9

It was a couple of hours before 7 reached the ruins of the factory, actually more like four hours since the distance from the scientist's house to the building was greater than it had been from the library. The building was now a burned out shell barely standing on the remains of its foundation. The fire had done a real good job gutting it. Still the place was dangerous, what with the risk that more machines might be around, so she entered cautiously.

The silence was unsettling. She walked on, half expecting g something to jump out at her at any moment.

"Hello, 1?" she called out softly as she entered the crumbling remains. "1, are you here? Can you hear me?"

Her words echoed back at her with no response from the older stitchpunk but that didn't really mean anything. She fell silent, deciding it was best not to call out anymore because that might attract unwanted attention and moved on, wondering where 1 was being held, if he was even being held that is.

She walked slowly into the main room, the area where the machine had been kept. But it was empty except for a few twisted pieces of metal laying here and there along with many burned items she couldn't even identify. She didn't even have to do a lot of searching to make this conclusion. Just one look was all that she required.

He wasn't there.

She grabbed her chest, beginning to feel panic rising inside her. He wasn't there! Why wasn't he there!? If he wasn't there where else would he be? Where had the machine taken him and what was it doing to him?

She fell onto the ground, trying to catch her breath as gruesome thoughts assaulted her mind. What was she going to do now? 1 wasn't there. She didn't even know where to look from there, but she knew she couldn't just give up. She had to find him.

Even if all she discovered was his remains.

Getting to her feet she quickly turned and rushed out of the building as fast as she could. Since he wasn't even there there was no sense staying. She didn't know where to look for him from there but she had to, she had no choice. His life was on the line and time was running out.

"I'll find you, 1," she said to herself as she took off across the wastes, "Just hold on."

0000

1 was doing his best to hold on but he was terrified and that was not making things easy.

Every once in awhile the beast would come closer to him, sending him into a frenzy. He'd whimper loudly and curled up into a tiny, quivering ball, trying to look as small and nonthreatening as possible. So far the beast didn't seem to be too intent on harming him, though, maybe because his actions made him look like nothing more that a defenseless little creature. It seemed only focused on making sure he was still there and hadn't decided to try anything foolish, like escaping.

Well it didn't have to worry about that. 1 was so scared he couldn't even stand and if he tried he would probably fall over before he could take a step. The most he did when the beast moved away from him was uncurl and try to calm his breathing. He was beginning to wonder if he was even going to live long enough to see another day.

Where was 7? She should have been there by now. Why was she taking her time? Was she really going to leave him there to rot?

No, he had to stay positive. Of course she would rescue him. He just had to be patient. She really didn't know where to look, since the only place the beasts had returned to was the factory and that place had burned down. It would take her quite a bit of time before she was able to figure out where to go.

She's smart, she'll figure it out, he told himself.

Since when did you ever admit to anyone else besides yourself being smart? a voice in his head asked.

Since... he couldn't answer.

You never have, the voice was quick to point out. You always thought everyone but you was stupid and didn't know what they were doing. What makes now any different from then? Is it because you have been taken and you expect her to save you, as if she owes that to you? She doesn't, you know. 7 does not have to do anything for you.

I don't want her to save me because she owes me anything! he argued back.

Then why do you want her to save you?

Because it's the right thing to do...

For you or for her?

He couldn't answer that question.

0000

7 was forced to retrace her steps.

Having left the factory she returned to the city and to the scene of the incident. Kneeling down, she studied the foot print she'd found again, trying to figure out which direction it had run off. This wasn't going to be easy.

Sighing with annoyance, she straightened up and walked around the foot print, hoping she got a better idea from behind it. Even from that angle it would prove to be a chore. It seemed to lack any clues at all.

"I still don't get why it didn't take him to the factory," she told herself. "Aren't those machines pre-programmed to return to their place of origin? If so it should have been there."

But it hadn't gone there. It went somewhere else. Somewhere she didn't know of.

Pushing the thought out of her mind she walked to the front of the print and looked ahead, squinting at the ground. Maybe she'd be able to pick up some more prints if she searched carefully. There was no way it could only make one without making more. So she walked ahead, her optics peeled for any sight of impressions in the dirt.

After a few moments she thought she was able to pick up another impression some distance away from the first. It looked like scratches in the dust.

Feeling a hint of hope, she walked carefully over to the print and studied it very carefully. She didn't want to assume it really was a print until she got a good look. It wouldn't hurt.

It didn't take her very long to conclude that it indeed was a footprint of a beast of some kind.

"Yes!"she whispered to herself. Once step closer to finding 1.

