CHAPTER 11: Four Itchy Tasty
The rapid fire of machine guns and EMP blasts welcomed the silver-haired machine on his arrival at the sinking human settlement. Smoke produced by Grün's engines thickened the air and reduced visibility. Lesser machines surrounded the area; driven mad from corruption and by Grün's presence. He could see the dots of YoRHa Fighters whizzing the skies while firing at the lesser machines and hitting Grün. Their fire had no effect from the EMP shields deflecting the close-range attacks.
Grün itself hasn't made it to shore yet, his gigantic body still underwater, only it head visible above the surface. A battleship's remain are sinking on both sides of the body.
He received the cries of the machine across the network in its desperation to reconnect. The Goliath machine cried, "Mother! Mother!"
The silver-haired machine sighed with irritation at the A.I. built into it. No wonder it went berserk so many centuries ago.
No matter. The crazed machine will soon find comfort in death.
Adam made quick bursts of his teleportation toward the machine. Before teleporting into battle, he read through the data on Grün and its construction to know to strike the EMP generators across its body. Without hesitation he attacked the exposed one on its back with energy blasts without mercy.
2B and 9S who were busy hitting the same EMP generator as him.
"2B! It's that machine!" He overheard the teen android shout.
Their advances and attempts at hurting him are the last of his considerations. Even as Adam grew irritated they missed he was helping them and not attacking.
"I'm not here to fight you!" He yelled through the chaos. Without hesitation, he teleported away to dodge a strike from 2B while shooting a blast of energy at the EMP generator core. It broke with a satisfying boom.
A beeping sound followed by a voice over a Pod intercom. "Confirmed elimination of the electromagnetic interference. Stand by for incoming satellite laser strike."
"That won't disable it!" Adam interjected.
But, it was too late. A laser beam shot from the sky and hit Grün, but the machine only deflected the powerful shot into the surrounding water.
"It has an electromagnetic barrier across its whole body you fools!" He yelled at them. "Destroy those damn generators!"
Once again, he teleported away from the two androids. With the data he collected from the network on Grün, he knew there were several generators on its belly, but he had to figure out how to make Grün stand? Seconds later, more YoRHa Fighters arrived. They paid more attention to firing at Grün than him.
They all want to die, don't they? He thought with an ounce of sarcasm.
BOOM!
Mortar fire came from the shore. The blast impacting Grün in the face. That's it!
He teleported to where the mortar shot origin. The androids 2B and 9S worked the weapon.
"Hit it in the mouth!" He commanded them.
Their swords flashed at Adam, having realized that he was there and none too happy to see him.
"I'm not here to fight you." He stated at them again.
"Why are you here?" 2B asked in a strained tone.
"To protect her," he replied cryptically. "Now, shoot the mortar into its mouth!"
After a moment of hesitation, 2B aimed the cannon, while 9S kept an eye on him. It took only a second for the mortar cannon to fire again. Her shot rang true. The impact sucker punched the machine. Flames and heavy smoke rose from the inside of Grün's mouth.
Adam could hear the rage from the machine from across the network. The water receded as the Goliath machine stood. In doing so, revealing the EMP generators across its body. The electrical bits of code attempting to get into the network. It offered a brief glimpse into Grün's next attack.
"Get your shields ready!"
The next second, it emitted an EMP from the giant machine.
WHooP! WHooP!
It banged without mercy against his shield. And the two androids. One of its long arms raised—
"We gotta bail 2B!"
They ran as he teleported away.
He made a series of teleports at Grün. The unprotected YoRHa Fighters sunk to the bottom of the ocean. He assaulted the generators on its belly; Adam heard of the explosions on the back where the others met the same fate.
Fire. Fire. Dodge. Slash! BOOM!
At the second generator he picked up a loud woosh from behind him. He turned to see what it was.
Oh shit! Was his last thought before the human-made missile hit Grün in the mouth. A shield erected—Kur-kur—BOOM! ba-BWOOOooooM!
