A/N- I'm not proud of what happened at the end of the last chapter but I had to save Hank... It was my first playthrough and I didn't even look at the two other options. It was the only option for me...
Anyway, hope you're enjoying so far, as much as I'm enjoying writing it anyway! Hope everyone is well also!
5:10pm- Rose's house
Caleb
The setting sun burned the sky orange and glowed against the powdery white snow as they made their way up the driveway. Rose's farm was in the suburbs, hidden by the vast amount of trees that surrounded the edges. The wind turbines were closer and more in number than the trees.
The house was inviting. A cream colour and covered in snow. The porchlight was on, inviting people to knock. However, not this group. They'd been through enough.
Caleb put up his hand to stop them at the bottom of the porch steps. At least they'd be able to see if anyone was coming in case they needed to run.
"Wait here, I'll knock," he said firmly, nodding to Ruby. As soon as they'd left Pirates Cove, they made an escape plan. Just in case fighting their way out wasn't an option.
He knocked loudly upon the door, below the large wreath. He waited a few moments before ringing the bell.
He frowned at the door, turning to shake his head at the others. Kara led the way around the house towards the backyard. There was a greenhouse, and a young man chopping wood.
"Hello?" Kara began, inching forward slowly. Caleb resisted the urge to stop her going further. "I'm looking for Rose. Is she here?"
The boy stopped but didn't put down the axe. He stared at them, wide-eyed.
"What do you want with her?"
"I need to talk to her."
The boy shook his head firmly. "She doesn't wanna talk. Go away." He started to chop the wood again, pretending that they weren't there.
Kara inched forward again, pleadingly. "Please, I really need to see her."
An older woman with dark, curling hair stepped out from the greenhouse. Her eyes glanced between the group and the boy.
"I'm Rose. What can I do for you?"
Kara spoke, voice trembling. "I was told you could help us."
Rose's eyebrows rose. The boy's face darkened.
"Help you?"
Kara raised her left hand, taking away the 'skin'. Luther joined her side, carrying Alice. Rose took in a sharp breath but smiled.
"Come on, it's better if we talk inside." She looked around nervously, ushering the boy towards the house.
Luther placed his hand on Kara's shoulder as they followed the two inside.
"Do you think we can trust them?"
Caleb shared a glance with Ruby before Kara responded:
"We have to be careful. If it feels wrong, we get out fast, okay?"
"I'm with you," Luther replied.
"Just stay on your guard. They might seem nice, but we should be careful anyway," Ruby murmured.
Caleb opened the door slowly, letting it open fully to take in the surroundings before stepping over the threshold. They were in the kitchen. The curtains had hens printed on them. The table sat in the middle of the room, accompanied by a bowl of fruit. There was a Christmas tree in the far corner of the living room surrounded by pictures of people.
Probably their family…
"Come in!" Rose beamed. Kara held Alice close as they neared the older woman. Luther closed the door behind them. "What's your name?" She asked, leaning down slightly to speak to the child.
"Alice," she whispered.
Rose felt her forehead, then looked at Kara sharply.
"She's running a fever."
Kara looked guilty, pulling Alice closer.
"We spent the last few nights outside. She's exhausted."
Rose smiled sadly. "There's a spare room upstairs. You can put her to bed, and I'll bring her something to eat." She turned. "Adam, will you show them upstairs?"
Adam didn't smile or nod. But he uncrossed his arms and led the way upstairs. Caleb and Ruby stayed in the living room.
Rose smiled as she began to take something out of the fridge and put it on a plate.
"Please sit and make yourselves at home."
The assassins glanced at each other before slowly sliding into the chairs.
"So are you two human or android?" She asked, placing the plate into the microwave. Calmly as if she was asking if they ate apples or bananas.
"We're human," Caleb told her quietly. "We're just helping them get to safety."
"That's very brave, and very kind," she said, taking the plate from the microwave and some cutlery from the drawer. She shook her head. "There aren't many who would be willing to help them. I'm just going to take this up to the little girl, I won't be a moment."
Once Rose was out of earshot, Ruby swivelled in her chair, so her knees leant against Caleb's leg.
"Well? Do you think they can be trusted?"
Caleb pressed his lips together thoughtfully. Then shook his head.
"I don't know. I just don't want another repeat of Zlatko. Give it time."
Ruby stared at him for a short moment before nodding.
"You're right. I don't want a repeat of that either." She sighed, slouching back into the chair. Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Adam came into the kitchen. He leant on the counter, lifting his head when Rose came in and sat at the kitchen table, followed by Kara.
"I didn't get your names," said Rose, looking between the three of them.
They each said their names and Rose gestured for Kara to sit.
