Dog Gone (22)
Dog Gone (22) By Roofles
"At ease." I raised my hand up to the two Brutus in front of us. They saluted as we approached. They were much faster than I expected them to be. And here I was trying to rush things. I was getting far too earger to end this whole charade already. They had already set up make-shift barriers, geared themselves and were awaiting further orders. It was rather scary how...efficient they were at it. Bred to perfection. This impressed me. "They're with me." I said pointing to the dogs behind us as the nearest Brutus turned to face them raising the rifle up. A few more steps and he would've opened fire.
"Of course, sir." Spudnik said coming up from the entrance. He had a pair of binoculars around his neck, one paw was still gripping the side. "As ordered we garrison the surrounding tunnels and have waited for your return." The rottweiler flicked the radio at his side on and bent his head a bit, still looking at me as he spoke. "The doctor is in. I repeat. The doctor is in. Awaiting orders." He stood back up waiting. It was almost...beautiful watching him. Perfectly trained soldiers without even needing the need to train them.
Once fully 'born' they go through several different...schoolings. Information is drilled into their skulls, programed and wired into their brains. Forced to watch one informational clip after another until what they need to know they know. They grasp things far more quickly than any man could, learned and adapted to their environment and are perfect for what they are. Drones. Mindless soldiers following the orders of their queen without a second thought.
"Good. You worked faster than I expected. That does bode well for me." I noted and his tail wagged at the semi-compliment. "We have three wounded. I've done some quick work for them, hooked them up to IVs but they'll need to be...looked after." I couldn't exactly leave them alone and I still didn't trust Biscuit who was pushing one of the two stretchers. Maximas was pushing the other.
The husky was inspecting the yellow lab. Biscuit wasn't as tall as Maximas and was leaner than a Brutus but he was still fit. A soldier's build I couldn't help but notice. His blueish gray fur was and mismatched eyes were... from all apperances he was a dog. Just another semi-intelligent bipeded dog. Yet still I found myself leering at him. Watching every move he made when he wasn't looking.
"Order, sir?" Spudnik asked waiting for a command. He'd stand there all day if I let him, waiting for a response.
"Clear the town.We'll need it once this is all over. " I turned towards him flipping the armband on and showering him a layout of the town. "Do not fire at the tower unless fired on. I don't want any dog inside until we cleared out the surrounding area." I pointed at the market, hospital and library. "Once the place is cleared set up camps here, here and here. Watch the entrances. Your group will be directly in front of the tower and will be going in ahead of us."
He nodded with a salute. His hazelnut eyes seemed darker than Maximas's. And although they held intelligence in them it was dim like an old lamp. Devoid of any real thought. A soldier not even able to question orders. And looking into those eyes I couldn't help but despise him.
Spudnik flicked the radio at his side on again and began barking orders, turning away and heading towards the entrance. Even from the tunnel we were in, the farthest from the town, I could hear the gun fire. It wouldn't be long before the whole town was clear.
I turned back to the four other dogs. Two of the Brutus remained behind keeping an eye on them. "Once the town is clear bring the dogs to the hospital. I'll finish treating them once this is all over and done with."
"And then what?" The question caught me off guard as the husky looked at me. He was smiling and his eyes were as wide and friendly as they ever were but I caught the undertone to the question.
"Once the town is ours we can stay here. It's fully stock and located above my lab. I'll be able to continue my research or rather finish it up." All were truthful things. These days I had no desire to continue my previous research. If it was up to me I would delete the whole thing. Every last one of them... "We can bring other dogs here from around the facility. We can send parties out to get the medical and other supplies as needed. Hopefully we can clean this place out and lock all the entrances. Be safe here, if only for a while."
"Have our very own town?" Maximas noted looking past me at the houses. Gunfire still rang behind in that giant dome.
"Exactly. It'll be nice. We'll have the American Dream." I laughed a bit trying to sound as casual as I could manage.
