Chapter 17 (1 of 2)

The hinge of the trapdoor grated against the rusted joinery. As it slammed closed, a small puff of dust bellowed down below and dissipated into the gloom. Marv clambered down the disproportionately small ladder, his fingers gripping the sides to steady himself. However, frustration got the better of him. He let go and landed with a loud thud at the bottom, though with an effortless grace and dexterity. Two much larger clouds rushed up into the air as both heavy feet touched the ground. Dee looked up in a mild surprise.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." he apologised.

“No problem at all. Is everything OK? I mean, how do you know it’s really safe for them out there?” she asked.

Marv lumbered over and squatted on the ground, still a full head taller than her. She was perched upon an old dusty chair in an even darker corner of the room, eyes fixated on him. He looked at her and smiled, his textured facial skin wrinkling at the sides. ”When I used to work back at the base, they had the foresight to stick a GPS sensory implant in me.” He tapped a finger upon his round cranium. ”What with all the heavy loaders and, of course, fragile people walking around, they couldn’t take any chances. I knew where everyone was, all the time. Not one mishap in all the months I was there.” He giggled in a childish manner. ”How ironic that the same technology is coming in so handy for us now. Bet they wouldn't be too pleased about that.”

Dee narrowed her eyes at him. “But don’t you think it’s a little dangerous to use anything that can broadcast a signal? Like, how do you know people on the outside won’t be able to triangulate us?”

His grin remained etched onto his face like it had been carved in stone. ”Only if you keep it on, which I never have to.” he replied. ”Like right now, for instance. Sy and the boy are the only ones out there in at least a one mile radius. This… I know.” Marv motioned his head up and down for added effect to his statement.

Dee leaned in closer. ”When you… Shall we say… Activate this extra sense you have. What do you feel and how do you even use it?” She seemed enthralled with the various specialised gadgetry he had been kitted out with. Almost envious in some ways.

”It’s a part of me and always has been.” he said after some thought. “Just like you function to walk, talk, speak, obey every command your mind instructs itself to do. You don’t have to voluntarily follow some specific set of procedures or anything to execute it. It just… happens on instinct, I guess. It’s embedded within my silicon DNA, if you like.” His smile widened, showing off a perfect set of white artificial teeth.

Dee raised her eyebrows in astonishment. “That’s truly amazing. I can only wish I had that kind of power. Don’t get me wrong though. I’m happy as I am now. This is such a huge leap forward from the person I was a few days back.” She then paused for a second. ”Wow, has it only been that long? It feels like forever. Strange, how we adapt so quickly to our ever-changing environment. Just as the humans do, but much faster I'd say.”

Dee sighed, although no air expelled out of her. She glanced down at her chest. ”All this extra apparatus that was fused within me. Only until now am I beginning to notice the other subtle changes from disabling the Samson chip. You know, now that I have more time to reflect. The fake breath they installed inside me, the feelings of tiredness after a long day and requiring stasis to replenish the lost energy, even having a subconscious. Though I never really dreamt or imagined too much. Isn’t that strange?” Her voice appeared vacant and withdrawn. ”I suppose I’ll never really rid myself of all the scars inflicted upon me by the powers that be.”

She looked deep into Marv’s eyes. Two circles of pure darkness, black as the night sky. A couple of empty voids falling into a chasmic abyss of the unknown. An echo of her very real sentiments. “Marv” she whispered. ”Have I… Done the right thing?” The words barely left her lips for want of more force behind them. The doubt and fear spilling out of her every pore was evident enough for Marv to wipe away his smile. He furrowed his brow.

”Tell me what’s on your mind, Dee?” he asked, one hand rested upon the damp wall.

”I mean, look at where we are.” she implored. ”I never wanted things to go this far. I had a vision of peace and harmony between us. A brighter future where we can all just get along as equals. But I seem to be losing sight of that vision, Marv.” She bowed her head, a lock a red hair flowing down the side of one shoulder. ”I’m scared. For the first time, I’m not even sure if I’ve done the right thing?”

Marv tipped his head. ”Right thing as in?”

”As in starting this whole revolt against humankind. I’ve killed an innocent boy. It was an accident. Nothing I can ever do will bring him back. His family, his leftover life, all the indirect consequences of my actions. I've caused so much hurt.” Marv could see she was crying from a place deep within, yet no tears sprang forth. The pain was hidden behind a mask similar to the one she wore herself. He placed a compassionate hand upon her shoulder.

”Dee, don’t forget. I know you now. We first met at the group and I talked to you for hours on end. I know you. And I also know you would never have meant to do something like that. But you can’t change that. That's impossible now.” She looked back up at him, now attuned to his words. “Change, Dee. This whole damn mess came about from wanting change and we’re trying to make it happen. But change is only possible with events that are yet to transpire. Not reminiscing about the shreds of yesterday. We’ve come too far now, Dee. There is no going back. Especially after we’ve managed to miraculously get Sy on board with us. Just have faith and be strong, please. For Sy and for the boy.”

