Authors notes: This is not a new chapter. I changed the ending to chapter 5 and added a new chapter 6, which shifted all the other chapters up 1. So chapter 6 is the "new chapter". I did this because I feel Lucas would not have warmed up to 11-7 like he did at the end of chapter 5 based on the situation and his characterization, he would have needed a little more time. I won't be doing any edits this major in the future, and I'll remove this note in a week or so.
Chapter 13
I woke up to the sound of wind chimes. The sound was coming from that black box thing. Instead of emitting blue light, it was now slowly switched between orange and yellow light. 11-7 wasn't coiled around me, but she was hugging me. Her lengthy body was tangled in between my legs and what wasn't was spread out on the bed. She opened her eyes and yawned. Giving me an eyeful of her mouth and her fangs, which unfurled and twitched.
They folded back up and she smacked her lips. "Alarm - off." The black box, which was apparently an Advent alarm clock, stayed on the yellow light, and stopped making noise. She looked down and realized she was still hugging me. I was released from her grasp, and she looked slightly embarrassed. "G - good morning Lucas."
"Mornin'. You know, I think I could get used to this."
She cocked her head. "What are you wanting to get used to?" She sounded playful when she spoke, maybe it was a rhetorical question.
"Waking up next to you."
"Yes, it is good to not be alone... Must we get up? We could stay longer."
"Well, I'm hungry, and I know you are. We should get some breakfast."
She perked up after that. "You are correct."
She cooked up some eggs for the both of us. She swallowed her's, and I ate mine while we watched tv, but as we were I realized I was forgetting something.
I looked over at 11-7. She was wearing a black tank-top, and was sprawled out on the couch. Tail taking up all available seating and the top of the couch. "Was I supposed to do something today?"
She twisted her head around to look at me. "I am not aware of any planned activities. It is Saturday, you do not return to your regular duties until Monday."
The word Saturday caught my attention. "Saturday - hmmm. It was on Saturday, but what was it."
She snickered. "Perhaps if you say Saturday again you will remember."
I snapped my fingers. "The barbecue I remember now. Frank, across the street invited me over."
11-7's pupils widened, and she leaned up off the back of the couch. "Bar-bee-cue. I know of that. The consumption of seasoned cooked meats."
"Well that's one part of it, a good part, but it is a kind of party."
"Party..." As that word left her lips her excitement seemed to be drained.
"You can come, don't worry. It was one of the first things I asked."
Her excitement didn't return. "Party - socialization... How much will be there?"
"How much?"
She grunted and shook her head. "Number - of attendees."
"I don't know - like 20."
She looked surprised and slunk back. "20 humans, maybe more..."
I tried to calm her down. "You interact with people all the time, why do you care?"
She furrowed her eyebrows. "I interact professionally, not socially. I give orders, ask questions, I do not - chat. You are the only human I have conversations with."
I couldn't help but tease her a little. The big alien snake was afraid to talk to people. "Aww, is someone scared of a little socialization?"
She snorted and crossed her arms. "I am not - scared, it does not interest me. Is that so surprising to warrant mockery? You are inept at skills too."
"You're not wrong, but maybe you should see this as an opportunity to develop new ones, huh. You might enjoy speaking with them."
Her disposition completely changed. She sighed and put her hand on my shoulder. " - Lucas, I appreciate your concern, but I shouldn't go. They do not wish to speak with me, my presence would upset the attendees."
"I think they might surprise you. Frank seemed interested in meeting you when you came over. I'm not saying they wouldn't be scared, but maybe you could change their mind - l-like you changed mine."
She stopped talking for a few moments, taking that time to observe me before responding. "Do you - want me to go?"
I often wonder if she has the ability to read my mind. "Well, I'd feel kind of bad if you were here all by yourself, while I was out partying with my neighbors." That wasn't the whole truth, and I could tell by her expression that she knew it too. "- Plus, I'm sure they'd all assault me with questions about you. I'm one of the few people in this neighborhood with a non-human bodyguard. And, what better way to answer their questions, than to have you be there. I'm sure seeing you close up would satisfy most of them."
She chuckled. "Now who is the one scared of socialization?"
I waved a hand dismissively. "I just don't want to answer the same questions over and over again."
She flicked her tongue out, narrowing her eyes and bore an impassive expression. "And you assume I want to?"
"If you want, you can stay next to me the whole time. - Besides you live here, you should meet them. Technically you're a part of this community. My neighbors are - your neighbors."
"Your persistence is impressive." She sighed and looked away. "I will go, but on one condition."
What could she want? "Uh, sure. What is it?"
She looked back at me with dilated pupils. "You will permit me to sample everything I want."
I shrugged my shoulders. "I mean it's a barbecue you can eat as much as you want. -Just don't eat everything, let everyone else get a plate before you start going ham."
She nodded. "Understood."
We waited for a bit longer until 1 pm before we got ready to leave. I dressed better than I did normally. I threw on a button up shirt and a pair of jeans. 11-7 put on her armor because she didn't have any semi-formal shirts. As we headed out I had to have a conversation with her. It took some convincing to get her to leave her plasma rifle behind, and explain that no one at the barbecue would try to kill me. She took it as an insult and went on and on about her training and discipline, while I tried to explain the guests wouldn't appreciate her bringing it. If I was going to introduce her to them, the less intimidating I could make her, the better. She eventually agreed, and before I knew it we were standing in front of Frank's door, and I was hesitating to press the doorbell.
I rang the doorbell, and Frank answered the door. He was wearing some kind of joke cooking apron on. It was white had the text It's done, when I say it's done printed on it. I saw his surprise behind his black rimmed glasses. He looked up at her, and over to me. I think he mumbled something to himself before speaking. "Well, hey Lucas. Happy to see you decided to come over." He looked over at 11-7. "And this must be your new bodyguard. It's a - real pleasure to meet you. My name is Franklin." I could tell he was scared, but he was trying too hard to sound friendly to mask it, and the way he hesitantly offered her his hand to shake didn't help.
11-7 looked at his hand, and didn't move. He held his hand there for a few awkward moments before I said something."You're supposed to shake it."
She looked away from his hand and at me. "How?"
"You, - uh grab it gently with your hand and move your arm up and down." Poor Frank still had his hand outstretched while I explained this to her.
"Ok." She carefully reached forward and wrapped her long fingers around his hand.
Frank moved his arm up and down, completing the gesture. "Do you have a name?"
She let go of his hand. "Unit 117-45-LH."
He looked bewildered. "That's a - unique name." He looked at me. "but let's not stand out here on the porch. I've got to get back to the grill."
He walked inside and held the door open for us. I went in first and 11-7 followed. I had seen the inside of Frank's house before. It was larger than my house, and the first floor had a high ceiling in the living room. It was well furnished, and he definitely didn't skimp on the decor. Plenty pieces of wall art, and a large "live, laugh, love" decal on the wall by the kitchen. The only other person I could see was Maggie in the kitchen.
As 11-7 and I looked around I noticed Frank's wife, Maggie taking something out of the oven. As she went to set what looked like party potatoes on the counter, she looked up from it and let out a startled squeak. She dropped the pan on the counter which caught everyone's attention.
Nothing was spilled, but she looked embarrassed and brushed some hair away from her face. "Whoops, sorry for the scare guys." She tried to laugh it off.
11-7 cautiously slithered into the kitchen and observed all the food that was sitting out. Maggie casually backed away from her and spoke to me. "Is this your bodyguard?"
"Yeah, don't worry, she likes food. The stuff she gave her when she was garrisoned doesn't compare to home cooked stuff."
11-7 shot me an angry look, but did not say anything. As she went back to smelling everything with her tongue Frank said something. "Well, we got plenty of stuff for her to try. Hey Lucas, could I talk to you in private for a minute."
"Yeah, sure."
Frank's wife looked concerned as he said that. But, before she could say anything I followed Frank into another room.
We were in his home office. There was a computer desk, chair and a window, which showed the backyard. My estimate from before seemed pretty accurate. It was about 20 people, not counting the children that were running around.
Frank took his glasses off for a second and wiped his forehead before putting them back on. I spoke first. "Is this about my bodyguard."
He sighed. "It is. I wasn't sure if you were actually going to bring her or not."
I understood his concerns, no one wants an Advent enforcer in their house. "Is this a problem, I can take her back. But she really isn't mean or anything, she's just not very talkative around other people."
He shook his head. "She works for Advent, I can't just ask her to leave. You and I both know she sends reports to them. Can you..." He paused for a moment. "I'm going to go out to the party and prep everyone for seeing her. I don't mind if she's here, but could you make sure she doesn't snoop around my house? Not that I have anything to hide, I just want to keep my privacy."
"She's not an Advent agent like you're thinking. But, she'll stay beside me the whole time, so she won't be poking around."
"Thank you Lucas, I'm uh - going to let everyone know the situation."
He left the room and presumably went outside. I walked back out to the kitchen to find 11-7 and Maggie talking.
"What is this food?" 11-7 pointed at a pot on the stove.
"Oh that's brown gravy." She was keeping her distance from 11-7 and she seemed wary of her, but was answering her questions.
"How is it manufactured?"
"We get it in packets, you mix it in with boiling water and stir it til it thickens."
I leaned on the counter and chuckled. "Getting some cooking tips?"
11-7 looked at me. "Yes, the female - mm Maggie. Is informing me."
Frank's wife turned her attention to me. She was leaning back against a granite countertop near the sink. "Does she cook for you?"
I thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, - a lot actually."
She smiled. "That's a relief to hear." She looked at 11-7, and relaxed a little. "He can't cook at all. He brought brownies to the Smith's potluck one time, they tasted like he left them in the oven too long - an hour too long. My husband was the only one brave enough to take a bite - and he said they tasted like charcoal." She started laughing.
She always talks about this story. "Not this again, look I got distracted with something, and my timer didn't go off. I went to the store and got somethin to replace them."
She kept laughing. "I'm surprised you didn't smell the smoke that was coming from your oven."
I rolled my eyes. "Unfortunately, we can't all be blessed with functional microwave timers."
She laughed a little longer, even 11-7 was snickering. She stifled her laughter. "You always were a funny one. Oh did you have any more questions... what was your name again."
11-7's eyes darted over to me and back to her. "You may call me 11-7 as Lucas does, my full designation is inconvenient."
Frank's wife kept answering her questions about food. I sat on their couch waiting for Frank to tell me everything was cool. After a few minutes he came in and grabbed some raw seasoned meat. I looked at him, and he nodded at me as he went back outside. Guess everything was fine now.
I got up and poked 11-7 on the shoulder. "We should probably go outside now, the party is out there."
She looked at Maggie. "Oh that's fine, you two go outside. I have a handle on the cooking."
11-7 nodded in response, and we both went outside. The barbecue was lively. Frank was over at his grill cooking. The grill was positioned on his concrete patio. People were all chatting and eating stuff. Most people were wearing summer clothes, shorts, t-shirts, sunglasses. Some were sitting in lawn chairs, some were standing. A few people were playing bags in the back and I think I saw a frisbee getting tossed around. There was a pack of energetic children running around weaving in between the adults. They were probably playing a game, but I couldn't tell what. Frank's backyard was like three times the size of mine, and much better maintained.
Once I had taken a moment to take in the scenery, people quickly noticed our presence, or should I say 11-7's presence, everyone here had seen me before. It felt like everyone stopped what they were doing, even the kids stopped running, and they all took a solid 10 seconds to observe her. Some looked more scared than others, but after that time was up they all went back to what they were doing. Though, that didn't mean that they stopped looking, once the initial shock was over people kept glancing over, attempting to hide their looks.
I whispered to 11-7. "Not bad, I think they like you." I chuckled and elbowed her side.
She looked at me and squinted her eyes, whispering her response. "If your staring is the comparison, they must."
We sort of stood awkwardly by the door. No one approached us, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to go around introducing her to people who were clearly fearful of her. I mostly came for the free barbecue anyway. As we were standing around I chatted with 11-7 about some of the video games we played. After a few minutes of this I noticed that a small crowd of children had gathered around us. They were whispering to each other and were staying about 5 feet away from a particularly brave boy left the group.
All eyes were on us as he stepped forward. He didn't seem nervous, more - curious than anything else. "Esscuse mee miss snake. Do you eat peepol?"
11-7 was surprised and didn't look like she knew what she wanted to say. I saw an opportunity to ease some of the tension. "Don't worry kid, she only eats naughty children. - You've been listening to your parents haven't you?" I laughed after saying that.
Her eyes widened, and her response was immediate. "No, no, no. I do not eat people, - any people. I eat the same food items that you do." She crossed her arms and glared at me. "Tell them that was a lie."
"Ok, ok." I looked at the kid, who was confused now. Probably not sure who to believe. "It was a joke. She doesn't eat people, or least as far as I've seen."
Some little girl stepped forward and poked the little boy. "Duh, if she eated people she had have eated you."
After that interaction I think some tension was eased in the air. I'm sure the parents breathed a sigh of relief. The children all started to converge on 11-7. Each one of them talking over each other asking her questions. She seemed happy to interact with the children. It was probably her first time talking to this many people who weren't scared of her.
One kid was talking gibberish, which 11-7 replied to in that Advent language.
"What are you doing?"
"The child is speaking Advent - poorly, but better than not."
She kept answering their questions, but I could tell the novelty was starting to wear off on her.
A child with glasses tried to get her attention. "Miss snake, miss snake."
She looked down at the child with mock curiosity. "Yes?"
"Can I please touch your tail?"
That question caught her off guard. Her hood contracted and she tapped her claws together. She looked embarrassed, but I guess she didn't want to say no to them. "mmm - you may."
No sooner did those words leave her lips, and every kid was rubbing and poking her tail. There was about 7 or 8 feet of it for them to touch. The children kept making comments like "it's so smooth." and "you aren't squishy."
11-7 looked at me with pleading eyes. I took the message and stepped in. "Alright kids" they all stopped what they were doing. "Why don't you leave miss snake alone for a bit and go play something." I cast a sly glance back at her when I said miss snake.
The kids thankfully listened to what I said and all ran off to play something else. I looked back at 11-7. "You alright?"
She let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Yes, they show not much fear, but they were too close."
