I left the Lab, badly wishing to share everything with April. But I couldn’t. Stupid Fight Club, I thought on my way home. I couldn’t tell Sergei what was happening, either. And not only because of the non-disclosure agreement.

Sergei, because of his legal training, was extremely suspicious of anything and everything. If he heard even a part of the strange things I’d experienced at the Lab, he would stop me from going there altogether. Give me a lecture about ethics and morality, and that would be the end of me at the Lab. But I needed to be paid. I couldn’t leave before my first paycheck. At least the first paycheck. I needed the money, needed this job. And so I made a conscious choice to ignore what I just overheard. Was it a smart decision, you might ask? Of course not. But it made sense to me at the time.

And so I went back the next day. And the day after. By Friday, I’d almost forgotten about Dawn. But then, as I was leaving the Lab at eight on Friday night, there she was, lounging on the couch, flipping through a magazine. I expected her to check her watch to make sure I was clocking out on time, as she’d done the week prior, but she smiled and got up.

“Hey.” I said, trying to sound friendly. “I’m just gonna grab a sandwich.”

“Okay.” Dawn walked languidly towards me. I walked back to the kitchen counter and reached for a sandwich.

“How do you like it?” Dawn leaned on the cabinet and put her hand on her hip.

“Like what?” I swallowed hard. Is she flirting with me?

“Oh, the Lab.” She winked at me, then stretched. Her shirt rose, revealing a milky-white stomach and a pierced belly button.

“It’s cool.” I shrugged. “It’s just kinda weird. Time just flies down there.”

“Yeah, they do it on purpose. It’s part of their plan.”

I opened my eyes wide, staring at her in confusion.

“What do you mean?” I blinked fast.

“Oh, they want AI to take over. Eventually. So they wanna make sure AI is addictive.”

“What do you mean?”

“You already asked me that.” She laughed. “I mean, they want AI to take over the world.”

“That’s crazy. There’s no way that’s ever going to happen. AI taking over the world? Who would want that? And like, it’s impossible.” I rattled off.

“That’s the whole point of this experiment. AI. It’s powerful stuff. Haven’t you gotten that yet?”

“I guess so.”

“And you’re testing just a small part of it. In like ten years, this thing is gonna be a monster.”

“How do you know this?”

“I just pick up stuff here and there.” Dawn brushed her bangs back. “I’m not as dumb as they think.”

“Who’s they?”

“You know what the worst mistake you can make?” She moved towards me. “Underestimating your opponent.”

She was now standing next to me, and I could feel the heat coming from her body. Her face was now dangerously close to mine, and I felt a pull at her. One more move, and I would drown in her eyes. I gulped and fumbled for my phone, looking away.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She stepped back.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“I gotta go.” I mumbled and moved to the exit, forgetting all about the sandwich. I had to leave.

“Did you read the contract?” She followed me to the living room.

“What contract?”

“The one you signed before you started here.”

“Umm.”

“See, you should always read the contract. All of it. It’s all there, Rodion.”

I vaguely remembered Kate mentioning something about giving me a copy of the papers I had signed before starting at the Lab, but had no recollection of actually receiving them. I opened the front door.

“Bye.” Dawn said. “See you next week.”

“Bye.”

I stepped into the September air with relief. I’d just completed my second week at the Lab and I was about to get my first paycheck. I walked home, thinking about how I would spend the money. First, I would give half of it to Sergei for rent. I’d been freeloading for years now, and couldn’t wait to help him out. And then I’d go visit April. At this thought, I immediately perked up and dialed her number.

“Hey! Can I come see you?”

“Of course! When?”

I smiled at her reaction.

“I dunno? Next weekend? I should get paid on the 15th, so right after that?”

“That works!” There was a pause, then April said. “Maybe you wanna come for the long weekend? We got fall break in October.”

“October?”

“Yeah, we have Monday off, so it’s like a three-day weekend.”

“That’s cool. Yeah.”

“Are you gonna take the Greyhound?” April’s voice trailed off. We’d discussed going back and forth between Pittsburgh and Philly and agreed the Greyhound was the best option. But this was before I’d scored the high-paying job.

“I dunno. Maybe.”

“Oh, look at you, the high flyer!” April giggled, and I smiled. I couldn’t wait to see her. Speaking with April was just what I needed to get rid of the gross aftertaste from the Lab and Dawn. I thought of the redhead, the fox tattoo, the pretentious haircut. The girl freaked me out.

I stuffed the mobile into my jeans, adjusted the backpack, pulled on my hood and walked down Murray avenue, ignoring the passersby. If I could, I’d be invisible. Just another kid in a hoodie. Only I wasn’t a regular kid. I was a cool dude testing cutting edge AI. I had a double named Ryder and we were doing things so secret, so powerful that I wasn’t allowed to speak about it.

How awesome is that? I smirked and turned on Greenfield avenue. I’d be home soon and would relax all weekend, thinking about the fantastic turn my life had taken. And all thanks to April.

I was opening the front door when I remembered April’s dad. I hadn’t seen him once since starting at the Lab. Was he not involved in the Lab at all? I frowned, trying to understand. Chuck McPherson’s absence from the Lab made little sense, since, according to April, he played a key role in its setup. My buoyant mood evaporated in a flash, and I was about to sit down and ponder the Lab, but right behind me I heard the car door closing. I turned around and saw Sergei and his girlfriend.

He’d been dating a girl named Tammy. She was Russian, but so Americanized you’d never know it. Her actual name was Tamara, and she’d moved to the US with her parents when she was thirteen. Tammy’s parents ran a jewelry store in Squirrel Hill and were well known in the community. She was studying to become a pharmacist, and was ‘a good girl.’ That meant she still lived with her parents, despite being in her twenties, and would only move out of their home to get married.

Sergei had been dating Tammy for six months now, and, as I watched my brother walk around the car and open her door, hold her hand to help her get out, my heart sank at the realization that things were getting serious between the two of them.

“Hey, Rodion.” Sergei called.

“Hey, bro.” I nodded. “Hi, Tammy.”

“Hi!” She waved at me. I didn’t have anything against Tammy, per se, but I didn’t like her either. I was about to tell them I was tired and go to my room, but then I noticed Sergei produce a pizza from the back seat. So I held the front door open for them and stuck around.

“How’s April?” Tammy asked. She was taking her shoes off and, to my horror, I realized she had her own set of slippers in our house. This one is not wasting any time!

“She’s doing well. Settling in Philly.” I couldn’t remember whether Tammy had met April, or if she’d learned of April’s existence from Sergei.

“Oh, nice.”

“Yeah, I’m going to visit her soon.” I said and noticed Sergei throwing me a quizzical look. “We just agreed an hour ago.” I hastily added.

“How are you getting there?”

“I dunno. A Greyhound bus?” I shrugged.

“Oh, those buses are so gross!” Tammy wrinkled her nose.

“But they’ll get me there and I won’t have to take Sergei’s car. Right, bro?”

“I’m not letting you take my car. Forget about it.”

“Actually, I might be able to buy my own if I save up for a few months.” I hadn’t thought of buying a car until that moment. It seemed so out of reach, but then, there it was. I realized I had a goal.

“Just get your first paycheck, man.” Sergei shook his head. “I keep hearing about the big bucks you’re about to make, but show me the money.”

“Show you the money?” I smiled. Sergei loved ‘Jerry Maguire’.

“I wanna feel you! Show me the money!” He yelled. Tammy stared at us, mouth gaping open.

“Show me the money!” I yelled louder, imagining myself as Jerry. Here I was, about to conquer the world.