The months passed slowly, and the routine at the base became almost unbearable. Between meaningless missions and empty days, we had found a strange camaraderie, albeit with moments of tension, fights, and laughter alike. But the nights were especially boring, and that particular night, I could do nothing but tell random stories to pass the time.
I was sitting on the couch in the control room, with J and Doll waiting for something from me. I had decided to tell them something about Earth, simply because I couldn't think of anything better.
"Okay, girls, listen carefully. This is the story of a planet called Earth," I began, feigning seriousness.
Doll settled back, interested, while J crossed her arms, looking at me as if waiting for me to make a mistake so she could correct me. Before she could say anything, I quickly added,
"J, please don't talk while I'm telling the story. Just listen," I warned her, knowing it would be hard for her to keep quiet.
She nodded, albeit somewhat dismissively, and I continued on. I began describing what the Earth was like: the vast oceans, the mountains, the deserts, and the forests. I talked about the diverse life, the crowded cities, and how the seasons changed the landscape.
Doll, as usual, interrupted me with her curiosity:
"Как выглядела весна на Земле?" (What was spring like on Earth?)
"Spring was beautiful. Flowers bloomed, the air was filled with life, and everything seemed to be reborn. It was a time of hope," I replied, smiling.
J, though quiet, seemed interested in the story, which surprised me.
After listening for a while, Doll finally asked,
"And where is this planet?"
Before I could respond, J, in his typical know-it-all tone, said,
"It's another planet. Very far away. Probably unreachable from here."
Doll, never one to be discouraged, quickly said,
"Тогда я построю что-нибудь, чтобы мы могли туда добраться!" (Then I'll build something so we can get there.)
And that's when I decided to drop the bombshell. I leaned forward, lowering my voice and creating a more somber mood.
"Well… there's a problem with that. Earth doesn't exist anymore."
The silence was instant. Doll gaped at me, while J narrowed his eyes, doubting my words.
"What do you mean it doesn't exist?" Doll asked, her tone filled with wonder.
"It exploded," I replied, a hint of grimness. "A long time ago. The Earth is nothing but star dust now."
The disbelief in Doll's eyes was almost palpable. J looked at me as if he were waiting for me to admit it was a joke, but I remained serious.
—"Really?" —Doll asked, almost in a whisper.
— "Yeah," I said, not a hint of joking in my tone. "I was there when it happened..."
They both looked at me, waiting for an explanation. So, without missing the opportunity, I blurted out the phrase:
— "I died there... but I lived!" — I said dramatically, meme-style.
Doll let out a small nervous laugh, not knowing if I was serious or not. J, for her part, frowned, clearly bewildered.
— "There's no way you survived a planet exploding," — J said, with a mix of disbelief and frustration.
— "Well, I survived. That's how amazing I am," — I answered, shrugging, enjoying the confusion. Even though I wasn't technically on that specific Earth, I was on a similar one so it counts! Ja
Doll looked at me with shining eyes, trying to process the information. J, however, didn't seem entirely convinced, but she had no way to refute it.
— "So... the Earth really did explode?" — Doll asked, still in shock.
I nodded slowly, as if it was a fact that everyone had to accept.
"Yes. There's nothing left now. Just dust and memories…"
Doll fell into a deep thought, as if she was re-evaluating everything I'd told her about Earth. J, though trying to keep her cool, seemed genuinely surprised.
Finally, Doll broke the silence.
"So… if it doesn't exist anymore, how do we know that all of that was real?"
I shrugged again, as if that was the great mystery of the universe.
"That's the question. Everything I've told you… it may be real or it may just be a dream. But, at the end of the day, Earth is no more. That's all that matters."
As the atmosphere grew denser, the silence between us was almost palpable. I could feel the sadness I'd dropped on them about Earth. I saw them lost in their thoughts, and I myself began to feel a little nostalgic.
Doll, curled up next to me, murmured something in Russian:
"И все же это немного грустно…" (It's kind of sad, anyway…)
J remained silent, which was rather unusual for her. I was realizing that I had unintentionally made them think more than I intended.
