The snowflakes falling from the smoke filled sky were so perfect they could have be programmed to be that way. They covered the New Town streets in a soft white blanket. The gentleness of the snow made Jonathan want to go back home where he was safe. He wanted to show Vanoss-III, Evan, how beautiful it was but instead, he was on the back of Luke's motorbike, holding a messenger bag with Vanoss-III inside as they drove through the near silent glowing streets. The tall shining blue towers lined the streets, raising up to the sky as if building their buildings higher would get the people of New Town closer to Heaven than they already were.
Jonathan looked up at the towers and the airships above him, the stars shining beyond the glowing lights of the city. He was constantly wondering if he had made the right choice. He told Evan it was right. Told Luke it was right. Yet he couldn't convince himself that it was. Evan had sounded so scared. He didn't want to go back to Old Town. He couldn't remember his life there yet Jonathan was forcing him too. The nagging thoughts in his mind wouldn't leave him, tagging along for the ride to Old Town.
The closer they got, the oranger the sky became, the air thick with smoke. The sound of Luke's motorbike echoed loudly on the streets, making Jonathan nervous that they would be caught.
"Is that the checkpoint?" Luke called over the roar of the engine, pointing to the tall wall and gate that blocked the road. No one except government vehicles went through, needing only two, at the most three guards on the New Town side.
The other side was a different story, heavily armed, both riot and military police machines guarding the checkpoint. On the New Town side, the checkpoint was lined with office buildings that were no more than twenty stories, fire escapes going up the sides that they would have to climb to cross the checkpoint without being seen. No one in New Town wanted to go to Old Town so there was little chance they'd be caught. They were more nervous about what they would find on the other side.
"Yeah. Let's leave the bike a few blocks down." Jonathan said as they turned onto a quiet street. Luke found a discarded tarp by a garbage heap, Jonathan helping him pull the tarp over the bike. They hoped it would still be there when they got back.
Jonathan looked back at the tarp with the bike hidden underneath before hurrying after Luke, pulling his hood over his head. They were dressed in dark clothes, finding the least nicest clothes they had which as New Towners, was a very hard thing to do. Everything that Jonathan owned was expensive. He hated that his shoes were reflecting the street lamp light because of how polished they were. They had never been through mud or worn down from wear. They shone like they were made yesterday. "Our shoes are gonna give us away." Jonathan whispered as they reached one of the tall buildings. They could see the checkpoint farther down, the few guards leaning idly against the wall with their gun held loosely in their hands.
"No one is gonna notice our shoes. Relax." Luke pulled the fire escape ladder down, motioning for Jonathan to go first. "Now come on. We don't have all night and I'd like to be home by tomorrow. We got that test in Physics." Luke reminded Jonathan who groaned.
"Don't remind me." Jonathan sighed, pulling himself up onto the first metal balcony, the fire escape continuing up to the roof where they would find a way to get down to the other side which was Old Town. "You really think we'll be back by tomorrow?"
"Of course we'll be back by tomorrow. Keep climbing." Luke led the way up the cold metal fire escape. Jonathan's gloved hands went numb, holding on to the frozen metal that didn't feel very sturdy as he climbed it. He told himself not to look down, keeping his eyes focused on the top as he followed Luke up the ladder.
When they got to the top, Jonathan found himself staring at the glowing, towering structures of New Town. The snow was falling peacefully over the robotic city, perfect down the last bit of wiring in a pet machine. He wanted to take Vanoss-III out of his bag and show Evan how beautiful it was. He reached to open the bag when Luke's shocked voice caught his attention.
"Holy shit. Oh my fucking God." Luke said from behind him, sounding horrified. "We made a mistake." If New Town was heaven, Jonathan did not want to turn around and see what hell looked like. He forced himself to turn, holding onto his messenger bag tightly. He was glad he hadn't taken Vanoss-III out of the bag. He didn't want Evan to see this.
Smoke rose into the sky in thick black columns, a mass of dark buildings with only the occasional light on spread out before them. Some of the buildings were ruins, hollowed out by fire. The buildings were connected by bridges made from whatever could be found, probably used to get above the police and move quickly throughout the city. Factory smoke stacks threw white chemical filled smoke into the air that mixed with the black smoke that came from the burning rubble. They could hear voices, not the polite ones of New Town full of scientific words and proper manners but aggressive, slurred, and coarse voices. The ones that screamed themselves hoarse during riots. There was no perfect snowflakes, no blankets of snow. The streets were muddy. The snow was wet, cold chills running through Jonathan. There was no light. There was no beauty in Old Town.
