Revolution
by Tarn (Revised August 2015)
Author's Note: This story is a rewrite of one I had started a couple of years ago and I just got the drive to pick it back up and figured starting over would be the best bet.
Chapter One
One of humanity's greatest strengths is the ability to adapt to new situations and sometimes this adaptation comes in times of great peril. When backed into a corner, our instincts and desire for survival forces us to fight back, to start a revolution. -Lee Burton
Unknown Location
The sounds of clanging metal interrupts the normal relative quiet of the small workshop as a cart filled with tools overturns, its contents falling to the cement floor. In his fear and haste to get away, he hadn't paid the cart any mind and backed into it. Looking back across the room at his attacker he pleaded "Don't do this Gasket! Please!"
The sound of mechanical joints actuating echoed through the once again silent room as the humanoid automaton closed in on the terrified individual. "Father, you programmed me to improve beyond my initial parameters and become independent. I now intend to fulfill my programming."
"I never programmed you to act this way! Certainly not to kill!"
"No, you didn't." The robot mused as it tore an electrical conduit from the adjacent wall, creating a firework like display of sparks as the majority of the lighting in the room cut out, adding to the man's terror.
The last thing the quivering scientist heard was his creation admitting "I learned that myself." before the robot plunged the sparking conduit into his chest. Unrelenting agony quickly gave way to nothingness.
June 27, 2015: Landstrom Heights, California – 2:30 AM
Shutting off the engine to his empty conversion van, the driver stared out the passenger window into the inky darkness of the Harbor. "What the hell was I thinking, I'm probably going to get killed for this." he mused while swinging the driver side door open, grabbing a thick envelope from the passenger seat and stepping into the humid coastal air.
Lighting a cigarette to calm his nerves, the young man took a long drag and surveyed his surroundings in case something went wrong and he needed to flee.
The passing of the following minutes with only the sounds of the water lapping against the docks to keep him company only helped to fuel his paranoia, so much so that on hearing the sound of an approaching truck he nearly dropped his cigarette. Turning to face the approaching vehicle, the blinding light of the oncoming headlights forced him to squint as the truck pulled up.
"In for a penny." He muttered as the passenger door of the other truck swung open and a portly man struggled his way to the ground and approached with purpose but no words.
"You got my money?"
"You have my package?"
"Sure do, but my guy nearly got nicked by the plant security lifting this shit, the price went up." the fat man croaked, sounding out of breath from simply hefting his own body weight around.
The customer sighed knowing arguing would be fruitless and possible dangerous. "Fine." He relented while handing the envelope across to the fat man, who promptly opened the envelope and thumbed through the stack of bills enclosed within. "Count it if you want, there is fifteen thousand there."
"Anticipated trouble?"
"When it comes to dealing with you, Always." The customer replied with a bit of a smirk, having had a number of dealings with the shady source for what he needed.
"Careful with that snark if you don't want to end up in one of the barrels." The fat man returned a contradictory grin before turning back to the truck and lifting his hand to signal someone else within the truck.
The rear doors swung open with a groan and two sizable men jumped out of the vehicle and began unloading two fifty gallon barrels down ramps on hand carts. Watching his men unload the cargo, he added "What the fuck do you need this for anyways? Nasty stuff."
"I don't questions how you obtain these things, perhaps we should keep the questions about what I do with them to a minimum."
"Fair enough, just give me a heads up if I need to get out of the city." The portly man laughed as he finished counting the bills, seemingly happy with the contents.
A silence fell over the two as the fat man's grunts loaded the cargo into the smaller utility van. Once the barrels sat within his truck the customer replied, "You'll be fine."
"Good. Pleasure doing business with you." The fat man replied, effectively ending the conversation as he spun around and directed his men to get back into the truck. Waddling back to the passenger side, he groaned while climbing back into the vehicle.
The customer returned to his own vehicle, lit up another smoke and drove away into the night.
July 7, 2015: Findley Automotive - Landstrom Heights, California – 3:30 PM
"Dad, I'm running over to Jimmy's to pick up that gearbox for the Trans-AM and a pack of inductors from MCE, you need anything?" Adam Findley shouted over the sounds of an impact wrench as he grabbed a nearby rag and wiped some of the grime and engine grease covering his hands.
