Jacob was left speechless by the president’s words. He had stopped at his friend’s old apartment complex, actually remembering where it was by pure luck. The entire building had been condemned for structural instability caused by the science drone removing a six-meter section of wall with a void cannon.
He tried finding the records of who had rented the space, but the Department of Homeland Security had locked those up tight, along with anything involving the abductions, to hide what occurred. Three of the abductions had taken place in the US, but Barry had been living in Japan at the time. Unlike the ones in the US, which had happened around two AM, his attack had taken place in broad daylight. More than a dozen different individuals had recorded videos of the ship and the incident. That didn’t even include Barry’s livestream, which was taken down, but not before copies of it had spread on the internet and found homes on conspiracy sites.
Jacob wondered what the hell Melody had been thinking when it grabbed everyone. Had the AI wanted to take everyone as quickly as possible, or was it another massive miscalculation on Melody’s part?
Jacob also learned that there were three more abductees from around the world. One from Korea, another from Japan, and a final from Russia. They were the three highest-ranked individuals on Omacron Six, showing a targeted pattern that still didn’t make sense to him. He wasn’t able to find any video evidence from those other abductions, and the fact that no other survivors or science ship made it back to Melody painted a gruesome picture of what transpired with those poor souls.
He had no idea why Melody was so fixated on some random space game, except that maybe their high rank somehow translated to them being more likely to be able to merge. It certainly wasn’t because the skills in the game transferred over to Concord tech. With the AI dead, Jacob would likely never know the true reason. Considering how much the AI was forced to erase to keep itself active, he doubted even Melody knew at the time of its death.
Truth be told, the reason behind Melody’s decisions didn’t even matter to him anymore. Jacob couldn’t go back and change the past, so he needed to make the best of the situation he found himself in. He also needed people he could trust to stand by him.
Spite and the drive to survive were strong motivators, and they got Jacob through quite a few months of loneliness, but the longer he was left alone, the less appealing just surviving became. The thought of living by himself aboard the derelict station or broken starship for years, decades, or centuries was horrifying. If he hadn’t visited the Vorlos Station, where he encountered Sha’la, then Hallik, shortly after, he probably would have had a second existential breakdown long ago.
Even though his interactions with Katherine, Barry, and Franky were a bit more confrontational or cold, their presence still helped. Franky’s contribution to that was quite a bit less than the others, but even interacting with that prick beat being alone. That didn’t make the guy any less of an asshole, however.
Jacob was coming to realize that he needed all of them just as much as they needed him. He was also looking to bring others on board because eventually he wanted to leave the station, and doing that alone was terrifying. He figured that was why learning about his friend hit him so hard. Recovering the memories he lost was important as well, but that was a secondary consideration in Jacob’s mind.
“Where is he?” Jacob asked.
***
“Bob, you’re doing wonderful today,” the therapist said encouragingly.
Bob nodded jerkily as he chewed at his fingernails. The meds helped, but he still had nightmares about what happened in his apartment. He recalled being woken up by what sounded like thunder that was far too close. He ran out into the living room, worried about his gaming setup, only to stop and stare in horror as his friend was pulled into the gaping mouth of some beast.
He closed his eyes and rocked back and forth until the thoughts went away. He knew that wasn’t what happened. The doctors had told him as much. Lightning had struck his apartment and came through the wall, hitting and killing his friend, and the trauma of that experience had caused his mind to break. He just couldn’t shake the idea because his dreams felt so real.
The therapist looked down at her phone and frowned.
“Something the matter?” Bob asked, if only to take his mind off his thoughts for a moment.
“It’s nothing,” she replied with a tight smile. “I need to go deal with another issue. Remember to do your breathing exercises. You told me they were helping, right?”
Bob nodded rapidly as the woman left his room in the care facility.
He tried to get in the rhythm of the breathing, but his mind kept getting pulled out of it by raised voices, then shouting. It sounded like his therapist and someone vaguely familiar. As the angry voices grew closer, Bob’s breathing exercises turned into panicked breaths, and he didn’t know why.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Then his door burst open, and a faceless robot stood in the opening. It had exposed metal parts that were the same color as the beast from his nightmares. That was the last thing Bob remembered before passing out.
***
“What the fuck did you do to him!” Jacob demanded.
The doctor crossed her arms and glared at him. “Don’t take that tone with me.”
Jacob jabbed the woman hard in the sternum, forcing her to stumble back a step in shock and uncross her arms. “Answer the fucking question!”
“We were helping him,” she declared.
“That doesn’t look like helping,” Jacob said, gesturing to his friend, who looked drugged to the gills before he passed out.
