Simple (24 page)

“Before I do, I need to ask you all to be calm and open minded.”

“What are you planning to do, Deraline?” asked Mic.  There was an undercurrent of caution in his voice that was obvious to those in our little group.

“It’s okay, trust me,” she said.  Deraline pulled a small knife from her pocket and bent down to the dirt where Sonya now sat.

“Oh no, please!  Don’t let her hurt me!”  Sonya got on her knees and began crawling toward Dallas as fast as her portly knees would move.  Seeing she wasn’t getting the sympathy she was after, she went the other route.  “Both of these girls are simps!  They will kill you all!” she shouted.

“That’s pathetic, Sonya.  First I want to screw Kyle, and now you’re going to try to convince these good people that my sister and this poor young girl are simps?”  Taking my queue, Maude joined in to assist.  “Deraline is my granddaughter, so that’s a bold faced lie!”  I had to give Maude some credit. She was quick, and she sounded more than a little convincing.  I was just thankful it wasn’t dark, because a flashlight stood between us and the truth.

“Do what you set out to, child,” said the old woman.  Deraline moved swiftly, ignoring Sonya’s blood curdling screams.  Two was doing a fine job of holding the bitch still, so there was no way she was going anywhere.  When she was finished cutting, Deraline held up a small cylinder-shaped object no larger than a grain of rice for everyone to see.  Silent now, Sonya clutched her bleeding hand and writhed around in the dirt.  Her plans were ruined.  She would not convince anyone in this crowd to take her side now.  Deraline surveyed the faces of the people now staring at this small bit of proof between her thumb and index finger, and then she addressed the people.  “This is a micro-chip, designed to transmit data.  It gives off a low-frequency radio wave, and that is how she is tracked.  She also had a scanning device that she used to call them.”

“How do you know she had a scanning device? Where is this device now?” asked one of the onlookers.

“I destroyed it last night,” replied Two.

“Is that thing you pulled out of her still transmitting?”

“It is,” replied Mic.  He pushed his way through the group and moved to stand next to Deraline.  Anxiously, the crowd began to shout out questions, and seemed no longer interested in the fate of the woman on the ground.  The threat of simps coming to attack them outweighed their former concerns.  Demands to destroy the chip echoed and escalated through the crowd, and I was finding myself in agreement with them.  I had to wonder why Two and Deraline would bring her here in the first place if they knew she was transmitting a signal that could bring the simps right to us.  Mic raised his hands up, “Listen to me! I’ve got a plan, and if we work together we’ll be fine, but you all need to calm down and listen!”

“Why did you bring her here?”  Dallas asked, turning his frustration toward our simps.  Two’s eyes narrowed, and I knew instinctively that she had a reason.  Her logic wasn’t rooted in emotion, so there had to be a viable reason why she carried that sorry piece of shit thirty-five miles. There was no way that lazy woman walked that distance.

“Because in order to end this, we need to kill Aaron, and she’s our ticket to drawing him out,” said Two.

“Aaron?  Who’s Aaron?” asked the old woman, her face puzzled.

“Ma’am, Aaron is a simp,” I said, moving forward to join Mic.  My pace was sluggish because I was still lacking shoes, and the rocky ground hurt to walk on.  Seeing my predicament, Two removed my backpack from her shoulders and handed it to me when I got close enough.  “I got this for you.  Your boots are in there,” she said.  I smiled and took the pack from her.  “Nice looking out,” I said with a nod.  Mic took my hand and gave it a light squeeze as I stood next to him.  I could tell that he appreciated the support, and from the sweat in his palm, I could also tell that he was nervous.

“You people are not in any immediate danger.  I assure you that if you were…I would be the first to know.”  I was surprised at how humble he sounded.  I guess I still had some preconceived perceptions of Micah Keenan, the almighty digital era deity.  I’d sort of expected a more self-righteous style of communication.

“How and why would
you
know anything first?”  The old woman crossed her arms and eyed him skeptically.  I could see our welcome mat rolling up by the second.  It was only a matter of seconds before they turned on us and kicked us out.  Without hydro, we’d be stuck in the middle of the desert with no supplies, no shelter, and simps on our asses.

