ORPHEUS - A.I.

Chapter Twenty: Abandon all hope!!

It was a cloudy afternoon. Everyone in the bunker were tired and exhausted by the day's work. The foragers had returned with little to no food and even less fresh water. People were getting frustrated and many were beginning to worry if they were ever going to leave this place alive. Anthea was sitting by a small fire sharpening her knife. She looked sad and really worried. Megan went up to her and sat beside her.

"Hey!",she greeted Anthea.

"Hey!", Anthea replied.

"You seem worried…", Megan said trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah…its just that I feel like we can't stay here for much longer…these poor people can't take it anymore.", Anthea replied.

"I understand…Its just been a few days for us here and I already feel like a year … time just passes here and all you can do is wait and watch…feels so powerless not being able to control my destiny- it's like we are all waiting for our ends to come…", replied Megan.

"We can't lose hope and let Devonshire win… we will have to find a way- I spoke to Hex earlier - he said the three of them (Andre, Tim and Hex) were trying to decode some algorithms and they will find out a way - he just needs a few days he said.", replied Anthea.

"I need to get back to my home- my aunt is sick- I don't have a few days in my hands- it's already been too late.", said Megan.

"Just have some patience dear- we have lost some good men for being careless- we have to have a proper plan!", said Anthea.

Megan said nothing and stood up and walked away. This place was getting on her nerves. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to get out right now. All she knew was that her aunt needed her out there in the real world. But what could she do?

She walked towards the exit tunnel and asked John to open the door. John gave a surprised look and hesitatingly opened up the door. She walked out of the shaft and was out in the open in no time. She looked around. Nina was sitting behind some bushes- carefully camouflaged chewing a bead of grass- resting her back against a rock. The shaft was carefully hidden beneath the tall grasses and it was almost impossible for the drones to detect anyone from the sky due to the natural vegetation and the swamps.

Nina saw Megan walking out and immediately whistled out as a warning to the other girls who were guarding the entry shaft. Megan simply kept walking towards Nina.

"Where do you think you're going?", asked Nina still relaxing.

"None of your business!", replied Megan and kept walking.

"Pfft! Don't blame us if you get killed out there…" , replied Nina.

Megan paused for a while and replied-

"I don't care anymore- I just want to get out of here…"

"Yeah?Don't we all wanna do that…", Nina replied sarcastically still relaxing her back on the rock.

"Then why don't you do something about it instead of just lying down?", replied Megan.

Nina didn't reply and closed her eyes pretending to sleep.

"Thought so…I'm going to the opening and get myself outta here or die trying!", replied Megan and walked away into the swamps.

She had learnt the way by now and kept walking frantically like she was possessed. The thick grass made it difficult for her to walk but she carried on until she had reached almost 500 metres away from the bunker. She then stopped to catch her breath.

"Argh!", exclaimed Megan and kicked the grass.

She was evidently frustrated. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she began to sob for a few seconds. She then stood up and started to walk towards the forests. She had no fear in her mind. She didn't care about the drones or the alphas- all she had in her mind was trying to find the opening and walking out of here. The face of her sick aunt flashed before her eyes and it motivated her to keep moving forward.

It must have been more than an hour. Megan saw the treeline some 200 metres ahead. The sun was peaking through the dark clouds and a light breeze touched her hair. There was nobody around- only an eery noise of the breeze flowing across the open grasslands and the swaying of the trees up ahead. She knew that she was close- if only she could find the opening - she would be free!

Suddenly she heard footsteps coming from behind her- she turned around and looked. It was Nina- walking towards her with her crossbow in her hand.

"Yo! Why did you stop? Scared or something?", asked Nina.

"Why are you following me?", Megan asked back.

"It's my job to protect anyone who stays with us- don't worry I'm just gonna follow you - not gonna stop you or something- go on!", Nina replied nonchalantly.

Megan was annoyed at her attitude but she didn't reply. Instead she continued walking towards the treeline.