—but shattered once the shock wave compressed. Fire blinded him. His vision went black.
A worried frown greeted him. Tender, hazel-green eyes met his own, sadness lurking below their depths. Her words forced as she hesitated to say, "All right, just... just come back safely."
He didn't understand at the time why she fretted, but now...
Lilia... I promise...
The blast sent the machine flying at an odd angle towards land. His sensors scrambled from the force. Heat generated burned patches of his clothes.
The froom-froom of shrapnel cut into his clothes and skin. Was there another thrown as he?
Secondary explosions cracked the air from the massive machine. The atmosphere sucked inward.
Self-preservation codes assessed with the last of consciousness to erect a barrier. A whoosh of green, tree bark and the hard thud of his body colliding with dirt. The impact shattered the barrier. The rest of his body absorbed the rest of the g-force from the collision. A long slide as his lower back. Legs slammed on a tree. His upper body whipped around the tree trunk. A swing of his legs before stopping. His shocked face banged on the dirt and tall grass.
The fierce impact knocked out his sensors. Only the cold, calculating drive of the network remained. A faint whirr of code, commands, and assessments as white noise.
The click-clicking of his body self-repairing became a steady, harmonious sound. If he could concentrate hard enough the sense of the wires popping back into their proper place. His exoskeleton remained undamaged; thanks to the barrier erected at the moment of the explosion that absorbed most the g-force. However, his carbon composite skin either had tears or blemishes on his right side of his body from landing on the hard dirt.
Adam wasn't sure how long he was out, but by the time he woke up, the sun was beginning to set. With great care, he made himself stand and tested out his motor functions, which passed inspection. He sighed with annoyance noticing his glasses had broken and the right side of the frames split. He dropped them onto the ground before surveying woods he landed from the explosion.
It was a wooded landscape similar to the one he met Lilia in, with tall oaks and pines covered in ivy. Dense grass and foliage covered the ground. The ground where he slid from the force of the explosion created a long gash in the dirt at least three hundred yards long and five feet wide. The great oak he hit had severe damage to the bark from the impact.
Golden-orange hues overlaid the sunken city in the last light of the day until morning. The once blue sky was now a bright reddish-orange that gradated to a dull purple. Golden-yellow clouds peppered the sky as the last cries of seagulls echoed throughout the shore. The buildings themselves reflected the sun's light in a deep saturated gold, giving them a brilliant radiance despite their half-demolished state. The once vibrant blue of the salty sea was now a dull gray-green with lines of faded orange at the top of the wave crests. Bright oranges reflected the sun's path in wide lines. Where Grün lay defeated had the scattered remains of its oversized machinery and exoskeleton. Its body found company with the ruins sinking into the ocean.
O little one, go find your mother in the afterlife and better friends. He thought with solemnness to the poor child forced to fight and hated everything as a result. Poor broken little machine.
As he was going to teleport, he heard a groan behind him. Curious, he investigated. Ten meters from where he landed was one of the YoRHa Fighters in its "mech" mode. The body and limbs torn and sparked from its own impact with the earth. In the casing was that if the android 9S. He was conscious, injured, and none too pleased to see him.
"Well, what do we have here?" Adam said to the teen android, crossing his arms; smugness in his demeanor.
"Get the hell away you damn machine!" The android snapped as he approached. "Pod—!"
"Now, there's no need for that." Adam said to him in an even flat tone.
"S-stay back machine!"
"I considered it." He told him in a bored tone. "However, I have a friend who would be displeased if she learned I left you here."
"I don't need your help! And you—you stay away from Lilia!" 9S blurted out.
Adam huffed at the damaged android. "Humph. You're not in any shape to tell me what to do little android. And why should I stay away from her? She's capable of deciding all on her own."
A thought came to mind. How did this android know who his 'friend' was? Lilia had talked of 9S and 2B, so it stood to reason she, in turn, told them of him. If that were the case, it wouldn't be out of the question if they weren't—keeping tabs since he and the androids weren't the best of friends.
