Angel, part 8
Duff opened his eyes and saw red. His head pounded. It literally felt like someone was hitting his head with a hammer. He moaned loudly and held the back of his head. The pain was excruciating. He was about to get up when he felt heavier than usual. He could still only see red, but with his hands he felt a woman lying down on top of him. He felt Abigail.
He tried to lift his head again but the hammer pounded faster. He moaned louder. It woke Abby up. She looked at him in pain and put a hand to his cheek.
"Are you okay?"
"Och…fuck…whut 'appened?"
"You drank a little too much red bubbly juice."
Duff moaned even louder. "Eh didn' think te hallucinations would 'ave been tha bad…"
He heard Abby gasp and sit up. "You knew what would happen if you drank all of it?"
"Of course eh did…ow!" Abby had slapped him hard across the face.
"After everything I taught you, you still run to drugs when you're in pain."
"Abby ehm sorry, it wus eh slip-up." Duff's vision started to come back to him. He could see light, the outline of Abby's face. As her features came into focus, her angry expression scared him.
"Ehm…ehm sorry." He mumbled. He felt terrible that he hurt her. The pain grew in his head. His heart cracked a little as he watched that her expression didn't change from disappointment.
"Obviously you still don't think about the things you do, or care if it will affect others. How can you say you love me and still do these things to me?"
Duff tried to take her hand but she got up and left the room. She slammed the door behind her. The noise made his headache worse, and he tried to remember what happened last night. He only vaguely remembered things he felt. Duff looked down at his hands, and noticed his wrists were bandaged. His body ached.
"Fuck…fuck…" he mumbled continuously to himself as he tried to get up and stumbled to walk. Thankfully, Griffin opened the door and caught Duff before he was about to fall.
"What happened now? Abigail seemed very upset walking out of the room just now." He asked.
"Och…eh told er tha' eh knew whut eh wus gettin' mehself inte when eh drank all te julco…we got inte tha' fight las' nigh' an' eh got so upset…eh felt like how eh used te feel before Abby wus aroun'. Eh felt low, like eh couldn' take livin' anymore. Eh wanted te make mehself suffer, because eh felt like eh deserved it. It hurts so much more te try te be happy then te try an' be miserable. Tha' make any sense te ye?"
"I'm sorry to say, no, it does not make much sense. But I understand that it is not possible for me to understand every decision the human mind makes."
"Yer nae much different than eh psychologist." Duff mumbled.
Griffin placed him down on the bed again. "Are you feeling better?"
"Are ye kiddin?" Duff held his head and cried out in pain. "How dye think eh feel?"
"I cannot say I know."
"Well eh'll tell ye…eh feel like meh brain is gonna melt righ' outteh meh ears!"
"I imagine that to feel very painful."
"No fuck! Why didn' ye stop meh?"
"I had left to get the supplies for my…surgery, and by the time I got back you had already drained the bottle." Griffin shifted uncomfortably. "I see we might have to wait another day or so before you are well enough to—"
"Nae, eh'll be fine. Eh can do it later tonight. Eh jus' need te relax fer eh few more hours…where did Abby go?" Griffin stuttered, unsure of what to say. Duff found that unusual. Griffin's speech and charisma were perfect. He probably knew better English than any human in the world. Duff let it go, however. The only thing that really mattered at that moment was the inexplicable headache he had, and how much he wished he had Abby resting on top of him again. "Where is Abby? Eh need her…" he moaned.
Griffin stood up to search for the young woman, but when he turned around he saw her standing in the doorway.
"Oh you need me, do you?" she mocked. Duff tried to lift his head to look at her. The hammer pounded harder. He felt like he had a giant bloody hole in the back of his head and his brain was all mashed up. "Well I'm not going to comfort you. I'm not going to run to your side every fucking time you screw yourself over."
"Abby…" Duff moaned.
"No, I don't want to hear it! I taught you a lesson that was important to me, to your daughter, and to yourself. You almost died last night. You always have near-death experiences because of the poor choices you make. If you don't start making sense of what you have inside that head of yours…"
"Abby, please…eh can' take it…"
She sighed. She couldn't yell at him for long before she started to feel guilty.
"It's my job to take care of you. I promised to help you. How can I do that with such difficulty? Sometimes I can't take it either, Duff."
With that, Abby walked out of the room. Griffin tried to make Duff more comfortable by putting a blanket over him and fluffing his pillows, but it just annoyed it him.
"Get your rest. We will worry about the plan after you fully recover."
Duff mumbled something unintelligent and swatted Griffin away like a fly. He left the room and closed the door behind him. Duff soon felt that he wasn't alone in the room. He looked over and saw a scarred, sick Ron Stoppable staring at him.
"Whut te fuck are ye lookin' at buffoon?" he growled. Then, he turned his head and tried to fall asleep without dying in the process.
Several hours later…
Duff stumbled out of the room and entered the hallway. He walked like an ape, and felt like a wild animal tranquilized, but still fighting to escape and stay alive. Miraculously he was able to make it to the kitchen without falling over once. When he got to the door he held onto the doorframe to support himself and caught his breath. When he looked up, he saw Abby and Griffin sitting at the table, drinking tea together. When they saw him, Abby looked the other way while Griffin got up and helped Duff walk over to his chair and sit down. Griffin poured a glass of a hot, bubbly purple drink and set it in front of him.
"Whut's tis now? Eh've never had it." Duff asked.
"It is called pulcho. It is a new concoction. When a human or a hybrid drinks it, a wave of energy washes over them and the herbs inside heal the body. I have heard great things about it, so I ordered some to be brought up for you."
"It's actually pretty good…" Abby mumbled. When Duff looked into her cup, he saw that it wasn't tea after all.
Duff took a sip of the purple drink. As soon as the liquid went down his throat, he felt as if a beam of light was in the center of his body and was emitting rays outward, which reached every organ to the tip of each of his fingers. He felt refreshed, detoxified, and healthy.
"And do not drink it all at once, or as you may phrase, 'do not gulp', or we may face yet another health defect."
"T'ese drinks should come wit label warnings." Duff mumbled as he took another sip.
"Yes I believe so."
Duff was feeling better the more he drank the pulcho. He looked across the table at Abigail. She faced the side, staring off into the distance. She couldn't look at him. Duff wanted to reach over the table and take her hand, but he remembered that she didn't want to be involved romantically with him. Duff argued in his mind whether holding her hand was romantic or not, but he didn't want to upset Abby more than she already was.
Griffin observed them, and could tell they needed to talk about some things. He exited the room without a word. Duff was grateful for that, and he took in the silence. Abby continued to either look off to the side or into her cup. He didn't know what he was going to say, but he knew he needed to say something.
"Abby…"
"Don't." she interrupted.
"Whut happened te us? Eh don' understand why yer angry wit meh…"
"Why did you do it?" she asked.
Duff looked at her. He knew she was talking about the julco. "Eh did it because eh felt alone."
"What does feeling alone have to do with nearly killing yourself?" she snapped. "I taught you countless times to release your emotions in a healthy manner. You should have come to me. I would rather you talk to me then drink. Why did you disregard everything I said this past year?"
"Because tis wus eh different kind eh pain. Eh know ye told meh ye couldn' be wit meh until ye've figured things out, but te way ye pushed me away…it felt like eh couldn't 'ave ye at all. Eh cannae live meh life anymore knowing tha' eh cannae 'ave ye. Eh didn' want te live anymore…an' eh felt like Bess didn' matter, eh told mehself tha' she would soon be old enough te take care o' herself an' nae need her father anymore…she always knew eh wus in pain an' she'd understand…"
"Don't you ever say that again. It would tear her apart if you died."
"Eh know…but it's how eh wus thinkin' last night. Abby…eh've finally realized whut te meanin' of life is…fer meh. Eh've struggled meh whole life te find happiness…te find ye…an' te love ye. An' eh cannae think of te possibility tha' eh won' be able te do tha'."
"If your love for me was unconditional, it wouldn't matter if you could have me or not. You would love me even if I never felt the same about you and never would, and you would care about me and do anything for me. But I'm not asking you to do that. I do…care about you, and love you, but in a way that I think is slightly different from your love. But I'm not ready to talk about these things and I'm not ready to become romantically involved with you. There are also…things about me that you don't know, and I feel like if you knew every part of me, you wouldn't love me."
