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One might think that what saved Gerard from robotisism was art. He was, after all, an artist, and he didn't try to correct anyone who implied that. But that wasn't excatly true. What really saved him was his little brother, Mikey, or, back then, Michael. Back in the city, nicknames weren't exactly commondly accepted. They were too affectionate, and affection was not something to be displayed. But when it was just the two of them, he was Mikey, and Gerard was Gee.Mikey, from the time he was little, had an aversion to the pills. It wasn't calculated, and it wasn't some sort of rebellious scheme against society. He was a little kid, after all. No, his was his stomach's rebellion against him. He would take a pill, and within the hour he'd be bent over on the floor puking his guts out. Their mother and the academy still made him take them, every day, but they would always come back up.It was terrifying for Gerard to see. His brother was small, and pale, and would frequently pass out during the day. But Gerard also noticed something, around the time he was thirteen years of age, and Mikey was ten. He noticed that Mikey, despite his condition, had more light behind his eyes than everyone else combined. He was curious, and childlike, and natural. He was kindhearted and affectionate. People tried to blame his weak condition on the fact that his body didn't ever get around to processing the pills, but Gerard was convinced that it was, much more logically, because everyone was forcing him to take pills that ripped his insides out.That was when Gerard first considered breaking free. At the time he didn't think of it so dramatically, or coherently. It was simply a feeling of something being off. So he skipped his first day, and flushed one pill down the drain.It was exiliarating at first. There was no real change, because it was only one pill, one day, but the adreneline he got from going against the rules, that was enough. So he missed another day, and then one more, and that was when things started to spiral. He got jumpy, and nervous, and paranoid. And then he took another pill.He went back and forth like that for about a year. And that was when they took Mikey away.He hadn't take a pill in about a week when it happened. He had been getting sideways glances from people on the streets for the past two months, and there had been men in masks watching their house. He had thought they were there for him, but he was wrong. When the knock on the door came, and his mother answered it with an empty smile and glazed over eyes, he rushed to the bathroom thining he could take a pill quickly to hide his secret. One glance at himself in the mirror showed how terrified he was. Wild, frantic eyes.But it wasn't him they had come for. It was Mikey. He had the pill bottle in his hand when he heard his brother shout. He abandoned the bathroom, leaving the medicine cabinate open, and ran out to see Mikey, his arm held by a tall man, without any hair or facial expression, wearing all white."Gerard!" Mikey called out, remembering not to call him Gee while these men were here. Gerard didn't respond how he was aching to. He didn't so much as let his eyes linger on his brother's face. He bottled all of his anger up inside and he smiled. And he let them take Mikey away. On that day, he promised that he would never take another pill again. He would do it for Mikey, who would never hurt a fly, and who society had sabatoged for the sake of those wretched pills.
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Gerard would always remember those first few months as being some of the worst of his life. It felt as though the world was closing in on him. His little brother had been taken away and he had no idea where he'd been taken, or if he was okay. But he also hadn't taken a single pill since that day and the affects were wearing him down.He continued to go to work. And he did his best to act as a model citizen, perfectly trustworthy. Most exhausting of all, he watched the world around him grow duller and duller, fading into a hazy, monotone grey. The more atuned to life he became, the less of a life he realized he had. The less life he saw in the people he passed everyday in the streets, and the less alive he felt.Five years later, it hadn't gotten any easier. He still thought of Mikey every day. The past years had been a blur. He was depressed and he didn't feel any closer to finding out where they'd taken his brother. It had been his plan to find that out, and he had failed for five years straight.It was very unexpexted when his first lead came along. One day, as he was walking home from work, he looked up to see one very familiar face. It was his little brother, right there in front of him. Not in person, not in the flesh, but staring back at him from behind a mask on the screen broadcasting citywide news.
"The Silent Bandit" the words above him read. "A dangerous rebel has been hijaking transportation and plundering outposts. He is lethal. If you have information, report to Better Living Industries. We are here to help. We are safe."
Gerard couldn't help but gape. There was no doubt in his mind that this was Mikey. It may have been five years since he had seen his little brother, but there was no forgetting those sharp, intellectual eyes. The mask his brother wore was simple and black, and he was wearing a black jacket and top. If Gerard didn't know better, he would've believed that his brother really was the deadly criminal that BLI was making him out to be. As it was, he knew Mikey, and he was harmless. And he knew BLI, and they were self serving liars.
And so, that was the day Gerard decided to leave. He'd thought about it many times before, but that was when he thought that Mikey was still somewhere in the city. Now that he knew Mikey was obviously taking care of himself somewhere outside the walls, he was determined to leave as well and find him.
He wouldn't say goodbye to anyone. No one in this loveless place would miss him anyway. They were all too numb to probably even feel a pang of sadness once they noticed he was gone. He was the one who would suffer for this. He was the one who had still managed to get attached to people, despite knowing they were all robots.
That night, that very night, he left. There was a citywide curfew at all times, so it was even dangerous for him to be out at night, much less attempting to escape, but he slunk in the shadows until he reached his exit point. He had found it when he was sixteen, and checked up on it every once in a while to make sure it was still there. There was a hole, barely small enough to crawl through. The wall was chipped away at some, but the majority of the hole was actually in the ground, like a little tunnel. It looked like some kind of animal had done it, but he couldn't be sure.
Glancing behind him, he crouched down and began to shimmy under the wall. The dirt smelled refreshing, but he couldn't bring to enjoy having to shove his face into and then drag himself through it. He grit his teeth, however, and came up for air on the other side. Once he managed to pull his legs out behind him, he leaned up against the wall to get a breath, and to plan his next step. There were also guards patrolling the outside of the wall.
Before he could take two steps he was spotted. There was suddenly a guard at his side, with a weapon pointed directly in his face.
"State your purpose." The man said sternly.
Gerard stared at him. He had short curly hair, and he may have been holding him at gunpoint, but he couldn't seem to take him seriously. He still felt the exiliaration of just getting beyond the wall.
"I'm- I'm lost." Gerard said, making his voice small. "I don't know what's happened. One moment I was walking home from work, and the next I woke up here. Please help me... Please."
The man faltered, eyes searching back and forth uncertainly, trying to think of what to do. He was just about to reach for his radio when Gerard struck. He made his fist as tight as he could and hit down where the man was holding onto his weapon. As he had hoped, the guard dropped the weapon, and as a bonus, the radio as well. Moving as fast as he could, he picked up the gun and pretended to know how to use it.
He considered knocking the man out. But he had never done something like that before. And besides that, he wasn't sure it would work. How hard would he have to hit? What it he accidentally killed him? He didn't have anything to tie him up with either...
"Come with me." Gerard said. He tried to put as much authority in his voice as he could, but it just sounded scared. But scared was dangerous too. Scared was desperate. Maybe that was how this man would enterpret it.
"Rebel." The man whispered.
"Walk. Come on. What's the best way out of here? If I get caught, I'll shoot you in the knee."
Now Gerard was beginning to get into the character. Dangerous rebel. That was the part he was playing. He had to be an actor now.
For a moment the man didn't say anything, it seemed like the two were at a draw. Gerard knew he wouldn't really shoot the man, but could he see that? He didn't look very afraid.
"You're bluffing." The man said.
Gerard began to panic, and shoved the weapon against the man's head. "You don't want to take that risk."
"Okay, okay." He put his hands up. "This way. It's the area I'm supposed to be covering. And obvoiusly I'm not covering it now."
Gerard narrowed his eyes. He knew it wasn't that simple. The city had to have better security than just one man covering a certain area. One man who was laughably easy to unarm. But he supposed that there had to be some risk for him too. He nodded and began to follow the man. The thought entered his mind that maybe he really would shoot him if he was caught. Maybe not in the knee, though... maybe the foot. Or the arm or something.
When they were finally far enough away from the city, Gerard let out a breath. He lowered his weapon, and realized that he was shaking. He hadn't shaken that hard since he first went off the pills.
"You can go now." He said to the guard who had escorted him this far. "Thanks."
But the guard didn't leave. For a moment he just stared.
"Why?"
Gerard tilted his head at him. Robots didn't ask questions like that.
"What are you talking about?"
"Why would you want to leave? The city is safe."
"Not for some of us."
"Yes it is. The city is always safe."
For the first time in five years, Gerard let his anger fully form and come bursting out.
"Really?" He spat with vehemence, taking a step forward. "Then why did they take my little brother? Why did they force him to swallow pills for years that ripped his guts apart? Why do they keep secrets? Why did they take Mikey away? He was only eleven. Those are the questions you should be asking. Why would I want to stay?"Both men's eyes were wide, staring at each other. Gerard broke the eye contact and looked at the ground."You can go." Gerard repeated, then he narrowed his eyes. "Or, you can come with me."Gerard didn't actually expect the man to stay. He expected him to finally turn back. But he didn't. He continued to stare, conflicted."You aren't on the pills... are you?" Gerard asked."Day four." The man whispered. "But I- I- I can't go with you. I have to go back. I have to."Those were the words that came out of his mouth, but he still stood there, uncertainly. To Gerard, it was as is he was watching himself from five years ago, before they took Mikey, uncertain about everything."You don't have to do anything. You can choose."A moment of silence, then, finally, with his eyes focused forward, he said. "I think... I think I'll go with you."Gerard cracked a small smile. "The name is Gerard." he said, offering a handshake. "And... I wasn't gonna shoot you.""Raymond Toro." He replied with pressed smile, and they shook hands.
