“How far away are you?” Vex asks.
“From my calculation, less than a day. If I don’t encounter any trouble, I’ll be with you by nightfall.”
The day before, I crossed the mountains and what used to be called Stanislaus National Forest. Now most of the trees have burned and the mountains are bare. But I found pamphlets in the ruins of a gift shop. It used to snow. I’ve never seen snow. Maybe one day I’ll convince Stellan to leave the Market and travel north to Canada.
“Thank you, Perri,” Vex says.
I smile, even though she can’t see it. “No worries.”
The rest of the journey is uneventful until I reach what used to be the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area.
“I hate this part,” I say, driving on the dust-covered roads.
Thankfully, most vehicles were cleared a long time ago. For parts and fuel.
“What is it?”asks Vex.
“I’m getting close. But I hate entering big cities. You never know what lurks behind the buildings.”
I know for a fact that Scylla dwells in these parts. But the old god usually prefers the waters of the bay and is rarely seen walking inland. I should be safe. From her, at least.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Perri?” says Vex. “I don’t want you to risk your life for me. Maybe this was a bad idea, after all.”
“Chill. It’ll be quick. I’ll go in, blow some shit up, grab you, and then we’re out of there. In two days, we’ll be back at the Market, oiling your parts.”
“Please, don’t talk about my parts like that, Perri.”
I laugh. Over the weeks since I caught her signal, I’ve been teaching her about innuendos and humor. She’s a fast learner.
The streets are eerily quiet as I drive through. And yet, I notice a few faces watching me pass from the broken windows of many houses. Scavengers and survivors. They’re the ones who never built a better life for themselves after the Rise. It’s also thanks to most of them that the traveling merchants always find wares to trade.
I drive faster, my tires crushing debris and weeds. Let’s not give them any ideas. I’m armed, but I’d rather not have to kill anyone. Stellan is usually the one to handle those situations. I’msensitive, ashe likes to tease me. Every time I ever had to defend myself and hurt someone, I cried myself to sleep for a week. But being sensitive doesn’t mean beingweak. That’s what they all tend to forget. I’m a survivor and a fighter, just as much as they are. I’ll rescue Vex and bring her safely back home.
I use an old map and a compass to find my way through to Silicon Valley. It takes me two hours to reach my destination; I had to circle back twice to avoid obstacles. Thankfully, the building I’m looking for is hard to miss. It’s a giant circular structure, in the middle of what used to be a park. Apparently, it was the headquarters of a famous brand before the Rise,specializing in domestic technology and AIs. This is where Vex was created.
“Woah,” I say.
“What is it?” asks Vex.
“This shit is bigger than I expected. The building is massive.” A part of it is destroyed. It looks like an old god’s doing. The size of it will make it harder for me to find Vex. “Are you sure you’re underground?”
“Certain,” she says. “My creators often talked about it on the first days after my coming into existence.” She never says birth. “And there are no windows. It’s entirely dark here.”
I shudder. I can’t imagine living in total darkness for more than twenty years. The only reason she hasn’t gone mad is because she’s a robot. But even AIs can lose their marbles if they’re not updated often. Vex, surprisingly, is quite sane.
Night is already falling, and I wait for total darkness to park inside the giant building. Most of it used to be surrounded by glass, but it’s now broken to pieces on the ground. They really feared nothing back in the day.
I get a hold of the walkie-talkie. This close to her signal, I can talk to her easily with a smaller radio.
“Okay, let’s go,” I say, hoisting the heavy bag over my shoulder.
I have a lot of ground to cover and possibly many doors to break down while looking for the entrance to the underground lab. I spare one last glance at my truck, hidden behind a wall. It better still be there when I come back, or we’re screwed.
I use the smallest solar lamp I own to make my way in the dark; I don’t want the light to be visible from afar and attract all kinds of trouble.
It takes me an hour to find what I’m looking for. Some of the rooms at the entrance of the offices have actual walls. The doorswere already broken down a long time ago. All except one at the bottom of a staircase going down. There are metal detectors and scanners just in front of it. This is where they controlled who went in and out of the lab.
“Bingo,” I say to the walkie-talkie. “Vex, I think I’ve found you.”