Five minutes later- Megan thought she heard someone shouting her name-she turned around and saw Hex running towards her- calling her name- begging her to stop. But she kept walking- she was close to entering the forest and then she only had to find the opening- she thought she was too close to turn back now. But Hex kept rushing towards her- apparantly he was trying to warn her about something. But Megan was too obsessed at finding the doorway and she continued walking- this time she began to run.

Suddenly she heard that dreaded noise- the strange monotonic buzzing sound of the drones. Her heart was in her mouth- her trance broke and she froze in fear as she saw one huge drone coming out of the forest ahead.

"Megan… No!! ", Hex yelled from behind her.

Nina saw the drone and ran towards some thick covering in the bushes. She knew that she couldn't take on the drone on her own. Meanwhile Hex had almost reached her and was about to grab her arm and pull her away. But the drone stretched out a gun and shot right near Hex's feet. Hex was shocked by the sudden burst of the gun and fell down on his back. Megan was shocked too and looked at Hex- the bullet missed him by an inch.

"Stop right there!!" - a voice commanded through the speakers of the drone.

"Megan- today's your judgement day- do not try to resist this- you shall repent for your past!"- the voice announced.

Hex was half lying on the ground covered in dust. The blades of the drone came to a halt as it settled down right in front of Megan. Hex looked at it carefully- this was no ordinary drone- it looked like a cross between a tank and a drone. It was fully loaded with weapons to the core and its blades spanned more than a metre long.

"What the hell are you talking about? What past? I haven't committed any crime you sick monster!! Why don't you let us leave??" , shouted Megan in protest.

Hex stood up and stared at Megan from behind. He had never seen Megan so angry and loud and he totally agreed with her- she couldn't have committed any crime- she was such an innocent looking soul- she couldn't hurt a fly- or atleast that's what Hex thought.

"Two years ago- your uncle was diagnosed with a rare disease…", announced the voice.

Megan's eyes opened wide- she kept thinking-

how did it know? Is it bluffing? Could it be talking about that incident? But nobody in the world knew about it.

"He wasn't prone to any illness- let alone fall sick to an incredibly rare disease..." - said the voice.

Megan realised now that the voice from the drone wasn't bluffing. It knew something that nobody could have possibly known.

"Who the hell are you? Why are you talking about my uncle?", asked Megan.

"I'm Orpheus- I was built to execute and promote justice and I know you're guilty!!", replied the voice.

"Orpheus?? Is that you? Don't you recognise us? We built you!!", said Hex walking upto Megan.

"You are all equally guilty… Megan - you thought that by administering certain illegal drug in small doses - you could slowly kill your uncle and nobody would be the wiser, after all the drug is almost untraceable." - said Orpheus.

Megan was at a loss of words.

"What??", yelled Hex, " Megan what is this thing talking about? It's gotta be a joke!"

Megan simply stood there in silence - her heart heavy and her mind numb from fear and embarrassment. Was she going to be executed now? Did she deserve this? Her friend Amy always talked about **Karma** coming back to haunt people. Megan now felt it was true. She couldn't look Hex in the eye or at anyone for that matter. She felt her head spin - she was blacking out!

Megan quickly put down her cup and followed Anthea alongwith Hex and Andre.

"How big is this place really?", wondered Hex as Anthea and five others led the way out of the bunkers.

"Chuck...you better be right about this, we are all risking our lives ...", said Anthea as she walked behind Chuck and his men.

"I wouldn't have asked you to come if I wasn't sure...", replied Chuck without looking behind, his crossbow hanging behind his back.

"Uh...What is it that we are looking for again?", asked Megan as Anthea and her team walked out of the tunnel and opened the shaft that led to the swamps.

"You will see...", replied Anthea as she took a deep breath and stared into the wilderness.

"What are those weapons you carry around with you?", asked Hex.

"The crossbows you mean? We made them from the parts of the drones and monsters we took down...", Anthea replied as she struggled through the thick foliage of the swamp.

