Chapter Twenty-One
Trigger Warning: human and android body horror, drug overdoses, violence, etc.
Connor did not like their plan because it did not feel like they had much of one. Rhett told them to contact him after the induction if anything of interest happened, as if becoming an official member of Typhon would open up more possibilities and privileges for Nicolette. He did not want Wren to be around Axel anymore than she needed to, since the man did not possess a regard for personal space. He hated the idea that Wren had been downstairs, threatened by Axel waving a gun around and getting handsy, while he had been upstairs, pretending to be a reprogrammed android cleaning a sitting room. Wren had been so close to danger and he had not even noticed.
Wren wore a black cocktail dress with the back unzipped. She turned her bare back to Connor and moved her hair aside. Connor swallowed the knot in his throat. "Will you zip me up?"
Connor zipped up the back of Wren's dress with deliberate slowness. His knuckles brushed against her bare skin. His lips burned with the urge to kiss her shoulder. Wren's head tilted toward him, a smirk toying with the corner of her mouth. Connor returned the coyness as he remained close to her. She leaned back into him, and he wrapped his arms around her. She gripped his forearms. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too." Wren turned in his embrace. She met his gaze and parted her lips as if she were about to say something, but a knock sounded on the door.
"Miss Black? Mr. Brewer is ready for the initiates to come downstairs."
Connor gave Wren one last squeeze before smoothing his composure. Wren adopted a look on her face that Connor recognized as Nicolette, and the two walked out of the room. RK800 accompanied Nicolette to the living room. The initiates mingled together, a little awkward now that they'd witnessed a murder in the same room earlier that day. RK800 scanned the room and found very little evidence of the murder. The androids who cleaned did an excellent job. RK800 stood with the other androids at the back of the room, skinless and ready to serve in whatever manner was requested of them. He kept an objective view of the room, but occasionally flicked his gaze to Nicolette. She was his priority, as he had been programmed to serve her.
Only a few other people arrived for the ceremony, and RK800 recognized Chelsea Harding and Dylan Jonz in the mix. He figured the people who arrived were the ones who recommended their recruits. Argo and Ellis seemed determined to drink away the night, waving androids over to them to refill their glasses with champagne or wine. Nicolette nursed the same champagne flute for the majority of the evening, chatting with Chelsea while Argo and Ellis got drunker. Shaw and Jerry carried their own conversations with their respective nominators while Axel Brewer went through the different groups, greeting the members of Typhon and congratulating the recruits.
After a while, Axel stood by the hearth and held up his glass of scotch to garner attention. It did not take long for a hush to fall over the members. Even Argo and Ellis quieted their loud conversation and composed themselves, though RK800 detected a slight sway in their stances. Axel beamed.
"Recruits, you've impressed me with your resolve, loyalty, and dedication to saving humanity. You put Typhon first, no matter your emotions concerning androids. You took your studies of our philosophy seriously, and you demonstrated incredible fortitude and compassion in helping humans in need. As you clearly discovered, not everyone has what it takes to make it into Typhon. And you will continue to be tested as time goes on. Your contributions to Typhon matter. What you do from here on out matters because it determines the fate of Typhon, and of humanity. I have complete faith in all of you. It is my privilege and honor to welcome you as fully-fledged members of Typhon."
Everyone clapped politely and then resumed their mingling. Argo made his way over to Chelsea and Nicolette. "Ladies, 'm so glad there are beautiful wom'n like you guys… So pretty…" He reached out to touch Chelsea's crisp curls, but she slapped his hand away.
"Don't fucking touch my hair." Her nose wrinkled in disgust.
Argo blinked, but his eyes remained half-lidded, as if he could not quite keep them open. He swayed, and then turned his attention to Nicolette. He thrust his pelvis toward her. "What about you?"
"What about me?" Nicolette replied coolly.
"We all know I'm the best-looking recruit," Argo said, grinning lazily as he drew closer.
"Easy there, tiger," said Chelsea, placing a hand on Argo's chest.
"We're not interested. Go away."
Argo rolled his eyes. "C'mon, this cock's better than any plastic you'll get. I'm the real fuckin' deal, baby."
Nicolette placed her hands on her hips. "I want you to go look at yourself in the mirror long and hard, and then I want you to come back and look at me. Any questions?"
Connor would have laughed if the situation had not crackled with tension and he did not have to pretend to be a reprogrammed android. As if sensing Connor's amusement, Argo shot a glare at RK800, who tilted his head and stepped forward, ready to cross the room and defend Nicolette, but she held up a palm, halting him. She returned her cold eyes to Argo, who sneered. "Why don't you wanna be with a real man, huh?" He grabbed his crotch. Chelsea gagged and rolled her eyes.
Nicolette curled her lip. "I haven't found a real man who could handle me yet. You definitely don't check that box, so why don't you go back to your sad little corner and drink your sorrows away, m'kay?" She chirped m'kay as if the word electrified her tongue.
Argo curled his hands into his fists, but Shaw walked over and steered him away. "C'mon, buddy. You're drunk. Let's go sit down—"
A blood-chilling scream rent the air, and a door at the back of the living room burst open. Everyone wheeled to look at the intruder. An android—not skinless like Connor and the servant androids—stumbled into the room. Blue blood caked her body and ran down her cheek from an open wound in her head. The circuitry underneath her plastic skeleton flickered blue like a glitch. Parts of her skin had disappeared due to damage. She was naked, but did not seem to care as she stumbled through the room, her eyes wild. The synthetic skin of her legs glitched to where the white plastic of her skeleton showed underneath. Someone cut open her right shin, exposing the wiring inside. Blue blood ran down her leg and stained the rug. The android bumped into Connor and then fell toward one of the servant androids. She gripped the skinless android's shoulders, dropping to her knees. Her right eye was missing.
"Please," the wounded android begged, "you have to help me!"
Connor's biocomponents constricted. His eyes flitted to Wren, who watched with wide eyes. The servant android stepped back, letting the wounded android crumple to the floor. Two guards burst into the room, breathless.
"I'm sorry sir, it escaped—"
Axel held up a hand and approached the android on the floor. She looked up at him, tears streaming from the eye she still had. Axel crouched in front of her while she pushed herself onto her knees, shaking.
"Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything to you—" The android's voice cracked with broken sobs.
