Voice of the Silent

She heard a loud buzz from a vibration of the phone on the table, followed by a siren-like noise that went off three times.

“Mom! Another alert, can I read it?” she called out to her mother, but the effort was in vain. Getting off the couch she picked up the phone off the counter and read the alert on it.

“The third quadrant of the 27th and 38th streets are closed off due to a murder. Curfew is imposed until further notice. All residents are to remain home after 20:00.”

“What is it hun?” a gentle voice came from behind her, startling her. She dropped the phone as she jumped then turned around. She had a face full of guilt.

“Oh, uhm… sorry, I was curious…” she murmured under her breath, averting her gaze from her mother.

“Oh honey… curiosity is natural.”

Her mother walked past her. She playfully ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair as she knelt to pick up the phone and read the alert.

Her mother’s face distorted into disgust.

“Adiana? Remember what I told you the other day!?”

The girl glanced up at her mother, “Yes mom… androids are dangerous and we should be careful around them. Not trust them, and never let them into our house.”

Her mother sighed, placing her hand on Adiana’s head and playfully ruffling her hair.

“Good. Get dressed, we’re heading out.”

“Oh? Where to?” the girl asked, full of curiosity.

“You’ll see…”

That day they ventured out to the city center, avoiding the closed-off sections where murders took place. The third one this week, but it hardly bothered Adiana right now. She was excited for the town’s center for two reasons. For one there was her favorite video game store and a new sequel to her favorite.

“Lizard Hunter,” series was coming out, and there was absolutely no way she wasn’t going to whine about it to her mother until she got what she desired.

She peeked around the corner of her favorite video game store, just for a second. It was a narrow alley filled with garbage bins and trash bags. There was a stark contrast to the beautiful and clean city center. She noticed a silhouette standing in the shadow around the corner further down. Adiana glanced around to make sure her mother was not back yet. She was left to do her deeds in peace.

Confirming her privacy, she snuck down the alley and then jumped around the corner where she saw the silhouette.

“BOO,” she shouted playfully at the figure that leaned against the wall. Before her stood a man that most would describe as ‘shady’. He wore a black hoodie that was covered in patches and rips, thread thinned at the elbows and holes at the wrists. His pants were in no better condition and his boots had holes through which his toes were visible.

The prosecutor knew that the A57 models were more than capable of processing the bullet trajectory prior to the shot. They had the body to evade the bullet. This one was so worn down and tired that he had neither the desire to resist, nor the energy left to actually perform such feats.

When the enforcers departed, he remained alone in the alley. Sitting on the cold steps of the back entrance to some random business he never cared enough about to learn the name of. With his head against the wall and his gaze fixed on the gray clouds above, he stayed in silence, existing, waiting for something, anything. A flash made him blink, but it wasn’t lightning. Something blurred in front of his face again, it was a hand, waving rapidly in front of his face.

After a few blinks, he finally regained his focus and noticed Adiana standing before him. She was waving to get his attention, concern obvious on her face.

“I was so worried for you,” the girl spoke softly. Yet every time she opened her mouth, he got flashbacks of the barrel which he stared down just earlier that day.

He leaned against the wall, shaking his head to dismiss her concerns.

The shady figure hardly reacted to her shout, rather it seemed to have ignored it.

“Awhh! You’re no fun!” she whimpered. She scanned his weathered outfit; there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. She raised her hands up and signed at him. Both hands out and palms facing each other, she curled her fingers as if holding an invisible ball, twisting her wrists slightly and then pointed a finger at the man.

The man’s disheveled face beamed at her. He had stubble, a long scar that ran from his temple down to his jaw, and despite his tired look, he seemed happy for a moment. Pointing at himself and then forming an ‘OK’ sign with his fingers by forming an O and then a K with his thumb index and middle fingers. Adiana grinned and then peeked past him, to see the sign he had behind him.

The sign read – ‘will work any job, need money, deaf and mute but can read lips.’ She sighed, looking at the man with a sad expression, but then he gestured to her, ‘why are you here.’ She was still learning the sign language, but she could understand this much. She made sure to maintain eye contact and speak slowly she told him about the recent murder and news, about the raising alertness towards androids model A57 — the semi-sentient models. She even told him about the new game she was excited for.