“Because he’s Micah Keenan,” I said loudly.  So much for Mic’s subtle approach. He shook his head, and I knew he wasn’t happy with me for throwing it out there like that, but he was in it now, and there was no turning back.

“You sonovabitch!” Dallas sneered.

“Watch your words, Dallas,” shot the old woman.

“Momma, do you realize who this man is?”

“I do now, but that don’t mean he’s the devil.  It might just mean we’ve got a chance against what’s surely coming.”

“Oh c’mon, Momma, you can’t be seriously considering listening to anything he has to say!”

“Indeed I do, and so will all of the rest of you.  What other chance have we got?”

“Thank you Mrs…?”

“You can call me Idella.  I knew there was something familiar about you…just couldn’t put my finger on it.”  She shook a crooked finger at him, and I could swear she winked.

Was it possible that we actually had some favor with the matriarch of this little community?  I prayed it was because I seriously needed something to go right for a change.  Her son Dallas wasn’t looking too happy at the moment, but he was minding his mother, so I figured we were golden.  Some of the tension lifted once the people saw that Idella was willing to at least hear Mic out.

“Well, now you all know who I am, so I won’t beat around the bush.  My colleague and I have developed the capability to track any mobilized simp within an approximate ten-mile range.  We also have the ability to immobilize them — albeit, that only works temporarily.  My colleague, standing over there, is Leonard O’Malley, and though you may not have heard of him, I can tell you that he is the very best at what he does.  He developed a great deal of the technology behind these abilities.  Before we go any further, I’d like to ask that you allow him to set up our equipment so that he can continue his work and monitor our safety while we discuss what to do here.”

Giz smiled and gave an awkward little wave.  From the blush in his cheeks, I could tell he appreciated the compliments, but wasn’t very good with crowds.  Given the choice, Giz would have probably preferred to distance himself from this situation, but the geek within him wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to set up his equipment and fight the good fight from the keyboard.

“You can set up in the church.  It’s up on the hill,” said the old matriarch.  She then turned to Tommy.  “You go get the golf cart and drive him up there.”

“You got it,” said Tommy, as he quickly headed off to do as she’d asked.

“Show him where everything is and give him the help he needs to set up,” she trilled. Tommy waved his acknowledgment as he jogged off to get the golf cart, with Giz and Alice close behind. It seemed as if we were on our way to a plan to take a stand in the old west — just us against the machines.  With more people to back us up, we might even stand a chance.  I should have known not to get too encouraged.

“Hey, look!” Dallas exclaimed, pointing in horror at Deraline.  “That girl’s eyes are blinking in a pattern.  I’ve been watching her this whole time, and there’s a definite pattern!”  He advanced slowly, drawing the attention of the crowd.  Mic reacted quickly, stepping forward with his hands raised in a calming manner. “Wait!  Please calm down, everyone!  I assure you that there is an explanation for this, and there is nothing to be afraid of!”

Naturally, Sonya seized her opportunity.  Though she was still on the ground with Two’s boot planted firmly in her back, she raised up as far as she could and shouted, “I told you!  I tried to make you all listen to me!  This one standing on me is a simp, too!”  Two didn’t hesitate; she raised her foot up and stomped on that woman hard.  It knocked the air out of her, but a few seconds later she raised up on her elbows again and a slow smile spread across her dirty face.  It was as if her evil mind just had an orgasm.  “God help me, what is the matter with you people?  They’re ALL simps!  Kill them now, before they kill us!”

The panic that surged through the people was almost tangible.  There was a wave of confusion that quickly escalated into hysterical shouting. Others decided to make a run for it, grabbing the hands of their small children or scooping them into their arms. A young mother tripped, only to be stepped on by one of her neighbors.  Her toddler spilled out of her arms and tumbled in the dirt.  Ben began moving toward the mother and child to try to help, but the decision was fatal.  Those with weapons began drawing, and I watched in horror as Dallas blew a hole in the center of Ben’s chest.  A crimson stain spread out across his white shirt before he fell backward.  The world around me went into slow motion as I went into action.  I yanked a long blade from the sweaty hands of a wide-eyed, gangly teenager, and then kicked him squarely in the balls, knocking him to the ground.  Spinning around instinctively, I raised the blade, ready for the next person that would try to attack, but to my surprise, none came.  In fact, the two guys that I was expecting to take on next dropped their guns and turned their attention to something happening to my left.  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Two and realized that she’d done the only thing she could to quell this shit storm.