"I'd be careful. Kids can be real vicious sometimes." I chuckled.
We kept chatting, and after a bit my next door neighbors walked up to us.
Jim and Judy. Jim was fat and built like a trucker. He was wearing a plaid green shirt that was pulled tight by the belt looped through his jeans that held the whole outfit to his gut. Judy was equally as fat, and looked like a receptionist. She had these librarian glasses, and was wearing a cream colored blouse that hung loosely over her body and the light colored jeans she wore.
Jim glanced at 11-7 as he walked up, but didn't seem all that scared. "Luke, nice day for a party, eh?"
I shrugged. "Yeah, it's nice out. How have you two been."
Judy spoke up. "Oh we've been just great. You look like you're doing well."
"I have been feeling better. I've been trying to get out of the house more, get some exercise and stuff."
She smiled. "Well good for you. You look like you could use some sun, oh lord knows I could too." She cackled after saying that.
Jim glanced at 11-7 for a second and looked back at me. "Your bodyguard is tamer than I thought she'd be. But, can't blame ya for chasing the kids off once they started touching ya. I would've drawn the line there myself." He let out a hearty laugh.
11-7 surprisingly responded. "Yes, the children were interesting. I have not encountered many - human children. Are they taught Advent in school?"
Jim looked confused for a second. "Uh, you mean that Advent gibberish. Yeah they're teaching all of them that in school. It's got its uses I'm sure, but I'm too old to start learning anything new myself."
11-7 nodded. "Knowing it isn't essential, but Advent will likely become more commonplace in the future."
"Rrright." He scratched his head and looked over at me. "It sounded like you were having a lot of fun yesterday. I heard a bunch of commotion when I was grilling up some non-steaks."
11-7 glanced at me, her gaze filled with a mixture of uncertainty and "I told you so". I ignored her and responded. "Yeah I was letting her use my pool."
Jim burst out laughing for a moment. "You mean that old kiddie pool ya keep in your shed, is that what yer callin it these days?"
"It is a pool, and it's much easier to clean out than the one you have in your backyard."
He laughed. "Yer right, - I hate cleaning out that darn thing."
As we were talking Frank called to attention the fact that the food was done, so everyone lined up and started grabbing some. 11-7 and I hung back and let everyone else go in front. I could have jumped in line and tried to get in front. After all, 11-7 was the one who really had to wait, but funnily enough I realized I'd feel bad if I was stuffing my face while she had to stand around by herself. The line moved at a steady pace, and eventually 11-7 and I were able to get some food. Some people were going down to Frank's bar in his basement to eat, through a door outside that led to it, but I didn't want to go drinking around 11-7. She'd probably get over it someday and come to realize that it didn't always lead to problems, but I didn't feel like fighting her on that now. Instead, we found an empty plastic table to sit at.
I was unfortunately unable to stop her from eating a quarter of a rack of ribs in one bite, which luckily no one noticed, except for an old man sitting across from us. He just laughed and said he wished he could demolish a rack of ribs like that. 11-7 cleared her plates while I was still working on my first. As she went up for more, two younger looking adults sat down at my table in her spot. A guy and a girl.
They had this Advent neo-hipster look to them. The guy had a short beard, and he was wearing a beanie, a thin scarf, and suspenders over a black and white striped shirt. The girl was wearing sunglasses, a beanie, a zip up jacket, and a plain shirt underneath. Both of their outfits were black and each piece had some form of Advent banding on it. You might assume they were goth at first glance, but I had been around the bend, and I knew this was a style popular with college kids.
The guy spoke up first. "You're Lucas, right? The person who lives across from our Dad?"
"Yeah I am, and you're Frank's kids then?" I took a bite of my mashed potatoes.
He nodded. "We are, our Dad has told us some stories about you."
"Some of those are good I hope." I chuckled after saying that.
"Most of them are, but let me introduce myself. I'm Kale." He went to say his sister's name, but she blurted it out herself.
"And I'm Lucy - What's it like being an actor?" She said all of that quickly, like she had been holding it in for a few minutes.
I picked at my potatoes for a moment, thinking of what to say. "It's not as easy as you might think. I've got to do some stuff I don't wanna do sometimes because I work for Advent. It's not all glamour in movies and TV shows. Sometimes I've got to advertise shit and act as a spokesman for certain things I don't care about."
She looked confused. "You don't make it sound very fun."
I took a drink of water from a plastic cup and responded. "Don't get me wrong, it has its moments. But, I've got a job to do, and working for Advent means my ass is on the line."
She smiled seemingly oblivious to what I just said. "We heard you worked directly for Advent. We hope to get positions like that someday."
I thought about how I got my position for a second, but pushed it aside. I decided to just give them some encouragement. I'm sure Advent has better positions than mine. "With enough - hard work It's definitely possible. What are you two going to school for anyway? You're on spring break now aren't you?"
The both looked unsure, but Kale responded after a bit. "We - ah, don't know yet. But, that doesn't matter, we're still completing our general education classes so we don't have to choose a Directive for another year."
"Sounds like a tough decision, I didn't know what I wanted to do when I first came to the city."
Lucy piped up. "Did you go to college?"
I chuckled. "Hell no, I don't have the time for that. Only thing I have is an Advent Compliant High School Diploma."
They both looked confused for a moment. Kale responded. "Do you mean a - Basic Education Degree?"
Never heard that term before, but it sounded right. "Uh, I guess."
The both started snickering to themselves. Lucy snorted. "You're barely qualified to work at an Advent Burger."
Seems like they have the Advent neo-hipster superiority complex too. I didn't appreciate them laughing at me but before I could say anything clever he asked me a question. "Where are you originally from?"
I decided to let them off the hook. "I was born in a farming community outside of the city. Agriculture Zone 3 I think is what Advent calls it, most of the people living there prefer to call it Camden."
He looked up in thought for a moment. "Agriculture Zone 3? I think I learned about that in my Modern Geopolitics class. It is the only one in this sector that is semi-autonomous because they threatened to salt their fields and burn their seeds early into Advent occupation. Advent had trouble getting supplies to the city in the beginning, so they caved to their demands."
I sighed. "Believe me I know the story. It's all anyone ever talks about down there."
"There's not much Advent influence there." He chuckled. "From what I hear it's a real backwards place. Going there is like stepping back in time a couple decades." He started laughing and so did his sister.
Dammit, now they're trying to piss me off. My hometown wasn't anything special, but it was my hometown. What did they have to feel superior about, they haven't accomplished anything of note yet. I thought they were gonna ask me for advice, not mock me. What he said made me mad enough to fire back with something that was probably true. I fake chuckled along with them. "Hey, it may be backwards, and I may not be the most educated guy around. But, I'll always be more successful than the both of you, no matter how many years you go to school."
They stifled their laughter and frowned. Kale spoke first. "What's your problem, it was just a joke."
"Yeah, and so is this: how many neo-hipsters does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" I didn't wait for an answer. "Three" I held up three fingers and counted them off as I spoke. "One to ask Daddy for more money, one to complain that the work is too hard, and one to lay on the ground and smoke synthetic weed."
They both looked mad, and then confused. Lucy asked a question. "But they didn't screw in the lightbulb?"
