The rain hasn’t stopped since the machines took control. No one could make sense of it. Why did one have to do with the other? Crazy old Ms. Jenkens said it was because Jesus was weeping the loss of humanity as we knew it. The news anchors said it was a political conspiracy. Darrel from next door said they had some kind of weather control device
“Ya man, think about it. They control the weather, keep it dark, gloomy, and wet. People are less likely to flee, to fight. After a while, a normal human would rather be subjected to machine scrutiny and certain death than deal with the 500 hundredth day of rain in a row.”
Neal did think about it. He thought about all the theories, running them back and forth trying to make them fit. Nothing ever convinced him. Neal’s brain wouldn’t let him easily accept something that wasn’t logically explained. Then again, the fact he was living in a new world run by machines, whose sole purpose was to wipe the world of human life, proved not everything had to make logical sense to be real. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring out the window. He watched the consistent movement of the raindrops. He stared at the bleak sky and tried to discern what time it was. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt, let alone saw the sun. It was all he took to remind himself every single day, keep moving, keep fighting and don't comply.
A noise behind him pulled Neal back to reality. He didn’t often let his mind wander, but when it did; it usually ended up on the damn rain. Rebecca came up behind him, her soft, warm hands slid up his back and settled on either shoulder. She kissed his left cheek softly and allowed her hands to wrap around his neck, squeezing gently.
“Penny for your thoughts?” She kept her voice light and tried to convey how deeply she wanted to know what he was thinking and feeling. Neal shifted beneath her, pushing his body forward, forcing her arms to break apart and release him. He stood up and let out a heavy sigh. Walking toward the window, he ran his hand through his thick brown hair, sending chills up Rebecca’s spine. She had no control over the way her body responded to Neal. He had some kind of magic spell on her, she was convinced. The more indifferent he seemed to be toward her, the more she wanted him. She knew there had to be some psychological reason as to why she would accept less than she deserves; but she truly didn’t care. She was already living in a real life nightmare; a world overtaken by machines. Millions of people have already been terminated and it doesn’t seem like the hunt will stop until they eliminate every single one of them. Neal being a little bit dismissive was something she could live with.
“Every time I am quiet…” Neal started, his voice low and nearly growl-like.
“You’re thinking about the rain…” Rebecca finished dutifully. He gave her a small nod, but kept his attention on the outside world. “You’re going to drive yourself crazy that way.” she said as light heartedly as she could muster. This seemed to break his concentration. He turned toward her slowly, his face stoic. His face was so much harder now than it had been when they first met five years ago. Her and Neal had been through so much together before the overtaking happened. She never once doubted they would make it out of this impossible situation together. Then, 43 days into the attack, she found out she was pregnant. She knew this is what completely broke the man she had loved for so long. She watched as the color drained from his face the day she told him.
The two of them had always wanted a family. They talked about it all the time, very comfortably. Neither of them cared that they weren’t yet married or didn’t exactly know what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives. They both just knew, together they would have a family and that it would happen whenever it was supposed to. She remembered his booming “NO!” the second the words left her mouth. She never told him this, but that absolutely broke her. She knew this was the absolute worst time to have a baby, to start a family. They were living on the run. They wouldn’t be able to properly take care of another human; let alone one who could make noise that could easily expose them. But she thought, at the very least, the idea of them creating this little human together could make him see the smallest bit of hope.
“We can’t have this baby Becca..” he tried to keep his voice calm and comforting but the anger kept seeping in. What was she fucking thinking? She actually seemed excited about this! Has she actually lost her Goddamn mind? He pushed back his thoughts and tried to stay focused on the facts. Rebecca has always been an extremely factual person. If you lay down your argument, she accepts it and moves on. There may be a light discussion, but she is never going to try and argue against science or proof. That was the Rebecca he had always known; level headed and practical. This Rebecca however, was not having any of it.
“I don’t care if it’s the stupidest thing in the world Neal, this is our baby! We have wanted this for so long and..” Neal’s exploding voice cut her off.