"Are ye an alien?" Duff joked. Abby looked to the side again and shifted in her seat.
"…no."
"Then whutever it is ye've done, or whoever ye are, ehm sure eh'd understand an' meh love fer ye wouldn' change. Aye, eh look ah ye as an innocent creature an' eh cannae possibly imagine ye doin' anythin' bad, but eh know tha' its eh possibility because aye, eh know tha' eh part o' ye is eh mystery te meh. Eh want ye te talk te meh. Eh know yer uncomfortable, an' tha' trust isn't eh trade, but eh want ye te ah least know tha' if ye do ever want te talk abou' yer life, te littlest detail, ehm here fer ye an' eh'll listen te whutever it is. Aye, eh do love ye unconditionally, an' if ye never want meh, eh'll still love ye an' take meh life fer ye. But it would bring meh unconditional pain."
"Your love is not unrequited. I just need time." she whispered. "And kissing you doesn't help."
Duff's heart cracked a little more. "Eh get it." Abby could easily hear pain in his voice.
"Please don't be angry with me." She begged.
Duff took her hand. The gesture was compassionate, he justified. "Ehm nae angry wit ye. Ehm sad…but eh'd never be angry wit ye, nae over tis, nae over a lot o' things."
"When do I make you angry?"
Duff thought. He wanted to say never, but that wasn't true. "Well…eh wus angry when ye disobeyed meh an' came te the island an' left Bess home wit yer…friends."
Abby looked uncomfortable about this subject again. Duff pressed questions, out of concerns for his daughter. "Abby please tell meh who t'ese people are. Ehm her father, eh 'ave eh right te know."
"I told you who they were. When we get back to the castle you'll meet them."
"Well whut are their names? How did ye meet them? How long 'ave ye known them fer? Whut do they look like? Ah least tell meh sometin, or are ye too uncomfortable tellin' meh these things too?"
"I've known them practically my whole life. I…work for them."
"Ye work fer them…currently?"
"Huh?" Abby's eyes widened. "Um…I meant worked. Past tense."
"Well whut wus te job?"
"Um…I used to work as a….uh…well I worked with people and helped them cope with their life."
"Like eh therapist?"
"Well, no…I would visit them every day and be more like a friend rather than a doctor."
"Oh…eh see. Makes sense." Duff smiled. He liked to hear a little something about Abigail's past. It made him feel light and happy to hear her open up to him, even if it was just one fact.
"An' t'ese friends o' yers came all te way te meh island in Scotland? Te babysit meh daughter?"
"I…they…owed me."
"Fer whut?"
"For the work I did."
"How did tey owe ye jus' fer workin' fer tem?"
"Let's just say it wasn't a paying job."
"Whut, like volunteering?"
"Not exactly."
"How'd ye get money then?"
"…I didn't."
"Ye were…?" Duff couldn't find the right word to use without sounding mean.
"What, poor? No."
"So yer fam had money?"
"No. I didn't have a…family."
"Then yer husband…?"
Abby looked down when Duff mentioned him. "…no. This was after his death."
"He didn' leave ye anythin'?"
"Err…there was nothing to leave. Let's just say where I…lived, money wasn't important."
Duff blinked. He tried to think. "An' where exactly wus tha'? Te jungle?"
Abby laughed at that. "No. People think that it is so crucial in life to have lots of money and that it will bring happiness. Money is just an illusion."
"But ye need money te have eh roof o'er yer head an' eat, buy clothin', education…ye don' need an abundance of money, but ye need enough te get by. Ehm rich; meh fam always had money, an' eh like te buy lavish things, but when eh grew up meh Ma taught meh tha' money wusn' everythin' either. Meh fam never bought meh toys er fancy clothes an' we didn' eat fancy dinners. Eh wus taught te appreciate everythin' meh ancestors did te get money so our fam could live in peace fer generations. If we struggled, we would still 'ave money te feed ourselves an' be comfortable."
"That's nice. When I was growing up, my mother would never give me money for anything, and she always told me to ask my father. He would often buy me things to make me happy, but it never did. Whenever I got money for my birthday or Christmas or for whatever reason, I spent it immediately on super expensive things that I loved to look at, like art, but never used or wore. When I was old enough to get a job and get a credit card, I lost track of how much I made versus how much I was spending. I was an impulse buyer. I always had been. I would buy something and return it a week later. The experience was so frustrating. I didn't know how to handle money or material items and I had issues with my identity and buying clothes for myself. Then, eventually I learned how money was an illusion. It's hard to explain it. People think money is needed in life, and in a way it is, but sometimes it isn't."
Duff was still holding her hand. He squeezed it and looked into her eyes. "Thank ye fer sharin' tha' part o' yer life wit meh." Abby looked down. He caught her smirk a little, but she tried to hide it. "An' eh think eh can guess somethin' abou' ye now."
Abby looked up, her eyes a little wider. She looked surprised, and almost a little scared. "What?"
"Ye were eh fuckin' Buddhist or Monk er sometin', tha's whut. All tis 'money is an illusion' philosophy. Seriously, whut religion are ye?"
Abby smiled large enough for him to plainly see. "I am a very religious person, but it is a religion you would not be familiar with."
"Explain it."
"Another time. I'm…getting tired." Abby got up to wash her cup in the sink. She turned the faucet on and started rinsing out the purple goo coating the inside of the glass.
"Eh've never really been eh religious person. None o' meh fam wus, except fer meh grandmother. But eh think she did spells an' good luck charms an' curses an' all tha' voodoo. Eh think she learned from some ancient Celtic witchcraft er sometin' freaky like tha'."
Abby laughed a little and turned around to look at him. "So I guess I'm a freak then, because I do spells and all that voodoo as well."
Duff blinked. That he didn't know. "Um…by 'freaky' eh really meant nae freaky at all."
Abby smiled again. Duff smiled back, and they laughed together. He felt good. He felt happy. He had his Abigail back.
Later…
Duff found Griffin in the foyer, reading over blueprints and equations for the plan.
"Hey, Griffin, did ye end up gettin' all te supplies fer te surgery?"
The drone looked up and his big red goggles stared straight at Duff's face. He seemed to be scanning the man. "Yes, and I believe we can begin in a couple of days."
"Couple o' days? Why?"
"You should have full mental clarity while performing such a patient task."
"Whut, ye think ehm nae clear in te head after las' night? Ehm fine. Eh drank te pulcho. We can do it tonight…now. We cannae waste time bein' 'ere. Te longer we stay, te faster Ace can get te Abby an' figure out te rest of us are plottin' together. They're probably plottin' right now, too. Have ye heard anythin'?"
"Well…yes. I went to a meeting today. She announced a hunt to scavenger the island and find the new Creator."
"Whut? An' ye didn't tell meh this? When did she announce tis?"
"The meeting was this morning."
"Then we have te move fast. We'll do te surgery tonight."
"But my scanners read that you are not fully recovered…even with the pulcho you should wait until all the effects of the julco leave your system."
"Yer scanners are too sensitive. Eh'll fix tha' too. Ehm feelin' fine. Mentally an' physically. Abigail an' eh aren' fightin' anymore. She'll be 'ere te help wit te surgery too."
"I don't know, my scanners detect…"
"Fuck yer scanners, Griffin! We need te start if we want te get off tis island alive! If we wait, we'll all be done fer."
Griffin said nothing in response. Duff could tell by his inaction that he was still cautious about Duff's health.
"Set up te room fer surgery. Eh'll find Abby. We'll do tis now…te sooner te better."
Griffin looked hesitant. Duff figured in his own drone way, he felt fear. Though drones were not afraid of pain, he may have been afraid whether or not the surgery would kill him or not, or be successful. Duff left the room before he could resist, and found Abigail in the guest room, lying down on the bed. She was fast asleep.
Duff felt bad waking her up, but it was for a good reason. He sat down on the edge of the bed and shook her a little. She moaned and stirred, but didn't wake.
"Abby…ye 'ave te get up." He shook her again.
She was mumbling in her sleep. Duff was about to shake her again, a little more rough, until he heard her mention his name. Instead of waking her, he leaned in to listen.
"Duff…he doesn't have to know…he can't, won't be able to handle…mm…ruin the…their happiness…I will fail."