Andre looked at the crossbow hanging behind Chuck's back. It looked like a normal crossbow but it was made of some kind of silver metal, he also had a bunch of black arrows with pointy steel tips in a bag strapped to his thighs.

"Such a strange place...does it ever end?", Megan sighed.

"It apparently doesn't...look at the sky, it looks normal but look at the horizon, it stretches on and on...we figured something was wrong with this place but we could never actually cross beyond the great divide...", Anthea replied.

"The great divide?", asked Andre.

"Yeah, its the place beyond the dark forests, where giant monsters roam, we lost many good men trying to cross it...we always assumed the exit was beyond the divide.", Anthea replied as she tried to keep up with the rest of the team.

"Why would Devonshire build such a place?", Hex remarked.

"Oh there are a lot of things that are unexplainable around here... in the past few months we have scoured through these jungles as far as we could, the entire place is about 50 kms from east to west and 65 kms from North to South...and that's the parts not including 'the divide'... we have no idea how far the area stretches but we know that the divide' surrounds the entire area like a huge impenetrable wall ...we are surrounded by monsters all around us ...", replied Anthea.

Megan, Hex and Andre listened carefully as they walked behind the team. Megan looked at the sky it was partly cloudy and there was a light breeze which messed up her hair.

"I can't believe it...it sounds so surreal... feels like an 'end of the world movie'... ", remarked Hex.

"The shafts that we came out of...", Anthea continued, "there are five of them and they open at different part of the jungle...the one we came through- we call it 'the central shaft'- because that leads to our bunker. During the days of our retreat, we would sleep in the bunkers at night and came out through the shafts in the morning ... we would build our camps over there - where you see those grasslands now..."

Anthea pointed to her left as she kept walking behind Chuck. The tall green grass swayed in the breeze silently and Megan kept looking in amazement at how far it stretched- there seemed to be no end to this place- it seemed beautiful and haunting at the same time.

"So this place is like a prison... and is guarded by giant robots?", asked Hex being sceptical.

"Hard to believe innit? Wait till you see one for yourself...", Chuck remarked from the front.

"There are thick forests to the east and west - and mountain ranges in the north and south, when you cross any of them - you reach 'the divide'... ", Anthea added.

Suddenly Chuck stopped and kneeled down on the ground, he was observing something. The rest of the group stood beside him.

"It's a drone- a soldier drone! We are close- keep moving! Pack that up after you've dismantled it !", Chuck ordered to one of his men.

Megan kept wondering where they were going. What did Anthea mean when she said they've found a way out? It had been almost an hour now, how long will it take? But she quietly kept moving along knowing that time would reveal everything. She kept observing the people leading the way. There were six of them including Anthea. Chuck seemed to be the commander of his small army while Anthea acted as the leader of the entire team. All of them seemed a bit anxious and were being very cautious as they moved ahead. They had crossed the swamps by now and were walking through a huge field. Up ahead were a row of tall trees.

Suddenly a man appeared from beneath trees with a dog following him.

"Ah! There he is...", Chuck exclaimed and ran up to meet him.

Hex recognised the man. He was the same person who had saved his life earlier.

"Who's that?", asked Megan.

"That's Old man Nikolai...we call him 'Crazy Nikolai'.. and thats 'Hunter'- his dog...", replied Anthea.

Chuck met with Nikolai and asked him some questions. The old man didn't speak but simply signalled to follow him into the woods. Everyone followed Nikolai as he quickly rushed ahead murmuring gibberish.

"What's wrong with him?", Hex asked.

"Well, he's crazy, never speaks a word, we don't know where he came from but we found him creeping on us one day and he has been helping us survive since then. It seems that he knows a lot about this place...like he has been here since the beginning...only if he were sane we would have found a way outta here...", Anthea replied.

Chuck and the team followed Nikolai for a few minutes until he stopped and pointed towards a huge bush of wild plants.