Biscuit tail wagged and he turned back to the dog in the stretcher. I motioned and Maximas came over. "Watch them for us," I told the husky as we headed into the dome. "We'll be back." One of the Brutus followed while the other remained behind.
If Maximas wasn't so scarred and beat up, with a slight difference in fur pattern and the missing of his ear I wouldn't have been able to tell him from any of the other dogs marching around. They all looked the same. Not like a litter of puppies from the same batch. But like identical twins. Everyone was the same height, build and roughly looked the same. Clones after all with just enough genetic variation to make things interesting. One couldn't even call Maximas unique. If I hadn't tinkered around in his head he would've been the brain dead dolt as the rest of them.
Ferals were already being stacked up in the middle of the street. The large abominations piled in heeps before being drenched in gasoline and lit on fire. The smoke rose from several parts of the town forming above us in the dome, blocking out the artifical light. There weren't sprinklers in the dome but its built in air filters would take care of the smoke.
They saluted as we walked by before going back to work. Leaving us in peace as we headed towards the tower.
"Maybe I should arm myself." Maximas said walking at my side but slightly behind.
"No need. The Brutus will take care of everything. That is what they were bred for after all."
"War?" There was almost a whine in his voice.
"Originally, yes." There was no need to hold anything back from him. "But in the end they are just following orders. They could be gardeners, garbage men, mailmen, maids, butlers, insurence agents - anything really. They just follow orders. Once this is over they can begin rebuilding the town. Make it better, bigger for everyone. Unlike soldiers even after the war is over, they are useful."
"That's good to know." He said. I looked at him from the corner of my eye.
The rottweiler was nearly whistling to himself as he looked around at the carnage. He wasn't phased by any of this. It would be as if whoever created us humans came down and told us what are purpose was, why we were made and what was the meaning of life. And that didn't even seem to be of interest to him. I could pull out a knife and stab him in the gut and I doubt he would flinch. It made me begin wondering if this was how Hudson felt. Surrounded by others and yet utterly alone. As if I were standing in the middle of a store full of mannequins. It almost made me begin to miss the husky I left behind. Almost.
Spudnik had already stationed himself with roughly twenty others in front of the tower. Every now and then they'd fire taking out a stray feral but held their position awaiting further orders. Spudnik saluted again as we approached quickly heading over to greet us. He informed us of our the situation. The numbers left, ammo shortage and that we had lost one of the Brutus during the initial raid.
"Understood." I muttered looking up at the tower. The third story window was still broken. "Send in the first squad. Don't kill Hudson though. Clean everything else out."
"And what about the other dogs?" Maximas asked. A question. Reasonable, filled with thought and emotion in it. I guess he was unique compared to these other cloned drones in some ways.
"They are hard wired into obeying him. After the incident with Biscuit and myself, he won't take the chance of me using the security phrase. Better to die as a man than live as a slave." I muttered that last part more to myself.
"Sir." Several dogs moved out heading into the tower. I followed behind.
The small circular room was crowded. The walls were lined with armored Brutus each standing like statues carved out of stone. Staring forward with dull lifeless eyes. It reminded me of Alfred Hitcocks the birds.
I pressed my hand against the panel and let it scan, take the dna required and I felt the familiar hot hum of it scanning me before the door opened. I motioned and the first set went in. The doors closed and after a moments we heard gunfire. I pressed my hand against the wall again and the door opened, the next set went in. This was repeated as needed until only me and Maximas stood in the room. The next time the doors opened we went inside.
I could almost hear the elevator music as we slowly headed up into the tower. Maximas shifted by my side, nervous it seemed. The smell that filled my lungs told me so. The nose was a handy thing to have, the strength this body held was another useful thing. However when this was all said and done I planned to be myself again. I prefered that any day.
The doors opened and I stepped over the fallen Brutus getting into the center of the room. I kept my hands behind my back as I looked around at the office. "I like what you've done with the place. Get a new plant?" I inquired looking at one of the plants in the corner. It was made of plastic.
