p dir="ltr" /p
p dir="ltr"Gavin's jaw dropped as he watched the person emerge from out of the darkness. Shock coursed through his body as a flashback of the day of the massacre ripped through his mind./p
p dir="ltr""Hank fucking Anderson. The fuck are you doing alive?"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank was a lieutenant at the Detroit Police Station; a superior officer to Gavin. They had always been openly hostile towards each other, with Gavin's ambitions making it so he was jealous about Hank's achievements. Hank was older and more experienced, but he still had felt resent - and the aggressive nature of both parties didn't help./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin had remembered Hank being taken away by androids, and he had just presumed that it would be so he could be murdered. Seeing the unhealthy old man alive was something that he was not expecting./p
p dir="ltr""I could ask you the same thing," Hank replied. /p
p dir="ltr"As Gavin tried to process that his former coworker was alive and standing right in front of him./p
p dir="ltr""Hank!" Connor yelled out, launching himself at the human and giving him a tight hug. "I haven't seen you since…"/p
p dir="ltr""Hey Connor," he chuckled whilst hugging back./p
p dir="ltr""What, you gay or something?" Gavin sneered./p
p dir="ltr""No, but you are quite that with Nines," Connor said. "Don't be hypocritical."/p
p dir="ltr""Whatever." Gavin stepped towards Hank. "How are you alive, old man? You're not the healthiest person."/p
p dir="ltr""Well, how are you alive?" Hank asked./p
p dir="ltr""I'm barely alive. Every day has been a struggle. There is no escape from this eternal, impending doom. About two days ago I saw creatures not meant to exist. I have been malnourished, underfed, and have been lacking sleep for two years."/p
p dir="ltr""... Okay then. Well, that sucks for you but I haven't been too better off. Getting food is tough, and a lack of liquor makes me wanna die," Hank said. "Where's Eloise?"/p
p dir="ltr""Eloise? You mean the back-stabbing bitch?" Gavin responded with venom lacing his tone. /p
p dir="ltr""What? Gavin, she's not like that. What happened?" Hank demanded. He seemed alarmed now. /p
p dir="ltr""She disappeared and not too long after, Connor and I were being chased by androids," Gavin said. "Obviously, it was her."/p
p dir="ltr""Oh no." Hank was clearly dismayed. "No wonder why she hadn't contacted me! Gavin, she wouldn't have betrayed you. She would've been captured."/p
p dir="ltr""... Oh."/p
p dir="ltr"Hank seemed stressed. He gripped at his hair. "Fucking damn it! She was a great person to have around. She was probably discovered to be a human smuggler… ugh."/p
p dir="ltr""Either way. You're alive. I…"/p
p dir="ltr"The situation hit Gavin, finally. In front of him was another human – a human giving Gavin hope that there are others alike them./p
p dir="ltr""It's a good fucking thing I found you!" Hank suddenly said. "These tunnels are dangerous. You're lucky that I knew you were coming. I was going to meet your group halfway, but when you weren't there I figured something must have happened. You were taking the slowest route, by the way, ya fucking idiots. Not you Connor, mostly just Gavin."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin flipped him off. "Fuck you."/p
p dir="ltr""Apparently that's Nines' job," Hank said with no hesitation. Anyways, those monsters you mentioned? The numbers get a lot worse as we go along. Do you have weapons?"/p
p dir="ltr""What do you mean by weapons? 'The fuck would I get that shit from?" Gavin replied./p
p dir="ltr""You are here without weapons!? You really are stupid!" Hank snapped. "You would've died if I hadn't found you! Here, I might have something." /p
p dir="ltr"Into Gavin's hands, Hank thrusted a machete and a spear, all the while grumbling about how incompetent that Gavin was. He then handed Connor a few daggers and throwing knives./p
p dir="ltr""Thanks," Connor said. "I can throw these quite well."/p
p dir="ltr""I know," Hank replied. "Remember that time you were given novelty throwing knives to take down a perp because you ran out of bullets?"/p
p dir="ltr""Yes, it was a bit of a stressful situation and I'm glad that said knives were available," Connor said./p
p dir="ltr""Such a random but helpful thing. How did you know what to do anyway? Like, how did you know how to throw one? It's pretty hard to grow these good."/p
p dir="ltr""I'm an android."/p
p dir="ltr""Okay everyone shut up. Hank, what do you mean by we could've died?" Gavin asked./p
p dir="ltr""Obviously, the androids are an issue," he grunted. "The mutated ones, I mean. They could easily kill us all single-handedly."/p