Axel tilted his head. Then, he wrenched out the android's thirium pump regulator. Connor's thirium pump beat faster, remembering the feeling from when Atlas Montgomery yanked out his own regulator. The android's body convulsed with spasms as blue blood flowed from the gaping cavity in her chest. Her eyelids fluttered and she flopped to the floor. Connor clenched his teeth to keep from flinching. For exactly one minute and forty-five seconds, the people in the room watched the poor android jerking as her systems shut down. When she finally shut down, her lone eye stared at the ceiling, her body incredibly still. Blue blood spread out underneath her like angel wings.
Axel straightened from his crouch. One of the servant androids offered him a hand towel, upon which he wiped his bloody hands, smearing the white fabric with blue. He snapped his fingers at Connor and another male android. "Remove this. You four, clean up this mess." Axel gestured at the blue blood. The female androids dipped their heads and disappeared to search for cleaning supplies. Connor's eyes flicked to Wren's. She dipped her head to him. He grabbed the dead android from underneath her armpits while the other android grabbed her feet. Together, they hauled the android out of the living room.
"Where are we taking her?" Connor queried.
The male android's LED flickered yellow. "We are taking it where we take all defective machines. Summon the elevator."
Connor's thirium pump lurched when he realized his mistake: calling the dead android a her instead of an it. He hoped it didn't come back to bite him in the ass, as Hank would say. They shuffled onto the elevator, and the other android—a TR400 model—hit the button labeled "Basement."
Blue blood dripped onto the elevator floor and droplets of it smeared on Connor's shoe. Splotches of it stained the sleeves of Connor's shirt from carrying the android. It soaked through the fabric to his skin. The blue blood in his systems reverberated. He felt his own heartbeat vibrating underneath his skin. His vision darkened at the corners of his eyes.
[Warning: Stress Levels Rising]
Connor jerked his head to clear it, but he only succeeded in making himself feel dizzy. He took a few breaths to cool his overheating systems and slow his heartbeat. He managed to bring his stress levels down to twenty-three percent.
When the elevator doors slid open, he expected a dank, darkly-lit room filled with junk like most basements. Instead, the doors opened to reveal a fluorescently-lit hangar with industrial floors and branching rooms. Multiple cars were parked underneath Axel's house, as if this were some garage. Connor's eyes drifted to the gaping tunnel and parted his lips as he shuffled along with the dead android. This was a garage. There was an entire secret, underground entrance to the estate. The TR400 led the way with his back facing the different corridors. They crossed a walkway above the parked cars—Connor recognized Dylan Jonz's—and into hallway with steel doors. The TR400 used his palm to scan into one room. The door flashed open, and Connor and the TR400 entered it.
Connor's thirium pump jumped to his throat and he stopped in his tracks. It was a room with a furnace, designed to burn human and android bodies. The corpse of Adler was still on a table, awaiting to be burned in the furnace section labeled "Human." The TR400 shook his head. "They didn't finish the job?" He opened up the door and slid the table out, like the ones inside mortuary cold chambers. No ashes littered the tray, as they filtered to a bin inside the furnace. The TR400 lifted Adler's corpse onto the table. Coagulated blood stained the waiting table the corpse laid on previously.
"You gonna just stand there? Get it ready." The TR400 nodded to the body of the dead android, which Connor still held by the armpits. Her feet dragged on the floor. Connor blinked and laid the body down. He opened up the burning chamber labeled "Android" and slid out the platform. Feeling dazed, Connor scooped up the body of the android and laid her on the platform, which he shoved back inside the burning chamber. He flinched when the furnace roared in the "Human" burning chamber. The stench of burning flesh filtered Connor's olfactory systems. Connor shut and locked the "Android" burning chamber door.
The TR400 hit the button, and the furnace roared again as it blasted the android body inside the burning chamber with fire. Connor's nostrils flared as melting plastic mixed with cooking flesh. "We need to clean up the trail we left behind." The TR400 grunted, waiting for Connor in the hall. Connor walked slowly, feeling as if he were back in the Zen Garden, feeling his body move to shoot Markus while he searched frantically for the emergency exit of his mind palace. The TR400 shut the furnace room door and opened up a janitorial closet beside it. Together, Connor and the TR400 spent the next hour mopping up the blue blood trail they left behind. It would evaporate within a few hours, but apparently Axel didn't like the mess.
"We should check the other corridor where it came from. It probably left a trail." The TR400 led the way, his mop slung over his shoulder. Connor carried his at his side with a grip tighter than necessary. They returned to the main hanger and followed the blue blood trail from the elevator, mopping it up as they went, to a corridor to the right. The doors in this corridor differed from the strong steel doors of the one that contained the furnace room. These doors resembled hospital doors, with rectangular windows allowing a glimpse inside. In fact, most of the rooms looked like hospital rooms. No, not hospital rooms, Connor decided after peering inside one of the rooms. He'd seen plenty of those. None of these rooms looked as comforting. The majority of the rooms contained a single chair, like that at a dentist's office. Except these chairs also had restraints. These were rooms designed for torture and experimentation.
They entered a room that looked like an operating room. Connor's biocomponents churned when he entered. Guards stood on either side of the doorway, both armed with rifles. The guards glowered at the TR400 and Connor.
"The fuck are you plastics doing here?" grumbled the guard to the right.
The TR400 did not seem bothered. "We are cleaning."
"Chill out, man," said the guard to the left. "They won't be the ones questioning why you let that android escape."
"Shut the fuck up," hissed the right guard as Connor and the TR400 mopped up the blue blood on the floor. The TR400 wiped down the operating table. A heavy-duty shelving unit lined the left wall. Containers of blue blood lined and stocked every shelf. Connor estimated that there were about a hundred gallons' worth of blue blood on that shelf. Axel Brewer was harvesting blue blood, and Connor had a good guess as to why—Red Ice.
"Relax," said the left guard while Connor continued mopping. He concentrated on his LED, forcing himself to calm down so that it would stop swirling yellow. "I heard the thing didn't get out of the estate. Axel got rid of it himself. He'll probably just wanna know what happened."
"I don't even know how the damn thing got out of those restraints…"
"Brewer'll just have to invest in some better ones."
"Yeah…"
Connor and the TR400 left the room once they finished and returned to the main levels of the estate. Judging by the lack of noise in the living room, the induction party was no more. Connor trudged upstairs and drifted to his room, praying that Wren was there. He entered, still feeling dazed. He closed and locked the door behind him.
Wren stopped pacing the middle of the room and wheeled to face him. "Connor! Are you okay? What happened?"