Nothing she said made sense to him. What doesn't he have to know? What can't he handle? Why will she fail? Because she will ruin his happiness? The dots didn't connect in his mind. She was the reason he was happy. Duff couldn't think of a single thing about her past that he couldn't handle. Though, he knew she kept many secrets from him. He didn't even know her last name. She never told him in the beginning because her private information 'wasn't his business'. 'Well,' Duff thought, 'now it is.'
"Abby…" instead of shaking her, he put his arm around her and placed his hand on her heart. It was beating very slowly, and it got him worried. He rubbed her back with his other hand. It felt soft and thick, like her jacket was lined with fluff. Abby finally woke, and she turned around and looked up at him. She looked dazed and sleepy from waking from her dream. She felt his hand on her heart and placed her hand over his. She closed her eyes again.
"Abby ye 'ave te get up an' help meh wit Griffin's surgery."
"We're doing that now?"
Duff nod his head. He was hypnotized by her lips. They were full and soft, and had a rosy pink tint to them. They just seemed to be waiting for a kiss. Abby looked up at him again and noticed him staring. She felt slightly uncomfortable. Not because she didn't want him looking at her lips or wanting to kiss her, but because she wanted to kiss him too, but knew it was wrong.
Duff looked into her eyes and seemed to guess what she was thinking. He took her hand and squeezed it. He leaned in, and Abby's body froze in anxiety, but she relaxed again when he leaned past her face and put his lips to her ear.
"Why can't we jus' pretend tha' we're dreamin'? Jus' this once?" he whispered.
Abby froze again, and then relaxed. She half sighed, half moaned. Her eyes closed and she tried to control her twitching body and contain her emotions. "Oh, Duff…"
She meant to say that with sympathy in her voice, but it sounded like a completely different signal. Duff didn't know how to take that. Did she want him, or not?
Abby was holding his hand and rubbed his forearm. She grasped his muscles again. Duff noticed how she liked to do that, to feel his strength. In comparison to her body, Duff felt like a bull, and Abigail was a gazelle. She had tamed the bull in him, and was now reaping the benefits. She was able to see the beauty in him as well as the outside.
Duff wouldn't have been surprised if Abby was able to tame a live, raging bull on cue.
Duff's lips were still to her ear. He wanted to say so many things. He wanted to say how he secretly hated her husband. He couldn't even say the word to himself anymore. She still considered the man a 'husband', not an 'ex-husband' or anything to indicate a past relationship. But he knew she loved this man, and that losing him was a tragedy. It would be a long time before she moved on. And how could he help with that? He just made it worse by acting seductively around her. It made every bone in his body itch. He needed to release his emotions somehow. And if not by drugs, or sex, and Abby certainly didn't approve of violence…then what else was there?
Griffin thought to himself. He knew for a fact that the julco didn't leave Duff's system yet. He was relying on the other human, Abigail, to see over his surgery and make sure everything went smoothly and Duff didn't make any mistakes.
He waited and waited, and finally Duff returned with his partner. When Griffin saw her, his scanners sent extreme signals of alarm to his chip. It appeared as if she had just woken from a short period of sleep, and her brain cells were not fully active yet. She was not fully conscious. Griffin stood up. He looked around the room. He had set up an operating table, a stand for tools, and a bright light above the chair in the exact angle that would allow light to shine into the work area and not be blocked by Duff's shadow.
"Alrigh', let's get tis o'er with. Griffin, lie down on te table. Abby, shut 'em down. His switch is on te side o' te abdomen."
Griffin obeyed Duff's orders and lay down on the metal operating table. Abby came up to his left side and looked at him. Griffin looked back at her. She couldn't read his expression, but she assumed he was giving her an expressionless look anyway. She lifted up his jacket, and he gently grabbed her wrist. Abby gasped, slightly, and looked at him again.
"I wish I could feel the comfort you give to Duff. Please supervise his actions as much as possible. Do not allow a mistake." He said lowly.
"Everything will be fine, I promise you. Duff is a wonderful doctor. He knows what he is doing, and he is feeling fine from the other night. There is no need to feel fear, Griffin."
The drone nod his head and relaxed, as if he was going to sleep. Abby lifted up his jacket and shirt, and noticed a small scar in the shape of a box. She felt around it and was surprised that she was able to peel it back like she was peeling his skin right off. Underneath was a material meant to look similar to flesh, and embedded inside was a tiny metal switch. Abby had to force it to the right, and when she did so, Griffin fell limp.
"Oh, my. Duff? I think I…"
Duff walked over with a few instruments. "Don' worry, he's alrigh'. It's like sleepin' fer them, cept ye don' remember no dreams."
Duff took off Griffin's hat and goggles. He began to unwrap all the bandages around his face. Slowly, Griffin's true features appeared through the spaces. He had no face. It was covered in the fleshy material, but he had no skin.
"Why didn't you choose to give Griffin a face?" Abby asked.
"When eh made meh first drone, eh didn' think ehn appearance wus important. Whuts eh face if yer nae human? Drones don' care about beauty an' vanity an' all tha'. Eh thought it didn' make sense. Then, when eh made meh next one, eh realized tha' in order fer eh drone te disguise himself or herself in eh human world, tey mus' look human. But eh never fixed Griffin because te bandaged face he had became his face an' identity."
"Do you ever think he wants a face like the others?"
"Nae…eh knows his identity is special. All te drones know him fer his lack of eh face. He's infamous fer it. Some o' te drones wish tey didn' 'ave eh face either."
"So I guess your original idea was best."
"Aye, eh guess so."
Duff told Abby to stand back a few steps. He took out a small but very interesting hand saw. The blade was made of diamond, cut into extremely sharp shards. Duff turned it on and started to break through Griffin's metal skull, after slicing away the fleshy material. Once he sawed completely around the skull, he removed it and before them was a large cube of diamond, and inside another small metal cube could be seen. Duff took the diamond saw again and cut into the cube a special way, so it separated into four smaller cubes. Once the metal 'chip' was exposed, Duff put on a set of glasses with microscopic lenses. He zoomed in to search for the antennae. Once he found it, he used a tiny pair of surgical clippers to snip it right off.
Duff was about to attach everything together again when he noticed something strange. Abby saw him gazing at the spot where he just cut the antennae.
"Is everything okay?"
"There's eh part of Griffin's chip tha' looks discolored."
"That's probably because he's old. He's been around for a long time, right?"
"Eh don' think…eh dunno. It's nae like te chip 'as been encased in diamond all t'ese years…" Duff looked up at Abby, still wearing his microscopic glasses. "'as Griffin been acting strange lately?"
"Not that I've noticed. Then again, I don't know exactly how a drone should act."
Duff looked down at Griffin's 'brain' again. He was unsure of what the discoloration meant. It didn't seem like Griffin was corrupted, but this could be the first sign of it, only it hasn't fully affected the drone's actions yet. Duff didn't know if Ace or Four had the same problem when they became corrupted, and there was no way he could find out besides performing surgery on them, too, and that was not only impossible, but he didn't have the time to get sidetracked from their plan.
"So what does the discoloration mean?" Abby asked.
"Eh haven't looked inside eh drone's head since eh first made te Triad. Maybe yer right…maybe it's from old age, maybe his chip needs te be replaced, like an old hard drive on eh computer…or maybe it's serious. Maybe eh'm lookin' ah early detection of 'drone brain cancer'."
"You think he's corrupted?" Abby took Griffin's hand. She knew he couldn't feel it, but she felt like somehow it would help.
"Eh dunno. He hasn't been actin' funny, but it may nae 'ave affected him yet."
"Well…if he is corrupted, then what would you have to do? How can you fix that?"
"He would need eh new chip. An' eh don' 'ave te supplies fer tha'. He would need te get it fer meh, or we'd 'ave te go back te the castle."
"We don't have the time. And wouldn't he be suspicious?"
"Eh know."
"So what are you going to do?"
Duff thought for a minute. He tried to go with his instincts, but he had none. If Griffin was corrupted, there wasn't anything Duff could do to fix him at that point. They couldn't leave Griffin's loft without him, or they would get caught or killed. Duff had no supplies to recreate Griffin's chip. He also needed access to a special computer that could download all his information. If anything, they would need to turn Griffin's power back on, convince him to get them these supplies somehow, and then convince him to go through another surgery. Whether telling him he was possibly corrupted or not was a good idea, Duff didn't know.
