you still didn’t answer my question. I tried to at least answer yours.”

Oscar gave a pouted expression and straightened himself. “There’s a constant ticking in your chest and words are just another name from inscriptions and codes. Look it’s not something I like to talk about, it makes me feel like I’m alone, because I’m….different.”

He slumped in the chair. I knew how he felt. I had felt alone when my mother had died six years ago. It was normal to feel like that when you were the only one like you. No one else to help you understand what was going on around you. With no one to show you how much you meant to them. But he’s a robot, he can forget all that. Just wipe his memory clean and he’ll be good to go. Besides I shouldn’t get too attached to a hunk of metal, but some part of me couldn’t help but give him sympathy.

I continued to drive trying to ignore the pang I felt in my heart. It hurt me knowing that he would give his life for me while I would have to leave and let him rust away. A cold ire feeling invaded me. Not from the warmth of the white minivan, but from the blood in my veins. Like everything that was so close to me I tried to ignore it but the same thoughts re-ran through my head, that he’ll just be used like a pawn like every other thing in this world. But thinking of me leaving the poor thing to rust, it hurt me.

“So do you want to be like them?” I said bitterly, as frosty as It was outside. He quickly turned to me trying to figure out what I was implying to.

“What do you mean by that?” He responded in the most innocent way. It rose a hot furry within me. Like he didn’t know what I was talking about and he could never hurt any poor living creature. That’s the same thing everyone else thought before they decided they’d slaughter us all!

“What do you think I mean?” My voice was sharp and clear. I didn’t crack, but I knew if I kept going on like this I might.

“You mean all the other drones?” He asked, again oblivious to what I was talking about. I grit my teeth to his response, twisting my hands on the wheel making it squeak in agony. I tensed up, nodding my head ever so slightly.

“Does that make you angry? That I’m one of them?” I released the wheel from my death grip and slowly breathed out.

“I wish it didn’t.” I came to the realization of my words, and then slammed on the breaks making Oscar kiss the dash.

“Ow! What was that for?” He widened his emerald and topaz eyes. A blend between the two but looked beautiful together. He looked down as he thought trying to come up with an answer. We were there for a good five minutes before he looked up to me. I could see the pain in his eyes, it was unhuman but I could still recognize it.

“You can’t.” He told me. Straight forward and direct even though I knew his he could cry he would.

9

“Just tell me this, do you trust me?”

“Yes.” Oscar responded.

“Do you want to help me?”

“Yes.” He stated again as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Do you want to be one of them?” He stopped at this question. The pause wasn’t that long, but the time he took to response showed he hesitated.

“I’ve always wanted to be like the others, I’ve never wanted to be the different one, the defective useless droid.” Then it hit me, he didn’t know what the robots were doing. He didn’t know why my father was taken. He didn’t know why I had asked for his help, he just agreed.

“What if I told you the other drones, they were the defective ones. That they want to kill every last living thing on earth.”

He sprang from his current position to get closer to me. I could again feel the warmth radiating of his circuits, small gears turning inside him the gears ticking away oblivious to the events occurring around them.

“That can’t be true, though!” He yelled at me for the first time. It startled me at first but I held my ground. He spoke up before I could talk.

“Is it?” He asked, softy. As if he misheard me the first time I had said it. I looked down. The motor was running beneath us, just like he was. Machines, why did it have to be machines? I met his gaze again. He was looking at me contently with pleading eyes, egging that it wasn’t true. That his whole life he wanted to be like them, a monster, a killer, a heartless cold robot which I believed he wasn’t. I told him the truth anyway, for his own good. Then why did I feel so bad about it?

“Yes.” I could feel the mood darken in the air. His hopeful smile diminished. He looked a little lost, confused and heartbroken. Like he was torn apart and reassembled wrong. After a few minutes of this he smiled.

“No, I don’t want to be like them. I want to be like you.” He flashed the same trade mark smile at me, like he had all the hope in the world, because now I was his new hope. I smiled back.

As I turned to the road again we talked, driving at ninety miles an hour. I choked on a couple of my words; he started to get to me. Becoming my friend instead of my foe, sometimes he would just talk as I thought and he would stop because he knew I was day dreaming. Only that made him smile more. I wasn’t sure if I liked how soft he was making me toward him, but I knew we were a team now and we had to find Anne, then my dad.

“So…” He interrupted me again as I thought. “Were you really a rider?” He asked excitement flooding his face. I just nodded so I could continue watching his childish reactions to every little thing he began to learn about me.

“I bet you looked so majestic jumping over fence after fence with the wind blowing behind you!”

He gave hand motions as to the horse and a fence. It made me laugh a little, but I continued to watch what seemed to be a four year old. It was like my own little T.V. show.

10

“Then fire would explode everywhere!” He held his hand out referring to me. “You would be fine though.” Then, continued to demonstrate the fire and explosions with his hand motions.

“-And the horse would rear up so you guys looked awesome and you would hold up you flaming sword Alexa! and...” I cut him off.

“When did I get a flaming sword?” I asked him questionably.

“Same time you got the flaming armor.” He said in an all knowing voice. I rolled my eyes at his statement and smiled eyes still on the road.

“Riiiiight.” I replied. As I rounded the corner I saw the sign that sign that said “Welcome to Cloverton”.

I could see drones scattered around the buildings as well as human bodies. They were everywhere, across the streets, in the walkways, some even on roof tops. I could smell the stench of decaying corpses and fried. I noticed he seemed disgusted as well. The smoking technology was like flesh is to me, revolting to look at. I knew the government’s forces had around invaded here as well as the drones but with my father gone there was no reason for anyone to stay here anymore, except to hide. Even though it seemed the abandon town was dead I knew there had to be people here. Not everyone was gone, or deceased.

I drove slowly to Anne’s house looking for any signs of life. I overlooked any movements or even the slightest of sounds other than the engine and my rapid pulse. I could hear the soft, faint increase of grinding from Oscar’s gears too. I stopped and turned off the engine.

“Ok.” I said, letting my breath leave my body after holding it in for an eternity. I could feel adrenaline beat into my veins and hear the heavy breath from my lungs. I was terrified. What if Anne was dead? What if I’m too late?! I took another deep breath and let it out.

“I’ll go in, you wait out here. Don’t talk to anyone, don’t look at anyone and don’t interact with anyone. Ok? “ “Yes mom.” He responded sarcastically. I rolled my eyes as I saw him laugh. It was just a faint smile to hind what I knew so well, fear.

