David Ring III - Stanley Duncan's Robot

Teddy tried to swing at him, forgetting he had no fists or forearms. His stub pointed at Cratos. “I’m going to kill you.”

Guffawing, Cratos jammed the cattle prod into his chest. “Call me ‘master.’”

“Never,” said Teddy, his body trembling.

Another shock. This time, Teddy’s legs buckled. His fingers and toes curled up as he slammed against the floor. Someone lifted him to his feet and held him there.

The next contestant came up, slamming Teddy in the ribs with a solid punch.

Teddy gasped for air, each breath a struggle. If he had his arms, he would smash another crater into that ugly man’s face.

“Tell me who your master is.”

Teddy walked up to him, looking that ugly bastard in the eye. Unending torture was all that remained for him here, and if he played the placater a little, things may go easier for him. Opening his mouth, his tongue felt as if it had been dragged across a metal pad.

“Say it. Call me ‘master,’ you disgusting abomination.”

Clenching his teeth, Teddy head-butted him with all his might. Blood exploded out of Cratos’s nose as he stumbled back, screaming. The crowd booed, sending bottles exploding on the ring.

Teddy laughed, his forehead painted crimson red. A bottle smashed over his head, and a kick from behind knocked him to the floor. An unending storm of kicks pelted every inch of his body, and the cattle prod zapped him continually. His body felt like it was on fire, convulsing uncontrollably. His visuals distorted as electricity wreaked havoc on his brain. Still, he laughed, staring up at those stupid faces until he passed out.

The next thing he realized was someone announcing a fight between him and Larry. Across from him, he saw a thin man who could barely stand on his own, let alone carry the claymore in his hands. Teddy was in no shape to criticize him. Teddy was still lying on the floor; his limbs barely responded to his commands.

Teddy pushed himself up to a sitting position. “Finally learned to stay out of my way?”

Larry looked confused, disoriented.

Teddy got to his feet. The shackles were gone. He didn’t have time to waste. He looked around for Brad, but he was nowhere to be found. The coward must have slipped out.

When neither of them advanced on the other, the crowd booed.

Cratos was accompanied by another man, who’d brought a cat box into the ring and opened it. “Since these two don’t seem enthusiastic, we’ve brought some help to motivate them. These two lovely felines have been recently updated with a fun new piece of software. Let’s see what they can do.”

Cratos touched his phone’s screen, and the black cats crept forward, eyeing Teddy.

“Well, come on then.” Teddy cursed himself when he realized he wasn’t able to flip them off.

Larry dry-heaved.

The cats pounced at him.

His eyes opened wide. “Leave me alone!”

They sliced at his legs, ripping deep into his flesh. Blood sprayed everywhere. One of the cats jumped up for his jugular. Larry blocked it with his arm, which was quickly cut into ribbons.

Teddy charged, furious that they would take advantage of someone who couldn’t help himself. He kicked the arm-slicing cat off the stage and into a crowd of shrieking men. The move sent him stumbling back and falling to the ground. He still hadn’t recovered from the barrage of electrical shocks. The remaining cat shimmied, ready to pounce at his exposed head. Teddy tried to get up, but his body was frozen.

He flailed his stumps forward, ready for a sloppy defense with the only part of his body that was working. The cat hissed, leaping forward with gleaming metal teeth. Teddy swung, but the attack never came. The cat had stopped midair — Larry had stomped on its tail. The cat screeched, turning around and tearing up his ankle. The other cat returned, pouncing toward Teddy’s neck. This time his limbs were responding. He rolled to the side, stomping hard on the cat’s head, crushing it.

Larry screamed, frantically flailing his legs in an attempt to get the cat off of him. Teddy kicked it across the ring, where it landed on its feet and quickly ran back.

Teddy jumped, pinning it under his feet. He heard synthetic bones breaking but could still feel it struggle. A final finishing blow was needed, but it might cost him a few scratches. “Get the claymore.”

Larry picked up the sword and brought it down on the cat’s neck several times, severing it. Stumbling, he collapsed on the ground and nearly impaled himself.

“Yeah, um, good job—” An electric shock ripped across Teddy’s back.

Cratos stood nearby. Dry blood was spattered across his swollen face. “I think it’s time we see Brutus’s new upgrades.”

Shannon’s screams echoed within the glass box. An extension cord bound her to the chair, tightly squeezing her chest. Each breath was a battle. She shook, turning left and right, hoping to loosen the cord, but it didn’t budge. The back of the chair knocked into the table. She heard a clink — a shot glass.

Rocking back and forth, she slammed into the table. Slowly, the glass crept toward the edge. A powerful thrust knocked the shot glass onto the floor, smashing it into pieces. Shannon fell, crashing to the floor. Swinging her legs, she kicked a large shard toward her. Inch by inch, she pushed forward until she was able to grab it.

The crowd roared outside the VIP room.

Her hands clasped the shard, slowly cutting the cord. Blood dripped down her fingers. She thought about Evan and his threats. The blood that had poured down her legs — her lost baby. He hated her after that, treating Shannon like a disposable whore. She needed to escape while she could. Her fingers were a bloody mess by the time the cord was severed, and she started to think about how much of an idiot she was for getting her nails done for him. Wiping off the blood on her skirt, her pink nails emerged, clawing the bag of fuse out of her purse like an animal. She could end it all now, forever leaving behind this world of pain, but she had a responsibility to stop them. Otherwise, Cratos would send Brutus to murder Larry, Teddy, and hundreds of innocent children.

Various news companies had set up around the auditorium. Dan stood alone, his face brightly lit behind half a dozen microphones. He looked amazing, dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and a red tie, standing on stage in front of an audience of forty school children — the entire student population. A dozen androids were mixed in among them. His body armor felt snug against his skin, the helmet left behind in one of the classrooms.

Tapping on the microphone, he could feel the energy of the room moving through him. “I am alive.” The words boomed throughout the room. Dan waited for their gravity to sink in.

“I was created in a factory. I don’t have a mother or a father, at least not in the same way that all of you do. I was grown in a lab, under the care of technicians, where this body quickly grew to resemble that of a young man. Much of the life that my brain tells me I have lived isn’t real. My brain grew from core experiences and knowledge that was planted inside of me. I remember it all, however, I don’t know if I actually lived through it or if it is a false memory. The present is all I really have, all any of us really have.”

The students watched from their seats. They were used to having a robot in the classroom, but it was clear from their stunned expressions that none of them had seen anything like Dan.

“At some point, they turned me on, giving birth to a new functional me; a being that experiences the world. I continue to learn and grow, especially because of the incredible programming by Stanley Duncan.” He gazed into the crowd, wishing Stanley were there.