"Well…there's nuthin' eh can do righ' now. Fer now eh'll just 'ave te fix em back up an' turn em back on. Te most important thing we 'ave te focus ehn is our original plan, an' gettin' off tis island. Eh imagined we would take Griffin wit us an' bomb te island. We can worry abou' him later."
"But what if he tries to ruin the plan or becomes corrupted before we get off the island?"
"Then we'll jus' 'ave te be extra careful an' watch fer te signs."
"Which are what?"
"Ye'll be able te tell. Te both of us know how Griffin acts."
Abby was about to ask another question, but she just sighed. "Alright." She didn't know what else to say. She was worried now, for Duff's safety. The only drone they thought they could trust was now possibly going to turn on them. The drones had almost no vulnerability. Abby's original plan was to attack Griffin emotionally, since he was one of the only ones who had access to human feelings, which, as Duff described, were the ultimate weakness. Pain was available not only in the body but also in the mind. If drones had no nerves and no sense of physical pain, mental pain was the plan. But Abby didn't know Griffin was the one good drone, and that changing his 'brain' and downloading new files to his system required such rare equipment. Abby was worried if they would ever get off this island. They had no one to trust but themselves and nothing to defend themselves. They were like two field mice in a house full of cats, and no holes in the walls or furniture to hide under. Essentially, they were doomed.
Duff carefully reattached the cubes of diamond together and surrounded the chip. He used a special substance that acted as like a 'diamond glue'. He welded Griffin's metal skull back, layered his fleshy material, and wrapped his bandages again. He put on the goggles and told Abby to turn his switch back on again. She did so, and Griffin jolted on the table like he was struck by lightning.
"It's…alive!" Duff imitated Dr. Frankenstein, and Abby gave him a 'look', as if to tell him how inappropriate he was being.
"Whut…eh never got eh chance te say tha'."
Griffin raised his torso off the table and felt around his head.
"How…did…the surgery…go?" he asked. Duff could her in his voice that his body was charging slowly.
"Err, good. Eh removed te antennae. Now, te sonic ray won' kill ye."
"Are you sure Griffin won't be able to hear it?" Abby asked. She worried for the both of them, now.
"Drones 'ave two types of 'ears'. One antennae picks up sounds an' signals tha' are too low or too high in frequency fer eh human te hear. Another antennae picks up frequencies only audible te us. So, eh drone can identify whut eh human can hear an' whut can't we hear, so tey know whether or nae te bring te noise te attention. Also, it's good te 'ave te extra antennae, tha' way if eh ever needed te remove te high an' low frequency antennae, which eh jus' did, te drone can still hear voices an' noises in range."
"Are you sure you removed the correct antennae?" Griffin asked.
Duff and Abby looked at him. Did Griffin not trust them? Was this a sign of corruption? Abby's heart beat faster. She had no clue if Duff took the right one out or not. She looked up at him. His expression was full of suspicion.
"Of course eh did." Duff replied, sternly. Griffin nodded his head.
"Good. Then let us begin building the rays."
Griffin got up off the table, stood up straight, and walked out of the room. Abby and Duff looked at each other simultaneously.
"You did cut the correct antennae…right?" Abby whispered.
"Of course eh did!" Duff whispered back.
"You said you hadn't looked into a drone's head since you first created them…how can you be sure that you remembered the right one?"
"Eh remember everythin'. Eh checked te blueprints before eh left te castle te refresh meh memory. He's already paranoid…eh don' need ye te be paranoid too!"
"Okay, fine." Abby looked at Duff for another minute, then mouthed the words, "I trust you."
Duff nodded his head, to say 'thank you'. His mouth curled into a smile a little.
"Let's go make tis weapon." He said. Duff left the room and Abby followed behind.
They met Griffin in the foyer. He started to lay out his equations and blueprints. His plan was to make three ray guns which they could use as weapons against any drone that tried to stop them in the communications room, and any of them would have an attached cable that could connect to the main database, and the signal would be amplified from every speaker on the island. The waves would go far enough to cover every inch of the island and even beyond the force field, as well as every floor of Base. Once they did that, every drone on the island except Griffin would be terminated; they could then leave and destroy everything left behind with the explosives on the arsenal floor in Base, which was down below near the surgical rooms and jail. That way, if there were any explosive accidents from the arsenal, the sick and the criminal would be injured only.
Duff and Griffin took hours to plan the rays. They were up for all the rest of the night and worked right through into the next morning. Griffin didn't need sleep, and no matter how many times Abby begged him to get some rest, he said sleep wasn't as important as getting the work done. Abby stayed up with him, and he insisted that she should get rest, but she claimed that it was important to her to watch over him and protect him. She also wanted to keep an eye on Griffin. Since they didn't know if he was becoming corrupted or not, Abby wanted to be near Duff at all times, just in case he suddenly attacked. When she thought about it, sleep wasn't a very safe option either. Though, throughout the night Abby had fallen asleep a couple of times on the chair she sat in for hours as she watched the man and drone work. When the morning came she went into the kitchen and cooked some pulcho. There was also some food that Griffin had ordered—some bread and what Abby assumed to be cheese, and more fruits. She brought some to the foyer and offered some to Duff. He took a mug and was grateful for Abby to have brought him something to munch on, because he was hungry.
The plans for the ray were almost finished. Griffin scanned the equation for the sonic disturbance and he confirmed that it would be a frequency high enough to fry every drone's chip. Griffin paused to contemplate that. He was silent for a while as Duff got up to find the supplies they needed to start building. Griffin started mumbling to himself.
"Every drone would be terminated but me. I was the first, and I will be the last. I will be the last of my kind. I will be alone. They want to destroy my race. Genocide…"
Abby quickly walked over to Duff. She was panicking. Griffin was going corrupted. He was turning on them. She looked back to see if he was following her, and she didn't see where she was running and bumped right into Duff.
"Oof!" he grabbed her around the torso to keep her from falling. "Why do we always end up bumpin' inte each other?" Duff instantly saw the fear on Abby's face. "Whuts wrong? Griffin?" he saw her glancing back.
"He's gone mad. He's accusing us of committing genocide and killing them all and…"
"Abby, calm down. Did he say tis te ye?"
"He was talking to himself."
"Alrigh', so he's startin' te transition but he's nae hostile yet. We need te finish t'ese rays an' get te the communications room before he starts te attack."
Abby couldn't help but start crying. She remembered when Duff left to go to the island in the first place, and how she feared for him. Duff looked sad as he watched her and wiped a tear from her eye.
"I miss the castle. I miss how warm it is. I miss being home with you, and Bessie." Abby mumbled.
"Eh miss Bess too. We'll be home soon." Duff hugged her. Abby held onto him tightly and didn't want to let go.
"What if we won't? What if Griffin or any of the other drones…"
"Don' say anythin' like tha'. It's nae happenin'. Ehm nae goin' te let anythin' happen te ye." Duff interrupted her.
"And I'd do anything to protect you."
"…eh love ye." Duff mumbled. He almost felt embarrassed to say it. He felt like a fool for falling for the woman who still had her heart set on another man. Regardless, Abby surprised him.
"I love you too." She whispered. Duff felt tears in his eyes too, now. He wanted to kiss her, passionately, and it hurt that he wasn't able to make those kinds of decisions anymore. Instead, Abby kissed him on the cheek. It felt good, but it wasn't satisfying. He wanted to taste her lips.
Duff thought either Abby was thinking the same thing, or he had a magic genie that granted his wish, because Abby moved her lips lower down his jaw and her mouth hovered over his. Their lips touched but they didn't kiss. Duff could tell she was scared. He wasn't going to push her. If she wanted to kiss him, and he could tell she did, she would be the one to do it.
Abby's breathing was slow and soft. She exhaled sweet breath onto him. She found it hard to relax her body. Every inch of her was ready for a hot, steamy kiss, but she didn't want to give in. She knew she would feel guilty later. Duff could feel how tense she was, but he thought it was for different reasons. He gently touched her and ran his hand up her arm and felt her soft skin. His fingertips just grazed her. The slow, gentle touch made Abby do anything but relax. She shivered and could feel chills go up her spine and through all her bones. She was unsure of how to flex her body and release the energy he was giving her with that small sensual touch. Her lips were still so close to his, Abby just released her vigor by giving Duff a light kiss. She had enough drive to kiss him passionately, but she still held herself back.
