CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
"What has gotten you so angry, Miss Cassandra?" Walter wrapped his arms around me in the privacy of our hut.
I sighed, turning in his arms so that I could look at his concerned face. "Nothing."
"You are not a very adept liar," he chuckled, brushing my hair back.
"It's the kids and these people who are supposed to be their parents." Once I started, I couldn't stop. I began ranting to him about all the stupid people in the world and considering there weren't many of us here, it was a frightening percentage.
He held me as I vented out on him and suddenly, everything felt a little better. "Would you like me to call for him?"
"There's no need."
My heart leapt and I quickly turned to see him standing by the door. I raised my arms and he slid me into his lap. My legs ended up across Walter's.
"I will take care of everything. There is no need to worry," David stated, stroking my hair. "Your school will be ready within the next ten days. I already have the teachers selected and I know you will approve of my choice."
"I always approve of your choice," I mumbled into his neck.
He chuckled. "Indeed…"
His long fingers began to tug at the bottom of my shirt.
Unfortunately, Daniels took this moment to knock on the door. I quickly scrambled away from them, running my fingers through my hair as I tried to look as if I hadn't been about to be ravished by two androids.
When I was as presentable as I could be, I opened the door, readying my excuse as to why they were both in here.
"Cassandra!" Daniels smiled brightly at me. "I just wanted to tell you that - " She stopped as her eyes slid over and spotted David and Walter standing by the wall with their arms by their sides. "Oh, were you doing something?"
"I just called them over because I…. I was having a bit of a nervous breakdown. With Jared missing, I feel like he could appear anytime here. I don't…. I don't feel safe anymore." There were some truths to my words, but not exactly for the same reason. Jared wasn't getting anywhere near me anytime soon because I knew he was trapped in a small cage without his tongue. David wouldn't allow him to harm me again.
Daniels took my hand. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I understand if you don't feel safe here. Do you want me to stay with you?" She quickly looked back to the androids. "No, never mind. I know they'll be able to protect you better than I ever could, but if you need somewhere to stay, my place is open to you any time."
My eyes watered. "Thank you. You don't know how much your trust and support mean to me."
"Anytime, Cassandra. I'll always be on your side." With a wide smile, Daniels began to tug me towards the door. "Do you want to hang out today?"
I gave my lovers a glance before nodding. "Sure."
To anyone else, David was perfectly composed. His porcelain face was impassive. To me, however, I knew he was irritated - not quite angry, but definitely not happy with my decision. His eyes were slightly more narrowed and it was darker.
"Enjoy your time, Miss Cassandra, Ms. Daniels," Walter, however, was still content. He had a pleasant smile on his face and seemed to be effectively ignoring an irate David.
Despite David's reaction, it was a good idea to go with Daniels. She was well connected and everyone loved her. Just by standing next to the captain, they were more inclined to speak to me. I was included in conversations whereas I had only been talked about before. I was able to tell my side of the story regarding the incident and have people actually listen to me instead of humming their absentminded agreements. There was a discussion and there was sympathy.
I finally felt like I had a chance to belong here.
"Hey, don't tell anyone this, but… I've always wondered if Walter has a… You know?" Vanessa grinned, sharing looks with all the other women. "Daniels?"
She shrugged in response, shaking her head. "Not something I thought about, but you do have me kind of curious now." She turned to me. "Have you seen his blueprints? Do you know anything about it?"
I hesitated. Should I tell them the truth? Would it fuel the rumours that I was intimately involved with them? Probably. Would they be suspicious that I knew so much about them? Maybe, but I was Peter Weyland's daughter. It shouldn't get me into too much trouble if I knew more about them than other people. "If they are the same as the David 8, then no. They are not equipped in that way. I don't know too much about the Walter model."
"Can you check?" Vanessa pushed on, leaning towards us. "I'm sure both of you have the power to access that information."
"Why do you even want to know?" Priyanka laughed. "You have a husband!"
Vanessa rolled her eyes. "So? I can still wonder! And dream…. " She let out an airy sigh.
Daniels laughed. "Or you can go ask him. I'm sure he won't mind." Her eyes slid over to the left. "He's just over there."
Vanessa turned so quickly that her long, brown hair whipped across Priyanka's face, causing the other woman to let out a startled exclamation. The brunette immediately turned back around, her cheeks were bright red and her green eyes were so wide, I thought they were going to pop out. "Oh, no! Did he hear me? How long has he been there? Why didn't you guys tell me?!"
I saw that David's head was just slightly angled towards us and knew that he had heard everything.
Priyanka smirked. "Hey! Walter! Walter, come here!" The Indian woman beckoned for the synthetic who dutifully made his way towards us.
Vanessa was dramatically gesturing for her friend to stop, but it was too late. David stood behind her with a smile on his face. "Hello, Miss Priyanka."
"My friend here has a question for you," the black haired beauty started before nudging the brunette with her elbow. "'Nessa?"
Vanessa began to stutter. "Uuh… I… I mean…" She cleared her throat a few times. The bravado had completely evaporated. "I was just…"
"She wants to know if you have a penis!" Priyanka exclaimed so loudly that I was sure half the colony could hear her.
David turned his eyes to Vanessa who looked as if she wanted to sink into the ground.
A frown slowly formed on my face. I really didn't want him to tell her. I didn't want her to fantasise about him. I didn't want her to imagine him in bed. He was mine. That was knowledge only I should be privy to.
"Is this something you wish to know, Miss Vanessa?" he asked, tilting his head.
Reluctantly, she squeaked out a quiet, "Yes."
"No, I do not have a penis," he stated, causing my breath to catch in my chest. "It has no function for what I am made to do."
He lied? He was going to get caught! I had seen the schematics for Walter and all the male anatomies were definitely present.
When evening came, I questioned him on his answer and he merely kept that polite smile on his face as he replied, "I know you want me to yourself. I have connected myself to the Covenant's mainframe and have encrypted information as necessary."
Yes, of course he did. I shook my head with a small laugh and laid my head on his chest. "I love you, David." He never ceased to impress me.
He shifted his body to claim mine.
I had a feeling this was how he expressed love because he experienced no enjoyment during sex. This was solely for my benefit. He had given himself a pleasure modification, but had long since deactivated it for reasons I was not aware of. It was as if he was afraid to give control to anyone and even a hint that he was losing it was enough for him to deprive himself.
It made me try harder because I knew he was capable of love. He was only in denial and eventually, I was going to remove that veil.
I brushed his hair back. His bangs had come free from its perfect state.
He watched me with piercing blue eyes as I continued to do as I pleased.
I ran my hand down the side of his face, feeling how soft the artificial skin was. My lips followed the same path before setting on his. Kissing him always felt good.
Before him, the men - or perhaps I should call them boys since they were terribly lacking in maturity - I had been with were sloppy at best. Their kisses were wet and disgusting. There were always too much teeth and tongue. It didn't help that some of their breath was putrid. It was a horrible mix of mint and tobacco. That bitter taste would always linger on my tongue.
It wasn't until David that I became addicted to kisses. He showed me that they could be tender and loving, but also rough and demanding. Every move he made seemed to be tailored to me. It was as if he could read my mind. He always knew what to do to make me want more.
"Miss Cassandra, young Clara is in need of your assistance." Walter told me as he walked into the hut. Only the three of us had liberal access to this place.
I untangled myself from David and donned on the clothes that were carelessly discarded on the floor before giving him one last peck on the lips.
As I passed by Walter, I also pulled him into a kiss and seeing him smile made my heart race. I really didn't spend much time with him because David was very clear that we were never to become too intimate without his knowledge. We were fine with that. It only made every moment more precious.
Walter led me to the same clearing where the little girl had met Jeff's son, Erik. She was alone this time and looked up at me with teary eyes when she noticed my presence.
"Cassie!" She stumbled into my arms and began to wail.
I knelt down to look at her more closely. "What's wrong? Don't cry. Tell Cassie what happened." I wiped her face with my sleeves.
"Th-They stole my b-b-book!" she cried. "Erik g-gave it to me and they t-took it!"
I didn't need to be told who they were. They were the pesky brats who thought they could get away with anything just because their parents were all incompetent at teaching them proper manners.
"Walter, stay with her. I'm going to find her book." Under my breath, I added, "I'm going to kill those little shits."
"Do you need me to - "
"No, just stay with her. I can handle this," I told him before running off.
It was already too late when I saw torn pages scattered all over the playground and the paperback cover was thrown haphazardly by the swing set.
Their parents were there again, chatting away as if the little devils hadn't just destroyed private property.
I picked up what was left of the book and stormed straight towards the adults. I was going to deal with the kids later if the parents weren't going to do anything.
"Oh, look! Little Miss Weyland is here again. How nice," Wilson sneered. The rest had turned to me with their arms crossed and glares on their faces.
"Yes, here I am. I really don't want to be here, but guess what? Your devil spawns can't seem to leave Clara alone. Look at what they did!" I waved the ruined book in their faces.
