Incurable.
That’s what they called it. Beneath the long, complicated name thought up by some hyper intelligent drone working in an office, was death. Pure and simple. The logistics of the thing didn’t matter, all that mattered were the symptoms, and how much time the recipient had left in this world.
Nothing was incurable, a lot of the time it was simply… costly, to both the wallet and the soul, and as Nada lay flat on his stomach beneath piles of white, freezing snow, he was reminded of how he had felt when he’d been given the news. Cold, and numb.
It didn’t even make any sense.
Nada wasn’t human. He was a robot, one of the last survivors of an ancient race that humanity had wiped out when they’d started colonising other worlds. The man was listed as endangered, yet he’d taken far more lives than had been spent trying to protect him. Once again, the name didn’t matter, nor did the symptoms. This thing cost more money than Nada had made in the last decade, and after all the times he’d found himself pressing a gun up to his own temple, he now discovered he was little more than a desperate animal attempting to survive in an unfair, unforgiving universe.
He’d been retired, farming on a barren world towards the edge of the solar system, leaving behind the life of blood and gears that had followed his every waking moment, consequence for all the terrible things he’d done. This man didn’t deserve to live.
“6000 for the cure…” Nada whispered, voice raspy, like an out of sync radio, due to his interior circuits freezing in the frost. “One last time.”
Than this job had popped up at almost the perfect time, a risky, yet surprisingly easy job, the consequences of which didn’t matter at this current moment, with enough money to let Nada buy his life back, and continue with more than enough cash to spare.
That was why he was there, in the Black Forest on the seventh moon furthest from the center of the galaxy. Lying in weight for his target, like a starving, desperate animal hoping for one last meal. One of the sensors, Nada setup in the area a couple days ago had alerted him to the proximity of his prey, and having planned the situation down to a T, the hunter had taken to hiding in plain sight.
Silence flowed with the exception of the winds, knowing that he had mere moments till it was time for action, Nada reached into the belt attached to his waist, and pulled out one of the sockets he carried, popping it into the plug by his arm and giving the man a boost of energy and adrenaline that hopefully wouldn’t wear off for a couple hours. Once again, silence fell, as Nada began to breathe heavier, effects of the currents flowing through his circuits. Eventually, he started to hear the sound of footsteps, several footsteps… and it was at that moment he realised the winds had started to dip down. There was also something else, the hum of a vehicle, a limousine hovering inches above the ground, probably carrying his walking paycheck on legs. Activating the camera fixed to the side of his skull, Nada tried to hold his breath, and clutched the black, metal rod attached to his leg. He could hear the sounds of footsteps growing closer, and began to feel the life giving organ in his chest, grow increasingly frantic. Upon noticing a foot submerge just inches from his skull, Nada knew it was time for action, and immediately burst upwards from the snow, with the glory and fury of a man much younger in age.
In times past, this hunter had vanquished entire armies without being seen, proving himself as one of the most dangerous beings in the universe, but now he was older, slower. The blue paint that covered his body had began to wear ever slightly, his once nimble, trim frame had become larger, slowing him down a significant portion, and the spark that had once filled his helmeted eyes, had been replaced with a dull blackness.
Whipping into life, the rod Nada wielded, evolved into a metal staff, which the hunter used to sweep under the legs of the bodyguard closest to him, sending him tumbling into the snow with a yelp of surprise. Before the man could react, lying on his back, Nada crushed his skull with a quick stomp of his spiked, armoured boot, sending red blood onto the otherwise pure snow.
These men were human. Nada smiled, knowing that he’d feel no remorse for ending their lives. A quick scan of the area, conducted in a single second, revealed only two other guards in the area, surrounding the sleek, black limousine emitting purple energy from below. He’d been told this would be easy, yet Nada was surprised with just how honest the contract giver had been. Drawing swords, the other guards took defensive positions on either sides of the vehicle, charging towards the left, the seemingly unstoppable machine slid along the front of the limousine from a weird angle, crashing into the surprised guard and sending him tumbling to the floor, pinned beneath Nada’s two ton body.
Sensing movement behind him, the hunter twisted his staff to his back, blocking a sword strike from the enemy guard. Following this defensive block with a riposte, Nada sent his foe staggering back into one of the car doors, which he used to steady himself. Raising his blade into the air, the now balanced swordsman began to unleash a war cry as he started to move towards his attacker, yet Nada didn’t have time to deal with this assault in an honorable manner, and instead clicked a button on the side of his staff, sending the end closest to the charging swordsman, shooting directly through the man’s skull.
