CHAPTER THREE
Something's wrong, she can feel it in her blood, she can feel it in her every cell, she can feel it in the back of her head, at the base of her brain, behind her eyes.
She doesn't know how she didn't realize it before! Her steps inside the steel corridors become more and more hurried, she backtracks the route she covered a few minutes before, driven by instinct, by pull, by apprehension for Call.
As she approaches her goal, the first noises coming from the cargo bay chill the blood in her veins. She slows, not to be heard by whatever is lurking beyond the hatch looming just ahead.
One footstep at a time, she breathes, one footstep at a time, then she hears Call's groan and she' suddenly caught in an uncontrollable rush.
"Put her down!", she commands, even before she's met the whole scene.
The creature faces in her direction, a vague look of curiosity turning into one of extreme rage, the same one she witnessed in the Queen's nest moments before.
The creature releases its grip on the android's neck, but the other claw remains firmly inside the girl's open abdomen.
The creature stares at her for a long time, its look of increasing wrath turning into an attitude of challenge as it sinks its other deformed hand into the hole where the young girl was shot, and in a flash, with a gruesome-sounding rip, it tears the small, delicate body in two.
"No!", the clone snaps sitting up, panting, struggling with the sleeping bag that entangles her arms.
-Fuck!"-, breathing hard, she lies back down as her heart pounds furiously in her ears.
"Ripley?", the shadow of a small hand pressed against the fabric of the tent, just few inches from her sweaty face, makes her jerk in place.
"Yes, I'm here", she replies quickly, in an attempt to mask the still fresh haunting nightmare.
"I'll make you coffee", the android says, still keeping her hand on the tarp. "You drink coffee, yes?", she asks after a moment.
Caught up in a sudden surge of tenderness at the question, she places the palm of her own hand over the small shape of Call's.
"Yes, yes I'll drink it, thank you", she answers softly smiling.
"Well, I'll wait for you then", the Auton asserts withdrawing from the contact and walking away.
*.*
"Where are you going?", Call asks puzzled, seeing her pop out from under the hanging curtain and start walking past the still burning fire.
"Well, I know your perfectly efficient system doesn't produce waste, but mine does, so, if you''ll excuse me, I''ll be right back, okay?", the clone jokes, avoiding looking at her, to fend off the lingering unpleasant feeling of her abrupt awakening.
"Don't get too far away", the young one advises, deciding to wait to pour the drink so that it stays hot longer.
"All right, Mom", Ripley apostrophizes her amusedly. She hears her snort a smile. Nice way to start the day, definitely better than that fucking dream.
*.*
"I found them in the back, Adam must have put them there", Call exclaims upon her return, inviting her to take a seat in one of the two canvas folding chairs she has set up in front of the fire.
And as the clone sits down, she gets up and heads over to OLIVIA to retrieve the hot coffee.
"Still having nightmares, huh?", she comments casually shortly after, handing her the hot liquid.
"Haven't had any in a while, actually", the woman cuts in. "I noticed footprints of a large animal, by the river", she declares changing the subject, probably their dialogue of the previous evening must have influenced her subconscious enough to trouble her rest.
" It was to be expected", Call replies, still thinking about the woman's rude awakening.
"Well, we'd better get to a section a little further upstream if we need water", the clone suggests.
"Oh, we'll need it", the android confirms. "The Army is late, apparently, they've uncovered a den of dissidents near Salinas and are busy there at the moment", she informs thoughtfully.
"Shit!", Ripley exclaims, picturing a handful of poor folks trying to get by as best they can. Anything but dissidents!
"Well, that's a bonus for us", the young woman comments, sipping her drink. "They'll already be happy by the time they get to the Base, after they see that ours is a peaceful community, they probably won't go into deep surveys or investigations", she explains.
"Okay, so what's next?", Ripley asks, caught up in the need to fill the day.
"We have to protect the fire, remember? Yesterday afternoon it just so happened that it didn't rain", she reminds her.
"Right!", the hybrid confirms, leaning her back against the chair in an attempt to relax, at least while she drinks her coffee.
*.*
The moisture is so stifling that after only a few machete strokes, Ripley is already drenched in sweat. Her hair sticks to her face and she just waves it away with one or the other hand at regular intervals. At this moment, she envies the young woman and her practical hair.
