The Computer

Chapter Two

Thomas. That was the mysterious man's name. He said it with such hatred when I asked him though, him grumbling as he continued to lead me down a brightly lit hall. 

He must hate the name given to him at birth, was my first thought. And if he did, it was for good reason i'd assume, especially after he added, "Reid. Thomas Reid." But there was more to the story than that, I could tell. The way his jaw clinched told it all. "But you'll call me Reid. Nothing else. Is that clear?"

It was probably the wrong move on my part, but I decided to mess with this clearly unstable person. "Oh, you make it seem as if i'll have the wonderful pleasure of speaking with you again. What, are we gonna become, like, besties or something? Should I get cracking on a friendship bracelet?"

His glare cut through me, his green eyes slicing through my own for the second time today. Or maybe it wasn't the same day anymore, perhaps I had slept through it all and only just recently woken up. That could be possible, right?

"Natalie Daniels, I urge you to stop talking." He suggested, but I could tell it was more of a demand. "Spreading nonsense is not one of the things we specialize in here."

Oh, so he did have a sense of humor. Nice to know I hadn't been kidnapped by a robot, which was one of my first assumptions. That theory had been filed in my brain right next to the idea that he might be an alien. Both seemed plausible to me.

But of course, his words only brought up the same question i'd asked him at least two other times with no results, one I wish would be answered properly this time. "Uh-huh. And what exactly you specialize in here?" And gaining closer to him, saying, "What do you do here?"

Stopping where he was, he looked at me, no glare on his face this time. "We are going to save humanity. And you, Natalie Daniels, are the next step in making all of our work worthwhile."

"Okay..." I trailed off, followed by a quick, soft, and awkward laugh. "And why, exactly, am I so important?"

He ignored my question. "Your grandfather, he was a man of science, was he not?"

"Um, yeah. I guess." My grandfather was a touchy subject. The fact that this man knew anything about him made me a bit worried. "Why do you care?"

"Because," He opened a door. "i'm betting he taught you a lot. Computers. Tech. Codes. Not really his kind of science, but it was what you were interested in. A shame that brain of yours got put to the use of a jerk like your old boss."

"So what, I was a computer geek. I don't see how that it explains why i'm here."

He led me through the door, computer screens lining the walls. "All will be explained, but first," He pulled over a chair, him gesturing for me to sit as he leaned against a table. "We have to make sure that you're on our side. We have to make sure that you'll do your job correctly, no questions asked. But, make note of this, Ms. Daniels, refusing our offer has its consequences."

I huffed, flopping down in the chair and facing him. "Everything about that sentence tells me that I would much rather be making that bracelet that I mentioned earlier. And, no offense, you're not exactly the kind of person I would want to make a friendship bracelet for, Thomas."

"Oddly enough, that seems to be most people's opinion of me as well." He leaned in close. "Do yourself a huge favor, call me Reid like I told you to."

Huffing again, I crossed my arms. "Fine. Explain away, Reid."