Her arm was locked around Idella’s neck.  The ‘S’ I’d carved in her forearm faced out to the crowd like a scarlet letter.

“Humans!  Drop your weapons!”  The volume of Two’s voice was unnaturally loud, but it commanded attention and resulted in an abrupt truce.

“Sweet Jesus!” wailed Dallas, as he choked back a sob. “Don’t you dare hurt her you piece of synthetic shit, or I tell you what, you will go to that big hub in the sky faster than you can rapid blink those fucking fake eyes of yours!”  Spittle gathered in the corners of the man’s mouth and sprayed out with the intensity of his threat.

You could have heard a pin drop.  Every person that hadn’t run away was standing perfectly still, just waiting for what horrors might follow.  Those that had managed to get away watched from a distance, and I could see faces peeking from the windows of the houses within sight.  I lowered my weapon and prepared for whatever might come.  Knowing full well that Two could squeeze that woman’s head until it popped, I could only imagine what these people would do the second she was dead.  They’d open fire on the lot of us.  Of course, Two and Deraline would probably kill them all, and then the two of them would walk off into the desert and that would be the end of it.

“Are you going to kill me now?”  Idella asked firmly.

“I have no intentions of killing you, or any of your people.  I am a SIM, but I am not a killer.”

“I’m not a killer either,” added Deraline.

“Then turn loose of my throat,” spat Idella.

“I will release you as soon as you tell your people to stay calm and listen to him. No one else needs to die today.  As you can see, that man you shot was human, as are the rest of our people.  The two of us are the only simps among you, but we’ve not been infected with the virus.  Deraline was made immune through her genetics as an Alpha upgrade.  I am a new creation made by Mic’s hands to help you fight.  As you can see, I was made in the likeness of one among them.”  She pointed at me.  “My human model Lee is hot-tempered, but I am not.”  She added this last part as if it was relevant.  Then it occurred to me that she was actually trying to say that she was safer to be around than I was!  Just when I was starting to feel proud of her.

“You have my word,” said the old woman.  Two looked to Mic for verification, and he nodded reassuringly.  My double released the woman from her grip and then stood with her hands behind her back, her legs slightly apart like a soldier.  It was clear her intentions were to guard Mic, and I was thankful for that.  No longer constrained, Sonya wasn’t wasting any time.  She was on her hands and knees, crawling as fast as she could. Deraline made short work of closing the distance between them, and jerked her to her feet by the scruff of her neck. I don’t know if Sonya actually thought that she could get away, but she’d given it her best shot.  Fortunately, her plans had backfired.  I don’t think there was one person there who cared at that point if that sorry woman lived or died. By her own selfish intentions, she’d lost their attention.  Now those people were only focused on themselves.

“Do you have a secure facility that we could keep her in?” asked Deraline.  Sonya wasn’t fighting anymore.  She stood with her head down and her shoulders hunched.  I think she knew she’d lost this time.  A slender man with a leathery face came forward.  “We have a jail, and I can take you to it.”

“I’m coming with you,” I said quickly.  I wasn’t letting this woman out of my sight for a second.  Mic continued to address the crowd.  I had complete confidence in his ability to not only convince the people of this little town that the simps with us were safe, but that we could survive whatever we were about to face.  Considering my hot-temper, it was probably better that I wasn’t standing there with him.  I didn’t want to look at Ben’s lifeless body, now sprawled in the dirt.  I didn’t want to meet Maude’s teary eyes as I passed her, and I didn’t want to see the confused expressions on the faces around me.  I’d told myself repeatedly that I didn’t give a shit about most people, and I didn’t like that something inside of me had changed.  I bent down, picked up my backpack, and followed the man with the leather face.