up a little so that I could grab my knife from my boot. Just then I heard a “psst.” sound, which came from the doorway behind us. The door was cracked just a hair and I caught the distinct dark eye of a small child. A sense of relief flooded through me. Jacob was alive. He must have gotten stuck down here when he tried to go outside. I tapped Mic’s back and motioned to the door. Mic gave a reassuring smile to the child and then raised his finger to his lips to tell him to be silent.
“Is it ready?” I asked as quietly as I could.
“Yes, but I’ll have to get a little closer I think.”
“I’ll back you,” I said.
“On three?” I nodded in agreement. On his count, we crawled out from behind the reception desk and began to slowly inch forward. I positioned myself to his left and ducked behind the first large chair I came too. Mic did the same on the opposite side. I held my breath and watched as he tapped twice on the little screen. The shorter of the two fell straight back, hitting his head on the entry doors, which caused them to open. The warm air rushed in and the second maintenance man stood in the doorway. I could see him clearly from where I sat, and just hoped he hadn’t spotted me yet. His head tilted back and forth reminding me of a dog responding to a strange sound. Mic was not visible from his position, but he looked up and I held up one finger to indicate that there was still one standing.
I gripped my knife tighter and watched Mic frantically moving his finger over the screen. The maintenance simp strode forward, stepping over his partner.
“Humans, I can sense your presence. If you are injured, I can assist you. Please come forward so that I can assess your level of injuries and ease your pain.”
Mic looked up at me, his face full of desperation and apology. He shook his head. His code wasn’t working. I exhaled a silent breath, and waved my hand signaling him to get further back to hide himself. The simp was moving closer. I positioned myself in a crouch and glanced back to make sure the door was closed to the small room that concealed Jacob. To my relief, it was closed. This simp wasn’t getting past me if I could help it. He was a big “man” with a goatee and a potbelly. I said a silent prayer, and then stood up. His emotionless eyes met mine, and then he lunged forward in my direction. His unnatural speed was something I’d anticipated. I threw my blade and it lodged in his beige uniform just below the place a human heart would be. His head did a strange up and down, jerking motion and a dark spot began to spread out. The biogenetic fluids used to protect the inner workings of a simp had shocked me at first. In fact, the first time I took one down I was convinced I had killed a human, but the color isn’t quite the same. It’s much darker and thicker than human blood — like a mixture of black oil and old blood.
The simp reached down and pulled the blade from his abdomen, allowing it to drop to the floor. It continued forward in a labored gait. I was reminded of a late night zombie movie, and had to force back a wave of terror to get my body to move. “Get the knife Mic!” I yelled, as I began to move backwards. The thing continued to move closer, and out of my peripheral vision, I saw Mic scrambling to collect my blade. I felt the wall behind me and knew I had backed myself into a corner. In one blur of motion, the maintenance man was nose to nose with me. The surreal aspect of those deliberately yellowed teeth distracted my thoughts for a moment as it revealed them in an ugly snarl. I fought back the urge to beg for my life. This wasn’t a human being with a sense of compassion. There would be no mercy. The next thing I knew it had me by the throat and was raising me off the ground. I was bracing my own hands around its thick wrist and trying desperately to get a breath of air
“Is it ready?” I asked as quietly as I could.
“Yes, but I’ll have to get a little closer I think.”
“I’ll back you,” I said.
“On three?” I nodded in agreement. On his count, we crawled out from behind the reception desk and began to slowly inch forward. I positioned myself to his left and ducked behind the first large chair I came too. Mic did the same on the opposite side. I held my breath and watched as he tapped twice on the little screen. The shorter of the two fell straight back, hitting his head on the entry doors, which caused them to open. The warm air rushed in and the second maintenance man stood in the doorway. I could see him clearly from where I sat, and just hoped he hadn’t spotted me yet. His head tilted back and forth reminding me of a dog responding to a strange sound. Mic was not visible from his position, but he looked up and I held up one finger to indicate that there was still one standing.
I gripped my knife tighter and watched Mic frantically moving his finger over the screen. The maintenance simp strode forward, stepping over his partner.
“Humans, I can sense your presence. If you are injured, I can assist you. Please come forward so that I can assess your level of injuries and ease your pain.”
Mic looked up at me, his face full of desperation and apology. He shook his head. His code wasn’t working. I exhaled a silent breath, and waved my hand signaling him to get further back to hide himself. The simp was moving closer. I positioned myself in a crouch and glanced back to make sure the door was closed to the small room that concealed Jacob. To my relief, it was closed. This simp wasn’t getting past me if I could help it. He was a big “man” with a goatee and a potbelly. I said a silent prayer, and then stood up. His emotionless eyes met mine, and then he lunged forward in my direction. His unnatural speed was something I’d anticipated. I threw my blade and it lodged in his beige uniform just below the place a human heart would be. His head did a strange up and down, jerking motion and a dark spot began to spread out. The biogenetic fluids used to protect the inner workings of a simp had shocked me at first. In fact, the first time I took one down I was convinced I had killed a human, but the color isn’t quite the same. It’s much darker and thicker than human blood — like a mixture of black oil and old blood.
The simp reached down and pulled the blade from his abdomen, allowing it to drop to the floor. It continued forward in a labored gait. I was reminded of a late night zombie movie, and had to force back a wave of terror to get my body to move. “Get the knife Mic!” I yelled, as I began to move backwards. The thing continued to move closer, and out of my peripheral vision, I saw Mic scrambling to collect my blade. I felt the wall behind me and knew I had backed myself into a corner. In one blur of motion, the maintenance man was nose to nose with me. The surreal aspect of those deliberately yellowed teeth distracted my thoughts for a moment as it revealed them in an ugly snarl. I fought back the urge to beg for my life. This wasn’t a human being with a sense of compassion. There would be no mercy. The next thing I knew it had me by the throat and was raising me off the ground. I was bracing my own hands around its thick wrist and trying desperately to get a breath of air
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