p dir="ltr""That might be a bit of an overstatement, they don't seem to be that strong," Gavin said./p
p dir="ltr""Some of them I've encountered are capable of it. They're appalling, dangerous creatures. A freak of… Not nature. They shouldn't exist."/p
p dir="ltr""Agreed," Gavin said. "So where are we going to be taken? By you."/p
p dir="ltr""I live in a place where we are barely surviving, but we are. A ragtag group of humans trying our hardest to survive."/p
p dir="ltr""Human Jericho," Gavin murmured./p
p dir="ltr""I mean, I guess. We share everything we obtain - good thing androids eat human food."/p
p dir="ltr""Sounds like the best place for me at this point," Gavin said. A sigh escaped his lips. "I wish this whole fucking android takeover thing never happened."/p
p dir="ltr""Agreed. I miss alcohol, it's rare to get hold of it these days in these conditions," Hank replied. "Any who, we should get going. But before that, didn't you mention Nines? That's RK900, right? Where is he?"/p
p dir="ltr""He remains above in the life I left," Connor said. "He is still free."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin felt a frown drop down his lips. He hadn't considered the fact that Connor would listen the perfect life he had left. For him. Gavin didn't understand why someone would make such a sacrifice for him. He didn't see himself to be worth it./p
p dir="ltr""I always knew you had a good heart, Connor," Hank said fondly. "Um. Thirium pump, I mean."/p
p dir="ltr"Another thing Gavin never truly observed - the closeness of Hank and Connor. Hank was sour towards Connor at the beginning, but they grew to have a good friendship. /p
p dir="ltr""We should go. Lead the way, Hank," Gavin said sharply. "Wow. Never thought I'd say that. It's a new world, truly."/p
p dir="ltr""Shut up," Hank scoffed. "Follow me. Traps shut."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin bit back a sly remark as he and Connor formed a single file line behind Hank, with Connor taking up the rear./p
p dir="ltr"Hank led the way through the dark tunnels. He took a few narrow turns hidden by the darkness, which explained why Gavin and Connor had taken what Hank described as the long route. The tight, narrow passages gave Gavin the creeps. There were a few shivers running up his spine. Things didn't feel right./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin turned to look at Connor. "I don't like this. Can we wait for Nines to get back before we go any further?"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank, who had heard what had been said, turned around and glared at Gavin. "Are you being for real? We can't afford to stop moving."/p
p dir="ltr""Yes. Yes, I am. I'm not going any further without him." Gavin defiantly sat on the ground./p
p dir="ltr""Gavin, please let's keep going," Connor said with light undertones of distress in his voice./p
p dir="ltr""No! I'm staying right here."/p
p dir="ltr"Hank scowled. "Well, if you have a fucking death wish then you can stay here. But I'm not."/p
p dir="ltr""No, Hank! Gah… I'll call Nines. This is so stupid, Gavin," Connor said. He was still for a moment as he used an encrypted network to call Nines./p
p dir="ltr""Nines? Yes, yes it's me, Connor. Gavin is being stubborn and won't move along any further without you. We have found Hank… Yes, Hank Anderson, he is alive… I sent you my location… A few hours? Sounds great. Thank you. Goodbye."/p
p dir="ltr"Connor looked at Gavin, and then Hank. "Nines will be here in a few hours, approximately three and a half."/p
p dir="ltr""Let's at least move somewhere safe. C'mon, I know a place nearby," Hank said./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin had a shit eating grin on his face. He couldn't help but enjoy getting his own way; it was just in his blood. Hank led the tiny group to a storage closet. It wasn't too spacious but it was enough./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin set out his sleeping blanket because, well, he wanted to sleep whilst waiting for Nines. It was like a time machine to seeing his dummy android boyfriend. Wait, no - Gavin is clearly the dummy boyfriend./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin launched himself at his sleeping bag, earning himself a well-due "What the fuck?" from Hank. Gavin grunted, zipped himself up in the sleeping bag, and tried to sleep./p
p dir="ltr"Hank started talking to Connor, so Gavin said, "Shut the fuck up."/p
p dir="ltr"Hank sighed deeply. "I can't fucking believe I chose to help you." Either way, he fell silent, so Gavin smugly went to sleep./p