The man pondered for a moment, taking in the news and then glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the most recent murder. His face distorted slightly into that of disgust and concern, or so Adiana presumed. He pointed at her, then held his hands out, facing down and fingers spread out. He flicked his hands downwards quickly as if throwing something away, and then pointed at himself.

She watched his signs, “Uhm… do I … want to throw you away? Uhmm… no, mmh… dislike?” she pondered. He smiled wearily and shook his head gently.

“Oh uhm, stronger emotion?”

He nodded.

“Hate?”

He nodded again. She gasped, “No! Why would I? You’re… lovely!”

She grabbed his hand, it was coarse and dry, rough. A hand of someone who had done a lot of manual labor.

“No! No, I don’t hate you! I don’t think all androids are bad!”

She heard rapidly approaching footsteps, and then a rough grasp on her wrist. It was followed by a yank that almost caused her to lose balance. Her hands were torn from the man’s, she gasped.

“ADIANA! What have I told you so many times? Stay away from… them…” her mother pulled her away a couple of paces, angrily glaring at the man in the black hoodie.

The man eyed her, discontent visible in his eyes.

“Disgusting creature how dare you gawk at me that way! Stay away from my daughter or I’ll call the enforcers you hear me!?”

The man pulled the hood over his head and stepped back, averting his gaze down and nodding gently.

“Good! Adiana – no game for you! We’ll talk at home young lady!”

The girl frowned, “he did nothing wrong…”

She murmured, “you’re unfair.”

“What did you say!?” her mother barked.

“Nothing,” Adiana whispered back.

While she was grounded for days with no network connection, she found herself thinking deeply on the unfairness and state of the world. She replayed her favorite installment of the Lizard Hunter game for the seventh or so time. She lost count, and at this point, she had lost her focus on the plot, too. It was just a mindless grind.

After several days passed the connectivity returned. The punishment was over. However it was no celebration, just bad news.

Her monitor flickered and switched to a news broadcast as soon as her connectivity was resumed.

“Breaking News,” the banner read, and the news anchor proceeded to elaborate on yet another murder, however this time it was different.

“The following scenes may be distraught to some viewers, be advised.”

Adiana watched the scene before her with terror in her eyes.

There was a man assaulting a woman outside some pub. She was screaming and fighting, trying her best to break free. However, her efforts were in vain. Out of the shadows a figure stepped out, a dark silhouette on the poor-quality recording of inhuman strength.

With ease, said figure tossed the assaulter away, but the rascal was not easily swayed. He pulled a firearm on the vigilante, discharging a round or two. It was hard to tell, but then with a swift flick of the hero’s wrist, the assaulter fell to the floor. He was no longer moving.

Adiana gasped, she thought the man’s posture and the way he walked with a gentle limp to the right leg looked familiar. She could only assume that it looked like her mute friend. The shady man whom she never named and who had no name, or at least, one was never given one to her.

It was later that day, the enforcement bureau was upon every android in the city. They questioned them for the events and whereabouts of their night.

“Show me your records!” demanded a younger cop, but he remained silent.

“Man fuck that guy, just lay him down here nobody would bat an eye,” whined another younger cop who seemingly had a grudge against androids.

As he reached for his firearm, an older man accompanied by half a dozen other cops rounded the corner.

“No laying down anyone, not on my watch. Your badge number?”

The younger cop took a step back.

“I was just jesting, prosecutor, sir. We were questioning this homeless android about last night, but he keeps claiming that his recordings and databanks are corrupt.”

The older man glanced at the android, the long scar along the side of his face and his worn clothes were a hint enough of his rough life.

“Rough day?” he asked with a gentle smile. The android fixed his hoodie and pulled the hood down, shrugging and then gesturing at himself. Then placed an index finger over his lips in a ‘shh’ motion, indicating he was not able to speak, and then pointed at his ear and moved the hand to point at his mouth. It was a common gesture to indicate he was deaf and mute. The prosecutor caught on quickly.

“I see, give him a writing pad.”

After a brief back and forth, the prosecutor asked a question that made the android uncomfortable, judging by his body language.

“Where were you last night?”

The android seemingly tensed up, the response he wrote was plain and simple.

