Angel, part 5

Duff woke abruptly with sweat covering his body. He looked around him frantically and mumbled "Abby, Abby…"

He dreamt that the drones had taken Abby. They dragged her to the metal room filled with machines, knives and syringes. She screamed as they strapped her down. Duff could watch but he couldn't move. She screamed to him, asking him to save her, but he couldn't. The drones opened her up, ripped her soft skin; all Duff could see was blood.

Duff held his head, trying to contain the pain he was in. The dream messed with his mind and his emotions. It felt so real, and for a second, he truly thought Abby was dead.

Kim banged on his door. "Are you okay in there?!" she had woken up because she heard him shouting. Duff stumbled to the door as if he was drunk. When he opened the door, Kim looked up at him with wide eyes.

"What happened to you?"

"Bad dream. Ehm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Eh said ehm fine." He growled. Kim instinctively took a step back. He was like a bear, just woken from hibernation.

Duff walked into the adjoining bathroom to wash his face. He splashed cold water on him but his thoughts still circled. Was Abby okay? Did the drones come to the castle and take her? Was Bessie safe? He wanted so bad to be able to call them, hear that they are fine and miss him.

But this wasn't some business trip. He wasn't just away and would come home in a few days. He could die, and Abby or Bessie could get attacked too. The unknown scrambled his insides.

The faster they could find Ron, the faster he could go home. Duff dressed in his disguise again, and met Kim out in the hall. She was sitting down, waiting for him. She still felt bad about what she said last night, and she wondered what his dream was about. Duff walked past her and opened the front door.

"Stay here. Ehm goin' out te the market te buy some food. Eh'll be back in an hour."

Kim didn't say anything as he left. She was a little afraid of being left alone. She knew nothing of these drones or this island. Duff knew his way around like he was one of them. Then Kim remembered that he was.

Duff walked to the market, thoughts still circling. He ignored them, though, and promised himself that Abby was okay, just how he promised Kim that Ron was okay. Thing is, however, Duff wasn't entirely sure that Ron really was okay. He just couldn't stand listening to Kim cry or moan.

When he reached the market, he picked out some fruits, vegetables, bread, cheese, and fish. He got enough for their breakfast, along with extra for their journey today. He also took some specialty foods invented by the hybrids on the island. Then he walked back to the cabin. No one disturbed him or asked questions. It was easy for him to pretend to be a drone.

On his way back, he imagined that he was bringing home dinner for Abigail and Bessie, who waited for him in their cozy little home. He pictured a simple life where he and Abby were married and happy. He would walk in, kiss her, then she would take the groceries and bring them to the kitchen to start dinner. He would kiss his daughter on the head and watch her play. Then he would check on his wife cooking, and hold her from behind as she stood stirring a pot on the stove. They would kiss, and laugh, and he would help her. They would talk about the day, the weather, anything. Duff's thoughts wandered as he daydreamed. He pictured Abigail pregnant, and they were happy to start a new family together.

Duff had to stop his daydream when he realized he was standing in front of the cabin. He walked in and Kim had left the chair she was sitting in when he left. Duff put down the food on the counter, and started to prepare a meal. About fifteen minutes later Kim walked in, dressed in her bandaged desert outfit. She left her scarf and goggles off, and her long red hair flowed down her back. She came up to Duff and smelled what he was cooking. She looked in one of the small pots.

"Ew, what is that?"

Duff knew she was referring to the bubbling purple liquid. "Tha's julco. Te island's national drink."

"What does it taste like? Is it grape flavored or something?"

Duff laughed a little. "No. Tastes nothin' like anythin' associated wit te color purple. Te compare wit our culture, it's like wine. It's considered eh very formal an' sophisticated thing te drink. Te color comes from te dye of eh special flower tha' grows 'ere. Try some."

Duff poured some julco from the pot and into a special glass. It was thick like a mug, but clear, and carefully designed. She took a sip and closed her eyes. She felt the warmth and the soothing powers flow through her body.

"That's…good." She mumbled. She took another large sip.

"Jus' be careful ye don' drink too much. Like eh said, it's like wine."

Duff served steamed fish and vegetables with warm baked bread. Kim was starving, and she dug into her meal. She thought Duff was a really good cook. She never expected him, or any of the other villains, to be good cooks, or to have any normal skills. She never looked at him as a person. She looked at him as a villain, like they were different somehow.

