"Get in and get out" I said, stepping out of the truck and onto the school's sidewalk. "Hopefully they'll let me take her home early. Margarete said she'd make dinner tonight; I know Zuzuka likes it when she does..." I thought.
Walking into the secretary's office I placed my hand on the counter, "I'm here to pick up my daughter." I said, "Zuzuka Vilks."
She looked up at me through circled lenses; "Oh, you are-"
"Her father-" I replied.
She typed something into the computer, "Daniel?" She asked.
"That's right." I said, a tad impatience.
"I'm sorry, usually there's a woman that comes to pick her up." She stated.
"...Yes, I know- She's Zuzuka's Godmother." I grumbled.
"Could you please take out your neural link so we can confirm your information?"
"Rgh..." Annoyed, I held out my hand, taking out the cable.
"Just a moment." She spoke, plugging the cable into an output in her computer.
The computer began to buzz and buffer; "Hm? That's weird." She spoke.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Your link is-"
"Czzt!" The computer sparked, as the screen went black. "Huh? It- it died?"
"If it's going to be a problem, I can just wait here..." I sighed.
"N-no that's fine." She replied, waving someone over to check it out. "Just slot this shard, it'll tell us where you are in the building."
I took the shard, slotting it into my neural port. Walking over to the door, "Could have done that from the start." I mumbled. "Crunch!"
"Huh?" She looked over at the door handle as it had been crushed, "What is happening?"
Walking down the hall I gazed upon a gallery of children's art pinned along the walls; "There's so many..." I thought. However, there was one that stood out among them.
A picture of a poorly drawn girl holding the hands of a short-haired woman and a long-haired man with a scruffy beard.
"Oh Zuzuka..." I said, touching the drawing.
"Papa!" Called a voice.
"Hm?" I turned to meet the smiling face of the sun. "Zuzu! My little sunflower!" I said, holding my arms out.
She wrapped her tiny arms around me, "Ngh!" she squeezed. "Papa, why are you so early?" She asked.
"We're having a party for your first day of school-" I replied, "Sorry it came a bit late-"
"Really!?" She said, bouncing up and down.
"Yup, Margarete is going to be making your favorite, baked Mac & Cheese and Hamburgers!" I replied, taking her hand.
"Awesome!" She shouted.
"Yeah, so let's get back ho-" I stopped dead in my tracks, "Wha..."
"Papa?" She said, tugging my hand.
A heavy air filled the hallway, making my hair stand on edge.
"W-why are you here...?" I spoke, a shiver running down my spine.
"Come on Danill, why so stiff?" He smiled, "We're old friends..." walking his rotten husk of a shell towards me.
"Bartmoss..." I growled, my fist tightening.
"Papa, who's there?" She asked, frightened.
"Thought you could just up and forget me? You wound me Danill." He spoke, pouting. "After all we've been through..."
"Don't act like you were anything but a genocidal lunatic! You fucked the world with your insane schemes!" I shouted.
"Oh Danill, the world was already counting its final days long before I came around." He grinned, as sick and twisted as his mangled body. "I just sped up the clock..."
"Gonna make you wish you stayed dead." I said, engaging my mantis blades.
"Perhaps we both should have." He replied, "Pretending to be the loving father you had so hoped to be; when we know anything you try to protect will simply..."
"Don't you dare..."
"...crash and burn."
"ENOUGH!" I roared; I held up my blade-
"AHH!"
"Wha-" I looked down; Zuzuka had fallen to the ground, holding her arm. "Zuzuka!" I yelled.
I grabbed her, picking her up in my arms; a large laceration had been made on her forearm.
"I-I'm so sorry!" I panicked, as she breathed heavily. I rushed to the door, "Don't worry, you're gonna be okay. Papa's got you!"
I slammed the door to the house open, "Wham!"
Coming from the kitchen Margaret wore an apron as she held a pan of hot Mac & Cheese, "Back already? Don't worry it'll only be-"
"Margaret!" I yelled, holding Zuzuka in my arms. "Help!"
