/ David
I'm sitting, leaning on the desk. Next to me, the next over desk - same thing with Hikaru. We're both tired, eyes puffy, snot just wiped from under our noses from all the damn crying. I take deep breaths, then let the sense of ease take over.
For some damn reason, whilst I shouted and was ready to beat the living hell out of that thing of a woman, in that darkness, with my tense body ready to fight at a drop of a dime, I sensed her hugging me. Just a hug, but the moment she touched me I felt paralysed. First it was fear, a kind of fear you get in front of predators, or when you're looking death in the eye… But then from within it changed. A sense that I have not felt before. But best described as - belonging. Like suddenly I got fulfilled and nothing else matters.
The sense of paralysis went off and I could hug her back, which I did. And she did not push me away. I gripped her tight, burying my face on the side of her neck.
And I cried like a damn kid, weeping and weeping… All the while she held me tight, I clung to her like she was something endlessly precious. Which was weird.
Once the crying session finished, she let go. It was still dark as hell, and I stood like a lump. Then once again the light came back, I sat down, Hikaru scurried towards me, whilst sitting on his chair. So we sat.
Somehow it's empty, just us up here. Then there's a buzz on the side of the room, coming from the far corridor. The buzz gets louder, but over all sounds like an old fridge buzzing. A damn robot rolls out to us with a platter. I'm stunned, Hikaru shares the same expression on his face as me. We even take a look at each other and back to the robot to verify we're not seeing things. Indeed - a robot with a platter.
It whizzed to us - on the platter were two large mug-like things with hot tea in them, as well as slices of some cake and cookies. Just where the hell did this thing come from?
The robot left the platter on the desk in front of us, then whizzed away just like it came in.
"You saw the robot too, right?" - Hikaru speaks up.
"Yes, I did." - I glanced at him. - "Why?"
"I just think I am hallucinating since coming to this floor. From that lady, to this robot…" - Hikaru leans back, looking at the ceiling.
"That means I am also hallucinating. When I woke up here - it was all a mess. The dead bodies, the layers of dust, the stale air, the darkness of the place. Now?" - I look around once more. - "Clean, fixed, absolutely bright. I don't remember AIO saying anything about cleaning this place up. Also, that robot just now - we don't have them below."
Hikaru turned to me in surprise, pointing to the side of his head.
"I can't connect to AIO." - Hikaru lets out, looking more and more anxious by the second.
"What?" - I look at him puzzled. - "That thing talks all the damn time."
"Try to ask AIO anything." - Hikaru starts to breathe faster. Guess the dude is hyperventilating from the sudden fear of how odd it gets.
I tried calling out AIO a few times. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I notice how more and more bad Hikaru looks, so I grab him and hug him tight.
"Get a grip, man, it's all ok. There's no need to worry. All is good. You're not alone. I'm here." - I tell him, as I hold him tight. He clung to me, burying his face in my neck, his breathing stabilising slowly.
For some reason that reminds me of the episodes Erick had. Ah, Erick… It's annoying how that bitch managed to pinpoint this aspect of my heart. Bloody witch. Calling herself a writer for no good reason. What an asshole.
"Would this be considered cheating?" - A playful, condescending voice emerged from the hallway where the robot disappeared earlier.
I looked at her wondering - what the hell is she up to.
She waved her hand, like she's chasing flies off.
"Fine, fine. Whatever. Once you're done with that and the tea with sweeties, do manage to walk over here." - She says and then leaves us.
Hikaru finally relaxes. He looks up at me, with a daze in his eyes.
"Ah! Sorry." - Seems like he snapped out of it and took a few steps back. - "I just panicked… Sorry."
"It's alright." - I softly replied. - "So what do you think she meant by saying for us to follow her?"
Hikaru seems confused.
"Who?" - He asks.
"That woman." - I replied.
"She did not show up after the lights went off." - Hikaru furrows his brows.
