Broken Things Read online

  He could hear footsteps as someone moved across the floor boards from the main floor. Something was wrong, they didn’t sound normal. Drag Thump. Drag Thump. Drag Thump. That isn’t Norman, he realized, despair flooding through him, it’s the monster.

  Maybe it didn’t know where he was. But how did it even know he was in this house? If it had tracked him across the city, it wouldn’t be put off by a locked door. Briefly he considered hiding, but that left him feeling more vulnerable. It reminded him of the tent. But this time, he wouldn’t shut down. He wished he could, he wanted to be broken. It had become his only defense against the world.

  Drag Thump. It moved across the floor above him. Drag Thump. It knew where he was, and it knew how to reach him. Drag Thump. Maybe it didn’t have the key! Maybe it didn’t need one. Nobody had locks inside their houses that required keys.

  He realized only one option remained for him. He ran up the wooden steps to the door and grabbed the handle with his good hand. If the monster hadn’t known where he was, it did now, his own feet sounded way to loud as he’d ran up.

  He gripped the doorknob as tightly as he could and waited. He adjusted his grip a few times, feeling his palm grow sweaty against the metal. He heard the monster approach the door and stop. Seconds dragged by as he waited. What was it doing? He listened, trying to separate the sound of the creature from the sound of his rapidly beating heart. Yes, he could hear it. Its breathing was still loud enough to hear through the door. No, it’s sniffing, he thought, it’s smelling me.

  The door handle clicked in his hand. The monster had unlocked it. The door handle twisted in his palm. He squeezed it, but his hands were too slick to maintain a good grip, and his other hand was useless. The door pulled away from him, threatening to take him along with it, and he let it go, running back down the stairs.

  In the light of the now open door, he saw the silhouette of the creature. It leaned awkwardly against the doorway. The smell of the thing instantly filled the room. It placed one hand on the banister and the other on the concrete wall and guided itself carefully down the steps.

  Josh didn’t believe for a second that the creature’s difficulty meant it was weak. It still wore the guard’s uniform, but blood and gore covered it. The monster paused and reached behind it to pull the door shut. It descended the steps slowly, eyes locked on him.

  Josh backed across the room until the walls prevented him from going any further. The monster reached the bottom of the stairs and took its first irregular step into the room.

  They both heard the front door, the monster looked up but Josh didn’t. He kept his eyes on it. If he looked away the thing would be on top of him in seconds. It had to be Norman upstairs, but that gave him little hope.

  He could hear Norman bustle about, moving around the upstairs. The monster listened briefly and turned its attention back to Josh.

  It raised a bloody finger to its lips and said, “Shh…”

  It turned and walked beneath the stairs, hiding itself away in the shadows.

  Less than a minute later the basement door opened and the silhouette of Norman filled it. He seemed somehow less imposing than the monster, though he walked down the stairs with purpose. Josh wanted to warn him that it was in the basement with them so he’d let him go, get him out of the house, but Norman crossed the basement rapidly and grabbed his broken arm.

  Josh cried out as the man yanked the already damaged limb, but Norman ignored his pain and said, “What the Hell did you do to this place? It smells like a charnel house.”

  “I didn’t do anything!” Josh shrieked. The pain in his arm felt as though it were about to be torn off.

  Norman shoved him to the floor. “You’re making this difficult on yourself,” he said, “I trusted you to wait for me, not to cause any trouble. But you couldn’t do that, could you? You’ve only brought this on yourself. You’ve got to be punished, but first you’re going to tell me what you did. Get up.”

  The pain brought tears flooding down his cheeks. He tried to shield his arm as Norman lashed out with a kick, and took it in the side. He decided not to warn the man about the shadow slowly approaching him from behind.

  “I said get up.” Venom dripped from his words as Norman kicked him again. Josh took it in the hip. It hurt, but now he didn’t care. The creature stood directly behind the man and he still didn’t notice.