Connor could not meet her eyes, instead staring straight ahead without truly seeing anything. "I… I helped…"
Wren sat him down on the edge of the bed and sat beside him, her hands wrapped around his. "It's okay, Connor."
Connor lifted his eyes to meet hers. Tears welled in his eyes and then he crashed into her, burying his face in the crook of her neck while he cried. Wren wrapped her arms around him, one hand cradling the back of his neck, the other squeezing him closer.
…
Once Connor gathered himself and told Wren what happened, they contacted Rhett. Wren structured most of their sentences, as Connor was still a bit dazed from what he saw and helped do. He tried to ignore the drying thirium on his clothes, but the occasional wetness jolted him back to the room with the furnace and the stench of melting plastic and flesh.
"Okay," Wren breathed with a smile, straightening from her crouch. She had changed into more casual clothes. "Rhett says we've got sufficient evidence to bust the place. They'll be here at four in the morning so that we have the element of surprise."
Connor nodded. He looked up at Wren. "I'm sorry I'm so… I mean, you've seen worse—"
"There are no Olympics in trauma," Wren said. She knelt in front of him. "I've had years of training to see horrible things and not react. You've only really experienced emotions for two years."
"What if this blows our cover? That TR400 caught my slip-up, Wren."
"It doesn't matter. We're leaving at four anyway. What will Typhon do in that meantime?"
A knock sounded on the door. "Miss Black? Mr. Brewer wants to see you in the parlor. He says to bring your android."
Wren and Connor shared a look. Connor's chest tightened. Wren smiled wryly. "I might've jinxed us."
Connor stood and let out a shaky breath. He removed his skin. "Let's not keep him waiting."
Wren led the way, Connor close behind. The android who knocked on the door led them to the stairwell. Tension stiffened Connor's body. Something felt wrong. Where were the other newly inducted Typhon affiliates?
Wren and Connor entered the living room to find Axel at the hearth. He smiled, the lines of his face sharpening in the firelight. He looked ready for bed in his satin black pajama pants and black slippers. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his robe.
"Nicolette," Axel greeted, "my apologies for calling you down here so late."
"Axel," Nicolette returned. "What's going on?"
RK800 stood stiffly with his hands folded behind his back. Connor's eyes flitted around the room. Two guards stood on either side of the hearth. Another stood by the wall directly in front of Connor. Two more entered through the back doorway. Connor sensed movement behind him and glanced back. Two more guards stood behind Wren and Connor, blocking the other exit. Axel grabbed a gun off the mantle. Connor forced himself not to react to it.
"I need you to do something for me. For Typhon. Can you do that?" Axel murmured, closing the distance between him and Wren.
"Anything," Nicolette declared, holding Axel's gaze. Axel took Wren's hands and wrapped them around the gun. Then, he stood behind Wren and steered her by her shoulders to face Connor.
"Destroy the RK800."
Connor's thirium pump jolted, but he did not move.
Wren's brow furrowed. "What? Why?"
"Think of it as part of your induction ceremony," crowed Axel.
Wren had yet to raise the gun. "I'm not destroying it. It's my property and I'm not going to do that just to pass some stupid loyalty test."
Axel's grip on Wren's shoulders tightened. "My dear, this isn't about your loyalty. You've proven that. This is about exterminating a deviant in our midst."
Connor's hands fell to his sides and he clenched his teeth. Wren stared at him, the color draining from her cheeks. "A deviant? RK800 isn't a deviant. I'd know."
"Deviants are not easily detected. This one has hidden it well. But my TR400 informed me that it believes this one has deviated. And I think he is in love with you."
Connor's lips parted. Wren's frown deepened and she broke eye contact with Connor to glance at Axel. "He?"
Axel stilled. "Excuse me?"
"You called RK800 a 'he.'"
Axel chuckled and released his grip on Wren. He began circling Connor and Wren, who still clenched the gun in her hand at her side. "I suppose it's only fair you know. I believe deviants are sentient and alive, or they believe they are. But it's unnatural. Disgusting. We've played god and gone too far and have created these atrocities against nature. It's time to set things right, where we have a world with humans in control. They are not biologically pure, so they must be eradicated entirely. Start with this one, Nicolette." Axel's lips were by Wren's ear. "Kill him."
He raised Wren's arm so that the gun aimed for Connor's chest. Wren widened her eyes, which glistened. Connor's eyes flicked back toward the guards. They had inched closer. No one stood in a neutral stance now. Connor knew Wren would not shoot him. There was no way out of this without blowing their cover.
"How do you know—"
"That he's in love with you? Just fucking look at him." Axel sneered at Connor, who pursed his lips and flared his nostrils.
Wren stared at Connor, her hand trembling. Connor clenched his teeth. He glanced down at his shoulder and his lower left abdomen. There were places Wren could shoot without killing him. Rhett and the DPD would be there at four in the morning, which would give them time to get Connor help. He raised his eyes, trying to tell Wren without words that it was okay. He did not feel pain, and he didn't want her to get hurt if the guards attacked. Wren's brow pinched and tears splashed down her cheeks.
But she lowered the gun.
Axel clicked his tongue and took the gun from Wren's hand. "Well, I must say I'm glad you didn't destroy him. I need him for something special. Then again, I knew you'd never destroy Connor. Because you're in love with him too, Wren."
Wren and Connor looked at Axel sharply. "How did you—"
"I have connections everywhere," scoffed Axel. "It took a while, but I figured out your real names. A human and android in love…" Axel spat on the floor at Connor's feet. "You two deserve to be dismantled and studied. Which is exactly what I'm going to do to you both."
The seven guards closed in as one unit. Connor and Wren did not need words. He would kill everyone in the room to keep Wren safe, and judging by the look on her face, she'd do the same for him.
The guard to Connor's immediate right threw a punch, but Connor threw up his arm to block it. He twisted the man's arm behind his back and shoved him aside and threw up his arms just in time to block the next attack. Connor kicked the guard into the knee. The man cried out and dropped to his other knee, and Connor punched him in the side of the head. Wren fought off three guards. Two charged at Connor, who blocked their attacks. They forced him back, and one of them drew a knife. Connor grabbed the wrist of the man holding the knife and forced him to cut the other guard in the side before twisting the knife out of the man's hand. He stabbed the man in the throat, crimson spurting from his jugular. The guard Connor shoved to the floor jumped on Connor's back, his arms around his throat. He kicked the back of Connor's knee, forcing him to the floor. The guard who was gashed in the side punched Connor in his thirium pump regulator.
