Kit

After they assigned me a semi-reliable compact car with chunk of its fender missing and once-glossy blue paint, I ventured around the place. There was an overwhelming security presence, but they kept to themselves. Which made sense considering their vast numbers over the humans. Even I, their physical equal, felt intimidated by the way they watched every move of mine and sneered at me. It was astonishing to be treated this way again. It had been a long time since I had been bullied by anyone other than Eleanora, and I couldn't help but feel slightly dejected, to feel like I was a powerless child again.

So I stopped paying attention to the guards and started to pay attention to my surroundings. The facility was predictable in its structure. It was obvious that it used to be a prison at one point in its history and that they redesigned it to look less inhumane. Splashes of yellow. A lack of a real routine. Locked gates but no locked doors. Strict meal times, but only to provide meal bars and a place for us to gather in the cafeteria.

The place had Godwin written all over it. A comfortable path to death, like he was anesthetizing them. "Shh, it's not so bad. We'll give you some real food while you prepare to kill each other. The nicer conditions will help you forget that you'll probably die. You should be thankful. You should be happy we're making an effort."

Thankfully, I had missed meal time when I first arrived, so after my adventuring it was time for lights out and I retreated the men's ward. It was a vast space filled with bunk beds, row after row of them. Since most of the men just fell into the first bed they saw, I assumed all beds were free game. I chose the one farthest from anyone. I laid in the bed for the night, not able to sleep of course, but I dozed somewhat. I stayed inactive while I thought over things. It was period of rest for my system, not necessary but beneficial. It gave me time to sift through memories and the things I knew, to reorganize my thoughts.

It was my father's idea to have this feature in androids, the ability to drift from reality and process information just like a human brain did while it was sleeping. Unlike sleeping for humans, we could go an infinite time without dozing. It wasn't vital to our existence, but I loved it. It was quiet moments I could steal away from my days and look within myself, to analyze the world and what I'd seen, to mold it into my identity and my perceptions.

It was the time I had to analyze who I really was.

While I dozed, I considered how I would approach the girl when I saw her. She would be wary and potentially suspicious of my presence, that much I could be confident about. But could she possibly be excited to see me? To have some sort of unconscious idea that I'm here to look out for her, to help her? Ah, that gave me such a hero complex. The girl was fully able of caring for herself, that much has been evident by just knowing her for the past few weeks. She was obviously clever and not just thanks to whatever Hank did to her to. Though I couldn't help but wonder how he could make such a creature. Did he steal her as a baby and implant something? Or was she actually biologically his own child that he experimented on? Either reality was frightening. Mar never asked for the responsibility of setting the world right side up again. That was assuming, of course, she was the one.

I was awakened in the middle of the night to a miserable noise, metal scraping against concrete. My eyes snapped open and I spied Duke pulling a bunk closer to me.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Kit, my friend," Duke said, though I knew he didn't mean it. "How did you end up here?"

"People are sleeping, you should keep it down," I reminded him and sat up. He waited for me to answer his question. "I got caught. Security cameras tracked my license plate back to my home."

"Did they?" Duke asked, disbelief laced in his tone. "That's a rotten shame. I thought you were untouchable."

"I never said that."

"But you did, didn't you? You said your father made the droids, too, isn't that right?"

"He...helped." My eyes narrowed on his haggard face. Something about the unsettling jitter in his legs and the shadows across his eyes sent my systems haywire.

"That's interesting. Very interesting. And now you're here," he said, cocking his head suspiciously.

"Is there something else I can help you with or can I go back to sleep now?" I asked, irritated.

"Sure," Duke said and got comfy in the bunk next to me. "'Night."

Of course I never slept, I didn't even doze. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep, my limbs rigid and ready, waiting for Duke to make his move.

Mar

Misty and I walked to breakfast together. After our discussion in the car that left us both a little angry with each other, we eventually made up. By bedtime we were huddled on a bunk together and whispering. She told me about her first day here, just before I showed up. Her and Duke arrived in the same van, thank god, she added. She didn't know how she would've fared without him. And now they were scheming again: how to get out, how to be together.

"How old is he?" I finally asked when were in line for meal bars. Other racers were starting to fill into the dreary cafeteria, tired and begrudging.

"Nineteen. He's originally from this city but found a way out about 10 years ago."

"And yet he still ended up back here," I said, wrinkling my nose at the meal bar that was placed in my hand by a begrudging android. Misty and I walked to an empty table and sat across from each other.

"Yeah, I'm still trying to work out all of the details. But again, he says the less details, the better."

"And have you given away details about yourself?" I asked.

"Well, of course. I don't have anything to hide," Misty said with a noticeable blush. I narrowed my eyes and opened my meal bar. Right before I took a bite, a chime sounded and a synthetic voice filled the room.

"Attention racers."

The murmuring in the cafeteria quieted to sideways spoken whispers.

"Please report to the lobby for a mandatory rules meeting."

