Spirits of the Earth: The Complete Series: (A Post-Apocalyptic Series Box Set: Books 1-3) by Milo Fowler (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📕

the clone beside me was deceased and Arienna was gone. I entered the building and located you. I carried you up to the roof and took Drasko's undamaged aerocar."

The process of entering that lounge and getting away with me in tow sounds like it was no big deal. "How many people did you kill along the way?"

The clone pauses before answering. "I inflicted as much damage as was necessary to ensure your safety, Enforcer Chen."

"How many?"

"I did not intentionally seek to dispatch any human beings on the premises. But it is possible that a few of them may expire due to their injuries, if they do not receive immediate medical attention."

"Was Drasko among them?"

"I broke his arm. It was attached to the shocker he used on you, which, as you can see, is now in your holster."

I hadn't noticed. But there it is. I rest the palm of my hand on the weapon's grip. "You left Erik with those people?"

"Neither Erik Paine nor Arienna Dogan is my responsibility—"

"Because Erik modified your programming!" I curse, pounding the console in front of me with a fist. "Turn this car around. We're going back for them right now."

"We are approaching our destination, Enforcer Chen. It would be illogical to turn back now."

Without Erik, without the EMP grenades he was planning to procure from that shady establishment, our mission to awaken the Twenty will fail. There's no way I'll be able to free them from their augments—and from wherever they're being held. Not with a single shocker and a security clone that's seen much better days.

"Your primary directive is my safety, correct?"

The clone nods. "Yes."

"And you take orders only from me."

"That is correct, Enforcer Chen."

"Then explain why we're still on this heading." I draw my shocker and aim it at the clone's right temple. "You're disobeying a direct order. How do you know taking us to this facility won't put me in danger?"

D1-436 keeps its head stationary, but its eyes glance at me. "You will be safe there. All of the Twenty will be. You cannot be allowed to move among the populace. It was a bad idea from the beginning, unsafe for all of you. The Chancellor was not thinking straight—"

"You're not thinking straight." It sure seems like the clone's original directive is rearing its ugly head. Or maybe it was never completely overwritten in the first place. This unit showed up at my doorstep requesting that I accompany it to a safe location during the terrorist threat, and it sure looks like that's where we're headed right now. "I'll give you one more chance, then I'm pulling this trigger. Turn around and head back to the Domes. Do it now."

"You are too important, Enforcer Chen. I am sorry I cannot comply. I must keep you safe."

Its right arm smacks the shocker away just as I fire a charged round. The pulse of energy misses its mark and hits the interior wall behind the cockpit instead. No damage done as it fizzles out. The weapon is designed for use on biological organisms, not mechanical. It'll knock out a clone with its helmet off, but won't do a thing to fully armored security personnel. And it won't bring this aerocar crashing to the ground.

So I keep firing, struggling to hit D1-436 in the face. But the clone is too fast, effortlessly blocking my every attempt as I curse, frustrated. When I get the bright idea to leave my seat and shoot it in the back of the head, it snatches the shocker out of my hand and keeps it out of my reach, all while maintaining a flawless flight trajectory and keeping its eyes riveted on the windscreen.

"There," it says as if we haven't spent the past minute at odds with one another.

Furiously clenching my teeth, I look outside at what appears to be a squatty tower rising up to greet us from the tortured earth. Almost like it's being birthed by the surrounding area, the same shade of dirt, composed of an analogous substance or made to look like it. There are no other structures anywhere in sight, not a single ruin. Just barren wastes as far as I can see.

"Please take a seat, Enforcer Chen."

Cursing under my breath, I return to the co-pilot seat in the cockpit and strap in for landing. D1-436 maneuvers the aerocar in a flyover, then banks to the right, and we sweep around the tower, closing in on the roof where a single landing pad is waiting for us.

"Why not bring all three of us here?"

"You are my only objective, Enforcer Chen. Other security personnel were tasked with escorting Erik Paine and Arienna Dogan, just as additional units were tasked with escorting the other seventeen members of the Twenty."

Drasko's headshot must have interfered with Erik's reprogramming, causing the clone to revert to its original directive. That's the only thing I can attribute this change in behavior to.

The aerocar touches down with a soft bump, and D1-436 cuts the engines. As the landing pad and the tower it's attached to begin descending into the ground, an eight-leafed plasteel aperture closes above us, shutting out the sun's light and heat. Sudden air jets strike the aerocar's exterior as beads of neon blue along the walls and ceiling illuminate what's now an underground hangar.

Once we stop moving, the artificial wind ceases, and a message pops up on the aerocar's console: WELCOME TO FUTURO TOWER — DECONTAMINATION COMPLETE. Turning to face me, the clone punches the manual release for the cockpit doors, and they both float upward.

"I will hold onto this for now." It keeps the shocker in its left hand. "Please exit the vehicle and make your way to the elevator."

Why do I get the feeling I'm your prisoner?

I watch the clone's dark eyes for any sort of response after sending that thought toward it. D1-436 just stares blankly back at me. The blood on its face has congealed, but the head wound looks nasty and will require stitches. Assuming