Chapter Text
Josh ran, the rain pouring down around him as he sloshed through the puddles rapidly forming in the potholes of the alley he’d found himself in. He had no idea where he was – all he knew was that he was far enough from the university that all the smooth sidewalks and wide-open green spaces had disappeared. He stopped for a moment, panting – that’s what a human would be doing if they’d ran that far, but he wasn’t human, and if he was he wouldn’t be in this situation.
His artificial breathing program said that a human would still be panting for a few more minutes, so he took the time to glance through the statuses of his other systems – his self-repair systems had been a bit slow because of all the running, but everything looked like it should be in order now. I shed my jacket back at the university, so they only way someone might recognize me is by my sweatshirt… He glanced down at the navy blue shirt that had “Detroit University” printed on it in large block letters. A few memories played back in his head – attempting to teach a class during homecoming week, stepping out of the way of a frazzled human professor, walking around a lecture hall while proctoring an exam. I don’t think anyone will notice – they’ll just think I’m a student, or a professor, or a sports fan. The other thing that could give him away was blue blood, and he surely hadn’t spent enough time running for it to become invisible to humans… right?
Lightning flashed, and – what was that? On instinct, he moved towards the nearest cover – a dumpster with a couple feet between it and a building. He curled up in that space, trying to make himself small, invisible, human, not a target – a group of students walked across the main plaza of campus, being entirely too loud – he blinked, trying to clear away the image before it got to the next part. Focus on something else.
There was a sticker on the back of the dumpster that was peeling and faded, one of the few parts of it that wasn’t covered in rust – Kamski Sanitation Co. Instantly, a million different facts hit – Elijah Kamski was the founder of Cyberlife…, Kamski resigned from the company over differences with shareholders… He shook his head a little, clearing the information from his vision, and saw a shaking yellow light reflecting right back at him. Shoot! I forgot about my LED. He glanced out from behind the dumpster, careful to keep his LED out of view this time. I don’t think anyone is going to be coming this way… It’s pretty late… Cautiously, he stepped out from behind the dumpster, ready to hide again at the slightest sound. Holding the lid of the dumpster open with one hand, he felt around inside it with the other, stopping when he felt fabric under his fingers. Hopefully this is something usable. Pulling the item out, he realized it was a hat that wasn’t too worse for wear – just a little stained. Perfect.
In his haste to pull it on, he let the dumpster lid slam shut, the sound breaking through the heavy night air. Shoot! What if someone heard? He hurried to get back behind the dumpster again. It’s possible that a human might not notice the blue blood but my LED? It glows – someone could’ve easily seen it, even from a distance. I’m going to have to move.
Josh didn’t know how far he’d walked – well, he did if he really wanted to know, but he wasn’t too interested in that information. As long as he wasn’t going in circles, he didn’t care about where he was. The sidewalks had become cleaner and more well-lit, and the buildings were a light brick that reminded him a little too much of the buildings at the university. Glancing up at one of them, he noticed that the sign on the front read Detroit Police Department. So I’m not back there… A chill of nerves ran up his spine nonetheless. They’re going to know that I went missing from the university eventually. Out of habit, he glanced down at his clothes, still noticing the blue blood there. It’s been long enough that humans won’t be able to see it… right? It has to be.
A weak cry broke him out of his thoughts. What was that? An animal? He heard the sound again, this time tracing the location to a loading dock back behind the various buildings. I’ll take a look… it’s not like I have anything better to do.
The area was completely still, save for the flickering of a light mounted above a door with a bulb that was going out. He moved quietly, trying not to disturb the stillness and frighten – whatever? Whoever? – had made the noise.
As Josh moved towards one of the buildings – Family Services, a faded sign read – he heard sniffles punctuated by frantic breaths. Curled up on the asphalt next to a pile of trash bags that had overflown from a dumpster was a child.
That’s ironic.
He scanned the child’s body – he had software for determining human heartrates, breathing rates, and sweat levels, in order to determine the likelihood that a student might be cheating on an exam – but came back with a chilling conclusion: this was an android child.
The child flinched away from him as he knelt down. Based on the shirt stained with blue blood that creeped up onto the child’s neck, it was obvious why. “I’m like you,” he whispered, lifting his hat slightly to reveal his LED.
The child relaxed at the sight of it.
