Halfkinds Volume 1: Contact (12 page)

None of the machines have been
operating.  There’s a compcube nearby, so I walk to it and turn it on.  It has
an encryption device, but my access card allows full rights to go through it. 
I quickly navigate the menus to check the operating logs of the building.

The first thing I go over is when
the last shut down was.  The menus are voice operated, but that shouldn’t be an
issue.  There’s no one in the warehouse to alarm.

“Computer, state the last time of
operation,” I say.

“Last time of operation was at 7:00 PM,” the computer says.

“That was three hours ago,” I say
to myself.  “Computer, when was the security protocol activated?”

“Security protocol activated at 7:01 PM.”

“When we entered, it was off. 
Computer, when was the security protocol last disengaged.”

“Security protocol was disabled at
9:55 PM.”

I look at a clock on the warehouse
wall.  The time reads 9:58.

“Hmm, three minutes ago. 
Computer, was the security protocol shutdown as a scheduled routine?” I ask.

“Negative, shutdown was disabled
manually.”

I didn’t see any manual override
rooms when I was looking at the floor plan.  Wherever it was, it wasn’t in the
warehouse.

“Computer,” I say, “where is the
manual override located?”

“Manual override controls are
located approximately thirty feet below this current room.  Its entrance is via
manhole in the northwest area of this building.”

“If the security protocol was
disabled three minutes ago, and it was done manually, that means whoever did it
is probably still there.  We have to get to that manhole.”

I motion to Colbo to let him know
the coast is clear.  He does not see me, though, so I navigate myself through
the labyrinth of boxes and supplies, back to the front where he is waiting.

“What did you find?” he asks me.

“The security protocol was
disabled manually, according to their system logs.  It’s about 10 PM, the system was shut off at 9:55.  And the manual shut off is underground, right
beneath this very room.”

“That means whoever turned it off
is still here!”

Suddenly, Colbo and I hear an
earsplitting clang hit the floor.  It comes from the northwest area of the
warehouse, which is the opposite side where both of us stand.

“Manhole cover,” I whisper to
Colbo, “that’s how you get down there.  I’m certain that’s the noise.”

“Let’s go investigate,” he whispers
back, “but we must stay silent.”

We walk toward the direction of
the clink quietly, traversing through the stacks while remaining on our toes. 
I hear slight grumblings and heavy panting as we inch closer to where it is.

We are now just around the corner
from where an intruder stands.  The murmuring is even louder.  I can almost
make out what he is saying to himself.  Colbo wants to proceed, but I tell him
to stay behind me.  I want to get a glimpse of what we’re dealing with before
we charge in.

From around the corner, I peer in
and see a man.  But this man has feathers.  And he has a beak.  And he isn’t
wearing any shoes because he has talons instead.  It is the bird man from the
briefings, it is Lombardi Lawton.

I retreat back to where Colbo is
hiding and look at him.  I nod my head and give the motion.  Before we do
anything, I turn on my communicator to reach out to Commander Trevor.

“Commander, we have an ID on a
hostile,” I say to him.  “It’s one of the halfkinds, the bird one.”

“Is he alone?” he asks.

“Positive, it’s just him.”

“Good.  You have your orders. 
Engage the target.”

“Understood.”

I turn off my communicator and
give Colbo the signal.

November 16, 3040
9:31 PM

When I left our hideout, I was a
little teary eyed.  I had never been prouder.  The fate of my brothers and
sisters rested on me.  Not once had I ever been entrusted with such
responsibility, and now, it was finally time to prove my worth.  I would not
let them down.  I’d rather die than have failure be an option.

I have always been seen as one of
the weak links in our family.  I am an outsider among my brothers and sisters. 
The facts are hard to ignore.  While some of them were given gifts of strength
and beauty, I never had anything to offer.  I was considered ugly and useless. 
Some of my siblings tried hard to conceal the truth.  Iris and Isaac, for
example, included me in their conversations and treated me with respect.  Candy
sometimes tried to explain all the things she was working on.  Even though I
didn’t understand it most of the time, I still appreciated the gesture.  But
some of my other brothers weren’t like that, they weren’t kind at all.

Tiago always has had it out for
me.  When we were young, he used to beat me up.  He teamed up with my more
brutish brothers, Alex and Ace, and ganged up on me.  I couldn’t compete with
Alex’s raw power, nor outrun the cheetah speed of Ace.  They used to bully me
to no end.  Growing up was hard.  I might as well have been their whipping boy.

Everyone had someone in our
family.  Tiago had his little gang, Iris and Isaac had their twin connection,
even the other weak links had someone they could confide in.  Maddie hung out
with Oscar, and Leonard was the mama’s boy.  I had no one.

It wasn’t like I didn’t try to fit
in.  Actually, I tried really hard.  Even when they pushed away, excluded me
from all their little games, I persisted to get in.  I think the more they
refused, the more I wanted to belong.  Even if they rejected me, it was still a
sliver of interaction.  As pathetic as it was, even that small amount was
enough for me to keep trying.  I wanted to be in Tiago’s circle.  It never
happened, though, I was still on my own most of the time.

Maybe that’s why I ended up sneaking
out at night so many times.  I wanted to get away from home, to get away from
my loneliness.  After everyone was in bed, I would climb out of my room and
slip through the back door.  Our house was far away from the civilization Primm
offered, so the back door led to this open field that connected to the
outskirts of town.  Sometimes, I would walk outside and look at the night sky
for hours, thinking about the future and where we would end up.

Other days, I explored.  I snuck
in the shadows of Primm’s dim city lights.  The town was relatively quiet at
night and deserted for the most part, so getting around wasn’t too difficult. 
I made sure I had a hoodie on to conceal my face.  I didn’t do it too often,
maybe once or twice every other month.  Mother was good at keeping us sheltered
in the house, and I didn’t want to run the risk of getting caught, so I only
left when I had strong urges.

That’s how I got to know the area
around us.  I knew the streets well enough.  Ace couldn’t even locate the Primm-Phillips
supply depot.  When he got confused, I knew it was the opportunity I was
waiting for.  It was finally a chance for me to prove myself.  A chance to
shine, a chance to be someone the family could count on.  No more being picked
on, no more being seen as the weakling, no more feeling that I didn’t belong.

That was then, this is now.  We’re
all grown up and we’re all fighting for our survival.  And who does Tiago
entrust the most critical task to?  Not Ace, not Alex, but me.  That says a
lot.  I guess all those years, all that hardship I went through, Tiago was testing
me, to see if I have what it takes when the time called for it.  I’m not going
to let him down.

I ran as fast as I could toward
the Primm-Phillips supply depot, tote bag on my back, instructions in hand. 
The night has already blanketed the city and I was able to hide within the darkness
as I made my way to my destination.

A block or two after I had left, I
referred to the map that Candy had drawn.  It was a simple straight path to the
Primm-Phillips depot, and I avoided any major streets where I could be easily
spotted.  I had to make my way down Junket Street, where most of the businesses
were either out or not around anymore.  It was a street littered with emptied
out lots and rusted storage bins, with tall buildings and little lighting.  It
was easy to go unnoticed.

I didn’t really need the map, I
already was familiar enough with the area to know where to go.  It was just a
mile away.  If I hurried, I could get there in about eight minutes, but I
didn’t want to rush.  I was fearful of bumping into someone.  Quietly, I ran
from building corner to building corner, hiding behind emptied bins, old
vehicles, basically anything I could.  And every time I took cover, I peered
out to see if the coast was clear and continued the same thing over again.

This got old fast, though.  About
half a mile in, I hadn’t encountered anything.  No people, no dogs, no cats,
not even a rat.  This street was as dead as the night.

I decided to change up my
strategy.  I was only less than half a mile away, so at that point, a non-stop
sprint would get me there in a few minutes.  I was already hooded.  Face, arms,
everything was obscured by my clothes and nightfall.  Even if I did bump into
someone, I would be running by them so quickly that they wouldn’t even have
time to realize what had crossed them.

I positioned myself in a runners
start and lost myself.  I can’t ever remember running that fast before, but the
adrenaline from the danger coupled with my motivation attributed to my speed.  I
think I would have even impressed Ace with my swiftness.  If only my brothers
and sisters could see me.

And now I am here, standing in
front of the Primm-Phillips supply depot with the weight of my brothers and
sisters on my shoulders and a few breaths to catch.  I look at my watch and see
that it is already 9:30.

I start to search the grounds for
this grating Candy had described.  It’s supposed to lead to an underground
tunnel system where the main security controls are.  According to her
instructions, the grating is somewhere towards the back end of the building,
opposite side of the entrance.

I walk to the rear and look at the
ground, but I still see nothing.  Candy has provided me with a flashlight
wristband, so I turn it on and point to the ground.  All I see are weeds and
blades of grass.  The plant life has grown wild and thick.  Candy assured me
the grating is here somewhere, so I get on my knees and tear away at the
weeds.  I have to move quickly.

The security system is only
activated when an intruder enters the building unauthorized, so the outside
grounds between the outer fence and the depot is safe.  I am paranoid, though. 
I’m afraid that there might be some surveillance equipment or sensor that Candy
failed to catch.  Her research and hacking skills are amazing, but mistakes
happen.

I continue to pull the weeds
furiously, until my hand hits something hard on the ground.  I stop in my
tracks, turn my hands into a fist, and knock on it.  It’s dense.  Carefully, I
feel the surface.  It’s cold, smooth, and rusted.  This must be the grating.

I remove any roughage I might have
missed until I uncover the whole thing.  It’s a small, metal circle no larger
than two or three feet in diameter, severely rusted from the ravages of time. 
Since it’s so old, I don’t have to worry about locks or anything like that,
Candy’s instructions state I can remove it manually.  It’s heavy, but with all
my strength, I lift it briefly and slide it to the side.  The hole reveals a
ladder, which I climb down.

I make my descent into the ground
below.  It smells horrible, like aged feces.  Humans used to dispose their
waste down here, long before modernized toilets had the capability to
disintegrate droppings on the spot.  The smell must be from the remnants of the
shit and urine, left to rot for decades, even centuries maybe.  I can barely
stand it, but I continue on with my mission, walking down the north end of the
tunnel as my directions tell me to do.

The floor is a little moist.  It’s
dark down here, but there are a few lights adorned on the ceiling that help me
see.  The air is colder than on the surface and occasionally I feel a few
drafts of wind.  It is larger than I thought it would be, and longer, too.

At the end, I reach a large metal
door.  It looks new, probably something that had been built over the remains of
the sewer.  It has a numeric pad digitized on it, meaning a code is needed to
open it.  Behind it lies the main console that will allow me to disable the
security system.  According to the specs given to me, there should also be a
metal grating on the ceiling of the room, which I can use to gain direct access
to the warehouse floor.

But first things first, I must get
past the secured door.  Luckily for me, Candy was able to hack into the
Primm-Phillips secured servers and obtain the access code for this door.  She
says it was pretty easy to do so, something about their server walls being
breakable and a weak infrastructure on their encryption.  It was a lot of
technical jargon that I didn’t understand.

I enter the ten digit combination:
4815162342.  And as usual, she doesn’t fail.  Her access code works like a
charm.  I hear a click and clank within the metal door and it slides open. 
When she first gave me the code, I was wondering why I couldn’t use an access
code on the top entrance.  She told me the locks used to fortify the security
system were older than the rest of the security in the building.  They built
that first and later upgraded the security upstairs.  Then they simply never
upgraded back the stuff underground.  Really shows you how well maintained this
place is if everything is so out of sync.

I walk in to see a room very
different from the dank tunnels.  It’s clean and smells much better.  The walls
are white and on the opposite end of the door is a giant computer.  It’s
equipped with hologram technology, meaning there’s no screen and, when powered
on, a graphical interface appears in thin air.  The room wasn’t exactly state
of the art, but compared to where I was earlier, it is a welcome change.