[͡War͡ǹi͟n͟g: M͢i̶l͠d D̴a̸ma̷g̸ȩ ̕t͘ó ́Bi͘oco͜mponén͢t̨ ͡#̶845̛6͜w D͢etec̡te͟d]
The guard with the wounded knee stumbled to his feet and placed a device against Connor's neck. The guard pressed a button and an electrical shock surged through Connor's body. He collapsed onto the floor.
[͖̯͚͓̼̲̣ͫ̑ͬ͛W̪̹̪̼̝̑ͣ̅̈ͤͅa͙̍̑̓͑̔͐ͨr̯̠̟̫̼ͨn̠̰̳̪̺̝͋ͫ̋̋i̥͚̰n͖̙͖̤͓ͯͦ̽̍̍̚g̱̹͒ͤ:̥̫̳̬̺̐ͪͅ ̭̞̲̙̐̒̔͋̿̌S̠ͩ̂ͧ̒̆y͈̻̙̣ͨ̎̒s͊͗̔ẗ̟̳̟̪͈̼́ͧ̇̈ͣ͐̌ͅe̬̗̥̖͈̫ͤ̂̃̈́͒ͣm̊̐s̩ͥ ̘̬̥ͮͦ́̓ͅͅU͖̼̯̟̪̩n͚̗̺̄̽ͯ̋͌r͔ͦ̈́͛̔͌̂ȇ̙͓̪̦͍p̤̤ͬͤ͐ͥ̃s͖͎̺̱̜ô̍̋̈ͬṅ̼͕̻̙̞̌̂ͦͮ̒s̫̃͊ͣͪͣi̘̯͙̩̠̗̗͑̾̉v̜͍̤͎̜͐̍̐͂ͨḛͧ̃] ̮͙͇̘̊̊ͥ
"Connor!" Wren cried, but two guards grabbed her as she lunged forward. Two others lifted Connor up from under his armpits.
"Take him to the lab and reset him. I want her with me."
"Connor, no!" Wren struggled to escape, but one of the guards used the same device on her, and her cybernetic limbs went limp.
Connor wanted to scream for her, to struggle against his restrainers, but his body refused to respond.
[˄Stress Levels: 51%]
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Connor prayed to rA9 that his racing thirium pump would jolt his systems back into functionality, but nothing happened. Instead, he could only hang limply while Axel's men brought him into the basement level, where they dragged him down the corridor to the right, where the experimentation rooms were. He could only watch himself be brought into a lab where a resetting machine like the one at Zlatko's and Atlas Montgomery's stood.
The guards lifted Connor's arms above his head. They clamped his wrists into the machine. A man at the computer typed onto it, and the machine activated. It plunged a wire into the back of Connor's neck. He grunted at the force of it and winced at the electricity flickering through his circuits. No, he could not be in this situation again. He remembered this all too well—he still had nightmares about it—hanging uselessly while his memories were wiped clean from his mind. Except last time, Wren was there. Last time, his memories never left his processor. Last time, he watched Wren fight and was able to regain control of his body.
[˄55%]
The machine whirred, and the metal clamps lifted Connor's arms above his head, and his feet dangled. Even if Connor regained control of his body, there was nothing nearby to give him leverage, as far as he could see. His head lolled.
"Ready to commence," said the man at the computer. Connor felt the machine begin its process because of the intense surge of electricity roiling through his circuits.
"Wait," said Axel Brewer. Connor could only stare at the floor. Axel's face appeared in front of Connor's. He smiled. "You really are an invaluable piece of plastic. You almost went undetected, but I have eyes and ears everywhere." He winked before leaving Connor's field of vision.
Connor strained to wrench himself free of the metal clasps and wires, but his body still refused to respond.
"Make sure you download his programs and memories and save them to that file. I want to transfer them to the other one as soon as possible." Other one? Axel returned to Connor, whose face tightened with the struggle to regain control over his own body. "It's futile, Connor. Don't worry—your systems will be fully functional again in about five to ten minutes, which gives me enough time to get Wren ready for an accident with Red Ice." Axel winked and left the room.
A scream lodged in Connor's throat as his thirium pump palpitated, the reverberations thrumming in his throat. He grimaced—at least he seemed to be able to use his synthetic facial muscles—and struggled to move again. He gritted his teeth and continued trying to move, to will his fingers to twitch and move and pull himself free. He needed to get free for Wren. She was in danger. Axel was going to force her to overdose on Red Ice—
[̴M̢ȩmor͏y͠ Co̴rr͞up̶ti̛o҉n Dętected]
Why did Red Ice matter? What did that have to do with Wren?
Connor's artificial heart beat faster. He blinked, hard. It didn't matter what importance Red Ice possessed what mattered was that Wren was in danger because of Axel—
[́Ṁe͡ṁ̊̍ͣor͗̕y͒́̈̅͌ ͩͦ̉ͦ̏̉̚͡Co̵̎̚r̔̍̿ͫ̄̋r̷̎̃͂̄u͒ͧ̀pͬͪͦ͐t̸͛ͮiͬ͐̉҉o̓̿̔ͥͦnͧͤ̒ͧ ͦ͋D̸ͫ̏ͦ́e̍ͦͩ̇ͧ͋̃t͝e͐͐ct̢ͪͫ̀ͥͧͨe͂҉d̋ͤͬ̂͞]̽ͨͩͫ̈́ͨ
Axel?
Connor moved his head and his eyes shifted to the computer screen.
[Reset Progress: 47%]
The man at the computer peered at a file on the screen. Connor narrowed his eyes, still unable to move the rest of his body.
"Make sure you download his programs and memories and save them to that file. I want to transfer them to the other one as soon as possible."
[̊̃ͫ̈̒M̋̓̎ͮ̎ê̠̙m̯͈̠͔͖̲ͬ̉̈́ͥ͛̓̂oͭͤ͆ͧ̔̍͢r̶̺ͨ̉͐̆̋͛ͅy̺̐̊̐̅ ̞͚̪͕͇̩̂̉ͅC̡̪̬͈̪͇̫̳̐̌ͥ̄̐̚o̴̫̜̦̙̠͈̮̊̂̍ͦ͒r̜r̆͆ư̺̪͖ͦp̵̝̖͔̻͊̉̀t̯͙͙̰̀i̲͓̺̓̈́ơ̖͓̘̻̇̏ͭ̋n̈ͪ ̥̣̗͕͚ͭ̐ͨ̅͊ͅD̗̗̙̱̲̹̟e̞͔̱̖̥̽͗̑̈̽͌́t͇͎͔͓̭̓̿̕e̲̼͈͈̦ͫ̉͒͑̀c̱̪̲͖͓̩̥͆̓t͚ͧ̆ͯ͐̆̕e̸̫͂ͭ̽ͧ̚d̸̞̜̈̉̍]̷͔̼͎̻
̖̞͉̣̼̖ͮ̍̅ͨͥ͝ͅ
Who said that? What other one?
