Perfect (4 page)

“Good,” Yvonne replied, all business-like.
“Now for you guys.” She looked at Jessica and Michael with an
expression so intent that Jessica took a step back.

“Wait.” I reached out and grabbed Yvonne’s
arm. “Can’t I just knock them out like I did the guards?”

She shook her head. “The hallway leading to
the server room is lined with cameras that you’ll have to
break—they can’t be shut off. They’ll see you minutes before you
get to them and you’ll be dead before you reach the room,” she
said. “We need to draw them out.”

I lowered my gaze and let go of her arm.

“I want you to walk by looking confused.”
Yvonne was talking to Jessica and Michael now. “Won’t be too hard
for you two to accomplish,” she snorted. “Look like you’re
searching for something. Like you’re planning to sabotage their
operation.” She gave a small laugh. “Wait until you see them coming
toward you, then run.”

Jessica’s face was white and Michael looked
stressed but angry. They both nodded stiffly, Michal glaring
daggers in Yvonne’s direction.

Yvonne turned to me. “Once you get the
creators, grab something to smash the cameras lining the
hallway.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t sure I even knew
how.

I followed Jessica and Michael until they
reached the beginning of the hallway, then I hid around the corner
where none of their cameras could see me. I watched tensely as
Michael and Jessica walked slowly down the hallway. I tried to
breathe evenly and prayed they would be okay.

Suddenly I heard footsteps running and my
heart thudded. I saw Jessica then Michael round the corner at full
speed and right after them, a creator. Their expressions would’ve
been oddly funny if I hadn’t been so frantically tense. I reached
out and tripped him, punching the other that was right behind him.
When the one who had fallen got up, I whacked him as well, sending
him unconscious to the floor.

I stepped over their unmoving bodies and
headed down the hallway. I hurried into the room and scanned it for
anything I could use to break the security cameras. The only things
that looked even remotely useful were the chairs, so I grabbed one
and broke off the leg. One by one, I smashed the glass on each
security camera before calling to Yvonne to tell her it was all
clear. She grabbed something out of Jeremy’s hand, a tub, I
realized, of gasoline then ran past me and down the corridor
without a word.

Jeremy appeared and started dragging the
unconscious creators out of the way. I turned toward Jessica and
Michael, who were standing there watching Jeremy, looking
unnerved.

“I hope she hurries,” Jessica whispered, her
voice quavering.

I nodded in agreement.

“This was not well thought out,” Michael
stated with a strained voice. “We could get caught. Yvonne’s going
to be uncovered as the one who did this, I know it.” He ran his
fingers through his hair.

“And if she’s uncovered, so will be my
tracking device,” I added unnecessarily.

Jessica shot me a worried glance. “Don’t
worry,” she said, trying to sound confident, wishing I hadn’t
brought it up. “It’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” I replied.

My heart was beating so fast I was sure both
Michael and Jessica could hear it. Every creak or sound from the
pipes and walls startled me and every moment that went by without
Yvonne coming back, made my heart race faster. Jeremy clenched and
unclenched his fists at his sides, acting just as worried as we
were.

I walked down the hall and peered into the
server room, watching as Yvonne poured gasoline over the wires
along the ground. I stared at it all dubiously. It looked
ridiculously dangerous and I wasn’t exactly in the mood to go up in
flames. I left the room as Yvonne was lighting a match.

But just as I reached the others, I heard the
alarms go off, seeming to send liquid fire searing through my
veins. My heart hammered and I looked at Jeremy in panic. “I
thought you said you disabled the security systems,” I hissed, my
voice quiet with fear.

He looked around, confused. “I guess not all
of them,” he answered guiltily.

Yvonne came rushing out. She glared at
Jeremy, her eyes a dark, dark black. “I thought you fixed this
problem,” she snapped, her voice burning with anger and
annoyance.

“I’m sorry, okay?” Jeremy defended himself.
“I thought I got all of them. Are you done?”

“Yes, I’m done,” she replied, and I glanced
down the hallway to see flames burning in the server room. It sent
my heart hammering all the more and made every muscle wanting to
run. “Now let’s get out of here.”

