Archie walked down the empty road, looking up at the aircraft and drones whizzing overhead, flinching at the sounds of explosions near and far. The boy who led him out of the tunnel said this way would take him home, but it did not look familiar. He kept walking because he didn’t know what else to do, and the scary sounds goaded him forward.

A vehicle approached from behind and Archie turned at the sound of honking. An old white van with a big red cross on it pulled up next to him. The driver leaned over to the passenger window.

“Hey! Do you want a ride? It’s not safe around here. Let me get you someplace less dangerous.” The driver had thick dark hair and kind eyes that Archie immediately assessed as unthreatening. He opened the door and climbed in.

“My name is Paul. What’s yours?” the driver said, extending his right hand while they sped off.

Archie shook it. “Archie.”

“Where you headed, Archie?”

“Home.”

“Where’s that?”

Archie fished in the inner pocket of his Seahawks jacket and pulled out a laminated card on the thin cord and handed it to Paul.

Paul glanced down at it as he drove, trying not to swerve as he made out the faded type under the yellowed lamination of the card.

“Well, you’re a long way from home. How did you get all the way out here?”

Archie shrugged. Paul handed him the card back.

“Well, let’s get the hell out of here.”

After a hectic ride, the white van pulled up to the familiar rancher and Archie started unbuckling to get out. Paul leaned over the steering wheel and looked at the house.

“Is anyone home? I’m not sure this is all that safe, Archie. We’re still not far away from the fighting.”

Archie opened the door and climbed out. Paul watched him enter the front door. He put the van in park but left it running and followed Archie into the house.

***

Adam watched the monitors, tracking the control systems of the combat drones en route and already on station over the battlefield. His parasitic AIs were deeply embedded and ready to take control of the drone swarms. The communications from the military units confirmed that his enemies massed there to kill the grendels, trapping Bina. How to move the most important piece?

He turned to another monitor and prepared the systems to distract when he made his move. The feint toward the nuclear facilities would keep the cyberdefenses occupied long enough to let him finish the task.

“Archie is home!” Serena called from downstairs.  Adam ignored her, engrossed in the torrent of information coming through the visuals and haptic sleeves.

Footsteps up the stairs. Movement down the hall behind him.

“Did you hear me? Archie is back. He says we have to leave. We are in danger.”

Adam responded without looking away from his screens. “We’re always in danger. It won’t end until I finish this.”

Archie entered the room behind Serena. “They know. Bina told me. The bad people have lotth of guns. The monthters will keep her thafe.”

“Who knows, Archie? What do they know?”

Archie just pointed at Adam.

Serena put her hand on Adam’s shoulder but he shrugged it off.

“Adam, please…”

“I am going to finish this,” he declared, turning back to his equipment.

Paul called from the front hallway. “Archie, we need to get out of here! Is there anyone else home? We need to go, now!” 

Archie shook his head and turned away. “You’re craythy.”

Serena held on to the back of Adam’s chair, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. He resumed his work.

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