"What's there old man?", asked Chuck as he walked towards the bush.

Nikolai simply kept pointing in excitement.

Chuck pushed apart the leaves of the bush and looked. Megan and Hex looked over his shoulder. Hex and Megan gasped at the sight of a wolf like creature lying half dead on the ground. It looked like a wolf but a lot bigger

with dark brown fur but without a tail. It's gut had been ripped open but instead of blood, some kind of purple ooze kept flowing out. It was barely alive and had a deep scar on its head. It was still growling as if it would jump

up any second and attack them. It looked like it didn't feel any pain and it only knew pure rage.

Megan was shocked to find that it had some kind of metallic wires popping out of its head. The three newcomers had never seen such a creature.

"What the hell is this thing?", asked Megan.

"A Ravager!", replied Chuck looking worried , "something has almost tore it in half..."

"I thought it was the most powerful of all the monster here... what could have attacked it?", Anthea remarked kneeling down on one knee and observing the beast carefully.

"Dunno... but whatever it is, its definitely deadlier than this one... I wonder if our weapons would even work on it...", Chuck replied.

"Well ... put it out of its misery... and let's keep moving...", ordered Anthea.

Chuck took out his bow and aimed it at the dying creature's head and pulled the trigger. The arrow pierced its skull and it stopped moving.

The team walked on with Nikolai leading the way. Everyone was silent for a minute. Hex was now a believer !

"How did you like your breakfast earlier?", asked Anthea trying to lighten up the mood.

"It looked different but it tasted good... it was wholesome...", replied Megan not trying to be rude.

She definitely didn't liked the way the piece of bread looked- old and mouldy but she was surprised that it actually tasted good.

"Yeah? Glad to hear you liked it...", replied Anthea with a smile.

"Where do you get this food?", asked Andre.

"Rations... they're leftovers from the time before this place shut down...we had a huge stock left after most of us were killed... nothing fancy just bread, dry cakes, packed soup,a few gallons of drinking water and we hunted small wild animals before they started to mutate...", Anthea replied

"But time's running out...we are almost out of food and fresh water is becoming harder to find ..the streams are being polluted ...we have to find a way outta here soon...", she added.

"I wonder why Alan abandoned this place...has nobody tried to look for you...does the outside world even know of this place?", Hex asked.

"I'm quite sure that after so many months people must have assumed that we're long dead...", replied Anthea.

"After that incident a few of us tried to find a way out of here... the monsters were chasing us... but then the military arrived and took as many of us as they could... there were choppers and tanks, they fought the monsters and rescued whoever they found ... but they never came back for the rest of us... we simply assumed that they thought we were dead..we saw the doors closed forever... Purgatory never opened again...", she added.

"That's really insane...I mean...I can't even imagine how you must have felt being left here to die...tch!!", Hex remarked.

"I wonder why you guys were brought here though...", said Anthea.

"We were kidnapped by Devonshire and brought here ...for some kind of sick experiment of his... we just built an A.I. for him...which he said was for building a better world...little did we know that he only wanted to take over the world and we just helped him do it...", replied Megan .

She was clearly frustrated but deep inside she was scared knowing that there was no way out of this place. She only hoped that Anthea and her team find out a way.

"Hmh! That old dog... he's upto his old tricks again...", replied Anthea.

By now it had been more than an hour of walking through the thick bushes and tall trees. Megan was growing tired. While Hex was still asking all sorts of questions to Anthea.

"What exactly are we looking for again?", asked Megan.

"A c***k in the wall! If it's still there you guys can get out of here and take some of us with you and tell the world about this place...", replied Anthea.

Megan's eyes lit up with hope. Could it be true?

Suddenly Chuck stopped and turned around. He signalled everyone to lay low and be quiet.

"What is it?", whispered Hex who was walking behind Anthea and the others.

Anthea didn't reply. She simply signalled the three of them to lay low. There was fear in her eyes.