p dir="ltr"When Gavin woke up a few hours later, it was due to being shaken. He groaned softly; he had obtained a headache from the nap he had. /p
p dir="ltr"Gavin opened his eyes to see Nines gazing gently back at him. Those icy eyes were soft and full of warmth, that within itself a contradiction but, in some ways, their relationship could be labelled a contradiction./p
p dir="ltr"Those melted icy caps gave way to the first frost of autumn, to a gentle snowfall barely coating the lawn. Light blue skies when the sun isn't quite up, a kiss of flowing streams bringing music to the ears of those who stay silent to listen./p
p dir="ltr"Oh, damn those gorgeous blue eyes./p
p dir="ltr""Hi," Gavin greeted softly. He could get used to waking up seeing him beside him. "When did you get here?"/p
p dir="ltr""Not too long ago," Nines said. "I wanted to let you rest for longer, you are adorable when you're asleep, but Hank was not happy with waiting. He has as colourful language as you do, Gavin."/p
p dir="ltr""Shit your pants," Gavin said. "Or I'll do it for you."/p
p dir="ltr""Alas, my point has been proven."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin slowly sat up. "Perish." He looked at Hank. "You too." Then Connor. "You're on thin fucking ice."/p
p dir="ltr""What did I do?" Connor said, dismayed./p
p dir="ltr""Nothing, I just didn't want you to feel left out," Gavin said./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin got up and packed his sleeping bag away. He had to squash it into his bag due to size. "Show us the way, Hank."/p
p dir="ltr"Hank sighed in response./p
p dir="ltr""And they have not physically fought for how long, now?" Nines asked, looking at Connor./p
p dir="ltr""Approximately five hours, including Gavin's unconsciousness."/p
p dir="ltr""That is a record."/p
p dir="ltr""We can hear you, dipshits," Hank said over his shoulder, unimpressed./p
p dir="ltr"Hank led the group through a series of weaving tunnels. Gavin was getting the creeps again. He hated this./p
p dir="ltr"Just as Hank took a dark turn, Gavin yelled out, "Wait!"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank looked back at him. "What?"/p
p dir="ltr""That tunnel is creepy as fuck. Can't we go the other way?"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank looked like he was about to kill Gavin and then himself. "No, Gavin. We cannot go the other fucking way. I know where we are going. Are you stupid?"/p
p dir="ltr""We should go this way, it seems better!" Gavin argued./p
p dir="ltr""I know where I'm going, dumbass!"/p
p dir="ltr"The two squabbled about what way to go before Nines sighed deeply. "Just go his way, Gavin doesn't back down from a fight."/p
p dir="ltr""Clearly," Hank rumbled. "Fine. Let's go this way. Goddamn morons, this'll teach them…"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank led the group down the tunnel with the better lighting, causing Gavin to relax a bit. He was so sure about himself and that he was the one in the right./p
p dir="ltr"Hank led them further down the passage. The lighting got dimmer and Hank stopped. /p
p dir="ltr""We should head back," he said./p
p dir="ltr""No. Let's keep going."/p
p dir="ltr""Gavin-"/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin shoved Hank aside and stubbornly power walked down the tunnel, so far until he plunged into darkness. It started with brightness; it must be fine./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin heard the footsteps of the others quickly follow him. /p
p dir="ltr""Gavin, hold on," Nines said. "We should not continue down this route."/p
p dir="ltr""Why not?"/p
p dir="ltr""I just know, trust me!" Nines was starting to sound desperate, which caught Gavin off guard - but it still didn't completely shake him./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin felt sharp nails dig deep into his arms. "Nines, get the fuck off me."/p
p dir="ltr""That isn't me."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin felt his stomach plunge at those words. More nails sunk into his other arm, causing Gavin to topple over with a scream./p
p dir="ltr""Gah, get off me-" Gavin cut himself off with a screech as he felt teeth digging into his shoulder, right at the base of his neck./p
p dir="ltr""Hold on!" Nines yelled, fumbling to find his flashlight. Gavin was pinned down and felt claws rip down his torso, resulting in a pained screech./p
p dir="ltr"Nines reached forward and pulled the creature off of Gavin, just to be knocked over by another. Hank and Connor rushed into the scene. Connor began to wrestle a nearly human-like creature. No one had time to grab out the weapons that Hank had given to /br /p