Of course now she still had a huge problem. Two footprints didn't exactly tell her where 1 was being kept. She would still have to find more and she knew it wouldn't be easy.

So she continued the process she'd done to find the first one and moved further down the street as more impressions began to show up. Soon she'd managed to find her way out of the ruined town and into the wastes where the prints continued on for awhile longer before they vanished into the dust.

She cursed, stomping her foot in frustration. Now what? She couldn't believe they'd led her out into the middle of nowhere and then disappeared. She hated that wind. Why did it have to be constantly blowing? Where did it even come from anyway and why did it have to chose today to blow?

Ugh, why was she asking herself such silly questions? Wind was wind, it didn't have a mind of its own and it surely wasn't plotting against her. It was just moving air, that was all.

Still, it didn't get her any closer to finding 1.

Sighing she looked up and studied her surroundings. All she could see from where she was was dust being swept across the found and remains from the war. Nothing else.

So what now?

"I have to keep looking," she told herself. "The place has to be somewhere, I just have to keep looking."

Turning her head she spotted a dented and mangled cannon a good ten feet away. Maybe if she climbed on top of that and got a better look around she'd be able to see more than dust and debris.

With that in mind, she rushed up to the cannon and climbed on top of it to get a better look around. Once she reached the top of the cannon she stood on the highest point and took a moment to slowly scan the area.

Indeed she could see better from that vantage point. Now she could make out the silhouettes of buildings in the distance. Buildings.. Maybe one of those structures helped 1 and his beast captor. Yes, that had to be it. All she had to do is get there and search each and every one of those places. It would take time but she was willing to do it. She couldn't leave 1. No matter how many mistakes he'd made in the past she would not leave him with that beast. It would be wrong and she knew if 9 were still there he would have gone to help him.

9...

There she went again, allowing her mind to return to the dead stitchpunk's memory. She tried to push the mental images away. This wasn't a good time to focus on him, not when she had more important things to deal with. She had to find 1 and allowing herself to think about 9, the man she's grown to love, would only make her upset and being upset would ruin her focus.

Shaking her head, she scattered the thoughts from her mind and returned her focus on the buildings in the distance. They were far away and it would take her awhile to reach them. She quickly climbed down off the cannon and took off across the wastes. It would take her a day or two to arrive at her destination, hopefully nothing would happen to 1 in that time. She hoped he would be okay.

0000

The beast had eventually fallen into a state of recharge. It lay curled up on the ground, not too far away from its stitchpunk prisoner. 1 was still curled up in a ball, shivering and whimpering. The beast was asleep, he should be trying to escape, but he was to afraid to move.

What if it woke up?

He didn't want to risk it. It would be foolish to take that chance.

But he didn't want to just lay there and quiver either. He had to do something with this chance he had. Maybe not escape but so something that would help 7 be able to find him easier.

Yes, he would do that even if it turned out she really wasn't going to rescue him. It didn't hurt to hold onto some kind of hope, even if it was false.

Getting slowly to his feet he took a deep breath to calm himself then walked carefully around the beast and toward a pile of garbage laying on the ground a short distance away. Once he got there he began to go through it in hopes of finding something he could use. A scrap of paper, a piece of cloth, anything!

His hand fell on a piece of blood stained material. He recoiled, frightened by the sight of blood. But it was dry which told him whatever had created the stain had tied a long time ago, but that didn't mean he wanted to find a body. It was bad enough having to see the mummified corpse of his creator.

He shuddered at the memory. He didn't want to think about that anymore.

Shoving the thought to the back of his mind he returned his focus to the scrap of blood stained cloth. It was torn and the edges were frayed which told him whatever it had belong to was ripped off of it. He picked up the cloth, studying it and testing its stretch by tugging on the edges. It didn't rip.

Good.

1 looked over his shoulder at the sleeping beast. It seemed to still be recharging. Satisfied he rolled up the cloth and dashed across the warehouse floor to the windows. If he could climb up to one he would be able to place the cloth in the window and hope if 7 saw it she'd know it was him letting her know where he was.

Just as he reached the window he heard a growl behind him.

Looking over his shoulder he saw that the beast had wakened and was staring up at him with a cold red glare.

Terrified he tried to climb out the window but the beast got up and rushed toward him, crossing the distance in less time than it had taken him. It jumped up and smacked into his back with its head. He screamed and lost his balance, falling back toward the floor.

He landed on his side and tried to get up quickly. The beast swatted him with a paw, sending him flying across the area until he smacked into the wall, cracking his head against some scrap metal and instantly losing consciousness.