Seraphim did not dream, according to the scientist. According to him, she and the others never went into a deep enough slumber to experience dreams. To him, that was the reason for their issues and the mental conditions that all of them experienced. As Shirley Jackson so eloquently put it, noting can exist in complete sanity. She proposed that even animals must dream, in order to keep some semblance of sanity. But the children did not dream. They instead stayed in the first to second level of sleep, constantly at attention. The one time that he, the scientist, had decided to awaken them before they naturally awoke, the blood of six men had splattered the walls, one for each child.
But after Seraphim had escaped, she had learned to have dreams And she had learned how to have nightmares. Most of her dreams were filled with the images of the scientist. His bright green eyes, with slight laugh lines in the corners. He had long eye lashes, which brushed against the thin wire rimmed glasses that sat on his high bridged nose. His crooked and charming smile, his impeccable clothing, these were what he was known for in the hospital wing. He was handsome in a way that caused the female attendants to swoon over and he was a leader, able to make any man believe in him and his cause. His hair was always perfectly combed to the side, with a part that must have been made with a ruler everyday. His clothing was perfectly ironed, his collar freshly starched and white, and his shoes shined until one could see themselves in them.
But Seraphim remembered his hands best. Those beautiful hands, long fingered, pale, and soft. Woman's hands really, or an artists hands. But Seraphim knew what those hands were capable of doing. She had seen those beautiful hands, supple of skin and soft of touch, rip into a child's chest cavity, and pull out the heart, steaming in the cool air of the medical center. She had seen those neatly trimmed fingers, with cuticles neatly pushed back, point out which of them was next for an exam, an exam that always began with pleading and always ended in screams and cries. Seraphim had seen those hands stained red, the long nails a cherry color, holding a pen and signing the report, which had been printed up, declaring that all the children in the wing was to be put to death, as they were no longer needed for research.
Seraphim remember all this, and she dreamed of it now.
When she woke up, the rain had died down. Seraphim laid still, her eyes still closed, trying to keep her breathing slow and steady, and attempting to make her heart stop pounding. She could hear the beats in her eardrums. Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam. It deafened her and made her head ache. Snaking a hand down beside her, she reached into her pack and retrieved a small container. Migraine Relief, it shouted in bright print on its label, and she opened it with out looking at it. Her dream was still going through her head, her nightmare. It was a different one each time, but they always held the same ending, and she always awoke with a migraine. Seraphim dry swallowed five of the extra strength relief, and opened her eyes.
Bright light danced on the roof of the cabin. Seraphim sat up, and reached for her bag. Pulling out a different shirt, she stuffed the one from the night before into the bag and then got dressed. She stood up and pulled on her pants after putting on the shirt, an obnoxious orange colored, Hawaiian print number laying open over her white wife beater. The pants, the bottom half of an old military flight suit, were her only pair, and it showed. They were mud-blood- and questionably stained, and they were held up by a thick leather belt with a novelty belt buckle that was engraved with a hand letting the middle finger show in all it's glory. Now in the light, Seraphim could see how bad she looked. She slid into the drivers seat and flipped the visor down. She grimaced as she looked into the mirror. Staring a moment she reached into the bag once more and pulled out a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses. She pulled off her thick black rimmed glasses, and after a moment of staring hard into the mirror, her eyes started to change color and shape. It took a minute but soon she was able to see with out the glasses and she pop on the sunglasses in their place. After a moment she sighed, flipped the visor back up, and reached for the door jam.
Seraphim paused just as her fingers touched the jam. Would the AI let her out? It was no longer raining, and the sun was shining in all it's Southern California glory, so there was no reason for it not to. She took a deep breath, braced herself, and pushed at the door. It opened. She opened her eyes and smiled. Good. She was allowed out. Seraphim gathered up her stuff and the garbage from the Beanie-Weenies' dinner of the night before and stepped out into the day light, her eyes squinting. She slammed the door shut, then reached into the bag and pulled out a pack of Camels unfiltered. Lighting up using the Zippo lighter that was in her pocket she stood, leaning against the truck, she closed her eyes, relishing the taste of tobacco in her lungs.
"Good morning."
Seraphim froze mid inhale. Shit-fuck.
"I see you're a smoker."
Seraphim let out the smoke and looked at the cigarette. "Yea well, it takes the edge out of my life."
