The Planet 7.1

7.

7.1 Spirits in the Corridor

Peggy struggled hard but her construct parts did not reach the legs; she was all women from waist below. I only guessed but Dmitri probably knew. Peggy reached for her sidearm but I cautioned her back.

“Don’t shoot it. It may be a …an alien.” It was an ironic assumption then. After all we did establish that aliens do not exist. We were not the lonely planet but also the lonely race of humans. We were a hundred billion overpopulated on Earth so that made us very much a big mass of humans but lonely we were.

I was to voice more mumblings but by my instinct I knew I was no better off. My legs were still mine even though it was covered in those dusts to the knees. The same predicament of Peggy had involved me thought I have a construct left leg so I kicked at it. It worked for me initially as I was able to move but the dust built back fast.

“Decide, John.” Peggy hollered out. It looked at her and saw the dust had built a pair of dusty over sized shoes over her knees. “If it gets any higher, I will disappoint Dmitri.”

Peggy still had the side arm on her right hand aimed at the left knee while her left arm held the rifle. She was mad to think that by shooting it she will be free. I wanted to caution her that being more organic counts for being human.

“Don’t shoot. I will figure it out.” I replied while my fingers work their magic. I scanned the dust and analyzed the content. It was all like the previous reading; minerals and more metals. All bullshit but that darned dust was creeping up my knees too.

I had to act.

Peggy wanted me to do it.

I would but something beat me to it.

It was there on the wall that Peggy was leaning on. It was standing next to her. It was shaped like … heck, how would you describe that was indescribable. There was no real or defined form. It was narrow and then oblong before it revert to some form that had no words to it. It was solid in one moment and then opaque in the next moment.

It kicked ass then.

The formed blade sliced through Peggy’s neck in one cut. The cut was perfect that the head remained in place with her agitated expression. She must have not felt anything; a clean cut that severed all her arteries and then the bones with the remaining flesh. She only reacted when the cut line showed the drip of blood. Heck, it was not all blood but also the stuff they pumped into our constructs. Hey, the constructs have small pipes that kept the construct parts working.

Peggy tried to speck but there was no sound. I could just imagine her shock but I will stop at the words she will utter. I still hold the top marks in the moral sessions.

I kicked hard on the dusted shoes. I managed to budge on the construct leg but the dust compensated fast. I kept on kicking and then moved my right leg. It was a calculated move. Whatever was in the dust was like the endless enemies I fought with. They reinforced the weaker points as I expected. I managed to kick out and twisted my body to move my left leg. It worked for the dusts moved to the right leg to hold it down but that weakened the hold on my left leg. I kicked harder to free the left leg. I then rushed over to Peggy who was then going through the shock of her life seeping away.  She had dropped her rifle and sidearm. She reached for her neck with her hands. Her hands were soon bloodied and her organic went into dilation. She was dying.

I reached her just when her knees buckled. I held her up with me crouched. She was dead then. I knew for it for my fingers were scanning her constructs. The constructs system was linked to the organic mind and heart. Once those were in shutdown mode, the construct system also shuts down. I saw her construct eye went dark; its eyeball shut down on the cue. I lowered her body down and then turned my attention on the threat.

It was not there anymore.

So were the layers of dust.

All was spick and span on the flooring. Even the air was cleaner.

My spirit was gone.

Like it was never there.

But I still saw Peggy there.

She was dead.

That tells me there was no imagination needed there.