Mechanical (6 page)

I hurried to the hotel and walked through the
glass doors into the lobby and wasted no time approaching the lady
at the counter. “Is there a Marian staying here?”“Last name?” she
asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, scrambling for an
excuse. “I just met her this morning...”

The woman started clicking away on her
computer until she finally seemed to find something that satisfied
her. “Yes, there’s a Marian Jacobson staying here.” She looked up.
“Did you want me to call her for you?”

“Is there any chance I could have her room
number so I could go talk to her?”

The woman pursed her lips and shook her head.
“Sorry, can’t give you that information.”

I stood there for a second, thinking. I was
partially irritated that this wasn’t going as easy as I'd initially
expected, and now not wanting to waste time on something so
trivial. Just then, the phone rang. “Excuse me,” the lady said and
walked a few feet away to answer it. “Yes, we have rooms
available,” she said in a singsong voice.

I watched as she gestured with her hands and
started to lean more towards the phone, turning her back to me. I
looked swiftly around and then took my opportunity, leaning as far
over the counter as I could to catch a glimpse of the computer
screen. I saw Marian Jacobson at the top of the screen and looked
lower, searching for her room number.

“Hey!” the lady snapped. She hung up and
rushed towards me. I backed away, but not before memorizing room
number 347. She glared at me and pointed toward the door, her eyes
cold and unforgiving.

I didn’t say a word, simply headed for the
exit. I stood outside, watching parties of three and four enter the
building, but waited for a larger group. Leaning back against the
wall, I bided my time.

Finally, a group of six headed towards the
door. I moved quickly and became part of their cluster. As we
walked into the lobby, I was relieved to see the lady at the
counter preoccupied with a family.

In the elevator, I pushed the button for
level three. The elevator whizzed to life, passing floors and
flashing lights. Once the doors opened, I stepped out. I started
skimming the room numbers as I walked down the hallway until I
finally came to room 347. I knocked firmly on the door and waited.
When no answer came, I tried again, but as before, no one answered.
I grabbed the handle of the locked door and confidently turned it
until I felt the metal snap between my fingers like dried clay. I
shoved against the door until it reluctantly cracked open.

Inside, the room was dark. I heard the TV
blaring in the other room, sending lights flashing along the wall.
I made my way around the corner and saw a dark-haired girl lying on
the bed, watching the TV. She turned to look at me as I entered.
Shock registered on her face and she gasped, springing off the
bed.

“Don’t take me back,” she pleaded, her eyes
filled with fear. I studied her. Physically, she looked like one of
us, but she was behaving oddly. Strong emotions like shock and
dread were never exhibited among us, and we definitely never
begged. We were far above that.

I started to walk towards her slowly and
noticed she limped as she edged backwards. “It’s okay,” I said,
“you’re going to be fine.” But my words sounded hollow, even to my
own ears, and she just looked that much more frightened.

“What are you going to do?” she asked, her
voice quivering.

“I’m going to take you back to the
Institution,” I answered, thinking that telling her the truth could
do no harm since I was blocking the only door.

She shook her head violently. “No. You don’t
understand. What they’re doing is wrong. You can’t do this.”
Desperation clung to her voice.

I moved closer to her now and she started to
panic. Her terrified expression surprised me and caused me unease.
What could make an android so afraid? Certainly not the
creators?

She suddenly turned. My mind raced, and
before she had even made a move, I knew what she was going to do.
She ran towards the balcony, her limp making her gait uneven and
awkward, the one place I hadn’t thought of.

“No!” I breathed, wondering why I hadn’t
noticed it before. Why had I failed to assess the situation fully?
Why hadn’t I realized the full potential of this threat? I rushed
after her as she scrambled out onto the balcony and reached for her
arm, but she was too fast. She jumped and threw herself over the
edge.

Instantly, I reached over the railing and
grabbed her arm, hearing her cry out. The force of her weight
coming to a stop yanked me forward and my grip slid to her wrist as
my other hand braced myself against the railing.

