Cruel Twists of Fate
2012
The boy watched with satisfaction as the girl he'd
attacked was placed on a stretcher and hurriedly wheeled into the waiting
ambulance. She would be all right. For some unknown reason, this
gave him comfort.
Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he turned into
the wind. He didn't know where he was going to go. It had been two
years. Two years since he'd escaped. Two years since he'd gained his
freedom. He snorted, "Some freedom." Looking down at the ground, he
kicked at a stray rock in frustration.
The X5s...they were
different. He'd heard them sometimes through the vents at night.
They called each other by names, Max, Tinga, Zack, and so many others. He
had yearned for a name of his own, but could not think of anything worth
while. He'd tried to convince the others in his unit to take up the
practice, but they seemed uninterested. So, he'd remained only
X4-316.
The X5s...they called each other 'brother' and
'sister.' The X4s would have none of it. They didn't understand the
terms and didn't care. So, he'd been without a family.
He had a
good eye, excellent technique. 'They' had decided he would make a good
assasin. His schedule had changed. He missed some of the classes the
other X4s took. Sometimes, he would be schooled alone in things they
decided an assasin should know. It was his separation from the others
which had allowed him to see the X5s. Some were younger than he, one or
two might be a bit older. They were good, superior to him in several
ways. But, they seemed more 'human' than the others. How he yearned
to join their unit!
Then, one night, he'd heard it. The
alarm sounded. The guards began shouting. Chaos reigned
supreme. He knew on impulse what had happened. The X5s had
escaped. It only fueled his envy towards them. That was when he
first had the idea. He would escape. Somehow, someway, he would
escape.
The oppurtunity had shown itself earlier than he
expected. He'd been removed from his unit, taken into a blank, white room,
and been briefed. They had an 'assignment' for him, a 'target' which
needed to be eliminated. They fit him with a tracking device, deep inside
one of his molars.
He'd done what they instructed, killed the man
they'd told him to murder. But, it was all part of the plan. He'd
finished everything as quickly as he could. With the remaining time, he'd
removed the molar from his mouth. He'd planted the offending tooth in an
unfortunate homeless man's pocket. Then, he'd bolted.
Life hadn't
been like he'd expected. He had yet to find a single X5; he still had no
name; he had no friends; and he was still the orphan he'd been at
Manticore. The only real difference was at Manticore he'd had a roof over
his head, a warm meal, clothes. It was hard to decide which life was
worse. Most of the time, he just didn't think about it.
Looking at
the girl he'd attacked, he'd been overcome by that same feeling of envy and
loss. She appeared so kind, so caring. He found himself thinking
about the name she might have given him, about the friendship she might have
provided. It was useless now. He'd destroyed that chance.
"Damn Manticore!" He cursed, throwing a punch into a nearby wall.
He'd probably broken several of his fingers, but he didn't care. It would
heal sooner than most would have believed. Besides, pain took his mind off
his stupidity.
"Hold it right there!"
X4-316 stiffened, turning
slightly to see a sillohuetted figure at the end of the street. His vision
focused on the figure, intensified, and revealed a police officer.
"Shit." He muttered. He thought about running. But then, he wondered
why. Anything would be better than the life he led now. Even
Manticore. Even death. With a sigh, he let the man approach
him.
"Take the position, Son. I'm going to need to take you
in for questioning."
As before, X4-316 did as commanded.
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