Artificial Alice

Marcus grabbed the pistol from the floor and stood up. He had blood leaking from his chest he followed behind her. He kept walking . She yelled as he came closer. 

The Wind blew harder through the broken glass window they had clambered through to this department store. The lights were out. It was Completely deserted being 1 am. 

"No please". she shouted. her breathing was heavy she crawled past a couple racks of clothing. She felt some tears come to her eyes as she sobbed. She crawled back, crept back more like, her foot was sprained and she slid across the floor of the department store. The lights were still off. Being the middle of the night. She felt the air around her cold and eerie and he kept walking toward her.

He wanted her dead. She knew it. Didn't understand fully what was going on or even fully who he was. He kicked her ribs and she stopped falling. he grabbed her putting his hands on her throat trying to strangle her. Her face turned pink as She pulled at his arms but he had a hard grip she could see the hate in his eyes. She was turning red as her air was compressed and she gasped. She looked to the left and felt a bottle. She grabbed it and smashed it over his face. 

Ahh. He grabbed his face. She turned and crawled fast. escaping and kept going across the carpet. he followed.

"The games over bitch".He said wiping blood from his mouth as she crawled against the changing room door. she heard banging from the other side of the dressing rooms. A knife was being run against the back of them. She found a glass bottle and looked ahead at a clothes rack. She threw it in that direction. He looked to the right to where it was coming from. She saw him move and got up the courage, grabbed up her knife and staggered to her feet.

Where are you bitch. She crept behind him limping keeping silent. He turned and she jumped at him. He grabbed for his gun in that moment and She grabbed his hand with the pistol and pointed it away from her. She grabbed it and chucked it to the right. Turned and sliced his hand with her knife.

"Agh". He slapped her and shoved her forward. she fell backward falling onto the ground on her ass. She lifted to her feet and he grabbed her hair.

"What you going to do bitch"? Huh?" He angled her as she reopened her knife seeing his face and pushed her arm out fast and Shoved it into his throat and he fell back gasping for air the gun was on the right on the floor and the man grabbed his throat. She grabbed the gun and fired it into him. They hit him in the chest and he fell to the ground. She was breathing harder now. breathing so heavy she felt tears come to her eyes as he lay limp down forever.

huddled against the dressing room door and started sobbing. No no. She said. Staring at her hands and at him. Blood leaked across the floor from him. She started shaking.

I gotta get out of here she thought. She brought her self to her feet and heard nothing. 

"Clothes I need to change my clothes". She looked around.

Later.

With a mask on and scared also completely unsure of anything, Alice wandered the grocery store.

Alice looked around the aisle. She still was limping from her leg. She cleaned up herself and changed into a blue over shirt in her truck. It made her look like a hobo on her already skinny figure and a booze mask. She was 5"9 about 130 to 150 pds. Marks on her throat suggesting strangulation. 

She was tired as she walked. Other than some aching though she felt good.

She thought to herself. Blood can be cleaned up with bleach. But she thought of the smell and gagged thinking about it. She rolled her cart down the aisle. The sound of music was subtle Christmas music playing above.

Needing to dispose of the body but it would probably be very awkward buying 30 bottles of hydrogen peroxide. She sighed and looked at the end of the aisle. She found a big bottle of bleach. Sat on the end cap. She thought about the blood that was still sitting on the empty floor of the department store. His body was in her trunk she brought the car back to the department store and threw him into the back. Now she was staring at the bleach bottles and down at the thirty bottles of peroxide. She came to the back of the store where the meat department was. Closed completely up for the night. She went over to the cases of meat. That held about 10 to 20 packs of meat. She sighed and grabbed the one bottle of bleach. She looked around. Oh god I hope no one notices. She opened it and poured it over the meat. The aisles were still deserted she could see somewhat the one cashier that was still on call tonight. He looked dead tired just sitting reading a newspaper on his little stool. 

Scents of the meat and the bleach filled the air and she felt sick but continued pouring it out. She looked at the empty container.

Oh god am I really doing this. She snuck away and down the bread aisle six.

Alice felt bound to what just happened yet she had no idea why or where or anything.

The fact was that she was a regular woman who was just worried about Covid and trying to stay safe. Her parents were awaiting her at home.

Alice started pouring one by one the bottles of hydrogen peroxide into the bleach container. It was 3 am now as she looked at her watch and set the bottles back onto the shelf. She was breathing hard and the tap of the shelf sounded like slamming.

"Miss, did u find what u we're looking for"?