"Clang!" She dropped the pan when she saw us.
An hour had passed, and we had stopped the bleeding. Zuzuka slept in her bed, the pain medication working its magic.
"Sure wish we had Trauma Team..." Sighed Margaret washing dirty medical rags.
I stood in the doorway, "We both know they'd never come out here."
"Daniel..." She stood up, giving me a suspicious look. "What happened?"
I looked away, "She had an "accident"." I replied.
She grabbed my face, turning my head around. "Stop that. Look at me and tell me what happened."
"Ngh... My implants; something's wrong with them." I relented, "But I'm working on it."
"Like hell you are! Look at Zuzuka's arm!" She shouted. "She nearly lost it!"
"I know- I feel horrible, but I'm taking medication."
"Seems it isn't quite doing the trick." She replied.
"You don't understand- I don't know what's happening Margaret, but everyday it's getting harder to control myself." I said, running my hands through my hair.
"Daniel, what are you..."
"My body, my mind, they don't listen to me anymore..." I shivered, holding my head. "I- I feel like I'm losing myself..."
"Well, we can go see a Ripperdoc; I'm sure they can-"
"You don't think I haven't tried?!" I yelled, "But there isn't much of me left! I'm stuck in this coffin of a body!"
"Mhm... Papa?" Zuzuka called out from her room.
We stopped, meeting her at her bedside. "Zuzu? How are you feeling?" I asked.
"You need anything honey?"
"Ngh... My arm feels tingly." She said, rubbing her eyes.
"She needs some more medication. But we're out." Said Margaret, "Go get her some from the pharmacy, we can talk about... your "problem" later."
"Alright..." I sighed, walking towards the door. "Wait..." I took Bartmoss's shard out of my pocket. "Zuzu, I have a gift for you." I said, kneeling down.
"What is it...?" She asked sleepily.
"It's a necklace, that'll let you find me wherever you go." I hung the shard around her neck; the metallic blue complimented her amber eyes. "It's pretty too, isn't it?"
"Yeah..." She said, holding it in her palm.
"The shard?" Said Margaret, "The one you were looking into?"
"It was just a normal storage shard." I replied, "So I had him put a tracking program on it."
"What? So now you're a helicopter papa?" She snickered.
"Shut it-"
"Papa? Where are you-"
I kissed Zuzuka's forehead, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon-"
She tugged at my hair, "When you get back, I wanna go get ice cream again..."
"Of course," I smiled, "I promise, we'll get some."
On my way to the pharmacy the phone rang; "Hello?" I said.
"Good afternoon Mr. Vilks," Said a woman. "I'm from Militech's veteran's services office. And I'd like to talk to you about financial help."
"What's this for- I didn't know they had a veteran's office." I replied.
"Well, in our current year of 2041 Militech has decided to take the initiative to show its appreciation for its former employees."
As she spoke, I passed the "Runner's Rally", what was left of it. Caution tape surrounding the smoldering pile of burnt rubble.
"Yeah..." I said, "How do I apply?" I asked.
"You'd have to come to our local office in town, when can we schedule you?"
Suddenly, four black Emperor 620's drove by; heavily armored. I ducked under the dash.
"Mr. Vilks? Hello?" said the woman.
I took the phone, slowly raising it to my ear. "Who is this." I asked.
"Sir? What are you-"
"WHO IS THIS." I asked again.
There was a silence for a moment; "This could've gone so much smoother Mr. Vilks." She sighed.
"Who are you, what do you want?"
"You have something that "belongs" to my superiors, and they want it back." She said, with a voice like a knife to the throat. "I'll be coming for it very soon."
My hand tightened around the wheel; "Listen, whatever you're lookin' for I don't-"
"Make sure to leave the light on when we stop by..."
"Click!"
"Damnit." I put the phone down, "What did she-" suddenly it hit me. "The 620's. They were heading-"
"BOOM!" A loud explosion could be heard from across town.
Like a snake fear slithered its way into my heart, taking hold; "The house..."