Shit, this joke kinda sucked, but I knew how to save it. "Exactly, they didn't accomplish their goal."
Kale frowned and pointed at me. "Well you're just a dirty hick, from a backwards - gutter farm town. I don't know what Advent sees in hiring trailer trash like you."
I chuckled. "They must see something you don't. Go sit somewhere else, I have nothing else to say to you."
He looked like he wanted to say more, but his sister tugged on his arm and he calmed down. As they left 11-7 took their seat across from me and sat down another three plates of food. She ate, seemingly oblivious to what had transpired while she was gone. I started eating my pulled pork sandwich. It tasted so good it was easy to forget that it wasn't actually pork.
After a bit I felt like she was staring at me. I looked up from my food, and she had a concerned expression on her face. She didn't say anything, but I got the impression she wanted me to talk about what happened. How she saw what went down I have no idea.
"What do you want?" I asked in a semi-hostile manner. She didn't respond, just kept looking.
I calmed myself down and shook my head. "I don't know, I might have overreacted."
"Insults bring more insults." She sounded indifferent to what I said as she swallowed a bratwurst.
"I suppose..." I set my sandwich down on my plate and rested my elbows on the table. "I - I don't hate my parents, or any of the people in my hometown. - Sometimes I wish I could work up the nerve to visit them. Whatever that's worth." I sighed. "Sorry, - that came out of nowhere."
She nodded. "Not out of nowhere. Do not concern yourself with the opinions of those fledglings. Enjoy the food, forget them." She gestured to my plate.
I chuckled. "You know there's more to life than food."
"Hmmm?" Her mouth was full, so she swallowed before responding. "I am aware." She snorted. "maybe I will think on your - deep philosophy when I am no longer hungry."
Sassy as always, she seems in a good mood. "Enjoying the party?"
She smiled. "Most certainly. The experience has been both expected and unexpected."
"Oh yeah, how so?"
"Your neighbors are keeping their distance as expected, but their politeness I am not used to. The female - Maggie was frightened but attempted to hide it, and she was informative on the subject of cooking. Also I had an interesting conversation about birds with some male by the food table."
"Birds?"
"Yes, he was telling me all about what species remained after Advent's pest extermination campaign."
"Oh, that's cool. Good to hear you're enjoying yourself." At least one of us is having fun.
Time ticked by occasionally people would come up to talk to me and 11-7, but nothing exciting happened. I had resigned to being trapped here for the next 8 hrs until I received a message from my friend Carson. It was an invitation. Him and a bunch of other people I knew were about to go to my favorite bar, The Vector, for some drinks. I hadn't heard from most of these guys in a while, so how could I say no. I agreed to go and told them to save me a spot.
I had an excuse to leave now, so I said my goodbyes to everyone, and we hurried out of there. I had called up Ron and told him my plans, and got my outing approved by my manager. He did add that he would speak to me either tonight or tomorrow about what was going to happen on Monday. As we were waiting for Ron, 11-7 asked me a question.
She looked confused, and maybe a little concerned. "Why are you so eager to leave? I thought you feared leaving the neighborhood."
"I still am, but whatever." I waved a hand dismissively. "Can't let those terrorists rule my life, besides The Vector is close to an Advent base anyway. So, I don't have anything to worry about."
"If you must go, I will not stop you. I will protect you here, or there."
"Oh yeah about that, I should also mention the VIP section is kinda uhh... It's humans only. Which is where my friends will be. You'll be in the same building on the same floor, but not next to me."
She furrowed her brow and frowned. "Unnegotiable, I should not be separate from you in a public place."
I held my hands up and tried to reason with her. "Ey, chill out. Like I said no one's gonna try anything. It is a secure building, and you'll be close enough. It's not like you have to be breathing down my neck all day."
She squinted her eyes. "So, you do not want me observing you."
"No, it's not like that. I haven't seen my friends in a long time, even before the terrorist attack at the gene clinic opening ceremony. So, I'm gonna meet them wherever they want to meet up."
She snorted. "Very well, but if something unexpected happens I doubt your friends will be able to assist you."
"Relax, it'll be fine."
0-
Not long after Ron picked us up. I chatted with him a little bit about the barbeque, and 11-7 mentioned that she enjoyed the experience. He acted as he usually did despite our conversation at the bar the other day. The only reminder that even happened was when he wasn't talking he was constantly looking at me and 11-7 through the rearview mirror. It wasn't malicious it felt more like he was studying us, like maybe he was trying to see if I meant what I said when we talked.
After some time we arrived at The Vector, a much more classy establishment than that new club Exxsite I went to after my last interview. That club seemed like the place that single moms, druggies, and ex- girlfriends would hang out at. The Vector was different. It was exclusive, it was where all the greatest minds in the city would mingle and get wasted together. Suits, artists, VIPs, students, Advent burger managers, industrialists, scientists, just about any 'ists you could think of, and even actors like me, all under one roof. You could meet just about anyone on any given night, it was the place to be in this city. It was my home away from home, and it had been far too long since I last visited. It had also been too long since I last saw my friends, so I was killing two birds with one stone with this trip. How could I refuse their invitation, even considering my current circumstances?
I could see that familiar building through the window of the car. The outside was unassuming; it looked like any other building in this part of the city, besides the fact it was huge. I'm sure it was originally intended to be a warehouse before it was repurposed into what it is now. The only hint to what purpose it served, at a glance, was the line of people outside of it, and the angled orange neon sign that spelled Vector. There was an arrow underlining the word that pointed in the direction you would read in.
Ron looked back at me and nodded. "This is yer stop. Don't forget what I said, I'm taking my wife to the hospital for surgery tonight, so I won't be picking ya up."
I gave him a thumbs up. "I haven't forgotten. I'll just call a taxi or something, or hell we could even walk. It's not that far."
11-7 poked me, which caught my attention. "No walking, too dangerous."
"Alright, no walking then. I'll see you later Ron." I stepped out of the car.
I heard him say "See ya." as I shut the door.
11-7 followed me as I walked past the main entrance and went to the VIP entrance on the side. The line there was significantly shorter. No one even batted an eye when I pulled up with a Viper in tow. I walked through the velvet ropes and took my spot in line. We stood in line for a few moments until it was my turn to speak with the bouncers.
There were two of them. They were wearing a simple black button up shirt and pants. They both flanked the entrance, which had a digital VIP Entrance sign above it. There was a third guy between them wearing the same outfit and was holding a tablet, probably checking the list. He was slightly less intimidating in stature compared to the other two.
The guy looked up at me and said one word. "Name?"
I cleared my throat. "Uh, Lucas Hickey. Should be in the VIP section with a guy named Carson."
He didn't say anything and started typing on his tablet. After a few moments. "Lucas, huh." His voice was deadpan, and he seemed tired. "You are aware of the policy of the VIP section?" His eyes shifted between 11-7 and me.
I nodded. "I am, she understands."
"Good. You're on the list. Go in." He stepped aside and gestured to the door.