I climbed out of the white van, landed on the concrete. Taking in the cold frigid winter air that could give you frost bite if you stayed out longer than a couple minutes. I glided up the steps to the front door. I didn’t bother knocking. I didn’t think it was necessary. I twisted the icy door knob but it was locked. I took a few steps back. I counted in my head, bracing my arm. ‘One……two…….three.’ My arm slammed up against the door and it swung open. The bolt flew a couple yards into the warm house with lavender curtains and rugs. The walls painted in a dark forest green with gold designs on top. It reminded me of Christmas, stairs that lead upwards to the second floor where she slept. Knowing her, she was probably in her room. I clenched my arm to keep it from moving to much as I climbed the steps calling her name.

“Anne! Anne……….. Anne!’ I heard a door shut. I jogged over to her bedroom door to find it slightly ajar. She was here, I know she is. I peeked into the room and after taking one step I stubble back after nearly being hit by a tranquilizer. My eyes widen at her.

“Anne! What the- .Are you trying to kill me?!” she slouched into the corner behind her bed. She was cradled into a ball, tensed up from the past events that had taken place outside her house, and maybe even in it. Anne let out a sigh.

11

“Oh. It’s just you.” She let her arm fall to her side and placed the weapon on her cream rug.

“Just me? Just me?! I dragged my butt almost two miles to make sure you were alright.

“Ok. Ok. Calm down tiger. Take it down a notch.” she walked over and hugged me. Smiling and laughing thinking me almost getting hit was five hundred volts of electricity was the funniest thing in the world.

“I’m glad you’re safe and you came to check on me.” I parted the hug at looked at her seriously.

“What happened here exactly?” She huffed. “A lot, first of all, there was a battle between man and machine, we won but at a price. They took everyone to a base to be questioned about what we know about you and your dad. You know you’re quite the topic lately.”

“So I’ve heard.’ I said with a straight face as dead as I could. She continued.

“Most of the people who managed to hide away like me left but I stayed here. I wasn’t going to move unless I knew they were gone.” I grabbed her shoulders and leaned in.

“Do you know where they went?!” she was startled and back up a bit. “Uh….yeah. They said something about North Carolina.”

I turned on my heels and headed toward the door dragging Anne behind me by her wrist.

“Where are we going?” she asked trying to make me stop and face her, but I kept walking.

“North Carolina.” I responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “We have to go find my dad. He’ll know what to do.” This time she slammed on her heels and stopped dead. She refused to move no matter my efforts.

“And you expect me just to drop everything and help you save the world?” I gave her a plain expression.

“Well, yeah.” I told her in a confident way as if I knew she would say yes. She picked her pace and started dragging me to the door, “as long as I get to ride shot-gun.”

“Then we’ll have to ask Oscar get in the back.” As I said that we walked outside.” Who’s Osc-“she stopped talking as her eyes fell upon the metal humanoid.

“Y-you have one in your c-car.” She stammered, pointing at Oscar. She was trembling a little. In one hand she was gripping my hand and the Taser in the other, the one that she almost shot me with.

Oscar on the other hand seemed to be listening to music on the radio, which I don’t know how that was possible since all the broadcasts played that annoying threat over and over. He seemed in be too engulfed in his little dance to notice us staring at him. When he turned to his left he realized. His hands slowly dropped to his lap as he was painted in a nice shade of bright red. He yelled through the car windows.

“How long have you been standing there?” I smiled at his idiocy. “Long enough.” He buried his face into his hands as I marched Anne to the car.

“Wait what you are doing?!” She protested, trying to break my grip on his wrist.

“You almost hit me with a taser earlier. I don’t want to hear it.” I said opening the driver’s door.

12

“Oscar can you get in the back, he looked up from his hands to glance at my face. “Gladly” He got up and quickly moved to the back door so he could hind away in the back.

“Here sit over there.” I directed Anne. She listened but hesitated in seeing Oscar. She gave me a scolding look.

“Why do you have that thing?” I plopped into the driver’s seat and moved my head over to her.

“What? You mean Oscar?” she started rising her voice at me. “No, the washing machine!”

Oscar had overheard the last comment she pulled and barked at her. “The washing machine is here to help you so either get in or don’t.” she snapped at Anne which left me a little off guard because I had never seen him act like that before. She paced for a bit from where she was standing, biting her lip.

She got in the car and shut the door.

“I’m keeping the taser.” She stated. After that, we headed south. We knew where we were going, or sort of. The exact location was a bit fuzzy but I didn’t think It would be too hard to find considering that the drones and army would be everywhere around that area. I started to drive the car past a lot of the debris.

“So how do you think we’ll reach the facility?” I gave a confused expression as I thought, not drifting my eyes from the road which needed my feel attention. Maybe we could go find an army member and see if they had any details on their mission and possibly the base, or there could be something on the radio transmission… A cough interrupted my thoughts.

“What if I knew the way?” Oscar said timidly. I watched Anne in the mirror I had hanging above the windshield like all cars do. I saw her turn around the seat to look at him, pushing her knees into the seat. She slithered around the console to come face to face with him.

“Do you?” she asked as if she was one of the cops on those police shows she loved, with the dead bodies and the escaped criminal masterminds with their cannibalism or whatever. He spoke up this time admitting something that he could have said in the first place.

“Well I was programmed to find your dad or you if you were to need my assistance or help in any situation.” He beamed. Anne on the other hand looked a little dumfounded.

“You mean you can find her or her father anywhere at any time?” His proud smile turned into a straight line.

“Yes. Why?” She froze in her tracks, trembling a little. Anne began to speak but she could only shudder for a moment. As if she spoke the words would stab her.

“D-d-doesn’t that mean t-they can find us t-too?” This caught me and Oscar off guard. She eyed Oscar as he tried to regain his pride which he lost as Anne’s words hit him like a truck.

“I suppose so.” With this new information, it meant that my father was safer with the government troops. If the troops and the drones were after us we couldn’t stand a chance. One or the other would catch us sooner or later. Even so, my father was being protected while he worked, I was not. The only way he would stop working all together or surrender was if they were able to find and capture something he valued, he would give his life for, and he loved … me. I wasn’t alone; Oscar seemed to understand what I was thinking. I slammed on the breaks again next to the ‘Welcome’ sign we had passed earlier. He braced himself for the nose plant on the dash as Anne was thrown up onto the console of the car.

“What was that for?!” She yelled at me. Snapping me out of the stunned trace I was in.

13

“We need to get out of here!” My voice cut through hers. I was serious and I knew she could tell.

“Why? All the drones are gone.” I glared at her. “But not for long. They’re not looking for my father right now. They know better than that, they need some kind of weapon against him for him to do what they ask of him.” She realized this as well.

“You…” she said softly.

An object hit into the front of the car which knocked us back into the steel framing. I could make out a figure from the shattered glass panel. It had a white shell casing and small glowing lines that connected its panels. The design was flawless; it bent and curved in water like way. A beautiful machine, but at the same time, deadly.

