Human Pet
Chapter 6
“What are we going to do with Jessica? We can’t just leave her sleeping in the van. If we don’t make it back, she’s doomed.”
“No choice. We can’t leave her with anybody, not out here.”
“We could just turn over our findings to the authorities, let them take it from here.”
Zerok shook his head. “If we do that, what will happen is the matter will be hushed up. We might even have what we learned removed. Trust me I know those assholes on the committee.”
“Besides” he added as he looked at Jessica “This is personal now.”
“Fair enough, but we can’t go in like this. We need more of an advantage.”
“Do you think you can access the skils in that Jessica personality? She’s got some combat skills, and you having those couldn’t hurt.”
“I’m not a combat unit like you.”
“Oh you can throw a good punch, trust me.”
Molly did a bit of digging in her mind.
“Yes. I got weapons knowledge, combat knowledge, even stealth tactics.”
“And you know the layout of the building?”
“That I do. No idea what went on in there, but I have a floor by floor map of it.”
“So you tell me, how do we proceed?”
“Okay, something doesn’t add up. Last time we were there we basiclly just waltzed on in. There should have been guards.” Molly said.
“Trap?”
“With data for bait, I’d say so.”
“Then they know we’re out here.”
They both started scanning the desert. No lifesigns.
“But they also know we’re coming back there. That’s their home turf now and where they have their trap laid.” Zerok said.
“They expect us to walk right into their trap.”
“We need a new plan.”
Zerok looked at the rising sun and got an idea.
“Hold on...”
“What?”
“Just hold on...”
Zerok stood still for several minutes, his eyes moving back and forth slightly. Then he smiled.
“Okay here’s the plan. We’re gonna lay a trap of our own. Remember I mentioned that military base on the west coast? I have some buddies there. They’re gonna leave me a little present which’ll equalize the situation.”
“Do you think we could leave Jessica there with them?”
“No. Even if we put her to sleep, they’re not gonna wanna bother with her. I’m not that good of friends with them.”
Back on the road again, heading northwest. This detour was going to add an extra day to their journey. That didn’t matter too much. It could actually help. They probably expected Zerok and Molly to immediately storm in like unprepared idiots that night. Given that wasn’t going to happen, they might let their guard down just a tiny bit tomorrow night.
Molly got up and went to the back seat where Jessica was. So docile, and so patient too. Either that or she didn’t mind being cooped up in the van.
“They tried to brainwash you into becoming a soldier, huh girl?”
Jessica blinked and tilted her head.
“But something went wrong, didn’t it?”
Jessica looked at her, and for one moment she appeared lost in deep thought. Then she laid down, placing her head on Molly’s lap.
“Aww you don’t care, you just want some attention don’t you?”
Jessica made a small squeaking noise as if she were saying yes. Molly started petting her head.
“Hey Zerok, what happened to your last pet?”
“Sandra? Well, she got old. Her energy levels began to drop as the years passed. Noticable joint wear set in around her sixth decade of life. She still enjoyed her walks and trips to the parks, but she moved slower and had to rest more frequently. By her ninth decade she was pretty much confined to my apartment and I debated having her put down. I looked into cell regeneration, but the clinic didn’t recommend that for such an aged pet. Finally, her heart gave out. I had made an appointment to have her euthanized, but nature took care of that for me.”
“Why’d you hang onto her for so long?”
“She was my second pet. My first pet whom I got after the war. I, well, made some mistakes with him. Initially I made similar mistakes with Sandra, but she kept forgiving me. In her own way she taught me how to be a better pet owner, and I hung onto her to learn all that I could. With Jessica, I’ve done my best to apply what I learned.”
Jessica moved her head a bit. Molly started scratching behind her ears. Jessica smiled.
“You’re a good girl Jessica. You’re a good girl they tried to turn bad. But it didn’t work did it? No sir it didn’t.”
The puzzle was almost complete, but some major pieces were still missing. Jessica had escaped, then what? How had she escaped, and when? Nobody had been in that bunker since before she was born, so she hadn’t escaped from there. And had she escaped after being turned into a pet? Or had she escaped, then was caught and turned into a pet? It didn’t seem like she had the mental capacity to formulate an escape plan. Then again sometimes the human brain could rewire itself after being damaged.
“How about it girl? Did you escape after they did those awful things to you?” Molly asked.
Jessica looked up at her, blinked, then laid her head back down. Again she didn’t care, she just wanted her head scratched.
“So Zerok, what do you think we’re going to find when we get back to Dattech?”
“Who knows. A platoon of brainwashed soldiers? Perhaps our friend the lady store clerk among them? Maybe a platoon of corrupted sleeper inorganics. I don’t know, but this item we’re going to pick up will level the playing field, maybe literally.”
“Maybe literally? Spit it out. What is it?”
“I don’t want to say until we get it.”
Molly had an idea.
“Well lets play 20 questions. Are you familiar with that?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“Is the device we’re getting bigger then a breadbox?”
“No.”
“Does it have moving parts?”
“Mmm, yes.”
“Does it fire energy beams or projectiles?”
“No.”
“Does it explode?”
“Yes.”
Molly didn’t like where this was going.
“Well you’re going to get it within the next couple questions, so it’s a nuclear bomb.”
“WHAT?!”
