Alien Proliferation

down.
    “Is the rest of this house of horrors rigged?”
    “We found a red lever that said ‘Final Solution’ and pulled it.”
    Grabbed his hand and White’s. “I think that’s our cue to leave.” I looked back at the Zombie Room. They were watching me. The Jeff zombie raised its hand to say good-bye. And then the room exploded.
    Ran like crazy for the main exit as the grinding sound got louder. Looked behind again and saw the room slamming in on itself. Decided I’d scream later and sped the hell up. Got outside one second before the door slammed. Didn’t stop, figured we could come back later with a whole lot of flamethrowers to see if we’d destroyed everything or not.
    The tunnel shook, and I stopped running because I lost my footing. White and Chuckie pulled me back to my feet. “Think it’s going to come down?” Chuckie shouted over the noise. He was only gagging a little—from experience, adrenaline highs made the nausea of hyperspeed less.
    “No,” White shouted back. “It was A-C created, and our fail-safes are self-contained.”
    Apparently true. After a few minutes the rumbling and shaking stopped, and we were still alive and unburied. “Okay, that was, truly, the most horrible thing I’ve ever gone through, bar absolutely none.”
    “What part of ‘not that moronic nor foolhardy’ did you decide didn’t apply to you?” Chuckie sounded as shaken as I felt.
    “They needed me. They . . . wanted to die.” I wanted to cry but just refused to allow it. “They were being programmed to take over and didn’t want to be. They were all decent, normal A-Cs. They didn’t deserve anything close to this.”
    “Why were they talking to you?” Chuckie asked.
    I thought about it. “I think . . . some because I actually knew Wayne, some because of who they were being programmed to be. And . . . ” I closed my eyes and concentrated. ACE, are you there?
    Yes, Kitty, ACE is here.
    Are they all dead or destroyed or whatever the right word is?
    Yes. Kitty did well. ACE has joined their consciousnesses with Paul’s permission. Paul will not tell, not even James.
    Good. Tell . . . tell Wayne I’m sorry.
    Wayne says what ACE says—Kitty did right.
    I decided not to argue. Should we find out where the rest of this tunnel leads, or can it wait for another time?
    It leads where Chuckie thinks it leads, Kitty. Kitty and Chuckie and Richard can come back, the others are worried.
    Okay, thanks, ACE.
    I opened my eyes. “Chuckie, where do you think the tunnel leads?”
    “C.I.A. headquarters, probably to a Gaultier facility, perhaps to a couple of other locations.”
    “Well, figure you’re right. Let’s get back to the others.” We ran back. I had to control myself from going as fast as I was able to—it would probably cause Chuckie to black out, and I couldn’t take seeing him crumple right now. I was so thankful his and White’s hands felt normal I couldn’t even describe it. It was one thing to have looked at the replicants when they seemed like wax figures. It had been another to talk to them and be touched by them.
    Reached the elevator, and Chuckie looked around for the Gaultier Circle of Doom. Found it on the side opposite the door; he kicked it, and we went up one level. I flipped the switch, we went the rest of the way up to the basement.
    “How do you want to tell the others about this?” Chuckie asked me.
    “I don’t.”
    White stroked my back. “We must. It could happen again.”
    “I won’t let it.”
    He pulled me into his arms and rocked me. “I know, Missus Martini. However, sometimes it takes more than one of us to save the world. And the more information we have, the more likely we are to spot threats, trends, and enemies.”
    I nodded. “I don’t want to tell them tonight.”
    Chuckie sighed as we reached the top. “Kitty, they’ll know. Abby and Mimi will pick it up, so will Martini and White. Frankly, the looks on both your faces, and, I’d guess, mine, will be a giveaway, too.”
    White let me out of his arms, and we all started up the stairs. “I suppose.” I was in the lead, and as we got toward the top, I looked up. There was a man that looked like Jeff standing there, and I gasped and jerked back. Chuckie caught me and kept me moving forward. Got to the top and realized it was really Jeff—at least, the man who picked me up and let me wrap my arms and legs around him while I buried my face in his neck sure felt like the real