The Disparate One

Ray ran behind Nite as they dashed through the empty halls, the halls which would soon be filled with guards and flying bullets. He had no idea where they were heading, he trusted Nite still. They hugged the corners as they drifted from hall to hall. Flashing red lights and blaring alarms continued to intensify the situation.

They got separated when Nite crossed the hall and a wave of bullets flew by. Ray slipped and scurried back behind the corner, pistol ready. He breathed fast, staring at Nite for orders.

Nite used his mirror technique again when he reached something behind his back. He brought out another pistol, exactly the same as Ray’s. How many pistols did Nite have on himself that Ray didn’t notice?

“Cover your ears,” said Nite when his pistol peeked and fired. The bullet zipped through the hall and landed on the floor, exploding, sending the group of guards positioned near it into all directions.

Nite poked his mirror out and nodded at Ray who instantly jumped across. They returned to their running. They passed numerous cameras on their way, Ray lost count. They got to their destination which was a giant double-door. Painted across it were texts that read “Storage [F]”.

Ray had a strong feeling that Cal wiped his biometrics off from the system, but to be sure, Ray approached the scanner where he pressed his hand. The scanner produced a chime and the doors hummed open. Both furrowed at each other. Why would Cal leave Ray’s biometrics in the system?

Running past the doors, and onto the barely lit catwalks, Ray was in complete surprise when he saw thousands of pods lined up in rows around him. All were producing white smoke that flowed down. He inched towards one of them, seeing through the thin sheet of frost inside, he gasped. Inside of these pods were the employees of the facility. Nite didn’t know what he should feel. Should he feel happy because he was right that this place remained and was still being used?

Ray checked another pod, then another, and another. Nite rolled his eyes, knowing that Ray won’t be able to find what he was looking for at this rate and method. Ray sped around, glancing at each pod, until finally.

“Aha!” he shouted with glee.

He was leaning over the gate when he found Oxford in a pod. There was a gas mask strapped onto his face. His eyes were closed as if he was sick again. He looked around and found a console nearby. He matched the number printed across Oxford’s pod and the one on the side of the console before pressing the green button.

The pod hissed and more smoke poured out. The pod moved towards the gate as it opened. Ray and Nite stayed in their spot when the pod was fully opened, Oxford was still wearing the same clothes the last time Ray saw.

“What now?” asked Ray all of the sudden, glancing at Nite who shrugged.

Ray figured to put the helmet on to Oxford’s head and insert the chip and hope for the best everything would go back to normal. He did it carefully, his fingers shivered on the frozen air within the pod. The device fitted snugly on Oxford’s head. Nothing happened.

Until a flat hologram appeared on Oxford’s face. A message formed.

“Unauthorized transfer”.

Ray clicked his tongue, looking over at Nite again who only shrugged. Finally, he spoke.

“You have no idea how to use that, do you?”

Ray didn’t answer. Nite immediately sighed, shaking his head with disappointment. He couldn’t believe they traveled this far, put their lives at risk, and here they were, having no idea how to operate it.

“You work here, you should know this,” said Nite.

“You also worked here!”, snapped Ray.

Nite didn’t say anything back. Both of them were at fault. Both were unprepared. Nite kept his ear alert when he marched back to the door to guard it. Strangely, not a single guard had come. Ray was left alone with Oxford’s pod, rubbing his chin. If only he knew someone who had an idea on how to use the helmet.

Ray snapped his fingers when he walked away, searching for another pod. He easily found it just a few meters away from Oxford’s. He crossed his fingers, wishing Ony wasn’t brainwashed. When the pod opened, Ony’s eyes flickered.

Calmly, he sat up and removed the oxygen mask. He furrowed and looked at Ray.

“Where am I?” Ony said dryly, he cleared his throat.

“Do you know who you are?” Ray asked.

“My name’s Ony… we met.”

Ray sighed again this time with a small smile. He quickly gave a brief explanation to why he needed him before hurriedly dragging him all the way back to Oxford’s. Not even giving time for Ony’s legs to recover. Ony nearly tripped on his way when they got to the pod. Many questions formed when he found Ray having the authority to have the helmet.

“I’ll explain everything later, do you know what this means?” Ray pointed at the hovering letters.

Ony read what it said, he furrowed at Ray. At first, he thought Ray lost the ability to read and understand. Which could further add another question to his pile. But instead of pointing out the obvious thing, he examined it further.

He began to explain that only a few members in the facility had this, those were the members of the management, no one else. Every time one of them has the desire to remove or add something into someone’s mind, they need authority from the head of management, for security purposes.

The head management would receive a code sent from the helmet. The head would then send a “special code” back to the helmet, which would commence its job.