Once they finished eating, they packed the rest of the food, Kim put on her scarf and goggles, and Duff carried their bag. Before they left the cabin, Duff took out cuffs and a chain. Kim gave him a weird look.

"Uhh…what is that for?"

"Eh told ye. Yer goin' te be meh prisoner." He took the cuffs and locked them around Kim's wrists, then held onto the chain. "Eh drone passin by won't be suspicious when tey see eh Base guard casually walkin' wit eh member of te desert region."

Kim groaned. "A few years ago, this situation would have been the opposite."

"Oh, believe meh when eh say eh've been in enough chains in meh lifetime, thank ye."

They exited the cabin and started walking east, towards the cabin. After about forty five minutes, a path appeared at the edge of town. They got on it and headed towards Base.

"So how far away is Base?" Kim asked.

"Eh few hours walkin' distance."

"Whats a few?"

"Maybe three hours."

"Three? Isn't there some sort of transportation?"

"Waitin' fer te carriage might take longer than it would te get there. There's eh carriage tha' continuously circles te island. Ye can hop on fer eh ride or stop off wherever ye want. Eh select few drones 'ave eh flyin' device, but eh don' 'ave one o' those either. Sorry."

"Ugh."

For the next hour or so, the two walked in silence. There was nothing to say. Kim watched the trees pass by her, and her legs seemed to walk without her control. She wasn't telling them to move anymore, they just were. She felt tired, and remembered what Duff said about yawning. Because she was tied up, she asked Duff to give her an apple or something. Instead he gave her some kind of fruit she never saw before. It was round like an apple, but pink, and had a crunchy exterior and a soft mushy interior.

'Great, another island specialty.' She thought. Although, when she tried it, it was quite good.

Duff wasn't hungry. He kept thinking about the dream he had, and his future with Abby. 'Possible future', he thought. Food was the last thing on his mind.

They continued to walk the whole way without saying anything to each other. They were both preoccupied with their own relationships.

'Would Ron be okay? Would we get to him on time?' Kim asked herself.

'Will I make it home okay? Will Abby still be mad at me? And what of the kiss? Did she think of it as a mistake, or was she just upset that I was leaving? Or does she really love me?'

Before they knew it, they were standing right in front of Base. They were so preoccupied with their thoughts, they lost track of time and the pain in their legs from walking.

"We're 'ere." Duff stated.

Essentially, Base was a skyscraper in the middle of nowhere. They looked up and saw the rectangular metal building block the sun from their view. It was past the midpoint in the sky, so it was sometime after noon, possibly three o'clock. There were no guards by the large metal doors.

"Are ye ready?" Duff asked. He looked down to Kim, and she nodded her head. "Remember, yer eh captured drone about te be imprisoned fer eh crime. Tey 'ave no emotions, but tey 'ave instincts. So eh hope yer eh good actress."

"I will not give up on my people. The regions of the desert will never be eliminated!" Kim said in a monotone voice. "How was that?" she looked up at Duff with a smile.

"Great, if te desert region wus havin' eh rebellion an' te rest o' te island wus tryin' te exterminate them. Let's just pretend ye violated section 23 of te code…ye stole extra food, an' ye 'ave te be reprogrammed an' checked fer human materialism."

"Whats the code?"

Duff sighed. "Like te rulebook. Ye break te code, yer in hot water. Now let's go."

They walked up to the metal doors, and they were opened by two guards on each end. A third guard stood in front of their way and asked for identification. Kim was frozen and didn't know what to do. Was the card Duff gave her considered 'identification'?

On instinct, Duff took out two strange looking passes. Kim glanced at them before he showed them to the guard, and they had their pictures and names, addresses and everything else like her driver's license and passport. The guard glanced at them, then at Duff and his 'captive', then nod his head. He stepped aside to let them pass.

Once they were inside, Kim released her breath. "How did you get those?" she whispered.

"Quiet! Do not speak." He said, in a perfect English accent.

Kim looked around. The main area was large, with lots of desks, computers and chairs, and drones to fill the stations.

"Do you know where you're going?" Kim whispered again.

"Yes! And what did I say about keeping quiet? You want to get us both killed?!"