“No!” she nearly screamed, trying to claw at
my hand. Her thrashing started to loosen my grasp. She was slowly
slipping away. I grabbed her other wrist and pulled, hauling her
over the railing. Once on the floor of the balcony, she started
struggling again, kicking at me and trying to get up. I held onto
her wrists and leaned down to talk to her.

“I’m going to take you back to the
Institution,” I said quietly. “You are going to be fine. It would
be nice if you would just walk along with me, but if you scream or
shout, I’ll knock you out and carry you there,” I told her. “Either
way suits me fine.”

Marian stared at me. “Don’t you know what
they’re doing?” she asked, accusation lining her voice. “Anything
they say to you, it’s all lies!” She was near tears now and I could
almost feel the panic rising within her.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Glen
was right, she was confused. I pulled her to her feet, and still
gripping her wrist, headed for the door. We went out the back way,
avoiding the lobby and were soon on our way back to the
Institution. I noticed her limp became worse and a few times along
the way, I had to help her walk.

“What happened?” I asked her.

She looked up at me. “I was shot.”

I frowned in puzzlement. “By whom?”

Anger blazed in her eyes. “
The
creators
.”

I shook my head in disbelief. The creators
wouldn’t shoot their own creations. Well, maybe if it was the only
way to slow them down ... but still, I couldn’t believe that they
would be that cruel. I disregarded the thought and let myself
believe that Marian was just confused and delusional enough to
think
the creators had shot her.

We walked a ways more, Marian needing more
and more help as we went. She started to cry softly when the
Institution came into view. I kept telling her she would be fine
and that the creators would fix her imperfections, but it only
seemed to make her cry harder. I had to practically drag her up the
front steps.

Glen was happy with my work and smiled as a
few creators took on the task of taking Marian away.

“Good job, Drew,” he told me and I stood
there waiting, hoping he'd speak of my real mission; bringing
people in, humans. I wanted the chance to be as good an android as
Yvonne and Jeremy. If only he would give me the chance, I knew I
could be perfect. I knew I could be a good android.

But he turned and walked away, leaving me
standing in an empty room.

I stared at the ground. I wasn’t a good
enough android for Glen to want to employ me on something
important. I wasn’t even a good human. And the realization
stung.

Chapter Ten

All through the next day at school,
disappointing thoughts of yesterday swirled through my mind.

You’re not good enough.

A cloud of depression seemed to settle over
me. If I wasn’t a good android, then what was my purpose? My
purpose, my only purpose, had been this mission and as I looked
around at my classmates, I began to envy them. They had more of a
purpose than I did. They had homes, families, friends, lives. I had
nothing.

“You okay, Drew?” Jessica asked at lunch.
“You seem a little down today.”

I shrugged. “I’m fine.”

She gave me a concerned look, but went back
to eating. I looked around the cafeteria and watched my fellow
students mingling, talking and laughing. They seemed carefree and
happy. All of a sudden I felt sad, an emotion I had rarely
experienced. Then a realization dawned on me. This was the first
time I had ever been envious of humans. This was the first time I’d
found myself wishing I wasn’t mechanical. Wishing I wasn’t stuck
inside a metal shell meaning nothing to anyone, but at the same
time burdened with others’ expectations of me and trying in vain to
fulfill them.

I straightened up, frowning in shock. What
was wrong with me? I was an android. A
perfect
android. I
wasn’t supposed to be feeling these things. I had never felt sad
before, or angry, upset or shocked, let alone, wished to be human.
I felt strange. I felt the old Drew stripping away and no longer
knew whom I was. I shook my head, as if shaking it hard enough
would bring back the logic that used to guide me.

“Drew?” I heard Jessica’s voice and instantly
stopped shaking my head, knowing how ridiculous I must have looked.
“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said with a laugh, hoping they
would laugh too. “I have a headache.”

“Well, don’t shake your head, that’ll make it
worse,” Caroline said from across the table.

I nodded and started eating my lunch.