“Here, no data records though. Data banks corrupt, no money, need repairs.”

The prosecutor scanned the android’s outfit once more. It was old, stained, and torn in several places. There was a single hole on the right shoulder that seemed to be in a similar spot where the mysterious figure got shot in the footage. The android’s movements showed no hindrance though, so he dismissed his suspicions.

Unlike most people in the city, the prosecutor remained one of the few to show sympathy towards the hundreds of abandoned androids who were tossed out onto the streets to fend for themselves after a few malfunctions.

“Allow my tech team to verify?” he asked calmly. The android hesitated, his eyes darted between the two techies who accompanied the prosecutor as they began to unpack their equipment. He knew that resistance was futile.

One of the techies brushed his finger along the back-side of the android’s ear. A part of his skin split open to reveal an access port that was mangled and dented. The techie’s attempted to plug a cord and establish a connection for a while but their efforts were in vain.

“It’s too mangled,” complained one of them.

“Ah fuck does it matter?” one of the younger cops grunted.

“Clearly these bastards all should be executed.”

He grabbed the android by the shoulder and pulled him back, toppling the seated man over onto the floor. He pointed his gun at the android who’s face distorted with fright.

“Tell me where you were last night, it was you, wasn’t it? There aren’t many androids in this part of the city you freak!”

The prosecutor watched the android with sparkling curiosity, eager to see the android’s reaction, but the disheveled man sighed softly. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate after staring death down the barrel.

A single squeeze of a finger, a sneeze, or a twitch of the young man’s muscles could end his life. There, mere centimeters from his head hovered death, and above it sat a man full of anger and hatred, and yet, the android had no desire to resist.

The prosecutor knew that the A57 models were more than capable of processing the bullet trajectory prior to the shot. They had the body to evade the bullet. This one was so worn down and tired that he had neither the desire to resist, nor the energy left to actually perform such feats.

When the enforcers departed, he remained alone in the alley. He sat on the cold steps of the back entrance to some random business he never cared enough about to learn the name of. With his head against the wall and his gaze fixed on the gray clouds above, he stared in silence. He sat there waiting for something, anything. A flash made him blink, but it wasn’t lightning. Something blurred in front of his face again. It was a hand, waving rapidly in front of his face.

After a few blinks, he finally regained his focus. He noticed Adiana standing before him. She was waving to get his attention, concern obvious on her face.

“I was so worried for you,” the girl spoke softly. Yet every time she opened her mouth, he got flashbacks of the barrel which he stared down just earlier that day.

He leaned against the wall, shaking his head to dismiss her concerns.

“Say, it was you, no?” she demanded but he ignored her, averting his gaze.

“Grrr, don’t ignore me!”

Adiana complained. A sly grin spread on her face as she flicked his hip. The man glanced down, as she smirked, knowingly.

“Your limp to the right leg, worn out joint. I read about your models you know.”

The man gestured with his hands once more, yet something was different. His hands, they trembled ever so slightly. This raised Adiana’s concerns further. ‘Fear?’ she pondered, “What happened?” but the man ignored her question yet again.

“Young miss?” she heard a voice call out to her.

Adiana gasped, turning her head to see a young man in enforcer uniform walking swiftly toward her.

“Oh-huh…” gritting her teeth she gestured ‘shh’ to the man and turned to walk toward the enforcer.

“Y…yes officer?”

“What are you doing back here?” the cop reprimanded the young girl for wandering the back alleys.

“Uhm, a toy of mine flew off…” she lied.

“A toy huh?” glancing past her he seemed doubtful. She felt his strong hand grasp her by the wrist.

“This is no place for a young girl. Come along then, let’s find your mommy shall we?”

He turned to tug her along, but not toward the city center, rather in the opposite direction.

Something triggered inside Adiana, her body froze from fear the moment she caught a glimpse of the enforcer’s eyes. His eyes were full of anger, and desire to do something she dared not even think of. Every instinct in her body began to scream.

As soon as she opened her mouth to scream, she found herself instantly gagged by a barrel of a firearm.

“Shut your little mouth, so much as a peep and you’ll be the next victim of the ‘evil androids’, the cop whispered to her. His eyes were cold, and his gaze was stern. He was not joking, she could tell that he would, but also was going to harm her if she followed along.