“Basically, what’s happening... the head management didn’t send the ‘special code’ to the helmet, which will result in that,” Ony eyed at the helmet.

Ray nodded before staring at Oxford’s, slowly, warming body. He thought about it. He asked if there was another way around it, but Ony said No. Ray bit his lips, finally knowing why it showed ‘unauthorized transfer’. As Ony said, the head management didn’t send the special code.

Cal was the head of management.

Ray left Ony with Oxford and his growing questions when he walked over to Nite. He was sitting calmly on the ground, legs folded. Rifle flat on his knees. From behind, he looked like he was meditating.

“This better be good news,” uttered Nite, looking up, rifle aimed at the door.

“Good news and bad news,” replied Ray, grinning and hands on his waist. He explained everything Ony said. The first few seconds, Nite was relieved, until Ray mentioned the bad news.

“That’s great! Never expected this would end in a suicide mission,” Nite said in the most passive-aggressive tone he had ever done in his life.

“Not for you. You’ll stay here, protect them. I’ll go get it myself,” said Ray with a hint of bravery, but it didn’t impress Nite. In fact, Nite thought the teen was joking. However, he was quite surprised that Ray finally came up with a plan.

“Alright. If that’s what you want,” said Nite without a hint of protest. He moved his hand out as if he was trying to tell something to Ray.

“Give me your gun, I’m reloading it,” he said and Ray did.

Nite transferred one more bullet from his pistol to Ray’s. Leaving Nite with only 4 left. He handed the weapon back to Ray without saying a word. He stood up and joined Ray at the door.

“Remember. Send the code and come back. Don’t even hesitate,” said Nite.

Before opening the doors, Nite gave the directions to the nearest set of elevators, which was where they came. Hopefully, the fire they caused didn’t go wild.

“Right. Two intersections. Left. Eight intersections. Then Right.”

“Right. Two. Left. Eight. Then Right,” Ray repeated.

Nite stuttered. He wished for the best Ray won’t get lost with his version. Once everything was set, they opened the door and were surprised to still see no guards or whatsoever. They didn’t pay too much attention to it. Ray had a code to send. After Nite scanned the nearby surroundings, he signaled to Ray.

Ray speed-walked away without looking back. Nite returned to the storage section and closed the door.

“Right. Two. Left. Eight. Then Right.”

Ray continued to murmur as he moved through the halls, gun drawn. He slowed each junction he encountered, scanning before crossing. Strangely, he found himself unharmed even when he got to the short hall where the elevators were. He thought Cal had given up. But it could be a trap. And he spoke too soon because once he returned to the pried elevator door, he found all cables wobbling together with echoing whirs.

He looked up and down, no elevators coming. He safely lowered himself on the catwalk and climbed up with determination. He had stopped many times already, there was no stopping him now. He carefully moved up the ladder without taking a break. His hands gripped each bar above despite his palms getting wet.

He didn’t know how long he was climbing when his eyes widened. He immediately pressed his body onto the ladder when a straight row of elevators rushed down, passing him. He looked down, knowing what was inside all of them. Guards. Suddenly, his mind thought about Nite, and others like Oxford. But mostly Nite. Because he was the only one there who knew how to fight.

Ray had put everyone’s lives at greater risk now. He gripped the bar above him and resumed his climb.

Nite was leaning against a pod near the door, waiting for something to happen. He vertically spun his rifle around near his feet when he heard footsteps and someone’s voice, speaking Ray’s name. He revealed himself back to the catwalk where he met Ony.

Ony froze in the middle of the path as he examined the robot. That shade of color. That design. Those stars. That rifle. It could mean one thing. He never knew this day would come!

“F-f-first generation…” he uttered, hands moving to his shaking mouth.

Nite blinked curiously at him.

“You’re a first generation!” Ony suddenly jumped and nearly squealed.

Nite’s eyes grew, he didn’t know what he should say, feel, or react. He stood there, awkwardly. Ony cleared his throat again, shaking his head. His tone went back to normal.

“S-sorry… it’s just that… you guys are legends!” he cleared his throat again.

“O-oh… t-thank you… I guess… look, now isn’t the time-”

“I know… sorry. Anyways. I was looking for Ray, have you seen him?”

Nite nodded and explained everything had happened ever since Ray walked out of that flooded tunnel. It did clear some of the things, but Ony was still confused about how he got here, not just him but everyone as well.

The last time he remembered before waking up here was the time when he was in his cubicle, drawing sketches for a new design for a robot. He was usually drinking his favorite soda. He knew the flavor very well. Until he opened another. The taste was strange and had a smell from it. Afterward, he suddenly became sleepy and decided to sleep on his desk.

