Not Human

Chapter 3: Hellscape

Sharon groaned, "That movie was so stupid."

I frowned, "It was alright."

"If a robot's pain reception got wacky then they could just remove it. The entire premise was wrong."

"It was an old model they had stopped making pain receptors for those. Even if you take it out you won't have a replacement."

"So? We have androids without pain receptors."

"That's modern tech. This was an old model."

"How old? It's not like it was from 2020s! It should at least have a sentry mode."

"Sentry mode doesn't last long. Without pain reception the system retains a lot of physical damage."

"Why do you like the movie so much anyway? They shut down the robot in the end. They could have just fucking done that from the start."

"But... then we won't have a movie?"

We had already finished 103 reports, the highest in our intern program, mostly because Sharon kept pestering me to hurry up so we could get to the interesting ones. Not that I'm complaining since that got us a day off to catch a movie.

Sharon walked ahead, "What now?"

I said, "We can get lunch, and then visit the VR exhibit they have setup nearby."

Sharon smirked, "Looks like someone made plans. You must be so excited, hanging out with a girl for once in your life."

I did in fact make plans. Her highness better be ready for the VR Horror exhibit.

***

A zombie gnawed on a cow carcass, blood oozing out. It stared at us with its yellow beady eyes and half-rotten face till we were out of the room and into the next.

Sharon cried out, "Seriously what the hell were you thinking!?"

I would rejoice if it weren't for the ghost tailing me. Whenever I would look back its face would have gotten even more messed up.

Sharon yelled, "Don't look at it again!"

People aren't allowed to enter exhibits such as these on their own, they seem to lose touch on what's real and get overwhelmed. Sharon here was my only source of reality: her yells, a reminder that all of this was fake.

The next room was full of mirrors. Each reflection had a different expression and one didn't even have a face. Sharon closed her eyes and grabbed my shoulders. The ghost backed away to make space. How considerate.

We finally got out and received a badge of courage each. Sharon seemed to regain her composure while I kept looking behind as if the ghost was still tailing me. I won't be getting any sleep tonight.

Sharon said, "So you going home now?"

"Unless you have somewhere you wanna go."

"I'm just going to walk around for a while."

"Fine with me. Not like I have anything else to do."

We walked around the block. I could see many school kids loafing around, and couples of course. Maybe, we look like a couple right now. Maybe, the other people aren't really dating either. A strangely comforting thought.

Sharon said suddenly, "Any hobbies?"

"I go swimming sometimes."

"Whoa! I totally expected you to say something like watching TV."

"That too... Mostly that."

"How about this weekend we go to a water park then?"

"Uh sure."

"And just so you know my boyfriend broke up with me."

"Oh... That is uh..."

"Collect your thoughts. I will see you later."

"B-bye."

I stood there for a while, wondering if I had got sucked into a work of fiction. Maybe, I will wake up soon.