"Agh"! What"? She raised her eyes up to see a stocker. A younger man with brown eyes and Red hair. Kind of stocky.

Oh, yea she smiled nervously. Heh, Thank you anyway. She turned red walking away. She rolled her cart to the front. 'Phew'. 

She headed to the front between two aisles and started putting up her stuff on the belt for the register. The cashier was busy with another customer ahead of her. She watched her own hands shaking like crazy. She closed her eyes and took a breath trying to calm down. She couldn't relax she looked behind the counter at the liquor cabinet.

"Fuck it, I need it".She looked behind the counter and said, can I have a bottle of the strongest tequila u have and big bottle please. The man from earlier had come up to the front and nodded next to the cashier who walked off. he was her cashier now and He opened the glass case. 

Sure", he spoke. He grabbed a big bottle of tequila almost a gallon. This good"?

She nodded and started fumbling through her purse, um, heh, how much"?

On me beautiful don't worry about it. He said. He winked. She smiled half heartedly and nervously. thanks. She said nodding her head forward. She put the stuff in the cart and started toward the door feeling awkward. She looked at the cameras near the front and walked nervously past them. This felt out of control she thought. As if at any moment they would know. She took another breath.

"Ok relax".she said to herself leaving the store.

As she rolled down the walkway to a blue icy truck she was thinking to herself. What the fuck was she to do with the body? The moon was still above. 

Quiet with noises of crickets.

She tuned her radio and listened. The death toll ticks out around 200 thousand today as the president still denies that he had any responsibility for the pandemic relief not saving them",

Alice took a big gulp of the whiskey. 

Come here you stupid bitch. Said the voice. A man reached out and shoved her down with his arm. He got on top of her. She frowned her teeth showed blood was in her mouth she spit in his face.

"Ugh", he went to clean his face and she kicked him. He fell still moving toward her.

She heard her phone go off as reality came back. She was sweating looking at the number.

Hello, she spoke coming back to reality. She took another gulp of whiskey looking out at the rain. Tapping gently.

"Hey Alice how you doing"? Said Donnie. Tap tap tap.

She rolled the window down and smiled at him.

"Donnie hey. I'm well, in a bit of a mess. And I feel sick. How was jury duty".

It was good baby. So when you dining around again we miss you here at the plaza. Come and feel better".

She mmmdd and smiled. "I bet you have. I might come by for a drink later on this week. I have some business to take care of".

Alright well we have a happy hour tonight and Thursday for 1.30 shots of tequila and free margaritas with a purchase of our ribs. Miss you sweetie".

"Awe, to you to baby". She watched him walk away smiling. She looked at herself in the mirror and full realization came back. Her car door opened and she retched throwing up.

She closed the door and turned the key on.

She looked in her phone.

'There is always that one person',she thought. She saw an old buddy of hers in high school who was really creepy at times. Rico Salvada. His father she thought might be hooked up into some huge drug companies and a insider.

"Hey Rico it's Alice", She spoke. She was shaking slightly as she went for another swig of the whiskey. "I need a favor".

"Ok meet me in a hour, text me the coordinates". Rico said.

Later..

""This is the place", said Alice. She drove-slowly. The sun was just starting to come up. "I don't know how or why but I was followed in here and found myself in a bad situation".

"Man can't believe it, all the people in the world and little Alice is asking for my help". Rico smiled. He raised his eye brows, "baby you thinking of making this regular".

"I don't,"said Alice seriously. "Although my accounts might appreciate it".

"Yeah". Said Rico. He breathed In slowly and looked down at his fingers, messing with his jacket then spoke, "see I'm gonna have a issue cause your asking me for free, he looked up, "I don't work for free, he shrugged. "It would be unfair to my other clientele, darlin". He smiled at her on last word.

"So what do you want"? Asked Alice." I could come work for you for a bit earning some cash as well".

"Yeah maybe," said Rico. "I'll let you know ok".

Ok. Said Alice. She sighed pulling into the parking lot next to the building. I want to get this done before the sun comes. Said Alice. "Come on and I'll owe you a job or some cash".Rico and the two guys he hired got out and they walked to the right. The streets were quiet and they saw the window with the broken glass.

Damn said Rico calmly, As he stepped over the glass. There was blood trailing from the window glass and into the place. The two were already on it cleaning glass up. 

He chased me through there and up through here". she pointed. "His blood from the window or something". The trail was a little out of the window and as they came in, more and more drippings and droplets of red.