We ran toward the door marked “stairs” but
stopped short when we heard the thundering of footsteps running up
them. Yvonne grabbed my arm and pulled me to her, pinching my skin
as she did so. “You guys take the stairs on the other side of the
building. Get back out the way we came in.” Then she started to run
toward Jeremy.

My eyes widened. “You’re leaving us?” I cried
in disbelief.

Her dark eyes showed pity, yet indifference.
“You’re on your own now,” she called as she and Jeremy disappeared
around the corner.

I tried to contain my rage against her as we
bolted down the hallway, searching for the other stairwell. But as
we reached it and I swung the doors open, I nearly ran into three
creators.

I groaned and started swinging at them,
knocking one to the floor as another grabbed Jessica and Michael
fought off another. I rammed my fist into the stomach of one, who
cried out and dropped to the floor, and I kicked desperately at
another. I grabbed the one who had Jessica from behind, and flung
him toward the wall. I noticed Michael had taken care of the one he
had been fighting and we all breathlessly ran through the door and
into the stairwell.

We sprinted down the steps, taking two at a
time, while I could hear the shouts of creators and androids above
us.
Get out. Get out. Get out,
my mind screamed.

But before we could reach the bottom, what
seemed like an army of creators and androids alike, swarmed up the
stairs toward us. There was nowhere else to go, so we rushed at
them, punching and shoving people out of our way. Michael seemed
pretty good at being able to hold them off, but Jessica was having
a harder time. I glanced frantically around, looking for a way out.
I could hear creators thundering down the stairs toward us and I
knew there was no way we’d be able to get past the ones we were
already fighting, but suddenly something caught my eye. A window.
It was small, but it was probably our only way out. I couldn’t
remember what floor we were on, but I knew we had to be close to
the ground—I recalled passing the signs for floors four and three.
I punched one guard, knocking him unconscious, pushed Jessica in
front of me, and shouted at Michael to run to the window. They
didn’t question me, although Jessica’s eyes were full of unbridled
panic before she and Michael awkwardly climbed through the window
and disappeared. I followed after them, yanking my wrist from the
grasp of one of the androids before launching myself through the
opening and toward the ground below.

I landed easily and scanned the area. We were
in the parking lot.

“Stop!” I heard someone shout from the
window. “We have guns,” he called.

I heard Jessica’s sharp intake of breath and
we began to hurry across the parking lot.

Jessica reached the car first and climbed
into the driver’s seat to start it, relief flooding me as Michael
neared the car as well.

I turned around only for a second to see if
anyone had followed us, my eyes scanning the area. I saw one man
leaning out the window, staring at me with hatred burning in his
eyes like fire. “You’re flawed!” he yelled at me, although it came
out as more of a distorted scream, slamming me with his rage.

I turned and ran for the car.

Suddenly, I heard a shot. It echoed
throughout the parking lot like a firecracker and all of a sudden a
sharp sensation pierced my back. My mouth parted in some sort of
cry as the wave of pain clamped over my upper body. As I fell to
the ground, I looked up at Michael and our eyes met briefly. His
held raw fear and I truly realized what had just happened.
I had
been shot
. An excruciating pain enveloped my whole body and I
let out a small, strangled cry.

I heard someone call my name, but everything
was starting to get fuzzy and I felt something warm and slow
trickling down my back, drenching the pain and making it worse at
the same time. Michael? Was that him? I felt arms under my legs and
back, strong arms, lifting me up. I would’ve let out another cry,
but I couldn’t seem to move my mouth. My body was losing its
control.

I vaguely remember the sound of a car
starting and the feeling of being inside one. I felt someone
holding me and calling my name, but sleep seemed so much better to
me than having to answer them. Sleep would take away the pain.
Sleep would make it better. The calling of my name stopped, the
sound stopped, the pain stopped.

And everything was gone.