“It’s a low yeild device, only one kiloton. But it’s going to be strapped to me and set to go off if they try anything funny.”
“You can’t. If you go out with a bang—”
She didn’t need to finish. Jessica sat up and started whining.
“The plan is you’re staying with Jessica in the van, which is going to be parked far away from the city. We’ll establish a data link between each other. You’ll see what I see, and you can give me advice. Concerning Jessica, I’m glad to see she’s warmed up to you, because if it all goes belly up you’re my backup regarding her.”
Molly couldn’t think of a way to argue with that plan, but Jessica did. She grunted in protest and frowned at Zerok. She looked at Molly, silently pleading for her to argue on her behalf. Molly looked at Jessica and sighed.
“Logically, the plan is sound. I don’t like it, you don’t like it. But given the circumstances, I think it’s the best we can come up with.”
Jessica started crying. Molly pet her head, trying to calm her down.
What followed was silence. None of them said anything. Zerok drove, Jessica silently cried, and Molly sat there petting her.
They pulled over so Jessica could relieve herself. She did so, but she had become very lethargic. She didn’t want to get back into the van, and did so with great reluctance. Molly tried to pet her, but Jessica batted her hand away.
“I’ll just leave you be then.”
Molly went back up front and just sat there.
“There’s gotta be a better plan.”
“Think of one. I’m open to suggestions.” Zerok replied.
They drove through the night, neither one of them saying a word. Molly had come up with close to fifty plans, but they all had at least one hole in them. She could offer to go instead of him, but she was a sleeper unit. She could be easily compromised and become dangerous again. Giving Jessica to someone else was out of the question. Attacking the building from afar to soften up their defenses would likely cause them to destroy all evidence.
Really, Zerok’s plan was the best one. He’d go in alone, looking as defenseless as a combat unit could look. If they sprung their trap, he’d show them his trump card. They’d know he wasn’t bluffing, and they’d probably run upon seeing the hare trigger nuke.
Zerok had told them the plan, and their reactions had fallen in the expected range. They certainly weren’t happy about it, but there was no mutiny among the ranks. He did have one thing he could do to cheer them up. They’d reach the west coast before the sun came up, and the ocean looked particularly beautiful below an early morning sky.
Seeing the ocean, or indeed anything significant and beautiful was a battle tradition for Zerok. Whenever he had gone on a dangerous mission, he tried to take in at least one piece of scenic beauty beforehand. They were actually just a couple miles from the coast now, but the base was a good 60 miles north.
The sky began to lighten. Zerok changed direction and headed for the coast.
“Hey. Hey Jessica. Wake up.”
She frowned and batted at his hand. She didn’t want to wake up, didn’t want to look at him.
He took the stuffed mouse and rubbed it over her back. It tickled her, and soon she was up.
Outside the van, Jessica was overwhelmed with the change of scenery. Early morning sunlight glinted off the ocean waves. White surf rolled up to the beach then disappeared. As far as she knew, she had never seen a beach before. The sights, sounds, it was new and overwhelming to her.
They all walked down to where the ocean met the sand. Jessica watched as the water retreated, and took a couple steps forward. Then she quickly jumped back as the next wave came in.
“It’s okay Jessica, watch.”
Zerok waded about waist deep into the water. Jessica timidly followed him. He splashed a bit of water her way. She just watched as it hit her body, then looked at him, blinking curiously.
He grabbed a bit of floating seaweed and gave it to her. Its slimy texture surprised her. She rubbed it between her fingers and stared at it like it was the most amazing discovery of all time.
They waided back onto the beach, where Zerok found a couple seashells. He gave them to her. She rubbed them between her fingers, then took the more colorful one and licked it. She frowned and dropped them onto the wet sand. She then bent down and grabbed a handful of sand and squeezed it. She grabbed another handful and did it again. She grinned and started grabbing and squeezing more handfuls of wet sand. They were probably going to be here awhile now, but might as well let her have her fun.
“She can’t get over how the sand feels.”
“Yeah. It’s a new thing she hasn’t felt before.”
“Maybe we could just put everything behind us. Forget about Dattech, forget about the bomb. We could settle here... and...”
The more Molly talked, the more her own arguement fell apart in her mind. She turned around to look at the sun. Another serious war could destroy this planet. They couldn’t just sit at the beach and do nothing forever.
“No turning back.” Zerok said.
“Yeah, I know.”
It was midday before they got underway again. Jessica liked the feeling of the wet sand, but didn’t like it when it dried. She kept brushing it off of her. They continued heading north. Zerok now had the coordinates for where his friends had hidden the device.
They passed through a long abandoned coastal city, its streets buried under rubble and sand. Windowless skyscrapers poked up out of the ground, a couple looking ready to topple over during the next good storm.
“Why haven’t we built our own cities here? The landscape is beautiful.”
“It’s also corrosive. The intense sun, salt water, sand that can get inside you. You hang around for a few years and the elements start wearing on you. My military buddies need their skin replaced every five years due to a sun/salt reaction, and joint replacement if there’s been sand penetration.”
About an hour later, they pulled up next to an empty patch of ground. Zerok took a few steps, knelt and started digging. He soon unearthed the bomb. Pulling it out, he looked up at the sun, and just as he had done several times before, acknowledged that this could be the last day of his life.
“All right. Time to go back into the trenches.”