[Reset Progress: 64%]
Connor's thirium pump jolted in his chest. An inexplicable panic spiked through his circuits. He had no idea why it was so urgent that he escape, but something told him he needed to, that this wasn't right, he had feeling in his fingers, he needed to get out, to pull on the wires, but why, there was no danger—
[Reset Complete]
He relaxed. For a few minutes, he remained in the contraption. His body slowly flooded with feeling, as if his limbs had been unable to move before then. His synthetic skin rippled over his white plastic skeleton.
A man sitting at the desk pushed from the seat and unhooked him from the contraption. "RK800, go see Mr. Brewer in room 16."
"Understood." He—RK800, as he had been called—left the room and trekked down the hall. The man failed to inform RK800 which way this room was. Of course, RK800 examined the doors and their numbers, but many of them lacked numbers. He reached the end of the corridor, which opened up to a massive hangar, like a garage. Shaking his head, RK800 turned around and returned to the corridor. This time, he passed the room he'd just been in. The numbers became more regular as he furthered along the corridor. The walls were so black and glossy that RK800 could view his reflection quite easily. He paused to look upon himself, as he had never seen himself. He supposed he was handsome—
{He leaned forward, the grungy music of Jimmy's Bar muffled through the bathroom walls. Lieutenant Anderson had not been in the other bars, so he hoped that the police lieutenant would be in this one. He could not accomplish his mission without his superior's help. But before he introduced himself to the lieutenant, he needed to look sharp. He straightened his tie.}
[̯͉̙̽̑͌͆M̤̤͚̱͍͎̤ͩ̅̐#̩͕͕̄̒̇ͮ̉͆̎ ̵̗̀̒̅̊͗#̷̹͙͉ ̲̺͔̽ͦ̃̽ͩ͛ͅ%͇͈͕͗̽ͭ̈́̚3̬͍̯̳̮͕̈ͯͨ̀ ̊̇͘1̩ͩͮ̆͗̄͜$̭̠̫̳̺͛̆͌̂́ ̼̗̮̥̫̥̼̰̭͎̊ͭ͌ͯ̌̽̔͞ ̫̾ͮ̀͂̎̎͊&̷̟̬̖̰͊͛̏̍ͭ̈̉&͌ͯ̉͋͢ ̢̘̦̩̈́̈ͣ̑̑̀ͫ+̰̙͈͂͘ͅ]̷̤͗
̰̲̳̘̲̙̜̽̃̅̓̽͋̕
RK800's brow furrowed. He knew that the static image that just flooded his processor was a memory, but he possessed no recollection of such a memory. Who Lieutenant Anderson? Perhaps these memories came from a different RK800 unit? That was the most logical assumption, though RK800 had no idea why he had memories from a past RK800 unit. Perhaps this Mr. Brewer could help.
RK800 continued to wander the corridor until at last he came to room 16. It looked like a hospital room, and a woman stood a man holding her back. A blond man stood in the corner, leaning against the wall. A chair that resembled one at the dentist's occupied the center of the room. Restraints lay open on it, and beside it was a small tray with surgical items on it.
The woman widened her eyes as soon as RK800 entered. She launched herself forward so suddenly that the man gripping her failed to stop her from rushing at RK800.
"Connor!" she gasped, gripping the lapels of his jacket. "You're—" The woman stopped as she met RK800's gaze. He regarded her with a pinched brow. He did not know this woman, yet she called him Connor. Perhaps she mistook him for a past RK800 unit?
He gazed down at her as she backed away, shaking her head. "No…"
"It looks like he doesn't remember you," purred the blond man.
RK800 looked at him. "I'm looking for Mr. Brewer."
The blond man pushed off from the wall. "That would be me." He nodded to the unnamed man, who exited the room. The woman continued to gape at RK800.
"This can't be happening…"
"I assure you that it is, dear. You should know better than anyone that memory is such a fragile thing. And now you know the perils of loving an android: they can easily go back to machines." Mr. Brewer gestured to RK800, who returned his gaze to the woman.
"RK800-51, restrain her."
RK800 moved forward fluidly. The woman shook her head and backed away.
"No, Connor! Snap out of it, please!"
RK800's frown deepened and his steps faltered. Why did she keep calling him that? Why was she so desperate?
"RK800, obey!"
RK800 continued forward while the woman backed into the wall. A soft sob erupted past her lips. "Connor, I don't want to fight you…"
In her state of despair, RK800 managed to restrain her easily. He gripped her wrist and twirled her so that her arms crossed over her chest and her back pressed into him. "What would you like me to do with her?"
"Strap her here," said Mr. Brewer, fiddling with something at the surgical tray. RK800 dragged the crying woman over to the chair and lifted her. She kicked out and away from him, breaking his hold on her. Crashing to the floor, the woman rolled over and faced him like a wild animal.
"Connor, come on! Wake up!"
{The skin of his hand retracted, revealing the glossy plastic underneath. He felt Hank's eyes on him as he gripped the arm of the AP700 android. He transferred the deviancy code, his body trembling with the electric current.
"Wake up!"}
[̈̀̚My̧̔̌̓ ̡̋ͭͩnͣ͠ ̅͏m̷3̨̆͌ ̑̓̾ͩͩ̓1̏͑͜sͧͨ͝ ̏͌̏̇̈͟ ̸̈́̚&̨̋͊&̏ͩ͊ͯ ͪ͂̈́+̐͑ͤ͠]̧͋̂͗̚
͊̈͘
RK800 paused but Mr. Brewer grabbed the woman before she could speak again. RK800 helped Mr. Brewer strap the woman in the chair. RK800 pined her shoulders down as she struggled against the wrist restraints. Mr. Brewer withdrew a syringe. The woman held RK800's gaze. His brow twitched.
Tears leaked down the sides of her face. "Please wake up."
