Chapter 15

Zark stared in bewilderment at the sight that was unfolding before him. The wreckage at the bottom of the hill had been cast aside, and the resurrected android possessed an unknown motive to capture Zark. The red taillight of Zedd’s broken cycle illuminated the unstoppable mechanical menace.

From the darkness beyond the trees, a thin trail of light shot out, impacting near Ellis’ feet. The contact point erupted in flame. More came from Zark’s right, some striking Ellis’s body as he attempted to walk through the sudden attack. Fire engulfed the ground around the android. Ellis stumbled momentarily when one of the sharp beams hit him in the knee. Yet, the advancing Ellis rose from the injury.

Beams continued to rain down on him, burning holes in his outer skin sleeve. His once round, friendly face had transformed into a melted monstrosity, failing to yield any sign of pain. The hair and clothes incinerated, exposing the artificial skeleton beneath. He was completely naked, reborn in fire.

Another blast exploded at his feet. Zark shielded his eyes from the brightness. When he turned back to see if it had halted the advancing enemy, Ellis was nowhere to be found.

From the woods, a team of faceless mercenaries poured from the shadows of the trees, pointing their ancient-looking weapons directly at Zark. They advanced on him without a word. He held his hands up in surrender. He strained his eyes at the incoming team, but bright beams on their weapons obscured his vision.

The group surrounded him quickly and silently. Each of their faces were that of androids, but crude, as if constructed by hand.

“Hello?”

None of them answered. Two of them advanced on him. He recoiled, but another grabbed him from behind, locking his arms.

A dark cloth was tied over his eyes, and he was led through the wooded hills. He was outnumbered, and he didn’t bother resisting.

“Who are you?” he called desperately. “Where are you taking me?” he asked, hopeful in any kind of response.

No answer came.

Zark entered into a cavernous interior where his blind was finally removed. Two robed individuals stood in front of him in a small, stone-hewn room. Each of them bore crude, android-like faces. He studied them. They moved fluidly, human-like, and were each different in height. This was a peculiar aspect for being manufactured from a template.

“Zark,” one of them said. It had a cruel and mechanical voice.

He was startled. “You-- You know my name? Who are you people?”

“We were informed of your arrival.”

“Ellis,” he said aloud.

The two figures looked at each other. Another addressed him.

“Who is Ellis?”

“Ellis. The android that was here. The one you attacked in the woods.” He corrected himself, “The LSP-88. You captured him, too? He’s the one that told you.” Zark was grateful that he had been removed from the woods, but these strange machines intimidated him. He hoped that by cooperating, their protocol would allow him to return home.

“No, we were unable to catch it. What is an LSP-88? Why was it hostile towards you?”

Zark thought for a moment at the question.

His voice quavered in nervous delivery. “He… I don’t really know. I found him out here. He was just standing in the woods, like he was...waiting for something.”

“You don’t know why it was in hostile status?” one of them asked.

Zark thought of the red eyes. The eyes that burned the air as they glowed in the darkness. He pushed the horror from his mind.

“He wasn’t like that before. I found him here. I even talked to him. He started chasing me when I walked into the woods.”

“Where did you first see it?” the shorter one of them asked. Their questions were earnest, and non-threatening. Zark got the feeling that they were genuinely more concerned with Ellis and his whereabouts than his own safety.

“He was near an old path. I don’t know, it looked like it was paved at some point. It ended on top of a steep hill. I couldn’t really see. Too dark.” Zark recollected the events that had happened. “That’s when his eyes turned that awful red color.”

“Why were you here? Why were you looking for it?”

Zark’s comfort began to wane. These things were intent on figuring him out. Although, he had no way of backing out of the situation. He had no choice but to answer their questions. He needed to find Lena. And he needed to get home.

“I tracked him. He had been here for a day. He belonged to us, but went missing.”

“Us?” one of them asked.

“My father and me. He was an android given to us from the MRL. Listen, are you guys gonna tell me what’s going on or what?”

The two turned and spoke amongst themselves at this comment. Zark was unable to catch everything they talked about in their distorted voices, but picked up some key words.

“Fenix...new...stealth model.”

The door behind Zark opened. Another robed figure entered, even taller than the other two. It held something small. It handed it to the shortest of the group now standing before Zark.

“Hey that’s my celltab!” Zark recognized.

They ignored him. The one holding it said to another “Dispose of it.”