The Iron Hallway

Chapter 22

(Baird's POV) 

"Should've killed Urban when I had a chance." Aaron growled, "If only I had, we wouldn't be here!" 

Keira nodded her head vigorously. "What's wrong with us, that we thought he was safe to bring along?" 

"Blame me for that, Aaron." said Khemera. "It was my zealousness and gullibility that brought him into our fold to start with." 

Aaron gave Khemera a hard look. "That's true. Makes me wonder about you too." 

I frowned and came to Khemera's defense. "Why in the world would you have suspicions about Khemera? He's given us literally no reason not to trust him!" 

"Yeah, and that's suspicious." Aaron replied, narrowing his eyes. "His altruism seems a bit too extensive to be realistic." 

Khemera's brow wrinkled. "So my care for the welfare of others is now suspicious to you? Why am I not surprised?" 

"You're not surprised, because you know for a fact that my concern's not unwarranted!" Aaron barked. 

"I find it strange you've only just now come to this realization. It seems quite whimsical." 

"Guys, why're we discussin' this, anyhow?" Hannah asked innocently. "We know for a fact, Jedrek betrayed us. I don't reckon dat means we have to start passin' 'round blame now!" 

"Exactly!" I agreed. "Jedrek seemed sketchy, but potentially useful. Obviously, if we'd seen this coming, we wouldn't have had him tag along at all." 

Sila turned to me. "Imbecile." 

My face heated up. "What? Who're you calling an imbecile?" 

"Everybody." 

Now Aaron glared at his robot. "Woah, and how is it your place to call us stupid, exactly?" 

"Childish." 

"We're not childish!" Aaron exclaimed. 

"Maybe we are, though." I said, "Think of it! Here we are, bickering about whose fault it is ultimately, that we're in this mess, when it's clearly Jedrek! When we could be constructively attempting to create a solution!" 

"What solution is there?" Keira asked, meeting my gaze. "We're trapped here, and soon, we'll be trapped there." 

"Yes, but think of it. There's gonna be a transition. They're holding us in here until we get to the Iron Hallway, but what if we find a way to escape during transfer?" 

The mood in the room dramatically lifted. All faces seemed injected with a healthy dose of optimism, even Hannah's. 

"That sounds great," Aaron began, "but how exactly does that work?" 

I eyed the black robot sitting next to Aaron. "Perhaps Sila's the key." I said thoughtfully. "How strong is it?" 

Aaron squinted in confusion. "Pretty strong...? I haven't tried to quantify it before." 

"Well, let's compare Sila to you. Who would win an arm wrestle?" 

"I don't know. It doesn't know how." 

"Well, let's show it how!" I exclaimed. 

Aaron nodded and seated himself on the floor. He rested his arm on the single prison cot and eyed Khemera. "Shall we?" 

Khemera shrugged. "I suppose so." 

After Khemera moved into position, the two men clasped hands, and after Hannah counted off, they began their struggle. Both men strained and gritted their teeth. For a solid ten seconds, neither of them could so much as budge the other. Despite Aaron's bulging biceps, it appeared Khemera's strength was equal, though not as visually apparent.