"Nah, but she just now…" - I pointed to the hallway, then stopped myself in the tracks. Hikaru looks confused.
Wait, what? He did not hear her? Then what was that? The rea and sweets are on the table. I shake my head, preparing for the next steps. Fine. Food, then to the hall. Fine.
"Let's have this first." - I lower my hand and take up the cup. Hikaru follows suit.
After we got that out of the way. I suggested going to the hallway. Hikaru just agreed and followed me like a pup.
Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back… That's about as much as I am right now - wondering what the heck is that thing.
Hallway seemed to lead around the corner, to the area looking like an office reception area. There stood same robot, holding the small sign that read "follow me".
"Pffft!" - I chuckle, then let out a laugh. What the heck? This is amusing!
"Pff…" - Hikaru lets out a giggle. Was it me that made him laugh or the amusing sight in front of us right now?
"Fine, lead the way." - I say to the robot. And we follow the robot down another hallway, down some offices, into the elevator and up to the top floor.
The moment we stepped onto that top floor - it looked like the fancy CEO office rooms you get. Large windows, very light, although instead of some artistic pieces of fancy sculpture - a bunch of monitors, the computers, wires… All filling up half the middle of the room. The other half a fancy meeting part - couches, cushions, coffee table. A few robots working some computers, a few others maintaining the cleanliness and order.
The computer buzzing, the typing on the keyboard, sounded like I reverted back to the office work somewhere in another life. The mad life of the office clerk glistened at the back of my mind - nah, not the best way of living like a prawn at the table.
"Come on in." - A voice of the same woman we met sounds across the room. She appears behind a bunch of screens at the far left corner of the room. Then walks out to us. Though this time - hair is fully white, there's glasses on her face, and the same outfit that the system handed out to all of us upon awakening.
"What the…?!" - I let out, as I watched her.
She lets out a sigh, rolls her eyes, walks over to the window.
"Come on you two, at least look out the damn window. What was the last time you've seen the outside world?" - She stood at the window, looking out, the serious expression, the sort of cold calculation and somewhat - longing.
We walk over to her, then stand there looking out the window. Outside was pretty much something incredible. From what I saw - we were atop, or closer to the top of some mountain, the land below was odd. There was nothing there - just rocks and landmass. The green of some possible forest was way-way out on the horizon, where the masses of other mountains were peaking.
Empty, very much the land where not much grows, not much survives. Harsh environment.
"So, that's where we are." - Hikaru lets out.
Another deep sigh is audible from this woman. She then walks over to the computers again.
"Why did you bring us here?" - I ask her.
"You've not seen the light of sun for a few decades, vitamin D is essencial to humans." - She lets out, as she sits down to work on something. Typing at the keyboard.
"So what we saw below on that floor was…?" - I asked her more.
"Ah, that's a humanoid android." - She replies without even looking at us. - "I sent it to collect and transfer data from those servers over to here. Guess that thing made a mess…" - She grunts. - "...again."
"So it was not you?" - Hikaru quizzically looks at the white haired woman. - "But the voice is…"
The woman glances at us from behind those screens, rolls her eyes, leans back in her chair, grunts once more, letting us know how irritated she indeed is, then gets up and walks over to us.
"Fine." - She begins. - "So you wanna know who I am and all the rest of the story. Fine. Evie!" - She calls out to the farther side of the office.
Same woman appears. Salt-and -pepper hair, same face, voice… What the heck?!
"So this is Evie. She's the prototype android that was based on me a long while back. That's why the damn resemblance. Not that I'm flattered by such a gesture from my company head, to use my damn visuals for this…" - She rambles on, - "I'm sure that twat did the bloody odd shit to it too, whilst I was out cold in a glass jar." - Another annoyed grunt from her.
"I'm Ana. The investor of the BITTech that produced the robotics for the bunker. Sort of the person behind the scenes, though the company head was with peculiar sense of humor with making this fucking show." - She points at Evie.