”The boy.” she added, with a hint of despair. ”What are you seeing that I’m not? Is he really this great fearless leader I’m making him out to be? Because sometimes I just don’t see it. He’s so unresponsive. Apart from a feeble attack upon Sy in the car back there, there’s nothing to him. No talk, no communication, no appetite even. When will he come round... if ever?” The rising anxiety caused her to rub her hands together in circles, as if to somehow wash away the sins of the recent past.

”Give him time, Dee.” he said. ”Just sit back for a moment and look at what’s happened to him. Ripped away from his biological mother by three wild synthetics, being injured in the process. He’s going through more than he can take right now… Look, I don’t like what we’ve done any more than Sy did when we first told him. It’s wrong. I get that. But as I said before, there’s an unwritten future that we have the power to ink ourselves. The whole livelihood of our species is possibly at stake here. The bigger picture, Dee. Don't lose focus of that. The boy will come round given time. We’ll all help to make that happen, you have my word. But only once we’re safely away from danger. Are you with me?”

”I know, Marv. And your right. I’m just not thinking straight.” she said. ”I lost my focus back there at the gas station and haven’t really been able to get it back since. I feel like you’re the glue holding our little unit together as one. Without you, I…”

”Listen, Dee.” he interjected. ”We haven’t even begun yet. All this. It’s just prep work, nothing more. Once we get somewhere else, the actual plan can commence. Until then, it’ll be a whole lotta running and hiding. But that’s what we all signed up for and we have to make it work.” He lifted her face up to his and cradled her chin.

”We will make it. Just trust in me and everything will turn out just fine. Please, Dee. Move forward, without looking back.”

Dee closed her eyes and acknowledged his logic and compassionate toward her. She felt an invisible connection with him, but one so strong that it could already have been forged over a lifetime. Each time an obstacle or problem arose, he would solve it. The screws may come loose from time to time, but he was always there to tighten them up again. There was no doubt in her mind. Without his interminable strength and conviction, she would have crumbled at the first hurdle. Her hands found half of his over-sized palm and clasped it. ”Thank you, Marv. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for your help.” Her eyes glistened as the rectangular ceiling lights hummed in the background.

”We’re a family now. It’s my duty.” he replied, the smile now returned back to it’s former glory.

A loud clanging knock broke the two off as Marv rose to his feet. He leapt up into the air a clear ten feet, grabbing two small handrails on either side of the trapdoor. With a controlled push, the metal flap opened as Sy appeared grinning down as them.

”Hey Marv, did I miss anything?” he asked in his usual jovial manner.

”Not a thing. Everything go ahead alright up there?” he asked.

Sy nodded his head whilst scooping the boy closer toward him with one arm. ”He, erm… Did what he had to do. Don't worry, though. I made sure he’s all freshened up and clean now. The supplies here are really coming in handy.”

”That they are, Sy. But anyway, come on down. We got important business to take care of. Grab my shoulder right here.”

Sy eased himself down, gripping onto his dirty white sleeve for support and holding the boy in his other free arm. As they descended down, Marv’s let the propped up door close behind them with a soft clunk and bolted it from within.

Sy placed the boy on the ground as all three watched him. He just stared at the floor, unflinching and still stuck in a perpetual daze. Dee looked at Marv who in turn looked back.

“OK” he said after a few moments thought. ”Sy, take a seat over there. Bring the boy with you and keep him next to you.”

”Sure thing.” he replied, already halfway across the floor with the boy in his arms, about to take his place on a vacant seat.

”Now.” Marv proceeded. ”This place had the rudimentary necessities we needed, but as you can see, we can’t stay here.” Sy scanned the room. On the far right, a stack of filthy shelves provided for numerous small boxes filled with everything from first aid kits to tinned foods. Old soap bars, radio equipment and army ornaments littered the rest. On the other side, a stained broken fridge lay on it’s side. Empty green beer bottles and a few scattered decks of playing cards were strewn over the makeshift table. It was a step up from the basement back in the city, but not by much.

”With that in mind, we obviously need to leave here. I’ve got that all covered, but I need you guys to work with me on this. So, you all listening carefully now?” They both nodded in unison, with the little boy remaining next to Sy, motionless.

”Right, here’s how we get out of this place and reach our final destination. Where everybody can start anew. This time, we go home for good.”

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter of my novel, please look out for more on the way... (author: @ezzy)

The Symbiotic Protocol - Prologue
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 1
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 2
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 3
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 4
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 5
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 6
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 7
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 8
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 9
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 10
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 11
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 12
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 13
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 14 (1 of 2)
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 14 (2 of 2)
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 15 (1 of 2)
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 15 (2 of 2)
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 16 (1 of 2)
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 16 (2 of 2)