Conduit

Ch. 13

I clenched my jaw as I walked down toward the commotion. The tension filled the air, both human and machine. The human emotion hit once I got closer; a suffocating sensation of heavy breaths and pounding hearts in the wind. From the androids, I felt electrical pulses, like the static from a broken radio.

"Elijah, wait!" A car door opened and shut behind me. Frank's voice echoed with the sound of it, quickly followed by running feet. His feet. He was next to me in seconds, and I had to look at him, catching what I only assumed were thoughts passing over his eyes. His chest rose and fell quickly as he followed me, his steps matching mine.

Another door opened, not closing. I glanced behind us to see Victoria and Reggie standing beside each other, leaning against the side of the car. They were watching. Were they letting me do this myself?

"Is someone coming to help us?" a whisper carried in the air.

"Hey! Are you here to save us?" a woman shouted. I looked back at the crowd just as a woman broke away from it. Her high ponytail was loose on top of her head, strands of hair messily framing her face. "Hey, hey!" She sounded frantic. "Please gets these machines to back off."

The others with her looked at Frank and me, but I looked at the androids. Their eyes were on mine, but they didn't say a word. They remained in line, fists clenched, gazes flickering like broken light bulbs. Did rage do that to them? I'd never seen an angry android up close. As many broken androids as I've repaired in the past, I hadn't encountered a situation to compare.

"Katherine thinks an update can fix this," Frank leaned in close as he whispered.

I shook my head. "If we've learned anything from history, this isn't something that just happened." I looked at him as I whispered, "This has been building up for a while."

Frank's brows shot up high. "So, one update won't fix it?"

"No, and I don't know how many times I need to say it."

Just a foot from the crowd as they tightened their huddle. I looked at them now, trying to spot the manager they apparently hid.

"Come on, are you the police?" the woman asked.

"We're not police, ma'am," I said.

Her eyes widened and this close, I saw the old tears on her face. She was afraid and it hurt because I felt like I was picking sides. I came out this way for the machines, not the people. Maybe once I got the whole story, I could see which side deserved my attention.

"You're not," she sniffed back tears, "okay, fine, are you Lyons?"

"We are," Frank answered her. "We're here to..." His voice trailed off.

I had to finish his sentence. "We're here to investigate the cause of this... incident."

Frank looked at me and sighed.

"Incident?" A man pushed through the crowd. "The androids stopped working and attacked us mid-shift!"

"I had just clocked in!" a younger woman cried.

Someone moved into the center of their circle. I cocked my head to see if they would come out and defend themselves, but nothing. They were quiet. The androids needed my attention next. If anyone could tell me the root cause of what happened, they would. Victoria said abuse and mistreatment, but the store behind them, Kelly's, was a standard retail store. Clothes, essentials, maybe home décor; nothing huge.

The broken windows and shattered glass shards said there was something bigger going on.

I locked eyes with the taller android in the middle of the line. He still wore his Kelly's vest. His name tag said 'Assistant Paul.' It was also bent at the corners like it was forced onto his chest. A streak of red and blue stained the white shirt he wore underneath; red was human blood, blue was his 'blood.'