"So what else do you wanna know?" - Ana lets out another sigh, as she's tiredly eyeing us.
"What was that feeling when the lights were off?" - Hikaru looks Ana directly in the eyes.
She presses her lips, then smacks them.
"The chemical balancing therapy." - Ana answers coldly. - "It was developed and used for the people who went through horrors, leading to things like CPTSD. This is the treatment method for it. One of many. But this one works pretty well." - She takes a deep breath. - "The chemicals are a fine mix to sort of trigger your serotonin, not dopamine. And it calms you down, giving you a sense of fulfillment."
"Why did you use it on us?" - I asked her, conflicted.
"It's not that I did it, per se. It's Evie. She followed my input, sure, but it was not my idea to fuck around with you. It's her damn autonomous perks that flare up at times." - She grunts, presses lips, looks at Evie. - "Just like that damn fucking escalation of conflicts that comes up, instead of DE-escalating conflicts." - Ana says as she glares at Evie. The robot just smiles. - "Evie, go to the charging station." - Ana lets out, as she glares at Evie leaving the room.
"How did you wake up?" - I ask her, as I walk over to the other windows - checking the view from all possible angles.
"The system yanked me out." - Ana replied.
"What?!" - Hikaru looked stunned.
"Exactly what I said." - Ana said. - "The damn system yanked me out. I got up, got to my office and - on goes the work." - She sounds tired and annoyed. - "Anything else?"
"How come we can't contact AIO up here?" - I see her frustration, but I do have many questions. She glared at me.
"Because I restricted the access." - She replies.
"And what about the 'writer' remark?" - I pressure her on.
"Did Evie say that?" - She raises her hand and rubs her temples.
"Yes." - I replied.
"Bloody androids." - Ana seethes through her teeth. - "It's the perk of the system maintenance - being the writer of the codes. Sort of the head control of all that's going on."
"So you have full system control?" - I ask.
"No, I have partial authority. The other half is with the wet frame that's on the lower levels. A cluster of brains of different scientists and creatives that went on to donate that for the project." - She replies.
"How do you know who's below and that we are even awake?" - I keep pestering her, I see that, but I am curious.
"Ehh…" - She glares at me, then points over to the screens in the corner. - "Pretty obvious, is it not?"
"Will you come downstairs with us?" - I keep prying.
She gives it a moment, thinking about it. Then makes a grimace.
"Nah. I'm good out here. Not to mention I like the sunny weather." - She lets out.
Indeed, sitting here, looking out at the light of the day does feel nice. Maybe others would enjoy it too?
"If you're thinking about taking others up here, then make sure to use the lower floors. I would not want some drama up here whilst I work. The floor below has good windows and the view, one below that too. Then the one below is the one that you came from - the computer room. So… You've been warned." - She says, then walks over to her computer, takes a seat at her desk with about 8 different monitors and gets on with whatever she's up to.
"Can we," - Hikaru lets out, - "me and David, come visit you up here?"
She stops typing for a moment, then glances at us, looking behind all those screens.
"I'll think about it." - She replies. - "Now go back. I'm up to my balls with this level of workload."
Me and Hikaru exchange glances. Hikaru shrugs. I roll my eyes and walk over to the elevator, Hikaru follows. We decided to check out the two floors below. The one right below Ana's office was a great space - like part office, part common room for the staff. Small kitchen, a few robots cleaning up. The view from the windows is also great - lots of light. Then the floor under this one - also great light, fine view, though it was empty. No desks, no computers. Just an empty floor. At the end - were showers for men and women, with three cubicles in each, as well as a common-room type kitchen.
"Some could move up here to live." - Hikaru lets out, as we finish checking this floor and are on route to the lower levels.
"I mean, it would be like camping, though a bit more awkward." - I let out.
"Like idol training camp." - Hikaru lets out.
"More like a survival show camp." - I chuckle.
We then move to the floor we came from. Then the hall to our elevator, and that's when we were reconnected with AIO.