Almost instantly following this tactic, a bronze, scimitar slashed through the returning staff end, severing it in two. Briefly taken by surprise, Nada took a step back to find himself facing off against the swordsman he had previously knocked to the ground, who had clearly slipped to a better position while his friend was being butchered. Left defenseless for the briefest of times, Nada moved backwards towards the forest, while his foe let off a flurry of strikes, swiping to both sides of the robot bounty hunter, yet unsuccessful to hit him as he shifted his body out of the way. It wasn’t until Nada found himself backed up against a tree, that he began to prepare his counter assault, ducking under the man’s strike and letting his blade embed itself in the tree, completely stuck. Rising up quickly to the right of the blade, the hunter slammed his fist into the swordsman’s skull, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. His sword skills were quite impressive, if Nada had been younger, and more cocky, it was entirely possible he may have lost. Silently wishing luck to the assassin’s future career, the hunter turned his attention back to his mission, and began to move towards the limousine, taking one of the daggers he kept spare upon his belt.
“What the hell’s going on?!” A voice cried as the limo door closest to Nada flew open, revealing a fat, green, pudgy alien from a species the hunter didn’t recognise. The target was looking away from the predator, and as he continued to speak, it became clear that he thought Nada was one of his swordsmen. “We need to get-” He turned and saw the robot staring at him, preparing to throw his dagger into the man’s skull.
“Oh. Screw y-”
Black blood burst from the alien’s skull, as Nada’s blade caused the thing’s head to burst like a birthday balloon. Tapping the still recording camera on the side of his helmet, the hunter began to speak, as if an invisible person was watching the events unfold.
“Did you get all that?” He asked.
An electronic, computer sound disrupted the natural cries of the forest, telling Nada that a rather large transaction had made its way into his bank account. Feeling pride at a job well done, the hunter began to turn to make his way back to his temporary safe house, only to stop upon hearing the sound of a nearby heart beating.
Turning back to the limousine, Nada watched as the already open door, moved forward slightly, revealing what appeared to be a small child… a small, robot child, from the same species as him, crouched down on the seat.
“Hmm.”
Piecing together the events by himself, the hunter began to realise why the contract was so easy, yet incredibly rewarding.
“Slave Traders.” He was a marked man now, he’d probably have people after him for the rest of his life. Looking to the boy, he let out a loud, uncomfortable sigh.
“Nearest village is 500 Kilometres away.” Nada told the boy, slowly preparing to turn away. “It’s best if you st-”
Then he saw it. The same blackness in the boy’s eyes that he, himself had found in his eyes mere weeks ago.
They said it was incurable… but it wasn’t.
Just costly.
Knowing exactly what would happen, Nada tore open the limousine’s driving seat and took his place. Looking back to the forest, he was surprised to find the child staring at him confused.
“Please, sir…” The boy whispered, tired and scared. “I don’t know where-”
“Come along if you’re coming.” Nada grumbled.
As mentioned earlier, it was 500 Kilometres to the village from their current position. 534 from Nada’s safehouse, and the limousine only had enough energy for 334, there was no way off the planet from the village, and Nada would only have the money for a single operation, and a single ticket offworld.
Helping this child was suicide, but this man was dead already.
Hours passed, hours spent with the silent, hollow hum of the limousine engines. Yet as Nada grew ever closer to his location, he knew that there was only one real choice in this situation. Looking at the passenger beside him, there had been so much despair, in so young a life, yet, despite this… there was still hope. Still a chance.
The car broke down later than expected, giving the two a degree of luck they hadn’t really expected. Taking the child up in his arms and continuing to trudge through the seemingly endless forest, Nada withstood the powerful winds sweeping through the area, gritting his teeth as his joints began to freeze, and his vision became so clouded that he could barely even visualise his surroundings.
Yet finally, he began to hear voices. Cries of shock as he finally collapsed just outside of the village’s perimeter, bundle of frozen metal still in his arms.
Waking up in a warm, wooden hut, Nada found himself being watched over by what he could only assume was the village doctor. Another doctor, this one seeming to be a shadow that had been carved out of its surface, and forced to walk the world like more normal individuals.
“You’re dying.” He said, voice flickering endlessly.
“I know.” Nada grumbled, feeling the effects of his journey.
“So’s the boy.”
“I know.”
Tapping a button on the side of his belt, an electronic exchange took place between Nada and the doctor, transferring the hard earned profit that the hunter had attempted to earn to fix his own life, yet was now using to save another.
“See that he doesn’t…” He gasped. “Then see that he gets home. From wherever…”
“You’re a good man.” The shadow muttered.
Nada didn’t reply, knowing that, finally, after all these years, he’d have to make every second count.
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