Reborn Heart of Steel

Thus, the world did not disappear in a blaze of glory but with a fizzle. Watching the Architect’s network fall apart is a little like watching someone breathe out what wasn’t known to be in their lungs until they finally do. The mist that filled the darkness and the blue light that provided the only source of illumination disappeared slowly, revealing a destroyed world that did not look alien but very human. Zoe fell on me, and all she could do was cry and shake tremendously. “Brianne,” she choked out. “I… I remember everything, what I have done, what I have turned into…” I hugged her as close as I could to me, my own tears prickling the surface of my eyelids. ‘It wasn’t you,’ I whispered instantly, my eyes still being crimson red. In none of these was it your own doing. For the most part, everywhere I looked, such scenes were being enacted. Former tanists of the Architect just moments before were now learning to accept what they had done and remorse was clear on their faces. I still recalled how Chase came to us with a rather serious look on his face. “We have to go,” he stated. “We are not safe, just because we closed the Architect, The Raven could still have some of his men around. ” I did not respond to him, so I sprawled her on the floor, then I stood her up. “What about the others?” I wanted to know, pointing at the multitude of bewildered people staring at us. Morris was already moving the people around, despite the lost bet, deep inside him, he was still a detective. “We’ll establish triage point”, he said. “Treat the injured people, help to find families that have been divided as they were, but we have to focus on the fact that the city is ours, and we should not let it go,” When we went outside the building, it was possible for us to realize the extent of the damage done. The towering structure was crisscrossed by confusion. The forms of buildings twisted and amalgamate in a way that can not be explained scientifically. The roads were filled with wrecked cars and other vehicles and bodies of the Architect’s artificially created army. “My God,” Zoe breathed. ‘This’ is too far; can we even imagine how we are going to rebuild ourselves from here? I took her hand in mine, attempting to give a reassurance that I wasn’t fully sure of inside of me. This is sometimes done to me whenever I am in a dilemma: “One step at a time,” I said. The Architect has made it quite clear; we defeated the Architect, and we can triumph over this as well. Due to this situation, we established our temporary office in one of few relatively functioning police stations. When the early hours of the evening came in, reports began flooding the emergency center from different parts of the city. The same story was repeated chaotic conditions, confusion, and cynicism and finally, some bewildered thoughts registering the magnitude of a disaster. “It’s not just our city”, Morris said as he hung a satellite phone. ‘This was global. ‘Architects had his network operating all over the globe. The implications were staggering. But not just the city that needed to be built from scratch, but a whole world that was in its earliest stages of creation. Our technology was mostly compromised or dismantled, so, in fact, we were trying to start all over again. At night, we collected around the city map attempting to determine what to do first and second and so on. Chase had been spearheading the operation of conducting security patrols while, on the other hand, Zoe was focused on the process of rehabilitation of the hospital. ‘We have to make sure that food and water are not contaminated. ‘ Morris went on with his speech. ‘We should look for a way to communicate with other cities and see what kind of resource to be dealing with’, he said. Before I could continue, I noticed a ruckus outside. Screams and the noise of fast steps started to reverberate in the building. Frowning in confusion, Morris suddenly demanded, “What now?” Conscious of the sudden tension, Chase’s hand moved to his belt, where his pistol was holstered. We quickly ran out to see that we had a large gathering of people around a man who was seemingly lying down on the floor. At this push and show, I felt my heart coming to a standstill deep within my bosom! It was Alessandro. He looked worse than before; his leathery skin still shimmered silver, his eyes even occasionally turned blue again. But he was alive, and from the expression on the man’s face, very much Alive. “Alessandro!” I yelled and knelt beside him, lifting his hand to check his pulse. He tried to force a smile, but that only came out as weak. “Hey, Brianne,” he croaked. “Did we win?” I was not able to reply to him when his body rose slightly, and he shrieked in agony. That is why he was able to finish the conversation with a weak but definite: ‘It’s still in me’. Said Alessandro, who recognized that he was only a part of the Architect that wanted to take over again. Chase and Morris look at each other with shocked expressions on their faces. The alien looked up at the two figures and charged, knocking them over and baring his teeth at the pair. “We need to get him inside,” Chase said. “Now. ”

We escorted a rather frightened Alessandro into the precinct where he was placed on a wooden table as if for examination. Zoe wasted no time, even if she felt the fatigue which came with such a great demand of a medic. “He has elevated temperatures, hypotension,” she said. It was as if his body had declared war on itself, or was simply in revolt against every portion of him that he, himself, held dear. At this, Alessandro took my hand and squeezed it as though he were afraid that in the morning he would find me no more. “Listen,” he said urgently. It’s not dead, not The Architect. ” I thought about myself and was tense. I had a cold sensation in my backbone. “What do you mean?”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.