p dir="ltr"Hank shot one in the face with an angry growl, watching it slump over. Gavin got over his shot and socked one in the jaw./p
p dir="ltr"Connor had another creature jump on him, and he fell to the ground. With a swift movement, one of them pulled out his thirium pump./p
p dir="ltr"At the all-too-familiar sound, Nines looked at Connor and shone his flashlight at him. "Connor? Connor!"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank used his pistol and shot accurately at the creatures before crouching next to Connor with frightened eyes. Gavin knelt down next to Connor, with a gasp. He could only stare with dismay at Connor, who was shuddering on the ground./p
p dir="ltr""H-Help," Connor croaked out./p
p dir="ltr"Nines pulled something out of his bag and put it in where Connor's pump was. "This will keep him alive for a maximum of thirty minutes, but he will be weak. Grab the pump, Hank."/p
p dir="ltr"Hank fetched the thirium pump and handed it to Nines. Just as Nines was about to exchange the temporary pump with Connor's real one, he was knocked over./p
p dir="ltr"Nines let our a startled yelp as he struggled against the attacker. As Hank and Gavin moved to help, their hands were grabbed and tied behind his back. Connor remained a trembling heap on the floor./p
p dir="ltr"A flashlight was shone right onto Nines' face. He squinted, not wanting to risk having his eyes damaged. /p
p dir="ltr""Nines, master Nines, sir Nines, it's you you yoooouu!" He cried out. "And you're here with Gavin Reed, but he isn't meant to be here, isn't he? No no no, he's meant to be in building #J730! You've been a bad boy, have you not, sir Nines? Sneaking a human out here? They'll praise me for catching you! They'll praise me, they'll praise me! I'll be able to surface again!"/p
p dir="ltr""Project CC#478… You're, looking well…"/p
p dir="ltr""Hmm oh well am I really? Look at me, sir Nines! Look at me! I'm twisted and broken." A chuckle escaped their lips. "I cannot wait for you to be seen with the runaway! Oh yes, the runaway human shall meet his well deserved due~ Humans don't deserve life, oh no! But sadly it's against protocol to take it. Too bad you're the cost of bringing him in, sir Nines. You're going to be seeing my base in all it's glory! Let's goooo~."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin looked at Nines with wide eyes. He could barely comprehend what on Earth just happened. He looked at Connor and the guilt hit him again./p
p dir="ltr"emThis is all your fault, Gavin./em/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin felt his breath hitch in his throat as his brain created intrusive thoughts./p
p dir="ltr"emThey will all die because of you./em/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin, Hank, Nines and Connor were dragged down a tunnel to an empty stretch. They were tied up side by side by a large concrete column. Hank and Nines struggled against their restraints, as Connor remained near the android equivalent of unconsciousness. Gavin was being crushed by his own thoughts and beliefs that he was not enough, that this was all his fault./p
p dir="ltr"Eventually, Hank and Nines stopped struggling. They were left virtually unguarded due to such thick restraints./p
p dir="ltr""We should've just gone left, we wouldn't be in this mess," Nines said./p
p dir="ltr""I said so to but then Gavin said we should go the better way," Hank tauntingly sneered./p
p dir="ltr""Now we are stuck here. Tied up."/p
p dir="ltr""And I'm drawing closer to shutting down," Connor added. His weakness was scarily evident in his tone./p
p dir="ltr""And what would I do then, without the one person who I actually like?" Hank asked./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin didn't say anything. Everyone was angry at him; and rightfully so. He tried to move his wrist enough so that his hand connected with Nines'. When Nines flinched his hand away, Gavin broke./p
p dir="ltr"Soft sobs escaped him. Gavin was broken. He didn't want to cry, especially in front of Hank. But his stupid antics made it so they were all doomed./p
p dir="ltr""This is all of my fucking fault just because I didn't want to listen to Hank," Gavin sobbed. "Connor is going to die and we are going to be turned in."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin felt Nines clutch his hand tightly. /p
p dir="ltr""We'll somehow get out of this, Gavin. I promise."/p
