Aftermath - Chapter Three

In a cold, dark space, Zeta finds he is alone, in his robot form. He tries to holomorph into Zee before looking for Ro, but he can’t. His holomorphic abilities won’t respond. He is still a robot.

     

“What do you expect, Zeta?” Agent Bennett’s voice emerges from the darkness. “You can pretend to be human all you like, but deep inside you’ll always be a machine… a machine that was supposed to follow orders. What were your orders, Zeta?”

     

Zeta looks around, but he can’t see anything through the darkness. He can’t even see the floor below him.

     

“What were your orders, Zeta?”

     

“Where are you, Bennett? Show yourself!”

     

“What were your orders, Zeta? What were you supposed to do?”

     

Zeta sighs and answers, “I was supposed to infiltrate Brother’s Day, but…”

     

“But you didn’t do it, did you? Instead, you ran. And now, Dr. Selig is gone, because of you.”

     

“No!”

     

“Don’t deny it, Zeta. If you had done your job in the first place, none of this would have happened. The Nosis would not have blown up, Rowen would not be a wanted fugitive, and Dr. Selig would still be alive if you had just done your job!”

     

“No! It wasn’t like that!”

     

“This is your fault, Zeta…”

     

“No!”

     

“It’s your fault, Zeta…”

     

“No!” Zeta tries to run, but as he takes one step he falls into the darkness, all the while Bennett continues to blame him.

     

“No…!”

     

“Zee?”

     

For a moment he thought he heard Ro’s voice just before he feels himself hitting the ground. He is momentarily stunned, unable to move. He is still surrounded by darkness.

     

“Zee! Zee, can you hear me?”

     

Ro’s voice becomes louder. Zeta wants to get up, but he can’t seem to move. (I can’t let Ro see me like this. She’d be so scared. She worries enough as it is. Why can’t I get up?)

     

“And let’s not forget your little friend, and all the times you’ve put her in danger.” Bennett’s voice returns. “It’s just a matter of time before…”

     

“No! I’d never hurt her!” Zeta tries to move, but he feels weighted down, trapped under the darkness. He tries to listen for Ro, but Bennet continues to intervene, and the darkness feels heavier as it closes around him, smothering him, suffocating him.

     

“You wouldn’t be hurting her now if you had just done your job…”

     

“I’d never hurt her. Never! If anything happens to her…”

     

“It will be your fault…”

     

“Zee?” Ro’s voice returns.

     

“It’s your fault… your fault… your fault…”

     

“Zee! Wake up! Wake up!”

     

Ro’s voice becomes louder again, and now, he’s able to see Ro’s face emerge from the darkness. Despite being flat on his back, he’s relieved to see Ro instead of Bennett.

     

“Please, Zee. Wake up! You’re having a nightmare.”

     

And now the darkness fades away, and Zee can see Ro more clearly now. It looks like they’re in some kind of room, and he’s flat on the floor next to a toppled chair, but what matters more to Zee right now is Ro, kneeling beside him with that same look of worry on her face. It saddens him to see her like that.

     

Ro sighs with relief as she sees Zee’s eyes light up. She gently holds his hand in hers and asks, “Zee? Can you hear me? Are you alright?”

     

“Ro… It… it was…”

     

Ro gently massages Zee’s hand. Whether he can actually feel it or not doesn’t matter to her right now. “It was just a bad dream, Zee. Everything’s alright.”

     

With a shaky, trembling voice, he whispers, “It was… my fault, Ro. It was…all…my…fault.”