Adam tested his hypothesis. "But... I guess... you know we have been spending time together, haven't you?"
9S cringed.
Hit a sore spot, haven't I? "You and the other android have been spying, haven't you? Funny how you two haven't stopped our meetings or told her I'm a machine."
"When she finds out—!"
"She already knows. And I know who she is too." Adam revealed.
"You—!" Shock overcame the android's face, unable to find the words needed.
Then, his Pod piped up, "9S needs to remember the mission statement of the Commander."
"I'm well aware Pod!"
Oh, isn't this interesting? A nice little weave these androids have been doing in their spare time.
Adam chuckled, taking a wild guess at what the Pod spoke of. That hypothesis he kept to himself, a much bigger worry on his mind. "But don't worry, I won't hurt her. Or else we wouldn't be having this conversation. Nor would I have assisted with defeating Grün. She's the reason I was there. After all, he presented a danger to her.
"Now," he continued, annoyance growing in his mind, "do you want my help or not? I must get back to her, I promised to return to our meeting spot as soon as Grün is defeated. I do not wish for her to worry longer than necessary."
9S gritted out, "I don't need your help!"
"Are you certain?" Adam said as he raised a brow, doubting the little android's capability. "These woods have machines driven mad with a corruption. They will consume easy prey such as yourself in seconds. And I think you should see Lilia for yourself."
"Enemy machine has made valid points 9S." His pod droned out. "Lilia's safety is the top priority."
The little android made a surprised face at the pod's suggestion. After a moment 9S said, "Pod if he tries anything funny you are to shoot."
"Affirmative."
Adam nodded. "Good. Now that's out of the way."
He then removed the bits of the Fighter that refused to budge, bending and breaking the alloy metal resulting in freeing the reluctant and paranoid android. Once released, Adam grabbed him by the collar; the machine glanced at the android's right leg which had sustained wounds. On inspection the leg appeared broken but not fatal. The silver-haired machine groaned as he lifted the less-than-pleased android before he teleported to where he left Lilia.
She wasn't there.
Strung through the river bank were her possessions as if thrown. Craters and welts dug up the rocky ground from a large and heavy impact. 9S saw the same signs and knew something was wrong. The difference between them, 9S thought Adam was the cause.
"What game is this?! Where's Lilia you psycho!?" The distraught teen android shouted at him.
Adam dropped 9S on the ground.
"Ow! What the—!" The teen android growled though the pain of the sudden drop to the ground and the throb in his broken leg.
Dread and panic knotted in a tight ball in the machine's chest. His usual stoic red eyes glowed a dangerous pink. In a digitized voice he commanded to the paranoid android, "I don't have time for you! I need to find Lilia! Stay here."
ACTIVATE SEARCH ENGINES
!WARNING!
DETECTED: Signs of a struggle.
SCAN:
Large Impacts On Ground
Gashes 20 Centimeters Within Ground.
Gashes On Stream Bank Rocks.
Gashes Within Trees.
Foot Prints Indicate Unknown Target Is Bipedal With Curved Rectangle Feet
Estimated Weight 362 Kilograms.
[Target: LILIA] Items Remain.
HYPOTHESIS: Unknown Target Is a Bipedal Machine That Is Hostile. More Than Likely Machine Model 20056 CODENAME: Medium Biped.
CHECK: Network Connection To Machine...
Negative. Machine Disconnection.
!WARNING!
[Target: HOSTILE] Corruption Detected. Caution Advised.
[Target: LILIA] Foot Prints CONFIRMED.
HIGHLIGHT [Prints]
ETC: 136 minutes 26 seconds.
DIRECTION: 142 Degrees South South East.
[Target: HOSTILE] Foot Prints CONFIRMED.
HIGHLIGHT [Prints]
DIRECTION: 142 Degrees South South East.