"I see. You understand that smoking fully restricts the amount of oxygen in your blood, and makes your chances of developing any type of cancer triple?"
"Yea actually I do. I'm not an idiot, Mr. AI. And besides, I'm not exactly human per say, so cigarettes don't affect me the same way as.
The machine went silent. Seraphim inhaled the rest of the cigarette in one breath and let it out in the span of a second. Dropping the stub onto the dirt, she ground it out with the heel of her boot. Swinging the backpack onto her shoulder she clicked her heels together, her right hand cocked in a salute to the 18 wheeler.
"Thanks Mr. AI sir, for letting me stay inside of you. I'll be leaving now, and you will, by any account, never see me again." She released the salute and waved. "Adios."
"Wait."
Seraphim paused, her back turned to the vehicle. "Yes…?"
"What do you mean by you not being exactly human? My sensors, while not as powerful as some, have indicated that you are indeed a member of the taxonomy group Homo sapiens."
"Look, forget what I said. I'm not at liability to discuss my inner workings with a computer." She stared to walk off but the reve of an engine made her turn around. The 18 wheeler was following her. "Hey. What do you think your doing? You can't follow me. Go away." She waved a hand in the opposite direction. "Shoo."
"As I am not a simple minded creature, you cannot get rid of me as easily as that. I insist that you tell me what you mean by that statement."
Seraphim gritted her teeth.
"Listen, I have to make it to Los Angeles by night fall and if I stay and talk to you then I won't make it and then I'll be murdered by all the creepy people that come out after dark. Do you want to have me killed? Then let me go already."
She turned on her feet and marched out of the clearing. She was almost to the tree line when the truck spoke up again.
"Let me drive you. You will arrive at your destination much faster, and then you will have time to tell me about what you meant."
Seraphim paused. Are you serious? The truck really wanted to talk to her about a statement that was said without really thinking? Shit. But then she sighed. It would be nice to have a ride into a city, instead of walking or hitching into one. And the AI was nice enough, not really mean or anything, not at all like what she thought an AI would be like. But then, what if the AI insisted that she stay with it? Well, that just couldn't happen, since she had to be on the road. It wouldn't be long before the signs started to show that they were about to find her and she would have to move again. She sighed, making up her mind.
"Alright, Mr. AI truck thing. I'll ride with you. But have to promise that you'll let me out of your cabin when I want to be let go alright?"
The truck revved and the voice said, "Understood."
Seraphim paused, then walked back to the truck. The drivers side door opened for her and she hesitated. "Are you sure you want me on the drivers side? I don't want to get in the way of your driving."
"I insist."
"Alright…"
She climbed into the cabin and the door shut behind her. The seatbelt snaked its own away around her middle and tightened. Seraphim stared at the gauges as the engine roared to life. She had been in a lot of big rigs but none were as sleek and pretty as this one. Even the steering wheel was pretty, with an odd little insignia in the middle of it. Leaning forward she stared at it. It was none of the big car companies insignias. Instead it looked a little like a robot head. Weird.
They headed out of the clearing and after a few minutes 4 wheel driving over the dirt roads that Seraphim had walked over last night, they ended up on asphalt. They drove in silence, Seraphim staring out the window, head in her hands. The AI was a decent driver, being careful around pot holes and other vehicles, and after a few more minutes they entered the highway. At this rate, they would make it to L.A. and Seraphim wouldn't have to tell it what she meant by-
"Tell me what you meant by your statement before."
Goddammit.
"Do I have to?" But Seraphim was already reaching into her backpack, retrieving her pack of cigarettes. "If I'm going to tell, I have to smoke, or I won't have the nerve to tell, alright?"
The rig was silent for a moment but then said that was alright.
Seraphim lit up, pulling smoke into her lungs, and the window opened before she let it out.
"Ah. Thank you. Now, you want to know what I meant when I said I wasn't exactly human. Well… I meant exactly that. I am not fully human."
"Explain."
Inhale, exhale.
"Alright. God, I can NOT believe I'm telling you this. This is high class security shit that I'm about to tell you, got it? That means if they find out I told you," her voice took on a twinge of fear. " I don't know what would happen to be."
"Rest assured, I will not tell any person what you will tell me."
She sighed, "Alright, I don't know why, but I trust you." Seraphim inhaled the rest of the cigarette. "Here goes."