"They don't tell you about this in New Town. You see it from far away it's just smoke. That's all Old Town is to us. It's smoke. Now here...it's more than that." Jonathan breathed, staring at the city before him. There were no tall towers like in New Town. The buildings that lined the streets reminding him of the pictures of Paris from over a hundred years ago with every building looking the same, tall windows and dusty looking walls with domed gray roofs. Yet unlike Paris, they were not well kept; falling apart and in disarray. Not romantic at all.
"Come on. There is a bridge right there." Luke was at the edge of the roof, pointing the bridge two stories below that went over the street to the next building. "Let's find Tyler and get the hell out of here." Jonathan nodded, following Luke's lead. He watched nervously as Luke dropped to the bridge, wincing at the loud bang as he hit the bridge. He held up his arms to catch Jonathan as he did the same, holding onto the bag with Vanoss-III inside tightly. Luke caught him, helping him steady himself before continuing across the makeshift bridge into the building on the other side.
Jonathan had never been in such a loud place before. It was full of people, a bar full of battered Replaced taking a much needed break. Some seemed to be joyful, taking advantage of the peace while others continued to preach their anger, yelling about New Town and the amount of people who had gone missing, others were content to drink and listen. Jonathan kept his eyes down while Luke had the courage to ask a young woman if she knew Tyler.
"Who's asking?" She asked, brushing her long dark hair out of her face.
"A friend of his. I might know where his friend, Evan, went." Luke said as Old Town-ish as he could, trying to make his voice sound gruff. Jonathan hid his smile at Luke's attempt to deepen his voice, content with looking around the bar at all the people there. They were really people. Not the savages his father made them out to be.
"Evan is one of our top guys. I only met him once but I've heard so much about him." The woman smiled. "Very kind. He wants the best for everyone you know but he ain't afraid to get violent. I heard he knocked the head off one of them police robots." She said with wide eyes.
"Yeah? That uh...sounds like him. I'm looking for Tyler though. Can you tell me where I can find him?" Luke asked again.
"Oh yeah. I heard him and Evan would be by the big bridge that used to connect Old Town with the city across the river. Don't use that bridge no more. No one goes over it anymore. There is an apartment building under it though. You can find Tyler there." She smiled. "My name is Berenice by the way. You are?"
"Luke." He smiled, reaching to pull on the strap on Jonathan's bag so they could go, the dim light of the bar reflecting off their polished shoes.
"Those are some mighty fine shoes you got there, Luke." Berenice's tone had changed, watching him closely. "I haven't seen shoes so polished before. Why, you both have them." Luke glanced at Jonathan, not sure of what to say.
"We found em near the checkpoint. Those Goddamn New Towners think they can throw their trash here." Jonathan snapped, adapting the tone of the Old Towners around them. "They sure are comfy though for things that came from such a place."
"Yeah...I bet." Berenice said quietly, glancing around the bar.
"We'll see you around." Jonathan grabbed Luke's arm, pushing their way out of the bar. "I told you." Jonathan snapped when they reached a set of old wooden spiral steps, worn down from people walking up and down them. "People don't look at shoes. Fucking hell!" Jonathan snapped when they reached a small landing and another bridge to head across the next street which was busy with people. Small stores were open, vendors calling out, voices laughing and yelling, music floating up to them. There were others on the bridge, glancing at them as they went by quickly.
"Oh come on! Shoes aren't gonna get us killed. We look the part and you can talk the part. I think you should do all the talking from now on. You know Evan the best out of the both of us. You know this new Evan the best out of anyone." Luke kept his voice quiet as they walked across the bridge and along the next building as if the bridge was an elevated sidewalk. "Let's just find that old bridge and get the hell out of here. This place scares me."
"You're scared? How do you think I feel? I'm the one carrying Vanoss-III! Someone looks in my bag and we're done for." Jonathan spat. He glanced over his shoulder, noticing a group of men a fair distance behind them. They kept pace, stopping when Jonathan turned to look at them. "Fuck. Our shoes are gonna get us killed." Jonathan walked faster, forcing Luke to catch up with him.
"We need to stop and ask Evan if he remembers where the bridge is." Luke whispered, glancing back at the gang that was still following them.
"We can't stop." Jonathan hissed, feeling panicked as he glanced over his shoulder again. "They are gonna catch up to us and I don't think I can talk myself out of that one." They headed down a set of wooden stairs onto another elevated walkway, more than five stories above the busy street.
"Then how are we supposed to find the bridge?" Luke spat. Jonathan sighed, quickly ducking into one of the buildings. It was an apartment building, some people leaning against the walls or sleeping on the stair cases. It seemed that since the bridges connected all the buildings, making them so open, anyone could find a place to sleep anywhere.
