The Disparate One

Ray buried himself deeper into his duvet when the sun rose from the horizon with glittering gold rays. Even though he didn’t do anything for the rest of the day yesterday, his mind continued to think about Oxford. Even at dinner, Oxford retained that same face and aura. Now that a new day arose, Ray hoped Oxford would be alright. He pledged to himself to not bring up any of these questions anymore. Even if it caused him sleepless nights.

He heard the robot’s bedroom door swinging open and closed. Ray slid the sheet slightly down, enough for his eyes to see the blasting sunlight. He searched around for a clock. They spent thousands of dollars on Ray’s belongings that they had forgotten to buy a single clock.

He started to hear noises echoing from the kitchen.

Ray rolled himself over to the other side of the bed, against the light. He smacked his dry lips and brushed his hair with his hands when he slowly sat up, yawning and rubbing his eyes. His body rested on the headboard. His eyes were still droopy. All because of his dream last night.

He couldn’t find his pills for some reason, he had no choice but to endure the trickeries of his mind.

He had a dream of walking through a somewhat old-style lavished endless corridor. There were railings made of gold on either side. The floor was made out of wooden panels, lined with a red carpet. The wall was painted dark green and decorated with a dark wooden baseboard and cove. There were rows of quaint light fixtures on the walls, each evenly spaced out. The doors were carved out of wood, their knobs were as old as the lights. All that was left was his vision to be black and white.

He was apparently wearing his white general uniform when he opened one of the doors. Walking inside was a library, similar to what they had in the penthouse. Though, the fireplace was much bigger and old-looking. There were demon-like monsters carved out of stone on either side, acting as pillars to keep the hell burning.

There were two armchairs placed near it. Between them was a small table with a shot glass and a bottle of wine. The glass was half full. A shadow cast over the drink. It belonged to the man standing before the flames, holding the same glass, same half full, in his right hand. The fire crackled when Ray took steps forward. The unknown man stood tall in his place before turning around.

Ray’s mind couldn’t remember what happened after that, he couldn’t even describe what the man looked like. But what his mind retained was that glass of wine. It had something in it. He didn’t know what it was. But it was tiny.

He looked down at his dripping hands before staring at himself in the mirror, his eyes specifically as usual. He turned the faucet off and threw a towel on his face when his nose smelled something, making him slightly salivate.

The robot closed the fridge with his foot when he placed everything on the countertop, organizing them as fast as possible before rushing back to the stove to turn down the heat. He hummed softly while he sliced the bread and threw those slices onto the toaster. He then sliced the block of butter. When he turned around, the knife flew out of his hand and landed on Ray’s grasp who was stalking nearby.

“Ok, first of all, don’t scare me especially when I’m in the kitchen,” said the robot with his index finger extended.

“S-sorry, I was just watching you cook,” replied Ray, pointing the knife down and handing it back to the robot. “I assume you’ve been cooking for a very long time?”

The robot nodded when he placed the knife in the sink, washing it.

“Oxford taught me, I decided to excel on it, but believe me, becoming a chef will be the last thing I would do before getting decommissioned,” said the robot, moving sideward to the pan, rattling them around.

Ray kept a safe distance from the other, observing how great the robot was at multitasking as if everything he laid before him was already planned out. Calculated per se. The timing of each of his movements was spot on. He figured this must be one of the advantages of one’s mind being made out of silicon.

Minutes later, the robot transferred everything from the pan onto the plates, then he moved on to the drinks. He grabbed a few oranges, sliced them, and squeezed them onto a glass, later followed by ice cubes. He placed the glass and plates on the trolley before looking at Ray who stood next to the large fridge.

“Do you also prefer orange juice for breakfast?” the robot asked, holding an orange.

“Oh… uhm… do you have mangoes?” Ray moved away from the fridge.

The robot didn’t answer, not until he peeked into the fridge to see if they still had any stock of it. He luckily easily found a pair left in the corner. He brought it out which made Ray smile.

They moved to the dining table where Ray glanced at the corridor where their bedrooms were. Then, his eyes shifted to the other end of the table, where Oxford’s steaming meals were set. Once everything was on the table, the robot moved aside and silently stood in the middle, equal distance from both ends.

He stood straight with his hands on his back, he glanced at Ray who he caught staring at the open space.

“He’ll be alright, trust me,” assured the robot with a tiny smile.

He wasn’t. Oxford was standing still near the windows, gazing over the long red lines formed on one side of the streets with its sidewalks overflowing with pedestrians. His bloodshot eyes reflected on the glass panel. The bedroom was at its peak of peacefulness until he heard a knock from the door.

Without opening his mouth, the door clicked open. The robot’s blue eyes bounced from the window, he brought his trusty trolley with him. A mouthwatering scent overwhelmed the room. How long was he standing there? Long enough for him to let an entire night pass by.

The robot parked the trolley near the desk before standing straight, hands holding each other.

This is worse than I thought, the robot thought.

“Are you alright?” he asked, glancing at the orange juice that he remade since the first one got bland from the ice melting completely. He hoped this would turn everything upside down.

Oxford turned and silently nodded. His eyes frowned while he waddled to the desk, letting himself fall on the leather armchair. He breathed heavily and aloud before fixing his gaze back at the robot. He tried sliding himself up, but his legs were as sleepy as him.

The robot remained still but with a concerned look. If it was Halloween, Oxford would win as the most realistic zombie costume.

“Try eating, even if it’s just a little. After that, you should get some rest, I’ll take care of Ray for you,” the robot volunteered to take his master’s responsibilities.

Oxford’s head bobbed as his finger slid across the desk, stopping at his tablet. He nudged it towards the robot before resting his head on his hands.