"Do you recognize this, Wren? It's Red Ice in its purest, liquified form." Mr. Brewer held up the syringe. It gleamed with brilliant blue liquid. Thirium mixed with other components.
The woman, Wren, set her jaw but refused to answer.
Wren. Wren. Wren.
{He struggled with her in the grass. She suddenly went lax underneath him and he pinned her to the ground. Her chest rose and fell with her breaths. Her copper hair splayed out around her, darker in the dim streetlamp light. He narrowed his eyes at her. But, even after what she just tried to do, he still found her quite pretty.}
[ͩ̇ͩͮ͂͐͆My̾̅ ͌̉ͫ͗̈́n͛ͧ͐am̓3͌̊ͮ̈́ i̎̾sͯ͊̑ ͯ ̓̏̔̄ͭͮ̿&&ͯ̊ͫͨ̄ ̌̽̊̚+͗̆ͣ̋̈̎]
"Poetic for you to die this way, don't you think?" Mr. Brewer leaned closer to the woman. RK800 continued to stare at Wren. She flared her nostrils. Her eyes cradled so much sorrow in them that the RK800 parted his lips to let out a controlled, invisible breath.
"Connor, please, I love you—"
Mr. Brewer grabbed Wren's jaw roughly. "Shut the fuck up!" His voice came out in a snarl. "No one wants to hear that disgusting bullshit."
He shoved the syringe into Wren's skin and plunged the drug into her veins.
{She kissed him quite suddenly—so suddenly that he hardly reacted. She pulled away, looking wide-eyed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." I love you rose to his lips, which he longed to press against hers, but Wren already disappeared into the crowd.}
[̨My ńam҉è ̴i͟s̢ ͟ n& +]͘
̵
Wren's eyes rolled back into her head. Her struggles grew flimsy until she slumped. RK800 withdrew his grasp. He parted his lips, gazing at the unconscious woman who claimed to know him. Wren convulsed into a fitful unconsciousness.
"That dosage was highly toxic. You could kill her." RK800 tore his eyes away from her.
"That's not the goal, here. Go upstairs to her room. I want you to search the room and bring back anything that looks like surveillance on me or Typhon. And deactivate your skin."
"Understood." RK800 removed his skin and left the room. He wandered down the corridor until he returned to the hangar and took the elevator up to the main level. Once again, he had no idea where to go. He let out an impatient snort as his shoes pressed into a plush rug. He decided to look for one of Mr. Brewer's guards or another android to tell him the location of Wren's quarters. He paused outside the doorway of a small library.
Books layered the shelves, which adorned each wall from the floor to the ceiling. In the center was a table with a semi-circle sofa around it. RK800 wandered toward the books. Something about the physical copies drew him to them. Most people used digital copies of books nowadays, but—
{"Real books… I thought I was the last guy in Detroit to keep some!" Hank's voice drifted from the other room. Connor noted how Hank liked the feel of the pages, but did not respond, as he'd just found the deviant's LED in the sink.}
[My name is n& r]
RK800 backed out of the library, his thirium pump twanging and rumbling in his audio processors. Something urgent demanded that he fill in the rest of those letters. Before waking up in that contraption, everything was dark in his mind. It seemed he had a life before this place. Who was the woman named Wren? Who was Hank?
RK800 trekked around the main level, still unsure of where to go. Finally, he found another android. "Excuse me, but could you direct me to the location of Wren's room?"
The android puckered her brow. "There is no 'Wren' staying here."
"Mr. Brewer gave me instructions to search her room, so that's not right. She has blonde hair—"
"Do you mean Nicolette? Weren't you staying in there, too?"
RK800 parted his lips and then flattened them. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Nicolette? Was that Wren's real name? And why had he been there? Had he?
The android widened her eyes. "You've been reset."
RK800's brow shadowed with a frown. "Reset?"
The android flashed him a falsetto smile. "Take the stairs to the third floor and to the left. At the very end of the hall, you will find Nicolette's room."
"Thank you." RK800 headed for the stairs, his processor still wheeling form what the android said.
[Who is Nicolette?]
RK800 found the room and shut the door behind him. Out of instinct, he locked it. Then, he began searching the luggage bags. He paused, coming across a black cocktail dress.
{Wren wore a black cocktail dress with the back unzipped. She turned her bare back to Connor and moved her hair aside. Connor swallowed the knot in his throat. "Will you zip me up?"
Connor zipped up the back of Wren's dress with deliberate slowness. His knuckles brushed against her bare skin. His lips burned with the urge to kiss her shoulder. Wren's head tilted toward him, a smirk toying with the corner of her mouth. Connor returned the coyness as he remained close to her. She leaned back into him, and he wrapped his arms around her. She gripped his forearms. "I've missed you."}
[My name is nnor]
RK800 breathed heavily to cool his systems while his thirium pump thrashed in his chest.
[Warning: Stress Levels Rising]
He needed to trigger another memory. He was certain now that these were memories—his memories. He searched through the bags, ignoring Brewer's orders to look for and confiscate surveillance tools. In a suitcase that contained masculine clothes, RK800 found a pair of plain cufflinks.
{Connor reached for it and unwrapped the paper. He opened the box, his brow furrowing. A small smile stretched his lips as he lifted a tie with dinosaur skeletons decorating it.
"Everyone needs a silly tie," said Wren, shrugging. She tapped the box. "There's something else in there, too."
Connor peered inside to find a small box. He picked it up and opened it. Inside it were dinosaur cufflinks. He smiled softly and met Wren's gaze. "Thank you."
"No problem," said Wren, avoiding his gaze.
Connor opened the middle-sized gift. A lump formed in his throat when he unwrapped it. It was a framed photo of Connor and Hank, both smiling at the camera. He looked at Wren, his eyes prickling.
"You don't have anything to personalize your desk," Wren explained.
"I'm missing you, though," Connor pointed out. Wren's eyes widened. Pink flushed her cheeks. Connor's chest swelled at the sight.}
[My name is Connor]
Connor straightened from his search of the bag, breathing heavily. His mouth hung open and his eyes lifted slowly from the plain cufflinks. "Wren."
He rushed to Wren's bag and withdrew the phone that they used to check in with Rhett. It was twenty minutes to four in the morning. Connor dialed the number.
"Connor? The fuck are you doing, calling? This better be serio—"
"Our cover's blown," Connor hissed. "He tried to reset me and he's drugged Wren. I have to bring our equipment to him. He thinks I'm reset, so it gives us time. I have no idea where Wren is."