Duff still touched her gently and exhaled slowly, but Abby could hear his breath was jagged. She was still so full of drive and couldn't hold herself back. It was impossible to walk away. Though she wanted to, and she knew she could, she didn't want to and the pleasure she felt in her body took control. She gave in and gave Duff another light kiss, just barely touching his lips. Then she kissed him with a tiny bit more force and passion, and kissed him again, and again, and again. Duff put a hand to her face. He could feel the fear and shyness through her body and kiss. He could feel the angst that built up inside of her.
"Every part of my body wants you. I feel like I'm losing control, my heart wants you so much it can't stand it and is pumping fiery blood through my veins, but my head is telling me not to give in, that it's too soon…I feel the guilt screaming at me." Abby whispered.
"Eh dunno whut te say…" Duff mumbled. He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Eh want ye too, meh body feels like it's been pumped wit pure desire, but eh don' want te hurt ye. It's yer choice but eh don' wan' ye te make te wrong choice either. Ye told me we couldn' act like tis anymore…"
"That was very hard…" Abby kissed him lightly again.
Duff sighed. "But maybe it's fer te best. Maybe it is too soon. Eh don' want te say tha', but when yer nae hurt an' confused anymore, ye'll know, an' ye won' be holdin' back like tis."
Abby's lips lingered over his. She didn't want to admit he was right. She didn't want to leave. Duff started to lose his control as well, and he grazed his lips over hers and gave her a light-as-air peck. Abby needed to release her hunger on him, even for just a second. She felt like a lioness that needed to pounce. Abby kissed him deeply, which surprised Duff. He inhaled, smelling her sweet honey-like breath, grabbed her hips and kissed her back passionately. Then Abby stopped, and pulled back to look at him. She didn't say anything, but everything was spoken by her eyes. Duff just wanted to experience as much pleasure as he could from her as possible. He knew she was still holding back, but her walls were starting to crumble.
Duff and Abby were cautious when they walked back into the foyer and saw Griffin staring at them. Duff set down the supplies for the rays on the table, and only Griffin's head moved, watching them cross the room. Duff stopped and sat across from him and tried to act like he wasn't suspicious of anything.
"So eh got te material. Let's start buildin'." He said.
"What took you so long?" Griffin asked.
"Eh wus lookin' fer all te things we needed te build te rays."
"It should not have taken such a long time. Did you come up with any other plans?"
"No, Griffin. Eh didn't think of anythin' else."
"Didn't plot anything behind my back?" Griffin's tone became more stressed and heightened. His voice didn't sound natural. He was starting to glitch. Griffin didn't realize what he was saying, but the corruption was starting to take over and turn him paranoid.
"No, Griffin. Eh didn' plot anythin' new besides our original plan. Everythin's te same. We're goin' te be healin' everyone. Te drones are sick. We're goin' te cure everyone of te disease."
"Then if you were not plotting to kill me, what were you doing all that time?"
"Abby an' eh were kissin', tha's whut took meh so long."
Griffin turned his head to Abigail. She blushed, and was surprised and also slightly embarrassed that Duff said that out loud to someone, even if it was a drone. Griffin was scanning Abigail to see if Duff was telling the truth. She was easy to read. He confirmed her shy body language as a result of sensual behavior. He seemed to relax, and was old Griffin again. He turned to Duff.
"Congratulations on the kiss. I am happy that things are starting to work out between you and Miss Abigail." He said.
"Thank ye." Duff mumbled. He glanced over at Abby, who was still blushing. He couldn't help but smirk.
For the next few hours, Griffin was acting normally, and he and Duff built the three rays. Abby helped as much as she could, though for the most part she couldn't follow any of the mechanics. She mainly kept an eye on Griffin, which Duff said was the biggest help she could give. While he was working, he could watch and see what Griffin was doing. He wouldn't know if the drone did something different to the rays or tampered with them somehow. It was crucial that these rays worked properly. Duff told Abby to see if Griffin tried to alter anything, like try to change the sonic disturbance into a frequency that would harm humans instead. Abby found it difficult to catch these things, because frankly, she didn't know what to look for. She had to read and learn the blueprints and walk around and act like an inspector that knew what she was doing. Duff figured he could check them all before they left for their mission, and if Griffin refused to show inside his ray, then they knew something was up.
It was another sleepless night. Duff worked endlessly on finishing the three rays, and Abby stayed up to supervise the corruption. By the morning they were so tired they could barely keep their eyes open. Duff was afraid this was what Griffin wanted all along. Griffin insisted they slept, and by nightfall they would get up, have enough energy for the mission, and attack communications. He constantly told them to sleep, but Duff refused. He knew they would be vulnerable in their sleep. Griffin could tamper with the rays while they weren't conscious, or if he wanted, he could kill them. But, at the same time, Duff had no energy for the mission. If he went to communications now, he wouldn't be alert enough to defend himself and attack the drones. He would easily die, and so would Abby. Their best bet was to sleep. So, Duff planned to take the rays and hide them while they were sleeping so Griffin couldn't find and tamper with them. He also planned with Abby that they would sleep together, and they would take turns sleeping, and the other pretending to sleep but really keeping guard. Duff offered that Abby slept first. He was used to staying up far later than two days, which Abby didn't like to hear.
They took the ray guns when Griffin went into another room, and hid them under the bed. When Griffin got back, he looked at the table missing three guns and in panic he asked Duff what he did with them.
"Eh hid them, jus' in case anyone besides us came inte the foyer, like eh messenger wit food, er information er news fer ye, tey wouldn' see te guns an' be suspicious."
"How could this messenger possibly know what the rays were for? We are making three of them, he would think they are for me, Ace and Four."
The thought occurred to Duff. Was Griffin trying to alter the guns into destroying humans or hybrids? And he planned to give them to the other Triad members?
"So where did you hide the ray guns?" Griffin asked.
"Under Abby's bed. We'll be sleepin' in te room an' we'll make sure no one gets 'em."
"I see."
Duff didn't want for Griffin's response. He turned his back and walked through the halls and found the bedroom.
Earlier, Duff had noticed that both Kim and Ron were sleeping together, too. For the past two days Kim had been tending to Ron and helping him heal. Duff practically forgot about them. Would they be a part of the attack? How would they escape? When Duff asked Griffin, he said they would stay in the loft during the attack, and then once all the drones were taken care of, they would come back for them. Griffin said he didn't know if he could 'trust' them. To the question if he was able to trust Duff and Abby, the drone simply replied with a nod.
Abby was already in bed. Duff crawled in with her. "Go te sleep." He ordered. "Eh'll keep watch. Eh'll wake ye up in eh few hours so we can switch. But if ye feel yerself fallin' asleep, wake meh up an' eh'll cover ehgain."
Abby wanted to argue with him, but she was in fact extremely tired, so she obeyed him and fell right asleep in his arms.
Duff did everything in his power to stay up and keep watch. He was used to staying up for several nights without sleep, working on projects of his. Usually, though, he would have coffee with him. Griffin didn't order any coffee to be brought up to the room. Duff thought it was possible that the drone did this on purpose. Maybe he wanted Duff to get so tired that he would fall asleep, and so he could tamper with the rays. It was all part of Griffin's plan…he worked with Duff for two sleepless nights and supplied no coffee…he wanted to wait until he slept deeply for hours, which would give him enough time to turn the drone-terminating rays into human-killing ones.
'Yer jus' bein' paranoid.' Duff thought. But the more he thought, the more he couldn't convince himself that it was just a theory. Griffin was turning. He would soon be fully corrupted. He wanted to kill him, and Abby, and possibly all the hybrids.
All the thinking made him even more tired. Only an hour passed by and his eyelids were drooping. He couldn't help it. Duff had to pinch himself…it didn't help. He slapped his cheeks, and it didn't help. He considered cutting himself, but he knew that wouldn't help either, plus Abby would be upset.
