Boy Robot Read online

  I run my hands through my wet hair and start to examine my face in the mirror as the door opens. Kamea steps inside and closes the door behind her.

  “Hey.” I’m sure the puzzled look on my face isn’t hidden very well.

  “Keep this on you.” She hands me the stick. Its silvery finish feels cool and smooth on my pruned fingertips.

  “We don’t know who these people are and we have to keep you safe.”

  The brevity in her voice gets to me. “Kamea, tell me what’s going on. Azure won’t say anything, and I feel so confused and . . . lost.”

  She studies my face, and I can tell she’s debating something in her head.

  “I know I’m not normal, even by these new standards. I just want to know what’s happening to me.”

  She looks over her shoulder to the door and then back at me. My heart starts to race at the sign of impending answers.

  “The truth is, Isaak . . . we don’t know.”

  My heart sinks again.

  “What we do know is that you are special. You are different from any other Robot any of us has ever encountered. Any that we’ve ever heard of.” She reaches for my hand and closes my fingers around the stick. “Hang in there just a little bit longer. Getting you to LA is my top priority right now. Hopefully we can find some answers then.”

  She goes to leave but turns back to me as she grabs the door handle. “And, Isaak, be careful with your heart. You have such a good one. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” She gives a faint smile and leaves.

  I clutch the stick and find myself staring at the marble countertop, lost in thought.

  I think I might have been looking in the wrong place for the friend I so desperately needed.

  • • •

  Tace closes the door behind him as he steps out into the hallway after V. He looks effortlessly cool in a black leather jacket and a loose black shirt that exposes the top of his clavicle. V is in a long-sleeved turtleneck crop top that reveals her toned stomach. Her buzzed hair and tanned skin are accentuated by large, gold hoop earrings. She looks amazing.

  She holds Tace’s hand as they join the rest of us in front of the suite’s doors. He gives a small nod, and it occurs to me I haven’t heard him speak a single word.

  I look around and notice that I’m the only one not dressed completely in black.

  “We look like we’re going to a funeral,” I say as I turn to follow the suited guards escorting us to dinner.

  No one laughs at the joke.

  We move to the elevators and the guard hits the up button.

  “Aren’t we already on the top floor?” V whispers as the guard presses his thumb against a small square of black glass above the button panel.

  The doors slide open.

  “Guess not.”

  The elevator takes us up two more floors and opens onto a grand lobby. Jeweled mosaics are inlaid in walls that look as though they’re made of solid gold. The ceiling is an elaborate fresco picturing a dark-skinned man perched upon a cloud reaching down through a twilight sky to touch the hands of earthbound mortals clamoring for the chance to touch heaven. I imagine it rivals the Sistine Chapel, but whereas that God touches the hand of a single man, this one’s hand dangles just beyond the reach of hundreds. I notice the people’s faces and see their desperation. It feels sadistic, in a way.

  Above the Earth, written in swirling, gold script, is a phrase.

  UNUS MUNDUS, UNUM SOMNIUM

  The guard walks us through the marbled lobby and down a hall lined with framed pieces of art I’ve only ever seen in textbooks. I feel like I’ve stepped into the Palace of Versailles. I look to the others and notice all of them trying to conceal expressions of awe. Azure stares straight ahead, unimpressed, but I don’t expect anything else from her.

  “Have you met this person before?” I quietly ask V.

  “Personally, no.”

  I look to Azure to gauge her reaction. I expect to see some sort of skepticism or doubt, but her face remains void of emotion.

  “Don’t worry,” V says. “We were put in contact with him by someone we trust.”

  JB huffs. I turn and catch the end of an eye roll. I look to Kamea, but she doesn’t give anything either. These people wrap themselves in mystery after mystery. I wish I had a choice other than to trust them so blindly.

  We get to a pair of wide wooden doors carved from floor to ceiling with the scene of an English fox hunt. I reach out and trace the face of one of the foxes fleeing over a fallen tree, the hounds at her heels.

  Our escort leaves us before the doors and walks back down the hallway.

  Before we can react, a once-hidden steel panel juts from the wall as he passes, sealing us in the hallway in front of the door, alone.

  I slide my hand into my pocket to find the handle of the stick, and notice a few of the others making similar moves.

  My heart starts to race as another silent moment passes.

  Then the wooden doors silently begin to swing open. A perfectly groomed butler—an older man in a tux with a mustache waxed to the point of looking cartoonish—gives a small nod and gestures his hand toward a small flight of stairs.

  “Welcome.”

  We take the stairs to a room so beautiful it takes my breath away. Thirty-foot walls of glass surround us on all sides, giving us a full panoramic view of not only the entire Strip, but the surrounding city and every star in the sky above us as well. I can only imagine what the view is like during the day. The sound of trickling water catches my ear, and I notice a man-made stream running the circumference, forming an island in the center of the square-shaped atrium. Our feet echo loudly as we make our way over the black marble floor toward a monolithic ebony table set with golden plates and crystal glasses that gleam in the light of flickering candles.

