"Where is he hiding? Tell me where he is!" The cyborg demanded.
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"I don't know." I choked out.
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The cyborg eyed me with a scrutinizing glare, trying to discern if I was lying.
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"I swear I don't know where he is." I tried to break myself free from the cyborg's grasp, but their mechanical grip was too strong. As I was struggling, I caught a glimpse of the cyborg's Bionic corp I.D. Pin. Cyborg 11120189141: Oblivion.
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The cyborg caught me staring and threw me to the ground. They crouched beside me and whispered, "If I find out you're lying—"
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"You'll kill me?" I mumbled.
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"No, I'll kill Atlas."
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I let out a humorless laugh. "Am I supposed to believe you'll let him live if I tell you where Patch is? He's an army deserter. You'll probably kill him, no matter what I do." My heart pounded as I spoke. I was shocked by my boldness in the face of my assailant.
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"Unlike your uncle, Atlas is useful to us. We'll keep him alive as long as he serves a purpose. If you tell me where Patch is hiding. I can ensure your brother's safety for the foreseeable future."
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"You're asking me to choose between Patch and Atlas?"
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Oblivion nodded.
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"It's like I already told you. I don't know where Patch is."
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Oblivion shot me a menacing glare. "You had better be telling the truth. You know the consequences of lying to me." They grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head up, so we were eye to eye.
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"I swear, I have no idea where he was going!" I cried.
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Oblivion released my hair and sent me tumbling to the ground. "I'll see you again soon, Marisa. They threw a smoke bomb and a cloud of thick haze filled the apartment. I coughed violently, trying to clear the smoke from my lungs. I opened a window to help clear the air. When the smog evacuated the area, I surveyed the room. Sure enough, the cyborg had disappeared along with the smoke.
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A bizarre mix of rage and terror flashed through me. My home was supposed to be my safe place. Nothing was supposed to be able to hurt me within the walls. How dare someone intrude into this space! Now nowhere is safe. I paced back and forth across the kitchen floor, massaging my aching scalp. What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? The question raced through my brain on repeat at the pace of my racing heartbeat. I tried to take deep breaths and relax my muscles like my therapist taught me, but it didn't calm my increasing anxiety. I tried to call Atlas four times. He didn't answer. My heartbeat sped up, along with the speed of my thoughts. What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?
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Venus cautiously slunk into the kitchen. Her gazed darted around the room, as she searched for any sign of danger. She visibly relaxed when she saw no one but me. She let out a gentle chirp and pranced over to me.
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I ignored her and continued thinking. What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?
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She sat near where I was pacing and stared up at me expectantly.
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I wish I had a way to reach Atlas. He'd know what to do. My gaze drifted to the cat. It was a long shot, but there could be a way for me to send Atlas a message.
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I scoured Patch's workshop for something I could write on. It was difficult because most people saved everything digitally, so paper was almost obsolete. I found an old instruction manual for a vacuum cleaner. I ripped out a page and scribbled a note on the back. I need your help, Patch is in massive danger! I'm coming to find you. —Marisa My hands trembled so violently as I wrote, I almost dropped the pen. I did everything in my power to stop myself from another full-blown panic attack. I didn't like it, but I had to leave the apartment. Bionic Corp knows where we live now. Patch said it was only a matter of time before they found us. I didn't want to believe it was true, I wanted to believe I was safe here, but I was wrong. Patch is in danger Atlas isn't answering my calls, and I'm running out of options. My best hope is to venture outside the apartment and try to track down Atlas.
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I returned to the kitchen and knelt beside Venus. I attached the note to her collar. "C'mon girl, we're going for a walk."
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We exited the apartment building and stepped onto the crowded streets below. "Alright girl, take me to the safe house," I whispered to the cat.
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Atlas is allergic to dogs, so he takes Venus for walks around the island, just like I dog. He even taught her how to play fetch. He's taken her to the safe house more times than I can count. I hope Venus can remember the way. I disabled the GPS on my Holopad, so no one can track my location, but that means I have to navigate the city alone.
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People turned their heads to observe the bizarre sight of me walking a cat on a leash. Everyone is staring at me! My entire body broke out in a cold sweat and a wave of nausea swept over me. The weight of everyone's gaze bore into me. I felt so trapped. I frantically searched for a safe place to hide from their judgmental glares. I'm trapped. I'm trapped. I'm trapped. Maybe, it's not too late to go back. I thought to myself. No! Patch needs my help. I have to keep going.
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Venus whined and tugged on her leash. She was annoyed by our sudden stop.
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I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and continued walking. I let Venus lead the way; she knows the streets better than I do. We walked past several carts selling various types of street food including, hot dogs, tacos, soba, crêpes, kabobs, and some questionable-looking steak. The smell would have enticed me if I wasn't already sick to my stomach. All the vendors shouted in languages I couldn't understand. My head felt like it was going to explode from overstimulation. I needed a quiet space to retreat to.