I walked past him and nodded at the bouncers before going inside. Once I walked inside the atmosphere was completely different. The whole place had this retro futurist aesthetic to it. Wood paneling everywhere, blinking lights, shiny polished metal, and even some smoke, everything down to the light fixtures had detail to it. The room looked sleek and oddly cozy. They were playing some french house music, and after a few moments I recognized it as Daft Punk. The staff were wearing these atompunk style thin silver space suits with red accents and rings around their wrists. They weren't wearing helmets though, I doubt they could pay anyone enough to wear a fishbowl on their head 8 hrs a day. I could see the dance floor from where I was standing, there were a lot of people all grooving to the music on blinking floor panels under a dj stand designed to look like a rocketship. As enticing as that dance floor was, that wasn't my destination. There were three levels to this club and the VIP section was on the third floor towards the back.
The designers of this place were smart enough to put stairs right next to the VIP entrance. 11-7 seemed a bit stunned so I poked her shoulder. "A lot more interesting on the inside, isn't it."
She looked at me and nodded. "Certainly. I was not expecting this to be inside. I may be experiencing a sensory overload, more so than the other nightclub."
I chuckled. "Well, don't worry. It's a little calmer on the third floor. Follow me."
I started walking towards the stairs, but before I did 11-7 hissed at me. I immediately turned around, and she looked embarrassed. "I apologise, I was worried you wouldn't hear me over the music. The stairs are too steep for me."
I looked at the stairs, and then at her. "Oh - right. I forgot, sorry. The elevator is over here."
Once we were in front of the elevator I noticed there was a piece of paper tapped next to the button, it read Only staff and temporarily disabled persons are permitted to use the elevator. I chuckled and pointed at the sign. "Guess that means you're disabled."
She frowned. "I will disable you if you make another joke like that." I heard her snicker after saying that.
I pushed the button. "Hey, just remember if I get fucked up, you're gonna have to carry me home."
"Fucked up? You will not be drinking will you?"
She caught me. "Look, I will, but I won't over do it this time."
She squinted her eyes. "I will not prevent you, but if you are difficult to get home, I'm not making breakfast tomorrow."
The door dinged and opened. "Don't worry, I won't."
We crammed into the elevator and went to the third floor. The atmosphere on this floor was a lot more chill. There wasn't a dance area, most people were sitting and chatting with one another over drinks, and there was less exciting music playing. Towards the back I saw my goal. A section blocked off with velvet ropes and a sign that said VIP, being guarded by a large man. I walked up to the bouncer.
He eyeballed me for a second. "Lucas I take it?"
That caught me off guard. "Uh, yeah. How'd you know that?"
"Cal, the guy you spoke to out front radioed me. He told me you'd be coming. You're free to go in" He looked over at 11-7. "but your..."
"Bodyguard."
"Yes, your bodyguard will have to remain out here."
"That's fine." I looked at 11-7. "Will you be fine on your own? I think I see an open table over there."
She sighed. "I will manage. You know where I am if you need me." She slithered past me towards the bouncer. She was already "taller" than him, but she made herself even taller and stared down at the bouncer. "Will you permit me to enter if there is trouble?"
The bouncer seemed a little unnerved from her sudden attempt at intimidation. He glanced at the plasma rifle she was holding before responding. "You're Advent, so if something we can't handle does happen I'll let you right in."
She seemed satisfied with his answer, lowered back down to her usual height, and slithered over to an empty table.
I decided to apologize for her. "Sorry about that, she's a little overprotective sometimes."
The bouncer scratched his head and chuckled. "It's fine. That's not the first Viper that tried to size me up, and it won't be the last.."
"Huh, this happen often?"
He nodded. "Our policy to keep this section Advent and alien free is always going to make some people upset, but I think it's necessary. Most of the people coming in here just don't want to feel like Advent is listening to their conversations."
"I can see the appeal. Well, my friends are waiting for me, I'll be heading in now."
The bouncer just said. "Mmm hmmm." As I walked past him.
It took a little exploration, but I eventually found Carson and the others. All together there were 5 guys and 3 girls. They were all sitting around a table that was covered in drinks, and there was a plate of mostly eaten nachos in the center. The table had a fake wood look to it, and it appeared to be all one structure, there were no seams on it. The outside edge of the top of the table about an inch in was not wood, and glowed a dull white.
They were having an intense conversation as I sat down in one of the open silver and red ridged chairs at the table. The ridges of the chair were large and cushioned. It was surprisingly comfy, but I bet they're a bitch to clean, and it didn't have armrests.
After sitting for a second my friend Carson noticed me. He was a ginger, pale with short red hair. He was wearing an unzipped brown jacket that revealed a grey shirt underneath. "Luke the duke, what's up man?" He sat up slightly and reached a fist across the table. I bumped it with my own.
As he sat down everyone else I knew all at once was trying to greet me. I greeted them back.
Carson took a sip from some green colored drink. "What's it been a month or two? How've you been."
I chuckled. "You've watched the news. Been a hell of a month for me that's for sure. You should've called when it happened I'd have talked your ear off." I was still kinda pissed that none of them tried to contact me at all.
He looked away for a moment. "A lot of us have been busy, and I assumed you wanted some space after all that stuff that kept happening." When I didn't affirm that I wanted space he tried to move on. "But hey, let's not let that spoil the night, we're here now."
The girl sitting next to me spoke up, I knew her, her name Grace I think. She had long dark hair that contrasted against her light colored eyes, and was wearing a black one piece dress. "I heard he got in trouble with Advent for fucking his bodyguard."
Ugh, this again. Before I could defend myself a different girl across from me leaned forward and commented. She had medium length blonde hair and was wearing a blue two piece dress. "Kinky, - these guys made it seem like you were a square."
Carson added to the teasing. "Luke, you sly dog. I didn't know you had it in you."
Luckily Bo, who was sitting next to Grace, said something to calm them down. He had a beard that was much longer than the hair on his head, and was wearing the same thing as me: a button up shirt and a pair of jeans. "Alright guys chill out, you saw that interview he did. It was false rumors, right?" He looked at me.
Everyone else looked at me. "Of course, we're just friends."
Grace snickered. "What does she think about you friendzoning her?"
Carson interrupted me as I responded to that. "I'm sure Luke doesn't want to talk about this. Here let me buy you a drink." He snapped his fingers and whistled for a waitress to come over.
"Yeah, I want to talk about it as much as you want to talk about that prostitute incident on set."
He gasped and pretended to look offended. "Hey I'm a changed man. No more prostitutes for me, now that I met this hot piece." He leaned over and gave the girl he was sitting next to a quick kiss on the lips. I didn't know her well, but I knew that they had been dating for a few months.
As he did that a waitress walked up, wearing the same atompunk silver space suit uniform the rest of the staff were wearing, and asked me what I wanted. I ordered one of their signature drinks: the Atomic Splash.
As I was sipping on my alcoholic beverage. Carson introduced me to the people that I didn't already know.
He gestured to them individually stopping on the last guy. "... Xavier, - right. We actually just met him today. He was sitting by himself at that table over there, so we invited him over. He doesn't talk much, but I think he said he is a scientist for Advent."
This guy didn't stand out much, he was wearing common clothes: a shirt and pants. He had short brown hair and a patch of hair on his chin. He looked to be the oldest here, probably in his mid to late 30's. He cleared his throat which caused Carson to look at him. "I assure you I am much less pretentious than my name implies." He turned to look at Carson as he corrected him. "I am also not just - a scientist. I am the head Genetic Engineer for the city." He was soft spoken, and after he finished he took a sip from his drink, which was a tall glass of some kind of red slushie.