  The butler directs us to our seats, leaving the chair at the head of the table empty. He offers us water, filling each crystal glass in a silence that weighs uncomfortably in the palatial room. Hopefully the sound of the stream gently trickling around us covers my audible gasps as I crane my neck to take in the sights around us from every angle.

  The butler steps away, and moments later the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs fills the cavernous dining hall and a man appears.

  “Forgive my tardiness,” he says through a broad smile of gleaming white teeth as he makes his way to the seat at the head of the table.

  We all awkwardly begin to stand.

  “No, no. Please, sit. Make yourselves comfortable.” He gestures for us all to remain in our seats as he pulls his chair from the table and sits down himself. “After all, you guys have had quite the journey today.”

  His smile is unwavering. His teeth are so white they kind of hurt my eyes to look at, even in the candlelight.

  “Please, introduce yourselves. I’m so eager to meet all of you.”

  His eyes take us in rapturously as the others begin introducing themselves, starting with Azure to his left and working clockwise around the table. As I await my turn, I take in his appearance—his expertly carved face, his prominent nose and chin, and his precision-cut suit. The undone top two buttons of his crisp, white collared shirt show that he stays in shape and knows it. He looks older, but not old. His black hair is graying at the sides, which complements his eyes. Honestly, he’d be really attractive if he’d lose the fake smile for a second.

  Finally, his eyes land on me.

  “And you, young man. I’ve seen footage of what you did today. The news is in an uproar.” He turns to address the entire table. “Don’t worry; our people have planted a story about an oil tanker explosion. No one has the footage of what really happened—besides us.” He beams his teeth back to me. “So tell me, what’s your name, and what are you?”

  I want to crawl under the table.

  “Well,” I start. Trying to maintain direct eye contact with him is like staring into the sun. His presence is intimidating. “My name is Isaak, and up until last week”—I look to the oth
ers, unsure of how much I ought to say—“I thought I was a human.” I take a sip of the water to wet my drying throat. “But I guess that’s all gone to shit now, huh?”

  He laughs.

  “We have a funny one!” he says through the end of his forced laughter. He looks away from me and gestures for the butler. “My boy, you are anything but a mere human.”

  The butler pops a cork from a bottle of champagne and circles the table, pouring into Azure’s, Kamea’s, and V’s glasses first.

  “I have met many of your kind, and I have never, ever, seen anything like what I saw today. It was like watching God himself come down from the sky, bringing the very future of the world itself with him in his hands.”

  The butler fills the man’s glass last and then steps away.

  The man raises the crystal flute to the table. “To your kind. To the future!” he gleefully toasts, and we all respond in kind. I take a sip, my first taste of champagne, and it lights up my tongue, singeing my throat in a way that’s sweet and dry, yet refreshing, all at once. I don’t mind it.

  Our glasses clink to the table and Azure looks at the man. “And who are you?”

  He chuckles as he swallows his drink. “My apologies. It seems I failed to introduce myself in my excitement to meet the honored guests.”

  He sets his glass down as well. “My name is Richard. I represent the estate of one of the wealthiest men on the planet. One of the primary members of a group of other such men who have been quietly funding the Underground for years now.”

  I can tell by the looks on their faces that several of the others have no idea what he’s talking about. Azure and V don’t seem very shocked.

  “What?” He picks up his glass for another sip. “You didn’t think that all those shiny toys and that sprawling, hidden fortress in Los Angeles came for free, did you?” He chuckles again. “No. You all have some incredibly powerful friends. I’m proud to say that I am here to represent those men tonight.”

  He gestures to the butler once more and opens his mouth to speak, but I can’t keep my own mouth shut.

  “What do you guys get out of it?” I ask. He looks at me, puzzled. I can tell he’s not used to being interrupted and is hiding how much he’s offended. I continue. “By helping us.” Questions race through my mind, and I’m tired of not asking them. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like you’re funding the Underground and essentially committing treason by aiding this country’s current number one enemy. That seems like an insanely huge risk to take without having something to make it incredibly worthwhile for you, in the end.”

  Richard takes a moment and studies my face. I can’t tell if it’s contempt, curiosity, or admiration I see in his eyes.

  “We are investors,” he says, and licks his lips. “We are the best in the world at what we do, and we believe that ensuring your survival is the best investment any of us have ever had the chance to make. We believe you are the future.”

  He takes another pause to let his expertly crafted politician’s reply sink in, then breaks into his signature superficial smile. “Well, now that our introductions are out of the way, let’s eat.”

  The butler leads a serving staff of six men, each carrying a silver platter, toward us from the stairs.

  I look to Kamea and JB across the table. They both stifle huge grins and look down at the table to stop themselves from breaking out into laughter. V takes a sip of her champagne and raises her eyebrows at me in a look that tells me I’ve impressed her. Tace gives me a small nod. When my eyes go to Azure, she gives me a single, discreet admonishing shake of the head before looking away. It doesn’t matter, though. I can’t help but feel proud of myself.

  I take another sip of champagne.

  • • •

  The food is exquisite and unlike anything I’ve ever tasted—lobster, duck, and a million other things I’ve never tried, can’t identify, and probably can’t pronounce. I feel like I’m going to explode after the fourth course, but then the servers return with dessert: banana flambé served over a hand-churned vanilla ice cream that tastes like chilled butter blended with brown sugar.