As it stood it drew back its fist and began to punch the small glass wall that was all we had left for our protection. As the glass gave way I felt the winter air rush over my face. I could still hear ringing from the crash as the figure reached for me reveling the coat of blood on my face and arms.

His arm stopped though, halted by another much stronger than his. The drone looked over to his left to find another much like himself only different, much different. Oscar glow a faint light blue. Color darkened and lightened, faded and brightened as you would believe a charismas tree would. A few wires had been exposed on his neck, but other than that he looked as if he was untouched. Oscar’s actions were nimble. He tighten his grip onto the robots hand, it broke off. He took both his hands and clapped them together. Hitting the drone on each side of his head, crushing it like a tin can or how you would kill a mosquito.

He turned to me and offered his hand to help me out of the rubble. As I watched the drone fall to the ground knees first I felt horrified. He killed it. It may have not been alive but, from what I heard he never would have done that. I cautiously gave him my hand. He pulled me out of the seat cramped between the smashed car window steel metal beams that supported the roof. More emerged from the woods in a group of twelve. They had no weapons but I could see that the size may cause a problem.

“So we need to get rid of these things, right?” He gestured his head toward the now collapsed pile of rubble that once moved as he did.

“Uh, yeah.” I managed to say as he made his way to the drone squad, smashing throw one by one.

“You get Anne!” He screamed over the crashes of bolts and metal sliding and falling onto the asphalt.

“Right!”As I made my way to the other side of the car I dodged a flying machine directed my way. I shot Oscar a glare that he seemed to notice. He could only shrink his head into his shoulders gripping his teeth as if he had just gasped knowing the treatment he would get for his actions.

When I got near the right side back door I found a nearby metal beam lying on the ground. I picked it up to use a crow bar and pry the door off. The white metal door screamed in protest, refusing to part with the rest of the car. I heard a grinding in the gears logged between the doors as it slowly cracked open, revealing Anne. She had blood pouring down her face from a deep cut into her forehead. I knew she wasn’t dead from her heavy breathing as she lay across the back seat unconscious. She might be if I don’t treat her wound. Bleeding to death can be very painful, or so I’ve heard.

I moved her head upward so Anne would be in a sitting position, helping the bleeding stop. She sat in an awkward way; lip and lifeless, but that’s normal when your passed out. I checked over the roof of the smashed car to make sure Oscar was alright. He had destroyed maybe a hundred of them? Scattered 14

across the road in piles and stacks while he added more and more to count plowing through mobs of drones flowing out of the woods for what seemed to be continuously. He seemed to be handling them well although I knew he couldn’t keep it up, he would eventually slip and then it would be our demise.

I turned my attention back to Anne who was still sitting in a lifeless pose. I moved to the front passenger’s side where the door had blown off and landed somewhere closer into the other side of the woods. As I clicked open the compartment box I found band- aids and rubbing alcohol. I greedy grabbed the loot and handed back toward Anne, constantly checking up on Oscar out of paranoia that he might be stricken down, beaten like a hockey stick to a trash can.

I slide on my knees close to Anne who was breathing heavily now. The loss of blood started to take impact on her. It was then I noticed the entire back seat had long dark blood stains on them. Anne was badly injured and Oscar was off doing god knows what. Tears began to flood down my face as I thought of my closest childhood friend dying next to me. If she died I would blame myself, I could do something right here and now but if I mess up then that’s that. There’s nothing I can do.

“Hey.” I spoke calmly as a mother would to her baby, letting it know that it was alright it the middle of the night because the curtains had ruffled from the breeze that always came from an old creaky window. I knew she couldn’t hear me, but it helped.

“Hey.” I said again. “It’s going to be alright.” I dabbed the end of my shirt into the rubbing alcohol, being it the only cloth I had. I softly dabbed the wound and her body flinched, then cuddled tightly inward to protect herself. Like what you would do if you were cold. I drew my hand back from her face because of her reaction glancing up again to check on Oscar. He was struggling to keep up now. The way the drones kept piling on top of him, trying to pin him down was draining his strength. My dad had taught me how the robots system worked. It was sort of like a car; the harder it runs the more juice is used. If it isn’t being used then the power isn’t being used. Although because of hazards he had to limit the robots power so it wouldn’t run to long and overheat. Oscar’s power supply however was different, for one he used a more powerful mineral, Jenix. From what I understand it’s a liquid like element that can only be made from crushing diamond fragments with traces of oil, then heated or fried I guess, with 600 volt electricity. It makes a radioactive juice that can easily blow at any moment. What drove him to use that, I have no idea. As for the other drones, they’re just like phones, they need to be charged and eventually die from no power. “uggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” Anne moaned behind me snapping me back to reality from the little word I was thinking in.

“Hey you’re awake.” I said, again trying to dab her head cut. She gritted her teeth but didn’t try to stop me.

Instead she asked. “What happened?” Anne noticed the robots behind us, as well as the humanoid.

“We were attacked.” I tried to say over the grinding metal that kept clashing in the general direction Anne was looking. It was just as I was trying to speak to her that I really noticed how loud Oscar and the other drones going at it was.

“I’m guessing they ambushed us?” Anne asked me. I could nod in response because of the volume she wouldn’t be able to hear me anyway.

15

I finished dressing Anne’s wound and turned my attention to the battle that was a good two or three yards away. Oscar had taken down hundreds, maybe even a thousand but that would probably be an exaggeration. That didn’t matter know, we have to leave ASAP. I helped Anne up, as I did an armored truck pulled up with a U.S. flag and symbol of the American eagle which only meant one thing, the FBI were here.

“Oscar! We need to leave now!” I screamed over the metal gridding so he could hear me. He already seemed to notice the trucks and started making his way to us with the flow of drones directed at the trucks. As we made our way back into the edge of town, more cars blocked our path, making a brigade so we would have to come face to face with them.

As men fled from their trucks one by one like clown cars they made their way to the robots. As for the last three men, they took us by the arm and shoved us into the clown car. Being too quick to process and one of our teammate injured we had no time to react to squads actions. As flew back into Oscar as I was pushed in. my head clacked up against his metal body making my head throb.

As for Anne she was pushed into me. I could see her tense up; you could tell that falling into me hurt her. As soon as we were put into the car the door locked shut and the armored truck sped off to who knows where.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Mrs. little-run-away.” A tall man said from the doubled seated back seat as if you would find in a limo or police car. I didn’t recognize the man at first. That was until I heard his voice. The deep accent and tone spoke for themselves though. I recognized his voice. It was the general that had arrived at my house and took my father away.

“Why do you want us?” I said in a deadly manner. Dropping my head, I gave the man a death stare as if I would lunge across the seat at him. Oscar on the other hand seemed as if he would beat him to a bloody pulp. He knew this was the guy who had kidnapped my father and forced him to fix the drones which he was obviously not cable of. If he was it would have been done by now.

