Read Gene. Sys. for Free Online Page B

the hall and shoots his gun. 80 falls back into my arms and knocks me to the ground.
Immediately the hallway is filled with more drones and they riddle the outsider
with bullets. I look down to see blood pouring from 80’s right eye.
    “Help!” I scream.
    Two drones run over to me. “Are you hurt, Atom?”
    “I’m fine! 80 has been
shot.” I lay him on the ground.
    The drones look at 80 and one of them places the
barrel of his gun to 80’s head. “No!” I push the gun out of the way just before
it fires. “What are you doing?”
    “What we’re supposed to do,” the drone replies
matter-of-factly.
    “You can’t!” I plea. “He saved my life!” He
didn’t even hesitate to risk his life for mine. I can’t let him die. “We need
to get him to the medical ward.”
    The drone steps towards me. “Sir. Atom. We
aren’t supposed—”
    “—I’m not asking you!” I stand and push
one drone over to 80’s legs. “Pick him up and follow me.”
    They lift him off the ground and I speed them
through the hallways to the research and development wing where the medical
ward is. Every drone we pass stares at us.
    We reach the hallway that has the door with the
high tech lock and I see it about to close. “Wait!” The door latches but a
second later it flies back open. Hawk stands on the other side.
    “What are you doing?” he asks as he holds the
door open.
    “He’s shot!” I say as we run past him.
    “But it’s just a drone!” he shouts after me.
    “I don’t care!” I shout back. We reach the
medical ward and burst through the doors.
    “Grant! I need a doctor!” I yell out to the
room. I’m not sure if he is in there, but if he is, I know he will help.
    Grant runs over to me. “What happened? Who is
this?”
    “His name is 80. He was shot.” I push passed him
towards the operating rooms.
    He chases after me. “Atom, he’s just a drone. We
don’t—”
    “—He saved my life!” I stop and square up
to Grant, our faces mere inches from each other’s. “I don’t care who or what he
is to anyone else, his life will be saved! If one more person protests, they
will be next on the operating table!”
    The anger that comes out of me is nothing I have
felt before in my life. It scares me but at the same time I want to push it
further. The doctors and scientists must sense that about me because they
spring into action. They take 80 from the other two drones and rush him into
the operating room adjacent to Rene’s.
    “He will survive!” I demand as they close the
doors.
    “Atom.” Grant places his hand on my shoulder.
Instantly I feel myself calm down. He tries to get my attention but I keep
looking towards 80. “They will take care of him.” The tone in his voice
reassures me so I look at him. “Tell me what happened?”
    I remember what 80 said about not being allowed
to talk to me first, so I make sure not to mention that. “I was heading back to
my room when one of the outsiders jumped out from a room at the end of the hall
and shot at me. 80 pushed me out of the way and was hit with the bullet
instead.”
    The expression on Grant’s face turns hard. He
grabs my arms tightly and looks right through my eyes. “Is he dead? Is the
outsider dead?”
    “Yes.” I pull away from him. “Those two other
drones shot him.”
    “Good.” He turns to the drones. “You two. Get
every available drone and do a complete sweep of this compound. I want every
room checked. Twice!” The drones run off and he turns back to me. “You come
with me. We need to get Ev.”
    I look back towards the operating room where I
can see the doctors hard at work. “What about—”
    “—Now, Atom!” He walks through the doors
to the medical ward. I jog to catch up. “When you saw the outsider with the
gun, what did you do?”
    “What do you mean?” I don’t know what he is talking
about. Was I supposed to do something?
    “What did you do? What were you thinking when
you saw him?” He walks faster and I