The Change

Samara and Nazilla go to attack a The Net outpost and things go wrong.

I opened my eyes and saw that Samara's arms were still around me. She was the only one I would fully trust to be by my side in this war against The Net and its Machines. Getting up slowly I looked out the window and saw that the end hadn't happened yet and the birds were singing a merry tune.


I started to hum a pop song and decided to go downstairs to make breakfast for us. Karma, the secret organization against The Net, had teamed me up with Samara and we had quickly become lovers. Something about being comrades was the reason I had found for becoming so close. Seeing my Mickey Mouse waffle maker I decided I'd use it.


"You're using that piece of crap again, Naz." Samara said and I smiled. My full name is Nazilla but most people consider that a mouthful.


"Yes, your girlfriend is being young again." I said and cooked us some waffles.


She sat at the table when I had both of our waffles ready. "You know if an Elemental came here they would reconsider you being part of Karma." She said and took a bite.


"Yeah, the highest people in Karma would really visit here. Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire would all come here." I replied. "Why don't you try and find a Machine with a soul?"


"If I do that the war might be over very soon." She said and we both nodded.


After we finished eating we got out maps and plans. We spent over an hour figuring things out.


"So what is this death wish about?" I asked.


"We're attacking a small The Net outpost. It isn't too big, but sources say it's part of a new testing facility for The Net." Samara said.


"Yeah, but why us?" I asked. "I know at least one other team that's closer to that location than us."


"The other team is probably doing something more important and I think they've had a kid."


Nodding I looked at the map. "Maybe after this is all over we can adopt."


Samara smiled and we kissed. After that touching moment I got ready quickly. The elation I felt from her made me know I could fight anything when she was around. The Net would go down and then we would be together until we died of natural causes. Dying of natural causes was something anyone in Karma wanted.


"So who's driving?" I asked.


"Me." Samara said.


"Come on, with a few drinks I'm sure you'll sober up to the idea of me driving."


"You buy after the fight."


"You're on." I smiled and got into passenger side of the car. "Netty and its Machines are going down!"
*             *           *
I looked at Samara and grinned wildly at her and then focused on the outpost. There was one main building in the forest and vehicles parked around it. M-2s were walking around. These M-2s looked like humans but skin and bones were replaced with metal. I thought they looked a little like Terminators but somehow they were even more unsettling.


"Damn they look creepy." I told Samara.


"Yes, Machines without even human skin covering." She replied. "But the M-3s are supposed to change that."


"I thought that the M-3s were just rumors."


"Let's hope so." Samara said and raised her gun. I raised mine and nodded at her.


We ran as a team and soon drew attention of the M-2s. I got to fire the first shot in this 'battle' and shouted in glee as I took aim at another M-2. After what seemed like hours, Samara and I were no closer to winning than we had been in the beginning.


Of course, winning wasn't the whole point of this. If it had been, there would probably be a few teams put together or at least more than two people. The point of this mission was to cause chaos in The Net. It didn't make this mission any easier, though. I dodged a bullet as it grazed my hair and then returned fire.


I saw that Samara was running into some trouble of her own and so I tried to help as best I could. This became harder after a few seconds and I was forced to focus on fighting the M-2s on my own again.


"First one back to the car gets to be on top!" I yelled and made sure that Samara was by me. But she wasn't. "Samara! Samara! S**t."


I started firing wildly to give me time to find her. An M-2 swung its arm at me and I dodged its swing. A few seconds later a human shot at me. I shot at the man's kneecap and he went down. I didn't like to kill if I didn't have to. I wasn't a Machine.


Running around the 'battlefield' I ran by an SUV and it exploded because it had been shot at, possibly by an M-2. I was sent flying through the air as sound and metal followed me. I yelled out as I landed and a piece of metal stabbed me through the heart.


The pain didn't start out great and I hardly felt any pain. What I did feel was blood pouring out of me. The sounds of fighting didn't seem that important to me because I was somewhere else. I was somewhere that defied pain and fear.


I smiled at the sounds and could faintly tell that Samara was still fighting. "Samara!" I yelled out and waved. Whether she saw me or not wasn't something I was thinking about at the moment.

The battle was still raging and I felt myself fading. Then I felt myself being dragged by familiar hands. I turned to look at the person and it was Samara. It took her a few seconds, but she managed to drag me behind a boulder.


Samara left me for a second, most likely to see how much time she had left with me, and then came back.


"You come here often?" I asked.


"Naz, how long do you think you can hold on?" She asked and held my body in her arms.


"I don't feel bad, Sam." I replied. "I feel so good now. But I think we should put a rain check on me getting those drinks."


"Yes." Samara said and a tear rolled down her check. I touched it.


"I'll be better soon." I lied to comfort her.


She shook her head. "Your wounds are too severe for you to survive. But we must move quickly."


I tried to stand up but couldn't. It felt like I was trying to climb a mountain. "I'll just hold you up." I told her. "I wouldn't want the love of my life to die with me."