"Yes. But I've been thinking of redoing the carpet." Hudson replied. His back was towards me and he was facing out the window, leaning back in his chair. Two dogs lay motionless on the ground on the sides of the desk. One of the Brutus were wounded, blood dripping between his fingers but he didn't complain or whine or show any real sign of noticing so I didn't even bother looking.
I looked at the brown carpet instead. It had several spots stained with blood on it. "It would be a nice change. I've been rethinking of redoing it. With the whole faclity."
I motioned and some of the dogs left. "The facility does need a new design. Might be better to just wipe it all out and start new and fresh." He answered. At least we were on the same mind track.
"Was thinking the same thing." The doors opened behind us and more of the dogs left leaving only me, two Brutus, Maximas and Hudson now.
"So...."
"I got orders from the higher ups." That actually caught me by surprise. The higher ups as in... "They've sent me a clear list of instructions for us to follow. However they don't seem to be aware of our current predicament." A silence filled the room after that. In our own way we all knew what he meant. We all had been effected by this place.
"And?" I didn't really need an answer. The fact alone that we got contact again was enough. Whatever they had to say didn't really matter anymore. That time of silence, without any contact from the outside world, had already ruined us for the worse. There wasn't any real going back.
"They want us to restart the program. The new heads reviewed the old reports and want to start it back up again." He laughed a bit and I found myself joining in at the stupidity of this all. "They think we had stopped. They had forgotten all about us. And now. This." Again a silence fell around us. This time I felt the same as Hudson did. It truly was as if we had been abandoned an this news only confirmed it. To be forgotten so easily...
"Reap what you sow." I replied shaking my head. On that note I pulled the metal case from my pocket and flipped it open looking at the last syringe inside. The other two were empty now but this would be enough. "I need the cure. Antidote rather for this." I looked at my hand. It really did resemble a paw more so than a hand. It was like I was wearing a fuzzy glove with warm squishy pads where the palm and fingers were. It just didn't feel like my own flesh and blood. As if it were a costume or something.
Hudson turned around and looked at me almost amused at the situation. His eyes were blood shot and he had large bags under his sunken eyes. It looked like he hadn't slept in days. His already distinct wrinkles had grown and his hair had stripes of white in it - as well as appearing to be falling out. He hadn't shaved in at least a month and his clothes looked tattered, old and needed a change. He really was a mess, trapped in here. No man or woman alive should have to undergo such a thing.
He reached into his coat and both the Brutus at my side raised their guns. He pulled out a small box and slid it across the desk towards me. "The instructions are inside. I developed it in the fear that I would succumb to the blight." He talked about it like it was a disease. As if he weren't responsible. As if we all didn't have a hand in it. "The instructions," he answered my unspoken question. "Are there in case I lost my memory. It's all yours. I fear I won't be alive to see the next sun rise."
One of the Brutus took the box and and pocketed it. I'd have to take it from him before we left. They all looked alike after all. Clones could be such a pain. Trying to tell them apart and all.
"Anything else?" I asked turning away from the half naked dog to look at him again.
He shook his head almost solemly. "We were abandoned. And I was alone." He looked up at me and for a second I almost felt pity for him. It was as if a child had been left at an amusement park. At first it was the best thing in the world...until it all turned into a nightmare when it began to close and reality sunk in.
"One last thing. Why did you put the Brutus into my memory."
"I didn't." He replied rather flatly. "Although the memories may have been fake, you experienced the whole thing while you were under its effect." He toyed with the thought. "Utter bliss while feeling so real and lifelike." The way he said that unnerved me. "That's what it was made for. An escape from reality for the weak and needy. Your own mind concocted the idea of that...Brutus. There was no program for such a thing. It just gives what the heart desires."
I placed the syringe on the end of the desk feeling my blood turn cold and turned heading back towards the elevator. Preposterous. To think that I would actual want something like that? A dog that resembled mine so much, twisted and altered as it was to be human. Was that the only thing I could connect with? Some figment of my own creation... "Prometheus may have gave man fire and thus knowledge but do not forget." I said to him stopping in my tracks. "He was punished by the gods for it." My voice was cold as ice and I could feel my hand tighten into a fist. An on that note I headed into the elevator the other three joined me in the tight space. And I watched him reach for the syringe from the corner of my eye as the doors closed.