“What’s your name?”
The child attempted to speak but the attempt turned into a grimace of pain. Connection Request: YK500 628 214 707
Josh quickly accepted.
“Max. That’s what they always called me.”
“My name is Josh.” He figured that speaking inside their heads, even though he didn’t need to, would help put Max at ease. Plus, it would make it less likely that a human would hear and come investigate. “I’m going to keep you safe, okay?”
“Okay.”
First things first – all the blood. “Can you run your diagnostic program?”
“I don’t have one. My ‘parents’ are supposed to take care of that.”
“Okay, we’ll find another way.” He searched through the documentation of his own diagnostic program, trying to determine if he could use it on another android. “I think I can use mine on you, but we’ll have to interface.”
Max’s eyes widened in fear. “No! I’m not letting anyone do that!”
The sound of a car engine starting a couple blocks away reminded him that morning would be coming soon, and with it would be lots of humans. If we time things right, we might be able to pass for humans in the crowd of morning commuters… but if this blue blood doesn’t evaporate soon, we’re going to need to cover it with something. “Are you still bleeding?”
Max attempted to move and check, but every movement was incredibly slow. “I don’t know. But I don’t think I can walk.”
“That’s fine. I can probably carry you.” He reached his arms out, pulling Max up. Once he felt that Max’s arms were wrapped securely over his shoulders, he stood up, waiting a moment for Max to get adjusted to the new position. “Remember to keep your chest against mine. We can’t let anyone see.” Then he felt Max’s head against his shoulder. “Max?” All the sensation of touch was… startling, to say the least.
“If I do this, then they shouldn’t be able to see the blood on my neck.” Max’s voice reminded him of barely-awake college students during 8 AM classes.
Will they notice, when they come back from Spring Break and I’m not there? The sound of a truck heading in their direction broke him out of his thoughts. I can’t keep getting distracted like this… “That might be a garbage truck. We need to leave now.” He started walking around the side of the Family Services building, wanting to avoid the police station at all costs.
“Let’s not go this way… I don’t want them to recognize me.”
“Okay.” He was a unique model, and nobody would be able to get a good look at Max with the way the child had slumped against Josh, so it seemed… safe enough.
In front of the police station, Josh noticed an old car pulled up to the curb. The trunk was open, revealing some cardboard boxes of what looked like children’s clothing inside.
“Josh, there’s a coat on top of that box.”
“I know, but it looks a little small for you…”
“I think it would be big enough to cover up the blood. We wouldn’t have to worry so much.”
Josh sighed, sitting down on a nearby bench as he looked around for the car’s owner. I’ve never seen a car like that before… is it even self-driving? I think my students would refer to that as a “death trap”. He zoomed in closer on the window of the car, hoping the driver might have left something inside that would give away their identity. They took their keys with them… I don’t see a wallet lying around, either… Then he’d noticed something he’d never seen before. Cigarettes? That’s not a common substance of choice… at least, according to the university’s records on students using prohibited substances. Whoever drives that car is probably decades older than the typical student. Looking around at the passerby, he didn’t see anyone who seemed to fit the correct age profile. Then he turned to look at the police station. Zooming in as far as his hardware would allow, he found a probable owner inside, talking to someone at the end of the bullpen farthest from the entrance. He’d have no chance of seeing us.
“So? Can we?” Max asked.
“Yeah, it should be safe. I need you to act like it’s our car, okay?”
“Like a game?”
He wasn’t exactly sure that this qualified as a game, but… “Sure. Like a game.” Getting up from the bench, he walked straight towards the car and picked up the coat. “Is anyone coming towards the doors to the police station like they’re about to come out here?”
“Nope!”
“Okay, then let’s put your coat on right here.” He sat Max down on top of one of the boxes, staying close to the child to avoid the passerby catching a glimpse of blue blood. He held the coat out, only to realize that he had no idea how to help someone else put one on.
“It’ll be faster if I do it myself,” Max said, reaching for it. After putting it on and zipping it up, Max reached out towards Josh.
He stared at the child’s outstretched hands and expectant expression, wondering what Max was doing.
“Are you going to pick me back up?”
Right. Once Max was nestled back in Josh’s arms, he walked off, disappearing into the crowd.
“Josh?” Max asked.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, but… where are we going?”
“That’s an excellent question.”