Nite looked at him, his green eyes somehow made Ony realized that something in his drink had to do with it. Someone dropped something in it. Without a doubt, it was no other than the management itself.

“The rumors were right all along… this day would and has already come…” Ony whispered to himself.

Nite remained silent.

“Does the facility know you’re here?” Ony asked.

Nite glanced at the flashing red lights.

“Very aware.”

“How long have you been here?”

Nite blinked confusedly. He didn’t have any watches with him, not even on his HUD. He just shrugged.

“I guess… more than 24 hours?” he grinned.

Ony furrowed with doubt. He was curious as to why the facility wasn’t filled with guards yet. He started all over again, but with a different question.

“You said you two encountered a few guards on the way here, right?”

Nite nodded.

“When did that happen?”

“Not over an hour I assume…” Nite guessed.

Ony huffed, shifting his gaze to the door behind Nite. His eyes widened and trembled in fear.

“You have to help me. We need to wake up everyone as fast as possible. In the next couple of minutes, those doors will open with guards ready to commit genocide,” said Ony, walking to the nearest pod, smashing his hand on the green button.

Nite didn’t hesitate. He did the same and continued to do so with Ony as fast as they could. However, Nite was curious because every time they freed someone, Ony whispered something to them. They didn’t say anything back, they just did the same thing they were doing. He kept an eye on Ony. A few minutes or so later, they managed to release a few thousand pods when the elevators in the distance sounded their chime. Guards poured out and marched in an orderly fashion towards them.

Nite spun around on his heels after boring through the sea of unknown faces. He knew he didn’t need to help Ony anymore, hence he returned to the doors to guard it. He decided to scout the nearby halls. As the doors slowly slid open, Nite was tackled to the floor by a bullet, some flew past him, hitting the others. Scream spread throughout the storage instantly.

While on the floor, Nite brought out his pistol and fired a shot onto the guards. He jumped back up and hit the button to shut the doors while examining his left shoulder where the bullet landed.

Three, Nite began counting down.

Dropping onto the catwalk, Ray couldn’t feel his arms and legs anymore as he caught his breath. His fingers twitched when he got on all fours, all of his vessels were pulsating. He smacked his dry lips when he grunted while his hand searched for the railing. He nearly stumbled when he walked to the elevator doors. He did what Nite did earlier, prying the doors ajar to peek through, pistol drawn.

The lobby was suspiciously deserted. No signs of any guards or the silver robot. He carefully slid through the doors and tiptoed through the space and to the hall to the dome and offices. Getting to the end of the corridor, he pressed himself on the right corner when he peeked into the dome. He knew there were guards in this area, but it was again surprisingly and suspiciously empty. The doors to the dome were closed.

He crossed to the left corner to the offices. He checked each door alternatively. All of them were locked, except for one at the end, the one with the largest door. He rested his ear first before lightly pushing the door. The office was empty. He figured this belonged to Cal, judging by the glass of bubbling wine on the desk, next to the blinking hologram displaying a set of numbers.

How can this not be a trap? Ray thought, slowly making his way to the desk, staring at the hologram.

Ray murmured the words to make sure this particular request was from the helmet itself. He pressed the “enter” on the hovering keyboard and the hologram disappeared after displaying “Device now authorized”.

Ray dusted his hands and rubbed them with a grin. He walked back to the door at the exact time when it opened, revealing the gold robot. Ray was right all along, This was easily a trap and he became a fool for it! He held his breath when he immediately aimed his pistol, but Cal was faster, uppercutting him.

Ray tumbled onto the floor, the pistol slid away from him. Cal didn’t hesitate to kick his head, knocking him out.

He woke up several hours later in a daze in the dome. He was tied up onto a steel armchair carved out of a single block. Armed guards circled him, making it impossible to escape. Cal calmly stood in front of him, holding his cane and a pistol. The pistol Nite gave. He spun it around his index finger like a toy. Ray looked up, seeing the ocean floor above him. Whales and other tiny creatures spectating his torture or execution.

“You really reminded me of someone, Ray,” Cal said nonchalantly, examining the pistol. He was not surprised to see the facility’s branding carved onto it, all covered in grime.

“I bet you feared that ‘someone’,” replied Ray, showing no fear.

Cal chuckled and gradually laughed as if he found Ray or anything about him amusing. Indeed it was. His laughter stopped with a long sigh. He shook his head, glaring.

“You clearly have no idea about everything in this facility, especially yourself,” Cal tossed the pistol to his other hand and aimed it at Ray.