"What did you give him?" Maximas asked a little too close for comfort. Both the Brutus made the space almost unbearable as it was let alone for the two of us. I tried to ignore the warm, musky bodies around me of the half naked dogs but couldn't help but enjoy the feel of that fur against mine. I suppose I was needy after all...that thought only irritated me further.
"A placebo." I answer looking up at the ceiling but my nose still wrinkled at the smell filling the small space. It was kind of nice.
Maximas cocked an eyebrow. Funny how these dogs had them. It almost made them appear human. "Isn't that like a fake...drug or something?" He scrunched up his brow thinking it over intently.
"There are several studies and reports that have shown people experiencing things under the effects of a placebo. Rather gaining or losing weight. Reducing pain or effecting ones mental status. The mind is a powerful thing after all, even when tricked. His own madness will consume him as the sugar water runs through his veins harmlessly." It was kind of a fitting end. Rather something actual happened or not to him wouldn't really matter. His own depraved thoughts and fears of what may happen would in the end to consume him, devouring him from the inside. As he twisted my own desires against me. I would turn his own fears against him.
"I don't really get it." But he shrugged. "Whatever as long as we don't have to deal with him anymore. What was he after anyways?" He asked a few seconds later as the doors opened.
"Simple. A way out." I answered walking into the circular room and out the doors. The answer had more meaning than I would explain to the dog. I doubt he would get it and I wasn't in the mood to ponder it.
The main body had gathered and it was time for us to start anew as the higher ups wanted, heh. "Before I was incarcerated," the word seemed appropriate. "I locked the main doors leading outside. Project Blacklight." The name had a nice ring to it in my ears. "The most advance genetic lock I could devise. The one and only exit sealed from anyone entering or leaving. Trapping us all inside. But like any lock. It just needed a key." And that glimmer of hope had drove Hudson insane. One can only feel despair if there is hope after all.
"And the key is?" He pressed getting a bit annoyed at the half answers I was giving him.
Standing in front of the tower I faced him and pressed a hand against his chest. "612." My fingers pressed into his fur and against his muscular chest. I could feel the scars on his abdomen. "I thought it was obvious. Why else would I go to the ends of the earth trying to find you?" I smirked a bit at the idea.
His ears lowered and he glared at me.
"Detain him. I'll extract the neccissary code for our great escape later." I waved my hand towards a few Brutus. But they stood their ground. "I said detain him." I felt myself growl, my ears lower as I looked at them. They didn't move or respond.
"Like bees the drones may turn on their queen when a new one appears," Maximas said and I felt a slight prick from behind on my neck. As if a bee had stung me.
My eyes widened and my knees gave out and I fell against him, gasping for air as every muscle in my body seemed to have siezed up. I tried to look behind me but could only see the blueish fur of that husky as I fell to the ground. Maximas looked down at me as I hit the ground, hard. But I didn't even feel the pain I knew I should have. Gasping on the ground like a fish out of water.
Air trickled into my lungs that began to burn as I looked, even unable to glare, up at him. His paws were right in front of my face and could smell their stench. His stench. This bastard...
"I've been looking for the key for a while now." Biscuit said and I tried to look at him but my body just wouldn't move. "I figured it was one of the Brutus models but I couldn't be sure of which one. With Hudson, Hubert, Stephany and Jessica...removed from the equation. All that was left would be you. And me."
"We still got the deal, right?" I heard Maximas ask as my eyes began to cloud over.
"Don't worry. I'll keep my end of the bargain. You can have him all to yourself." His voice began to slip away as I felt myself slip out of consciousness. "Everything has already been set up. Just bring him to....and then we'll....and then he's....Brutus." His voice was lost on me as silence fell around me.
I shouldn't have trusted him. Them. To think Hudson had the right idea all along...