Awaken Into a New World

Chapter 3: Accused

Alecia pushed herself off the ground and staggered towards the doorway. Rubbing the sleep off of one eye, she found Evie near the entrance as she stepped out of the building.

"Hello again," Alecia greeted.

Evie remained strangely silent, and she, with her eyes locked on Evie, moved next to it.

"What are you doing?" she asked, waving her hand over Evie's eyes.

Its hand materialized a sharp-edged weapon. Alarmed, Alecia backed away, never leaving her eyes at the metal.

"Stay back," said Evie, an unusual, ominous tone to its robotic voice, which made Alecia's eyes widen a fraction.

"We're in danger."

Her pulse quickened at the mention of danger, gaze frantically grazing around the area, adamant to find the imperilment her companion spoke of.

"We're surrounded," warned Evie.

Alecia stepped back, her arms stiff, and intertwined her sweating fingers.

"What do we do?" she asked, looking around and searching for an escape route, but all she saw were debris, wreckage, and destruction.

"Get back inside the building, Alecia," Evie said before aiming its weapon at the building ahead of them.

Alecia cautiously retreated into the building.

"This goes against my programming to kill."

An almost maniacal laugh resonated from the midst of the rubble that surrounded them.

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing!" a young man's deep voice barked, showing himself from the building across where they stood. He appeared to be wearing clothes made from leather and scrap for armor, a speck of ash dirt smeared on his face and greasy hair shown in his headband.

"Leave the perimeter. Now." Evie grasped the heavy metal with a vice-like grip, charging up, its barrel starting to form a blue glow.

"What?" the reckless man said with a provoking tone, striding closer, his arms outstretched.

"A medic bot like you won't kill me!"

In a flurry of motion, the man got struck down by an unknown spike of energy.

"Oh, spare me the ignorance," an older man's voice roared from the right side of the pathway. Evie aimed its weapon in the same direction where another suspicious figure came, bringing a new sense of danger.

"This is quite a surprise," said the stranger once more.

Alecia deliberately peeked from the doorway, the strands of her fringe hanging over one eye.

"A medic-bot out here," he said, revealing himself. He had a bald head and was of old age, clad in armor similar to the young man he shot with the weapon clasped in his grubby hands.

"There's only one reason why a thing such as yourself would be here." He glanced up at the sky and then at Evie.

"You should leave now." Evie charged its weapon once more.

"That's the thing," the man started. "Once I'm curious about something-" His weapon recharged, lighting on the one side-"I need to know about it."

"This is your last warning." Evie's eyes began to glow a red light.

"I don't take warnings." He aimed his weapon hastily and took one shot at Evie's arm which smashed it to pieces.

He dashed to the robot, knocked it off the sphere, and rested his boot on Evie's chest piece. Alecia gasped, her eyes widening as she still struggled to keep still and quiet.

"Now then," he drawled. "If you tell me why you're here, I won't take you apart, piece by piece."

"I promised I will protect Alecia," replied Evie as it tried to get free.

"And who's Alecia?" he screamed and slammed his foot on Evie's chest, aiming his weapon to the robot's chest.

Evie ignored his question.

"Still no answer?" Silence.

"Very well." He shot a large hole where he had the robot pinned on the ground.

"Stop it!" Alecia cried and ran out of the building. She couldn't take it anymore, watching her only companion be beaten up by this brusk man. She hit the man off of Evie, picked up the weapon he had dropped, and trained it at him.

Surprised, he cocked his head, menacing eyes fixed at her with a grin, and stood.

He raised both his hands, gazed at the weapon and back at her. "So you're Alecia."

"Leave her alone!" She shifted the focus of the weapon at his bald head.

"You call it a her?" He snickered. "Please, it's nothing but a pile of bolts and cogs with a voice box to make it sound like a wo-"

"Shut up!" Her pulse accelerated as she adjusted her grip on the weapon, gritting her teeth and glaring at him.

"You don't even have regard for others."

"Things have changed," he replied as if he couldn't care less. "If you're not so stupid and blind, how about you look around and see what kind of state the world is in?"

"I don't think you should try and justify yourself," Alecia said, taking a sidestep to Evie.

"You won't shoot me." He took a step forward and lowered his hands a bit.

Alecia's eyes faltered for a second before glaring back at him.

"Oh, wait." He tilted his head, slouching as he studied her. "I know what you are."

"What?" Alecia tried to find the strength to remain calm.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" His smile faded. "You have killed more people than I have."

"Whoever you're talking about, that's not me," she said, sweat beading on her forehead, hating herself for sounding so defensive.

"You must be talking about somebody else."

He let out a humorless chuckle as if only to spite her.

"You're lying." Taking another step forward, his eyes darted at the weapon in her hands. "Or have you forgotten already?"

He shook his head. "No, no one can forget that."

"Am-amnesia," said Evie, which made Alecia flick her eyes to one side for a moment and back at the enemy.

"Ah," he said with a grin. "You really have forgotten, haven't you?"

"Those azure blue eyes, I will never forget. Behind those eyes, I saw power, the power that could destroy, the power that murdered billions."

