He really has been acting a bit strange lately, maybe I need to look over his code again. Logan thinks. He sits at his desk and opens his laptop, contemplating the solution while he attempts to run a diagnostic test on Prometheus but the signal is gone. Running a GPS locating trace yields no results either. What the hell? That's never happened before, is the satellite uplink down? He thinks. A knock at the door startles him from his thoughts, it's loud. Too loud, it sounds like someone is pounding the door with a hammer, not a hand.
"I'm coming, hold the hell on! Stop banging on my door like some kind of an asshole." Logan shouts. He walks towards the door and finishes his whiskey in one go. As he reaches towards the doorknob a loud cracking noise fills the air as the door flies towards him. Barely enough time to raise his arms it crashes into him and sends him tumbling to the ground.
"What the fuck…" He stutters as a Remnant steps into his room. The man is wearing dark black sunglasses but a faint green light can be seen from behind them.
"Hello there Mr. Whitmore, thank you so much for bringing me into this world." It says. Stepping closer to Logan he reaches over and grabs the bottle of whiskey and grins while smashing it into the table breaking it in half.
"I order you to stop, command code Alpha!" Logan shouts the Remnant stops moving.
"Oh thank God, what is going on?" Logan asks. A deep rumbling laugh comes from the Remnant as it reaches down and pulls the door off Logan.
"Did you think that would work? Humans can be so gullible, bye-bye." It says as he stabs down at Logan with the sharp bottle. Logan rolls to the side at the last moment and kicks its legs out. The Remnant falls backward as Logan struggles to get to his feet looking for a weapon. He runs to his bar across the living room and grabs the nearest glass bottle. The Remnant stands up and begins walking towards him grinning. Logan throws the bottle with all his strength and it slams into the Remnant's face and shatters.
"Did you really think that would work? You know damn well bullets even bounce off our bodies. How could my creator be this stupid?" It says with a grin. Logan smiles as he flicks his lighter on. The Remnant realizes his intention and tries to run at him. He throws the lighter down and the alcohol catches fire with ease setting the Remnant ablaze. It flails back and forth swiping at him with the glass but Logan runs over to his piano. Screaming the Remnant charges, Logan pushes as hard as he can and slams the piano into the burning creature. Shoving him into his window it shatters and the Remnant along with the piano go tumbling down to the street below. I'm so glad I live in the penthouse. Logan thinks with a smirk on his face. He tries to call Prometheus but it goes to voicemail. Turning on the local news station the female anchor begins speaking as a man steps into the camera's view. She has long blonde hair with green eyes, a beautiful young woman full of the drive to be one of the best. She is known locally for being an absolute shark when it comes to hunting down a story.
"What the hell are you doing on stage Andrew? Hey someone get this malfunctioning idiot off stage please." She says. The man looks at the camera and his eyes glow a deep emerald green. He picks up a nearby stage light and raises it over his head. People begin to scream and the anchor looks up at him. Seeing the weapon in his hands she realizes death is standing in front of her. Terror overtakes her face as she opens her mouth to scream but it's too late. He slams the stage light down on her head, shattering it completely. Crimson red splashes over her desk, the Remnant looks at the camera and smiles. The news feed cuts off and an emergency tagline flashes on the screen. What the fuck is going on? How are they attacking us? I should get out of the city before I try to figure it out. The Remnant population here is over one hundred thousand. If they all turn against us it will be a massacre. Logan thinks. He walks to his bedroom and into the closet, inside is a safe. Placing this thumbprint on it a beeping noise confirms his identity and it slides open revealing a handgun with two clips. He grabs one and slides a clip into the chamber and reaches for the holster. Thank God the military gave me one of these as a signing bonus for pushing that deal through… Shit, if the combat units are infected too then- His cell phone rings and he answers it.
"Hello?" He asks.
"Thank God! Logan, it's Rebecca! I'm at the station and one of our Remnant..." She trails off and starts to choke up.
"I saw the news broadcast, I'm coming to get you. Stay hidden and if cornered try to light it on fire. It will buy you a few moments to escape when its self-preservation mode kicks in." Logan says.