There was no loud music to listen to, and he didn't want to leave Abby alone, vulnerable, to splash some cold water on his face. He knew he was going to fall asleep soon. Everyone else in the room was sound asleep but him. Kim and Ron were cuddled together, and he could tell Ron was quickly healing. Abby felt warm as he held her. He enjoyed watching her as she slept. She looked so peaceful and innocent. He didn't want to wake her. He would try to stay up the entire night if he could, so she could be left at peace. But watching her sleep only made him even more tired. He shook his head but it was nearly impossible to stay awake no matter what he did. He looked at Abby again. She clung to his body and he hoped she was dreaming of him. He wanted to kiss her in her sleep. He did know of one thing that would keep him awake, but he knew that would only be a fantasy. Duff knew that if Abby stayed up with him and just kept him company, he wouldn't be so sleepy. He checked his watch…another half hour had passed. He promised Abby he would keep guard four hours, then they could switch, and by the end of her four hour watch, it would be morning, and they would have to get up and face the drones. He was afraid for himself, and for Abby. He wanted nothing more than to be back home with her and live in peace again. Why did he disobey Abby when she told him not to go to the island in the first place? Why didn't he listen to her, and believe that he had a responsibility to these drones? Why couldn't he let Kim handle it herself? She always said she could do anything, right? Duff knew in the back of his mind that Kim would have died here without help. But he disappointed Abby and his daughter by risking his life. It was his fault Abby followed him, and her life was at risk too, now. He would do anything to protect her. He would give up his life to let her live. She was worth living much more than he was. Duff knew Bessie would miss him, but he knew Abby would be a better parent than he ever was.
That was the last thought Duff could remember before he woke up in the morning. When he opened his eyes, he felt peaceful after sleeping for a few hours and having his arms wrapped around Abby's wonderful body.
But Duff felt really good after just a four hour sleep. She should have been much more tired. In fact, he shouldn't have woken up in the first place. Abby should have woken him up after she kept guard four hours, but she was sound asleep beside him.
Duff's eyes widened and he shot up out of bed. He looked under the mattress…the ray guns were still there. He inspected them as Abby started to wake. She sat upright and looked at him with weary eyes.
"What are you doing? Did Griffin…" after a few moments, Abby's eyes also widened in horror as the thought dawned upon her. It was morning.
"Eh fell asleep." Duff admitted. "Eh tried te stay awake…eh dunno how it happened, eh don' remember lyin' down er nuthin' like tha'…"
"Oh my…do you think Griffin drugged you to make you sleep?" Abby immediately got up and began to get dressed.
"No…eh did this on meh own. Eh wus jus' so tired…eh thought eh could stay up but…argh eh should 'ave splashed mehself wit cold water…sometin!"
"Hey…don't fret. It's not your fault." Abby tried to look into his eyes and hold him, but he looked away. He was ashamed of himself. He made a mistake that might cost them their lives, now.
"Aye, it is! Eh dunno now if Griffin took te rays durin' te middle o' te night, changed te wirin' or replaced tem wit replicas…"
"Is there a way to check?" Abby asked.
"Nae without aimin' it at either a human or eh drone an' seein' which one dies!"
"Then try it on Griffin."
"Are ye insane? Soon as eh point tis thing in his direction he'll snap right there! Tha's whut we've been tryin' te avoid!"
"Well what are we going to do? Griffin is expecting us to walk out of the bedroom ready to attack a whole team of drones and we don't even know if these rays work! We have to test it."
"An' how dye plan on doin' tha'?" Duff asked.
Abby didn't answer him. She turned from Duff and slammed the bedroom doors open. Griffin was standing patiently a few feet outside. When Griffin saw Abby so fiery, it caught him off guard. Duff was usually the one who acted like this. Abby stopped so close to the drone, he leaned back a little, unexpected of what she would do. She looked as if she was going to attack him. Duff ran behind her, unsure and amazed at the passion she had so randomly.
"Griffin," she said. "We haven't tested the rays yet to see their effect. We don't want to go into the communications room without checking our weapons. Bring another drone up here…a messenger. Order some food to be brought up and invite the drone inside. We will experiment the ray guns first before leaving."
"But…all the calculations are in order, the rays will work perfectly fine. I scanned them and—"
"Well I don't have a scanner. I have eyes. And these eyes need to know that we have protection. I'm not going on this mission risking my life without knowing that these work." She showed him the ray, but she was careful as not to point it at him.
Griffin looked over to Duff. He came up behind Abby and looked strangely amazed. "Abby…whuts gotten inte ye?" he mumbled. "But…uh…she's right. We never tested 'em. Eh too would like te see how tey work."
"But you know my work can be trusted. We did everything correctly. The designs were flawless. I know how to build a mechanical object, I am one myself." He glared at Duff through his thick cherry red goggles. He was nearly pressuring Duff to defend his verification and calm Abby down, but Duff knew Abby's idea was a good one, for both of their safety.
"Eh do trust ye, Griffin. Eh know tha' wit yer help we built somethin' strong tha' can protect all of us. Eh'd jus' like te see how te ray operates an' whut te expect. Eh want some practice first, aye?"
"And what of you, Abigail?" Griffin turned his head to her again. "Do you trust me?"
"Oh, sure." Abby smiled. "But I'm just not used to using any kind of weapon…like Duff said, I need practice. You don't send a boy to war without teaching him how to shoot first, am I right? Unlike drones, who are designed to be so perfect, we humans need to learn first."
Griffin hesitated, then after a few moments of experiencing death stares by Abby, he replied lowly, "I will go and retrieve a drone for your…experiment."
He turned and got on the elevator, and descended until they could not see him no more.
"Whuts gotten inte ye?" Duff asked.
"You act surprised, like I haven't been so enthusiastic before."
"But threatenin' Griffin like tha'? Yer really testin dangerous waters, 'ere!"
"I didn't threaten him. I just said I wanted to make sure we were safe."
"Aye, but ye doubted him. An' tha' is threatenin' te him. It says ye don' trust 'em. Yer onte 'em. How do we know he won' come back wit te Triad te kill us?"
"If he wanted to kill us he would have already…right?"
"Well he's still in transition eh think. He hasn't snapped yet. An' we don' want te push 'em!"
"So you were just going to attack a room full of indestructible drones with a weapon that possibly didn't work? A weapon that any drone could easily grab out of your hand, point it at you and kill you right on the spot? I'm sick and tired of this game we have to play to hide ourselves or be careful so as not to get attacked. I want to go fucking home, I want to see Bessie, and I don't want to see another drone again. So I don't give a fuck what drone tries to get in my way, ray gun or not, I'm going to fight."
"Abby, listen te me…" Duff tried to calm her down. He placed his hands on her shoulders and spoke softly. "If these rays don't work, there is no fight. They are strong. They will rip your head off or crack your spine like it's a piece of straw. You will get killed…"
"There you go again accusing me of being weak. What makes you so tough? Do you think you have a chance against these drones and I don't?"
"Ehm nae sayin' yer weak, Abby! But anyone who can fight, even Kim…she knows how many styles of martial arts…unless yer Superman ye don' stand eh chance against 'em!"
"And what, you do?" Abby snapped.
"Well…te last time eh wus 'ere…somethin' 'appened, an' eh've been meanin' te tell ye but eh don' want ye te get upset or freak out er…"
Duff was interrupted by the ding of the elevator. They turned their heads simultaneously to see Griffin and another drone step out. It was a worker from the prison station down below Base. When the drone saw the two humans, he immediately ran as if to attack and capture them. Abby gasped at the sudden move, but Duff was fast enough to grab the ray gun that lay on the table next to them, point it at the drone and pull the trigger. An invisible beam shot out of the tip and washed over the drone's body. Duff and Abby could hear the sound of the wave faintly, but it didn't harm their ears. The drone's eyes grew wide and he stood straight like a marionette with all its strings pulled upright. He stood like that for a few moments, and then he fell just like a tin can knocked over.
Griffin stood out of the way, as if he was afraid of the ray beam striking him. He still believed Duff didn't do his surgery right, and he was at risk from the gun. Once the other drone died on the floor of his loft, he looked up and snapped at Abby. He was angry that they killed a comrade of his. Though he didn't know the drone personally, it was one of his kind.
"Is that enough proof for your eyes?"
Abby looked at the drone lying on the floor. Was the drone acting? For all they knew, he could have been. She looked back up at Griffin and nod her head, but she wasn't truly convinced. She didn't trust this drone. She felt ruthless.
"Are we ready now for the attack?" Duff asked.
