Part 7: The Value of Life

   ‘I was wrong, it would kill,’ thought 4423 as he lay on the ground looking up at the alien he had tried to capture. The elite Acquisition team had been spread out throughout the facility once the alarm had gone off. His personal plan was to use the alien’s pacifist nature against it, and he decided to use the open door to lure the unsuspecting alien to him. The plan failed, and now he lay dying on the cold metal floor struggling to breathe as a pool of his blood grew under his motionless body. He would not to use his remaining life to prevent its escape; it had earned its right to be free. Closing his eyes a part of him wanted to smile as he felt death’s grip tearing away at his life force.

   A mere second after closing his eyes he felt soothing warmth replacing the pain in his gaping wound. Feeling this new sensation, he snapped open his eyes to see the alien kneeling next to him. Her hands were placed over his chest wound and a radiant light was being sent from her hands into his wound. The alien had her eyes closed and her face showed intense concentration as she tried to save her attacker. 4423 stared at the alien with an emotionless gaze as he managed to say with pauses between each word, “I was the one who captured you. It is my fault you are here.” Talking was a struggle for the horribly wounded man, and each word required pain and significant effort to say.

   The alien did not stop healing him nor did she open her eyes as she replied with a harsh yet enchanting voice, “I will not take your life, even if you seek to harm me. I never meant to harm you, and I must fix my mistake before it leads to your death.”

   Feeling life starting to return to him the clone stared at the alien as he fought to produce his response, “I am your enemy, why do you care if you kill me or not?”

   “I do not take the lives of others even if they are my enemies. I do not want my spirit to darken like your kinds’ has, “replied the angry yet beautiful voice. The alien’s breathing was getting heavier as sweat appeared on her forehead showing how much she was straining herself to save his life.

   “My life has no value. I am a clone, a soulless copy of life, my death and life has no real meaning,” replied the clone as his breathing became easier thanks to the healing. Her words and actions reignited his confusion and wonder of the strange alien that would spare and even save her enemies from death.

   The alien opened her eyes and her head turned to face the terran with a look of confusion on it. After staring into his eyes for a moment she looked back at his wound and said with her mystical sounding voice, “All life has value, including yours. I will not be responsible for ending yours, no matter how valueless you claim you are. Even if you do not believe you have value, you cannot see the impact your life has on others.” The alien’s voice softened from hostile to pity as she spoke. Soon the sounds of boots could be heard moving toward the pair, but their owners were not in view yet.

   For the first time in years true emotions publicly appeared on 4423’s face as his stone cold expression melted into a solemn look as he considered the alien’s words. “I am a tool created for a specific purpose, one that can be replaced… I am no different than the machines you see us terrans using,” replied the man his voice hinting that he was not content with this fate.

   “That is a lie, your machines… I have felt them. They have no breath, no life, and no spirit. You have these, and while you might have been created for a singular purpose I believe… I know as an individual you can find your own path to take,” replied the alien as her body began to shake from fatigue.

   The clone did not respond to her statement. Looking down the hall, the man could now see the owners of the boots: a group of three guards running toward them. The warmth stopped and in its place the clone felt weigh on his chest, looking over he saw the alien had collapsed on top of him from exhaustion. Before the guards reached them the alien whispered in her weakened voice, “You can choose another path.”

   The guards rushed up to the alien and two of them each grabbed a hold of one of her arms. They picked her up and began to drag her off as the third guard pointed her weapon at the alien. As they dragged the re captured alien away, 4423 just stared at faelin’s face, which hung motionless. 4423 caught a glimpse of tears beginning to roll down her cheek as they rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. 4423 continued to stare at the wall the other guards and the alien disappeared behind. Chaos enveloped the man’s mind as the faelin’s words tossed around in it.

   Medical personnel showed up two minutes later to tend to the wounded clone. They seemed baffled by his stable condition, despite the large amount of blood under him and evidence on his clothes suggesting a massive wound. He was transported to the base’s medical facility and was released a day later with medical papers saying he was fit for duty. His chest bore a scar from the event, but the impact of that day ran far deeper than a little scar tissue.