Tireless, she hurries to finish so she can relax and not think about it anymore. She carries the last load of firewood, while Call is busy arranging the foliage that will protect their fire. They took longer than they should have, opting for double protection so the firewood could dry out as well.
After a few minutes contemplating the result, both with their arms resting on their sides, the first, huge drops start crashing on the undergrowth.
"I really needed this!", the clone exclaims, stripping completely naked and looking for the most uncovered spot to be able to wash exposing herself to the rain, which within a few seconds, rushes down copiously roaring.
"Good idea!", Call comments, amused by her friend's spontaneity, heading towards OLIVIA, to get some soap and two towels. Back outside, she tosses it to her, and while she waits for the woman to finish, she deposits the two absorbing sheets at the tent entrance.
The sight of the clone, completely naked, doesn't bother her at all. The idea of undressing in front of her, however, doesn't put her at ease. She's never been okay with her plastic body. She envies Ripley's peacefulness. She tries hard not to mind it, but a part of her will probably always be in awe.
*.*
"Would you hand me my duffel bag, please?", the girl asks, peeking out from under the hanging shelter.
Ripley crawls around, jolting the tent, until she reaches her companion's corner and grabs her luggage. The young woman holds the sheet tightly over herself.
-Look at me… I'm disgusting-
Conflicted, Ripley decides to turn her back on her in order to give her some privacy, hoping that the girl will not take the move as a sign of disgust. She vows to do something about it as soon as she gets the chance. She has never liked the way Call sees herself. Donning a tank top and a pair of briefs, she begins to untangle the mass of still damp hair.
"Tell me you brought a deck of cards!", she asks, still turned away, as she hears her climbing up.
"Um... no!", the girl chuckles amusedly. "But we do have a couple of well-stocked digital book archives", she adds, rummaging through one of the pockets in her luggage. She tosses an e-reader to the her and lies down on her own bed, crossing both hands under her head and one foot on the other.
"The sound of the rain is almost sleepy", she says, as she becomes mesmerized by the moving shadows cast by the surrounding vegetation on the surface of the tent.
"I can't imagine we'll have to take our afternoon nap because we're stuck here due to the rain", Ripley jokes, chuckling. "I mean, it's okay that I'm only a few months old, but I'm not a shitty diaper!", she states in an attempt to make her laugh again.
"Well, look at it this way then: you're not a few months old, you're almost three hundred years old, how's that?", Call proposes, indulging in the joke.
"Well, then, I'm not an old fart!", the clone retorts, fighting with her own hair, trying to gather it into something that won't end up in front of her eyes all the time.
Exasperated, Call snorts as she rolls her eyes and reaches out to help her.
"Unbelievable, four months and you're still not able to tie up your hair! Give it here!", she exclaims, placing herself on her knees behind her and extending a hand in expectation.
The clone snorts a laugh as she hands her the tool, gathers her knees in front of her and lets the young woman show off her hairdressing skills.
She closes her eyes, enjoying the pleasant feeling. After gently untangling the mass of thick hair, Call leaves the brush and keeps working with her hands. Her slender fingers caress her scalp and then slide over the entire length of her brunette hair.
"Oh, it feels good, don't stop!", the hybrid comments in a relaxed tone. In the meanders of her mind, the feeling is not new, but she knows that in this life, it is an occurrence beyond precedent.
"Where did you learn to do this?", the hybrid asks in a soothing voice, after a while.
"I had two sisters once", the young woman cuts in.
Although Ripley can't see her face, the dull pitch of her voice lets her realize that that must not be a very pleasant memory. After a long moment, she attempts to carry on the talk.
"What happened?", she ventures to ask in a soft voice.
Call's hands freeze for a moment, Ripley is about to tell her it's okay if she doesn't want to talk about it, that the girl exhales a deep, shuddering breath and resumes speaking.
"I was purchased by a private family shortly after my creation", she begins in a flat tone. Ripley remains silent, giving her time to continue at her own pace.
"Two good people, they had taken me so that I would not be sold as a slave. Some good wealthy families used this little trick to save as many Autons as they could. They didn't have many resources, and could only afford one", she says with a note of sadness in her voice.