OBJECTIVES:
Objective 1: Follow [Target: LILIA]
Status: None Available
Objective 2: Enable Safety Protocols Of [Target: LILIA]
Status: None Available
Objective 3: Annihilate [Target: HOSTILE]
Status: None Available
FAILURE PROTOCOLS:
None Available...
None Available...
None Available...
OBJECTIVE CONFIRMATION:
Accept.
UNIT DATA BACKUP REQUIRED:
Accept.
!WARNING!
Machine Model 341102-A. Codename: ADAM Emotional Stabilizers Activated.
Enhancing Motor Systems To New Maximum.
All Systems Are GO.
—xxx—
Booted feet stepped on tall grass and dead leaves favoring one foot more than the other. The left ankle throbbed in the shoe encasing it. Hands gripped her metal staff so tight the knuckles turned white, desperate for support. Blood dripped from her right arm from her shoulder to her elbow. She had sacrificed the bottom half of her shirt to tie around the limb to stop the profuse bleeding, using the knife strapped to her belt to cut it in strips. Adrenaline in her bloodstream slowed as an uneasy sense of dread unfolded in her.
Lilia didn't know where she was in the vast forest and it was getting dark.
She had been fleeing a crazed machine for a long while. As she waited for Adam at their campsite late-afternoon a large, crazed machine with menacing, glowing red eyes ran into the camp. The machine attacked her without provocation and incoherent screaming wanting to eating her. Lilia escaped as she fled into the vast woodlands with the machine hot on her heels. She used the cover of trees to dodge the large machine, only having brief intermissions to catch her breath before resuming running for her life. The machine hit the trees in a frenzy and made gasping sounds of breathing while rambling its need to feast on her.
It was during this time, in her panic, she sprained her left ankle on a hidden log in dense grass. Her movements slowed, Lilia agonizing over the pain and keeping herself from falling due to exhaustion. In a bid to survive she tricked the insane machine into getting stuck between two great oaks as it leapt at her. The machine's crazed insanity being its downfall as it reached for her but unable to do so.
As she limped away she gloated, "Get fucked ya hunk'a scrap!"
But now the immediate danger of consumption by that thing had passed, she now faced new problems. With no idea where she was and darkness soon approaching she had no flashlight to help. Not only that, she needed her injuries treated. She faced a high risk of infection on the gaping cut on her arm, plus the swelling and pain on her ankle was excruciating. For intents and purposes, she was now an easy meal to any predators within the woods both organic and, now, machine alike.
Lilia took a moment to rest against a tree to think on what to do next and calm herself. While her heartbeat evened a new sound came into her ears. It was a faint 'eeeee' sound followed by a pop. She listened again.
Then it dawned on her.
Fireworks! The amusement park must be nearby!
With haste, she scanned the sky through the thicket of the tree tops. The darkness approaching aided her search for the popping explosions. Once she spotted the flaring lights, she headed in that direction. The hope of getting help renewed her energy to fight exhaustion and grit through the pain on her ankle.
Once I get to the park, I'll have one of the machines take me to the twins.
As she made her way to the amusement part, dread knotted a hard lump in her gut—
Kur-crump!
Thunk!
"Want..."
Pop!
"... Eat..."
Snap!
"Meat..."
Her breathing turned ice-cold as she dared to turn behind her. In the distance, bobbing between the blackened trees, were the twin red orbs named 'Suffering' and 'Death'.
Thum-thump! Thum-thump! Thum-thum!
Tired, achy, needing, wanting to live. Feet limping as fast as possible. Her body's muscles working to launch her forward.
Weeeeeeuuurrmp!
The machine launched itself at her. The hooked hand slashed at her back. Red ran from shoulder to shoulder. Her piercing scream echoed in the thicket. Her body fell to the bed of leaves. Frantic, she turning to face the mechanical demon.
She swung her staff at the machine—knocking it in the face. Undeterred, the machine lunged its hooked hands trying to tear apart at her ribs. Lilia raising her staff vertical above her—catching the hooked hands on the opposite ends. The crazed machine pushed. Her body strength failed in her defensive stance as it pressed on her throat, choking her. She scrambled to kick the machine off her delicate neck. Her puny human body had little effect; eyes throbbing from the pressure and lack of oxygen.