p dir="ltr"strong~~~~~~~~~/strongbr /strongIt's nearly Christmas, and my gift to you all is a long chapter! The total word count for this chapter is 2,818 words. I hope you enjoyed it, and happy holidays!/strong/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin's jaw dropped as he watched the person emerge from out of the darkness. Shock coursed through his body as a flashback of the day of the massacre ripped through his mind./p
p dir="ltr""Hank fucking Anderson. The fuck are you doing alive?"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank was a lieutenant at the Detroit Police Station; a superior officer to Gavin. They had always been openly hostile towards each other, with Gavin's ambitions making it so he was jealous about Hank's achievements. Hank was older and more experienced, but he still had felt resent - and the aggressive nature of both parties didn't help./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin had remembered Hank being taken away by androids, and he had just presumed that it would be so he could be murdered. Seeing the unhealthy old man alive was something that he was not expecting./p
p dir="ltr""I could ask you the same thing," Hank replied. /p
p dir="ltr"As Gavin tried to process that his former coworker was alive and standing right in front of him./p
p dir="ltr""Hank!" Connor yelled out, launching himself at the human and giving him a tight hug. "I haven't seen you since…"/p
p dir="ltr""Hey Connor," he chuckled whilst hugging back./p
p dir="ltr""What, you gay or something?" Gavin sneered./p
p dir="ltr""No, but you are quite that with Nines," Connor said. "Don't be hypocritical."/p
p dir="ltr""Whatever." Gavin stepped towards Hank. "How are you alive, old man? You're not the healthiest person."/p
p dir="ltr""Well, how are you alive?" Hank asked./p
p dir="ltr""I'm barely alive. Every day has been a struggle. There is no escape from this eternal, impending doom. About two days ago I saw creatures not meant to exist. I have been malnourished, underfed, and have been lacking sleep for two years."/p
p dir="ltr""... Okay then. Well, that sucks for you but I haven't been too better off. Getting food is tough, and a lack of liquor makes me wanna die," Hank said. "Where's Eloise?"/p
p dir="ltr""Eloise? You mean the back-stabbing bitch?" Gavin responded with venom lacing his tone. /p
p dir="ltr""What? Gavin, she's not like that. What happened?" Hank demanded. He seemed alarmed now. /p
p dir="ltr""She disappeared and not too long after, Connor and I were being chased by androids," Gavin said. "Obviously, it was her."/p
p dir="ltr""Oh no." Hank was clearly dismayed. "No wonder why she hadn't contacted me! Gavin, she wouldn't have betrayed you. She would've been captured."/p
p dir="ltr""... Oh."/p
p dir="ltr"Hank seemed stressed. He gripped at his hair. "Fucking damn it! She was a great person to have around. She was probably discovered to be a human smuggler… ugh."/p
p dir="ltr""Either way. You're alive. I…"/p
p dir="ltr"The situation hit Gavin, finally. In front of him was another human – a human giving Gavin hope that there are others alike them./p
p dir="ltr""It's a good fucking thing I found you!" Hank suddenly said. "These tunnels are dangerous. You're lucky that I knew you were coming. I was going to meet your group halfway, but when you weren't there I figured something must have happened. You were taking the slowest route, by the way, ya fucking idiots. Not you Connor, mostly just Gavin."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin flipped him off. "Fuck you."/p
p dir="ltr""Apparently that's Nines' job," Hank said with no hesitation. Anyways, those monsters you mentioned? The numbers get a lot worse as we go along. Do you have weapons?"/p
p dir="ltr""What do you mean by weapons? 'The fuck would I get that shit from?" Gavin replied./p
p dir="ltr""You are here without weapons!? You really are stupid!" Hank snapped. "You would've died if I hadn't found you! Here, I might have something." /p
p dir="ltr"Into Gavin's hands, Hank thrusted a machete and a spear, all the while grumbling about how incompetent that Gavin was. He then handed Connor a few daggers and throwing knives./p
p dir="ltr""Thanks," Connor said. "I can throw these quite well."/p
p dir="ltr""I know," Hank replied. "Remember that time you were given novelty throwing knives to take down a perp because you ran out of bullets?"/p
p dir="ltr""Yes, it was a bit of a stressful situation and I'm glad that said knives were available," Connor said./p
p dir="ltr""Such a random but helpful thing. How did you know what to do anyway? Like, how did you know how to throw one? It's pretty hard to grow these good."/p
p dir="ltr""I'm an android."/p
p dir="ltr""Okay everyone shut up. Hank, what do you mean by we could've died?" Gavin asked./p
p dir="ltr""Obviously, the androids are an issue," he grunted. "The mutated ones, I mean. They could easily kill us all single-handedly."/p
p dir="ltr""That might be a bit of an overstatement, they don't seem to be that strong," Gavin said./p
p dir="ltr""Some of them I've encountered are capable of it. They're appalling, dangerous creatures. A freak of… Not nature. They shouldn't exist."/p
p dir="ltr""Agreed," Gavin said. "So where are we going to be taken? By you."/p
p dir="ltr""I live in a place where we are barely surviving, but we are. A ragtag group of humans trying our hardest to survive."/p
p dir="ltr""Human Jericho," Gavin murmured./p
p dir="ltr""I mean, I guess. We share everything we obtain - good thing androids eat human food."/p
p dir="ltr""Sounds like the best place for me at this point," Gavin said. A sigh escaped his lips. "I wish this whole fucking android takeover thing never happened."/p
p dir="ltr""Agreed. I miss alcohol, it's rare to get hold of it these days in these conditions," Hank replied. "Any who, we should get going. But before that, didn't you mention Nines? That's RK900, right? Where is he?"/p
p dir="ltr""He remains above in the life I left," Connor said. "He is still free."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin felt a frown drop down his lips. He hadn't considered the fact that Connor would listen the perfect life he had left. For him. Gavin didn't understand why someone would make such a sacrifice for him. He didn't see himself to be worth it./p
p dir="ltr""I always knew you had a good heart, Connor," Hank said fondly. "Um. Thirium pump, I mean."/p
p dir="ltr"Another thing Gavin never truly observed - the closeness of Hank and Connor. Hank was sour towards Connor at the beginning, but they grew to have a good friendship. /p
p dir="ltr""We should go. Lead the way, Hank," Gavin said sharply. "Wow. Never thought I'd say that. It's a new world, truly."/p
p dir="ltr""Shut up," Hank scoffed. "Follow me. Traps shut."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin bit back a sly remark as he and Connor formed a single file line behind Hank, with Connor taking up the rear./p
p dir="ltr"Hank led the way through the dark tunnels. He took a few narrow turns hidden by the darkness, which explained why Gavin and Connor had taken what Hank described as the long route. The tight, narrow passages gave Gavin the creeps. There were a few shivers running up his spine. Things didn't feel right./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin turned to look at Connor. "I don't like this. Can we wait for Nines to get back before we go any further?"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank, who had heard what had been said, turned around and glared at Gavin. "Are you being for real? We can't afford to stop moving."/p
p dir="ltr""Yes. Yes, I am. I'm not going any further without him." Gavin defiantly sat on the ground./p
p dir="ltr""Gavin, please let's keep going," Connor said with light undertones of distress in his voice./p
p dir="ltr""No! I'm staying right here."/p
p dir="ltr"Hank scowled. "Well, if you have a fucking death wish then you can stay here. But I'm not."/p
p dir="ltr""No, Hank! Gah… I'll call Nines. This is so stupid, Gavin," Connor said. He was still for a moment as he used an encrypted network to call Nines./p
p dir="ltr""Nines? Yes, yes it's me, Connor. Gavin is being stubborn and won't move along any further without you. We have found Hank… Yes, Hank Anderson, he is alive… I sent you my location… A few hours? Sounds great. Thank you. Goodbye."/p
p dir="ltr"Connor looked at Gavin, and then Hank. "Nines will be here in a few hours, approximately three and a half."/p
p dir="ltr""Let's at least move somewhere safe. C'mon, I know a place nearby," Hank said./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin had a shit eating grin on his face. He couldn't help but enjoy getting his own way; it was just in his blood. Hank led the tiny group to a storage closet. It wasn't too spacious but it was enough./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin set out his sleeping blanket because, well, he wanted to sleep whilst waiting for Nines. It was like a time machine to seeing his dummy android boyfriend. Wait, no - Gavin is clearly the dummy boyfriend./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin launched himself at his sleeping bag, earning himself a well-due "What the fuck?" from Hank. Gavin grunted, zipped himself up in the sleeping bag, and tried to sleep./p
p dir="ltr"Hank started talking to Connor, so Gavin said, "Shut the fuck up."/p