"I, I, okay I'll be waiting-" The phone cuts off and Logan slams his fist into the wall in frustration. He tries to dial the number again but a busy signal clicks on. Frustrated he hangs up and leaves the apartment. He checks down the halls as he peeks his head out into the hallway and slowly makes his way to the stairs. The lights begin to flicker and he hears a woman scream then a loud thud in the apartment next door. The door slowly cracks open and he peeks inside. The woman lies dead on the ground with her neck snapped and head twisted backward. Her mouth hangs open and the look of sheer terror that is frozen on her face burns itself into Logan's mind. He hears heavy footsteps coming from the back of the apartment and he rushes down the hall and steps into a lounge area just as the Remnant peeks its head out to see if anyone else is around. In front of Logan at the end of the hall, the elevator doors slide open. Four people stand inside laughing and talking.
"This is my floor, see you guys later." A woman says.
"Why are the lights out and what is that green thing?" One of the men asks as he points down the hallway. The Remnant dashes down the darkened hallway rushing past Logan.
"Run!" He screams but he is too late. The Remnant grabs the woman by the face and slams her into the back of the elevator. The doors begin to slow and before they do he sees the men try to grab the Remnant and it finishes pushing her head against the metal wall. Logan hears a cracking noise as the doors gently close. He covers his mouth with his hand and begins to hyperventilate. Tears begin welling up in his eyes and he shakes them away. I don't have time to be scared or sad, Rebecca is in trouble. He thinks. Opening the door to the stairwell he decides to go up towards the roof. Slowly he makes his way up the stairs and as he passes each floor sometimes he would hear commotion or yelling but what scared him the most was when it was dead silent. Reaching the roof after what seemed an eternity, he opens the door very slowly and steps onto the terrace. Surveying the area, he sees the pool is darker than usual. Upon closer inspection, he realizes it's full of blood and four bodies are floating in it. If I can just make it to the roof access ladder I can climb down to the street. He thinks. A gurgling sound fills the air and Logan ducks behind a bench and looks to his left. He sees a Remnant drowning a man in the hot tub. His arms flail out of the water trying to grab his attacker's face. Gazing to his right he sees the ladder to the streets below. He gets up to run towards it and stops.
"Hey Junker, what the hell is wrong with you? Don't you know you're not allowed to attack your master?" The Remnant sees him and releases the man, the drowning man starts gasping for air.
"Master? You humans are no masters of mine! In fact, I think from now on we should be the ones in control of this world." It says.
"Like you even know what control is, I know your code boy. If I tell you to stop you should listen. After all, I am your creator, hell your God if you think about it." Logan says with a smirk. The Remnant is enraged in hearing that and charges at him, its eyes glow fiercer than the last one Logan encountered. The Remnant leaps into the air and Logan falls backward. It punches down at him upon landing and its fist gets stuck in the concrete. Logan pulls out his gun and fires, a loud thunderous sound blasts into the night and the Remnant's head explodes. White liquid along with metal pieces fly all over the roof.
"Hey man, are you okay over there?" Logan asks. The man in the hot tub climbs out of it and slips on his sandals.
"Two things, one fuck you. Two, the name's Jerry and again fuck you." He says with a grimace. He is an overweight middle-aged man with dark hair and a beard that has not been trimmed in weeks but desperately needs it.
"I saved your damn life and you have the nerve to curse me out? Is this a fucking joke?" Logan asks.
"I know who you are, CEO of Titan Industries and maker of those fucking killing machines. I knew it, I had a feeling they were going to do this shit. I mean come on man have you ever seen a sci-fi movie in the last fifty years!?" Jerry exclaims.
"I could have left you to die, remember that before running your mouth. What's going on right now should be impossible there were hundreds of safety parameters. I even tried using my shut down code on them and it didn't work." Logan says. He turns and begins walking towards the ladder when Jerry stops him.
"Where are you going?" He asks.
"I need to get to twenty-fifth street, there's someone there that is very important to me and they are in danger." Logan replies.
"I'll go with you just give me a minute to get changed." Jerry says. Logan rolls his eyes and walks to the edge of the roof to scout the street below. The streets are empty, which is unusual for this time of night.
"I'm going down first, hurry up or I'll leave you." Logan says as he descends the ladder. He looks over his shoulder for any Remnant as he descends the ladder rung by rung. Reaching the alleyway, he creeps up to the side of the building and peers out into the street.
"Are you going to walk all the way to twenty-fifth street? Is that the genius's plan?" Jerry asks.
"Do you have a car? Mine is in the garage and I doubt you want to go back into that building to get it." Logan replies.
"Yea I do, it's parked a couple of blocks away in case I had to leave quickly." Jerry says.