“Stop! Stop with that tired trope Becca! Yes, we did want that and I would do anything to be back in that place. But that was before the world fell apart. We have to run constantly. We are never safe. We are already staying in one place too long as it is, and it is only going to get worse the longer this progresses. How are we supposed to run on the fly when you’re 8 months pregnant? When you’re recovering from giving birth?” he paused to give her a moment to absorb these facts before barreling on. “How are we supposed to keep a newborn baby from wailing and alerting the machines to our location? You know I am right Rebecca. I see it in your eyes. You making this decision alone, despite our lengthy conversations, put both of our lives at risk.” his tone had cooled by the end of his speech, his face settling down to a more neutral position. His hand moved to the inside of her wrist, the soft warm skin he loved to rub his thumb over, and he began to do so absent mindedly. He would forever have a soft spot for her.
“Look, I know there is no convincing you at this point to get rid of the baby, I have accepted that. But I don’t have to be happy about it. Not right now. There is too much at stake for me to not think logically.” Rebecca looked into her partner's eyes, this man she has loved so dearly for so many years. The man she would have easily sacrificed her own life for time and time again. His eyes had changed over these last six months. They were no longer the relaxed, lazy blue orbs she lost herself in so many times. They were harder, darker even. They were the eyes of a man who has witnessed tragedy over and over again. This realization broke her in a way she didn’t think was possible anymore. She was grieving the man she loved before the world fell apart, and learning to accept the man in front of her as who he has become. He wasn’t trying to be crass or careless. He was trying to be practical; to save our lives. Slowly, she cupped his cheek with her hand, caressing his skin ever so softly.
“I love you Neal. I know what I did was careless and doesn’t make sense. But the moment I felt her, I knew she was meant to be, to live.” tears were filling her eyes now, she couldn’t fight them any longer. Her open hand rested on her plump belly, rubbing it at the same pace as she rubbed Neals cheek. “I know that nothing will be easy, but she..” a loud explosion from behind the front door blew both of them backwards.
Neal went flying to the left, crashing into the dining room table, sending dishes and papers every direction. Rebecca went straight back, hitting her head on the edge of the marble kitchen counter. It took Neal a minute to regain his composure. His head throbbed and he felt stinging across his body from the shards of glass and porcelain sticking out of various parts of him.
“Rebecca!” he yelled desperately trying to find his love in the chaos of the moment. She didn’t respond. Neal stood slowly trying to steady his aching head. “Rebecca!!” he called again trying to squint through the dust and smoke that was rising around them. He was unaware of the machines just inches from them, the apartment building they had loved for four years now, was nearly gone. He made it another two steps before kicking something soft yet somewhat firm. It took his brain a few seconds to accept that this thing he had kicked was actually his Rebecca. He screamed her name, but wasn’t sure if anything came out. Everything seemed to freeze at that moment. Neal couldn’t hear a thing or see clearly. Tears filled his eyes and poured down his cheeks. His cheeks where her finger had just been touching just seconds before. He bent down to her, grabbing her bleeding head to his chest, screaming her name, begging her to wake up.
“Rebecca! Please, speak to me! Please!” tears streamed down his face as he watched her still chest stay flat. He quickly lay down her head, as gently as he could and began doing CPR to the best of his memory. He was on the third repetition when the mechanical voices started.
“Neal Collaway and Rebecca Sumster, you have been hereby summoned by the Coalition of Machines”. The sound of their monotone voice sent a mix of anger and dread through Neal. He knew they could sense their body heat and movements. He knew they had the building surrounded. He knew running was pointless. He looked down at his bleeding, very still girlfriend. She was gone, he felt this in his heart, which meant their baby would be gone soon too. Sobs ripped through him as the threatening message replayed through their damaged apartment. “Neal Collaway and Rebecca Sumster, you have been hereby summoned by the Coalition of Machines” Reluctantly, he let go of Rebecca, knowing that it was likely the last time he would ever hold her. He stood slowly, raising his hands in the air.
“I am here. I am not resisting.” Neal managed to spit out through sobs.
“Where is Rebecca Sumster?” the machine voice droned. Something in Neal snapped. He drew his eyes in and stared at the living nightmare before him
“She is dead! Because of you!” His trembling finger pointed directly next to where he stood, at his beloved's lifeless body. The giant machines stood in front of him unmoving. Their mechanical eyes seemed to be scanning his entire being.