The woman’s haughty attitude shifted in an instant, and she looked to the Secret Service agent who had driven Jacob to this “hospital.” It was nothing more than a DHS black site, which is why Jacob hadn’t been able to locate his friend.
“I would tell him,” the agent said.
“Bob was sent here for reprogramming,” the woman finally admitted after finding no allies to assist her.
“You’re brainwashing him?” Jacob asked, his tone going cold.
“That’s a crude term for what we do, but essentially, yes. After the abductions, we needed to hide what truly happened to prevent panic. My team was tasked with muddying the waters. Most people were more than happy to believe whatever explanation we fed them, especially when a bunch of other people agreed with our side of events. Bob required a more hands-on approach.”
“Your team,” Jacob spat. “You mean Department of Homeland Security.” Jacob really wanted to punch the woman’s face in, but he didn’t want to damage Barry’s drone, which he had brought down to meet with his friend. “Did the president know about this?”
The woman shrugged. “I doubt it. Plausible deniability and all that.”
She said it in such a nonchalant manner that he almost lashed out. Jacob hadn’t been so angry with someone since Franky’s betrayal.
“Get her out of my sight before I do something that she will regret,” he growled.
The agent grabbed the woman by the arm and led her back to the front office. She didn’t resist.
Jacob stood there and calmed himself before turning to his now unconscious friend. Robert, or Bob for short. He looked nothing like the photos the president had provided for him. In those, Bob was a bit round in the face, and while not fat, was certainly husky. The man passed out on the thin mattress was gaunt and had long, greasy hair. The look in the man’s eyes had been wild and panicked when Jacob had first barged into the room.
That was probably not the best way to greet his friend, but when the president told Jacob where his friend was, he couldn’t help it. The woman hadn’t been lying, and neither had the president. Jacob had made sure of that when he questioned the man after he told him where his friend was being held.
The whole thing reeked of a political move on the president’s part. Jacob knew McConnell held no love for the DHS based on some comments the man had made about the agency being bloated and corrupt. According to old news articles and debate coverage, McConnell’s campaign was also centered around the promise of a smaller government. Most presidential candidates said the same thing, but he never heard of any ever following through on those promises.
It looked like McConnell had finally seen a way to change the status quo and took the opportunity. Jacob couldn’t even be mad at the guy. If he were presented with the opportunity, he would have done the same damn thing.
“Let’s get you out of here and to some place much nicer,” he said quietly.
He picked up his friend and ‘princess’ carried him out of the facility and to the waiting ship. The combat drone was keeping its remaining guns trained on the facility staff. One thought and they would cease to exist, but he had promised the president that he wouldn’t harm anyone.
Jacob nodded to the Secret Service agent. “Tell the president thanks.”
The agent gave a curt nod in return, and Jacob, Bob, and the combat drone all stepped aboard the ship and rose back into the air.
***
Bob startled awake and reached for something out of habit. When he couldn’t find it in the darkness of the room, he started to panic, but the panic quickly faded away. He couldn’t quite recall what should have been there, but its lack seemed like a minor concern.
He blinked his eyes, but the room was extremely dark, so he sat up in the very comfortable bed and stretched. That’s when he noticed the light in the room increasing, and he could start making out shapes.
He didn’t recognize any of the furnishings in the room, or even the style. It wasn’t bad, though, just different. Certainly not his room, or like any hotel he had ever stayed in.
Bob glanced down at his bare feet and wiggled his toes against the metal floor. “It’s not cold.”
The idle comment must have alerted someone, because a hidden speaker crackled to life. “There’s a shower and fresh clothes in the top drawer, Bob.”
“Jacob?” Bob asked in confusion. Why was he confused that his friend was speaking to him through a speaker?
“Good, you’re lucid. I wasn’t sure the meds would work. Get dressed, and when you’re ready, follow the green light.
“Meds? What are you talking about? Is this some sort of elaborate escape room?” Bob chuckled as he stood. He had to steady himself, as he did so, because he felt lightheaded. Then he took in his thin frame and arms. “Wait, what the hell happened to me? Was I in a coma?”
“I’ll explain everything to you once you’re clean and dressed,” Jacob promised.
“You better,” Bob grumbled as he stepped into what he assumed was a shower. He looked at the strange controls in confusion; luckily, someone had taped instructions above them. It didn’t take him long to figure them out, and when he did, the warm water was both a relief and agony. His body felt weak and raw, and even the stream of water falling on him felt like too much all at once.
Finding out his hair was below his shoulders was also unsettling. The last thing he recalled, his hair had been rather short. Once he dried off, he dressed and exited the room. He looked up and down the metal-floored hallway. It was almost like he was on a boat. A green flashing light drew his attention. When he faced the light, it stretched down the hall.
With a shrug, Bob began walking.