It ended with her piercing scream, the crunch of bone, and the tang of iron in the air.
The machine giggled with glee, "Umm... tasty... more!"
—xxx—
The silver-haired machine picked a scream along with a faint sound of a crunch. His pumping legs working to meet the sounds. He knew Lilia sustained injuries and bled. She had been on the run from a corrupted machine for a couple of hours.
He made visual contact. It was on top of her, Lilia kicking it in desperation.
He wasted no time to fire an energy blast. Another crunch and scream filled the forest. A tang of iron filled the night air. The energy blast incapacitated the machine and sent it flying off her. It cracked with a satisfying twist of metal against a great oak. Its body sparking and unmoving. Adam rushed to Lilia's side.
Blood seeped from her left hand. It had bitten two of her fingers off, the forefinger and middle. The sight made Adam see the pale bone and deep redness of her flesh and blood. It sickened him and brought forth new protective urges coursing his body. Her right arm wrapped in strips from her shirt. It too, reddened from her blood.
"Lilia! Lilia!" He cried out as he slid to her side. As he began lifting her up, then noticing her back was bleeding from another deep gash. His arm sticky with blood and dirt.
Tears ran from her eyes as she huffed, "The... twins... they—" Sentence unfinished, she turned her head and the contents of her stomach spewed on the forest floor. Her bronze skin paling. Her body twisting with the force of her dry heaves. A cool sweat dotted her forehead.
Twins? Adam scanned through his memories. Then, he realized she must be talking of her 'caretakers' at the android Resistance camp. However, she needed immediate medical attention, and she looked horrific from her wounds.
"Lilia! I—I must teleport!" He exclaimed.
Adam adjusted her within his arms before making that split-second connection outside the Resistance camp. In an instant they were there. Lilia shouted and groaned from the teleportation as she clutched her stomach, gasped for breath, and tears welled in her eyes. It knotted his chest to see her in such deep pain. He steeled himself as he sprinted inside the camp.
Adam shouted, "Where are the twins?! Lilia needs help!"
The whole camp fixed their eyes on the intruder, stopping whatever they were doing. Two pink-haired twin androids came out of a medical tent, their green eyes in shock at seeing Lilia in such a state.
"Shit!" Cursed the wavy-haired one. "Quick! Into the back room!"
They guided him to the back end of the camp, all three hurried into the private space. The same android burst open the door before he and her twin walked through before shutting the door behind him.
"Set her on the bed!" The straight-haired one commanded.
From there they pushed him out of the way. The twins arranged pillows with android swiftness to lift her legs and still lay her flat on the mattress while keeping her mangled hand up.
"Lilia!" Exclaimed the wavy-haired one. "Where's the medical kit we gave you?"
"My... room..." She groaned out, her voice hoarse and ragged.
"At Pascal's village, yes?"
Lilia nodded.
She whipped around to turn her attention to him, "You! I don't know who you are, but you know her. Go to the pacifist village in the forest and get that kit. Go get it! Now!"
"I—"
"Shut it! Get that damn kit now! It's orange with a red cross on it." The android commanded again in an even harsher tone.
Confliction knotted his circuitry, desperation welled within his chest. He wanted to stay by Lilia's side, but he knew the errand he was being sent to was important.
"Please... Adam..." His human rasped out. "Please..." Her uninjured hand caressed his in a silent plea.
His throat constricted as he nodded and teleported.
—xxx—
The twins stared in shock as the machine left them in a golden light. But, recovered to the immediate priority of treating Lilia's wounds.
"Lilia listen to me!" Devola implored her. "We have to stanch the bleeding. And that ointment will not cut it for this wound. We have to cauterize it."
Lilia's eyes widened at the prospect. "Oh God! Oh God!" She said gritting through her teeth.