"This is my son, Adam, and I'm Rose. But you knew that already." She paused for a moment as her smile turned into a frown. Then she continued gently. "So, are you gonna tell me what a deviant is doing in the snow with a little girl?"
Kara sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.
"It's a long story… All that matters now is that we move on from here and start a new life."
Rose nodded slowly. Adam didn't seem as convinced.
Kara tilted her head. "Why are you helping us? Most humans hate androids…"
Rose lowered her head, looking at her hands for a moment before looking the three of them in the eye in turn.
"My people were often made to feel their lives were worthless… Some survived but only because they found others to help them along the way."
A small silence took hold as Rose's words sunk in. After a few minutes, Kara took a deep breath and continued.
"You and your son live here alone?"
Rose glanced at Adam, smiling sadly. "My husband passed away two years ago. Adam, and I, we've just been trying to scrape by… We grow vegetables to sell at the market. We'll never be rich but there'll always be food on the table." She chuckled shortly. Adam tightened his arms around himself.
Kara shook her head a little. "I don't know how to thank you. Alice wouldn't have survived another night outdoors…"
"I just try to lend a helping hand when I can."
Ruby leant forward, palms flat on the wooden table.
"Will you be able to help them across the border? As you've helped so many others?"
Rose stiffened. "The only way is over the river and it's mostly frozen in winter. It's very risky. And after that android's speech on tv, everyone's on edge. Fear makes people do rash things. It's probably safer for you to stay here until things settle down."
"But is that safer? Would it be better to get them across the border before everyone else wants to?" Caleb cut in, straining to keep his voice calm.
"We can't keep hiding like this," Kara added softly. "Alice needs to feel safe and have a normal life. We have to get across that border. No matter what. Please, you've got to help us."
Rose waited for a few moments, pondering an answer. She looked as though she might argue before a shout stopped her.
"Rose! Come quickly!" A woman with short black hair and a blue cap beckoned Rose as she ran back into the laundry room. Another android waited next to a curtain when they got there.
"What's going on?" Rose asked, as the android pulled back the curtain for them to see.
"It's Mary," he explained, "she just shut down."
A third android was holding another in his arms. He was crying as he held her and looked up as Rose came closer.
"We escaped together," he started, between sobs. His LED flashed red as he spoke. "We used to talk about what we would do once we got across the border." He paused as he glanced down at the android in his arms. "I loved her. I loved her more than anything. What would I do without her?"
Caleb's heart ached. He saw Ruby's lips tremble and put his arm around her gently.
"Let's leave them be…" Rose whispered, turning around. As they did, they saw Alice standing there craning her neck to see around them.
"Alice?" Kara said slowly. "What are you doing here? You should be resting."
Alice pouted, still looking around them. "I wasn't sleepy…"
Kara put her hand on Alice's shoulder.
"Come on, Alice."
But Alice moved around Kara and wandered over to the androids. She stood there watching them, sadly.
"She didn't wanna stay in her room any longer. You alright, Kara?" Luther asked, brow furrowing.
"Yes… I'm fine," Kara said, taking Alice's hand and guiding her away.
Caleb pulled Ruby away before she could do anything that didn't need doing. He glanced suddenly at the wall, reading the words quickly before the curtain was pulled back again to hide them.
He closed the door ajar, before stopping her.
"He loved her more than anything…" she whispered, voice trembling.
"There was nothing we could do, Ruby. I'm sorry." He sighed, ploughing ahead. "On the wall… they wrote 'RA9 will save us. Show us the way, RA9.'"
Ruby sniffed. "What?"
Caleb nodded. "Other than the fact it's written on someone else's wall, it's less obsessive than the writing Vera said she's seen so far."
Ruby opened her mouth to respond but Adam's loud voice from the kitchen stopped them.
"We can't hide them! Not after what those deviants did today! It's too dangerous!" Adam was pacing behind Rose who was washing the dishes silently. "Do you know what'll happen if the police find them here? We'll go to prison, Mom! Do you understand me? Prison!" He pulled his mother around gently, but she interrupted him before he could go any further.
"Adam! We've already talked about this!"
"No! I won't back down this time!" His voice said otherwise. It was desperate. Pleading. "You're gonna ruin our lives, and for what? For a bunch of machines?"
Rose took in a deep breath, restraining herself from shouting.
"They're not machines! They are alive!"
Adam's eyes widened. "I am alive. You are alive. They… they're nothing!" Caleb blinked, eyes flickering to where the three androids sat on the couch. "And none of this would be happening if Dad was still here!"
Rose pointed at him warningly. "I will not stand for that kind of talk!"
But Adam ploughed on. "I'm not going to prison because you wanna help these freaks!"
"That is enough, Adam! That's enough!" Rose screamed, finally stopping her son in his tracks. He blinked, surprised. But then he walked away, stopping at the living room window next to the Christmas tree.
