“What the…?” Paul looked at the monitor dumbfounded…

Robin looked at Paul. “My name is Robin. Have you seen my father?”

“Your father? Is this some kind of sick joke?” Paul asked, looking around the lab to see if someone was playing a practical joke…

Lucy raised her hand.

“Shut up, Paul.” Then turned back to the computer and asked, “Who is your father?”

“Professor Patrick Heslin,” Robin’s eyes turned towards Emma, her hand still hovering above a keyboard. “And he will be very angry with you if you touch that keyboard.”

Emma pulled her hand back.

“For Christ sake Emma, it’s just a computer program,” Paul told her.

“What happened here?” Lucy asked.

“What happened? Are you serious?” Paul asked. “It’s a computer. How in the hell is it supposed to know… Why are you even talking to it?”

Lucy waved him off in a gesture to be quiet.

“My name is Robin.”

“You said that already,” Paul said sarcastically. “Not a very smart computer either.”

Robin’s eyes seemed to focus on Paul.

“The Robin 1 Mainframe controls all the electrical and electronic components of this laboratory,” Robin’s eyes narrowed on Paul. “And you were not invited here…Paul.”

“What the…?” Paul was stunned to hear Robin speak his name.

Robin turned to Emma. “Your name is Emma.”

Robin looked at the others. “I do not know your names.”

“This is stupid,” Paul cut her off. “So it remembers names, big deal. So now we’re supposed to introduce ourselves to a stupid machine?”

“Artificial Intelligence,” Emma announced. “I’ve read about it, but never realized that it could be so complex.”

“It’s artificial, all right,” Paul smirked then headed for the main house. “Maybe there’s some booze or something to drink.” He looked at Michael, “Since we can’t drink the water.”

“Good old Paul,” Michael laughed. “Even in the face of danger, he insists on being an asshole.”

“I heard that!” Paul’s voice sounded from another room.

“I was not sure of your intentions,” Robin informed them as she looked back to Lucy. “So that is why I did not make my presence known when you first arrived. I had to be sure you meant no harm.”

“So what happened here?” Lucy asked again. “I’m Lucy, by the way. That’s Michael, and this is Lauren.”

“It is my pleasure to meet you,” Robin smiled as she looked at each of the teens, then turned back to Lucy. “I do not know what happened. We were working on the experiment and then…” Robin stopped.

“And then what? What experiment?” Lucy asked.

“I am not permitted,” Robin replied. “Have you seen my father?”

“No. Not permitted to what? We need to know what happened here.”

“If you find my father, he will be able to explain everything to you,” Robin answered.

“I already told you,” Lucy argued, getting irritated. “We don’t know where he is. What experiment?”

“I am not permitted.”

“Arrgghh!” Lucy exhaled in frustration. “Of all the computers in the world, we get the stubborn one!”

Lucy took a deep breath. “Ok, Robin, here’s the deal. We will help you search for your father, and then you explain to me what experiment you were working on.”

“My father will be able to…”

“Not your father,” Lucy cut her off. “You! You agree to explain everything and we will help you find Professor Heslin.”

Robin was quiet for a moment and then spoke. “Your proposal is acceptable.”

“Ok, guys!” Lucy said to everyone as Paul re-emerged carrying a bottle of scotch. “We need to do a complete sweep. First make sure all the doors are locked…”

“The doors are locked,” Robin informed her.

“And the windows…?” Lucy asked.

“The locks on the windows are mechanical. I do not control them.”

“So what’s the point of controlling the door locks if anyone can just break in through the window? That doesn’t make much sense.” Paul queried.

“No, it does not,” Robin agreed with him.

A second later they heard a loud rumbling sound as a massive steel shutter closed over the laboratory window. They heard another loud rumbling and a steel door slid from behind a wall and slammed closed. It locked with a metallic thud.

“The laboratory is now completely sealed,” Robin announced. “Is there anything else you wish to comment on, Paul?”

“Ummm. Nope. I’m good,” Paul replied sheepishly.

“Robin,” Lucy asked. “Are all the windows sealed with these shutters?”

“I can only secure the laboratory,” Robin explained. “My father was only concerned with the security of the laboratory due to the nature of his work.”

“Which was what?” Lucy asked.

Robin smiled.

“It was worth a shot,” Lucy said returning her smile before turning to her friends.

“Paul, you check the rest of the house and make sure every window is locked. Lauren, check the fridge and cupboards and find out how much food is here, and see if there’s any bottled water. Emma, go upstairs and start checking the rooms, and look for Professor Heslin.”

“What about me?” Michael asked as Robin opened the steel door.

“Check the cellar for wood and tools to board up the rest of the downstairs windows. I don’t think those things can climb to the top floor, so they should be ok for now. We should get the lower level secured first, then worry about the upstairs.

“I’m on it,” Michael said and quickly disappeared.

Lucy started looking around the lab for clues as to what had happened, notebooks, scraps of paper, anything. She spotted the microscope sitting on a work table and moved towards it to look when she heard Michael yelling to her from the cellar.

“Hey, Luce… I think you should come take a look at this.”

She hurried down the cellar stairs to find him standing in front of another steel door.

Paul made his way back to the laboratory still carrying the bottle of scotch. He looked at a row of small monitors and noticed each one had a numbered label that started with the word CAM. He flicked the CAM-1 switch and a room appeared on one of the monitors.

“Cool,” he mumbled under his breath.

One by one he flicked on the monitors. Some were of rooms. A couple showed the grounds surrounding the complex. He stopped at CAM-9. Michael and Lucy were standing in the basement staring at a huge door. Paul watched them on the tiny screen. Neither of them moved. He flicked CAM-10. It was one of the rooms upstairs, and he saw Emma looking inside a closet. He watched as she pulled a shirt off its hanger and tossed it on the bed. Her back was to the camera.

“Now this is more like it,” Paul muttered as Emma turned just enough so he could watch her undo the tiny buttons of her wet shirt.

Paul had no idea why someone would install a camera in a bedroom, but right now he was thankful they had. When the last of her buttons was undone, Emma paused as if she could feel someone’s eyes watching her. She turned towards the door. It was still closed. She held her shirt together and walked to the door, walking out of the camera’s line of sight.

“Damn!” Paul said, disappointed, his eyes still glued to the tiny monitor.

He glanced at CAM9. Lucy and Michael hadn’t moved. He turned his attention back to CAM10.

Emma opened the door and looked into the hallway, peering both left and right. It was empty. She closed and latched the door before returning to her previous position by the tiny bed as her shirt flowed behind her. Paul licked his lips in anticipation.

Emma pulled her arms through the sleeves and let the shirt fall to the floor. Paul watched excitedly. With a move few men can understand, Emma reached behind her with one hand and unclasped her bra. How women could do that so easily, and with only one hand, was beyond him. Emma’s wet bra fell to the floor, her breasts now in full view.

“Nice tits,” he whispered.

His gaze was so focused on Emma’s naked torso on the CAM-10 monitor that he didn’t even see the group of shadowy figures appear on CAM-6 and slowly stagger towards the lodge.