After school, as I was standing in the
parking lot waiting for the van, I looked around at all the kids
waiting for rides. I saw them talking with their parents. I saw
some getting in the car without saying a word while others smiled
and laughed, and I couldn’t help feeling that twinge of desire I
had felt earlier in the day. These kids had families to go home to
while I had the cold, blank Institution. Something inside of me
ached for the family that other children had and that I lacked. I
envisioned the average family in my mind—the talks, the trips, the
unity. All I had ever had were the creators, and my early memories
were vague at best.

No, Drew, you can’t talk like this,
I
told myself. But I didn’t seem to be really listening because that
feeling didn’t go away, that desire and longing for more, and the
emptiness I felt when thinking about my existence.

I turned away and looked at the road,
searching for the van. Just then, I noticed Jessica making her way
across the parking lot toward Michael’s car. A thought fluttered
through my mind along with a burning desire and without thinking
twice, I reacted on it.

“Jessica!” I called. She smiled and made her
way over to me. “Could I stay at your house tonight?” I asked,
ignoring the part of me that was screaming for me to stop, to
regain control, to remain logical. I knew it was probably rude to
ask something like that, but the thought of going to the
Institution made me almost cringe. I didn’t know what was wrong
with me. This was completely irrational, but I knew that if I
wasn’t a good enough android for them, I didn’t want to stay where
I wasn’t valued.

Jessica beamed. “Sure, that would be fun. I’m
sure my parents would be fine with it. Hold on a sec while I call
them.”

I sighed in relief. “Thanks.”

Jessica pulled out her phone and walked to a
quieter part of the parking lot. She came back a minute later
wearing a grin. “They said it's okay.”

Just then I noticed the van pulling up. “I’ll
be right back,” I told her, and hurried towards it. The driver,
David, greeted me when I opened the door. “I’m going to spend the
night at Jessica’s.”

David swiveled around in his seat to stare at
me behind his dark sunglasses. “What?”

“Strictly for observation purposes,” I told
him and he seemed less surprised.

“Um ... okay,” he said slowly. “Does Glen
know about this?”

I shook my head. “No, but you can tell
him.”

“Remember Drew, you’re not like them,” David
began, but I waved goodbye to him and started to walk away. He
didn’t jump out of the car and come after me, so I saw that as a
good sign.

I met up with Jessica at Michael’s car and we
all climbed in. “Drew’s spending the night,” Jessica explained when
Michael gave us a curious look.

“Cool,” he replied in an even voice, but
Jessica stared at him strangely. We drove for about ten minutes
before reaching the Walter’s house.

“Oh, my mom wanted to know if you’d like
spaghetti or hamburgers for dinner,” Jessica asked me as she
climbed out of the car. “I forgot to ask.”

I shrugged, deciding that either one would be
fine considering I didn’t think much of food. “Whatever’s easier
for her,” I replied.

Jessica laughed. “Okay, well I prefer
hamburgers so if that’s okay with you, that’s what I’ll
request.”

Michael opened the front door and stood
aside, allowing Jessica and I to enter first. I couldn’t help but
notice Jessica’s shocked and almost appalled reaction to her
brother’s chivalry, but her expression dissipated when her mom met
us in the entryway.

“Hi Drew,” she said to me with a smile. She
held a phone to her ear, her hand currently covering half of
it.

“Hello, Ms. Walter,” I replied.

“Did you girls decide what you wanted for
dinner?”

“Hamburgers,” Jessica replied.

Her mom nodded in return. “Okay. You girls
have a good time,” she said, going back to her conversation.

“Sure, Mom,” Jessica answered. We headed
upstairs to Jessica’s room and I tossed my bag on her
pink-blanketed bed. She popped a DVD into her laptop and leaned
back against the pillows. She patted the bed beside her and I sat
down, folding my legs up and getting comfortable.

“So, do you like anyone?” she asked me.

She acted completely at ease, as though this
was proper sleepover procedure, but her question was lost on me. I
looked at her. “
Like
?”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “Come on, new school, new
kids. There’s gotta be someone.” Her expression was eager, ready to
hear some good details that I didn’t have.