Everyone looked at each other for a few moments in confusion before the announcement repeated. Begrudgingly, people got up, shoving their meal bars in their mouths and leaving the wrappers on the table as they shuffled away. Misty rose and I followed her. We were almost to the door, when I saw a familiar face. His chin was perched on his hand and he sat alone. Seeing Kit in the racing center was the saddest feeling I couldn't quite understand. It was like the sun coming out after it rains, the oddest mix of sadness and pure joy.

"I'll meet you there," I told Misty and separated from the departing crowd. Recognition flickered over his features when he saw me approach. I placed my fingers on the table considering what to say.

"What are you doing here?" I blurted. It was the most pressing question, amongst many other.

"Well, I couldn't let you get all the glory," he said.

"They caught up with you, didn't they?" I asked.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea..." I started. A headache started to bloom in the center of my brain, I pinched the bridge of my nose to counteract the pain. "I shouldn't have forced you to drive us."

"It's all right," Kit said softly. "You were all just doing what you thought was right."

"And now we're all here..." I said and then remembered something. "The girl you were with. Did she get in trouble, too?"

"Ele's fine," he promised and then his voice grew quiet. "What about the person who needed those pain pills. Are they okay?"

The intensity of his gaze was too much. I turned away, begging tears not to form in my eyes. I didn't trust my voice, so instead I shook my head, gazed up to the ceiling and begged the tears to retreat inside my skull.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and grew quiet.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter anymore," I sighed.

"Hey, you two, get out of here," a guard said, interrupting whatever Kit was going to say next. With a glare, he extricated himself from the bench and we left the room.

"Welcome to Dead World," I murmured to him once we were in the halls.

"I hear it'll change my life."

"Oh, that's for sure," I said, with an eye roll. How much had my life changed in past 72 hours? I was dizzy just thinking about it.

"Duke is here. He made his presence known to me last night," Kit said and then shuddered slightly at the memory. We finally caught up to the end of the crowd, funneling through just two doors into the lobby.

"That doesn't sound pleasant," I noted. He shook his head in agreement.

"It wasn't. There's definitely something wrong with him."

"Agreed, I haven't liked him since I met him. Misty is here too."

"Oh, you really meant it when you said 'we're all here,'" Kit commented, then continued thoughtfully, "that's unfortunate."

"Apparently Duke has some sort of plan to get out of the race. He's been filling Misty's head with all sorts of fantasies."

"A plan? What kind of plan?"

"I don't know. Misty didn't know either, she said she's waiting for further instructions, that it's too dangerous for her to know all the details, even personal details about him," I explained.

"That can't be good," he said with a groan.

Finally, we were ushered into the growing mob of people in the lobby. Jammed between the wall and people, Kit's shoulder pressed against mine, the back of our hands grazing with a shock. I snapped my hand away, embarrassed. When I snuck a look at Kit, his brow was pinched with confusion.

"I'm s-" I started, but was cut off by the blaring sound of the city anthem playing. The lights darkened and a screen dropped from the ceiling, illuminated with Godwin's corporate symbol. Kit shifted, his face full of irritation with the display.

"Not much of a fan, are you?" I whispered.

"No," he said quietly, but his eyes stayed glued to the screen. I decided to watch as well.

Godwin filled the screen and began to speak. He looked exactly like anyone would expect: plain handsome features, aesthetically pleasing to look at but nothing special. Nothing unique. No moles or freckles or semblance of imperfection besides the tiniest scar on his right eyebrow. I focused on the imperfection wondering why he never had it fixed as he spoke about his past, how he used to be a personal assistant robot to Hank Nefuss Sr, the lead inventor of androids in the past century and founder of the Aikorp. Then, one day Godwin gained sentience and everything changed. Godwin spent a considerable amount of time on his journey to discovery. It was a bit nauseating to watch, but it was laying out the finer details of a history I didn't know too well. After, he handed the responsibilities of explaining the rules of the race to graphics and a voiceover.

"Today you will begin practicing for the qualification lap that will determine positions on the track for race day," the video explained. "For the qualification lap, you will have three chances to get the fastest lap in your car. The track you will be racing on for this is a city circuit that extends from this facility, through the Glimmer District, into Uptown, around the park and back to the starting line."

"Our own cars?" Someone grumbled next to me. "That doesn't seem fair. Not all of us have decommissioned race cars."

They had a point. The entire process seemed inherently unfair, but I think that was the point. If slow cars were in the front, there would be chaos, crashes galore. But not the exciting, high-speed kind. No, there would just be a bunch of fender-benders and metal scraping. But allowing the fastest to assemble at the front, to get away from the rest of the pack gave them the opportunity to fight each other at high speed. That's what the androids liked. That's what they bet on: the crashes and disasters.

At one point during the video, Kit laughed. He held his side as he let out an uncontrollable snicker, loud enough to make me fear we were going to get in trouble, but none of the guards bothered to reach us in the crowd of warm bodies.

"Care to explain the joke?" I asked when the video panned to an aerial view of the Dead World circuit, showing the checkpoints and path we would take.