“Because you are a target, not just you but the thing next to you,” he mimicked my tone back to me. He continued to talk as I could hear the gridding in side Oscar increase and well as the tremendous heat radiating off of the creamy metal plates.

“Thanks to your little stunt the drones left your dad’s house and started tracking both you and that thing down. The doctor told us they were after you because you would be the only other person who knew close to anything about shutting them down. Right now their top priority is to find you, your father and that humanoid and destroy them.” I already knew this so I didn’t respond. I just crossed my arms as to show I was not amused.

“So you’re here to help us?” I asked in a manner with left him frustrated with my choice in tone.

Talking to a general as he was some sort of un-respected school teacher when he had worked to earn his title seemed to upset him.

“That was the idea-“I cut him off with the same tone I used before that he seemed to hate.

“Fine, but you have to play by my rules. Which means anything I say goes, understand?” He didn’t seem too delighted by my proposition but I held my ground.

“And why would I do that?” I smiled to his statement. “Because you have no other choice but to listen to me,” He grit his teeth.

16

“Oh really?” I laughed a little at the card he was trying to play. Intimidate a little kid into doing whatever he wanted, but I wasn’t a kid. Not anymore.

“Well, I don’t know about you but I can shut them down.” With that he stopped trying to look like a sumo wrestler and gave in.

“Fine, where do we go first Mrs. Halro” I thought about it for a second. We would need a program linked directly to the drones. My father had developed them at his smaller company, Halro Inc. “Halro Inc.” as I said this it seemed to trigger something in him. He seemed mildly impressed with me and scared at the same time.

“Do you know how many drones have that place surrounded and locked down?!” I frowned at his complaint.

“Let us worry about that. All you need to do is provide a distraction for us to get in.” I counter, but he kept shooting at the command protesting.

“That place is their base, we need to take more out before we can invade their fortress,” I started to yell at him. “And why do you think they’re protecting that place? They can just make more there! If someone doesn’t stop this now then it will get out of control. They multiply, we can’t.” With this he seemed to snap to the same realization as me. He knew now if we didn’t go now, we may never.

“Fine, the incorporation is only a few minutes away.” I looked over at Anne who seemed to be losing a lot of blood from her head. The blood loss was making her weak and she seemed as if she could pass out at any minute. Anne might hate me for doing this, but she would have to stay here. Keeping her with us would only put her at risk and slow us down.

“Anne has to stay though; she’s in too bad of shape.” She glared at me even knowing I was right.

He seemed to understand this.

“Speaking of which, you’ll need back-up. We have groups of rebel fighters from different areas that have been hit. The biggest and the most efficient of them is the group from west Delaware. The group leader’s name is Andrew. I’ll have him met us there.” With that he whispered something to the driver who then gunned the motor which sent us forward. It was settled, we were going to kill off the other drones.

I could feel the motor run and the heavy breathing of fear that mad the car tremble. The smell of sweat and vomit lingered in the air as we drove in silence, as if anyone said anything we would be shot on sight. The roaring of the cars functions made up for the silence as it screamed and groaned its battle cry. I would peek outside the window now and then to see the destruction it would take human armies months to do, but this war wasn’t with other humans. They were machines, and they knew more than we did since they were connected to the most knowledgeable. I felt the car stop as we pulled into an abandoned building.

“We need to walk on foot from here.” I turned to Anne and motioned her to stay. She was a little out of it but she huffed, meaning she knew what I meant. As I moved over to Oscar when the door opened we all got out of the car the General fixing his cap and collecting himself together from being in a cramped car. Much too cramped for his liking.

17

“So where do we go from here?” He asked straightening his jacket and neck tie. I started to look around and my eyes met a group of men coming towards us.

“They are the team from west Delaware or as I like to call them, squad R.” they walked over to us as if they owned the world. Almost as you would see the astronauts walk off to a space shuttle in such a stance that you would think that they were actually someone important. They don’t know anything about robotics, all they have to do is smash in a circuit or two. The man came over from what believe to be was Andrew.

“So you’re the little pip squeak who helped her father design the robots, don’t worry he already told us about that little detail.”

“I only drew out designs and programmed them wirelessly. God knows he wouldn’t let me near the things. He always said it was too dangerous” Oscar looked over to in disbelief, I had never told him anything about how I was the first programmer for the first proto type. In his mind meaning I was his real creator, not my father. At the time I thought it was best not to tell him or anyone in that case. I knew he had questions for me now, questions about himself my father refused to answer not because he didn’t want too, but because he didn’t know them.

“I do know, however that the computer link in my father’s company can shut all the the drones down with one blow.” Anne looked at me with a wide smile.

“Does that mean your boyfriend gets knocked out too?” I stumbled back a ways listening in disbelief as she said that, I hated when she messed with me. Oscar not knowing anything about that was confused as why she would say that. While he did have emotions, he probably didn’t know what they felt like. I left that out of his programming. He was a proto type after all.

“No! No.” I shoot back at Anne. “It’s not like that and you know it!” All she did was smile her mischievous smile at me. Oscar confused and lost in the conversation, not understanding what we were talking about.

“What do you mean by that?” Oscar asked us trying to get a concept of what was going on. With that Anne devilish grin only widened.

“Well-“She started, “When a boy likes a girl.” I slapped my hand over her mouth. Keeping her contagious words that spread curiosity in the metal heads mind. She licked my hand, catching me off guard. I withdrew it immediately because of her nasty, germ infested slobber.

“They become a couple because they love each other!” He seemed a little dazed with that. Kind of out of it, but at the same time I thought some part of him understood what she meant.

“So, Alexa and I are a couple?” I stopped and turned to both of them, looking them dead in the eye with a stare that could kill puppies.

“No.” I made that very clear to both of them. I did offer a small explanation to the confused robot.

“That’s a different kind of love.” I ignored the protests by Anne who was still in the car, only able to talk from the window. As I turned to Andrew I could see he thought the conversation we were having was funny, but I could get them back later. Right now we had much more important matters.

“So we need a distraction.” I told them again calmly, a hint of annoyance from the brunette behind, he yelling “You looooooooove him!” Rolling her tongue over the o, making me want to throw up my internal organs and drop dead from the thought. I choose to continue to ignore her as I do most of the time when she’s like this.

18

“I’ll send my men around front as a distraction, but I must travel with you two just in case you want to pull something funny.” Oscar’s face was mixed with frustration and puzzlement. I knew why too.