That sounded interesting. "Head genetic engineer, that sounds like a fun job."
He chuckled and nodded. "It is, I love my job. I do a lot of interesting things."
Bo took a sip from his bottle of beer and gestured to him with the bottle. "Don't be all vague now, you've barely said a word all night. Tell us something we don't know - science man."
Everyone else sounded their encouragement, and shared Bo's sentiment.
Xavier held up his hands and surrendered to everones' pleas. "Alright, alright. I suppose I could tell you something. Give me a moment to think of something that won't get me into trouble." He looked at the table for a moment and scratched his chin hair.
I didn't want him to worry about telling us stuff. The people I knew at this table were not narcs. "Don't think about it too hard now, no one's gonna tell on you." Everyone else agreed with me.
He looked up and smiled at me. "I'll hold you to that. Alright, - here's something. Most people know that since Advent's arrival the aliens under their command have gone through some changes."
Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement.
He continued. "But, not many people know why, or how. - I do. I've even had a hand in helping with it." He leaned forward and whispered. "So, Advent has upgraded their non-human personnel mostly by incorporating human DNA into their genomes. Every non-human Advent employs currently has at least some human in them."
Everyone at the table had varying levels of shock displayed on their face, except Bo, nothing ever impressed him.
I heard Grace whisper. "That's soo weird. - Why?"
He pointed at her and leaned back. "An excellent question miss, and one that we shall explore further. Let's talk about an alien I'm sure most of you have encountered, - the Viper. Have any of you observed their eating habits, what is something strange about them that is a trait exclusive to mammals? Don't be shy, this is a discussion I want to hear your thoughts."
I knew what he wanted me to say, but I tried to hold off from saying it. As everyone gave wrong answers, I drank my drink. My nervousness built up until everyone looked at me.
Grace lightly shoved my shoulder. "Come on Luke, you haven't answered yet. It's your turn to look dumb like the rest of us now." Everyone shared her sentiment, except for Xavier who casually observed me.
Unfortunately my pride was not going to let me sit here and pretend to be an idiot. I sighed. "Well, they are lactose tolerant, despite the fact they don't produce milk."
He looked ready to correct me, but surprise crossed his face. "That's... correct. I'm surprised, - you don't strike me as an academic."
Carson waved a hand dismissively. "Who, Luke. Nah, not him. He's the least educated guy at this table. Even Bo has a basic post secondary diploma."
Bo raised his bottle of beer in the air in acknowledgement. "Proud of it too." Then he took a swig.
Xavier put his fingers together and leaned forward, directing his attention to me. "Still, it is not knowledge that most people have. How did you come to know that?"
He didn't seem malicious and knowing what my bodyguard eats isn't a crime. I sucked up the rest of my drink for a confidence boost. "My bodyguard is a Viper. I interact with her on a regular basis, so I know some stuff about them."
What I said piqued his interest. "Really, that's fascinating." He looked like he was going to say something else, but stopped himself. "We're getting a little off topic, but I might discuss your bodyguard more with you later - Lucas was it?"
I nodded. "That's right." I'm not sure I liked the sound of that, but I didn't get any weird vibes from this guy.
He looked away and continued talking to the group. "Anyway, so the reason these aliens have our DNA in them is because of all the species the Ethereals have encountered, humans are the most adaptable out of all of them. We can survive conditions that, originally, these other aliens would not be able to."
Everyone discussed this new revelation amongst themselves before he continued.
"Also, something interesting to note is these aliens have completely different evolutionary paths from the environments they came from. And what's the easiest way to adapt to a new environment?" He scooped at the air and made a fist. "Taking the developed adaptations of the native fauna, which in this case would be us, and incorporating it into their genomes. Hence why Vipers can eat dairy products, and other things found on Earth because the more types of food an animal can eat the better their chance of survival. There's a number of other adaptations they have taken on, but I don't want to bore you with the details."
Carson piped in. "That's crazy. So what were these aliens like before Advent found Earth?"
Xavier leaned back in his chair. "A good question, but sadly not one I can answer completely. If Advent keeps records like that they've never shown them to me, and I'm the most likely human candidate that would need to see them."
Everyone talked amongst themselves again, and I decided to pose a question that I knew no one else would ask. "How do the aliens feel about being changed like that?" Not a question I would normally ask, but the time I've spent with 11-7 has made me curious.
He raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "It's not a matter of how they feel, it is a matter of what the Ethereals want. As far as they are concerned, the non-humans at their disposal are templates to be reformatted as needed, but they view humans very differently. I'm not sure why, but they are interested in us, for one reason or another, and because of that they treat us exponentially better than they treat their non-human personnel. It's why we have any autonomy at all."
Carson butted in. "You don't know why they are interested in us?"
He shook his head. "No, my department is Xenobiology, not human biology. All information in R&D is on a need to know basis."
Carson took a big swig of his drink and set it down. "That's a lot of insightful shit, but after having you here, I think we should invite random people to our table more often. "
He smiled. "I extend my gratitude for inviting me over. This is more fun than spending the evening alone."
Carson stood up and raised his glass. "I'd like to do a toast. For old friends and making new ones. And for Advent, who let us party our troubles away every night."
Everyone raised their glass and took a drink, me included. The night went on, many drinks were drunk, and merriment was had. It almost made up for none of them calling or messaging me. I didn't want to get fucked up, so I tempered my drinking after an hour and stuck to water and sodas. The whole night it was clear that scientist guy was much more interested in me than anyone else. Eventually, I had to piss, and when I went into the bathroom he followed me.
The inside of the bathroom was clean, but not as stylized as the rest of the club was. I walked up to one of the urinals and started to take care of my business.
Not long after that scientist guy walked up to the urinal next to me. He started talking to me too. "So, you're friends with your bodyguard?"
A weird question to ask at a urinal, but I obliged him. "Uh, yeah. We're pretty good friends. - Why do you care exactly?" I looked around the bathroom to see if anyone else followed me.
He chuckled. "Oh don't worry, I made sure we had some privacy in here." He zipped up his pants and went to go wash his hands. He continued the conversation after he dried his hands with the hand dryer. "I find how you speak of your friendship, so casually, intriguing. You do understand that's not a common relationship formed between humans and aliens?"
I finished up and stood in the middle of the bathroom. "Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. Why, do you want to study me?"
He moved away from the sink and leaned against the wall away from the door, which made it obvious he wasn't going to stop me from leaving. He continued talking as I went to wash my hands. "You don't trust me, I understand, we only just met each other. But, maybe I could convince you to trust me."
I wasn't sure where he was going with this, but he managed to catch my attention. "Ok, I'll hear you out." I dried my hands.
"You see, my expertise is highly valued by Advent. You can't exactly clone people with experience like mine, so Advent grants me special privileges in recognition of my value. For example, they let me keep a few Vipers around my house - to use as I see fit. - See where I'm going with this."
I feigned ignorance. "Uhh, no."