Popola continued to keep her wounded hand raised and squeezed it at the wrist, trying to stop the blood flow. Her delicate, android hand staining with Lilia's human blood. The twins nodded at one another as Devola left the room in a haste, slamming the door behind her. Lilia tried her best to calm herself even though the tears coming out of her eyes said otherwise.
Less than a minute later, Adam had returned, the kit within his hands.
"Good! Good!" Said Popola. "Set it on the table by the bed and open it."
Immediately performing the task twin commanded him. Adam waited for more instructions in shocked haze. His face a stone mask to hide the panic swirling underneath.
"Now, I need you to hold her like I'm doing. Keep pressure on her wrist. I need to glove up and prep." She explained in a calm tone.
His throat constricted as he walked to the left side of the bed to do as asked by the pink-haired twin. Lilia placed a gentle hand on his forearm, feeling the black leather. In her own way, without words conveying she was all right even if scared. He looked her in the eye, the pink blazing in his shocked eyes. He couldn't bear looking at the serious injury to her hand. They communicated to each other in silence while Popola washed and gloved her hands. When she finished, Popola took out bandages, gauze, saline, and ointment out of the medical kit.
While that happened, Devola returned. In her hands was a metal container, more bandages, and gauze. With android swiftness, she set the items on the table next to the medical kit before washing her own hands and gloved. She joined her sister on the left side of the bed and assisted her twin with cleaning the wound with the saline solution and a clean towel. Lilia hissed at the movements to her hand, trying not to think of them seeing the inside of her fingers.
"OK, Lilia." Popola said in a soothing gentle voice. "Devola is going to use silver nitrate to cauterize the wound. It may sting a bit."
That's what they all say!
"Adam!" She exclaimed as she tightened her hold on his arm. She watched Devola open the metal container and pull out a wooden stick with a dark gray substance at the tip within her hand. Lilia squeezed her eyes shut.
Lilia felt the sting a few seconds later. Her teeth gritted as she groaned in pain as the chemical burned at the wounds. Her hand clenching harder at Adam's arm. Those few seconds were the longest. Then, it began again as Devola got another silver nitrate stick and repeated the motion with the half-missing middle finger. Her breath ragged as her body coped with the blood loss and the pain from the chemical burn. Opening her eyes, the twins applied a thin layer of healing ointment and sterile gauze to her wounds before wrapping the fingers and hand in linen. Popola motioned to Adam to let go of her wrist. The pressure no longer needed. He did as asked. Lilia noticed his hands were shaking and the whole time his face became a stone mask.
"Adam..." Lilia whispered to him. The gentle tone pulled his eyes away from her wounded hand to meet her's eyes. A faint detection of softness eased into his features.
"OK." Said Popola. "Now the big injury is taken care of, we need to treat your other wounds."
Lilia relayed to them her injury to her back and her twisted ankle since they couldn't see them. They set to task on her wounds, silence filled the room as they worked. Her back being the second toughest, considering the location and having Adam to support her injured hand to keep it raised. They removed her shirt and the slice from the machine claw had torn the straps of her bra. The abashed human used the blanket to cover herself at the removal of those articles of clothing.
Devola used silver nitrate sticks at locations on her back that continued to bleed. Then applied the healing ointment and bandaging it up before setting her to lay flat on the mattress. The twins split chores afterward; Devola to her arm and Popola to her ankle. Adam stayed on the left side of the bed to let Devola work, kneeling beside Lilia.
It was hard for Lilia to look at her mangled, bandaged hand. Her brain knew it was missing two fingers, but her nerves—she felt—those two fingers move. She could recognize the sensation as the fingers caressed the side of Adam's stoic face even through the layer of gauze and bandages. It greatly disturbed her. The disconnect between what she saw and her body's nerve memory.
Hesitation in Adam's eyes as he touched her bandaged hand as if it were thin, delicate glass not flesh and bone. His reddish eyes softened to gaze at her; pink flashing beyond the pupils.
