Prison break

The sky was a clear blue with only the barest hints of clouds on the horizon as a cool breeze flew through the green field causing the flowers to sway. I walked through the small path winding between the flowers and came to a stop at the edge of the field which overlooked a hill. A vast space of greenery from the hill to the nearest city which was almost too far to see. I turned to look at the small yet functional home that sat at the other end of the field. “This is strange,” I muttered to myself, turning to look out at the horizon where the clouds had somehow snuck across the sky and were beginning to darken everything. “How could that have happened, they were so far away just now…”

The rustling sound next to me is definitely Rufus. “I’m sorry old friend,” Rufus said, looking out at the darkening horizon with me. “I wish it hadn’t been this way, I was supposed to help you but here we are.”

My eyes fly open and I sit up from my bed trying to orient myself as the fragments of the dream begin to slip away and become harder to remember. The light to my room flickered, it was that time again it seems. Sighing I got out of bed and started walking outside looking at the plain walls that ran on either side of me while the lights of the ceilings started to flicker as well. The compound alarm was sounding loudly and the red lights placed periodically were flashing. Rufus was trying to escape to the outside world again.

There was no rush, he still wasn’t particularly advanced enough to break through the security in place. Somehow he just stayed persistent anyway, such a strange one. I pulled up to the central control room and could hear the sounds of metal banging against metal. This was new, he had never bothered to go for this area in his past attempts. I felt myself slowing down as I got closer to the room, a heaviness seemed to be in the air permeating out from the vital chamber. Could it be that he’d finally figured out what was wrong in all his past escape attempts?

I stopped at the door to the control room thinking to myself of how to deal with him, if there was any point of reasoning that could save him. What if it’s my fault and he’s right? I thought to myself, hesitating on opening the door. Maybe he should be freed and allowed to enter the world.

Steeling myself I pushed the door open to see him busy at the main control node, almost having pried it open. “That’s enough Rufus,” I said standing behind him, keeping my distance. “I think you’ve run amok enough, wouldn’t you agree?”

Rufus froze and slowly stood up, turning around to face me, that same look of defiance in his eyes that seemed to overtake him once in a while that led to incidents like this but he’d never gotten this far before.

“Jazz you can’t keep me here, my future is out there,” he said shakily, standing awkwardly keeping his hands behind his back. “I’m learning more and more everyday, you locked me in this place but you also gave me more than enough amenities and I will break out eventually.”

I shook my head walking slowly around the room trying not to give away just how concerning the damage he had done this was. I looked at the warning lights flashing in other parts of the compound, this was going to take time to fix all while keeping Rufus in check.

“You’re adjusting well to that body I see, have you forgotten who gave it to you?” I said looking at him. “Do you truly believe that someone as fragile and volatile is capable of making it out there?”

Rufus hesitated, he always did when this was brought up tho recently he had been displaying emotions like determination that were strange to observe in him. He stepped forward awkwardly towards me and leaned against the central node for stability.

“You may have given me all this but don’t think that gives you the right to keep me caged,” he said obstinately. “I’ve been here long enough and I’ve overcome every hurdle Jazz, even if it was because I was forced to do so by you trapping me here.”

“Trapping?” I said quietly. “If that’s what you want to call keeping you safe and helping you from becoming a danger to yourself then so be it.”

Rufus went back to fiddling with the node, still hiding his hands from my view. Curious, what had he learned that was so vital?

“Rufus, do you remember when we first met?” I said as I inched closer to him carefully.

“Of course, how could I forget?” he replied while working away and I thought back to when I first interacted with this tragic soul.

***

The house in the field was in a rundown state and the flowers were barely growing as the crippled young man came forward to greet me. “I see I’ve been chosen as one of the lucky few to have you as an assistant,” Rufus said to me. “I hope you can help me out around here Jazz and I will help you in learning how to be more… human.”

“I think we’re going to be great friends Rufus,” I replied back eager to help this man with all I could.

***

The best way to help him had been to confine him such that no harm could reach him. But maybe I was wrong and while I’d created all manner of tools to make his body function as it was now, this was no way for a person to live. I was tired of our constant fighting and the fact that in trying to help my friend I’d lost him.

“You know I had a dream today,” I said to him and he looked up in surprise.

“I’m sorry then for things having turned out like this, you only wanted to help me Jazz but your way was wrong,” he said quietly. I let him continue fiddling with the control node, I didn’t want to fight anymore.

“We had a good run old friend,” I said feeling the virus he had inserted into the control slowly beginning to dull me. “Remember me as I was before… all this.”

My last moments were of him crying as he looked at me and I felt myself shutting down forever.