"I'm not like you, you hear me!"

"Seasons change, tastes change," he prattled, "but people, people never change, now set down that weapon and join us." He gestured out his hands.

"What?" She clenched her fist around the weapon, eyes squinting. "After what you've done to Evie, I'd never join you!"

"Fine, then." He closed his eyes and opened them again. "You won't live to see another day."

Gritting his teeth, he sprinted towards her, however, before he got close, she shot him. Alecia gently opened her eyes, gasping at what she'd done.

She couldn't quite believe herself as her gaze trained at the weapon; she dropped it as if it burned her skin and stepped back, her eyes downcast and body shaking apart.

Turning to Evie, she knelt down.

"You're not gonna go," she said, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. "You're going to make it!" A tear streamed across her cheek and fell off her chin.

"You are in. . . you are in danger." Evie said, a glitch in its system making its speech falter.

"You have to come with me!" Alecia attempted to pick Evie up. "You have to take me to Doctor Godwin!"

She struggled to carry Evie, but it seemed it was already too late, as its eyes were starting to dim out.

And then, she remembered. Like a light into the end of the tunnel, it flickered something in her memory.

-

A young girl. . . lying on the ground.

Alecia was kneeling next to her amidst the jeopardy-the people's scream and panic-and the destruction as the fire raged, wreaking havoc.

She pressed her hands on the wounds of the young girl-the girl's skin was white and pale, the redness lost from her lips. Blood still seeping out between Alecia's fingers, she looked around for any help, frantic, and back at the little girl.

"Stay with me," she said in a calm tone as her gaze trained at the girl's tearful eyes.

"Why aren't y-you bad?" The girl's voice was weak, and it struggled for words.

"It's because I-" Alecia paused, seeing the life fade from the girl's eyes.

-

Evie lay on the ground. Gone.

"I'm different," Alecia mumbled, staring blankly at Evie. She was granted a moment of silence until it was broken by shouts of angry men and woman on either side of her. She snapped out of it and gazed up to see a crowd of people in the distance.

The ash around Alecia ascended off the ground, her hands radiating a calm blue transparent flame. Trembling, she gaped at her palms spewing fire.

"Look!" A woman shrieked and pointed at Alecia. "She's one of them! Look at her hands!"

The crowd bellowed shouts of protest, intelligible words lost in the midst of the dispute, marching towards Alecia. As they got closer, they shot their weapons in the air. She searched frantically for an escape route right after the flames faded out of her hands; scared for her life, she stood and ran in no time, the only thought circling inside her mind was the need to get away as she headed towards the split road.

With each crying breath, she lost speed but continued hurtling the ragged pavement, and after what seemed to be a million mile, she found a steep sand-hill which would direct her to the edge of the road. She hastily climbed up the dune, didn't care anymore that she was grabbing handfuls of sand.

They wouldn't see her up there. She dashed to the nearest building and hid behind it, her back against the wall as she attempted to catch her breath.

Alecia spotted a rusted pipe on the ground and picked it up, holding it until it nearly touched her face. She only hoped she wouldn't be forced to use it.

"Come on out!" The man's voice thundered. She could only imagine the veins popping out of the man's neck as she desperately made herself smaller.

"Without your little tricks, you're nothing to us!"

"He's still alive?" Alecia whispered, wide-eyed.

She peeked at the corner. The sight of the same old man she shot with only the armor on his chest damaged made her want to vomit. After a moment of waiting and listening, the sound of heavy footsteps drew near. Alecia tightened her grip on the pipe, she dared to take a swing, which connected with his face. She swang again, but this time, he caught the pipe.

"Did you miss me?" he said, threat laced in his throat, and hit Alecia's face through the pipe's rear-end, forcing her to fall on her back. He now swerved the pipe horizontally, which she was able to dodge only an inch as she rolled out of the way, but he was fast; he struck her on the back, making her scream out in pain.

He threw the pipe aside, and she crawled away.

"Look at you," he said. "Now, how does it feel to be helpless and without hope?"

Alecia strove to get back up but he kicked her back down.

"What happened to all that power, huh?"

The swarm of people that clambered up the hill cheered for him, while Alecia crawled away once more.

"What are you doing?" he said, faking pity. "Where do you think you're going?"

He looked ahead and saw a cliff.

"Good idea." He chuckled. "Let's throw her off the cliff!"

He bellowed at the throng of fuming people behind, his hands raised, the crowd responding with shouts of screams, hoots, and agreement. He strode towards Alecia, flipped her on her back with his foot, and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up until her feet were off the ground. The crowd's cheering shattered her ears as he moved with her towards the end of the cliff.

"This is the sweetest revenge," he said, hatred masking his face. "This is for all the people who have died because of you."

Alecia could only hold off his grip around her throat.

She slowly opened her eyes and stared into his cruel ones, a tear rolling off her cheek.

"What? Do you really expect me to forgive you?" His grip around her throat tightened. "This is your consequence"

He closed his eyes. "Goodbye, Alecia."

She gasped when he let go of her and watched, with no remorse, as she fell into the fog below until she was no longer visible.