A/N: Hello all, so here is chapter 4 as promised. I am writing this slightly quicker than normal at the moment so you may get some chapters faster than my usual rate. Thanks for all the favs, follows and reviews so far, it keeps me going so if you like what you read then let me know. I'll only write quicker. Anyway, as always read, review and enjoy! :)
Chapter 4
Becca didn't speak to him as they set off the next morning. In fact she didn't speak to him at all for most of the day. She marched on ahead, Connor lagging behind on purpose, his hands still bound behind him. After her abrupt end to the conversation he hadn't been able to get her words out of his head. I lost a lot more than my arm…But what? What had she lost? Her home? Her family? The never ending questions were driving him slowly mad. And now she was refusing to even be civil, as if any communication between them was dangerous. She had obviously decided she had revealed too much, although it was barely anything, and Connor felt space was the best remedy for this sudden hostility.
They were still surrounded by the dense forest they had been in yesterday. The clearing had been the only break in the constant press of brown and green on all sides. Connor had never really spent that much time out of the city he had been created in, there were of course parks and green spaces in amongst the towering buildings and dilapidated houses but nothing in comparison to where he was now. It was so…organic. Not a trace of metal, or plastic, or anything man made. It made him feel alien, out of place, in this living, breathing world.
After walking patiently behind Becca for some time, Connor decided she had had enough space and quickened his strides to catch up with her. Her eyes slid over to the android gazing down at her as they walked, his disarmingly brown eyes flashing that curious look she found so frustrating. "I was wondering Rebecca, where exactly are you taking me?"
He watched as her jaw tensed and her eyes flashed away from him to face ahead once more. Despite her reluctance to converse Connor pressed on. "I'm sorry if I offended you yesterday. It wasn't my intention."
Becca couldn't help turning her head back slightly to look at him again. He was relieved to see that her face wasn't as granite hard as it had been since waking up, there was a trace of confusion in her eyes now. "You didn't offend me." She said, her voice flat. "I just think it's better we don't talk anymore, considering our current position."
Connor frowned at the bewildering human next to him. It was becoming increasingly vexing that he couldn't get a solid hold on her personality. She was like a beam of light; impossible to ignore but equally impossible to catch in your hands. "I'm not sure I understand. I thought you wanted to detain me for intel, does that not require you to talk to me?"
He immediately wished he could take back his words, as the walls slammed back up between them, Becca's face turning impenetrable as she looked away from him. Damn it Connor, he mentally chastised.
"It does, but I'd rather wait until we've re-joined the others before I interrogate you again. Preferably in a controlled environment." She muttered, leaving him to chew over the meaning of those words as they continued on in silence. Connor noted how she hadn't answered his original question and he still had no idea where they were going. His onboard navigator was still working, despite his numerous unscheduled shut downs in the past 24 hours, but with no discernible landmarks in this sea of trees it was unable to give him an accurate location. All he knew was that he was somewhere in the Huron-Manistee National park still.
Connor retreated into his own thoughts as they walked on, searching for any tiny detail he had missed that would help him a) figure out where they were going, and b) figure out how he was going to crack the enigma that was Rebecca. He was just replaying their first encounter in his head when he suddenly registered his progress through the undergrowth had become substantially easier. Looking down he realised they were now walking single file along a faint path, cutting through the dense tangle of brambles and shrubs. His eyes drifted up to look at Becca's back and he felt a jolt of surprise as he caught her looking over her shoulder at him. As soon as his eyes connected with hers her however, head snapped forward. Connor felt the corner of his mouth twitch at her unusual behaviour.
The path led to an opening in the forest. Another clearing with another building situated in the middle of it. He wondered how many human shelters were hidden in this sprawling expanse of trees. This one however was notably more substantial than the wooden hut they had spent the night in. It was made of imposing concrete which was covered in old graffiti and water stains, the glassless windows staring back at them looked like black eyes in a grey face. From the simple efficiency of its exterior Connor presumed it had been used as a storage facility or work base.
Becca was the first of them to walk out of the cover of the trees and towards the less than appealing building. Her head swept from side to side as she looked around the empty clearing. Connor assumed this was where she had arranged to meet her group of humans, although the building looked devoid of any life. He stayed on the edge of the trees, unwilling to move further until he had done his initial assessment of the new environment. Scanning the area he looked for any heat signatures. There were none, although the thick concrete breeze blocks could have been masking any signs of life inside.
He was about to follow his captor when his system alerted him to something on the ground nearby. Analysing it he was alarmed to see it was human blood, type A to be precise, and relatively fresh. His head instantly snapped up to focus on Becca a few feet away from him. She had stopped and turned to see where he was, her brow furrowed in annoyed confusion as she stared at the distressed looking android. She was just opening her mouth to ask what exactly he was doing when he was suddenly by her side in two quick strides. Before she could react to his inhuman speed he was talking urgently, his brown eyes flashing with a determined focus she hadn't seen in them before.
"A human was injured here recently." She blinked up at his face only inches away from hers and for the first time noticed how much taller than her he was.
"I-I'm sorry, what?" She stuttered. Connor wasn't looking at her, his eyes were scanning the clearing and the building in it. His defined jaw tense as he looked for something.
"No, not just a human, humans. There's more blood over there. And thirium, there on the wall." He jerked his head in the direction of the building. Becca took a second to register what he was saying but when she had she whirled around, trying to pinpoint what the android had seen. Her human eyes weren't as advanced as his, so it took a moment of squinting in the general direction his head had indicated before she saw the faint blue traces of rapidly fading thirium. Her heart leapt in her chest as the obvious signs of a fight began to appear as if a spell had been lifted by his words. Now she could see bullet holes in the concrete and splashes of red on the grass nearby.
"Shit." She breathed as the silence of the forest suddenly felt ominous, not peaceful.
"Judging by the thirium degradation the fight took place about one hour ago." Connor said in a business like tone. "Whoever won can't have gone far."
Becca felt her blood run cold. But who had won? There were no signs of any bodies, human or android, despite both definitely having been injured here. Only an hour ago, they had been so close. She let out another curse as she whipped round to face Connor again.
"Is anyone in the building? Can you see?" He looked down at her now, a surprised expression on his face. Was she asking him for help? He stared into her wide hazel eyes for a moment, the sudden openness displayed in them drawing him in. Creating an almost magnetic force that made it hard to look away. He blinked and forced himself to focus on the dull grey building, it was safer than looking into those eyes. His eyebrows lowered as he scanned the area again.
"I'm not sure. The material it's made out of lessens any heat signatures so I can't be sure there isn't anyone hiding in it. Plus that doesn't rule out them being androids…or dead." He heard her sharp intake of breath at his last comment, but found he was reluctant to look back down at her. That strange pull he had felt just now had scared him.
The sharp snap of a twig breaking nearby made both of them react. Becca flinched in fright, whereas Connor jumped to attention, searching for the source of the sound. There was a beat of tense silence as both android and human tried to determine if they were in danger or not, then another snap slightly closer made Becca skip backwards involuntarily, colliding with Connor.
"Oof, sorry, I-I didn't mean. Um, I don't think we should be here anymore." She mumbled, keeping her eyes strategically away from his face. He slowly tore his gaze away from the place the noise had come from to the woman now pressed against his chest. He could sense her heart rate rising with each passing second and even though he couldn't determine whether they were in fact in immediate danger or not, it was obvious her group of humans were no longer here. They had been, but something or someone had driven them away, or worse, eliminated them. Standing out here in the open was now a risky and pointless endeavour.
"I agree. Let's go." He murmured in response, taking a step back to create some distance between them. Becca looked almost relieved as she glanced at him, her cheeks flushed a rosy red. Without waiting another second she dashed off towards the tree line where they had entered. Connor looked back towards the other side of the clearing past the building to the tree line. Silently he watched the shadowy figure he had seen crouching in the bushes move so that he could see its face. The unmistakable gleam of white plastic surrounding the very human looking eyes. Connor began to back away, keeping his hard gaze fixed on the other android, until he had reached the cover of the trees. The android that had been watching them held his stare for a beat longer before turning and running off into the woods, its arm dripping blue blood as it ran.
Becca was still quiet as they walked, but this time the silence felt different. Before it had felt weighty, almost oppressive in its nature, now there was an awkwardness to it, like she wasn't sure how to say something. They were walking side by side again and Connor risked a sideways glance at the woman next to him. Her eyes were slightly downcast and she was chewing on her bottom lip relentlessly. He assessed her in the continued silence, trying to discern why she had reacted the way she had in the clearing.
When the Chosen had blown a hole in the wall of her old base she had acted like a battle hardened veteran. Her actions reasoned and methodical despite the chaotic circumstances. But back there she had flinched like a startled child in the face of danger. It had been the main reason Connor hadn't told her about the other android; her sudden change in reaction meant he couldn't predict the outcome of him revealing that information to her. So he had kept it to himself, and now she seemed almost embarrassed. Like she was ashamed about the way she had behaved.
Becca suddenly looked up at him, the feeling of his eyes burning into the side of her face drawing her attention away from her thoughts. He didn't look away from her gaze this time, holding it with a steady, open expression and watching with interest as her cheeks turned red for the second time.
"I-I'm sorry. About back there. I acted inappropriately." She said in a small voice. Confusion flashed across his face again.
"What are you apologising for?" His own confusion was mirrored back at him on her face suddenly. Then she cleared her throat loudly and turned to face forward. Connor almost rolled his eyes in frustration as the familiar wall began its ascend between them once more.
"Nothing." She replied curtly, her tone now matching the material that building had been made of. He pulled experimentally on the binds still holding his hands in place, channelling his irritation at her moods swings into something productive. They were well tied and the metal was too strong for his arms to break. The perfect android restraints.
"Now that I've proven my honesty by staying with you, is there any chance you could remove this now?" He asked, rubbing the wire against his wrists as punctuation. Becca didn't look at him, her jaw tensing.
"No. You're still my prisoner, and I still don't trust you." Connor let out a sighing sound at the return of her guarded attitude and lapsed back into cold, defeated silence.
He didn't bother to ask where they were going this time, he didn't try to probe for any more information about her. Her stubborn, unpredictable nature was beginning to wear him down and he found it better to not fight unnecessarily. He would bide his time and wait for the opportunity to break that wall of hers, but he would succeed. Failure was not an option.
This time when the uneven forest floor gave way to solid hard ground Connor was more aware of it. They were on a wide gravel path that looked to have once been well maintained, but which now had weeds and other foliage pushing through it. The trees on either side of them began to thin and he caught flashes of the sky peeking through the canopy above. After a few minutes on the path the trees vanished completely to reveal a small collection of houses leading down to an equally small high street. They were in a town.
Connor blinked a few times in the fading light, marvelling at the ability of the forest to hide such unexpected things within it. Instantly he felt more at home in amongst the familiar angular shapes of the houses and the constant reliable dark grey of the road they now stepped onto. It was only after a moment of drinking in the oasis of urban civilization that Connor realised that the town was completely devoid of any life; human or android. The houses on either side of them were dark, no trace of light or any movement in any of them. Birds called out over the silent buildings, the only other sound in this empty place. The evening shadows stretched across the road in front of them, making the place seem even more like a ghost town.
"What happened here?" Connor asked in a hushed tone, almost as if he was scared to disturb the deathly quiet. Becca looked up at him, her expression neutral.
"Androids happened." She stated, matter-of-factly. "First they took everyone's jobs here, meaning very few people could afford to stay and then the revolution happened. And the Chosen scared whoever was left away." She began walking away down the road, towards the high street in the centre of the forgotten town. He followed, sweeping the silent, staring houses as he passed. A small battered sign by the road read 'Welcome to Tustin'. He sped up as he saw Becca reach the crossroads in the centre of the town. There wasn't much on the high street; a bank, a hardware and electronics store, a grocers and a local convenience store were all that was on it. The bank's front door was slightly open as was the electronics store, the grocers window display of fruit and veg looked it had seen better days but the convenience store looked untouched. It was this building that Becca was stood in front of now, staring at its closed double doors.
"The Chosen come here a lot, as well as other androids sometimes. I don't want to be here longer than we have to." Her voice was hard, but Connor detected a hint of nervousness about it.
"Why are we here if it's so risky?" He asked. Becca scowled over her shoulder at him.
"You may be able to survive on air and a good power supply, but I haven't eaten in nearly a day. I need food." She turned back to the set of double doors and walked towards them, sliding her screwdriver out of her back pocket. Using the handle of it she smashed it into the plate glass of one of the doors with her android arm. The glass shatter with an explosive sound in the otherwise quiet street. She took a hasty step back as it crumble to the floor in front of her and stowed her screwdriver away as she stepped through the opening.
"Don't stand out there. You'll draw attention." Connor raised an eyebrow at her comment. As if him standing in the street would draw more attention than her breaking a whole sheet of glass. Choosing not to argue, he followed her obediently into the dimly lit store.
The rows of shelves looked as if the owner of the store had upped and left yesterday. Everything was where it should be, nothing had been taken or misplaced in the six months it had probably sat here. Becca began pacing up and down the aisles, selecting things to put in a bag she had got from the front. Connor stood at the end of one of the aisles watching her as she foraged.
"Nobody broke in here." He said, curiosity getting the better of him. She paused in placing a can of something into the bag to look at him.
"Why would they? I just said it's only androids that come here. Androids don't need food." He nodded, the logic of her answer undeniable. But looking around the abandoned store, Connor still felt a niggling question burning at the back of his mind.
"Why did they give up so easily?" He muttered, almost to himself but Becca heard. She put down the packet she was holding and turned to face him, her expression hard.
"They didn't give up. They were overwhelmed." Connor frowned, not sure what she meant. With a sigh Becca continued, still filling her bag as she talked. "Think about it, how long did it take the human race to evolve? 1.4? 2 million years? And how long did it take us to make androids? Sixteen years there or there about? Now what chance did humans have? Things moved far too fast, androids went from being sci-fi fantasy to being everywhere in a matter of years. They couldn't evolve quick enough. Humans didn't stand a chance, not really. So don't say they gave up, they're just doing what they do best, surviving until they learn to adapt." She finished her speech stood a few feet away from him, clutching her bag of food in one hand.
He looked at her for a moment, calculating that that had probably been the most she had said to them since they had met. And she had a point. He had never looked at it from that perspective before but androids were designed to be better humans. In essence humans had created their own competition and now they were desperately trying to adapt. She had also referred to the humans as 'they' not 'we', an intriguing choice seeing as she was one of them.
He opened his mouth to query this over sight when a loud gunshot sent them both diving for cover behind one of the store's shelves. It was quickly followed by another and another, and a bag of chips exploded in the aisle next to them.
"Oh shit. They found us, can you see how many there are?" Becca asked in a breathless voice as she sat with her back to the shelf, Connor sat next to her. He gave her an evaluating look before peering round the edge to the front door. He could see a group of skinless androids approaching the store's entrance, around a dozen or so, a few of them were brandishing guns.
"There's a few of them. They've blocked the front exit, is there another way out?" He asked her, she looked around wide eyed and nervous.
"Maybe. I've never actually been in here before, just seen it from a distance. Most stores have a fire exit though." Connor sat up on his knees and peered around the other side of the shelf, trying to get a look at the back of the store. It was obscured by the other shelves but there looked to be some sort of exit marked by a green sign near the back. He was just about to tell Becca this information when another gunshot sent him retreating behind his cover again.
The next thing he heard footsteps inside the store and an angry voice called out to them from the entrance. "We know you're hiding in here. We took care of your friends back at your secret meeting place. There's no one left but you so just give up."
Connor frowned, why did these androids want to kill her so much? It seemed illogical, they already had the advantage if what they said was true, so why hunt her down? It didn't seem fair. His mission had been to negotiate peace with the humans to stop this turf war, but suddenly it seemed like the androids were the ones that needed to be negotiated with. They were hunting down defenceless humans, if anything would jeopardised the cease fire it was that. Glancing at Becca's terrified, desperate face was enough for Connor to come to a decision.
"There's an exit at the back of the store." He said in a low voice, "But it'll mean coming out of cover to get to it. Her eyes widened at the news, Connor's gaze turned serious as he stared into them.
"Can you use that box of yours to disable them?" It meant being shut down again but she had dragged him to safety one time before, she could do it again. She shook her head, her eyes turning more and more fearful by the second.
"No. It's only a localised EMP transmitter. Far too weak at this distance. I'd only end up knocking you out." Connor's brown eyes darkened as the reality of their situation hit home.
"You need to release me Rebecca. I can help you escape but you have to trust me."
He saw her turn over his ultimatum in her head, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as she thought it through. Come on, he thought anxiously, you don't have a choice.
Finally, after what felt like an age she nodded slowly and signalled for him to turn round. Swivelling on his knees he held his bound hands steady as he felt her tugging on the wire holding them in place. The pressure disappeared from his wrists and he brought his hands round in front of him, thankful to have their use back at a time like this. He cast a look over his shoulder at Becca, she was sat holding the wire in her hands, an unsure expression on her face. She still doesn't trust me, he thought bitterly, but shook the thought off as another shot rang out and hit home somewhere by his head.
"I'm going to distract them. When I say I want you to run ok?" Becca nodded, seemingly unable to speak. It would seem he was the one in charge now. He quickly scanned the front entrance and counted fourteen androids, all with their skins off, standing inside the door, spread out, guns aimed at them. Far too many to fight head on. Looking up at the shelves Connor made a brief reconstruction and decided on the best approach. Moving himself up into a crouch he placed his newly freed hands on the shelf in front of him and braced.
"On the count of three." He murmured to Becca. She watched him with round eyes but obediently moved up into a crouch too. "One…two…" Connor pushed on the shelf with all his strength, letting go when he felt it tip forward, the weight of it leaving his hands. "Three!" He yelled, leaping to the side as the shelf crashed into its neighbour, creating a domino effect that reached all the way to the door and the waiting androids.
He was on his feet in an instant and saw the group of androids in chaos as the toppling shelves had knocked half of them flying and the other half unsure what had just happened. His head whipped round to locate the rear exit and with quick strides he vaulted over the fallen debris and in the direction of the exit. It was only when he was nearly at the door that he noticed Becca was neither in front of him or anywhere near him for that matter. Whirling round he scanned the ruined store for her and felt his circuits cease up with panic when he found her. She was lying across one of the shelves, desperately scrabbling over it but her progress was being hampered by the android clinging onto her legs. It was one of the few without a gun thankfully, but it had also managed to avoid Connor's distraction.
Clenching his jaw, he leapt back the way he had come, advancing on the android with lightning fast speed. As he reached them Becca freed one of her legs and gave the android an impressive kick, it reeled back but still clung on. With a growing sense of urgency Connor reached out and grasped the androids arms, ripping them off Becca's legs. Grabbing her under the elbow he practically threw her to her feet again and half carried, half dragged her towards the exit.
A movement by the door caught his eye and he turned to look as several of the androids regained their composure enough to aim their weapons at their retreating backs. They were nearly there. Connor heard a growl and realised it was him, just as one of the androids fired directly at Becca and he moved swiftly to the side. Placing his own body in the way.