  Josh steadied himself on the wall and got to his feet, wincing. He shot the man a glare and said, “There’s someone behind you.”

  Norman paused in mid-motion. He’d barely begun to reach for Josh as the words sunk in. He turned, coming face to face with the monster. Norman screamed. One hand of the monster grabbed him by the hair, the other grabbed his groin. Norman couldn’t struggle but snarled and spit like an angry cat. His anger turned to shrill screams as the monster jerked its lower hand away without letting go. Cloth, flesh, and blood splattered in an arc across the floor.

  Josh didn’t stick around to watch the rest. He darted past them and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Nothing in the world could make him look back. He could still hear Norman’s faint screams as he ran out of the house, leaving the door wide open. He didn’t stop running until he’d left the nightmare many blocks behind.

  9

  James rubbed his temples. When had life gone so inexplicably wrong? He’d received the call an hour ago. Tamara hadn’t been answering her calls. They’d tracked the company vehicle, only to find her dead. His boss, Gabe, hadn’t provided any details about her death, except that she was one of two bodies found at the location.

  First Gus, now Tammy. When you lived forever, you rarely thought about death. He hadn’t attended a funeral in years. Suddenly, something came along to remind you of your own mortality. There would always be drunk drivers, disillusioned psychos that couldn’t fit in to society… hell, even earthquakes. They just rarely affected him.

  He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the adult android had killed her too. But Tammy had been tracking the boy, Josh. He typed the kid’s registration number into his tablet and immediately retrieved the kid’s location. Finding him would be the key to finding the rogue machine. It wasn’t his responsibility, but they’d dumped it all in his lap. It wasn’t even his department. They’d made it clear it would be his job if he didn’t get the boys back, and the adult android had been added into the equation.

  At the bottom of his locker buried beneath old tool belts and mostly forgotten tools, he pulled out an odd-looking gun. He held it reverently. He had no doubts that it would still work, after all, he’d built it. To anyone else it looked like an oversized home-made toy gun that belonged in a low budget science fiction movie, not in the locker of an engineer. He’d built it back in college as a weapon of mischief.

  He’d never used it on an android, but he knew what the effect would be. The electro-magnetic pulse that the gun generated would permanently ruin its computer brain. He’d used it in the computer lab his sophomore year with very successful results. Its focused burst of 5000 volts of electromagnetic radiation could take out a computer twenty feet away. He would probably have to be closer to the android. It didn’t appear anywhere as near as sophisticated as what law enforcement currently used, but it would be just as effective.

  He left Kidsmith and mounted his tablet to the dashboard of his company truck and hid the gun behind his seat. Fifteen minutes later, he found the boy wandering down a side road. He walked slowly, dragging his feet, head hung low, and clutching an arm that dangled uselessly. James slowed down and pulled up beside him, rolling the window down.

  “Josh?”

  The boy turned his head. He had sad, haunted eyes. James had never seen such in a kid before, at least not in the androids he worked with. Something had happened to him since he’d left Kidsmith, he hadn’t heard about this kind of damage. The only thing in Tammy’s report mentioned internal damage in the head.

  Josh’s eyes locked with his for a few seconds before drifting to the logo on
the side of his pick-up. His expression changed to panic and he took off, running as fast as he could. “Oh Hell,” James muttered. He gave the truck gas and chased after him. The boy could run. James would’ve hated to have to chase him on foot. But he also didn’t have a destination. He had nowhere to run to.

  “Josh, wait,” he yelled, “I’m not going to hurt you! I just need to talk.”

  The boy slowed, and eventually came to a stop. James noted the obvious pain the boy felt. He hadn’t stopped so much from trust, but from the obvious discomfort that his arm caused. Josh reminded him of a starving, beaten dog that had given up hope in humanity. That probably wasn’t too far from the truth.

  “Come on,” he said, leaning over to open the passenger door, “”Get in. I’ll take you some place safe.”

  Josh took a step back, well away from the vehicle.