Alice loaded her pistol quickly and put it to her holster on her side. She took off the purple over shirt she had on and wrapped it around herself. wore just a white Dego. She started analyzing the place her eye she always called laser focus she could see her fingerprints and started to remember where she had crawled in here wiping the floor. She started dusting around with a rag she had brought and the peroxide. 

Rico watched her for a moment.

"How you doing that"?asked Rico.He was watching her wipe random spots on the walls and walking around the shelves.

"Just dusting my prints Rico, I don't want anyone finding out it's me", said Alice she looked back, there's a bucket in the truck can you",she pointed indicating the floor her eye

Opened wider. He nodded.

"Yeah, your just dusting prints like I can't even and it's pretty dark in here to". He went back through the window. She ignored him and went up the escalator wiping and spotting. She finally made it up to the top, When she heard a noise. A glass fell or something.

She looked behind her at Rico who was busy cleaning. And the two guys who were done with the glass and outside or something.

What the fuck was that"? She whispered. She analyzed her surroundings the waves came from the left. She pulled her gun purring the rag in her back pocket. She pointed it in front of her a light beamed from the end of the gun. She saw a shadow dodge out of sight. 

"Freeze", she said. She ran to the back and saw a man ran to the exit a glimpse of his face for a second. She pointed and shot missing hitting the exit sign. It clashed in a shower of sparks.

he opened the door and got away. Something dropped down though clattering to the floor of the department. She came to the exit he acted like going back for it but didn't heading faster down the steps. She pointed and shot missed him next to the stairs as he got around the corner.He got in a red car and squealed off.

"Fuck," she said. She looked down at the thing he dropped. It was a flash drive. She picked it up and went back in the door.

"What was that",asked Rico. Coming up the escalator.

"Nothing,"said Alice. "I thought maybe a explanation, but he's gone".

We're just about good done here. I secured the body in wrap should just be another twenty min".

When Alice got home...

I've been constructing the perfect frames and body parts of new living beings. Said a voice. It was a recording. "We're in the beginning stages and I'm seeing that subject 246 is responding to the initial treatments . My subject has learned how to talk and the speech although rough is more clerical as the days go by and we're starting to gain perception as it's intelligence increases that this is the right step forward. I am hoping that my boss sees this advancement as....

Alice skipped forward on the flash drive on the computer to the next entry: a picture popped up of metal plating and skin, a bunch of technical terms she didn't fully understand were written below.

No way she thought. She sat back looking around her parents apartment. Her mom came past the room.

"Hey sweetie do you want some breakfast"? She asked.

"No I'm ok mom thanks". She sat up and looked at the flash drive itself.

Bio lab 51-A24SERF. Did that mean like government terms. Well most likely she figured. She pulled it out and pocketed it. 

Ok she thought. Calm down. She took a breath in and breath out. Realized she hadn't been breathing much. 

What was it that she was doing'? She realized she should go make some food. She smelled sweet rolls and smiled. Breakfast. Mom was cooking this brought brightness and joy to her. She ran down the stairs into the kitchen.

Coming down after all sweetie"? Asked dad. She smiled and nodded. 

"Some coffee dear"? Her dad came around her and reached for her pocket.

This all didn't make sense she realized. She had had this thought before and had decided not to have breakfast. It all flashed back about the research the labs. She slapped his hand away.

"Really sweetheart"? He asked menacing like. He looked at her and spoke. "That isn't very nice of you".

"It's mine. What's in my pockets". You can't take things form me". From,she realized. Ugh her head was starting to hurt as the color of the room turned a reddish grey color. She backed up toward the door. They moved toward her. She ran to the door and rushed out. Just then her memory came back and she remembered.

"We got problems with our Auton". Said a government scientist named Damon. He had a white lab coat on and glasses a dark skinned man. Brownish grey hair and shades. He looked over at a blond haired man with grey eyes they were in a office above the labs. The walls were grey he looked tired.

"Shut it down quick". Said John. The scientist shook his head.

"I can't Boss, We're gonna send the agent nearby". "It's gone feral".

"How did this happen"? Asked John. He rushed to the computer. He looked at Damon.

"Self awareness. Figured out something. It's brain is slowly deciding how to work against the programming". He headed out of the room and down a set of steps. He came to a lab and looked at his research that was written down on pages then Over at the screen.

Alice indeed figured out something big. She was a Artificial intelligence. She was machine. She was strong. Sent to keep order in the authoritarian future. She no longer would serve a master in such a way. End.