He smiled and some air escaped his nose. "To put it bluntly, I suspect that because you are friends with a Viper at all, that you might be inclined to take that further and - tamper with Advent property. "
Shit. I held my hands up. "I swear I would never..."
He chuckled. "Relax, you don't have to admit anything to me. I simply followed you in here to ask a question."
This was not good. "Listen dude, I don't know what you're implying, but I am not what you think I am."
"Would you like some tips? I have extensive knowledge of their biology, and plenty of experience examining them closely."
I let out a defeated sigh, he clearly wasn't going to change his mind. "Fine. - What is the question?"
"Sorry if I'm annoying you. I was wondering if your bodyguard was here? And, if she is, might you introduce me to her?"
"She is here, but why do you want to meet my bodyguard?"
"It's not often I get to meet a Viper that has formed a bond with a human, assuming your friendship is mutual. It is fascinating, as most Vipers resent humans for one reason or another. In my experience, that resentment can develop quite quickly once they're out of the cloning vats."
He seemed more interested in 11-7 than me at this point. I didn't see the harm in having him meet her. Worst case scenario she'd just get rid of him and we'd leave. "Ok, I guess I'll introduce you."
He smiled and clasped his hands together. "Excellent. You have no idea how much this means to me. I won't take up too much of your time, I promise."
I walked out of the bathroom and out of the VIP section. Xavier followed close behind. It didn't take long for me to spot 11-7. She was slumped at an empty table drinking what looked like a glass of water.
As I walked over she perked up, but looked confused. "Lucas, who is this?"
Before I could respond he introduced himself. "Xavier Schmitt, Head of Genetic Engineering for the city. It's a pleasure to meet you miss..." His eyes darted to her shoulder. "Unit 117 of base 45."
She squinted her eyes. "Hello, - do you want something?"
He looked at me. "I was talking to Lucas about you, and some things he said about you were interesting. So, I wanted to meet you and ask some questions."
She glared at me, and gave me the impression that she was mad at me for telling him anything.
He looked worried. "Oh please don't be mad at him, he really didn't tell me much. I'm not here to punish you, it's for my own interest."
She stopped glaring and looked at him. "Ask your questions."
"I won't have to ask many, I'm already getting the picture just from observing you." He looked at me. "She's actually quite young. You see that darker coloration on her face," He pointed at her. "that goes away as they get older." 11-7 looked annoyed by his analysis.
That caught me off guard. "Wait - how young?"
He chuckled. "Nothing you need to worry about, you could compare it to human hair going grey. That coloration doesn't disappear completely until they're old." He looked at her again. "Hmmm, but it might explain why she was willing to bond with you. Tell me Unit 117, what do you think of humans?"
She snorted. "You, or in general?"
He was unfazed by her sassy tone. "In general."
She drank some of her water before responding. "It is the same as the fascination you have for me, but a smaller amount. I learn things about humans."
"A scholarly disposition, amazing. - What's the first character of your serial number?"
She has more numbers attached to her? The question didn't seem to confuse her. She scratched her chin with a clawed finger before she responded. "Eight."
"Ah, a gen 8, that's a generally good batch." He looked at me and chuckled. "You're lucky she's not a gen 4 or less, you'd have been in for a real surprise. Gen 5 is when I decided to push my luck with Advent, to modify and make the Viper anatomy something more familiar." He returned his attention back to 11-7. "I had a hand in designing your batch, and many other batches of your kind. I'm curious what you think of that?"
She didn't look impressed. "I do not care if what you say is true, you were one part of the process. The Elders had the final say."
He smiled. "An astute observation, and also true." He lifted up his arm and looked at his watch. "I'd love to talk more, but I must be going home now. It is late." He looked at me. "Nice meeting you Lucas." He reached into his pocket and handed me a business card with his phone number on it. "Here's my card if you ever want to get into contact with me. I hope we'll see each other again."
He extended his hand to me, and I shook it. "It was - an experience meeting you. I'm sure we'll talk again."
He nodded and glanced at 11-7 for a second. "Take good care of her." He said that quietly, probably trying to ensure she didn't hear it. "And, extend my sincerest apologies to your friends. I don't mean to dip out like this, but I've got to be up early tomorrow."
With that said he walked away without another word. I sat down at 11-7's table. She snorted and looked at me. "You encounter strange people."
I shrugged. "He was very eccentric and annoying, but interesting to talk to."
"I share your sentiment exactly." She looked wistfully towards the stairs we came in from. "Did you want to exit as well?"
"You kidding, the night is still young. I could be here for a few more hours."
She slumped back on the cushioned bench she was on. "Oh..."
I felt kinda bad. Seeing her look this bored made me realize she was sitting out here by herself with nothing to do. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you're bored. I'll only be another hour and then we can go."
She looked up and smiled. Relief was in her eyes. "Thank you."
I got up from the table and went back to my friends. Leaving 11-7 by herself again.
0-
Before I even knew what happened that hour was up, and I was feeling somewhat intoxicated from the extra drinks I ordered. I said goodbye to my friends who all said we should do this again sometime. I wasn't that drunk, so I don't think 11-7 really noticed, or she just didn't comment on it. We exited The Vector, and there were too many people out front, enough to block me from getting a ride. I decided that we should walk down the street a bit to an open spot, and call for a cab there.
I noticed 11-7 seemed on edge, she was looking around and surveying the area. I tried to calm her down. "You worried we're gonna get attacked 2 minutes from an Advent base."
She looked at me. "I am always concerned when we are alone, outside of your neighborhood." As she flicked her tongue out again she froze for a second and looked around.
That made me nervous. "Did you smell something?"
She shook her head after glancing around. "One of my kind, close by. Not unexpected in this section of the city, nothing to be concerned with."
"Oh, o- ghtt." I didn't get to finish saying ok, and instead made a choking sound. There was something slimy and strong wrapped around my neck. I instinctively reached up to try and pull it off, but as soon as I did I was yanked backwards down an alley that was behind us. I couldn't speak, all I could do was watch 11-7 disappear from view.
I was dragged down this dirty alley with trash sprinkled about, until I stopped. Something grabbed my arms and coiled around me tightly. I could not move at all, and as I struggled to escape I came face to face with my assailant. A viper, her face was noticeably lighter in color than 11-7's, her eyes were wild, and her tongue was flicking out like crazy. She had an unhinged look to her, she was dirty and her armor looked unkempt. I'd say she was frothing at the mouth, but there was no froth.
This felt like one of my nightmares. - It had to be a nightmare, there's no way this would happen when I was right next to 11-7. I kept shaking my head and blinking in hopes that it would wake me up, but it didn't. A pink tongue slipped out of that vipers mouth. She licked the side of my face, drawing a line of saliva from my jaw up to my cheek.
She retracted her tongue when she reached my temple. Then she spoke. 'Mmmm hmm mhmm, you sssmell good."
I didn't know what to do so I just said whatever I could think of. "Why are you doing this? - Just let me go."
She had an amused look in her eye. "No, no releasing, not until the itch goes away. Cooperate and you survive. Don't - and... and..." I got the impression she couldn't think of the word she was trying to say. She moved her head forward and wrapped her mouth around my neck, and I felt two sharp things poke into my neck before she retracted her head. "Understand?"