  “Come on, Josh. Tell you what, I’ve got some candy in the glove box. Would you like that?”

  Josh shook his head slowly, and took another step back. He twitched like he was about to run again. James raised an eyebrow in wonder. That had always worked, every kid loved candy. It was part of their program.

  “Wait,” James said, “I just need your help. You don’t have to get in, but I’m hoping you can tell me what happened. I’ve lost two friends today, Gus and Tamara. Do you know what happened to them?”

  Josh stopped backing up, and looked around. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky a brilliant purple, red, and orange. He didn’t want to chase the boy in the dark. Seemingly satisfied that nothing was creeping up on them, Josh shrugged. “I suppose the monster got them.”

  “Monster?” James asked, “You mean the man? The broken one from the mountains?”

  “It may look sort of like a man,” Josh said, “But it’s not. It’s after me. It kills everyone.”

  “Is that who hurt your arm?”

  The boy shook his head. “No.” James waited for the boy to continue, but he remained quiet.

  “Well I saw it,” James said, “When Tammy brought it to us. It’s just an android, a robot. I need you to trust me. If it’s after you, I can stop it. But I need your help to do that. And maybe I can help you.”

  “I don’t think you can help me.”

  “Josh, buddy, I’ve got a degree in mechanical engineering and robotics. I can fix just about anything. Give me a chance. Besides, where are you going to go? It’s getting dark.”

  “I won’t go back to Kidsmith.”

  “Okay, I can take you home.”

  For the first time the boy’s eyes showed a promise of hope, even if only briefly. “My home?”

  “Maybe,” he said, “I’ll have to talk to them first and see what they say. I can’t promise that though.”

  Just like that, the hope disappeared. “That’s what everyone says. But they won’t let me talk to them.”

  “Well, come home with me. Please. You can meet my wife and daughter. And I’ll see about fixing you.”

  Josh took another glance both ways down the street, as though considering running again. Then the boy’s shoulders slouched as he resigned himself to whatever fate James offered. He climbed in the truck and pulled the door shut.

  “Thank you for trusting me,” James said. He got his first good look at the boy. Scars and bruises covered his arms and legs. Nobody would want this kid back… unless it was to finish what they started.

  “I hope you can stop the monster,” Josh replied, “Otherwise it will probably kill you too.”

  10

  They pulled up in front of James’ house, a beautiful two-story home in a nicer neighborhood than the other ones he’d visited so far. It rested up in the foothills on the outskirts of the city, and as the world grew darker, they had a tremendous view of the lights of Boise spreading out below them as far as the eye could see.

  “I don’t think bringing me here was such a great idea,” Josh said. He didn’t take his eyes off of the lights. “I don’t want it to hurt your family because of me.”

  “Nonsense. It can’t hurt you now, or my family. We’ll cut through the house and tell Laura I’m home, and then I’ll take you to my shop. We’ll see what we can do for you.”

  Josh followed sullenly as they cut through the house. James gave his wife a quick kiss on the lips, while a little girl peaked sheepishly around her mother at him. She had big brown eyes that studied him curiously.

  “Daddy, do I got a brother?” she asked.

  “No, he’s a boy I need to help.”

  “What’s wrong with him? Is he broken?”

  “Daddy’s going to find out. His name is Josh.”

  The girl extended her hand. “Hi Josh, I’m Kylie.”

  Josh shook it. He couldn’t help but smile. It seemed she had a happy home. Maybe James wasn’t so bad after all.

  “Come on, Josh,” James said.

  He led him out the back of the house to a large shed. As they walked, a small white dog with a large brown spot over each eye and ear bounced along beside them. Josh reached down and let it lick his good hand. “What’s his name?” Josh asked.

  “That’s Sparks. He’s a Jack Russell terrier.”

  “We couldn’t have a dog. Mom doesn’t like animals.”

  Sparks followed them into the shed, a well-lit workshop with tools everywhere. “Your file said that you have an internal head injury.”

