I woke slowly, sensing a strange smell whose source I couldn't remember. An iron taste flooded my mouth, my skin felt tight, and dried blood had stiffened my hair. I tried opening my eyes, but pain made me give up. My mind spun. Metaropes squeezed my torso, and numbness spread through my body, amplifying the throbbing pain in my head.
"Man, this is the good stuff, huh?" A deep voice spoke with a familiar accent.
Little by little, the sounds grew clearer. I gathered some saliva and swallowed with difficulty. My throat was dry. I ran my tongue over my parched lips. What the fuck had happened?
"Look… she's awake."
"Yeah, brother. Let's give her time to recover." The second voice was softer. Its owner coughed.
"Want more?"
"Nah, I'm good."
I realized we were moving. Nanobandages pressed against my head, and when I tried resting it against the seat, I recoiled as pain stabbed through the wound.
"Wh-who…" My voice trembled.
"She must be thirsty, brother." A shape appeared beside me.
I felt cold liquid reach my lips. I drank, letting the water travel down my throat to my stomach, bringing a little energy.
"The pigs must have food, right? Check. She's probably hungry."
"Found some sandwiches here. Think they're good?" He sniffed. "Smell good. They'll have to do."
An aroma of cheese, salad, and cream reached my nostrils, intensifying my hunger. I opened my mouth and chewed eagerly. I almost cried at being able to eat. They hadn't tortured me. I had a head wound, but nothing beyond that. When I finished the sandwich, I felt a little vitality return to my body.
The mercenary with his dreadlocks in a bun sat beside me, watching with a smile on his thin lips. Luiz? Rui? I had forgotten.
"Better? Sorry about the blow." He pointed at my head. "Kai doesn't know his own strength." He cast a disapproving look at his companion, who was driving.
"Bro, she was with Denden. Had to be effective, not gentle. Besides, why was she with him like they were old friends?"
"Fuck if I know! How would I? Hey, talked to the client?"
"Yeah. First we'll ditch this ticket to prison at the car graveyard and pick up another ride there. Arranged to meet tomorrow night."
"Let's remove her biochip, man."
Luiz examined my neck. "Just saw it."
My eyes widened. My heart began beating like a drum. My biochip? No. "N-no… Not that!"
Luiz looked at me amiably. "You're from Zenith, right? Bet you have an android. They can track you through him, so I have to remove this. Gotta take precautions."
Takashi… if they remove it… no…
"She's gonna get really sick, bro."
"The contract says alive, right? So what if she gets sick? It'll take two moons for the nanites to leave her body."
Shit. I had been so naïve. What had I gotten myself into? Despite the head injury, my memory remained intact, and I was lucid. That was good. I inhaled deeply.
"Ah, fuck it. Get it done. Last thing we want is someone on our tail."
No.
Luiz picked up a knife.
My eyes widened further when I saw the blade moving toward me. No, no.
"Stay still."
With no room to escape, I tried to take a defensive position. Damn it. Why was I so weak? "N-no… I have an android. I-I don't want…"
"He'll survive." Luiz pulled me closer. "They all do. Now he'll be free of that slavery." The mercenary immobilized me with his legs and turned my neck.
"N-no, please, no…" I squeezed my eyes shut, and tears began falling.
"Stay still. If I miss, you die."
"And I'm rough?" Kai remarked, chuckling.
When the blade touched my skin, a searing pain sprang up and traveled through my body like lightning. Luiz opened the cut. Warm blood ran over my shoulder. I bit my lips until they bled, holding back the urge to howl. A violent shiver crossed my spine. "S-s-stop…"
"Found the lil' shit." He moved the blade inside the muscle, searching for the biochip to pull it out. With every movement, the metal tore through my skin. Luiz cut around the nanodevice.
A wave of nausea struck me.
Then, with a sharp movement, he tore it out. Blood gushed. The distress nearly made me pass out.
Luiz pressed a hand against my neck while Kai handed him a first-aid kit to dress the wound.
I could barely follow what they were doing.
After the biochip's removal, the nanites would remain in my body for two moons. Without the DNA connection, however, they would begin acting as infectious agents. Fever, vomiting, and fatigue could progress to internal hemorrhaging. Implanting another biochip would be impossible, since my body would reject it. And disconnection from my android was inevitable.
The android core would also undergo changes. The nanites connected to the human would stop receiving activations and begin to be recognized as foreign, subject to attack by the android's own natural nanites.
Takashi, please be alright. I suppressed the urge to vomit. I needed to endure. Conserve my energy. They were feeding me. I needed to be strong. I would get out of this.
Luiz turned the bloodied biochip between his fingers. "How does something so small define beings' lives?" He narrowed his eyes and laughed. "Man, I'm so high."
"Been high for a while, bro."
They began chatting animatedly.
I rested my head against the window. I couldn't believe I had been captured by two stoners. At least they weren't insane sadists. I concentrated on controlling the sickness. Fever made me sweat. Chills traveled through my body while the throbbing pain worsened by the moment. My vision was blurred. I needed to get out. Shit. I should have been smarter.
