The Other Side Chapter 2
Her vision was blurry: What she thought was a person stood in front of her. As she reached out to touch him, her hand smacked into an invisible wall. Glass. The
person leaned over a computer and did something. Her sight began to clear, and she realized she had been looking through liquid. She was naked and cold. She saw now that it was a man who had been watching her. The thing that
stuck out the most were the red rims of his eyes. He handed her a pair of shorts and a striped T-shirt, then walked away. Cybersix took this chance to put the clothes on and have a better look at her surroundings.
Large
tanks lined the wall: Each had a small shape in it. To her right were five other children looking confused. They were directed to a corner where they were told to sit. No one said anything; it was an unspoken rule not to break
the silence that was around them. Cybersix cocked her head to the side, watching the man work. One by one he opened the tanks and more confused youngsters emerged.
*******
A long time passed and Cybersix began to
drift off into the world that lingered between consciousness and sleep. She was still cold, so she began to shiver slightly. A boy who was sitting near her moved closer to help keep her warm. She offered him a small smile for
his efforts.
******
"Come back here!" she called out over the yield. 29 had played a nasty trick on her and he wasn’t going to get away with it! They had been training together in the clearing. 29 had
been holding the mat and Cybersix had been kicking it. When she went to kick he pulled the mat away at the last moment and she feel flat on her back. He had found it rather amusing; she hadn’t shared his sense of humor.
In the last few years 29 and she had become good friends. The Cyber series was coming along quite well. Von R was pleased with how strong and quick they were, and when Von R was pleased, life was pleasant enough. She had no
major complaint at the moment, and had avoided any punishments.
She leaned her head forward, pushing her legs to move quicker to catch up to her brother, who had already had a considerable head start. Luckily he had had
to slow down, for the wind was very strong. Laughing she slammed into him but didn’t knock him over.
"I’m sorry" he said (obviously not), "Come on! There’s a great view up here." She followed him to the
edge of the cliff and looked down. He was right: It was an amazing view. On a lower ledge a single flower caught her attention.
"How pretty!" she commented.
"Do you want it?" he asked. Then, without
waiting for a reply, he started climbing down the cliff. He reached the flower without any difficulty and held it up. Suddenly, the ground gave away and he was thrown off balance. His arms shot out to help steady him but it was
no use. Cybersix held out her hand much too slowly, for 29 was already hurtling toward the Earth.
"NO!" she screamed, but she couldn’t bring him back any more than she could stop the tears from streaming down her
face.
********
Forks clinked against plates. Cybersix took a sip of sustenance from her cup. She was now 9 years old. 29 had died 2 years ago. Her bruises from the punishment had
eventually healed. She didn’t think, however, that her emotional ones ever would. She was startled out of her thoughts by 72, "You going to eat that?" She shook her head no.
********
She groaned
involuntarily. There was a pounding in her head. Someone was carrying her. She tried to make out who it was but he had his hood up. He put her down gently on a bed.
"Wh- where am I? What’s going on?" she asked. She
was only able to process about half of what he was saying. Cybers dead. Only survivor. Took some sustenance. Going to look after her. She laid back into her pillow and went into a deep sleep.
*********
A wave came up and smacked her in the face. She shook the water out of her eyes and swam in deeper, only to head back in again when a shot rang out over the beach.
What was that? Who was that?
Cybersix ran off the beach to the village were she had been living for the last year, looking for Elio.
She found him.
He had been beaten, then shot.
She sank to her knees crying. Von R must have sent someone after her, Fixed Ideas most likely. They had found Elio, beaten him, and then killed him when he wouldn’t tell him where she was.
Her shoulders shook violently. She would have to continue her mourning elsewhere: There were probably still Fixed Ideas around.
Locating her stash of hidden sustenance, she ran away from the village.
************
One month later, Cybersix was sliding down a slippery hill, stopping next to what was left of a terrible car crash. She looked inside: It was obvious that everyone inside was dead. She double-checked anyway and the
result was the same. While she felt the pulse of the boy, she studied his face.
Hmmmmmm.
She began to search the car, finding what she was seeking in the glove box. His name was Adrian Seidelman and he was about
her age. After thinking it over for a few minutes, she picked up his body and walked off into the woods. She buried him under a stream while giving him her apologies.
*********
In her line of sight was her old
home. Now 17, Cybersix was crouching near Von R’s compound, conspiring how to get inside.
Suddenly, a bobbing light came dangerously close to her, so she retreated back into the safety of the shadowed woods.
*******
Her heart pounded in her throat when she saw the gaping hole in the second floor of the townhouse.