After that, Kim didn't say another word.

Duff walked them to a corner of the main quarters. He approached another guard and addressed him:

"I have a prisoner here from the desert regions. I'd like to pass and take her to the holding chamber."

"With the new hybrids in transition? Why?" the drone questioned suspiciously. Kim froze again.

"She broke code twenty-three. She isn't due for reprogramming right away…I'd like to show this one here why, exactly, it's not ideal to be human, and rely on material goods. Duff showed no emotion, but his words alone proved deviant.

"Code twenty-three? That is crucial. I agree that a lesson will be beneficial in your case." The drone looked down at Kim. "Proceed."

They entered through, and Kim felt confident. Duff knew how to communicate with these drones easily. She had to keep reminding herself that he was like them.

They went down a few halls and took an elevator. It was glass, so she could see each floor as they passed it. They went down and down and down, and she saw rooms with computers, workers, rooms for security, rooms for experiments and inventions, and in one room they passed, she caught a glimpse of the biggest diamond she ever saw in her life. It was as big as an elephant, and drones were chipping and mining at it.

"Whoa! How…"

Before Kim could react, Duff covered her mouth and muffled her. He was firm on his grip. "When I say don't say anything…" he whispered. "I mean don't say anything. There are cameras and microphones everywhere. Even in the elevator." He looked at her. "You are in Base now. You have no freedom, no right to talk." Kim thought he was sounding a little scary.

Kim's ears were fighting the pressure as they went further and further below ground. Base was like a tree, and they were traveling down its roots.

Finally, they came to the very lowest level. It was saved as a type of prison and holding cell for corrupted drones or misbehaved hybrids. The floor above was where they performed the surgeries.

Duff led Kim out of the elevator, still in handcuffs, and guided her through the cells. They went down rows and rows until Duff came to a halt, and another guard opened the cell with a special device. It scanned the metal lock, and miraculously the lock reacted to the scan by unlocking itself. Duff pushed Kim inside, and they locked the door again.

"Um…" Kim was confused and enraged. She didn't think Duff would actually make her a prisoner. But before she could release or show her emotions, Duff cut her off. He spoke to the drone guard.

"I'll be back for her. Just hold her here temporarily. I'm going to see what schedule they have for the transition rooms. Will you give us a moment?"

"Of course." The drone walked in the opposite direction and Duff turned to Kim with the most grave and serious expression.

"Do not speak. Do not cross your arms, slouch, yawn, pout, or whatever else. You are robotic. Do you understand? I'm going to check around to see if I can find Ron. If he's upstairs I'll take you there."

"Yes." Kim said. She tried to be as expressionless and robotic as possible.

"Good. Stay here, don't move. Don't talk to anyone."

And with that, Duff left.

It was about an hour later when Duff returned. Kim was glad to see his leather coat and black hat. She had been standing like a popsicle without moving or speaking for the past hour, and her body was exhausted. Nobody spoke to her or asked her questions. She was left alone, and in that time of standing straight and tall, she realized how bad her posture really was.

Duff was grave when he approached Kim's cell. He asked the guard to unlock her, and he came over and did so without any questions, which Kim found strange.

"I'll take you to see why you should thank your Creator for making you a drone, and not some dependant, weak little human. Come."

He led Kim back to the elevator, and he didn't say a word to her as they went up one floor. Kim watched his expression carefully. She could tell he was hoping she wouldn't say another word. She realized she was jeopardizing their disguises by asking questions or just talking in general. If drones were listening, they could easily spot their ruse.

Kim continued to watch his expression. There was a layer of sadness, or pity plastered to his face. She wanted to know if he had found Ron, but then she imagined what he would say, based upon that expression he wore so glumly. Something was terribly wrong.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Kim saw an endless amount of chrome. Duff walked her through the halls. It all looked like a mental hospital. She could hear screaming, shouting and crying. The screeches were so loud and she could hear the pain through each voice. It was torture. She walked closer to Duff. She wanted to see where Ron was. She couldn't wait anymore.

Duff stopped and opened one of the doors. Kim peeked inside. It looked like an emergency room. There were several empty beds, and then at the very end, a sheet covered her view of one of the cots. She looked at Duff. He nodded for her to go inside, slowly. He shut the door and looked at her in the eye, before she took another step.

"We were too late te stop te surgery. He's eh hybrid nae."

Kim's eyes welled up. Her face became red and hot. She couldn't think, she tried to move, she needed to see him for herself.

"He needs te heal, lassie. He's nae goin' te look…normal." He tried to stop her before she looked, but she ran too fast for him. She pulled away the curtain and cried out. She turned her head and couldn't bear another glance. He entire body was covered in blood. He looked like the living dead. He looked like Frankenstein. It looked unnatural to see his stomach moving up and down.

"Listen…" Duff knelt down to her. She tried not to look at him, but he held her so she couldn't move away. "Remember tha' this happened tem eh, too, eh few years ego. It's nae goin' te kill him. It's nae goin' te ruin yer life together. We can still get 'em outteh 'ere an' ye can still marry him. It's jus' his bones an' skin are harder, stronger. Eh know how te care fer 'em in tis condition. Let's take 'em an' leave…"

"No!" Kim cried and shook her head. "No…"

"If ye want te leave, we 'ave te leave now!"

"No…"

Duff didn't hesitate. He knew she had to grieve, but this wasn't the right time to do it. He started to unhook Ron's body from a bunch of the machines.

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Kim shoved him away. He looked at her, flabbergasted.

"Whut are ye doin'?"

"He's gone! Ron is gone! I know him. This surgery will change him. He is one of your drones now. You can't reverse something like this. All I wanted was a simple life. I wanted to stop crime fighting and be at peace. I want happiness with Ron, he's been my best friend for life, I love him, and I can't just bring him home and tell him to forget all of this! I wanted love, and this is what I get! I can't seem to lose the crime. It always finds me somehow. I can't live on anymore if I don't have Ron by my side, and I know now he's gone. This has hurt him, this has killed him, barely! This has changed him. So, this has changed the both of us. I feel death, right now. They have taken something from him that they cannot replace with their indestructible alloys. You know what that is, Duff? That's life. They took life out of him."

"But there's still hope. Whut are ye sayin', ye wannae stay 'ere? Yer quittin'?"

"I've given up on trying to live our lives in the real world. Everyone knows us as crime fighters…they can't leave us alone! Whether it's a cat stuck in a tree, or a fire, or babysitting, I'm always called. And it's not like I can say no! I wanted us to be left alone for once. And we're struggling to pay for college and pay our rent and our taxes, our insurance and our gas and food…sure, our parents help out a little bit, but we're trying to be dependant and it just isn't working. I've never charged for my service to people…and I can't start now. What would people think? I wouldn't get as many calls, yes, but then what sort of reputation would I have? And this life here seems so simple…trade services for goods, goods for goods, services for services…free housing, tasty and exotic food…frankly, it's a land I wouldn't mind living."

"Whut? Are ye insane?" Duff couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I've lost myself over the years. I don't know why. Life has just spiraled downward since graduation and the invasion. I don't know which is the cause. Everything ended. The villains, the unrest, the drama. Things are calm, I want to be calm, but I can't. I want to be with Ron, and that's all that matters."

"So whut, yer goin' te stay 'ere, live in tis corrupted little Utopia te be wit him? Ye two can leave."

"Yes, but how long until they track us down again? How long until Ron gets sick and its related to his new…body, and we need a special kind of treatment or medicine that we can't find in a human pharmacy?"

"Ye got meh! Eh 'ave everythin ye'll need!"

"But they took him for a reason, Killigan! And we don't know what that reason is! If we are successful in escaping, how long until they try to take him back?"

Duff sighed. She had a point, they wouldn't let them go.

"If ye want te be 'ere, wit him, ye'll need te go through tha' same surgery! Follow their special rules! Ye know how many there are te memorize? Hundreds!"

"So be it."

"Ye cannae imagine te pain…"

"So be it!"

"Whutever happened te "Eh can do anythin'?" Why cannae ye leave? Eh don' understand."

Kim looked down. "Like I said, after graduation, everything ended."