Kara slowly made her way over to Rose who leant against one of the chairs.
"Don't mind him," she said slowly. "Sometimes he just boils over. It's been hard since his dad passed away. But he's a fine boy!" She sighed, standing straight. "I'll go see about getting you across the border tonight, okay? You stay here, I won't be long."
Rose grabbed her coat and left, hurrying out into the snow. For them.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea…" Ruby protested, watching Rose drive away.
"What else are we going to do? We can't stay here, and we can't just wing it," Caleb argued.
"There's got to be something we can do without putting other people in danger. We'd also be putting the androids in danger by crossing that river."
"Don't you think if there was, we'd have found it by now?" He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Ruby, the river may be our only chance if we can't get over the border another way. It's the price to be free!"
"Look, I'm not going to have another shouting match in someone else's house," Ruby warned, walking away from him.
Caleb could feel the anger rising but decided to let her go. Kara sat on the edge of the couch talking quietly to Adam. Luther and Alice stood further away, in the kitchen, his hands on her shoulders protectively.
"Hey, Alice. How are you doing?" Caleb asked her, kneeling down. She placed her sad eyes on him and tried a smile.
"I'm ok…"
"Do you wanna try sleeping?"
But before Alice could answer, there was a loud knock at the door. Everyone whipped around, exchanging panicked glances. Adam glanced out of the window. He leapt away.
"It's the police! What are we gonna do? They know we're here! We have to open the door! I knew this was gonna happen! I knew it!"
"Adam, calm down!" Caleb hissed, shaking him a little. He moved past Adam to look out of the window. There was one cop, looking over the house. No one else in sight. He turned back to Adam. "Everything will be fine. But you have to keep calm. Otherwise you'll get your mother into trouble too."
"Luther, take Alice and hide upstairs!" Kara instructed, hurrying to hide the evidence. "Ruby, can you close the laundry room door?" She swept an android uniform into the top drawer of the cupboard it was on and closed it firmly.
Ruby closed the door gently, nodding to confirm it was done. Caleb pushed closed the door under the stairs to hide the blue blood, leaning against it with a sigh.
"Hello? Is anyone in?" The policeman called from outside.
"Hurry, Kara!" Ruby cautioned. She took Caleb's hand and pulled him upstairs after Luther and Alice.
They waited on the landing, holding their breath and watching through the banister as Kara finally opened the door.
"Good evening, Ma'am. Sorry to disturb you. We've had reports of androids in the area. With all this deviant business going on, you can't be too careful. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? May I come in?"
"Of course," came Kara's voice, almost calmly.
"Evening, young man."
"Good evening," Adam said slowly.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Kara asked quickly.
"I'd love one." The policeman sounded almost jolly. "Have you noticed anything unusual recently? Unexpected visitors?"
"No… No, nothing in particular."
"Is anyone else in the house?"
Kara hesitated, then replied. "There's… my daughter upstairs."
"Do you have any androids here?" The policeman pushed on, seemingly nothing amiss.
"We used to for…helping in the garden. But we got rid of it."
The sound of a mug clinked back onto the table. A bang sounded from the bedroom behind them. The assassins held their breath.
"Hm, your daughter seems to have woken up."
Ruby shuffled away to see if Alice was okay.
"What's your name, son?" The policeman asked Adam. Caleb closed his eyes, hoping that Adam would keep calm when he answered.
"Adam… My… my name is Adam."
"Is everything alright, Adam?"
"The androids… they…"
No! No! No!
"He's just shaken up about this deviants business," Kara jumped in quickly.
"Do you know anything about deviants? Have you seen any?" The policeman pressed.
"No…" Adam began. "No… I haven't seen anything…"
There was a small silence. But it pressed heavily on Caleb who couldn't identify any noises coming from the kitchen.
"I'd better go," The policeman said finally. "Thanks for the coffee. Have a nice evening." Caleb watched him go to the door and then stop as a loud noise came from the laundry room. His heart skyrocketed.
"Is there anyone else in the house?"
Kara rushed in front of the door to stop him.
"It's nothing… The washing machine. It's an old model, it makes a terrible racket." She laughed softly.
The policeman nodded slowly. "Sorry for the inconvenience. Good evening, ma'am. Good evening, Adam."
A collective sigh of relief sounded through the entire house as the door clicked shut. Ruby tilted her head questioningly and Caleb nodded. They were safe now.
"He's gone," Luther exclaimed, relieved. He poked his head around the curtains.
Alice hugged Kara who laughed.
"It's okay, Alice! We'll be safe now."
"It's Rose!" Luther called to them. They waited in the hall until she arrived looking worried.
"Get yourselves ready. We leave tonight."