Cathy rolled her eyes. "What a few pieces of paper? What is so important about that?"
My anger was at a boiling point. "It's not even about what it is. It's about whom it belongs to."
"Like the stupid orphan girl?" Wilson snickered.
I clenched my hands, crinkling the damaged property further. "It doesn't matter who it belongs to. It is not yours or your children's. They have no right to take or destroy it!"
"And who's going to care about something so stupid?" Cathy rolled her eyes.
Gritting my teeth in a last ditch effort to keep the anger in, I said, "Some very important people. If you and your family and friends cannot co-exist like civilised individuals, then perhaps there is no place for you here."
With that, I walked away, leaving the children to be disciplined by their parents as they should be and if things didn't change, then I was going to make good of my words. They were on their last chance.
From the Covenant, I grabbed another childrens' book and gave it to Clara who was now accompanied by Erik. The older boy was sitting beside her and they were making a flower crown together.
"I saw this in a book once," he told her. "It was worn by a beautiful princess." After placing it on her head, he gave her a wide smile. "Princess Clara, how may I be of service?"
She giggled, her face flushed with glee and perhaps the first signs of a crush. Erik Koivu was surprisingly charming, a trait that was definitely not inherited from his father.
Jeff was good at what he did, which was music. He was also very kind and a great parent because Erik turned out wonderfully.
Feeling better, I set the book by her small knapsack and walked away to find Joan. It was time for an intervention. Where was she anyway? Her daughter was being bullied everyday and she was never around.
It wasn't as if she had a job, right now. She was actually supposed to be a teacher for the upcoming school. With how poor she was taking care of her own little girl, I wondered if she was even fit for such a position.
"Joan!" I called out when I found her just outside the colonised land with Preston who was leaning forward with half hooded eyes.
They both jumped apart, Joan looked at me with shock while Preston was glaring at me. "Cassandra!" she cried out. "What are you doing here?"
"When was the last time you saw Clara?" I asked with narrowed eyes.
She frowned, not understanding why I was asking such a question. "This morning, when I took her to the playground. Why? Is something wrong?"
She was concerned, but obviously not enough to actually see what those playground kids were doing to her daughter.
"Have you ever met those kids?" I huffed.
"I've seen them around and their parents sound really nice," she replied, confusion still clear in her face.
Nice? That was really the last word I would describe those fine, but she wouldn't know any better, would she? She was never around to watch Clara cry or have to comfort her. She was too damn busy having a tryst beneath a tree.
"I suggest that you take her to the playground and actually stay out of sight to watch what goes on because after tomorrow, you're never going to want to bring her back to those little monsters," I growled.
Preston remained hiding by the tree, no concern on his face as he heard what I had to say. He continued to look miffed that I interrupted their flirting.
"And I'm not going to tell you to stop seeing him, but maybe you should pay more attention to your daughter." She continued to look indecisive. It was as if she was truly weighing who was more important in her life and it riled me up.
I placed my hand on my stomach. When my baby is born, I swear that I would never neglect them. They were going to be the most loved child in the universe and no one would ever oppress them.
"Just see tomorrow. One day. One day and it might determine how the rest of your lives go." I didn't want Clara to grow up feeling depressed and suicidal like I did. I didn't want that for anyone.
With that, I finally left them to do whatever the Hell they wanted, but I better not see Clara crying again.
The next morning, I waited just out of sight by the playground and watched as Clara was dropped off. Two out of four kids were already on the swing set. They kept to themselves until Joan walked away. I saw her turn a corner before peeking back.
It was quiet for a few more minutes while Clara sat on the bench and took out the book I gave her.
When the remaining two children arrived, the chaos started. They surrounded Clara who was nervously trying to keep reading while they leered at her.
"Little Miss No Daddy is back. Didn't we tell you that if you're here ever again, we're going to make you regret it?"
"She's so stupid!"
"The cry baby thinks she can tattle on us? No one cares about you!"
They all laughed like hyenas until Joan storming over and picked up her teary child. "Shame on you!" she shrieked.
I sighed, feeling like some weight was lifted from my shoulder as Joan saw what was happening to little Clara. Perhaps now, I wouldn't have to intervene every day.
It was a little rocky the first few days, but when Joan realised that that Jeff and Erik were good people, she felt better. It was bittersweet because she treated Erik like a babysitter, going back to Preston and spending all her hours with him.
I couldn't complain much anymore. Clara was happy. Erik was happy. We were all rather content.
Unfortunately, the calm didn't last. I had twenty-nine days of peace before everything was turned upside down once more.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
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