  I down my third or fourth glass of champagne and scan the room for the server tending to the refills. Azure catches my eye and gives me another reprimanding glance. I don’t care though. After the week I’ve had, I deserve this.

  The server tops me off yet again, and Richard clears his throat. “Well, I truly cannot thank you all enough for your company tonight. May it be the first of many more to come.”

  I grin stupidly and raise my glass. I’ll definitely cheers to that.

  “In the morning, you will be the inaugural passengers on our group’s new transit system, taking you directly from this resort to the Underground’s headquarters in Los Angeles, Grand Central.”

  I can practically feel the jaws around me dropping. Well, maybe that’s just the alcohol exaggerating things, but they’re all definitely impressed. I don’t really know what the hell he’s talking about.

  “Until then we’ve arranged for you all to have a carefree night of revelry in the hotel’s premiere club, courtesy of the resort.”

  I can feel trepidation emanating from everyone. “And I personally assure you—on behalf of myself and all of my associates—that while you are inside this resort, you are as safe as you are in Grand Central itself. I guarantee it.”

  He raises his empty glass one more time, downs the last few bubbles, and stands from his seat. “With that, my new friends, good night.”

  We all follow his lead and get up from the table. As we make our way toward the door, I hear Richard ask Azure if he can speak with her a moment before she leaves. My ears perk up at this, but I follow the others down the stairs and out the wooden doors while Azure stays behind.

  We stand in the bejeweled lobby for several minutes as we wait for her. My head is slightly spinning, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. Everything seems so fun and happy. I’m so full of good food and elated at the prospect of a night without having to worry about the Sheriffs that I don’t take full notice of the look on Azure’s face as she rejoins us.

  • • •

  The hulking guard presses his thumb to the glass square and the doors slide open for us.

  “Which floor?” The man’s voice sounds like a deep rumble of bass.

  “We’re going back to the rooms,” Azure says definitively.

  I can feel the others shuffle in silent disappointment, but I can’t keep my mouth shut. “No way. This is our one chance to let off some steam, Azure.”

  My lips kind of stumble on the last part, but I’m articulating my thoughts well enough. I think.

  “How much do you trust a man who wouldn’t give you his last name?”

  Her eyes burn into mine, and I crack a smile.

  I reach over and hit the largest button on the panel—the one that reads CASINO. “You need to loosen up. We’re gonna dance. We’ve earned it.”

  Her face falls into an unreadable expression. The silent grins from everyone else say everything.

  She shakes her head and turns to face the doors. I notice her chin rise ever so slightly. “No more drinking,” she says. “We all need to be alert, security or not.”

  She eyes the guard and clenches her jaw.

  My eyes wander uncontrollably over to JB. He grins at me behind Kamea, and I can’t help but grin back.

  • • •

  The effects of alcohol are apparently quadrupled on Robots when it’s mixed with the electrolyte drinks they—we—love so much. Loud, pulsating music, flashing lights, and the feeling of bodies pushing against me helps elevate the experience a little as well.

  I’m on my third vodka-and-whatever-this-red-stuff-is and I feel incredible. I’ve never been drunk before. Never felt my limbs go so loose, and all of my inhibitions just fly out the window like this. Everything is swirly and wobbly, like I’m wading through syrup, but it doesn’t matter. The music feels like it’s pounding inside me. I can’t stop
moving—and smiling.

  Fuck the Sheriffs. Fuck the Underground. Fuck fear.

  I am powerful and happy and free, and I am having the night of my life.

  Sweat beads on my forehead, but I don’t care. I raise my hands and bask in the lights flashing all around me.

  I grab Kamea’s hands and smile and pull her in to dance. Our bodies press into each other, my hands find the small of her back, and I pull her in to me more. She lets out a laugh, and we press our foreheads together. I feel so lucky to have her. To have everyone around me now, no matter how terrifying and confusing everything has been. We’re all going through the same thing, after all. I shouldn’t be so hard on them. Especially Kamea. She seems so sad. She’s such a good person and deserves so much more than the life of running she’s chosen for herself.

  I push my chin forward and my lips lock with hers. I expect her to push me away, but she pulls me in tighter. I part her lips with my tongue and keep kissing her. I’ve never been attracted to girls the way I am guys, but I have so many feelings right now, and I know she can feel them all too. She’s so present in the moment with me, and the sensation is more intoxicating than the liquor.

  She gently pulls away and laughs. She grabs my face, kisses my cheek, and leans in to yell into my ear so that I can hear her over the blaring music.

  “I’m going to get you some water.”

  She smiles again and lets go of my hand, leaving to make her way through the crowd toward the bar.

  I watch V and Tace dance together and feel love for their love. They found each other in the face of all of this and cling to each other in a way that gives me hope.

  Even Azure seems to be having a good time, reluctantly enough, when I notice her standing off to the side, not scowling. I feel like I should give her a hug.

  A hand slides around my waist from the back.

  I turn to find JB looking down on me from his tall-person perch.

  His eyes light up in the polychromatic flashes, his usual smirk stretching broadly across his perfect face.