“Give him some tasks or something... write everything that happens between you two. Don’t tell him anything about my current state.”, murmured Oxford, sniffing and forcing himself to look at the robot’s glowing eyes.

The robot reached out for the device and walked out, leaving Oxford in his room of deep thoughts.

He returned to the dining area where he caught Ray tapping his fingers on the table. He took a glimpse of his plate, seeing only a small portion of it was touched. His eyes rolled with a sigh.

“Do I have to repeat what I said earlier?” the robot gave a brow.

“Wh-... n-no... I’m sorry... I-It’s just...” Ray knew what the robot meant, so he forced himself to a hush.

“He’s just sleepy as usual,” said the robot, “Now hurry up and eat your breakfast.”

After washing the dishes, Ray followed the robot into the gymnasium. He stood near the door, hands in his pockets, while he watched the robot run his fingers along with the different melee weapons. Eventually, his hand grabbed one and held it firmly before him. The robot looked at Ray when he stood in the middle of the blue mat.

Oxford didn’t specify which tasks the robot should give to Ray, so the robot decided to see what this test subject could do when it comes to combat. It was because of his white general uniform.

Ray stepped forward, examining each melee weapon laid in front of him. At first, he thought of using swords against the robot’s pole. When he grabbed one, he glanced at the robot who apparently showed no reaction to it. Years with Oxford must also mean years of practice. The robot must be good at this, hence he didn’t probably care which Ray fancied.

Are these even real? he thought when he lightly rubbed his finger on the blade, his eyes widened.

They are!

Placing the sword back down, he moved on to the set of daggers, which he also figured were also real. Why would they need something like these? Maybe it could be the reason why the robot picked a wooden pole out of all things.

The robot’s stare pressured Ray to pick the wooden pole as well. Ray stepped onto the blue mat as he held his weapon like a staff.

“Ever fought someone before?” asked the robot, spinning his pole around him with style.

Ray shook his head with a gulp making the robot let out an evil chuckle.

“Your goal is to defend all my attacks, sounds simple, doesn’t it?” a smirk grew on the robot’s face.

Ray nodded silently, he raised his pole with both hands. His breathing intensified and his body fueled on its rushing adrenaline.

The robot started with a speedy swing, the pole swooshed through the air and smacked Ray’s pole. He was a little surprised Ray managed to block it. But they were only starting. The robot retreated his pole, he swiftly spun around and swung his pole at Ray’s feet. Ray quickly lowered his pole acting as a shield, but it was already too late. The robot’s pole struck his legs, removing him off from his balance.

Ray crashed to the mat with a grunt. His legs throbbed when he tried to get back up. The robot remained on his side of the mat, observing the teen. He wanted to know how he would react to it.

“Giving up already?” the robot teased.

Ray grinned when he pulled himself up, ignoring the pain in his legs. His refusal to surrender brought a smile to the robot.

Suddenly, Ray made his swing. His pole cut through the air and struck the robot’s feet, knocking him off his balance as well. Ray absolutely had no idea how that happened and where it came from. The robot quickly jumped back up and positioned his pole as a shield. The look on the robot’s face brought a smile to Ray who was unsure of what happened.

“G-giving up already?” Ray teased.

“Your face, I can tell you didn’t know how you did it,” said the robot.

“W-well… to be hones-”

The robot slashed his pole across the air and towards the other, but Ray parried and now their poles locked on to each other. Ray held his pole on either end while the robot held his on one end. At first, Ray thought he had the advantage due to the even distribution of his pole, until he realized he was fighting a robot.

The robot easily added tons of force against his opponent, he grinned at Ray who got pushed down to the ground, still not giving up.

The next few steps were unbelievable. Ray suddenly lifted his pole and kicked the robot’s core, sending him off the mat and hitting the shelf of wooden poles. The robot was showered with poles as Ray stood up. Then, their session finally got serious. The robot regained his balance and decided to dual wield.

S-shit! Ray stepped back when the robot ran towards him, swinging his poles on both of his sides. Ray was fast at blocking his opponent’s hits, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to last long unless he leveled the playing field, or one-upped himself. He shut his eyes when he decided to let himself get hit on his side, sending him flying off the mat like a doll.

Ray’s heart was pounding and his body was eager to submit defeat from the hit, but he grabbed two double-edged swords and jumped back on the mat. Meanwhile, the robot transitioned to acquiring a steel spear, its head glistened with death.

Ray remained in his defensive state while the robot charged with his spear. Their weapons clunked and clinked as they exchanged blows. The mat began to get scratched from their blades.

Ray rolled across the uneven mat when the robot stepped onto Ray’s right sword. He slashed his spear close to Ray’s neck, just an inch away. Ray retorted with his left sword which made the robot step back, freeing his other weapon.

As soon as Ray returned to his feet, he threw his swords at the robot like darts and ran behind them. The robot spun his spear, blocking and flicking them upwards, stabbing the ceiling. The robot was distracted by the weapons as planned, with the quick opportunity, Ray front kicked the robot, removing him from the mat while acquiring the robot’s spear.

The robot was on the ground when Ray jumped on him with his spear pointing at his blue eyes. Then, the gymnasium suddenly went quiet.

They both stared at each other in the middle of the mess. They both had no idea what had just happened, especially Ray who never thought he would defend himself, let alone win a fight against a robot.

The robot couldn’t form words in his raging mind. He couldn’t believe that after all these years of practicing, he got defeated by a human being. He remembered the time when he defeated Oxford very easily, probably because Oxford had no interest in combat.

Ray was breathing heavily when he threw the spear away and removed himself from the robot. He sat, then laid on the floor. He finally felt the raging pain throughout his body.

The two remained noiseless until they heard a series of knocks on the opened gymnasium door. Oxford was standing there, he claimed to be watching them for a while.