"Well, that's the way it is," I said, trying to lighten the conversation a bit. "The universe goes on, with or without us."
I thought for a moment. Almost without realizing it, I was about to say something that probably wouldn't have been appropriate.
"No, the saddest thing is that the whole por…" I began, but stopped abruptly before I said something I shouldn't have.
They both looked at me immediately, expectantly, as if they were waiting for me to complete the sentence. I cleared my throat, trying to avoid the awkwardness that had been generated.
"Well, nevermind. What happened, happened." I tried to divert the subject, taking a sip of the cold tea and looking at the wall, as if that would undo the strange atmosphere that had formed.
Doll looked at me with a mix of curiosity and suspicion, but did not insist. J, for his part, kept frowning, as if he did not believe that I was going to leave the sentence unfinished for no reason.
But I preferred to leave it like that, before getting into trouble for talking too much.
After telling them the story, I felt restless and wanted to go out. So I decided that it was a good time to explore further than usual. The snowmobile was my perfect companion for that, and the idea of venturing a little further was less suffocating.
I left the base, feeling the cold air on my face. The landscape stretched out before me, a white ocean that seemed to go as far as the eye could see. In the distance, snow-capped mountains rose majestically, and I was drawn to the idea of seeing more.
I knew Doll preferred to stay inside where it was warm and comfortable, and J, of course, couldn't go out during the day, so I embarked on this little adventure alone.
At first, everything seemed peaceful, the only sound being the soft roar of the snowmobile and the crunch of snow beneath my wheels. But as I moved deeper into the landscape, I felt a mix of excitement and tension. It was uncharted territory for me, and although I was familiar with the surroundings nearby, every turn and new path I took was a reminder of the unknown.
As I drove through the snowy landscapes, I became lost in thought. I reflected on what we had experienced together, the tensions and the laughter, the discussions over coffee and the struggle for control of the tools. I felt a strange satisfaction in the realization that, despite everything, we had formed an odd but effective team.
However, there was a restlessness in the back of my mind. Although we had managed to adapt and survive, we knew that danger was always lurking. With the technology and enemies we faced, I could never take safety for granted.
Finally, I decided to stop in a clearing surrounded by snow-covered trees. The view was breathtaking, and the silence around me made me feel a moment of peace. It was as if the world was on pause, offering a small respite amidst the uncertainty.
As I looked out over the landscape, I couldn't help but smile as I recalled the interactions I shared with J and Doll. There was something about their nature that had helped me bear the burden of being "the leader of the pack." I knew that even though our personalities clashed at times, it was that same dynamic that kept us moving.
As I accelerated the bike more in a moment of carelessness due to a lack of concentration from hearing a sound, I ended up bending the handlebars wrong and falling, although it didn't hurt much. The fall really could be said to have 'eaten' dirt. I laughed a little at my stupidity but that didn't last long after I passed out halfway from a blow to the head from a blunt object. The funniest thing was that in an instant, I had gone from being a curious explorer to being dragged by a stranger. I tried to move, but the confusion and headache prevented me from reacting. I felt the snow crunch under the weight of my captor, and as we moved forward, my mind tried to make sense of the situation as I was being dragged? I was literally barely even getting up because he was pulling me with a rope from my feet, which was worse since I was hitting my head on every rock or bump I passed. Suddenly, the feeling of being dragged stopped, and everything went dark again.
---
When I finally fully woke up, the cold had been replaced by an eerie darkness. I tried to move my arms, but they were firmly chained to the armrests of a chair. A metal chair, cold and creaky, somewhere I couldn't identify. It took my eyes a while to adjust to the darkness, but I could just barely see a flickering of lights in the distance, and a small figure moving around the room.
"Ah! You woke up. Great!" said the same voice I had heard before, full of childish enthusiasm.
The small figure, barely illuminated by flickering lights, approached. Now, I could see her more clearly: she was a girl, but she wasn't an ordinary girl. Her eyes shone in the darkness, and her face, although childish, had a metallic and artificial air to it. She was obviously a drone.