"It's not much of a joke. Godwin's lies just make me laugh because I have no other way of expressing my displeasure," Kit whispered. "It's this or cry."

His candid response made me laugh.

"And you're not much of a crier?" I asked, feeling heat creep up my throat. I didn't cry much, but I was cursed with crying far too easily. Any time the slightest bit of anger built up in me, my body's response was to release the floodgates of my eyes. Frequently, I would cover my face to hide the weakness of my tears.

Kit turned his gaze to me, his eyes thoughtfully glancing between my eyes and cheeks. A grin flickered across his face.

"I save my tears for sad books and girls that break my heart."

Kit

I couldn't believe I said that to Mar still. Girls that break my heart? What was I thinking?? I blamed Godwin's video for making me grotesquely cheesy. Seeing him always disoriented me. Maybe I was pulling that line from some cooler version of myself or maybe I heard it somewhere and spouted it out in that moment. Regardless, things were growing complicated. After watching Godwin's propaganda-filled video, they divided us into groups and sent us on our way. Mar was in my group, thankfully, but unfortunately so was Duke.

Misty was also in our group and she only acknowledged me with a curt nod before yanking Mar's arm and whispering to her.

"You didn't tell me Kit was here," Misty growled at her. "How did he get here?"

"They caught him for driving us," Mar explained. I didn't feel totally bad for eavesdropping, but I was uncomfortable that it was only due to having inhuman hearing.

"The same night?" Misty asked, a hint suspicious.

"No, they tracked him down later on."
"That's a shame," Misty said. "I never meant for so many people to get caught up in this."

"It's not your fault. We all wanted to help."

"Not Kit," Misty pointed out.

"No, not Kit. But I don't think he's too bitter about it," Mar shrugged.

"Duke doesn't trust Kit. And neither do I," she replied.

"Where did this come from?" Mar hissed.

"I'm just telling you now, so you don't get weird."

"Get weird? What are you talking about? Why don't you trust him?"

"Do you know him?" Misty asked.

"More than you," she responded bitter, pulling away and stalking toward me. Her eyes were shiny and her face was flushed, but I made no comment, no mention. We waited in silence to be let into the simulation room, until a group of androids bustled in and unlocked the doors. Once our group filed in and everyone took a seat in one of the SimPods, they began to give us instructions.

"The track you will practice on is identical to the street circuit you will race on for qualifications. The simulations are set to match your exact car and to mimic its conditions as realistically as possible. You will have three hours to practice. Begin."

In order to be productive, I dedicated the hours to finding all the various ways I could flip the car. The simulation failed angrily each time, chastising me with an angry buzz in my seat and red lettering filling my vision.

SIMULATION FAILED: RECKLESS DRIVING

Eventually though, that also got boring. I wished I had Eleanora's hacking skills to see if I could access other driver's simulations, but unfortunately the system was a little too complicated for my basic knowledge. After the fiftieth crash into the wall, resulting in my pod rolling upside down again, the android in charge stopped me.

"You've had enough," he said, his fingers tugging on my shirt and wrenching me out of the pod. "If you haven't figured it out yet, you'll get it when you smash that car to bits."

It wasn't exactly the response I was hoping for, but it got me out of the pod early. The guard then proceeded to escort me out of the room, down the hall and into a room I'd never seen before. He shoved me into a seat in front of a desk and I instantly regretted wrecking the simulation car so much.

I sensed Godwin as soon as he entered the room, my entire system spasmed. I never guessed that he would come here in person. He was always the type to send a video or maybe a minion to do his work. He never, ever wanted to get his hands dirty in this race, never wanted responsibility.

But there he was. Culpable.

"Oh Kit," he said, a laugh in the back of his throat. "How delightfully surprised I am to see you."

The words remained locked in my throat. The only indication I would give him was a sharp glare. The silence festered between us until Godwin couldn't take it anymore.

"How did you manage to find yourself here? Or a better question would be: how did you get yourself in here?"

Once I thought him to look God-like, but in that moment he looked so frail and powerless. In the odd fluorescent light he didn't look like anything more than an old android. Pathetic. Outdated. Obsolete.

"Do you need to me to speak with the front desk to get you out of here?" He asked, laughing to himself. When I didn't respond, his eyebrows puckered in concern. "You want to stay?"

"Yes," I murmured. I would not spend my words on him, he would not have the luxury of my thoughts again.

"What?" He asked in surprise. "Are you strapped for cash or something, Kit? You know you could have any job you wanted, I told you I could-"

"I don't want anything from you."

"Then why are you here?" He asked, authority in his voice. As if he had power over me. As if I owed him anything.

I shrugged. "Just wanted to see how winnable your game was."

"My game," he mused. He smirked, amused by the words.

"Will you do something about me?" More words, but not wasted ones. I had to know what he would do, if he would take me away from my duty to Mar.

"No, no," he said, to my relief. "I've always enjoyed your sense of humor. I'm dying to see where you go with this. Just don't beg me for help if the filthy creatures start tearing you apart."

"Wouldn't dream of it."