Chapter Five

Drew.
I
vaguely heard it. Muddled and faint.
Drew!
it called again.
“Drew, can you hear me?” It was a voice. What did it want? I wanted
nothing more than to fall back into unconsciousness—the state of
feeling nothing but what your mind creates for you. Blissful
nothingness. But my body was waking up. Suddenly, not only could I
hear things, but feel them as well. Something was holding my hand
and there was a stiff, aching pain all over me. I heard a low
moaning noise and it took me a moment to realize that it was me. It
felt as if a thousand pounds were lying on my chest.

“Drew!” It was Michael’s voice. I could
identify it now.

I slowly opened my eyes, but squeezed them
shut again when a blinding, bright light stung them. After a few
moments I tried again and let my eyes adjust to the room, the stark
whiteness around me making me think at first that I was back at the
Institution. But after another glance, I knew that couldn’t be the
case. Michael was sitting by the bed, holding my hand while Jessica
was sitting in a chair a few feet away, looking utterly disheveled
and freaked out.

I looked up at Michael as he stared down at
me with concern. “Uh...where am I?” My voice sounded strange and
raspy.

Michael looked at Jessica, but I didn’t get a
chance to see the glance he shot her. “You’re at the hospital,” he
said slowly.

I instantly sat up but thought better of it
when pain shot through my back and I sucked in a startled breath of
air. “What?” I snapped. “How could you even think to bring me
here?” The pain was making it hard to breathe.

“Drew, you had been shot,” Jessica replied
sternly, a hint of panic in her voice left over from the earlier
incident.

“We couldn’t just let you bleed to death,”
Michael agreed.

“But they’ll find out what I am!” I cried,
mentally trying to decide whether the pain or panic was easier to
endure.

I saw Jessica bite her lip and Michael’s gaze
darted to her. He wouldn’t meet mine.

“What is it?” I asked firmly.

“Well...” Michael started.

“Tell me,” I ordered, although part of me was
afraid to hear it.

“I think they already know,” Jessica’s voice
was small.

My heart felt like it had stopped and that
adrenaline pumped through my veins, replacing the blood entirely.
Here I was, lying here, handicapped, and the hospital staff might
know the secret to my whole existence. “How?” I barely managed to
ask, feeling the gunshot wound on my back sting and burn.

“Well...they saw you,” Michael said. “They
looked at the bullet wound and fixed you up,” he explained. “I’m
guessing they would know.”

“We need to get out of here then,” I said
urgently, trying to sit up.

“No,” Michael replied resolutely. “You need
to get better.”

“Michael, I’m an android,” I told him, trying
to be firm, but my voice was unsteady. “I heal fast and I’ll be
fine.” I was starting to get impatient.

“But you’re not fine right now,” he
insisted.

“I am,” I replied through clenched teeth.

Just then I heard the door open. We froze at
first then turned to look. A middle-aged woman walked in whom I
suspected was either a doctor or a nurse. She looked around the
room, her eyes piercing each of ours.

She walked up to the bedside, her shoes
clacking against the linoleum. “Drew, isn’t it?” she asked me.

I nodded slowly.

“You’re last name?”

“Martin,” I answered. I actually wasn’t sure
if I even had a last name, but this had been the name I had used at
school.

“She’s going to be fine, right?” Jessica
asked from her seat.

The woman smiled uneasily. “Yes, she’s going
to be...more than fine. Actually, I don’t understand how she’s even
alive.” Her voice didn’t sound happy, just shocked and partially
freaked out.

Michael and Jessica looked at her
quizzically.

“She should be dead,” the woman said simply.
“Any other person would’ve died. There was extensive bleeding and
the wound was... Well, she just simply should be dead.”

Jessica was staring at her, open-mouthed, and
Michael’s eyes were wide.

The woman turned to me. “But from what we’ve
seen, well, I have a few questions for you.” Her gaze was weirdly
penetrating and I had to remind myself to breathe.

She knew. She had to know. She had seen
something. Maybe my metal-lined body, the wires? Yeah, that wasn’t
natural. My heart didn’t seem to be working. I didn’t think I’d
ever felt this vulnerable.

I didn’t reply, only watched her carefully.
She looked nervous but she cleared her throat and continued. “What
we saw confused us,” she said carefully. “Do you have any guardians
we can talk to?”