Page 17 of M.A.Y.A (After the End #4)
Chapter Eleven
Maya followed the path back to the safe house, moving as quickly as she could through the brush, while remaining alert to any packmates who might be out for a run.
She worked hard to control her emotions so that Isaiah wouldn’t sense them and become suspicious.
She did not need a pissed-off Alpha trying to control her moves right now.
She was mad at him as it was, and didn’t know what she’d do if they faced off so soon after he embarrassed her and kicked her out of the dining hall.
Channeling her rage, she made it to the safe house in no time and found the barest hint of a trail to the bunker portal by using scent markers from some of the Betas.
In the past few days, she’d learned her sense of smell was just as strong as the wolves.
She just needed to figure out how to hone it.
Now that she had some training under her belt, she was proficient enough to navigate familiar pack territory.
“Come on, Maya, you can do this,” she whispered to herself.
It took her a few minutes, but she tracked a discernable path into the mountains.
When she felt like she was close to the bunker portal, a deceptively simple metal grate over a hole at the base of a cliff, she began to slow.
If the intruder was moving closer to the Den, then she should be directly in their path.
Just as she came to a stop to assess her surroundings, a scream ripped through the forest, cutting through the trees and rustling limbs and leaves. Maya’s entire body froze at the sound. Then as if acting on instinct, she bolted forward toward the wolf in distress.
In a small glen nestled between redwoods close to the Franz Ravine, Maya came across a figure dressed in black military combat gear that was frighteningly familiar to her.
These were expedition grade uniforms used by the M.A.Y.A.
units to navigate alternate dimensions. She’d seen them once when the unit walked through the lab.
This automaton had a metallic arm plate that matched hers and exposed computer wiring on his cheek.
At their feet was a small wolf with a pristine white coat.
A discarded backpack lay in the grass at a distance.
Was this the pack member that had sounded the alarm?
Maya needed to get this robot away from the wolf as quickly as possible.
“I hate to interrupt the party,” she called out. “But don’t you think this is an unevenly matched fight?”
The intruder’s head shot up, and their eyes unfocused, then re-focused again. They would’ve looked human if it weren’t for the vacant stare, the robotic arm, and the fact that they were trying to take down a small wolf.
“You aren’t from this world,” they said, their voice deep and melodic. “You are Unit Thirteen. I’ve come to retrieve you.”
Maya slowly walked to the wolf and helped her back to all fours. “Can you run?” she said quietly as she kept her focus on the robot sent to retrieve her.
The wolf nodded even as she staggered a bit. There was a gash on her side, and it looked like one of her paws was injured.
“Then go. As quick as you can.”
The wolf didn’t hesitate and bolted through the trees.
“Do animals understand human speech in this dimension?”
Maya positioned her feet in a fighting stance as she faced the automaton. “Animals used to understand humans in the control dimension, too,” she said vaguely. “How did you get through the portal door?” She knew Isaiah had instructed a boulder be placed on top of the grate.
“Explosion,” the robot replied.
Fuck.
“So, anyone can go through now?”
“I am to retrieve you in twenty-four hours. If I do not return, Coalition leads will reconvene and send more soldiers.” The robot circled her, and the sound of a machine powering up chilled her to her bones.
“Please follow me back to the bunker portal. This world is marked for resource harvesting. After an initial expedition to confirm life and available raw materials, it will be destroyed.”
Resource harvesting. That’s what they were calling military invasions led by the same people in her lab.
“That’s not going to happen,” Maya replied.
“Very well. Then I must use force.”
She dove to the left just as the robot intruder fired in her direction. She heard the sizzle, the faint smell of the ammunition. Maya now knew that it didn’t matter if he brought her back dead or alive. The scientists had replicas of her, and some were apparently way more compliant than she’d been.
They were also able to shoot from their arm plate—a handy skill that she definitely didn’t possess.
She somersaulted forward, barely escaping the second round of attacks.
Before the soldier could power up for another round of fire, she landed a kick against the side of their head.
She then blocked a series of punches and managed to strike them hard in the nose and between their legs.
The robot barely flinched during the first one, but the second hit had them stumbling.
Don’t lose momentum. That was one of the first lessons she’d learned from her few days of sparring. She used those words as her mantra and quickly began to advance on her opponent.
Maya fought him with everything she had; with every ounce of desperation she possessed. She wasn’t going back to her dimension, not now and not ever. She wanted to stay with Isaiah’s pack, and she’d close that bunker portal even if it killed her.
Just when she was sure she’d be able to take the intruder down, they hit her kneecap, triggering a wave of pain that coursed through her entire leg. When they punched her temple, she saw stars. Damnit, the Betas had been holding back during the sparring sessions after all.
The pain was excruciating, but she suppressed her reaction and retreated to a safe distance so her vision could clear. She could think through the pain. It was a familiar feeling.
The M.A.Y.A. unit approached in purposeful strides, and when they were in striking distance, she delivered a series of blows including one to their Adam’s apple. She heard them choke, the sound of a satisfying cough, before they fell to the ground, gasping for air.
Maya wasted no time in sliding behind them and gripping them by the neck, adding pressure against their wound.
As the intruder continued to struggle against her, Maya knew she had to finish them. She’d never killed a person before, but she had no choice if she was going to help this wolf pack; if she was going to save this dimension from the ugliness in hers.
Acting on instinct, she twisted their head from their neck and heard the nauseating sound of bone crunching before the intruder’s body grew limp, and they collapsed forward into the grass.
Maya stumbled to her feet and knew she was going to be sick.
The familiar burn in her throat and the turmoil in her stomach were tell-tale signs.
Stumbling to the nearest tree, she leaned forward and hurled, emptying her stomach of all its contents.
She heaved and choked until there was nothing but faint traces of bile and air. It burned and suffocated her.
She killed a person. She actually killed a person even though they were half robot, and she had no choice in the matter.
The thought of taking a life was horrifying, but she hadn’t hesitated, not for a second.
Is that really what the scientists had done to her?
Had they made her a killer? Is that what they wanted her to be?
She hated it. She hated every second of knowing she was no longer the academic, no longer the crypto linguist who hid away in the archives and who played board games with her parents on weekends. The world had made her this horrible machine.
In that moment, she realized that it wasn’t fear of belonging that had her questioning whether mating with Isaiah was the best course of action. It was not knowing whether she could ever live with herself as a killer and be with someone so good as Isaiah.
With a tortured cry, she stumbled back to the lifeless body and quickly tore off the control panel on their arm. There was a sizzle and snap of wires tearing. What was left was bones and muscle and bloody tissue.
What was left was human.
With the metal piece still clutched in her hand, she turned in the direction of the safe house.
She took two steps before she realized that she was no longer alone.
Standing in a semi-circle in front of her were six Beta wolves and an Alpha.
They watched her with shrewd golden eyes, as if judging her for what she’d done.
No longer able to stop the pain from showing, she staggered forward before she threw the arm piece into the grass at Isaiah’s feet.
“Here,” she said, her words projecting from her mouth like spittle.
“I may not be a part of your pack. I may not be good enough to join your meetings. But I clean up my own messes, and I don’t need any of you to help me do it either.
I saved myself once before, and I’d sure as hell do it again or die trying. ”
Isaiah’s wolf approached just as her knees buckled, and she collapsed in the thick forest brush. Her vision swam and her head pounded. She still felt like she was going to be sick, especially now that there were witnesses to her destruction.
Just as her eyes drifted closed, she felt the cold muzzle of a beast against her chin, and the sound of howling wolves. When she couldn’t fight it anymore, the darkness consumed her, and she fell into a dreamless unconsciousness.