“Anyways… I’m not the type of person who wastes time on talking,” he said, stepping forward and shoving the barrel into Ray’s mouth, something Ray had become accustomed to.

Ray kept his eyes locked onto Cal’s glowing eyes of death when he heard him press the trigger. The weapon beeped.

Cal’s ears stood in curiosity and confusion when he pressed again and did nothing except produce that irritating noise. The satisfying dominance on Cal’s face faded the more he clicked. It was quickly replaced by anger. He demanded to know what was happening. He was embarrassing himself in front of his own men.

He pulled the gun out and battered Ray with it. His satisfaction didn’t return. His anger grew into fury. The guards remained still, watching their boss hammered Ray. Cal finally gave an order, release Ray from the chair. A pair of guards did so and dropped Ray onto the floor.

Cal kicked Ray’s stomach, his back arched, shaping onto the foot. Ray coughed and spat blood. Cal stomped on him, breaking both of his legs and flattening both hands. He continued to beat him like a punching bag.

Cal wanted to go back to his office where he could put on his brass knuckles, despite having metal, jagged fists already.

Half of the pistol was already smothered in Ray’s blood. Cal threw it away and used his cane like a bat, swimming and striking Ray’s head as if playing golf. He went for another, but suddenly, Ray caught and gripped it firmly.

Cal glared and gritted his teeth when he tugged it and returned swinging at him until his body showed no more movements. That was only when Cal’s satisfaction returned. He laughed deeply and insanely. Both of his blood-covered hands covered his face. He was about to claim victory until he heard a loud explosion from the lobby.

One of the cameras in the lobby automatically rerouted its feed to Cal’s HUD, revealing a big group of employees rushing out of the elevators like ants. All were chanting and raising their weapons into the air. They chanted the same words he heard from the previous rebellion.

Cal chuckled with a grin. He looked at his guards and ordered them to shoot as many as they could. All of them began marching out of the dome, Cal followed behind them, tapping his cane with his feet. They left Ray’s body in the middle of the floor.

The rebels reached the hall to the dome where they exchanged fires with the guards. Cal calmly walked across without scraping his gold finish. He moved to his office where he opened a secret door to a passageway. He disappeared when the guards were overpowered and exploded into pieces.

The rebels separated, some flooded the offices and the rest went to the dome, vandalizing every glossy surface they could possibly find. One of them spray-painted a sentence on the floor.

“Your time has come!”

Once they conquered both the dome and the offices, some of them returned to the elevators continuing to scatter throughout the facility like a virus. A man walked against the tide in the hall, running to the dome where he found Ray bleeding. It was Oxford.

Ray awakened to the series of explosions banging from the walls. He had an oxygen mask on him when he opened his eyes up and jumped around the tiny room. Was everything a dream? The question was answered when he found Oxford sitting near the door with a shotgun.

Ray squinted on the sudden wave of headaches and complaints throughout his body. Both hands and legs were wrapped in bandages. Surprisingly he could move his fingers and toes. Though, it still hurts.

Through the pain, he could hear Oxford whispering.

Upon waking up on the pod and after Ony’s and Nite’s brief explanation of what was happening, Oxford couldn’t believe that Ray, his test subject, risked his life for him, for everyone. He didn’t know what he should say or feel. But he finally did know that Ray was indeed the man Soothsayer mentioned long ago.

“....I already know who and what you are, Ray.”

Ray furrowed at the ceiling. He slowly raised himself which caught Oxford’s attention. He didn’t open his mouth.

“You’re a human,” Oxford looked straight at him, behind his face were tears.

Ray, instead of asking questions regarding the situation, joked.

“I didn’t know you would have a soft spot for me,” he let out a smile.

Oxford couldn’t tell how much he missed seeing those white irides.

“Well, that’s how bad I am at my job,” he replied, followed by a light chuckle.

Oxford explained that they were in the infirmary where he injected a special medicinal fluid that drastically sped up his recovery while they patched up his hands and legs, any broken bone in his body. Ray expressed his gratitude to his Guardian when he tried standing up. Their wholesome moment was disrupted by another series of explosions from the walls. The lights flickered. It reminded both of them about what was happening.

“We better hurry up,” said Oxford, walking over to the door, holding it open.

Ray raised a brow when he hobbled. Oxford inhaled deeply. He didn’t know how to put it, but he claimed they had already planned this rebellion for a very long time. They were just waiting for the right time. While he was at it, he explained their plan, which somehow frightened Ray.

They planned to bury this entire facility in its grave. To be forgotten forever. They already captured the nuclear reactors at the bottom of the facility. It was one of the crucial parts of their plan. To use it as a bomb. In fact, they already placed the bomb. And they only had a couple of hours left.