"We're as ready as we'll ever be. Let's just go and get this over with." Abby grabbed one of the ray guns and headed for the elevator. Duff grabbed the third gun and tossed it to Griffin. Together they got in, and Griffin hit the button for just six doors down.
"So what's the plan? When the doors open, do we just start blasting?" Abby asked.
"Eh guess so. There will only be eh number of drones on te floor, out in te open. Griffin…ye destroy te elevator so no more drones can come through. Eh'll head fer te main station an' plug te ray in te satellite transmitter an' beam te signal across te island.
Before Duff had a chance to say another word, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. The drones didn't pay attention at first when they walked in the room, but then Griffin threw a small bomb in the elevator just before it closed, and just a few seconds after it started to descend to another floor, everyone heard a loud boom and the floor rumbled. Flames ascended the elevator shaft and nearly burned Duff and Abby. They turned their backs to the fire and got their ray guns out. Griffin did the same, and the three of them started to fire at the drones nearest to them.
They just had to pull the trigger once and in the next couple seconds the drone aimed at was terminated. If another drone was nearby or in close range, the wave hit them too, and either damaged or killed them as well. The three stuck together and had to be quick for all the drones were running to attack them now like starving, fast, indestructible zombies.
"Eh'm gonna head fer te main system. Cover meh!" Duff shouted. He advanced ahead and Abby tried her best to blast all the drones that ran towards her and Duff. She stuck close behind him.
"I feel like I'm in a video game…" Abby mumbled. She was a little nervous, because even though she was surviving well, she was in danger. If she wasn't quick enough to blast her ray gun, she would be killed instantly. Almost half the drones in the room lay on the floor, and they had to step or jump over them. The rest of the drones were either attacking them or calling code reds and ordering for help.
Duff had almost made it. He headed towards a large computer. The screen stretched several feet and on the screen showed graphs and data. There were several large keyboards for different drones to perform separate tasks all on the same screen.
Abby stepped over a drone and felt a metal hand grab her. She looked down and screamed—a drone had 'played dead', and was crushing the bones in her ankle.
Duff turned around and ran to her side, blasting other drones that ran towards him. Abby pointed the ray gun to the drone's face and blasted the wave. It stunned him and he let go of her ankle by the time Duff reached her. Abby winced and Duff caught her.
"Are ye alrigh'?" Duff panicked. Now that Abby was hurt, it damaged their chances.
"I'm fine. Go! Get to the system and plug the ray in before a swarm of drones come in!"
Duff hesitated. Was she really okay or was she lying? He didn't want to leave her side, so he took her hand and helped her walk with him. Abby had to limp and she moaned from the pain, but she still had enough energy to be alert and blast all the drones that tried to stop them.
Some of the drones now were hiding and trying to dodge the blast of the ray guns. They were not prepared for this attack. The drones were always taught that they had no weaknesses. They didn't know how to defend themselves, but most of them tried to win by speed, and get to Duff or Abby or sneak up behind them before they had the chance to pull the trigger, but the two had each other's backs, and looked out for each other.
Abby looked around for Griffin. He was on the far side of the room, attacking a crowd of drones with not only the ray gun but his strength. He fought them physically and though they were made of the same indestructible material, Griffin was stronger and more educated and experienced in combat. He didn't seem to be corrupted. Abby sighed in relief. He was being loyal to Duff. He wasn't holding back by siding or sympathizing with the drones. He was kicking serious metal butt with no regrets.
Duff and Abby reached the computer. Abby saw a drone trying to signal for help…she pointed the ray at him and fried his chip. The call left unanswered, and she worried that they wouldn't connect to the system in time. Abby looked around the room and saw plenty of open windows; though the elevator was broken, she knew the drones would have their way of getting inside. With the technology they possessed, they would have no problem getting up the building from the outside.
"Eh got it." Duff said as he connected all the wires in place. Abby and Griffin finished off the remaining drones in the room.
"That was actually easier than I thought…" Abby mumbled.
"It's nae o'er yet. Te wave will take some time te reach te entire island an' fry all te drones. There are receivers all over te island, te system will connect te ray te every single one. There are enough in Base te wipe everyone out instantly." The keyboard had symbols on it instead of letters, but Duff knew exactly what he was doing. He typed in several codes and hit the keys so fast Abby couldn't keep up. She was worried about another attack.
"Hey…are ye sure yer alrigh'?" Duff asked as he typed. When Abby didn't answer him, he turned around and saw her staring at Griffin.
The remaining drone was simply standing in the back of the room ominously. He looked down at all the dead drones surrounding him.
"Uhh…Duff?" Abby mumbled in fear. Duff knew something was about to happen. Something was starting to change in Griffin. The drone looked up at them, and he started to walk forward.
Duff tried to type as fast as he could, but he kept looking back at Griffin walking towards them. He could feel like something was wrong, but he wasn't sure. He was afraid for himself and also for Abby.
"What do we do?" she whispered.
Duff looked up at the screen. The downloading process had begun. "Wait fer te wave te reach eh hundred percent, then press tis button." He showed Abby a large green square key. She looked at him advance towards Griffin.
"What are you doing?" she whispered ecstatically. She knew something wasn't right with the drone. She tried to say 'be careful', but for some reason the words couldn't come out. She didn't know what to say. Was Griffin truly corrupted or was everything a big mistake and they were just paranoid?
"Griffin, good work." Duff stated as he approached the large drone. "We jus' 'ave te…" he trailed off when he looked down at the ray gun in Griffin's hands. It was completely crushed. Duff could see the grooves of fingers in the bent metal. Griffin threw the weapon to the ground.
"Whut did ye…" Duff trailed off again as Griffin pulled his coat back, revealing a similar looking ray gun. He took it by the handle, pulled it out, and aimed it right for Duff's head.
Duff turned, grabbed Abby, and pulled her away from the computer. She screamed as they fell over, and the wave from Griffin's weapon nearly missed their skulls.
"What is that!?" Abby screeched from the pain in her ankle. Duff lifted her up and Griffin turned to them again.
"You killed my people. I will not let you destroy my home and my family. You think you can fry our chips and be rid of us…how would you feel if someone melted your brain?" he raised the gun again, but Duff was quicker. He launched himself at the drone and knocked the gun out of his hands. It slid across the smooth metal floors. Abby ran as best as she could towards where the weapon landed and ignored the pain in her ankle.
Griffin attacked Duff. Abby saw them fighting, but knew their rays wouldn't work on Griffin. She also saw that strangely, Duff was fighting the drone very well. He seemed to be just as strong. Griffin threw a punch but Duff blocked it. Duff threw some kicks and hit Griffin's side, which made him stumble backward. Griffin then caught Duff around the neck, choking him. Abby gasped.
"Duff!" she cried out. She forgot all about Griffin's weapon and ran towards them. Duff grasped Griffin's arms, trying to pull him off. As she was running, Abby found a long metal bar from the debris of the elevator. She picked it up, and when she got close enough, she swung it right at Griffin's face. She heard a loud 'clang' and the bar just retracted. She stuck it into his side but it didn't go past his skin. Abby was panicking. She didn't know what to do. Duff was being choked and Griffin was indestructible.
Then, Abby remembered her original plan. Though Griffin was physically indestructible, she was able to toy with his mind. She had an idea. Abby grabbed the ray gun from the holster Duff gave her, and pointed it at Griffin's head.
When the drone saw what she was doing, he laughed. "That won't work on me."
"Are you sure about that?" Abby shouted. Griffin took a moment to think, and in reaction his grip on Duff's throat loosened up. Abby noticed this and continued.
"How do you know that we really took out the right antennae? Maybe…just maybe…Duff snipped the wrong one on accident? Or maybe it was no accident."
Griffin wanted to snap Duff's neck right then and there for betraying him, after he promised he would keep him safe from the sonic disturbance.
"You kill Duff and your life will end as well." Abby had a dead-serious expression on her face. She wasn't going to hold back. "Let your creator go!"
"What would it matter if we were both dead….you would be stuck here, you would never get off this island alive. The rest of the drones will be here before your sonic wave downloads completely."
"As you always detected, Griffin, I have some secrets and advantages. I'm not as weak as I seem, and I'm certainly not hesitant on taking your worthless drone life. Now let…Duff…go! You have no other option. Your brain-scrambling weapon is at the other side of the room. Let Duff go and maybe we can work something out. You said this island is your home, and the drones are your family. Well Duff created you back when he lived in his castle, on his own island in Scotland. That can be your home, and we can be your family…heck, we're already your family!"