Her eyes welled up. Warm tears, like rivers – ran down her cheeks, but all she could do was nod gently.

“That’s it, good girl. Come now, let us explore the alleys you seem so fond of.”

His grimace was that of content, as if a hunter that at last cornered its prey. She swallowed nervously, reluctantly following him along as he pulled her to follow.

As soon as he rounded the corner, his gaze darted to a figure that stood there, waiting for him, though patience was not an emotion on his face. The disheveled man’s expression was that of flaming anger. Adiana hardly had the time to so much as realize that her friend was still there when she heard a loud crack. The enforcer’s arm snapped like a twig with a single twist of the man’s strong, inhuman arms.

A pained scream and rushed footsteps followed as Adiana, upon being released, dashed toward the exit out of the alley to the main street. Behind her she heard a couple of grunts, a thud, and then a loud bang, followed by another. She dared not look over her shoulder, she only desired to run away.

Following her was the enforcer, though he no longer had any interest in her. She got tossed to the side as soon as he caught up to her, rushing to his own safety, with a broken arm flailing at his side, and a firearm in the other arm that he would occasionally discharge behind him in desperate attempts to slow his pursuer down.

Adiana struggled up to all fours, barely remaining low enough to avoid a stray shot that chipped the wall a couple of bricks above her head. She ducked again with a whimper. Her friend like a rampaging beast leapt out of the alley, crashing full body into the enforcer, toppling him over.

A moment later there were shouts, and more gunshots as other enforcers who were present in the area opened fire at the rampaging assaulter. She caught a glimpse of his distressed face as he retreated back into the alley, fluid dripped from his forehead where a bullet grazed him. Adiana tried to shout and protest. As one of the enforcers ran past her she clung to his leg in a desperate attempt to slow him down, to stop him.

Expectedly, her cries and pleas were ignored in the chaos. She was shaken off and ordered to stay still while the enforcers pursued the presumed suspect who assaulted their comrade. Days of investigations and questions turned into a blur. ‘What happened?’ ‘You’re lying’ ‘Our enforcers would never do such a thing.’ ‘There’s no evidence to support the words of a ‘girl that cried wolf’.’ In the end, the man who threatened her walks free.

Her friend was nowhere to be found. The alley he resided in was now barren and empty. His sign slowly weathered away as weeks passed without him. She checked back every few days but he was gone, gone for good. She couldn’t shake the fear that her friend had perished in pursuit, but there was nothing in the news for a while. Weeks turned to months; she slowly began to lose hope.

One calm evening she sat at the TV, watching the news yet again.

“A residential fire in an apartment complex broke out last night. By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, it was far too late. The witnesses speak of a heroic figure that burst through the door into a flaming building to rescue the residents.”

News anchor told excitedly.

“It appeared to be the same vigilante we had seen in the past. Here’s one such witness’s claim.”

The feed faded to a distressed woman, “He was seemingly just walking past, limping even, he seemed tired when he heard my neighbor scream, ‘My baby, my baby is inside!’ she, you see, stepped out for just a minute to the grocery store, a single mother. Her baby was fast asleep, but the fire broke out and swiftly consumed the entire building. That man, in a black, torn-up hoodie, just dashed in… no hesitation. Whoever he is, he’s a hero.”

The feed faded back to the studio where the anchor nodded, “He is a hero, but not all stories have a good ending. The following scenes may be distressful to some audiences. Please be advised.”

The feed switched yet again to a camera crew and an on-scene reporter approaching a man leaning against a wall. His clothes were burned, he sat with his arms tightly wrapped around something. A child’s screams were heard coming from the man.

“Sir? Sir are you alright? Do you need help?”

The reporter called out. The hooded man, turned his head just barely. The hoodie melted into his skin.

Burns decorated his face and body. His entire body trembled but the man unveiled a young child in his arms, the child seemed unharmed.

“It’s the child! Quick call the medics,” the camera feed cut.

“The heroic, unidentified android of model A57 passed away in the hospital, unserviceable. Let this serve as a reminder to all that not all androids are evil.”

Adiana’s eyes welled up, a single tear rolled down her cheek, leaving warmth behind it. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, her jaw trembled as she whispered, “Farewell, friend.”