"Hello, human." she said with an innocent smile. "I've never seen one before, I've only heard stories! What's your name?"
I tried to remain calm. I wasn't sure how to act in front of this girl… or whatever she was.
"Where am I? What is this?" I asked, trying to keep my tone as calm as possible.
The girl laughed, as if I had said something funny.
"Oh, don't worry! You're in my secret place. I just wanted to see you up close, I've never followed a human before! I've been watching your tracks for weeks… It's exciting, don't you think?"
For a moment, I was silent. Weeks of following me? That explained a lot of things: the feeling of being watched, the little details that seemed out of place in my previous walks. This girl had been following me this whole time.
"Why did you follow me? What do you want from me?" I asked, trying to hide my nervousness.
"I don't know…" she replied, tilting her head in an eerie way. "Dad always tells me not to get close to things I don't understand, but… you're different! Dad will be so proud of me when he sees that I brought a human. I'm sure he'll praise me for this." she said with a beaming smile, as if this was all just a game.
The girl moved around the chair, looking at every part of me with palpable curiosity. Her expression shifted between childlike excitement and a sort of unsettling disconnect. It was clear that even though she had the appearance and voice of a child, there was something deeply disturbing about her behavior.
— "Dad says humans are fragile... but you seem pretty sturdy. I hope you didn't break in the fall. That would ruin everything."
AND WHAT THE HIT YOU GAVE ME!!?, I tried to analyze the situation, but it was difficult with a nine-year-old robotic girl I think, who seemed obsessed with taking me to her "Dad". But there was something else at play here, something I couldn't quite understand.
Aver thinks bob Think! You have purple hair, purple eyes or rather visor, very energetic but not very sane, problem with your father it seems and need for recognition. Mmm.. no idea, in moments like these is when I regret having told Nemo that it was not necessary for him to be with me and that it was better for him to stay connected to the base...
— "What's your name?" —I asked, hoping for a clue to help me with the feeling of deja vü.
The situation couldn't be more disconcerting. I was chained to a chair, in a dark place, with a drone-girl, and my head was still spinning from the blow I had received. Although her tone of voice sounded childish, there was something deeply disturbing in the way she spoke of her "dad" and her enthusiasm for having captured me.
"What's your name?" I asked again, this time trying to sound less alarmed, even though the situation deserved it.
The girl paused for a moment, as if she was deciding whether to give me that information. Then, she turned to me with a mischievous and proud smile.
"My name is Uzi! Uzi Doorman. And soon I will be the best engineer in this place. Dad will be so proud of me when he sees what I brought!" she said, raising her arms excitedly, almost as if she were showing off some great feat.
My mind stopped for a second at the sound of that name. Uzi Doorman... where had I heard that before? And then, like a flash, memories started to click. The name "Uzi Doorman" wasn't just any name. Uzi, though just a child now, was destined to be a key figure in that story.
But right now, she was just a nine-year-old girl, full of insecurities, caught in a complicated relationship with her father. Sure, she had a brilliant mind, but that didn't make the situation any less dangerous. She saw humans as weird and dangerous, as just another project in her quest to impress her "Dad."
I tried to calm myself, as my head continued to fill with memories. Uzi Doorman, the brilliant, sarcastic, emotionally unhinged future "protagonist," who would eventually rebel against everything she knew. But right now, she was just a little girl seeking approval.
"Uzi..." I said slowly, trying not to alarm her. "I think there's a misunderstanding. I don't know if your dad would be very happy that you captured a human like that… Maybe we should talk about this."
She looked at me with a mix of curiosity and mockery, as if she found my attempt at reasoning completely useless.
"Oh, of course he'd be happy! Humans are something we've never had here. Dad says they're fragile, but you seem tougher than I thought. Wouldn't it be great if I brought one to him to study?"
It was clear I wasn't going to convince her easily, but I had to try. I couldn't let her curiosity turn into something more sinister.
"Listen, Uzi…" I tried again. "I'm a human, but I'm not here to cause you trouble. In fact, we can learn from each other without taking each other prisoner."
"Pfft!" Uzi snorted, crossing his arms. "That sounds boring. I want to do something big, something that will really impress Dad. And I don't think just 'learning' is enough."
I knew I wasn't going to convince her with soft words. But I also knew that if I didn't do something soon, her "project" could turn into something much more dangerous for me.
I tried to change the conversation.
"So… you're a little inventor, huh?" I said, trying to draw her attention to something less disturbing. "That's impressive. Have you built anything interesting lately?"
Uzi looked at me with a mix of distrust and pride. It seemed like I had touched on a topic she was passionate about.
"Of course I am! I'm working on a lot of things. Although Dad says I'm getting a little ahead of myself… But what does he know!" she said, crossing her arms, clearly annoyed by the limitations her father imposed on her.
I knew I had to buy time, and the best way to do that was to keep her talking.
"So what kind of stuff have you built?" I asked, trying to sound genuinely interested.
Uzi immediately brightened up, his face breaking into an enthusiastic grin.
"I've made a ton of stuff! Some of it still doesn't work the way I want it to, but I'm getting better. My last project was a device that was supposed to control drones, but… well, it ended up blowing up in my face. But that's not going to stop me. I'm going to build something no one's ever seen before!"
As I spoke, my thoughts were racing. I needed to find a way out of this situation, and fast. I knew Uzi was impulsive, but I also knew that if I could just gain her trust, maybe I could convince her to release me before she decided to take me to her father.
Uzi kept talking about her projects, and the more I listened to her, the more I realized how complex her personality was. She had that mix of childlike insecurity and the arrogance of someone who knew she had the potential to be great, but just hadn't gotten there yet.
"Uzi…" I said, gently cutting her off. "I think you're incredibly talented. But do you really need to bring your dad to me to prove it? You've already proven that you can do amazing things on your own. Maybe we can work together on something even better."
Uzi paused, biting her bottom lip as she looked at me. For a second, I thought maybe I was succeeding in making her hesitate. But then, her smile returned.
"Don't be silly! Dad needs to see this. He'll see that I can do something great. And you're the proof that I'm capable. Don't worry, human, everything's going to be okay!" she said with unwavering confidence.
My heart sank a little. This was going to be harder than I thought.
After two weeks in that place, I finally managed to gain Uzi's trust. It wasn't easy, nor was it quick, but my efforts to appear interested in her projects and keep her busy seemed to be paying off. Day after day, my comments about her technical skills and subtle suggestions were making her let her guard down.
Finally, one day he allowed me to go out and "get some fresh air." I guess he thought I wouldn't try to escape anymore, that I had accepted my situation. But as soon as I saw the opportunity, I said to myself: "No one kidnaps me without my permission." I had barely left his sight when I started running without looking back, without even considering the consequences of what I had just done.
The problem was, as soon as I entered the dark woods, my bravery disappeared. The cold wind cut through my skin, and the place looked like something straight out of a low-budget horror movie. On one hand, I knew that being free was better than being trapped any longer with Uzi and his constant attempts to make me "useful." But on the other hand, there was something terribly unsettling about every shadow I saw in that forest.
Branches creaked under my feet, trees whispered things to me I'd rather not hear, and my paranoia grew with every step. I was barely far enough away, and yet, every sound made me look back, expecting a creature or worse, a person with a chainsaw, to appear out of nowhere. I would rather keep running than face whatever might be out there.
Every minute that passed convinced me more that I had done the right thing, but the tension in my body didn't subside. As I ran, I stumbled several times, the darkness seeming to get thicker with each step. But something inside me kept screaming that I had to keep going, that I couldn't stop, because who knows what was behind me.
After what seemed like several minutes of running, I finally saw a faint light in the distance. That gave me the push I needed to keep going, hoping that maybe, just maybe, I had found some kind of shelter or sign of civilization. As I got closer, I tried to convince myself that the worst was over, but I still felt like something wasn't right.