E-3210

In the future, when technology overtakes society...

Exterminator 3210 completed the warm-up exercises with ease, thanks to his enhanced arms. In fact, most of the Exterminators completed the exercises easily; the main purpose of the tasks was to weed out those whom were dysfunctional. He headed out to the extermination hall in the local jail, dressed in his plain black workclothes. He had a knife on him to accompany his gun; he always did. As an Exterminator, he was authorized to carry one. Metal glinted on his arm, a reminder of what he was. Once, he had been a real person,  instead of a reanimated shell of a broken past.  But he hadn’t been nearly this strong, powerful, or seemingly invincible. The weaknesses of emotion had always been an unrelenting anchor, tugging him down into the depths of vulnerability. Standing silently, knife in hand, he waited for his next victim to pass through the door of the Spartan room.

A young girl walked into the room, no older than seven. She was being escorted by two men in bright green jumpsuits, the color of the human workers for the city. At seeing E-3210, the girl’s eyes widened.

“Daddy?” she called. “Daddy, is that you? Please help me!”

Her voice seemed too mature for such a young child, as it was more low than high-pitched, and years of hardships were evident in her empty eyes. However, the exterminator had a job to do.

The girl’s escorts let in another woman as well. This was strange; they usually only had one person killed at a time.

This woman was older, in her mid-thirties. E-3210 instantly knew that she was the girl’s mother, as they shared identical eyes and expressions. His enhanced eyes caught everything: her disheveled hair, sad eyes, and rebellious demeanor. However, he knew that she would still be considered beautiful by humans.

One of the escorts spoke while the other bound the people to the wall with special straps.

“We got orders to kill these two, even the little one. Mother and daughter, they are. They ain’t been in jail for more than a day, sir. It seems like they’ve caused some serious trouble, especially the woman. Seems they don’t want bad blood in today’s society.”

“I see. I shall complete my work; you may go,” replied E-3210. With that, the escorts left the room.

“Any last words?” he asked coldly, without feeling. He brandished the knife, and moved closer.

To his surprise, the woman spoke.

“Jax?” she questioned confusingly. Then she seemed to remember something, and she seemed upset. “Jax, snap out of it. They told us they wouldn’t modify your memory, that you would come back home. But I suppose not…” She sounded as if she was trying to be confident, but the false image of fearlessness was breaking down. Her voice was wavering, and she sounded as if she were to break into tears at any moment.

E-3210 replied. “My name is not Jax. I know of no Jax. And I do not know who you are. I am Exterminator number 3210, and I am here to take your life.”

Author's Note

Please tell me what you think! :D
Won "Most Original" in The Best Original Fantasy Story contest.

Reviews

[JR Darewood]

Wow! That was really great-- spot on. Chilling. Your reveals are carefully paced and the effect is phenomenal.
The only advice I can give is that i wanted more!!!!!
For reals, I felt like it ended in the middle of a beat, and you could have left us with no necessarily a resolution, but a completing hook. Maybe one last final sentence to leave us hanging.

[Aristella Bellum]

Thank you so much! (: