Chapter 6 : A new job
He watched Astrid sleeping on the sofa. He had eaten his fifteenth bowl of noodles that day. After a week in company of Astrid, Lance thought that enough was enough. This situation couldn't last. Lance was trapped in this house, doing nothing but watching TV and talking with that boy. He couldn't hide forever. One day or another, humans would find him (unless they forgot about him, though that was unlikely). Then, Astrid couldn't stay here either. He couldn't really understand bonds between humans, especially bonds between parent and child when he didn't know his own creator. However, he could guess his parents were worried sick about Astrid, no matter what they were saying.
That's why early that morning, at 6:00 am, Lance shook Astrid awake. "Astrid. Hurry up."
"Hm?" Astrid opened one eye, coming back to reality. "What do you mean? Where are you going?"
"That's not 'where are you going', Astrid." Lance corrected. "That's 'where are we going'." He then got up from his seat and walked into the lounge. He threw Astrid's coat back in the boy's face.
"What?"
"We leave. Now." Lance ordered.
"What for?" Astrid had an incredulous expression on his face. "Why are we leaving? Where?"
Lance shrugged. "Simple. You go back to your parents. As for me…I will live my life. As a free robot, not pressured by your peers. I want to live for myself."
"But…We are good together." Astrid clenched his fists. "Nobody bothers us. We need nobody! Why do you want to leave like this?"
"Because I said so." Lance's annoyance became apparent. "I can't hide forever. I need to live for myself. As for you…whatever you become, I don't care. It would be best for you to go back to your house and fix things yourself."
"That's unfair! I told you why I couldn't go back!" Astrid cried out.
"Humans's problems are really futile. They never care about OUR problems."
"Why do you hide, by the way?" Astrid replied, anger in his voice. Tears were in his eyes. "You have no need to hide!"
"I don't want your tears, okay?" Lance paused, turning off the TV. "As for me…it isn't your business."
"It is! We had been around together for a long time!" Astrid then erupted into tears. "I thought we were friends!"
"I said. I. DON'T. WANT. YOUR. TEARS." Tired, Lance suddenly grabbed Astrid by arms. The boy struggled, trying to grasp a corner of wall to stay inside. However, Lance was still a lot stronger than the ten-year-old boy. "That's useless."
Lance then forcefully managed to put him out of the house. Astrid still cried, struggling and kicking to have Lance release him. He wanted to run away. He wanted to stay inside…Lance sensed that Astrid's thoughts were conflicted.
Finally, Lance just turned into a black car while Astrid was still in his arms. With a sharp movement, the boy was inside the car, seat belt fastened.
"LET ME GO!" Astrid screamed. "Let me out of here! I will leave, okay? Just let me go!"
Lance didn't listen to him. After he made sure that the coast was clear, he started the car.
He took the motorway to leave the town. Maybe this way, they wouldn't bother to catch him up. He had to leave the country quickly. Unfortunately, there was this boy. Lance cursed himself for bringing him. He should have left the house quietly and left the boy behind. He would have been free.
Furthermore, Astrid was still screaming, as if he was being murdered.
Lance sped up.
"Do you want to know…Why did I hide?"
Astrid stopped, though tears were still rolling on his cheeks. Lance then declared, a sinister tone in his voice:
"Because I killed my coworker. I would gladly do it again in order to be free."