A Heaven for Toasters

CHAPTER 13: Eden

4:18 p.m.

I glanced behind me. The bush was just as impressive-looking on this side of the wall. No wonder no one knew about the opening; thick branches and leaves covered it completely. Only a bunch of kids could have discovered it.

Ahead of me lay a smooth, grass-covered hill. Various trees and bushes broke the monotony and created a kind of path; one you'd find yourself following without even realizing it. A path to my left led downhill to an orange grove. The sweet scent of flowers filled the air.

Umbrella tops peeked at me from farther up the hill. I heard a splash. The swimming pool.

I debated following the path or making a beeline from bush to bush. I was about to do the latter when a four-legged robot, the size of a large dog, showed up to my right. It looked like a dark gray metal box with a camera on a collapsible rod instead of a head. Ominous-looking twin barrels ran along its back. Robodog.

I froze. I knew I was invisible to the naked eye. My metasuit's clima control should hide me from infrared cameras, too. But would the beast pick my scent? Or would my metasuit mask that, too? Did they even have a scent ability?

It tilted its camera upward like a sniffing dog. I fought the desire to jump behind a bush, fearful of disturbing the soil under my feet and alerting it to my presence. Seconds dragged on to eternity. Sweat rolled down my back.

The ghastly thing turned its back on me and continued its silent patrol.

I touched my temple and tagged it with my tracker app. If this little bastard came back, I wanted to know. A quick scan of the sky showed no drones in the immediate area but I had to be alert. There was no way the garden wasn't monitored.

Angry shouts came from farther up the hill. As soon as the red dot on my hololens disappeared, meaning the robodog was out of range, I hurried up the path. It broke into a low stone wall surrounding a liver-shaped swimming pool. I ducked behind the wall and carefully popped my head over it.

Sergeant! About a hundred yards from where I was, a silver-haired man—Doctor Morgan, I presumed—was yelling at him. Sergeant had his head cowed into submission. Every now and then he opened his mouth as if to speak, then shut it again. The two men were standing under one of a dozen large umbrellas, a low table at their feet. There was something on the table but I couldn't make out what.

A wonderful thing about a detective's hololens is that it comes with a number of useful apps. Zooming and recording, for instance. A touch of my temple allowed me to both zoom in to the two men and start recording. I needed proof that Sergeant and the doctor were in it together. At the very least, we could charge the doctor with abetting a criminal.

"So you killed him?" the doctor was shouting.

"Yes," Sergeant replied, his head hanging.

"Are you sure?" the doctor insisted.

Instead of an answer, Sergeant frowned and shook his head, as if he found the question somehow confusing.

The doctor threw his arms in the air. "What if the cops start showing around asking questions? Do you have any idea what that could do to the Work?"

The Work?

"How could they?" Sergeant protested. "There's no mention of that anywhere in my house."

The doctor stabbed him with a finger. "Unless you yapped."

"I'd never betray you," Sergeant stammered.

"You're right." The doctor turned his back to him. "You won't." He reached down at the object sitting on the low table. Zooming in, I saw it was a black suitcase bearing the Greek police insignia. Without hesitation, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at Sergeant.

Pop! Pop!

I jumped.

Sergeant flew backward. His body twitched a couple of times. Then, he was dead.

Doctor Morgan placed the gun back into the suitcase. "Idiot," he cried out at the body.

Movement caught my eye. From under an umbrella, a familiar woman rose from a chaise longue, stretched her arms, and jumped into the pool, ignoring the blood pooling a few yards from her.

Xhristina! My heart raced. The woman in me wished she could have prevented Sergeant's murder. The cop in me was celebrating. One stone, two birds. She was in on it. And I had recorded it all. I had what I needed and more. Now all I needed was to get to somewhere with a connection to the Network.

A red dot flashed on my hololens. My four-legged nemesis was back. It didn't seem to have noticed me but its patrol route would bring it too close for comfort. I needed to leave. Now. Only problem was, the robodog was cutting off the path.

I made my way down the hill as fast as I could. As I was reaching the wall, a second red warning flashed on my hololens. Ta ma de! Battery's almost dead. It was no surprise but I still was hoping for some more time.

I must have been making more noise than I realized, scurrying down the path. The robodog froze and sniffed the air, then changed its course and rushed toward me. If my battery died out while it was still in range, it would spot me for sure.

My gaze darted around the garden. I considered running for the wall and hoping that the battery would last until I got through the opening. But even if it did, moving any faster would give me away to the robodog for sure. I had no idea what kind of sensors the blasted thing carried or how sensitive they were and had no wish to find out.

No, my best hope would be to hide somewhere and wait for the stupid thing to move away. I spotted a thick bush a few yards away. It was ideal—thick and leafy, it would hide me even if my metasuit's battery died out completely, as long as I was upwind of the robodog.

I hurried to the bush, keeping one eye on the robotic guard. I was about to slide under the branches when I remembered Guide's warning. I had no idea what kind of a plant this was but it looked innocent enough. Wide, deep green leaves. White flowers giving out a delicate jasmine-like fragrance. And, most important, six-feet high. No snakes in sight. Still, I hesitated for a moment.

The robodog made the decision for me when it snapped its head in my direction and raised its camera. I could hear clicking and whirring, which I assumed were different kinds of filters and cameras. My heart raced. I hurriedly slid under the bush and crawled to the opposite side from the annoying tin can, making as little sound as possible.

The robodog came closer and sniffed around the bush. I half-expected it to raise its hind leg and release a smudge of oil, marking the spot. At least, that was the image I forced myself to conjure as the reality of the twin barrels firing at me was far less appetizing. Despite the metasuit's clima control, my whole body felt soaking wet.

After sniffing around the bush for a minute or two, the darned thing finally turned and walked away. I touched my temple with trembling fingers. The metasuit had just enough battery for me to cover the distance to the wall. Then, I was safe. I glared at my shaking hands. Must be the adrenaline.

My mind gave my legs the command to rise. My legs made a feeble attempt at moving. With a twitch, I flopped to the ground. My feet felt wooden.

What?

The ground under the bush was covered in spear-like grass blades. Like green tentacles, they had slithered under the metasuit and enveloped my ankles. My fingers quivered as I pulled the prickling leaves away. Panic engulfed me as they shot up again, refusing to let go of their fleshy prize. The numbness spread from my feet upward. Within a minute, my whole body felt leaden. My breath came out in labored, raspy gasps. I felt like a giant was stepping on me, cruelly putting ever more of his weight on my chest. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out.

My vision became blurry. The last thing I rememberbefore darkness consumed me was the red blinking icon notifying me of thedepleted battery and the heat wave that hit me as the metasuit's functionsfailed.