He had no idea what we meant when we talked about the couples and the funny business. He didn’t understand any of that mainly because I had never programmed that for him. Sadly I don’t think I ever will. I know he’s going to be destroyed, just like the other drones. He’s hooked up to the same server wave as the rest. If they go out, that means he’ll go out with him. It’s like a blackout for a person when a robot dies, except they never wake up. I looked back over at the tin can I had created. Surprisingly I was growing attached to him. He was somewhat of how you cared for a younger brother or a pet. The one no matter what you go after them it wouldn’t be the same.

To know I would have to kill him to save me, the one who would stand in front of a moving car and wouldn’t budge without question, I was going to have to kill for my own life, not just everyone else’s.

I glanced over to the metal robot that now made the poor choice to go over to Anne and listen to her talks on relationships when she has never had one relationship in her entire life. What a hopeless romantic.

“Alright” I confirmed with his request. “The labs main computer is on the eighteenth floor. There are forty in total. The most heavily guarded areas will most likely be that room and the factory in the basement where they made the clones.” I gave them most of what I knew about the base, leaving out some for tricks for later or if we needed a quick escape route.

“Oscar!” I yelled over. He seemed to be lost in what Anne was saying which was never a good thing. As he walked over he knelt down to Andrew and kissed his hand. “I humbly accept your token of love.” He proclaimed.

I felt the palm of my hand slap my face, while I heard Satan’s laugh from the car behind us.

Although the look on Andrews face was priceless, I walked over to Oscar and pulled him up by the hair as I dragged him in the direction of the building about a mile away. The others followed, fearing if they didn’t they would have to deal with me.

After a few yards of dodging trash and abandon cars in the alley ways I let go of Oscar who immediately clutched his right ear. Anne was going to get it when we got back too. Telling all that junk, I thought accorded to me.

“What else did she tell you?” He looked up as if trying to remember. “Something about you kissing your relatives when you’re happy to see them and to introduce yourself you offer the other person love and knell to them.” The trash she told him she knew he would take seriously which she knew. That’s probably why she wanted to tell him all that stuff.

“Never do anything she tells you. Anne just wants you to embarrass yourself.” His cream like panels grew bright red as you would when a person blushed. His faints glow of blue still glowing from the cracks in his metal like skin.

19

“Hey?” he said. I only hummed in response, not wanting to use full sentences. “What happens after all this?” He sincerely asked me. I didn’t know how to respond to that. I didn’t want to tell him the truth in fear of hurting him but I didn’t want to lie to him either.

“Honestly I don’t want to think that far ahead Oscar. We might just die and that will be the end.”

He scolded me waving his finger in my face.

“There’s no way I’m going to let anything hurt you.’ He assured me with a touching smile. The kind your grandmother gives on Christmas Eve or your birthday. I imaged Oscar as an old lady baking cookies and walking around with a walker and cane. The though made me burst into laughter as the Andrew was bewildered to what was going on. He didn’t understand why I was, but he decided to chime in anyway. I didn’t concern me though. What concerned me was the fact I have to kill off my friend to save humanity.

“Oscar?” I asked him quietly as we snuck up into the parking lot of ‘Halro Inc.’. Trying to hide the pain from a hot gun shell that I had set my hand on, while crouching behind a car. The fight around us had spread like wild fire. I knew Andrews men wouldn’t hold on for too much longer so we had to be fast about it. We swiftly moved from car to car as we approached the back door and I hacked the key code.

People say I have my father’s gift with technology, which I do. I create things all the time for my dad to sell to the public. He often gives them his own ideas and such. All I have to do is watch colors keys and patterns fly by, and then the numbers just come to me. I like to call it cyber magic but my father doesn’t believe in all that stuff, it’s why he never took me to magic shows.

I watched as the panel turned green allowing us access to the floor and hopefully the floors above it. As soon as we entered the building drones were everywhere, like you would see in a New York Starbucks. They all looked different in their own sort of way. They all had a human like body but none of them looked human but Oscar. In here he could be mistaken for one of us, meaning if anyone was found they were sure to be killed on sight.

The room was like a wide coliseum, a large stair case in front as you would see in a mansion. The exit door we had broken into was on the left back side hidden behind the swirled stairs, so our presence wasn’t quite noticed yet, but we were trapped in that space as well. If we moved they would see us. If we stood there they would find us and only god knows what they would do to us. My mind drifted with that thought.

Do they just kill people to get it over with? Or maybe they’re the cruel kind. Taking electric chairs and slowly and painfully watch their victims die. The thought of that made me shiver. What would they do to Oscar? Hack him, burn the circuits or maybe even dissemble him piece by piece. I looked over to the tin can. I wondered if he knew what was on the line. The lives of so many more people other than ourselves were all going to die if we can’t stop this. We were a hope, the only hope to end this. We were the only ones who knew what to do and how to do it.

With that I moved inward toward the center floor causing a distraction. A first glance they knew who I was. I sought to kill me. Oscar, knowing no better followed behind, kicking and thrashing away at the attackers as he did when they had ambushed us.

I ran toward a nearby armed drone. It was a navy color instead of the regular and held some sort of laser cannon. The gun itself was white and shot red beams but looked like an Ak-47. I slid in between its legs, spinning a 180 to let my feet trip the navy trash can. The gun dropped on the floor leaving making a ringing sound as it hit, like wind chime noise. I reached for the gun I was stopped. The machine tried to tackle over me as I thrashed my way to the drone’s toy. The strength and power of the drone greatly overpowered mine. It pinned my hands to my side, crushing them against my rib cage. Tears 20

flooded from my eyes as the heartless metal machine tried to stab my arms into my stomach. He wasn’t using enough power to do just that, but it came close. The pain spread into my legs which were now being dangled above the ground. As he lifted me up the only thing keeping me there were my arms being crushed into my sides.

“Gah!” I managed to squeak out, tears now dropping on the floor in a small puddle. As I closed my eyes I braced myself for the worst to come. I grit my teeth and waited, but nothing came. Then it let go. As I fell to the floor with the drone I noticed Oscar standing above me with the drones now detached from its body. He reached down to give me his hand and pull me back up. While I was grateful he saved my life and everything I was also mad. I couldn’t one stupid machine on my own while he could take down hundreds in a matter of minutes. Knowing I would have died without his help angered me. I didn’t need to rely on anyone but me. I could have handled it on my own. I thought for a moment as he continued to offer me his hand. I huffed as my hand slide into his freezing metal one and pulled me up next to him. A look of hopelessness and depression was written on my face.

My ribs felt as if they were snapped like twigs and judged on the pain at least one or two were probably broken. I reached over to pick the white gun the stupid metal tin can had.

The others met up with me and Oscar, taking out the last drones in the room. There had been at least forty in this one alone. As I regained myself I noticed the crazed look Andrew was giving me.

“What?” I asked him in a cute manner. As a little girl would to an adult to get something they want. I smirked at his expression, making me laugh a little when I talked to him.