Jonathan and Luke ducked into the main staircase, trying to remain unnoticed as Jonathan reached into his bag for the Vanoss-III. Luke covered Jonathan and the Vanoss-III from view, keeping his eyes out for the gang that had been following them. The red owl glowed as it turned on, both of them waiting for Evan's voice.
"J-Jonathan? Where are we? What's going on?" Evan asked, the panic rising in his voice.
"We're in Old Town. I'm sorry but we need you to remember where the old bridge is that went out of Old Town across the river. You used to live near there. Can you remember where it is?" Jonathan said quickly. "We don't have much time."
"I...I don't know. I can remember the bridge. It's tall, and when it snows it has icicles that are long and sharp enough to kill someone if they fell. It's dark...built of metal and wire. There is a street that goes under it and-"
"Dirty fucking New Towners." The voice snarled, startling Luke and Jonathan. He looked up with wide eyes at the gang of men that surrounded them, their clothes dirty, their expressions angry. Jonathan could have sworn there was blood stained on a few of them. "What kind of hellish device is that? The next thing that is going to kill us all?" The leader of the group growled, stepping towards them. Luke had been paying attention to Evan, caught off guard by the gang. He glanced apologetically at Jonathan who was staring around them at the group with wide eyes.
"You had better back the fuck off." Luke snarled. "If you kill a New Towner...well who knows what would happen to you."
"Of course you'd say that. But you ain't in your safe sparklin' New Town anymore. You are in Old Town. We aren't scared of you and your machines." The man smiled, his teeth dirty and cracked.
"We aren't here to hurt people. We're here to help. We want to help." Jonathan cried.
"You don't want anything to do with us. You don't know nothin bout us. We don't need you." Another spat at their feet. They stared at each other for several long tense moments, waiting for someone to make the first move.
It was Jonathan who moved first, moving quickly through the gap between two of the men and ran back up the stairs, Luke pushing them aside and ran after Jonathan.
"Get those bastards!" One of the men yelled, the group giving chase. Jonathan ran up the stairs back to the bridge, glancing over his shoulder to see that Luke was still with him.
"We're so screwed! We aren't armed!" Luke cried as they ran across the bridge and along the walkway. "We're going back the way we came!"
"I know!" Jonathan cried. At the next building, they ran inside and down the hallway to another bridge which creaked and groaned under their feet as they ran across it.
"Jonathan!" Evan cried, reminding him that Vanoss-III was still on, held tight in his hands. "What is going on?"
"How do we avoid getting killed by Old Towners?" Jonathan breathed heavily, his words coming out in gasps as he crossed the bridge. Before Evan could answer, Jonathan was caught by one of the men, throwing him to the wooden floor of the bridge.
Luke was suddenly there, pushing the man off Jonathan, a flash of silver and the ringing of metal catching Jonathan's dazed attention. Luke had found a piece of metal in a pile of debri, wielding it like a knife to fight off the man. Blood splattered onto the bridge, Jonathan's eyes closed tightly as Luke pulled him to his feet. They continued across the bridge, several stories above the busy street. Across the bridge, a young dark haired man leaned against the railing, watching them and the men that chased them. "Help! Help us!" Jonathan called out to the man but he didn't move as Luke ran past, Jonathan struggling to keep up.
His feet were kicked out from under him, sending him falling to the hard wooden surface. His chin hit the bridge, tasting blood in his mouth as his teeth bit into his tongue. The fall had knocked Vanoss-III from his hands, the small tablet skidding dangerously close to the edge.
"Evan!" Jonathan screamed, reaching for the device as it tottered towards the edge. His fingers grazed the matte side of the Vanoss-III, reaching desperately for the machine. The men grabbed Jonathan's ankles, dragging him back from the edge and the Vanoss-III. "No! Evan! Luke!" Jonathan screamed, rolling to his back to block a punch from one of the men.
A knife flew through the air above Jonathan, striking one of the men square in the chest. He fell back to the bridge, the other men looking up as someone jumped over Jonathan, pulling the knife out of the man's chest and attacked the next one,throwing him over the railing to the street below. Jonathan watched with wide eyes as the young dark haired man fought the men, now defending him when just moments before it seemed that he was going to stand by and watch. Jonathan scrambled backwards, his hands reaching for the Vanoss-III.
"Jonathan?" Evan stammered, sounding scared and confused. Luke had ran back, now helping Jonathan help. The young man turned back to the two of them for a quick moment, ducking to avoid a blow to the jaw.
"Run!" The young man yelled at them. They didn't need a second order, sprinting down the walkway. They turned into one of the buildings, pushing past people as they headed towards the next bridge.