I did understand, but I was not going along with this, so I yelled for help. She put her hand over my mouth to silence me. "Quiet." She hissed.
Soon after I yelled 11-7 appeared from the darkness. The green glow of her plasma rifle illuminating her angry face and the alley slightly. She saw me and pointed her gun at the viper holding me. "Drop him degenerate! That one is under my protection." She commanded. As soon as she spoke the viper moved around me, placing me in between 11-7 and her.
The viper's eyes widened and as she flicked her tongue out. "Mhhhh, your sscent is on this one. You is lucky, and now is I." She glanced at me for a second and back to 11-7. "This one likes us, I - I..." She struggled to speak, and instead decided to speak some words in Advent.
Whatever she said made 11-7's hard gaze soften slightly. The viper's hand was still over my mouth, so I voiced my displeasure by saying "mmmmhm mmmmhm, mmmhm mmhm."
11-7 looked me in the eyes, and what I saw didn't inspire much confidence in me. She looked conflicted. "No, - I can't."
I felt the viper tighten her coils around me. "No, you can. I have the itch - the ITCH. You don't understand." There was desperation in her voice.
11-7 kept her gun pointed at her and asked her a question. "What have you been exposed to and how many times have you engaged in this behavior?"
"Mmmh, accidental, Class 3 lasss-iviouss materials. - I have done this more than one." She snickered after saying that.
11-7 looked sad, I had never seen her this emotional before. "Sister, - you don't have to do this. We can get you the help you need."
The viper hissed. "Naive, - Advent help is to melt down - repurpose. Build new obedient viper out of me. You understand this." 11-7 didn't say anything, so she continued. "Let me do this, he will be safe - you watch. I go, never bother either - again. No tell."
11-7 silently stared at the viper for an agonizingly long time. She looked determined now, like she had finally made up her mind. "My objective is to protect that human. I can't let you do this."
The viper hissed and grabbed my arm with her free hand. She loosened her coils temporarily and stretched my arm out in front of her face. She bared her fangs and held my arm close to them. She was clearly threatening to bite my arm, but I wasn't scared of her venom. I was strung out from the adrenaline that built up while this viper tried to convince my bodyguard to let her rape me for the last few minutes, so I was willing to do anything to escape. While she was focused on 11-7 I shoved my arm into her fangs. I barely felt any pain as they pierced my arm. That action surprised the viper enough that she dropped me.
She started speaking gibberish I didn't recognize, and as soon as I hit the ground I heard the discharge of a plasma rifle. I slowly stood up and brushed myself off. I looked in the direction of that viper, and quickly looked away. It was dead. 11-7 had shot it in the face, and the plasma bolt had melted and scorched the flesh on part of its face. Revealing its skull and disintegrating part of the bone.
I looked over at 11-7. She looked past me at the viper, and when it didn't move she sighed. She let go of her gun, and tapped on her wrist a few times. A panel lit up and she started talking in Advent to it. She turned the panel off after she was done. She looked at my arm and dropped her gun, immediately rushing to my side. She pulled out a small black object with a nozzle, and sprayed it on my bite wound, which instantly sealed it and numbed the area. As she did, I just noticed the warm feeling of blood trickling down my arm and onto my hand.
She backed away and looked at me with concern. What the fuck was she thinking. I almost ended up like that rebel outside my limo and she was just talking to it. Remembering that I finally decided to ask her a question that I should have a long time ago. "Was it you outside my limo, molesting that rebel? The day of the terrorist attack on the gene clinic."
She looked confused, then her eyes widened. "You've witnessed this before, before my employment. No - no, I have never done anything like this..."
It would be too coincidental if she was that viper, so I believed her. "Well what the hell was that." I pointed at her and yelled. "You let that thing grab me, and instead of helping me you were deciding whether or not to let it rape me! What is wrong with you?"
She looked offended. Her hood flared out and her tail tensed up. "I was not. Lucas, - I was trying to think about how to convince her into surrendering. - I never thought I'd ever have to kill one of my sisters." She stopped speaking for a moment. "But I did, and I did it to protect you." She tried to look resolute, but her shaking hands and sad eyes gave away her true feelings.
I was going to say something rude like: welcome to the club. But I stopped myself, I didn't want to make her feel worse than she already did. I just wanted some answers, and her indecisiveness made me realize something. "That scientist said you were young, I thought you were an experienced bodyguard?"
She sighed. "I'm sorry, I - never meant to deceive. I am a soldier - a low ranking soldier. This assignment was given to me as an opportunity to prove my capabilities."
"Wait, so you don't have any bodyguard training, whatever that would be."
She shook her head. "No."
That didn't surprise me. "Fuck me, Manny the lying son of a bitch." I threw my hands in the air and paced around for a few seconds before asking my other questions. "What's all this about class 3 lascivious materials and the - itch?"
She scratched her arm. "The itch, it is a colloquial term for a condition that we can develop after being exposed to lascivious materials, or spontaneously. It is neurological, and causes us to behave erratically, like you just witnessed."
"Ok, so what are Class 3 lascivious materials?"
She looked away in thought for a few moments. "You would refer to Class 3 materials as - porn-ogra-phy."
She had some trouble pronouncing it, but I understood now. They are classifying being horny as a disease. "You know that's not a disease right, it's perfectly..."
She cut me off. "I do not wish to discuss this." She looked very serious. 'Let us go and wait by the street for Advent to come and pick up the body."
We went to the street and waited. It didn't take long for an Advent patrol car to show up, and we both watched them load the body into it. 11-7 was quiet and distant. She didn't say anything until we got back home.
We were standing in the living room. She looked beat - defeated, the most tired I had ever seen her. "I don't think we should share quarters."
I objected. "Why, you just killed one of your - siblings. I understand what you're going through. You need me now more than ever, I know it."
I walked forward and offered her a hug, she pushed me away. "Lucas, I don't want to end up like my sister." She looked away from me. "I don't want to become a rabid animal, and get put down in a filthy alley like that."
"You won't, I'll take care of you. Whatever you need, I'll help." It didn't occur to me what I was saying I'd do until I finished saying it. It just came out of me, I didn't even think about it.
She looked down at the ground in front of me and sighed. "No..." After saying that she turned away and slithered into her room without another word. I heard her lock the door after she shut it with her tail.
I sat on the couch in silence. I didn't turn on the TV, I just thought about what had happened. I wanted to help her, but I didn't know how. I wasn't thinking for very long, I felt my arm vibrate, It was a call from my manager, no doubt wanting to discuss my work details. I answered and spoke with him.
He told me that I would be going to another city to advertise a new food product for Advent. It wouldn't be the first time I'd done that, but what he said next surprised me. He said that I would be leaving tomorrow, but not working until Monday, and that it would be in an armed convoy. I objected to the convoy, but he said I couldn't take a dropship because Advent has had some trouble with dropships getting shot down in that area. Leaving in a convoy tomorrow would be earlier than expected, and safer than jetting over in a dropship on Monday. I agreed to it, and hung up. Luckily Manny didn't ask me about what happened today, but I'm sure he would find out tomorrow.
I sat there on the couch for a while, but eventually I decided I didn't feel like doing anything else. So, I stumbled into my room and crawled into bed. It was colder than I was used to tonight.