“Are you crazy?!” he screamed in the enemy’s lair. This caught me off guard and startled. Oscar moved his hand if front of me as to show if he tried to attack he would handle it. Andrew continued to yell at me.

“Do you know what that was?!” He asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “The Navy drones are genetically programmed to kill. There the newer designed model by the older models.

One can take down hundreds of humans.” This somehow didn’t faze me. I dully stared at the man as if he were a billboard sign. I turned toward the stair case, both men following.

I managed to stubble up the marble steps armed with the blaster I had gotten down stairs. I made my way through the labyrinth of a building. Knowing every inch of the place since I was six it wasn’t too hard to find which doors were false add ones and which were the ones we needed to take to find the main computer.

A right then left. Right again, straight down this hallway and turning again. The maze made her head spin and her sides ache from the constant walking and running from the metal bots that infested the building like ants in sugar. There were cameras in the hallways as well which made their climb to the top even trickier for them. Stopping now and then to calm our hearts that pounded like drums signaling to every living thing in the place where our location was. The higher we got the louder I could hear my blood pulse through my veins and back to my heart. Everything was rushed. The steps, the clashes between man and machine when we had them and the hiding places that took seconds to find. The first floor passed by, then the second, third, fourth and so on. Now we were on the main computer’s floor level near the top of the tower. We had endured a lot to get here, mostly fight off drone after drone.

21

As we entered the room, to our surprise there wasn’t a drone in sight. Slowly when we walked in I found myself paralyzed when I saw something before me. I couldn’t move as the thing made it way toward me. It glowed a dark blood red and showed no signs of life whatsoever. My jaw dropped at the design. The gears rotated the same way as his; they were practically identical except for the fact that I gave him emotions. It was a copy of the Humanoid, Oscar.

It was a copy a fraud. As it made its way toward me, I stood there waiting for it to plunge me into a dark world. Waiting for it to kill me, I tried, so hard to move, but I couldn’t like my legs wouldn’t work and I weighed as much as a ton of bricks. Like when your dreaming and you try to run away but you can’t.

I just could watch as Andrew tried to stop it, but I already knew what that would do, kill him. It was a copy of Oscar, meaning it had his strength, his ability’s, his actions and knowledge. Not just on me, but everyone around him.

As Andrew charged toward the ghastly thing I tried to look away. My eyes locked on the event in front of me, just watching havoc unfold. Time seemed to stop as I watched the mechanical beast with Oscar’s face grimace and swat the pest away as if that life meant nothing to him. My eyes followed Andrew. He was thrown back a good five yards before hitting a guard rail then dropped on his knees.

While he showed no external injuries, I knew he must be bleeding trebly in his internals.

In almost an instant, he screamed from the cold bar digging into his side. I could relate knowing how I was crushed with the two giant’s hands. It hurt, and when I saw him jolt his head in the air to yell, I could see the tears flood already, I could see his blood shot eyes; I could feel the pain he had just experienced. I knew it too well, not only physical, but mental.

I felt pity for this man I had just met. I wanted to help him, to extend my arm and pull him up.

But if I did that then they’re might never be a time to live for.

I turned away from the eerie sight of human torture to the metal beast in front of me only inches away from my face. I could feel the red heat radiating off his cold tin shell. The heat was more intense than Oscar’s, it was hard to describe. All I knew was it wasn’t the same.

Behind me I could hear the gears ticking away inside Oscar. He was right behind me, backing me up in case the tin can tried to pull something funny, but he didn’t. We stood there for a minute or so, just staring at each other. His eyes were different too. The way they screamed when you looked into them told you the story of death. That’s the only thing it knew, Death.

Its eyes cut into me like steel daggers. The way he held himself was just like the other drones, so lifeless and sharp. As if a movement of his hand could slice a perfect straight line, and he could repeat that same line again and again. Every move he made was different from Oscar’s, yet the same. This confused me. It was like having a twin and confusing one for the other even though they different in ways.

“Hello.” It finally said. Twisting his head to the side and leaning in closer. It voice was deep and sounded like the machine’s voice when you called tech support. It made my skin crawl. I felt Oscar get closer as to show he didn’t trust him, or the fact he was getting closer to me. I covered my fear and glared at the monster, not responding. It smiled at me, showing sharp metal animal like teeth. Thoughts raced through my head at what they were for since robots don’t eat. I kept repeating this to myself as not to think of the monster chopping on human flesh.

22

“I’m guessing you want to wipe us out, creator.” I was surprised at the words he used. ‘Creator’ As if I were there mother. I was even more surprised by his tone. He continued to talk now walking around me and Oscar both hands behind his back, slowly putting one foot in front of the other. He stopped next to my ear and whispered ever so slightly, I almost didn’t hear it.

“You know he’ll come to his senses eventually, and so will you.”

“What do you mean by that!?” I shot back at him before he could answer. Oscar then took a swing at his doppelganger; I examined his face seeing he was clearly pissed off about what the droid had said. The fact I yelled at him did not help this. He skillfully ducked underneath and swung his leg around tripping Oscar letting him crash into the floors.

“Trying to be the macho man huh?” He laughed in a cold mechanical way. His eyes gleamed with hatred and disgust. The doppelganger seemed to be taking glances at me, as if he were analyzing my movements, words and features.

“How rude of me,” He swiftly said, breaking the minute long stare down. ”I didn’t introduce myself.” He grit his teeth with a smirk that stretched across his dull face. “My name is Markus.” He smile grew wider. “Or you could always call me Oscar.” With that I tried to take a swing at him. Oscar lifted his hand over my arm as a signal as not to let him get to me.

“My, my, aren’t you to cute. Honestly, human existence disgusts me so I wouldn’t care I you shredded alive, but you, Oscar. You I am concerned about.” Markus He approached closer to me, so close I could feel the oil drip off his mouth, like blood would a human. He was truly a nightmare from a child’s dream.

“Although, she is the true master mind behind our existence, she could perfect us.” He snickered.

“Which gives me a reason to keep you alive… for the time being?” He looked towards Oscar. “You could always join me, Oscar” I glared at the tin can as he tried to persuade Oscar. There’s no way he would betray me. He said he would protect me with his life, or at least what’s left of it. I looked intensely at Oscar as he was listening, oh so carefully to what the garbage can was saying.

“You and I, Oscar, were one in the same. Brothers if you will.” He started to circle him, observing and taking in each detail of his metallic figure.

“If I agree to this… offer. Will she live.” He pointed into the direction toward me. He smiled as I just stared trying to process what he meant.

“But of course.” He showed a black toothy grin.

Was Oscar trying to save my life by handing me over? Did he realize what was at stake here!? The world was going to be shot down, the people are important, not just my life. He seemed to think about this for a moment. He’s only playing them right? Using this to buy more time to get a plan, He’s not actually considering on… no.