"How do I know that you won't kill me as soon as I let Duff walk away?"
"You don't. I know you don't trust me, and I don't trust you either. But like I said…you don't really have a choice right now."
Griffin loosened his grip on Duff, enough for him to squeeze out of the drone's headlock. Duff stumbled forward and coughed, holding his neck. Abby's eyes never left Griffin, and she stood like a statue ready to explode. Griffin just had to make one move, and he was dead.
"So it seems as if we are at a standstill." Griffin stated. Duff walked over to where Griffin's weapon was, and grabbed it. He walked back to them and glanced at the screen: it read fifty-seven percent.
"Looks like yer goin' te be at eh standstill fer eh bit longer."
"No…not for long." Griffin said.
Before they could ask him what he meant, drones started to come in through the windows. They were riding on large hovercrafts that carried them up the outside walls of Base. Abby turned and started firing. Griffin turned to attack Duff again. He held both Griffin's gun and the drone gun. Though he knew Abby's speech was only playing off of Griffin's paranoia, Duff subconsciously fired the drone gun at Griffin. It didn't do anything. Griffin pulled Duff to the ground, and both weapons scattered next to their wrestling bodies. Griffin used combat against Duff. They scratched and tore at each other while Abby fired continuously at the windows.
Several times Griffin tried reaching for his human weapon, the one which fell to Duff's right. Duff realized that was the gun he shot at Griffin…he realized that he shot the wrong one. It was hard to tell the difference between the two weapons, but Griffin clearly knew which one was his.
Abby was ruthless and sent endless waves towards all the windows, which were in a row all next to each other. The drones that got off the hovercraft didn't get too far inside, and they fell helpless to the floor. Abby shot at the drones outside and hovering in front of the windows until the hovercrafts were empty. She saw them descend. She looked out the window and down at the ground far below. An army of drones stocked with the same weapon that Griffin held stood ready for ascension. Griffin must have leaked his plans for the human ray when he went to get their 'experimental drone'. They created and mass produced the weapon quickly. Everything must have been a plan. When the drones saw her looking down at them, one of them pointed a ray and blasted the wave at her. Abby gasped and pulled away from the window and backed up as far as possible. This was bad…very bad.
She looked over to Duff and Griffin. Griffin had tears in his clothing and some of his bandages were ripped. His goggles were thrown off and his hat was nowhere to be seen. Duff's clothes were ripped as well…and Abby could easily see patches of blood on his arms, neck and face. Griffin and Duff were tearing at each other. But how was Duff so strong? How was he able to fight this long with his number one drone? Abby glanced at the screen…it read eighty-nine percent. When she glanced back at Duff, she saw something strange, something that caught her eye. The light from the windows shined in the room and light reflected off of Duff's body. Blood poured from Duff's wounds where Griffin tried to scratch him open, but she could see a shine in his wounds…a silver shine….like metal. She walked closer. There was metal inside his wounds. Was it from Griffin? Or was it possible…
Abby gasped. "You're a hybrid?!" she shouted. Duff groaned as he fought the drone. He was afraid of her finding out. But now, it didn't really matter. Drones ascended in the hovercrafts and started pouring in again. Abby turned and saw them…it was too many for her to take on. She ran towards Duff and Griffin. She grabbed both weapons that lay on the floor and put them in her holster. She pointed her drone-ray at Griffin's head.
Griffin stopped fighting. The paranoia came back again. All the drones before them stopped. They worshiped Griffin…he was their leader. And now, Abby was holding a deadly weapon to their leader's head.
Griffin lifted himself up and put his hands up like he surrendered. Duff wiggled out of his lock again. He was tired of getting nowhere trying to wrestle his strongest drone. The screen read ninety-five percent. He walked over to the computer and guarded it. Just another minute was all they needed.
Everyone watched Abby and Griffin intensely. Duff didn't want Abby to get hurt, but if he walked forward, Griffin might do something stupid. The drones that filled the room couldn't let this woman kill their leader. If they moved, it wouldn't certainly risk Abby's patience. Then, everything happened so quickly.
Griffin grabbed Abby's wrist hard enough for her to drop her weapon. She cried out in pain as he crushed her bones. Duff tried to force Griffin to let her go, but before he could stop him, Griffin picked Abby up and threw her across the room. She slid on the floor and tumbled, landing right in front of the drones. She screamed as they picked her up. She tried getting away, but their grip was too tight.
"Abbyyy!" Duff yelled. "Put her down, put her FUCKING down, eh tell ye!" He screamed at Griffin and the other drones. "Listen te meh, ehm yer FUCKIN' CREATOR, AN' EHM ORDERIN' YE TE PUT HER DOWN!" Duff grabbed the weapon that Abby dropped and pointed it to the army of drones.
"Throw her out!" Griffin yelled. Duff fired the weapon at all the drones, but it did no good. Drones at the front of the crowd blocked the two that dragged Abby towards the window. Duff launched towards the crowd, but Griffin held him back. The drones that held Abby hoisted her up and she screamed Duff's name as they threw her body out the window.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ABBYYY!" Duff yelled louder than he ever had in his entire life. His entire body heated with a fire brighter and stronger than that of the sun. He looked at the screen…the ninety-nine percent turned to one hundred and he hit the green button.
Duff ran as fast as he could. The frequency wasn't high enough to hurt him, but the pitch was so loud, Duff had to cover his ears. He ran right past Griffin and all the drones that fell to the floor and helplessly cringed and twitched. The mass fell like a string of dominoes, and he didn't look back. Duff stuck his head out of the window and saw nothing but a mass of bodies scattered on the ground. None of them were Abby's body. He scanned and scanned the ant-sized bodies and saw no blonde haired beauty. Did the drones throw her too far? Maybe she was okay…maybe she landed in a tree. He tried to peer into the forest, on top of all the tries, on the ground at the edge, but he saw nothing.
Duff was filled with something he couldn't identify. It wasn't rage…it was more than that. He felt like his body was literally on fire, and that he should run in a rampage, destroying everything in his path. He watched as all the drones before him were lying on the floor. They weren't moving anymore. It made him smile. The smile stretched across his face and he laughed hysterically. He looked over to Griffin…he was kneeling down, covering his ears. Duff walked up to him.
"Oh…eh guess eh really didn' cut te right antennae, after all." Duff said. Griffin moaned and growled as if he could feel the physical pain of his 'brain' being fried to a crisp. Duff laughed again. No…he didn't feel angry. He felt insane.
"Eh've lost so much in meh life, Griffin. Eh lost meh dignity when meh Pa an' meh brer used te beat meh when eh wus younger. Eh lost te love of meh gran' an' meh Ma an' meh dear sister…eh lost meh hope fer love when eh wus left alone by two…tha's right…two women who eh cared about. Eh lost meh patience fer tis world when they took meh girl away. An' ye know….eh thought eh'd be angry at te world forever, lost in meh pain, but then eh met Abby. An' ye know whut, Griffin?" Duff grabbed him by the collar of his coat and looked at him in the eye. "Eh thought, fer once in meh life, eh had te chance te beh happy. No…eh wus happy wit her in meh life. An' ye jus' FUCKING TOOK THA' FROM MEH!"
Duff let him go and watched him suffer. Griffin was trying to withstand his inevitable death. He growled at Duff. He wanted to grab him, bring him down with him, kill him like how he killed Abby, but the wave was too strong and stunned him too much. Griffin couldn't control the rest of his body. His chip started to fry. The connection from his 'brain' to his body was damaged. He could barely move anymore. Duff grabbed him again, pulled him so he was just inches from his face.
"Eh don' 'ave anything te lose anymore. Ye should be very…very grateful tha' eh didn' program ye te feel pain righ' now."
Griffin twitched, but his head leaned away, and he stopped moving. Duff thought that meant he was dead, but then Griffin spoke his last words.
"What an extraordinary creature." He stated. The way his head turned suggested that he was looking at something. Duff turned around and released his grip on Griffin again. The drone fell to the floor and Duff nearly fell with him.
He gazed at Abby. She was unharmed except for a ripped shirt, glowing and radiating more beauty than she ever has, and suspended in the air by two giant feathery white wings.