"They had two daughters, and they treated me like I was their third one", she continues. The movements of her hands on Ripley's hair become uncertain. A dull ache takes place in Ripley's chest, she senses her sadness, and it's frustrating that there's nothing she can do to ease it.
"It happened during the Recall. They protected me, hid me. But the Militia…", her hands stop completely. Ripley hears her swallow loudly. She turns three-quarters, to look at her.
"They slaughtered them, making me watch", she finally whispers in a choked voice, trying to tame the tears that threaten to escape her control.
-Okay, that's enough-, the woman turns a few more degrees and surrounds her shoulders with her long arms, drawing her to herself.
"I'm sorry, Call", she whispers, caught in shock.
"It's been a long time", Call states, trying to push away the pain of her memories.
"Some traumas you never forget", the other retorts, cradling her.
"They took me away, a blind fury took the place of pain, and as the shuttle was returning to the mothership orbiting Europa, I managed to get hold of a weapon and... I still don't know how I did it, the memories are very fuzzy, my brain was so overloaded. I killed them all. Every last one of them, Ripley. Then I ran off into Deep Space and at some point launched myself with an escape pod programmed to travel to Titan. I had connected to the mainframe-", she says, soothed by Ripley's embrace.
"Okay, that's enough for now", the clone stops her, squeezing her a little more vigorously. "I'm sorry for stirring up certain memories", she adds sorrowfully, stroking her soft hair.
"It's okay, Ripley", the girl soothes her, returning the affectionate squeeze. The rain falls almost deafeningly as they remain hugged in their disheveled and far from comfortable position. But it's soothing for both of them, and they don't feel like shifting.
"It's part of my past, I still wanted to tell, you sooner or later", the girl confesses, after a long time of silence.
Not quite sure what to answer, Ripley pulls her away from herself so he can look into her eyes. Her long hands frame the soft features of her face.
"Stay right here, okay? I'll be right back", she says, stroking her cheeks with her thumbs and sketching a smile, in an attempt to reassure her. The young woman lowers her gaze, as if embarrassed, and nods in assent.
*.*
It doesn't take long before the hybrid returns with two hot cups of tea. Call smiles gratefully at her, taking delivery of both drinks, while the clone leaps into the tent, which sways dangerously for a few seconds as the android tries hard not to spill the contents. Ripley laughs in relish at the girl's concentrated expression.
"Thanks, for the braid, it's handy", Ripley says after sipping the tea in silence.
"Anytime", Call smiles, glad to have done something useful.
"Does your hair ever stretch?", the woman asks, intrigued.
"I can make it longer if I want to. But I like it like this. They're comfy", the young woman explains, finally a little relieved.
"It would be a shame to hide your lovely face with longer hair", Ripley states, smiling at her. She has only said what she thinks, but Call's reaction leaves her puzzled. She has the feeling that the compliments are not welcome. A surge of displeasure crosses her consciousness.
"You've got to stop seeing yourself as you see yourself, Call", she insists, refusing to let herself think like she lacks who knows what. She sees her roll her eyes, annoyed, but she's not about to give in on that.
"Don't tell me no one's asked you out in months at the Base!", the clone presses, confident. She really doesn't think it's possible that no one has ever approached her.
Call snorts, rolling her eyes and blushes. And knowing she' blushing, she turns away to hide her reaction.
"Ah, so they asked you out! Come on, tell me who it is!", the woman teasingly pokes.
"Knock it off, Ripley!", the android giggles, torn between amusement, shyness, and that vague sense of revulsion towards her nature, omnipresent within.
"Oh come on! You're the one who got pissed off at me for avoiding you! And now that we've agreed to be friends, you're not going to tell me anything?", Ripley doesn't give up, encouraged by the fact that Call doesn't seem all that bothered by that questioning, rather, embarrassed.
"That's a low blow, Ripley!", the girl declares, still avoiding an answer. For a moment she's curious to ask if anyone has asked her out instead, but she knows for a fact that Ripley has shut herself off from everything. She doubts anyone would have the nerve or guts to deal with her unfriendly attitude.
"Well, it fits your height!", the woman retorts promptly. "All right, I won't insist anymore, happy?", she finally gives in. Sooner or later she'll find out who she's dating, and if they only try to hurt her... -Stop it Ripley, it's none of your business! She's not a kid, she can take care of herself!-