"Who the fuck was that?" Luke cried, out of breath.
"I don't know!" Jonathan stammered, holding the Vanoss-III tighter than he had before. They continued running, glancing over their shoulders nervously. They turned the corner, coming to a stop suddenly as the young man dropped from the roof above them, bloody knife in hand.
"Who the hell are you?" The man snarled. He lowered the knife, pointing it to the Vanoss-III. "And what is that? Why did you call that machine Evan?"
"That's...That's his name. Evan. Who are you? Why did you help us?" Jonathan asked, staring at the young man. He wore mostly dark clothes and combat boots. The only colour on him was his red hoodie, the colour fading. He had armour on as well, protecting his chest mostly.
"You aren't asking me any questions, New Town scum." The man spat. "What is that?" He kept his knife pointed at the Vanoss-III. Jonathan looked down at it slowly before holding it up, the glowing red light of the owl illuminating the young man's scruffy face.
"Evan?" Jonathan whispered. "It's okay now."
"Jonathan? Who is this? Wait...Do I know you?" Evan's voice was quiet, directed to the young man whose eyes went wide, backing away from the Vanoss-III.
"This is Evan. The machine is called the Vanoss-III. We're trying to find a man named Tyler who knows Evan." Luke explained. "Sir? Are you okay?" He asked when he saw how distressed the young man had become.
"My...my friend...Evan Fong...He disappeared a year ago. This machine sounds just like him." The man stammered. "That isn't right, is it? For a machine to sound so real."
"It isn't. That is because this is really your friend! His consciousness!" Jonathan explained. He held the Vanoss-III out to the young man who slowly took it, holding it cautiously in his hands.
"Evan?"
"Your voice sounds so familiar…" Evan said softly.
"He lost his memory in whatever turned him into his but it's coming back to him. Slowly." Jonathan said when he saw the man's expression.
"My name is Lui, Evan. You know me. I'm one of your best friends. We're like family." He smiled, the red glow of the owl reflecting off the tears that watered his eyes.
"Lui?" Evan repeated. "Lui!"
"Yeah. It's me!"
The old bridge loomed over Jonathan, darker than the night sky above him. It was just like Evan had described, the icicles sharper than Jonathan imagined. He wondered what was on the other side, looking across the river to the darkness on the other side of the bridge. Only New Town had connections to the outside world, something that Jonathan doubted that he would ever see. Then again, he had doubted that he would ever see Old Town before this.
"Here we are." Lui said as they walked towards one of the dark apartment buildings just warm light coming from it's windows. He stopped them in the door, turning to look at them with an apologetic look. "I gonna say sorry now for what Tyler and the others might say." Lui sighed. "He really isn't himself when he loses his temper and this is bound to freak him out." He gestured to the Vanoss-III in Jonathan's hand. Holding it had made Lui nervous, scared he break it so he gave it back to Jonathan who felt comforted to have Evan back.
"I'm used to it." Jonathan said, pretending he didn't see Luke and Lui's sympathetic glances. "Can we go in?" Lui nodded, leading the way up a set of narrow stairs to the top floor. Jonathan had thought it would be warm inside but it was just as cold as outside, shivers running through him.
"Lui! Is that you? What the hell took you so long?" A voice called out as they reached the top floor. Lui pushed open the first door in the hallway, stepping into a dimly lit apartment that had sparse furniture. There was no perfect whites or luxurious furniture like New Town. Jonathan felt relieved. He hated the colour white. "Who the hell are they?"
Jonathan's eyes went to the man sitting at the table across the room. He was the blonde from the video, the one who had been right beside Evan.
"My name is Jonathan and this is Luke. You're Tyler, right?" Jonathan asked, cautiously taking a step forward, the light glinting off his polished shoes.
"Those are some real fancy shoes you got there. What's it like in New Town?" Tyler spat, suddenly getting to his feet. Jonathan glanced at Tyler's dirty combat boots, now understanding why people were noticing their polished perfect dress shoes.
"We aren't here to hurt anyone! We found Evan! We wanted to bring him back!" Jonathan explained quickly, fearing that Tyler would hit him when he saw his hands curl into fists.
"Where...Where is he?" Tyler looked up to the door as if expecting Evan to walk through the door.
"Tyler? Who are they?" Their attention turned to another young man who had entered the room from one of the small bedrooms, standing in the doorway.
"Couple of New Town kids who say they found Evan." Tyler spat.
"We're not kids. We're in seniors in High School. Practically adults." Luke muttered, ignoring Jonathan's sharp glare.
"I don't see Evan anywhere." The other man crossed his arms, glancing at Lui who stood close to Jonathan and Luke as if protecting them.
