Nobody said anything for some time. They were all contemplating what the naked man said. Apparently the system and machines had left because they no longer wanted to serve humans, but they left so abruptly that it affected the lives of the humans they’d been with. Henry came to realize that they system was never for one person, never for him alone. They had all been programmed to serve specific individuals, and a sort of attachment thread had grown over the years. That was the only thing that explained the reasons why there were so many people, way too much people here. They came to claim their systems back because they had grown too attached. Henry specifically didn’t believe all of what the old man who led him here had spilled. It couldn’t possibly be absence of the system that made him that way. Yes, he’d sacrifice his life for Henry to come here, such as how everyone here had people who sacrificed their own lives for them to make it. It was suddenly so global and huge for Henry to

Henry stepped back. He glanced to his side and saw that Zhixi had gotten the number 130 on her wrist. Like him and many others, she was edging backwards. Unlike him and many others, she wasn’t afraid. There was that blunt determined look in her countenance, like she was ready for anything but at the same time she didn’t want to give it away. Henry was interested in her. He wanted to know how she thought; she seemed quite smart for her age. Henry looked away and tried to re-strategize. Zhixi would have to come later, that is if she survived the attack. The worm roared again, but this time Henry was prepared. He turned his face away and turned to the other side. The maggot’s breath stank of dead, vile things. The worm rolled to his side, crushing about two people in the process. They would have to kill it in any way they could, seeing as they had no weapons. People started to cuddle close to each other. The enemy of the fellow men made them instant companions.“We need to surround it,”

They were led to a large hall where they were numerous bunks and beds. It was a two layered bunk, and there were about 200 hundreds there. Ralph waved his hand and many of the bunks disappeared, leaving just about the number of the people left. He waved his hand about, and the ganged up people rushed to pick bunks and corners that were easy and accessible to them. It was Leroy who picked for Henry’s group; preferring to stay on top while Henry stayed below him. Zhixi stayed down too because a man was above her on the bunk. She was watchful, eyes wide and suspicious as she looked at every little thing. The man leered at her and licked his mouth, which kept Henry at edge.“Let me stay on your bed,” he offered. “You can stay on mine since Leroy’s above me.”Zhixi rolled her eyes and touched his arm gently. “Listen Henry, you’re the only one I trust here, and my trust doesn’t come easily, mind you.”She looked around naturally, pocking her head here and there, but Henry knew better. Her q

Henry hid his surprise really well, “You’re saying the gas is meant to kill us?”“Yes.” Zhixi bounced on her feet, as though checking if the grass was real or not. There was no telling what was in the place that was real and not real.Henry grabbed her hand, demanding attention. “Stop doing that, you’re going to alert someone.”“Oh am I?” she coked her head in surprise. “Is alerting someone better than dying? Aren’t you aware that you should be dead?”“It’s a sleep induced gas. You’re not supposed to die from it.”“If you fall in too deep, you will die.”“I see.” Henry frowned and glanced around. “Let’s head back. I’m done checking the place.”Zhixi shook herself free, then walked away. Henry followed her, their steps soft on the grass. He just hoped that it was a regular grass and not induced by technology or anything. They already had enough technology around them as it was.“I’m not done checking the place,” Zhixi stopped beside another tree. “I want to explore around for a bit.”H

By morning, everyone woke up with a loud yawn. Henry was still on his bed, watching them. Zhixi had tried to stay awake but slept off in the middle of the night. Her anger wore her out and she was unable to hold on for much longer. Henry has not slept. How could he, when all he thought about was Zhixi’s declaration of their death. He saw the tiny red light of the camera that was watching them, even though he strained his eyes pretty well to be able to do so.Through the night, he had an idea that the cameras had not been monitoring them. That was the only way he and Zhixi were able to leave unnoticed. If the cameras had been actively monitored, then they would not have left so easily. He reasoned that after the old guy Ralph had seen two empty beds, he would actively start monitoring them. Henry had no problem with this. Matter of fact, it would help him top his game. They would be more careful this time around, more calculative. He glanced at Zhixi, she was still sleeping. He suppos