Brian's Blog Post

Running On Empty

Kat woke up at 10:00 that morning. She stretched her arms over her head one final time before forcing herself out of half-sleep mode. Daylight was already pouring in from her bedside window, and she looked out to gaze at the backyard garden and their neighbor’s in-ground swimming pool. She could hear the local birds chirping from the trees outside the house and the waterfall-like slushing that the pool filter mimicked. The water in the pool looked clear blue and was sparkling with sunlight. Kat opened her eyes wide to take in all of the beauty and bright normalcy of the morning. She smiled and went to the bathroom to freshen up. 

Jason woke up nearly 3 hours earlier, at 7:05. He got out of bed and splashed some water on his face and proceeded to head downstairs and brainstorm about how to leave the house in the fastest way possible. By the time Kat came downstairs, Jason had already packed up their bags with food and supplies. Jason stared at Kat as she avoided eye contact, but Kat could see their bags were ready. 

“No,” she said.

Jason looked at the ground. “I’m sorry, but it’s time.”

“No no no, we barely had any time to adjust here.”

Jason struggled to keep his eyes open. He looked at Kat. She stared at Jason in disbelief. Not in disbelief of Jason, but in disbelief of their lifestyle. The two of them had been hopping around from city to city for years now, with hardly any breaks in between. It was always the same every time: arrive, find a place, unpack, look for a job, get used to the community, and then disappear. The part they both dreaded was disappearing. It took so much work to find a new place to stay. But they had to move. That was the only consistent thing about their lives. 

“Look, it’s not like I want to leave. But we have to. It’s the only way to keep Her from finding us.” 

“How come I didn’t get the message?”

“I don’t know. I guess it was only sent to me.”

Kat kept looking at Jason. “At least let me get something to eat first.”

“Alright, fine.”

Kat poured some cereal and milk into a bowl. She ate in silence as Jason fired up their teleporter and entered the new gps coordinates. Their teleporter consisted of a hunk of metal and wiring, all condensed into a thick, dense cylinder about two feet tall, with levers and buttons dangling from the sides. Lugging around the device was always very challenging, as it wasn’t very easy to conceal and it weighed them down a lot. But it was their main method of transportation, and the most efficient method of transportation at that. 

The two of them had been running from a rogue AI for two years now. Decades in the future, a nameless artificial intelligence would upload itself into the internet. This AI used drones and robots to “enforce” the law, or terrorize communities. Kat and Jason had developed time travel technology, which is the only reason they were still alive. They had to time jump back to an age without advanced technology in order to survive. Unfortunately, the AI got her hands on their technology and modified it for her own use.

Jason waited patiently, trying not to doze off and fall asleep. Once Kat was done eating, the two of them stood on opposite sides of the teleporter, which required two people to activate. One person held down a lever to open the main security panel, and the other would reach inside the main compartment to hold down the interior button for 3 seconds. Then there would be a warping sound, a flash of light, and they would be gone. 

Jason held down the lever on his side, but Kat hesitated. 

“What are you doing?” Jason asked.

“I’m thinking.”

Jason felt aggravated and tired of waiting. “What are you thinking about? Come on Kat, we don’t have time to waste. Her bots could show up at our door at any second and incinerate us. What’s the matter?”

Kat looked resigned. “I’m just so tired of always being on the move. I’m so tired of running. No matter where we go, She always finds us. It’s pointless.”

Jason knew how she felt. He was tired too, but he had never found an alternative solution. 

Then Kat’s phone binged. It was a text message from Williams. Kat had texted him earlier to let him know that they were leaving. Will was a survivor, like them, only he didn’t have to jump back in time like they did. He and his friends helped relay messages about which places were safe for Kat and Jason to hide in. 

The text read: “Kat, I didn’t send any message. Why are you leaving so soon?” Kat’s heart stopped for a second as she processed her situation. If Williams didn’t say to move, then why was Jason so eager to relocate? Unless…

“Who’s that?” Jason asked. 

“Um, just a friend from work…” Kat lied. 

“I thought you said it was hard to make any friends.”

Kat kept staring at her phone. “Yeah, well I made one.” 

Jason analyzed Kat while slowly reaching into his right pocket. Kat looked up at Jason, silently launching the laser-beam app on her phone.

Jason smirked. “I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

But Kat didn’t want to chat. In one rapid motion, she fired a blue laser from her phone camera, which grazed Jason’s cheek and burned a hole in the wall behind him.

“Augh!” Jason ducked and touched his injury. “You’ll pay for that.” 

Jason drew out a pocket knife, but Kat didn’t waste any time. She quickly ran to the front door of the house, with Jason at her heels, and fired another laser directly at the teleporter. The teleporter screeched and clanged as metal and wiring got vaporized, and Kat ran from the house before the device exploded altogether. The house erupted into flames as Kat ran outside, trying to catch her breath and hold onto her phone. She coughed and panted, looking at the wreckage from a safe distance. 

Kat texted Williams: “SHE IS HERE. What do I do?” Kat typed another text: “I don’t know what happened to Jason.” but before she could send it, her phone died. 

“Ugh, come on!” Kat yelled.

Kat couldn’t call the police or the fire department, but she didn’t want to anyway. She knew too well that you couldn’t trust other people to help you. She tried looking around for Jason, or who she thought was Jason. People in the neighborhood had heard the explosion, and they all came out of their houses to observe the blazing mess. Kat’s house had contained all of her possessions, but she didn’t fuss about how they were gone. All she cared about was her own survival. 

Williams sent Kat a telepathic message through her mindlink device. The message was short and simple: “Run.” So as people started to call the police and the fire department, Kat disappeared. She had no cash. No weapons from the future. Just her determination. 

To be continued...