The delicate, antique furniture was smashed and scattered everywhere. She picked her way through the mess,
trying to get to the moaning body under the broken armchair. It joined the growing pile in the corner.
The first thing she saw was the gaping bullet hole coming out the back of the chest, under the heart.
“Dr.
Zack! Dr. Zack!” she pleaded, carefully turning him over and cradling his head on her lap.
“Ohh! Cybersix?” he moaned.
“Who did this?”
“Fixed-Ideas. Led by-technos. Cut power.” He coughed up blood.
“I’ve got to get you to-“
“No time! Behind-books-there!” he laborously lifted his hand to point, “safe.”
She clawed the books aside and spun the dial of the wall safe as he coughed out the numbers. Inside was a
photo of Lauren and a sheaf of papers. Cybersix glanced through them. Equations. Planar sketches. Chemical formulae. Circuit diagrams.
Sustenance.
“You knew how to do it?” she demanded, emotions in turmoil, suspicious of betrayal.
“Just-finished. Planned to-tell on-20th.” He grinned weakly, “Surprise.”
“Lauren’s Birthday.” She thought, blinking back the
tears and biting her lip, feeling bad for having doubted him,“Thank you! I’m free! You’ve set me free!”
“Good. Ohhh!!” he writhed in pain. She was at his side immediately, feeling helpless, anger burning at Von R. and
his goons.
“Cybersix-“
“Take it easy!”
“About-Lauren.”
“She was wonderful.”
“Not-suicide.”
“WHAT?”
“Murder-ERL-front for-damn Yanqui-oil-companies-kill scientists-“
“Who might develop technology that would destroy their monopoly?” she asked.
“Yes. Please, get-whoever killed-Lauren.”
“I will!”
“Promise?”
“Yes! Yes!”
“Good.”
Then he was gone.
And something in her heart fled too: This just couldn't keep happening.
*********
“438…438…43...Cybersix.”
“Hello.”
“I trust it was a good fight.”
Silence.
Closer.
Closer.
Back up.
Blackness.
************
A bright light was over his head. “What’s happening?” he groaned.
“Don’t worry! This won’t hurt a bit!” she held up a needle. Von R’s eyes widened when he saw what was in that needle. He tried to
move but his arms were strapped down to the table. Eyes glittering, she put the needle into his skin.
“NO!” The pain was incredible. The sustenance was burning his insides. His breath began to quicken.
Cybersix
leaned forward, “Now you know what I’ve had to put up with my whole life. But no longer.” She reached for a vial conveniently placed on a nearby table. She played with it in her hands, turning it over, studying it as though
she’d never seen it before. She smiled, much like a girl who was flirting, the tip of her tongue touching her front tooth, eyes sparkling. She opened it and then held the vial over him, letting a drop fall on his monacle. A
drop rolled off and into his eye. He screamed.
She took a sip then licked her lips. “Now where are my manners? I’m sure you want some too!”
Von R immediately closed his mouth, choking back screams and shaking his head.
Cybersix was patient: She reached over and held his nose. making breathing impossible. When Von R gasped, Cybersix dumped some sustenance
down his throat, “Sorry it’s not the brand name but it’s just as good”
The sustenance burned his throat. He could feel it going into his stomach. His body began to go into convulsions, the straps holding him down.
“Say hi to Dr. Zack for me. Be sure to thank him.”
Von R let out one more scream, then was quiet. Cybersix couldn’t keep the grin off her face.
******
Cybersix was looking through all the files that
were on Von R’s database. He certainly had a lot of information backed up in there. She was skimming through a section when she came across some of the happiest news she had received in a long time.
"Get me the brain
form storage space 134!" she barked at the closest Techno. He brought it to her in no time and she made a careful examination.
"It can still be used!" was her final report; "Get a Cyber body ready immediately!"
*********
"Where am I? What’s going on?" the voice was deep and husky, like someone coming out of a
deep sleep. He walked cautiously out of his tank, naked and dripping wet.
"You're home and safe brother!" She gave him a big hug then. He still looked confused but returned her affection with just as much love.
Later he began to get flashbacks of the fall. And although she didn’t tell him everything, she knew he probably had a very good idea of what had happened.
Together they picked up were their father had left off. Despite
his preoccupation with Meridiana, He had made a lot of progress in South America, so it was fairly easy to gain control. With Cyber29 as her second-in-command, Cybersix set her eyes on the rest of the world.
***********
Cybersix woke with a start, panting. She turned and saw that it was only 5:30am: She didn’t need to get up until 6:30am. Sighing, she lay back into her pillow, the nightmare replaying over and over in her mind. An
involuntary tear tried to escape her eye.
End of Chapter 2