"Holy shit. We're on our way, but we're still twenty minutes out."
"Call an ambulance. Wren's had an overdose of Red Ice." Connor's voice proceeded more calmly than he felt.
"Jesus Christ—" Rhett cut off Hank's frustrated growl when he hung up the phone. Connor, still skinless, slipped into the hall. He returned to the sublevel where he was reset and where he held Wren down… Connor's biocomponents twisted with guilt. He promised Wren that he would never hurt her, that he'd protect her, and he was the one to hold her down while someone hurt her. He hoped he could spend the rest of his life making it up to her.
He entered the room 16, but Wren was gone. A few strands of blonde hair were left behind on the chair. Connor tried to reconstruct the scene.
[Insufficient Evidence for Reconstruction]
"Shit." Connor looked toward the corner of the room, where a camera watched all. He hacked it, but it was broken. "Shit!"
Outside of the room, Connor looked both ways. There were no guards, so he placed his palm on the wall and scanned the security line. He found the glow of the mainline and followed it to a massive security room. Connor entered the security room and closed the door behind him. Monitors covered the walls. Two guards sat at the desk, keeping an eye on the footage. They turned when they heard the click of the door.
"The fuck are you doing in here?" one of them demanded.
"Get outta here, plastic. You ain't supposed to be here."
[Preconstruct]
[Attack left guard, kick the right, disarm the left]
[Execute]
Connor launched himself at the left guard and then kicked the right one he attacked. The left guard withdrew his gun, but Connor moved aside just as the guard shot, hitting the other guard who collapsed with a sharp, "Oof!" Connor punched the armed guard in the throat, wrenched the gun from his hand and shot him. He took both guns and placed one in the waistband of his jeans. The other, he held at his side. He scanned the monitors for Wren. Not all of the rooms—like the bedrooms—had cameras, but thankfully, Wren was in one of the sublevel rooms with a camera. She was locked in a dog cage—Connor gritted his teeth at the sight—slumped over unconscious. Connor downloaded the schematics of the building to discern the best ways out. Unfortunately, unless he went through the tunnels, there was only one way out: the front door. The schematics did not tell him how far the tunnels went, so Connor decided the front door was the best bet.
|Time remaining until DPD arrives: -00:10:04|
Connor reactivated his skin. He was done following Axel Brewer's anti-android rules. With one last glance at the monitors, Connor backed out of the room and hurried toward where Wren was locked in a cage.
He burst into that room and shot the guard before the man had time to react. The gunshot stirred Wren, but she seemed too weak to get up. Connor unlocked the dog cage and pulled Wren out of it and cradled her for a moment.
"Wren, Wren! Sweetheart, can you hear me?" Connor shook her gently.
Wren's eyes fluttered opened, but they looked glazed and bloodshot. "Connor? You forgot me…" Her voice sounded so small…
{"S'okay, Con…nor… 'm okay…"
"Don't speak," Connor said sharply. Her voice sounded so small, raspy, weak and Connor's heart nearly stopped.
Blood trickled from her mouth. Her life was literally bleeding from her and flowing through Connor's fingers. He was going to lose her. She took the shot for him and he was going to lose his best friend. "Connor…"
"Stop talking!" Connor snapped.}
Connor jerked his head, as if he could shake the memory straight out of his processor. His thirium pump quaked with panic.
"No, no… Never. Hold on. I'm getting you out of here." He scooped Wren up and carried her bridal style out of the room. She sagged in his arms like a corpse, making Connor's blue blood freeze. He was not losing her.
Stepping into the corridor, Connor headed toward the elevator. He reached the hangar without much issue, sneaking past doorways while Wren hung limply in his arms. Before he reached the elevator, however, the doors slid open and a few guards stepped out.
"What are you doing with her?" shouted one of them. As they raised their guns, Connor dashed behind the corner and set Wren onto the floor. He withdrew his gun and then launched himself back around the corner with no time to preconstruct an attack.
He grabbed the barrel of one rifle and wrenches it from the guard's grasp and whacked the same guard in the face with it. He kicked the leg of another guard and then shot the guard with his pistol. The third guard pulled the trigger of his gun. The bullet tore through Connor's shoulder, missing his biocomponents. The sensation was not painful, but it was unpleasant, especially when cool air rushed into Connor's systems, and thirium bled through his shirt. Connor grunted with the impact, but shot the guard in the face. He crouched by the man's radio and picked it up to listen. Gunfire sounded and muffled, disjointed orders to "stop them" crackled through the radio's speaker.
The DPD had arrived.
Connor returned to Wren and lifted her into his arms. He hit the elevator button, but someone disabled it. Rolling his eyes, Connor hurried to the stairwell around the corner. Gunshots sounded above him. He couldn't carry Wren into that, so he set her down on the floor, her back against the side of the stairs. Her head lolled, and Connor's biocomponents knotted. He remained crouched and waited for the guards to come down the stairs, watching through the bars that held up the bannister lining the stairwell. Connor shot the first two guards as they descended, but the third spotted Connor and shot. Wood splintered just by Wren's head. Connor threw his empty gun at the guard and propelled himself over the bannister and landed on the stairs. The gun hit the guard in this head, giving Connor enough time to charge the man. He throat-punched the man and the wrestled with the man's gun. Connor couldn't let the guard straighten the rifle out to shoot. Connor pressed the rifle against the man's throat and choked him until he stopped moving. He returned to Wren, who covered her ears. She shook violently and her breath came in whistling rasps.
Ignoring the fresh surge of panic, Connor lifted Wren into his arms once more and hurried up the stairs, checking around each corner for guards. When they arrived on the landing of the second floor, Connor ducked to shield Wren as he rushed to the wall as gunfire exploded around them. He set Wren down. She scrunched her features and clutched her head.
"I'm spinning…"
Connor gripped her shoulders. "Hold on. We're almost out of this."
Peering around the corner with his gun drawn, Connor scanned the shootout. He counted three guards ducking behind doorways and blasting bullets in his direction. Across the corridor, crouched in another doorway, was Hank. Connor's mouth fell open as a bullet narrowly missed Hank. Connor scanned the area and calculated the perfect time to open fire. He took out one guard while Hank took out another. They took down the third together. Hank looked around and spotted Connor and rushed over to him, keeping his head low.
"Connor! Thank God you're okay. Where's Wren?" Hank looked around. Connor moved aside and glanced down. "Jesus…" Hank squatted in front of Wren. "Wren? Kiddo, can you hear me?"