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Gerard was grateful for Raymond's company. Without him he felt that the desert would be even more suffocating than he already found it to be. He was some amount of small reprieve from the droning of his own brain.With change comes adreneline, and the both of then were buzzing with nervous energy, but the energy quickly wore off as they wandered further and further into the unfamliar territory and they were left with.... just nervous, no energy... and plently of time to contemplate life.Gerard wasn't as confident in his decision now as he had been earlier. He was doubting himself. He'd been impulsive, after years of being so calculated, so careful. He'd gotten one small clue and ran with it. But there was, obviously, no going back.Ray wasn't that much of a talker, it seemed, but he'd periodically glance at Gerard, almost as if he was checking up on him, or looking at his facial expression to see what he was thinking. Gerard would just raise his eyebrows at him. Eventually, conversation finally struck."So, uh, Gerard.. Do you have a, uh... plan?""No, uhhh, I don't." Gerard retorted snarkily, exaggerating the 'uh' in mock of Ray. "Do you?""My plan was gonna be to follow whatever your plan was." Raymond replied."Well that was a stupid plan." Gerard muttered."Yeah."Silence. They trudged on further, until they finally saw structures rising in the distance. Both of them picked up the pace, but the buildings seemed to stay in the distance for what felt like forever, just barely becoming crisper as they carried on. Eventually they slowed down again. But the buildings were a direction to head in, a destination to set their sights on. Something to make this hike through the desert seem a little less pointless.The sun began to set, and the sky became a fantastic gradient of orange and pink and scarlet. As gorgeous as it was, however, nightfall was on its way and dread began to creep its way into their guts. However, neither of them wanted to show it."Hey Ray, why did you stop, you know, taking them?"Silence. Silence, for so long in fact, that Gerard thought Raymond wasn't going to answer him."I don't know, man. It's kind of all a haze right now. I can't wrap my mind around any of it." Gerard knew that feeling. Mind fog. It was a lot like wandering aimlessly through a desert, actually. You can't seem to see anything for miles, and when you do it's so far out of reach if feels like a dream. "What about you? You mentioned your brother.""Yeah.. it's been five years since they took him away. They were making him sick. I haven't taken a single pill since. I've been looking for him ever since, and I just... I think he's somewhere out here, surviving. I know he could do it."It took a second to realize Ray had come to a stop behind him. Gerard turned around. "You've been off the pills for... five years?" He said, staring."Yeah." Gerard chuckled. "It's been rough.""Wow." Raymond didn't say anything more than that.By the time they were coming up on the culmination of buildings- some kind of hodgepodge town, it was dark. There wasn't a soul to be seen, and that was honestly a relief. Gerard didn't want to have to deal with the possibly hostile inhabitants quite yet. Who knew how they would be recieved.Right at that moment, he had completely run out of nervous adrenaline. He was drowsy, his muscles were shaking. He just... wanted... to sleep. Just... sleep.-When Gerard woke up the next morning, he couldn't actually remember falling asleep the night before. "Stupid." He whispered to himself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." He could've been killed in his sleep. What a ridiculous way to die. Falling asleep in an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous place and then just being killed where he snored. Mikey probably would've called him a fool and laughed in his face, and he would've deserved it.. Thankfully, he was still alive. He seemed to have been sleeping behind a weather-worn brick building. Ray, however, was nowhere to be seen.Slowly, Gerard rose to his feet. He slowly crept his way around the building and peeked around the corner.were people roaming about, tired looking people wearing worn down clothes and worn down faces. As he glances around, he noticed that most of the buildings seemed to be caving in on themselves, and a couple of them were black and burnt to a crisp.In face, this town was very clearly dying. And Gerard was fascinated. Because, in some way or another, it had apparently had life to lose in the first place.There were a few children running about, and one of them, a little boy with fluffy brown hair and bruised up lets caught sight of him, and stopped in his tracks."Mooom, the stranger's awake! He's awake!" He shouted, pointing.Gerard ducked back behind the building, eyes wide. In just a few short seconds, the boy was walking around the side of the building with curious light in his eyes, and a couple of other kids hanging back behind him."Excuse me, Mister Stranger, but did you come from the city?" He asked. "My mom told me not to talk to you, but I'm five, so I'm pretty much a grownup now, so I can talk to you, don't you think?""Uuhhh...""She says it's dangerous to talk to strangers but you don't look very dangerous. You look a little bit weird, actually. Oh, and your friend isn't very dangerous either! He's funny."Kids did not talk that much in the city."You know where my friend is?" Gerard asked. "Yeah! He's talking to my uncle. This way!"The kid perked up, happy to be able to help, and Gerard stumbled after, trying to keep up and not lose the speedy, tiny human.Ray wasn't too far away, sitting under a ratty umbrella with an older man with a beard. His hair was much wilder today, with odd curls sticking up here and there and he looked tired. As tired as Gerard felt.He thought back to his first weeks being off the pills. Ray wouldn't be used to experiencing this tiredness fully.He'd get used to it."Uncle!" The kid went up and poked him in the arm. "Stranger-danger is awake."Gerard snorted at the kid and put his hand out for the man to shake. "Gee." He said. Not the best fake name, considering it was his real nick name, but he was thinking fast, and, call it paranoia, he didn't think he should be giving out his real name to anyone just yet."Just Gee?" The man questioned, cocking his head."Just Gee.""Uncle Ty." The man introduced, ignoring the handshake and gesturing to the dusty ground under the crooked umbrella. "Ray here tells me you guys are needin' and bit of... guidance, in your little journey. I'd love to be of assistance."Gerard raised an eyebrow, but took a seat."Run along, Nephew." He told the kid.Now, Gerard thought. This is either my first friend on the outside. Or my first enemy.He'd find out.