"We're here," Kai announced.
The car descended toward a scrapyard, where enormous piles of corroded, twisted vehicles rose like colossi. Some cars parked on the ground still looked usable despite their age.
"We'll spend the night here. I'll talk to the owner about getting a car." Kai got out.
Luiz and I remained.
"I need the bathroom." I held back another wave of vomit and coughed.
"Alright, it's harder for…" He cleared his throat.
I raised an eyebrow. "How am I supposed to use the bathroom tied up?"
Luiz straightened. "Yeah, guess you can't do anything like that. I'll untie this lower part. Your arms will be free to…"
Well, it would have to do. "That works."
"Wanna go now?"
I nodded.
He gently helped me out of the car and held my shoulders as I staggered. We walked to an abandoned restaurant with broken windows. Outside the bathroom door, Luiz loosened the metaropes down to my forearms.
"I can't reach my clothes' fastener." I showed him the problem.
"Alright, I'll loosen more." He untied my wrists. "Better?"
I nodded. Entered the small washroom.
There was a single window high on the wall. Impossible to fit through. I examined the room, searching for anything that could help me escape.
Luiz didn't seem to possess extraordinary strength, but he had a mercenary's experience. How could I neutralize him? And afterward? It hardly mattered. I needed to get out. I would figure out the rest.
When I finished, I washed my hands and faced my reflection in the filthy mirror. I was pale, with deep shadows under my eyes and an exhausted expression. My condition was deplorable. Who wouldn't look like that after…
An idea appeared like a light switching on inside me. "Luiz?"
"Yeah?"
I listened closely. He stood to the right of the door. "Your accent's familiar. Where are you from?" I needed to buy time. The numbness was beginning to leave my arms.
"I'm British, but I've lived in Brasil since I was eight."
Good. He was talking. "Really? How many cycles old are you?"
I slowly regained movement. When I tried the first motion, the blade hidden in my sleeve jammed. Calm. Breathe. It'll work.
"Thirty." Luiz coughed.
Had he known…? No. Focus. FOCUS. I tried again. This time, the blade appeared. I smiled. Assessed my chances. How would I do it? He stood to the right. The door opened the same way. Luiz was the one with a clear view. Perhaps it would work…
"Did you know Maia?" She lived in my thoughts even at the worst moments.
"Maia? The white-haired girl? Of course I knew her."
My heart pounded. He had known her.
"We used to play together." Luiz laughed. "After that, things changed…" He fell silent, as though stumbling into bad memories.
Images of Maia began appearing in my mind. But I couldn't let them distract me. I breathed deeply, suppressing the pain, and opened the door. "I-I'm done."
"Alright, now…"
I let my body lose its balance and began to fall. "S-sorry…" My voice caught.
"Relax, lean here." Luiz draped my arm around his neck. "I'll tie you up in the car. You knew her?"
I needed to stop thinking about Maia. I focused on the mercenary's lack of concern and discreetly moved my other arm, bringing out the blade. I could do this. "N-need to switch sides."
"Alright, c'mere…"
I turned and raised my arm, gathering every bit of strength I had left. Then I drove the blade into the area of his sciatic nerve. Withdrew it immediately. And ran.
Luiz's agonized, furious scream echoed behind me. I hoped he would remain immobilized for a while.
I crossed the restaurant's doorway. Adrenaline dominated my body, quickening my breathing and heart. My legs ran despite the pain. I ignored the sickness. Needed to endure. Heat punished me. My vision darkened, and the pressure around me seemed to crush me. No. Hold on. Run for your life. Run.
I searched for a nanocar nearby. Tried opening the doors of two vehicles. Locked. Fuck it. Run. Run, even if I had to cross the wasteland on foot. I passed through the car graveyard's gates. All I felt was the drive to survive.
There was only me and an immensity of arid earth.
I ran south. Gasped, feeling the weight in my chest grow. Needed to keep going. I ran along the edges of time that seemed to distort. Sweat bathed my body. Blood, once dry, began dripping again. My hair stuck to my face. I was breathless, dehydrated, nauseated, about to vomit. I'm going to pass out.
I spotted little houses on the horizon, almost like a mirage. Hope renewed my spirits. I raced toward them. Exhaustion, thirst, and fury propelled me. I needed the adrenaline to stay with me. When it disappeared, my body would succumb. Every pain would arrive at once.
I reached what had once been a village. Now, its ruins consisted of rubble and wreckage.
I found somewhere to hide from the sun and searched in vain for an underground passage. I would have to settle for the shelter the rubble offered.
I lay down. My chest rose and fell rapidly. The frantic beats seemed to announce cardiac arrest. My breathing was uneven. My feverish body threatened to explode. I was going to die. Fuck it. If I died, I would die fighting for my own life. The thought brought some comfort.
I tried to soothe myself, inhaling deeply, seeking to return a little calm to my torrid body, my troubled mind, and my broken spirit. Luminous points danced before my eyes like stars. I was going to die. I needed to calm down. I concentrated on my breathing. Calm. It'll be alright. I needed the night. The night…
I passed out from exhaustion.