Duff was confused. He couldn't take it anymore. He knew Kim was grieving, and she wasn't being herself. Duff noticed some tall boxes, like coffins, in the corner of the room. He had an idea. Duff took a stunner from a nearby shelf in the room. It was a weapon meant to temporarily knock out a hybrid or a full human. Without letting her speak another word of rebellion, Duff took the gun and shot it at her. She was jolted with a special ray, and her whole body collapsed as if she instantaneously fell into a deep sleep. He grabbed her, put her on one of the beds, and changed his disguise once again.

In his new disguise, Duff put Kim and Ron in a tall wooden box. Sometimes, but rarely, a surgery will not go as planned. The human's body will reject the formula, and unfortunately die. Duff would pretend he was transporting a lost human to the waste incinerator. It would be strange to have two bodies, because failure was so rare. There were also no cemeteries on the island. There was, however, a place to worship and praise fallen drones, but there was not a place for fallen or passed humans. There was only incineration.

Duff had to fit them into the coffin together. They fit fine, since they were both skinny. He bolted the box and pocketed the hammer so he could release them later. He had to label the box with the name of the deceased and have another form of identification. Duff was nervous. This was a risky thing to pull, and if he was caught, he would be terminated. He knew a lot of drones would question the death and every detail of information, but he wouldn't have all the answers.

Suddenly, the door began to open to the medical room. They must have heard their conversation; they must have been spying on them. He was as good as dead! Duff gasped, and the only thing he could think of was 'Abby, forgive me.'

The drone that walked into the room was the one drone on the entire island that Duff least expected to see. It was Griffin, the first drone he ever made.

He looked just the same, but cleaner. His bandages were pure white, his goggles shined, and his clothes were formal. Duff looked down. He tried to hide his face and pretend he was getting ready to transport the 'deceased'.

"Hello, old friend." Griffin spoke. His voice was deep and gruff. Duff knew he had been discovered, but he still tried to pretend that he wasn't being addressed. Maybe there was still hope.

Griffin seemed to have read his mind. "I am speaking to you, Duff." He said.

Duff held his breath. He didn't lift his head. Griffin approached him, slowly, and stopped until he was only inches away. Griffin was the smartest drone. His mind was as closest to a human. He could tell that Duff was afraid. He sensed this man has changed.

"I have seen the Creator."

Duff looked up this time. He usually did not hear that word. He was not spoken to like this, especially from Griffin. What did he mean by 'I have seen the Creator'?

"The townspeople of Paranologia have held the same belief for years, that you were not our original Creator. I was there, though. I opened my eyes and I saw you. I have always believed in you. But this other figure, I have seen their murals of her, their paintings, and she came to me. I have seen her with my own eyes, but I don't know what to believe."

"Eh made ye, Griffin. Meh sister used te beh alive when ye were made, an' she helped meh wit meh projects from time te time. Fer some inexplicable reason, eh think te hybrids knew abou' her an' decided to worship her. But she's dead, an' ther confused. Someone started tis, someone must 'ave lied te start eh rebellion. Wus it Ace?" Duff didn't feel scared anymore. If Griffin wanted him dead, he would be already. Something was different. The game had changed.

"I know you made me. I remember Carol, and this woman is not her."

"Then it's eh ruse someone's tryin' te pull."

"You see I want to believe that. But the people have worshiped this female idle for so long, and she has come out of nowhere, so graceful and beautiful. I think, if I may, that my heart has become enchanted with something strange. She had spoken to me so greatly, like I was the God she should bow to. She told me you were on this island, and she requested I found you and bring you to her."

"Whut?" Duff knew, now, that there was more going on here than he thought. Someone was behind some sort of plot. Was it Ace? Was it Four? Was this new drone created and programmed to overthrow the town and rule the hybrids, and start a rebellion? It didn't make sense. "It cannae be te 'real Creator'. Eh told ye, Griffin, an' eh wouldn't lie. Eh made ye. There is no other Creator but meh. An' tis drone came from nowhere? Don' ye find tha' suspicious?"

"The townspeople claim she had been hiding for so long but watching over us all."

"But ye don' think tha' someone behind tis made tis drone an' programmed it te…"

"The woman is not a drone."

"…whut?" Duff blinked. Was he hearing this correctly? "Nae eh drone? Then she's eh hybrid? Oi…eh hybrid. Ther goin' te start eh revolution, ehm tellin' ye…"

"No, she is no hybrid. She has no trace of our alloy in her human body. She is a pure one."