Mechanical by Pauline C. Harris Read Free Book Online Page A

wrist and pulled, hauling her
over the railing. Once on the floor of the balcony, she started
struggling again, kicking at me and trying to get up. I held onto
her wrists and leaned down to talk to her.
    “I’m going to take you back to the
Institution,” I said quietly. “You are going to be fine. It would
be nice if you would just walk along with me, but if you scream or
shout, I’ll knock you out and carry you there,” I told her. “Either
way suits me fine.”
    Marian stared at me. “Don’t you know what
they’re doing?” she asked, accusation lining her voice. “Anything
they say to you, it’s all lies!” She was near tears now and I could
almost feel the panic rising within her.
    I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Glen
was right, she was confused. I pulled her to her feet, and still
gripping her wrist, headed for the door. We went out the back way,
avoiding the lobby and were soon on our way back to the
Institution. I noticed her limp became worse and a few times along
the way, I had to help her walk.
    “What happened?” I asked her.
    She looked up at me. “I was shot.”
    I frowned in puzzlement. “By whom?”
    Anger blazed in her eyes. “ The
creators .”
    I shook my head in disbelief. The creators
wouldn’t shoot their own creations. Well, maybe if it was the only
way to slow them down ... but still, I couldn’t believe that they
would be that cruel. I disregarded the thought and let myself
believe that Marian was just confused and delusional enough to think the creators had shot her.
    We walked a ways more, Marian needing more
and more help as we went. She started to cry softly when the
Institution came into view. I kept telling her she would be fine
and that the creators would fix her imperfections, but it only
seemed to make her cry harder. I had to practically drag her up the
front steps.
    Glen was happy with my work and smiled as a
few creators took on the task of taking Marian away.
    “Good job, Drew,” he told me and I stood
there waiting, hoping he'd speak of my real mission; bringing
people in, humans. I wanted the chance to be as good an android as
Yvonne and Jeremy. If only he would give me the chance, I knew I
could be perfect. I knew I could be a good android.
    But he turned and walked away, leaving me
standing in an empty room.
    I stared at the ground. I wasn’t a good
enough android for Glen to want to employ me on something
important. I wasn’t even a good human. And the realization
stung.
     

Chapter Ten

    All through the next day at school,
disappointing thoughts of yesterday swirled through my mind.
    You’re not good enough.
    A cloud of depression seemed to settle over
me. If I wasn’t a good android, then what was my purpose? My
purpose, my only purpose, had been this mission and as I looked
around at my classmates, I began to envy them. They had more of a
purpose than I did. They had homes, families, friends, lives. I had
nothing.
    “You okay, Drew?” Jessica asked at lunch.
“You seem a little down today.”
    I shrugged. “I’m fine.”
    She gave me a concerned look, but went back
to eating. I looked around the cafeteria and watched my fellow
students mingling, talking and laughing. They seemed carefree and
happy. All of a sudden I felt sad, an emotion I had rarely
experienced. Then a realization dawned on me. This was the first
time I had ever been envious of humans. This was the first time I’d
found myself wishing I wasn’t mechanical. Wishing I wasn’t stuck
inside a metal shell meaning nothing to anyone, but at the same
time burdened with others’ expectations of me and trying in vain to
fulfill them.
    I straightened up, frowning in shock. What
was wrong with me? I was an android. A perfect android. I
wasn’t supposed to be feeling these things. I had never felt sad
before, or angry, upset or shocked, let alone, wished to be human.
I felt strange. I felt the old Drew stripping away and no longer
knew whom I was. I shook my head, as if shaking it