Chapter 3-The Storm

"…Together, you and this device will protect the future. Watch closely and remember what you see."

9 had watched this message so many times the sequence was permanently engraved in his mind. He watched the Scientist take his glasses off and rub his nose. He wiped his face before looking back at 9:

"Good luck, 9." And then the image of the Scientist disappeared.

9 sighed and closed the lid of the box. He made his way over to the Scientist's corpse and sat beside it. The man's skin was beginning to look even more purple and his skin was so tight around his bones that it was ripping in a few places. 9 was almost afraid to touch him. Still, 9 reached out and gingerly rested one of his hands on the Scientist's cheek. He waited, pointlessly, for the Scientist to open one of his eyes, look at 9, and then scoop the ragdoll up into his hand and talk to him.

It was silly, but 9 wanted so badly to talk to the Scientist. He knew he never could but oh, how he wanted to. He wanted to be able to have a conversation with the man who was essentially his father.

When the corpse did not move, 9 sighed and gloomily got to his feet. It was getting dark. Once outside, 9 run the match he had brought with him across a bit of rubble and fizz and fire erupted from the end.

9 was surprised at how dark it was already. It was still a little early for it to be dark. About midway back to the library, 9 felt something hit his head. He reached up and ran his free hand over the top of his head and felt something wet. A raindrop fell and extinguished the flame. 9 sighed and ran the match along the floor hoping for a spark at least.

More rain fell and 9 gave up. He still held onto the match just in case. The rain would start and stop fairly quickly. Either that or there would be a storm but 9 highly doubted there'd be a storm. Or at least, he hoped there wouldn't be.

Just then, lightning cracked across the sky and thunder rumbled the Earth. 9 dropped the match and dashed to the library.

7 was frightened when she saw the lightning. What if it hit 9?

"9!" she called.

9 wasn't far from where she was. "7!" he called back.

They met up beside a car with a broken window and a door that had come off. "Oh, good! You're alright!" 7 gasped throwing her arm' around 9.

9 wrapped his arms around 7 and asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, you know me. I can never stay in one place for a long time," 7 said breathlessly.

Lightning flashed.

"Why are you really out here?" 9 asked.

7 rolled her eyes. How did 9 always know when someone was lying? "I was worried. I didn't want you to get hurt."

9 smiled. Thunder boomed. He held 7 closer to him. "Maybe we should stay in here until the storm ends," he pointed to the car.

"No!" 7 said a little louder than meant to.

9 was shocked at her volume and asked: "Why not?"

"The twins are back at the library! We can't just leave them there! I can't just leave them there! I promised I'd be back! I can't leave them! Not again!" 7 cried hysterically.

9 patted her back and said: "Alright. 7 it's alright. We'll get back to them."

7 nodded her head as 9 took her hand. The two of them rushed from their hiding spot jumping every time they heard thunder or saw a flash of lightning. 9 almost stumbled over a rock and 7 bumped into 9 at least twice.

"Sorry!" she apologized.

"It's fine!" 9 answered through the bellowing thunder.

"9! Let go! We can't run like this!"

A little reluctantly, 9 released 7's hand. The continued running, now a little faster, when there was a bright flash of lightning. It struck so close it almost blew them on their backs.

"What now?" 7 asked.

9 squinted in the dark. Another flash of light illuminated the path ahead. "We're not far from the library. I think we can make it!"

They continued running. 9 began to run ahead but 7 quickly caught up. One would always wind up ahead of the other. 9 was at least four inches or so ahead of 7 when there was a bright flash lightning. It's force pushed 9 forward and he feel on his face. He pushed himself up to look back at 7. He caught sight of her the moment her body hit the ground.

"7!" 9 cried.

He ran to her and cringed at the hole the lightning had created in her back. The patch on her back was beginning to singe. 9 could she was still partially with him and he picked her up. When he saw light again, he cringed and began dragging 7 under some rubble. There was a hole big enough for both of them to fit and 9 crawled into it. He rested 7 beside him.

"9…" 7 struggled to say.

Suddenly, her body began to spasm and 7 gripped her chest. Her voice box had exploded and she collapsed. Her back was still burning and 9 did his best to stop it.

"7. 7," 9 repeated her name over and over again but all 7 could do was look 9 in the eyes one last time before she closed her optics forever.

"No. 7!" 9 seized 7's shoulder and shook them but 7 didn't wake.

"7!" 9 cried. But it was no use, 7 was nothing but a shell now.

He picked up her mangled body and rocked it back and forth. There was a hole burned into her back, her eyes were loose in their sockets from when her insides had ruptured and there was a hole blast through her chest from the same incident. Her voice box hung limply from her chest and through the hole in her back 9 could see some of her framework had busted.

9 whimpered softly as he held 7's body closer and closer. What felt like forever had only been three hours when the storm finally stopped. 9 didn't know what to do. He just wanted to break down and cry. Unfortunately, he was incapable of such a feat. In fact, he wasn't even sure if the shuddered gasps he was taking was even him really breathing or just an imitation of the action but he really didn't care right now.

There were so many things that 7 would never be able to do now. So many things she wouldn't be able to discover. Things 9 had wanted to tell her that she could never hear. She had never made it back to the twins…

9 paused. "The twins."