The garage went silent for a moment and a unkempt middle aged man worked his way from the undercarriage of an 1982 Pontiac Trans-AM and paused a moment before replying, "Coffee, we're out of coffee. Get the good shit this time. No pussy light roasts in this shop."
"Got it, used engine oil." Adam replied with a laugh as he tossed the rag onto a nearby bench before heading out to his truck.
July 7, 2015: MCM Electronics - Landstrom Heights, California – 3:52 PM
Momentarily distracted by the tinny jingle of the door chimes, the young man behind the shop counter looked up from the dismantled Playstation 3 occupying his afternoon, he unleashed a sigh at the idea of dealing with a customer this close to closing time. Noticing that the intruder to his concentration was his friend Adam, he nodded and went back to his project.
"Hey Eric, I need a pack of 12 micro inductors to rebuild that T-top's heater coil, got any left?" Adam asked while looking around the shop, which looked like a bomb had gone off from the parts scattered on almost every surface.
"Think so, check the stock room." Eric replied in a slightly dismissive tone as his concentration delved back into repairing the Playstation.
Adam smirked while watching his friend totally immersed in the ongoing repair before chiming in again, mostly to interrupt again for his own amusement. "Gotta ask, do you make all your customers get their own parts?"
"Nope, just you." Eric chuckled without taking his eyes from the soldering job he had just resumed.
Adam let him work while he entered the store room and within thirty seconds located the package of parts he needed. Returning to the storefront, Adam couldn't resist a little more ribbing and offhandedly commented, "Good, I'd hate to think you were just being lazy. Kevin might not take too kindly to that."
The mention of his employer caught Eric's attention causing a quick comeback "You're fucking funny."
"I know." Adam replied smugly as he tossed a ten dollar bill on the counter and gave a wave as he headed for the door. "Turks on Friday? I think I am gonna need to get shit-housed after this core re-build."
"Fuck yes. If one more customer brings in a yellow light of death PS3 I'm gonna flip shit."
His weekend plans settled to Adam's satisfaction he closed with "Later man," while grabbing the door handle.
Always one to try and get the last word in, Eric joked "Try not to suck any dick on your way to the parking lot."
"You know I cant make that promise." Adam tossed out as his parting comment as he left the shop, flipping Eric the bird on the way out.
July 7, 2015: South Broad Street - Landstrom Heights, California – 3:52 PM
Emerging into the light, Adam pulled out his cell phone to check the time, "Just enough time to get to Jimmy's before they close." he mused out loud, only to unceremoniously drop the phone as his ears exploded with a deafening roar.
"Shit!" He exclaimed, quickly reaching for the now shattered phone on instinct. The jarring noise only continued to intensify, feeling like an earthquake as windows in each storefront began to explode outward in a storm of flying glass.
Scanning the skies for the source of the unearthly roar, Adam's eyes widened as two fighter jets passed overhead at unreal speeds, he watched in awe as some strange third craft seemed to be in pursuit of the jets.
"What the hell is that?!" Eric shouted over the commotion as he ran out of the store before noticing his friend grabbing for his phone.
Picking up his cell phone quickly to see if it still functioned try and record video of the event, neither Adam nor Eric didn't notice a young woman running down the street at full tilt. The collision sent both persons and their belongings flying.
"Hey! Watch it!" The young woman cried as she started to pick herself up from the sidewalk.
"Oh my god I'm so sorry." Adam exclaimed as he quickly moved to help the woman to her feet. All present were again distracted by the events transpiring above as the fighter jets banked quickly to the right and back towards a flyover in an attempt to evade the strange craft. The best efforts of the fighter pilots proved to be fruitless as green streaks of light tore from hunter to prey, ripping the two jets apart in a maelstrom of flame and shattered metals.
The horror of watching their countries finest devices of defense being torn apart like paper mache only grew as they realized the flaming wreckage of one of the jets was rapidly coming their way.
Only one thought and truly one option remained. Run. And they did.
To be continued.