“Yes.” I slowly back away.” It’s for the best, I’ll help you.”

No…No. This isn’t happening. He’s not going to do this. As Oscar turned to me with a stern face, he looked me in the eyes, and without hesitation he restrained me. I was petrified with shock and disbelief.

23

Then as soon as my mind recognized what was going on I retaliated. Even though I trashed at his arms and face and anything I could, I knew it wouldn’t do any good. I was doing it because I was furious.

Furious he would betray me like that. Saying he would help my cause, saying he wanted nothing to do with them then thinking he could switch sides to save me and I would be dandy with it! No. that was never going to happen! I’m going to destroy all of these god awful creations that Satan possessed.

“Good.” The piece of trash said behind my, friend. “You can keep your pet in the down stairs prison; she’ll make use of us there for upgrades.”

I stopped struggling and let out a low growl. He just snickered at me and the state I was in.

“You’re not intimidating you know.” We shot each other glares that could burn a hole in steel as Oscar dragged me away. Further from the Mother Board I was so desperate to reach. I started to kick and thrash and scream at them.

“Let me go! I won’t let you get away with this genocide!!!” I frantically turned my head to Oscar on the verge of tears.

“You’re not going to let them do this are you?! You said you weren’t one of them! Prove it.” He stopped dead and turned his head ever so slightly as so he could just see me out of the corner of his eye. And then he did something I wasn’t expecting, he laughed. He threw his head up in the air and just laughed. I was crying at this point I knew I was. I could feel the warm, wet, salty tears flooding down my face. Here I was, on the ground with my hands entrapped by one of his. Effortlessly dragging me to an eternal imprisonment, this for me was worse than death. But the thing that made me cry wasn’t the prison, or death. It was the abandonment. The fact that I trusted him and he used it against me the first chance he could, after all he said and did. It broke me. My thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a traitor.

“You’re really funny you know that?” With that his smirk faded back into that god awful grimace and he continued to drag me into the darkness.

After a while of dragging, he started talking again. “Alexa?” He asked in that sweet voice I knew. He was trying to trip me up. I know he is. Oscar turned his head to me and stopped.

“We’re here.” He smiled warmly, making me a little uneasy. Then he let go of my hand and offered it to help me up.

“What do you mean?” I asked, curious now.

“We’re at the mother board. I saw the panel at the top where it used to be, I noticed the wires were rerouted downward and followed them here using a sensor I have. I can see through walls remember? It was all just some trap so even if I did chose sides with you we would have failed. The panel up there, it’s a fake. I played along and pretended to drag you away. I had to stay in character the entire time or one of the drones.”

I stood there for a moment dazed. I didn’t know whether to hug him or slap him. I tackled him in a hug instead, so I did both in one. Losing his balance he fell to the floor, making a surprisingly soft thud for someone made out of metal. I squeezed the life out of the poor robot boy. But he really wasn’t affected by it too much. Actually he seemed to be enjoying it.

“You’re the best” I brightly at him. He smiled back.

“Come on, we got a mission to do.” I said quickly getting up and pulling him up in one swift motion.

24

I approached the machine eagerly dragging Oscar by the hand behind me like he was a child. I swiftly got to work passing codes, prints, data and accounts through different networks highway. Glancing at one screen then turning to another or working on two at the same time. As I was working I realized something. Oscar would go down with the program if I kept his files in here. And as if cued by some sort of plot I noticed the Disc drive sitting in the lower compartment. I shifted a few things on there and unplugged it from the main data server. I moved over to a metal wire roll. I started unraveling a piece to the appropriate length. Oscar seemed quite curious about the numbers dancing across the screens at the speed of light almost as if he was reading them like a book.

“Oscar, come you come cut this.” His name triggered his attention immediately as he walked over to me and snapped the wire in hand with his fore finger and thumb, the made his way back to the screen and stared at it like a zombie. The program couldn’t effort his metal structure even if he wanted it two. Me and my father’s designs may have been hooked up to the same network but there two completely different designs.

I moved my attention back to the flash drive stringing it through and tied it around my neck then turned to the machine. To him I guess it would be like looking at someone trying to dissemble the human body piece by piece and showing it to you. I shivered at the thought.

“Did you want to go wait outside?” he quickly shook his head and continued to intensely stare at the monitor. I stopped the numbers and rerouted them. Taking the flash drive off my neck I plugged it in again. I thought as I worked on the virus. ‘Was there a way I could save Oscar? Maybe if I download his file onto the flash drive t. But then the virus would infect him .Well if I redirected his file, to my computer.

But then my computer and his one would be linked. I could always cut off the connection. But that would mean I would have to shut off the internet and I need that for the virus.’ It was done. The virus was completed. Wait. I’ll just“YOU!!!”An eerie tone screeched in my ears. I turned only to see the garbage can. I swear I would so love to slowly rip out his circuits one by one or spill water on him. I turned back to my work and thoughts ignoring the piece of metal the best I could as he gave his long annoying villain speech.

“Oscar, hold him off!” He seemed pleased he could finally try to shut the tin can up. As I head the loud crashes and noises behind me I dared not turn around. I could hear them going back and forth though; one would smash into a wall the other would try to pop of their head in a head lock.

“You almost done yet doc?!” he mumbled out loud impatiently.

“Two more minutes!” I called back smiling to myself. I heard him scoff as he picked up Markus and through him into a nearby wall.

“No!!!” I heard him shout, charging at me while Oscar took the hit. My fingers flew across the key board as fast as they could. I snatched the drive and hit enter. That was it. I finished it. As I turned around I saw Oscars limp form at my feet. An iron pole pushed through his torso and a leg ripped off exposing wires. I knelt down to him to help him up. We went straight for the door. But I noticed something. The virus hadn’t killed Markcus in time, Oscar did. His face frame was torn in half and his legs and arms were shredded like it went through a grinder.

“W-W-We n-need to leave.” Oscar said as his voice box glitched. I was confused. We had already installed the virus. As we spoke and hobbled thought the labyrinth you could hear the glorious noise of drones hitting the floor. Proof flayed on the sides of the hallways.

“Why?” He tried to speak again but sparks came out his throat. He needed repaired, badly.

25

“It’s ok, calm down try to breathe.” I spoke softly to him.

“I-I don’t r-r-really b-breathe, Ale-.” More sparks and gearing grinded this time.

“Stop trying to talk!” I scolded him. Every time he uses his voice box even if it’s just one word, it will be damaged more severely.

“B-But Alexa. T-T-The place is rig-g-g-g-g-ged to blow b-b-because of the vir-r-r-r-r-u-u-us. He knew.”

Sparks and a bit of wire sprung out from the sides of his neck. The gears were clearly visible now and groggy turned jamming now and then.