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I ducked into the nearest alleyway I could find, and loosened my grip on Venus's leash. A loud crash sounded as something fell from the building behind us. I flinched and dropped my hold on the leash as Venus scampered away. "No! Come back!" I called after her. She didn't return. I sagged against the brick wall behind me and eventually flopped down on the ground. Today has truly been a horrible day. This is why I don't go outside, nothing good ever happens when I leave home.
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Eventually, I crept over to the sight of the crash to see what fell.
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"I'm okay!" A girl climbed out of a pile of garbage, surrounded by several knocked-over trashcans. Upon closer inspection, I realized she was a cyborg. She was much less cybernetic than Atlas and Patch. Only her right arm and leg were bionic. A gazed up to get a look at the face of the girl who fell. She was beautiful, even after falling into a pile of waste. She had long, shiny, brown hair with defined curls. She had high cheekbones, and her eyes were a blueish-green, like the color of the sea after a storm. She sprung to her feet and brushed herself off. "Phew, that was one hell of a landing!"
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"Are you alright?" I asked.
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She glanced up, noticing me for the first time. She let out an awkward chuckle and rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh, you saw that? This is embarrassing."
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"Are you hurt?"
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She waved her hand dismissively. "Only my pride. It takes a lot more than that to harm me. I've got killer cyborg reflexes."
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"Why were you climbing up the side of the building?"
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"It's a funny story, I accidentally locked myself out of my apartment, but then I remembered I left the window open."
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"So you decided to climb up the side of a building?" I gave her a disbelieving look.
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She nodded emphatically. "Yep! I used to be a professional climber, but it was a taxing career. It cost me an arm and a leg." She giggled at her own joke. "I still love to climb to the tops of buildings to enjoy the view."
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She still climbs buildings, even after losing two limbs doing it? "If you don't mind me asking, why do you keep climbing? Aren't you afraid?"
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"Would you stop doing something you loved just because of a little accident?"
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"Yeah, I would."
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She frowned. "That's sad."
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I wrapped my arms around myself. "I guess."
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"What are you doing in this fine alleyway this morning?"
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"I'm lost," I confessed. "My cat was leading the way but, she ran away."
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She quirked an eyebrow but didn't question the logistics of my feline tour guide. "Well, today is your lucky day! My band plays all over this city. I know the streets pretty well. I can help you find your way! Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Katrina!"
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This girl talked so fast it made my head spin. "I'm Marisa."
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"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! You're Atlas's sister, aren't you? He talks about you all the time!
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"He does?"
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"Yeah, he thinks you're amazing."
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That can't be right. What's there to admire about me? Atlas is the hero, not me. I'm completely helpless. Why would he look up to me? "I'm looking for Atlas, do you know where he went?"
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Katrina's expression darkened. "I guess you didn't watch today's Cybrawl."
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A sense of dread filled me. "No, why?"
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She gave a half-hearted laugh. "We should probably sit down. Are you hungry? Ikigai II has some of the best street food in the world, just stay away from Bob's steak cart."
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"Tell me where Atlas went!"
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"I'm gonna go get us some mozzarella sticks."
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***
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We found a small table at an outdoor café. Katrina showed me the highlights of the day's Cybrawl on her Holowatch. I watched a video of Atlas and Chase fighting the cyborg who called me earlier. Atlas, you stupid dumbass moron! Why do you always have to get involved? I let out an exasperated sigh, rubbed my temples. "Do I want to know why my brother is brawling again?"
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"It might've indirectly been my fault." She twirled a curl around her finger.
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"Katrina! What did you do?"
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She dipped a mozzarella stick in the sauce and took a bite. "Well, Atlas showed up to my concert accompanied by Chase Huxley, of all people. They brought me a piece of a map and asked me to decipher it. Someone else had brought me a different piece of the same map a few days earlier, so I recognized it right away. Atlas wanted to know where he could find the rest of the map, so I directed him towards the second piece."
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"Who owned the second piece?"
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She refused to make eye contact. "Gabriel St. Martin—"
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"Gabriel St. Martin! He's one of the most dangerous people In Ikigai II!
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"And Adrien Kumar."
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"He's worse!"
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Katrina laughed. "That's not even the worst part."
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"What's the worst part?"
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"They're looking for the Annihilation Code. That's what we believe the map leads to."
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I buried my face in my hands. Oh Atlas, what have you gotten yourself into?
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"I told him not to go searching, but he went anyway."
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"He's incapable of letting things go. He feels the need to take on every problem. It's his fatal flaw."
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"What should we do?"
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"I don't know."
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After a few minutes of silence, Katrina said, "I think we should help them complete the map."
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"What! You want me to enable him?"
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She raised her hands in surrender. "I'm just saying there's a lot of terrible people hunting for this map. Shouldn't we make sure it ends up in safe hands?"
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I thought back to the cyborg who attacked me this morning. Did I want someone like that to have access to the Annihilation Code?
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"If you decide to help with this, I'll stay here and help you."
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"What about your band? Don't you have a concert or something?"
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She waved her hand dismissively. "I'll use a hologram. It's so lifelike the audience can't tell the difference. Plus, this is much more important, this is about protecting all cyborgs from the Annihilation Code."
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I clenched my hands into fists. "Fine. I'll help."
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