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A bright flashing warning sign appears in the corner of his eye and internally curses. He subtly glances between his teammates in front of him. His colourful birdy friend would most definitely know what his oddly shaped canister contains if he got it out of his inventory. The other would perhaps let it slide but it’s still a risk he can’t take.
‘I should tell them… but..’ Wifies thought as he chewed on his bottom lip. He knows the truth about his body would come out at some point and it would be better if he told them himself. Still, he liked being treated as a human; it was something he didn’t have the luxury of back in the factory. If he told them…
Images that haven’t come to fruition flash through his mind. Images of being used till he’s nothing but scraps, just like back then. He couldn’t bear it. He’s a coward. He’s a fraud. The truth will be buried alongside his engine when it no longer rumbles in his chest. The annoying flashing light continues and he knows he has to do something about it.
“Uhm, sorry guys but I have to go to the bathroom.” Wifies says.
They were currently venturing through a forest, heading off on a new adventure. His companions were leading the way as he lagged behind when he saw the notification.
“Bro, really?” Parrot asked.
“It’s fine, we might as well take a break, we’ve been walking for a while.”
“Just give me a minute.” Wifies said as he walked a few steps away from them before concealing himself behind a tree. He then pulled out a large canister that still had splotches of its previously bright red colouring before he dyed it black to make it less obtrusive and obvious. Tilting the canister up to his mouth, he felt the familiar viscous liquid make its way down his “throat” and into his “stomach”.
He shifts around so he’s holding the canister with one hand and brings up his arm where he sees a gauge slowly filling up. He really wished his creator had made a better way to do this or even switch us to electric so that we could charge at night. Maybe he should try to give himself those upgrades at some point. Once the gauge was full, he hid the canister back into the depths of his inventory and walked back to his group
“That was a long piss bro, I swear I never see you drinking any water.” Parrot says with a raised eyebrow.
Wifies threw an arm over his forehead in a dramatic fashion, “Oh, so you haven’t been paying any attention to me?”
The colourful bird just scrunches his face in disgust before going back to cooking his piece of beef.
Over time, Wifies had gotten better at making excuses in order to slip away and refuel. However, as his body wore down, he had tried to repair and switch out some parts but unfortunately he couldn’t do it all himself. An alarm would blare in his head that he would shut down if he removed any parts. As such, his fuel would drain faster like an old phone battery.
Their trio was getting chased down by a bunch of invis players and as they tried to escape, the annoyingly familiar warning sign lit up in the corner of his eye once more. Wifies let out a tsk, ‘This is not the time for this…’
A player came jumping at him, forcing him to block the attack with his shield. After shoving them off of him and creating some distance, he could see his teammates begin to become overwhelmed by the strike force. Void-like eyes narrow as he assesses the situation, he knows they can’t hold out like this any longer. He puts his axe away, then tightly grips his shield with both hands in front of him as he charges towards the players attacking his teammates. Wifies barrels into them in one straight line, knocking all of them off balance and to the ground.
His hand reaches into his pocket, grabbing two potions he had saved for emergencies. Throwing them onto his teammates, he yells, “Take off your armour and run!”
He watches out of the corner of his eye as the particles disappear into the distance before slashing at the players in front of him. Wifies continues to knock them back, stalling for time. He pivots to hit a player that was trying to sneak by him, only to be stabbed in the back for his efforts. His systems start to overheat as he goes through various plans of how to get out of this sticky situation.
A breath and he decides, ‘Well, it worked once, why not a second time?’
Wifies puts his shield up in front of him once more before barreling through the middle of the squad of players once more. This time though, when they turned to attack him, Wifies was gone.
On a tree, a couple of blocks away, a player with a gray hoodie and purple bandana had one hand clutched onto its branches while the other hand shoved a canister into his mouth.
‘That was way too close for my liking…’ The man thought as he glanced at the almost depleted gauge on his arm.
The gang was resting in one of the civilizations they’d found, a much needed respite from running to escape death. For Wifies, he was in his room checking over his supplies, seeing what he would need to replenish. He glanced at the doorway to his room for a moment before pulling out all of his canisters, giving them a little shake as he did. Once he put all of them down, a horrible realization took over him.
‘I’m out.’ He thought while dragging a hand down his face.
He knows where he could get more, but to go there would mean leaving his companions for a week or so. With the current tension riddling them, he didn’t think it would be a good idea to leave; however, if he didn’t, he’s not entirely sure how much longer he’ll be able to stay operating. Wifies also wasn’t sure how keen his friends would be on leaving after they just got a taste of safety.
During all of his inner turmoil, he didn’t notice the knock on his door had been getting louder until the creak of the door snapped him out of his thoughts. His eyes zoomed to the door before glancing back at the canisters on the floor. Gray sleeves moved faster than he could think as he scooped the empty jugs back into his inventory. In his panic, he lost his balance and went splat on the floor, making a series of thuds.
The door then slammed open as a worried Parrot came through, “What happened?!”
“Ah,” Wifies said, taking on an embarrassed expression, “I just tripped, don’t worry..”
Parrot just sighed, “God, you had me worried for a second. I thought we were getting attacked again.”
Wifies just laughed awkwardly as Parrot leaves.
What was he going to do…?
Luckily for Wifies, his dealer agreed to deliver his fuel to him after sending them a message. They said it’s because good service will drive more business. He didn’t want them to deliver it straight to the house he’s currently staying at though because there’s a good chance the other two will see the package and be too curious. The brunette instead asked for them to meet in an alleyway far from the house, which is how a man in a gray hoodie ended up leaning against a building with shadows hiding his presence to those on the main street.
A figure in a black cloak turns into the dingy alleyway, “Hello again, I’ve got the goods.”
Wifies said nothing, just held out his hand as they made the exchange. Afterwards, the person spoke up again, “I don’t usually ask my clients this, but I am awfully curious on why you need so much gasoline.”
“That’s none of your business.” Wifies replies coldly.
The person just holds up his hands in surrender, “Hey, I’m not going to expose your secrets. As long as the money keeps coming, I have no reason to.”
A smile flashes from underneath the hood before they disappear in a blink of an eye. The tenseness in Wifies’s “muscles” relaxes as the person leaves. He takes a deep breath before moving to walk out of the alleyway when a shock of green and blue feathers enters his vision.
“Wifies.” Parrot addresses him, “Why… are you buying so much gasoline?”
Wifies freezes, his eyes widening. He predicted this, that Parrot would tail him one day but after getting away with it so many times he got too comfortable. The suspicion in his dearest friend’s eyes causes him to hesitate, “I…”
He tumbles over all his words, unable to even meet his friend’s eyes; fearing the accusatory look would cause him to break down altogether. Wifies could feel his systems whirring loudly in his ears as he starts to panic. His hands tighten into fists, unconsciously squeezing them in order to deal with the excess energy his body had started producing. A different warning had popped up in the corner of his vision.
‘Warning, systems overheating.’
“Look, I just want an answer, I’m not accusing you of anything.” Parrot tries to explain.
Void-like eyes disappear as Wifies closes them, focusing on resetting some of his internals in order to make sure he doesn’t explode or shut down. The dark orbs make their appearance once more as Wifies took a breath.
“Parrot,” Wifies stares at the ground, “I’m a clone.”