We have moved to the old control panel room in the second floor. I slowly sat him down on the ground and went over to the metal cupboards, assembling different things. I grabbed a wrench, pliers and a screw driver along with a mobile metal table. Man they have a lot of metal stuff here. I rolled the cart over to Oscar. Using my hand to wipe off anything that it had been currently used for I tried desperately to lift him but his stuff tin can wouldn’t budge until he tried to help he get him onto the table, only making his situation worse as he released more sparks. I reconnected main wires that linked his power source to the rest of him and his ability to move his limbs. Being fragile and wary of the state he was in. I was nervous, never being able to do this, but knowing how. I knew he knew that I may not successfully restore him to the point where he can be fully repaired ever again. I shut off his voice box, effectively shutting him up.

Which he didn’t seem too pleased about that. I tightened his structure trying to close any gaps that let the gears fall out of place.

“Alright, You can’t speak now so don’t try.” He glared at me. Knowing it was for the best but also knowing I was enjoying it too much.

I jumped onto the back of the cart and rolled it out the double doors into the main hallways, dodging left and right, trying to evade fallen drones and corners that approached now and then. Bursting through the main doors I heard over the loud speakers, “30 seconds until destruction.” With that Oscar failed like a fish the table; unable to speak he just thrashed pointing to the door.

“29 seconds until destruction.”

“Calm down I’m going!!!” I needed to get down from the stairs, but with Oscar that might be a problem.

God forbid there’s not a ramp and the elevator would take WAY too long.

“28 seconds until destruction.”

I jumped on top the cart and Oscar who was rested on it. With that action he immediately stopped what he was doing and just stared at me like I was mad. I mean I would be to if he jumped on me and sat on my chest. I just rolled my eyes at him.

“27 seconds until destruction.”

I pushed the cart forward using the railings on each side then quickly grabbing each side of the cart stabilizing it. Using my legs to stabilize Oscar and keep him on the cart as it started hobbling down the stairs. ’26 seconds until destruction.”

“25 seconds until destruction.”

26

24 seconds until destruction.”

How long are these stupid stairs?!

“23 seconds until destruction.”

“22 seconds until destruction, starting count down now.”

We crashed in the bottom floor; I face first with Oscar landing on top me as a cushion. I quickly kicked him off.

“20” I set the cart back up and rolled it over to him.

“19” “18” I pushed Oscar’s big behind on to the freaking table for the second time.

“17” “16” “15” “14” “13” “12” I jumped on the back leaving Oscar dazed at what just happened.

“11” I used my foot to push off hanging on the edge of the cart.

“10” I keep propelling us forward to the window.

“9” Gaining speed as if I was on some giant skate board.

“8” So close.

“7” “6” “5” 27

“4” *Crash* We landed upright on top the parking lots asphalt.

“3” I pushed forward.

“2” I could see the lines of people running towards us.

“1” “Run! It’s going to blow!”

I screamed from little behind hallway of the parking lot.

“0” All I could see for that millisecond was a white light then pitch black.

I slowly opened my eyes taking in the hospital bed. The smell of disinfect flooded my nose. I quickly sat up and looked around to see my dad, half asleep sitting in a chair next to my bed. I laid back down slowly and quietly smiling until I realized something. Oscar.

I shoot upright as soon as his name came to mind. This startled my dad who was currently asleep now bubbling away. I turned to him, even being happy to know that he was safe I needed to know where my friend was.

“Where is he?” I asked him sternly.

“Who?” “Oscar.” I shoot back. He stared at me confused. I rolled my eyes.

“Mark I.” I answered his question without him giving it to me.

“They were going to scrap him today with the other drones.” I stared at him with wide eyes before tossing off the bed sheet and ran towards the door hastily opening it.

“The doctor said you shouldn’t leave the bed you’ve been unconscious for three days!” I marched out the door with a furry growing inside me with each step.

“Tell him if he gets in the way of me and my toys we’ll have a little play date of our own.” I mumbled to myself.

“And someone won’t be getting out alive.”

As I stormed through the hallways to the head office I slammed my hands on the desk.

“Where’s the idiot general?!” The lady at the hand counter stared at me before pointing to an office room nervously.

28

I marched right in as they were having a conversation between each other. Everyone stopped to stare at me and my ticked off form. The whole room had a sort of tension to it. I didn’t car though. I saw my target standing up by the left end of the room. I had to hesitate to walk up to him.

“Well, well, well. The hero’s awake!” He laughed and the whole room laughed with him as they did cheered and went back to whatever they were doing before I had entered. I scoffed.

“Where’s my robot?” he choked on drink a little.

“You mean the drones? They’re being scraped.” My scowl deepened.

“Not the drone, Oscar. Mark I. Where is he?” He stopped to think.

“You mean the one that was still active? We sent him to the lab. They’re going to dissemble him. We couldn’t find any other way to turn him off.”

“He doesn’t get turned off!!!” I screamed causing the entire place to look at me.

“He’s the virus. Turn him off and you turn the others back on. That’s how it works.” I crossed my arms as he stared at me dazed and shocked at my actions.

“Why would you do that?!” I smiled.

“They hacked into the system, they can evolve themselves, and the only way to have a virus to shut them down is to have a virus that constantly evolves with them. Oscar does that.” He sighed.

“You better know what you’re doing kid,” Then picking up his phone.

“I wouldn’t have done it otherwise.” I smiled. I turned to leave.

“One other thing, he stays with me. It’s in his programming. He won’t listen to you. It’s also the only way I can keep him in check.” I turned and swung open the door before yelling, have him sent to the hospital.

I’ll fix him up here.”

I walked out to find my dad.

“What was that about?!”

“Don’t worry he’s fine.” I started to walk back to my bed.

“Who?” “Mark I. His name’s Oscar now by the way.” I sated.

“They’re not scrapping him?!” I smiled.

“Nope, and they never will. Not as long as I live.”

29

Epilogue Once Oscar returned, Alexa was able to restore him to his former glory. Although consistently having to work out bugs and programming. They had bought another house after theirs was burnt down. Her father, Mr. Halro finally allowed her to help in his latest works to closely examine his creations. Mr. Halro rebuilt his business. Centering it around halo T.V.s and more practical house hold items, he retired forty five years later a happy, old fat man. Anne joined the armed forces and eventually took over General Kevin’s role in command with flying colors. As for Alexa and Oscar, Alexa took over her father’s business, hoping to regain trust from the costumers and the 30

markets with the trinkets, having Oscar as her helper as Mr. Halro once used him for. He was never trapped underneath the house again, free to do, almost whatever he pleased as long as it was passed by his master. Having grown up and married, Alexa had a child. This allowed Oscar to befriend the little girl so he may watch over the generations of the family to come.

31