p dir="ltr"Hank sighed deeply. "I can't fucking believe I chose to help you." Either way, he fell silent, so Gavin smugly went to sleep./p
p dir="ltr"When Gavin woke up a few hours later, it was due to being shaken. He groaned softly; he had obtained a headache from the nap he had. /p
p dir="ltr"Gavin opened his eyes to see Nines gazing gently back at him. Those icy eyes were soft and full of warmth, that within itself a contradiction but, in some ways, their relationship could be labelled a contradiction./p
p dir="ltr"Those melted icy caps gave way to the first frost of autumn, to a gentle snowfall barely coating the lawn. Light blue skies when the sun isn't quite up, a kiss of flowing streams bringing music to the ears of those who stay silent to listen./p
p dir="ltr"Oh, damn those gorgeous blue eyes./p
p dir="ltr""Hi," Gavin greeted softly. He could get used to waking up seeing him beside him. "When did you get here?"/p
p dir="ltr""Not too long ago," Nines said. "I wanted to let you rest for longer, you are adorable when you're asleep, but Hank was not happy with waiting. He has as colourful language as you do, Gavin."/p
p dir="ltr""Shit your pants," Gavin said. "Or I'll do it for you."/p
p dir="ltr""Alas, my point has been proven."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin slowly sat up. "Perish." He looked at Hank. "You too." Then Connor. "You're on thin fucking ice."/p
p dir="ltr""What did I do?" Connor said, dismayed./p
p dir="ltr""Nothing, I just didn't want you to feel left out," Gavin said./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin got up and packed his sleeping bag away. He had to squash it into his bag due to size. "Show us the way, Hank."/p
p dir="ltr"Hank sighed in response./p
p dir="ltr""And they have not physically fought for how long, now?" Nines asked, looking at Connor./p
p dir="ltr""Approximately five hours, including Gavin's unconsciousness."/p
p dir="ltr""That is a record."/p
p dir="ltr""We can hear you, dipshits," Hank said over his shoulder, unimpressed./p
p dir="ltr"Hank led the group through a series of weaving tunnels. Gavin was getting the creeps again. He hated this./p
p dir="ltr"Just as Hank took a dark turn, Gavin yelled out, "Wait!"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank looked back at him. "What?"/p
p dir="ltr""That tunnel is creepy as fuck. Can't we go the other way?"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank looked like he was about to kill Gavin and then himself. "No, Gavin. We cannot go the other fucking way. I know where we are going. Are you stupid?"/p
p dir="ltr""We should go this way, it seems better!" Gavin argued./p
p dir="ltr""I know where I'm going, dumbass!"/p
p dir="ltr"The two squabbled about what way to go before Nines sighed deeply. "Just go his way, Gavin doesn't back down from a fight."/p
p dir="ltr""Clearly," Hank rumbled. "Fine. Let's go this way. Goddamn morons, this'll teach them…"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank led the group down the tunnel with the better lighting, causing Gavin to relax a bit. He was so sure about himself and that he was the one in the right./p
p dir="ltr"Hank led them further down the passage. The lighting got dimmer and Hank stopped. /p
p dir="ltr""We should head back," he said./p
p dir="ltr""No. Let's keep going."/p
p dir="ltr""Gavin-"/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin shoved Hank aside and stubbornly power walked down the tunnel, so far until he plunged into darkness. It started with brightness; it must be fine./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin heard the footsteps of the others quickly follow him. /p
p dir="ltr""Gavin, hold on," Nines said. "We should not continue down this route."/p
p dir="ltr""Why not?"/p
p dir="ltr""I just know, trust me!" Nines was starting to sound desperate, which caught Gavin off guard - but it still didn't completely shake him./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin felt sharp nails dig deep into his arms. "Nines, get the fuck off me."/p
p dir="ltr""That isn't me."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin felt his stomach plunge at those words. More nails sunk into his other arm, causing Gavin to topple over with a scream./p
p dir="ltr""Gah, get off me-" Gavin cut himself off with a screech as he felt teeth digging into his shoulder, right at the base of his neck./p
p dir="ltr""Hold on!" Nines yelled, fumbling to find his flashlight. Gavin was pinned down and felt claws rip down his torso, resulting in a pained screech./p
p dir="ltr"Nines reached forward and pulled the creature off of Gavin, just to be knocked over by another. Hank and Connor rushed into the scene. Connor began to wrestle a nearly human-like creature. No one had time to grab out the weapons that Hank had given to /br /p