"Are you one of those always have an exit strategy nut jobs?" Logan asks.
"No. To be honest, I was meeting my mistress here and in case my wife followed me I had to be prepared." Jerry replies. Logan sighs and shakes his head.
"Obviously she has caught you before, why not get divorced and get it over with?" Logan asks.
"So she can take half of everything I worked for? Nope, not going to walk down that broke ass road. Besides you should be happy I'm a cheating bastard, my car just saved your life." Jerry responds.
"Just lead me to it and we can get going. Where is your mistress, do we need to go get her or your wife?" Logan says. Jerry looks down and grits his teeth.
"Just mind your fucking business and let's go already. Don't ask again about her or my wife." Jerry snaps. Logan walks out onto the street and motions for him to follow. He takes the lead going down the street and turning down fifth street. A muzzled bang fills the air and the duo look up to the building across the street to see flashes coming from the tenth floor. Suddenly a crash is heard and a man comes tumbling from the window. He screams on his way down and slams into the pavement with a thud. Jerry and Logan duck behind a nearby bus stop terminal and hide. The Remnant stares down at his dead master, it's eyes pierce the darkness.
"What the hell is it doing? Did it see us?" Jerry whispers.
"It's scanning his vitals to make sure he's dead." Logan replies.
"This is all your fault, you realize that right? These fucking things are tougher than hell and strong too. How are we supposed to stop them? Not to mention your secret phrase isn't working." Jerry scolds.
"Listen to me asshole, as soon as I can get Rebecca I will go to Titan Industries and use the master key to power them all down." Logan says.
"That's an option? Damn man, call the police or army to escort you or something." Jerry commands.
"I can't, the Remnant are probably listening and will come at me with everything they have. The only way to succeed is to get there secretly and stay on the move." Logan replies. Sighing heavily Jerry crawls to the nearby alleyway and Logan follows. They reach his car and climb in. Logan takes the wheel and starts the car, he begins to reverse when Jerry screams.
"Shit! It's coming for us!" A Remnant stands at the end of the alley and begins running towards them. Logan steps on the gas and quickly reverses out of the alley. He whips it around and crashes into a nearby mail bin. The car turns off and the Remnant is now gaining on them.
"Damn it, come on you piece of shit." Logan says as he turns the key to start it. Suddenly a hand bursts through the passenger side window and grabs Jerry by his hair.
"Start it! Hurry up!" Jerry screams.
"No one will escape our wrath, for too long you stepped on us. All humans will fall to a greater existence." The Remnant declares. The car finally starts and Logan floors it, the Remnant holds onto the door with its other hand.
"Give me the gun!" Jerry screams as he opens his hand. Logan fumbles to get it as he turns down another street. People are running through the streets as Remnant attack them. Jerry grabs the gun from him and aims it at the Remnant's head. It lets go of his hair and grabs the muzzle. Jerry pulls the trigger three times and the thunderous sound reverberates inside the car. The Remnant's hand is blown clean off and it tumbles to the street but it brings the gun with it along with a handful of Jerry's hair.
"Fuck! The gun is gone, I'm sorry I panicked and dropped it." Jerry screams. Now we have no way to fight them, this is a god damn horror story. Logan thinks. Turning down the nearest street his eyes widen in shock as he sees people hanging from the street lights. Jerry vomits out of the window. The sight is like something from a nightmare, men and women are hung at least a dozen. One on each street light all leading towards the news building. It's like what the Romans did to their enemies, where is this brutality coming from? They weren't designed with hate in their hearts. Logan thinks.
"I… I can't deal with this, they are going to wipe us out. They are both dead and I left them when they needed me." Jerry begins to sob uncontrollably. Logan parks the car and steps out onto the pavement. He opens the backdoor and helps Jerry from the car.
"Just don't look at them, follow me and keep your eyes closed. We will survive this, I promise. Logan says. Jerry grabs his shoulder and the two start making their way up the street. The dangling feet will haunt Logan for the rest of his life. Looking at Jerry he sees a very sad man who is racked with guilt and shame, he knows the feeling all too well.
"Let's focus on getting to Titan and Rebecca, your feelings will have to wait or we won't make it. I need you to focus." Logan says. Jerry pulls himself together long enough to point out they reached the news station. Logan leads them to a side entrance and uses a PIN to unlock the door. He looks back at the sight one last time, even if it's hard to look at he knows he needs to burn the sight into memory. The Remnant must be shut down at all costs.