"I can make it with you."


"No you can't. I'll protect you as you escape. I can still do that." Truth be told, though, I didn't think I'd last three more minutes.


A small smile started to cross her face as. "Yeah." She said. "I'll come back for your body, I promise."


I looked up at her and noticed my eyesight starting to go. I went up to kiss her and she returned it. It was so very tender because I was weak. This would be the last time we'd be together unless there was an afterlife.


The time we first met came to me. How I had been recently accepted into Karma and Samara didn't think I would be able to fight. But we had fought so well together and I had proved myself to Samara. Later she had accepted me for more than my fighting ability.


We stopped kissing but held our lips together. My eyesight went away and all was black and I was removed from any type of pain. I was beyond calm.


I opened my eyes and the world looked different. The world, for now, being a room.


Focusing more on this strange world, I thought that the afterlife was not all it was talked up to be. I looked at the door and I was able to tell what it was made of as well as a list of what could possibly destroy it. After a few seconds I realized that I wasn't dead.


Looking through my mind, I found a file that confirmed what I already thought. I was an M-4 which was a new model of Machines.


I looked at the metal of the wall and saw a tiny glimpse of my reflection. I seemed normal but I knew that metal was underneath. Why not stick with M-3s, which my files now confirmed were real, if they wanted infiltration units?


More importantly, though, how could I ever get back to Samara since I was a Machine? How could I ever get to her again when I was tainted? Before I could get through these emotional questions, I heard some footsteps down the hall. Even though they were down the hall, I could hear them very clearly.


A middle aged man opened the door and I looked at him. My files said he was called York Smith and was partly to blame for my creation. I wanted to kill him and then kill myself. He made a motion with his hand and I found I couldn't move.


"M-4," He addressed me. "Follow me."

I followed the order without thought. Well, I followed the order only because I had no other choice. I tried to run into a wall but couldn't. I just kept following the man until I was in another room with a woman from Karma. This woman was tied up and screaming. The woman pleaded while tears came out of her eyes  and York just stood there.


"Kill this woman." Was all York said and all he did was point at the screaming woman.


In  a few seconds, that would've taken awhile to think about, a complex dialogue with myself went through my head. It all boiled down to the fact that if I was going to kill this human I'd let Netty win. I would start down on a path that would take me far away from the humanity I knew. But, really, if I did kill this human I'd only be following programming and it wouldn't be my fault.


The decision was made for me and I punched the human through the chest and broke her heart. It went through so easily and the human stopped screaming after a few seconds. Those few seconds were so long to  me and I realized I was lost.


"A little more work with you and then I'll have another working M-4." York said. "Go back to your cell."


As I went back to my room I saw two M-2s talking to each other in the Machine language that I now could understand.


"M-4s aren't fiction anymore. If The Net follows this path then logic will be in danger." The M-2 that spoke turned to me and looked away. It didn't consider me important and it didn't concern my current mission.
*              *         *
Much time had passed for me and I was changed. It had been three years since I had started to call myself a Machine. Three years of calling The Net my master and following their orders. I walked down the hallway and saw a technician pass by me. She was a human and unimportant. Maybe I'd find her important if The Net found her important.


I didn't think about what I was going to do because The Net would not like the idea. I thought the idea dangerous, but knew it was the only way to find happiness again.


When I went into the room the woman in there looked at me.


"M-4, you've taken your time." The woman said.


"Yes." I said because the situation didn't call for a full conversation.


I lay down on the table and the woman started to do her work. Within a few minutes energy was coursing through my circuits. I had only a few nanoseconds to do what I had found out by accident. The trick was to use those precious few seconds that were usually used to check Machine systems to, instead, reprogram myself.


Doing this quickly, and carefully, I felt something in me change. There was still The Net in me, but now it was in the back of my mind. The people of The Net would check the results and reprogram me back into a normal M-4. This could not happen.


I stood up and grabbed the woman by her neck. She was a mother but she was the enemy. After twisting her neck, I threw her against the wall. I walked out and attacked the next The Net worker to make sure I wasn't restrained. An M-1 set off an alarm and I knew I had little time to make an escape.


M-2s arrived and started firing. Even if they destroyed me, they knew I could be brought back. Maybe not as me, but that didn't matter to them. With my gun I fired and made some solid hits. I still had to dodge, though, since they were Machines and not humans.


I ran and came in contact with another M-4. This one had been a Karma agent and now was forced to fight on The Net's side. It paused and that gave me enough time to damage it.


The next hour was spent running around the base and fighting. M-4s, M-2s, and the occasional humans got in my way. The humans had decided to let their Machines fight while they hid in their corners. Finally I managed to get into the parking lot. Now to find a suitable vehicle.


After looking for a few seconds I found one. I hot wired the car and drove off with gunfire in the background. Now to go find Samara if she was still alive.