He murmured, weak with soul crushing ache, "I am... so sorry..."
Tears welled in Lilia's hazel-green eyes. "Adam... don't..."
The pink-haired twins exchanged a silent glace at each other. In the middle of the twin's treatment, 2B burst into the room who formed a battle-ready stance at the sight of Adam.
"You!"
Lilia shook her head at her, needing to stifle the aggressiveness that 2B projected. "No! No fightin'! He's all right!" She blurted out to her.
"But he's—!"
At this point Devola interjected, none too happy at the impending confrontation which involved a seriously injured patient who was in the middle of treatment. "You heard her! No fighting in here! Now, what the hell do you want?"
Confliction rattled 2B's mind, unable to formulate words before she informed, "I—I need a scanner to locate faint black box signals."
"To locate your friend, yes?"
2B and Lilia looked Adam.
"I know where he is." He continued. "He's where you two play peeping tom."
Surprise painted across the android's face. "How—!"
"He admitted as much and I suspected. Now go. He suffered injuries, but they aren't fatal."
"Go 2B. I'll be all right. Help 9S." Lilia assured her android friend.
"But he's—"
A weak shake of Lilia's head stopped the agitated android from speaking. "Go help 9S... please." She insisted, worry over her friend in need at the forefront of her thoughts.
The twins gave the party a perturbed expression. However, it was Devola who interjected, "I don't know what you guys are talking about, but if you want to help 9S, you best get going. Popola will give you the scanner. We'll be watching over Lilia. Now, get out. She needs rest." There was no wiggle room with her in the finality of her tone.
Lilia noticed how 2B pursed her lips and struggled to comply. In a slow ease, she did as she left with Popola. The trio that remained in the room fell into silence. Only the sound of Devola continuing her treatment of the gash on Lilia's right arm. By the time she had finished the last wrap, her twin emerged from the camp. In her hand was a bag of ice-water. The straight-haired twin placed the bag on her swollen ankle.
"Phew!" Lilia exclaimed. "That's cold!"
A soft smile graced Popola's lips. "Yeah, I would guess so. You won't be walking on this foot for several days, at least until the swelling goes away. Mind telling us how you got so banged up?" She asked with curiosity and concern.
An irritated sigh escaped Lilia's mouth at the thought. "Short version? A crazy machine that wanted to eat me."
Devola made a heavy frown at the brief description while she was busy cleaning the table of medical supplies. "A rampage machine? But that's not possible!" She shook her head in disbelief. "The Resistance eliminated them in those woods. It's one reason we thought it safe for you to forage and travel through by yourself when you left for the village."
Lilia shrugged, exhaustion creeping in her bones. "Well... guess they missed one. And just my luck to have run into it."
Adam spoke with heavy regret, "You wouldn't have gotten hurt if I had stayed with you. Or had you go back to the village."
Once again, Lilia caressed his cheek in a soothing manner. Her hazel-green eyes and voice gentle as she insisted, "Adam... it's not your fault. I'm just glad you found me when you did. Prolly would've lost more than two fingers. Well... one and a half fingers." Without hesitation, she changed the subject to distract him from his feelings of worthlessness. Curiosity burning at the back of her mind. "Anyway... where did you leave 9S? You said, 'where they play 'peepin' tom'... what... did you mean by that?"
Adam upturned his lips into irritation and disgust. "I think... you know what I mean by that."
It took her tired brain a few minutes to piece together what he was trying to say. She assumed he was being cryptic to keep their business to themselves because of their audience. Even though that didn't stop him from showing affection.
'Peeping tom'... have 2B and 9S... been...?
A hard blush formed across her cheeks as it dawned on her. "Adam..."
"Yes?"
"Remind me to beat the hell outta 2B and 9S will ya?"
A/N: I'll just be sittin' here eating popcorn. Muhaha! And it was nice doing research on how doctors cauterize wounds, the youtube videos were nice. It makes me laugh that people are queasy at that kinda stuff.
And that little tip of the hat though!