“Why did you take such force?! We were right here! We weren’t running! We were ready to surrender!” Neal was teetering somewhere between blind rage and unfathomable heartbreak. He couldn’t help the fire he spit with each word he spoke. They stayed still, watching Neal rant and pace.
“You never even knocked!” the sadness broke through, his voice wavering. One of the machines moved toward Rebecca’s body, waving some sort of wand over her, trying to verify she was dead, he presumed. His blood turned to ice in his veins watching this thing treating his dear Rebecca with such terseness, as if she was nothing more than a pile of trash. It took every ounce of control not to throw his body at this fucking monster and protect his girlfriend from anymore damage. He watched the wand retreat back into the machine's body, preparing himself to hear his worst fear outloud; Rebecca Sumster deceased. Much to his surprise, this one did not blurt out its findings in its one note voice. Instead it made its way back to the superior machine showing it their data. Neal’s eyebrows drew together. What could this mean? He had never seen one of these thoughtless things do anything to protect humans or their feelings. Why was this thing seemingly being considerate to him at this moment? He couldn’t help the feeling he was missing something.
Neal turned his head toward the window, watching the rain continuously pour down. Time seemed to stop for a moment; each large drop falling in slow motion. He wished in this moment, if nothing else he could know why the fuck it wouldn’t stop raining.
“Do you comply?” The main machine was facing him, clearly waiting for his answer. No other information or explanation. Just a simple, three word sentence that nearly sent Neal into a tailspin. He wanted to scream and shout and break everything around him. His mind was racing at a pace he didn’t even know possible. Comply? Comply to what?! Being your experiment until you use me all up and dispose of me? Being just one more human destroyed on your way to take over the planet!?
He was ready to let all of his innermost thoughts out when something inside him made him freeze. Ever so faintly, in the back of his mind he heard a voice. A soft, familiar voice urging him “please baby, comply. Please trust me”. Something in him shifted, his anger melting away. Rebecca? Was it just his psyche trying to get him to listen by using the woman he loved and lost as a way to guide him? Or, was it something else? Something much more unexplainable? Could she still be alive, guiding him back to her?
Without a second thought, he raised his hands and showed them to the mechanical officers and said firmly “I comply.” The two large, lifeless robots stood side by side, the large one blaring out a message for all of the rest of them to hear. “Mr. Neal Collaway and Ms. Rebecca Sumster has been located..” there was a slight hesitation on its behalf before it continued relaying its information. “Both have given compliance and will be sent on to phase two.” Neal felt the confusion taking over. What the hell were they talking about? Rebecca was dead? How could she give compliance? Phase two? I thought everyone who had been captured and had given their compliance ended up dead. Before he had a moment to ask them any of these questions swirling inside of him, the smaller machine held out a different wand placing it over where Rebecca lay, but also pointing it directly at him. A large flash of light burst out, engulfing Neal and everything around him, leaving him completely blinded.
The light lifted and Neal sat up quickly in his bed. Sweat dripped down his forehead. He couldn’t help but feel like he had just barely escaped something terrible. Something much more real than a dream, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. A deep sinking feeling crept in as he frantically began searching for his girlfriend, Rebecca. The spot next to him was empty, but still warm. His heart started to calm a bit in time for him to look up as his beautiful, pregnant Rebecca walked in the room. He couldn’t shake this awful feeling, like he had almost lost her and their unborn child. He tried to shake the feeling and focus on her and the present moment.
“I made us some coffee.” Rebecca’s sweet voice filled the space around him, and helped settle whatever unease was left in him. He smiled brightly at her as he reached for her hand, slowly bringing her to the bed. He kissed her softly and allowed his hand to rest on her growing belly. “I love you very much.” his voice came out soft like butter and melted Rebecca as if she was a chocolate bar on a sunny day. “Both of you.” he stated as he laid a kiss first to her forehead, then to her belly. She smiled into his arm and let the worries of the world leave her, if even for a moment. They both started to drift asleep; neither one noticed the sun rising on a rain free day.
Somewhere beyond their comprehension, monitors beeped, simulations ran, and the rain continued to fall.
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