  “No, I got that fixed.”

  James turned, looking him over from head to toe. “And how did you manage that?”

  “I met a guy. He said he could upgrade me so I wouldn’t break down anymore. He said he’d make me like Neil.”

  “Neil… that’s the boy you left with?”

  Josh nodded. “He said he’ll last forever.” He glanced around the shop and added, “Do you know how to do that?”

  “That’s not something you should let others do to you,” he said, “There’s a good chance that he could ruin you permanently.”

  “He was better than the people where you’re from. They said they didn’t think they could fix me at all. That they would take my parts and throw the rest of me away.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “I don’t know. Some guy. I don’t remember.”

  “Huh.”

  “So can you fix my arm?”

  “Let me see it.” As he touched it, Josh winced and jerked away. “It hurts?”

  Josh managed to nod, and sniffed.

  “Would it be better if I turned you off?”

  “No,” he said, and shook his head for emphasis. “I don’t want to be shut down anymore.”

  “Well, it’s going to hurt a lot more then. Can you be tough?”

  “I’ll try.” True to his word, Josh didn’t pull away as James took the arm, feeling from his wrist to his shoulder. “Is it broken?”

  “No. You just have a dislocated shoulder. Your bones are made of titanium, it’s almost unheard of for a kid to have a broken bone. The bigger risks are to all of the internal organs. They’re made out of plastics to mimic the real thing, and of course then there’s your brain. That’s basically a computer. Since your bones are designed to imitate real bones, this type of injury is a bit more common. Owners like to jerk their kids by the arm. I’ve seen quite a bit of that. I’m going to pop it back into place. Ready?”

  Josh nodded. James bent the boy’s arm at a ninety-degree angle and brought it to his chest. The boy closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. With one hand on his shoulder, he rotated the arm outward and pushed in on the shoulder. It went back into place with a pop.

  Josh gasped. “It’s better!”

  “Easier than the real thing,” James said. “I’ve done this many times.”

  He continued to stare at his arm in amazement, wiggling his fingers as though he still couldn’t believe he’d been fixed so easily. “Thank you,” he said.

  “Now are you ready to help me?”

  Josh eyed him warily, but the man had proven his good intentions. “You want to catch t
he monster.”

  “Yes. What’s your connection to it?”

  “I don’t know,” He stood up and Sparks ran over to him, dropping a ball at his feet. He kicked it away, the dog chasing after it eagerly. “It just seems to be following me. It’s found me everywhere, in the mountains, at Kidsmith, then at that man’s house. I don’t know what else to tell you about it. I saw it tear apart someone. Just before you found me.”

  “So you don’t have any way to find it?”

  “Not really.”

  James rubbed his chin, thinking. “Tell me about the other boy, the one you ran away with.”

  “Neil? I don’t know much about him. He’s the one that broke my arm. I don’t want to see him again.”

  “Does he have a connection to the… your monster?”

  “No, he didn’t believe me. I think the monster’s just after me. That’s why I think it’s a mistake to have brought me back here. Can I call my parents now?”

  “Not just yet. You help me find the monster and I’ll let you call them. I promise.”

  Josh slowly shook his head. “He’ll find us.”

  11

  Angel sat in a corner among the piles of what she considered junk, reading a book on existentialism and religion. The author, obviously, hadn’t had androids in mind when he wrote it. Who would write a book for an android anyway? And androids didn’t write books either, so she was stuck with what she got. It was but one book of many that Cody had stacked throughout the house, and she knew he hadn’t read even close to half of them. Even living forever, he still wouldn’t read them all, whatever his intentions.

  The whole concept of “I think, therefore I am” made her pause. She didn’t see a difference in the way that she thought, as compared to Cody. She learned from her experiences, she formed thoughts of her own. The only difference was that she had a purpose. Cody had already gone to bed tonight, without her. By the logic of her design she didn’t have a purpose except to wait for the next time she was needed.