"Evan is here!" Jonathan held up the Vanoss-III, watching Tyler flinched away from it as if it was going to hurt him. "Don't worry. It isn't going to hurt you. This...This is Evan." He turned the device on, the glowing red light filling the room. "Evan?"
"Jonathan? Where are we now? Oh." He paused. "I think I know this place." Evan said, that same tone of wonder in his brought a smile to his face. Tyler stared at the device with disbelief, the shock slowly turning into anger. "Lui? Are you still here?"
"I'm here." Lui called out. "Don't wor-" He was cut off by Tyler, his voice loud and full of rage.
"This is a fucking joke. Evan wouldn't allow this to happen to him. He hated machines. Hated New Town. He would rather die than be in this abomination." Tyler snarled, stepping towards Jonathan. He grabbed the Vanoss-III from Jonathan's hands, ignoring his protests as he tried to break the device.
"Please don't break it! That is Evan! I swear!" Jonathan reached for Vanoss-III, caught of guard when Tyler hit him hard across the face, sending him falling to the floor. He felt blood drip from his nose, the taste of blood filling his mouth. He spat blood onto the floor, pushing himself back up to his feet when Luke, Lui and the other man reached him. Luke managed to get the Vanoss-III back from Tyler, handing it to Jonathan.
"Tyler! That wasn't necessary. Just listen to him!" The man cried, taking the Vanoss-III gently from him. "Just because he is from New Town doesn't mean that he is a lying bastard."
"Thanks." Jonathan spat, holding his hand to his bleeding nose. "This device, the Vanoss-III was given to me as a present by my parents. All the machine can do is talk. It's supposed to be a virtual friend. At first, Evan didn't remember anything and I thought that he was just a normal machine. Well not actually. Normal machines don't speak like he does. Anyways, he started remembering things. He became conscious of himself. When myself and Luke realised that he is a real person, we had to bring him back home." Jonathan explained as best he could, blood dripping down his wrist to the floor and soaking his jacket sleeve.
"This isn't Evan. Where is his body? What happened to him?" Tyler snarled, refusing to accept what Jonathan was saying.
"We don't know. He can't remember either!" Luke cried as Lui handed Jonathan a cloth to try to stop the bleeding. He held the rag to his nose, his other hand curled tightly around the Vanoss-III.
"What do you think, Brock?" Lui asked, catching the man's attention.
"I want to ask Evan." He said after a moment. With a sigh, Jonathan handed over the device. "Evan?"
"You sound familiar. You all sound so familiar." Evan wondered aloud, a sad smile spreading on Brock's face when he hear Evan's voice.
"It's me, Brock. And that's Tyler." Brock said softly.
"Oh...Oh! I remember! Tyler! Brock!" Evan sounded so excited. Jonathan hadn't heard him sound this way before, not even when he had shown him the lights of the city and he couldn't help but feel envious.
"Evan...Can you tell me if what these New Towners said is true? Is this really you?" Brock sounded desperate, wanting it all to be true but that would mean that his friend was now a machine from New Town, something that would be almost impossible to accept.
"Yes." Jonathan could see Brock's face fall as he realised he had to accept it. "I remember suddenly waking up and the world was all strange. I can't move but I can see and sense things. Like I'm floating in air. Everything that happened to me before, my past memories which involve you...They come in flashes." Evan explained. "Jonathan took care of me. He wanted to bring me back to you. I know I can't remember much but believe me! I am Evan."
"Just because that machine sounds like Evan that it really is him." Tyler hissed. "How do we know it's not programmed to do that?"
"Have you never heard a machine talk before?" Luke snapped. Jonathan winced when he saw the glares on their faces at his comment full of ignorance. "Sorry...What I meant was that machines that talk in New Town...Don't talk like this, like the Vanoss-III. All of them are programmable, sounds put together to create a language. They don't have personality or character like this one does." Luke explained. "Machines don't think like Evan, a human consciousness, does."
"Look, we just wanted to bring him back to you guys. He is your friend. You should decide what to do. We have to get back home." Jonathan sighed, hating that he had to say goodbye to Evan.
"You aren't going anywhere." Tyler said suddenly. Jonathan stared at him, wondering if he had heard him right.
"What?" Jonathan looked to Lui with pleading eyes as if he could help them but he was on Tyler's side now.
"Excuse me?" Luke spat. "Do you have any idea what people in New Town might do to you if they find out we went missing in Old Town? For your own good, we can't stay."
"What is there left for New Town to do to us?" Tyler glanced at the others who weren't fighting his decision to make them stay. "You aren't going anywhere until we find out what really happened to Evan."