Wren's eyes cracked open. "My chest hurts…"
"Definitely a Red Ice overdose, but if we get her help, she should be okay." Hank straightened. "SWAT and the team split up. I don't know where everyone is—"
"All of our evidence is in our room. The last room to the left on the third floor," Connor stated. "We can't let Brewer get a way with any of it—"
"Kid, leave that to us. Get her out of here." Hank's eyes cut to Wren, who moaned and clutched at her chest.
"The only exit is the front door," Connor muttered.
"Then let's get you to the front door," said Hank, raising his eyebrows. "I've got your back."
Connor nodded and scooped Wren up again. Together, they ran up the stairs. Hank took out two more guards. One of Captain Allen's men took out another and waved them past. They reached the main level, and Connor widened his eyes at the guards positioned in the entry hall. He and Hank ducked behind a corner.
"Shit," spat Hank. "I'm empty."
Connor swallowed. He looked down at Wren's face, her brow wrinkled in her discomfort. He set her on the floor and checked his gun. Three shots. Seven guards. Their escape depended on taking out the guards, and he be damned if he let Wren die here. He'd tear those guards apart with his bare hands to protect his family. He met Hank's gaze. "Get her out if this doesn't work."
Hank's eyes widened. "What? Connor, no!"
But Connor turned the corner and shot three of the guards, and then threw his gun. It made a sickening crunch when it connected with a guard's helmetless head. Connor grabbed the rifle before the fifth guard could fire it. He twisted and butted the guard in the face with it. Blood spurted from the man's mouth. Connor gritted his teeth and flung the man away, and then used the rifle to shoot the sixth guard. The seventh shot at Connor, who dodged, but the bullet ripped through his side, missing biocomponents by a smidge. Connor shot the guard in the face. He looked around, still holding up the rifle, teeth clenched and slightly bared.
[Warning: Thirium Levels Diminishing]
Connor scooped up two handguns and then placed a hand to his wound and examined the blue blood on his fingers before limping back to Hank and Wren. He handed the guns to Hank. "These should be full."
"Connor, don't you ever fucking do something like that again!" Hank's nostrils flared and his eyes blazed as Connor clutched a hand at his side, hiding the blue blood seeping through his shirt. He dipped his head, but made no promises. Then, he picked Wren up again, his side pulling uncomfortably. Gritting his teeth, Connor headed for the front door.
"I have to make sure everything gets cleared up here. You'll be okay out there by the cars?" Hank nodded to the police cars in the front yard. Connor nodded, not wanting to talk. He knew if he did, Hank would know that he was wounded.
Connor stepped outside, the cool night air forcing him to suck in a sharp breath. He trudged down the steps. He just needed to get to the police cars to patch himself up, and maybe find something to help Wren.
"Fuck you, skinjob!" Connor recognized Argo's voice and tensed. A gunshot cracked through the night, and the bullet ripped through Connor's back and lodged in a biocomponent. He gasped and crumpled to his knees.
[͘Bi̷o҉ćompo̶nént̴ ̵#7511p ̴D͏am̨ag҉ed]
He laid Wren on the ground and used his body to shield her as much as possible. Another gunshot rang out and Connor flinched, expecting another bullet to rip through his body. When he opened his eyes, his lashes were damp. He looked over his shoulder. Hank stood with his gun raised, and Argo fell down the front steps. Hank ran toward Connor.
"Connor! Oh, fuck…" Hank withdrew his hand from Connor's back, seeing the blue blood.
"I'm alright," Connor gritted out.
"The fuck you are!" Hank's voice cracked. He gripped the side of his bulletproof vest, where he had attached his radio. "This is Lieutenant Hank Anderson. Detectives Connor Anderson and Wren Blanchard are down. I repeat, we've got officers down! I need backup!"
Tina radioed back: "I'm on my way!"
Connor cupped Wren's face as she trembled. A cold sweat sheened her forehead. Connor shrugged out of his jacket and placed it over her. "You're going to be all right, I promise."
"Jesus, Connor, you're bleeding all over the place!" Hank gaped at the blue blood soaking Connor's shirt.
"I'm f-f-fine," Connor trembled and blinked, hard. He dug his fingers into the dirt. Sirens sounded nearby. Connor sagged with relief. The paramedics arrived and Connor moved aside for them to work on Wren. "She's had an overdose of Red Ice, she needs her stomach pumped and possibly an intravenous nitrate—"
"Connor, for fuck's sake, let them do their job. He needs help, too!" Hank added to an android paramedic.
Connor shook off the android's hands. "I'm fine, they didn't hit anything incredibly vital—"
"You're losing thirium at a rapid rate," said the android. She scanned Connor and puckered her brow. "Biocomponent #7511p is damaged and needs immediate attention. Biocomponent #8456w also needs some repair." She helped Connor into the ambulance while the other paramedics loaded Wren onto a gurney. Connor looked around frantically for Hank. Static and warning signs flickered in his vision. He caught Hank's concerned face looking at him. Connor reached for Hank and gripped him by the shoulders.
"Make sure you get the surveillance footage from our room—"
"We've already got it. You've done enough, son. Let us handle the rest." Hank patted Connor's hand. He released Hank and leaned against the wall of the ambulance. The paramedics shut the doors and the ambulance lurched as it took off.
The android paramedic handed him a container of thirium. "Drink this."
He obliged, but Wren groaned and tossed her head from side to side. Connor looked at the android examining him. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Sir, I need you to calm down and remove your shirt."
Connor did so slowly, not wanting to look away from Wren as the other paramedics worked on stabilizing her.
"You'll need proper administration at the hospital to minimize scarring," said the android. Connor nodded, dazed.
"Will she be okay?"
"We're doing everything we can to ensure that she will be. Please, finish drinking the thirium."
Connor gritted his teeth as the android paramedic placed a bandage over his wound. He drank the rest of the thirium, still watching Wren. His biocomponents felt as if another bullet had ripped through them when he realized that he was the reason she was in this state. If he'd fought harder, if he'd kept his promise, she wouldn't be so close to death. He had wanted to go undercover to help her, but only succeeded in getting in the way and hurting her. Connor tightened his fists and tears stung his eyes.
…
Psych! Y'all thought y'all were gonna have to wait super long for this one, but I piped it out because I was suuuuuuper excited about it! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please leave some feedback!
An enormous thank you to those who consistently leave feedback! You guys keep me going. 3