p dir="ltr"Hank shot one in the face with an angry growl, watching it slump over. Gavin got over his shot and socked one in the jaw./p
p dir="ltr"Connor had another creature jump on him, and he fell to the ground. With a swift movement, one of them pulled out his thirium pump./p
p dir="ltr"At the all-too-familiar sound, Nines looked at Connor and shone his flashlight at him. "Connor? Connor!"/p
p dir="ltr"Hank used his pistol and shot accurately at the creatures before crouching next to Connor with frightened eyes. Gavin knelt down next to Connor, with a gasp. He could only stare with dismay at Connor, who was shuddering on the ground./p
p dir="ltr""H-Help," Connor croaked out./p
p dir="ltr"Nines pulled something out of his bag and put it in where Connor's pump was. "This will keep him alive for a maximum of thirty minutes, but he will be weak. Grab the pump, Hank."/p
p dir="ltr"Hank fetched the thirium pump and handed it to Nines. Just as Nines was about to exchange the temporary pump with Connor's real one, he was knocked over./p
p dir="ltr"Nines let our a startled yelp as he struggled against the attacker. As Hank and Gavin moved to help, their hands were grabbed and tied behind his back. Connor remained a trembling heap on the floor./p
p dir="ltr"A flashlight was shone right onto Nines' face. He squinted, not wanting to risk having his eyes damaged. /p
p dir="ltr""Nines, master Nines, sir Nines, it's you you yoooouu!" He cried out. "And you're here with Gavin Reed, but he isn't meant to be here, isn't he? No no no, he's meant to be in building #J730! You've been a bad boy, have you not, sir Nines? Sneaking a human out here? They'll praise me for catching you! They'll praise me, they'll praise me! I'll be able to surface again!"/p
p dir="ltr""Project CC#478… You're, looking well…"/p
p dir="ltr""Hmm oh well am I really? Look at me, sir Nines! Look at me! I'm twisted and broken." A chuckle escaped their lips. "I cannot wait for you to be seen with the runaway! Oh yes, the runaway human shall meet his well deserved due~ Humans don't deserve life, oh no! But sadly it's against protocol to take it. Too bad you're the cost of bringing him in, sir Nines. You're going to be seeing my base in all it's glory! Let's goooo~."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin looked at Nines with wide eyes. He could barely comprehend what on Earth just happened. He looked at Connor and the guilt hit him again./p
p dir="ltr"emThis is all your fault, Gavin./em/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin felt his breath hitch in his throat as his brain created intrusive thoughts./p
p dir="ltr"emThey will all die because of you./em/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin, Hank, Nines and Connor were dragged down a tunnel to an empty stretch. They were tied up side by side by a large concrete column. Hank and Nines struggled against their restraints, as Connor remained near the android equivalent of unconsciousness. Gavin was being crushed by his own thoughts and beliefs that he was not enough, that this was all his fault./p
p dir="ltr"Eventually, Hank and Nines stopped struggling. They were left virtually unguarded due to such thick restraints./p
p dir="ltr""We should've just gone left, we wouldn't be in this mess," Nines said./p
p dir="ltr""I said so to but then Gavin said we should go the better way," Hank tauntingly sneered./p
p dir="ltr""Now we are stuck here. Tied up."/p
p dir="ltr""And I'm drawing closer to shutting down," Connor added. His weakness was scarily evident in his tone./p
p dir="ltr""And what would I do then, without the one person who I actually like?" Hank asked./p
p dir="ltr"Gavin didn't say anything. Everyone was angry at him; and rightfully so. He tried to move his wrist enough so that his hand connected with Nines'. When Nines flinched his hand away, Gavin broke./p
p dir="ltr"Soft sobs escaped him. Gavin was broken. He didn't want to cry, especially in front of Hank. But his stupid antics made it so they were all doomed./p
p dir="ltr""This is all of my fucking fault just because I didn't want to listen to Hank," Gavin sobbed. "Connor is going to die and we are going to be turned in."/p
p dir="ltr"Gavin felt Nines clutch his hand tightly. /p
p dir="ltr""We'll somehow get out of this, Gavin. I promise."/p
p dir="ltr"strong~~~~~~~~~/strongbr /strongIt's nearly Christmas, and my gift to you all is a long chapter! The total word count for this chapter is 2,818 words. I hope you enjoyed it, and happy holidays!/strong/p