Page 27 of Dustwalker

“Bedrooms?”

“Rooms with beds in them.”

Lara moved to the bottom of the steps and looked up. More darkness concealed the top. “I just…go up?”

“Do you want me to go first?”

When she glanced at him, she swore there was a hint of a smile on his face. “Is there something up there I should worry about?”

He reached past her and flicked another switch. Light obliterated the darkness above. “No.”

“Okay.” Lara took a deep breath and set her foot on the first step, cringing at the squelch from her boot.

“You can take them off, if you want.” He knelt to unlace his own boots, setting them near the entrance once they were off.

She didn’t need to be told twice. Tugging her boots off, she dropped them on the floor beside the first step. Her feet were pale, her skin was wrinkled, and the floor beneath them was cold. She climbed onto the bottom step and looked down. The material on the stairs was soft, dry, and cushioned, with little fibers that slipped between her toes.

Continuing to the top, she stopped at the landing, where a dim hallway ran to either side. She located another of the little switches, and, tentatively, pushed it up. Light filled the hall.

There was a door at each end, with two more on the wall opposite the stairs and another to her left. A place like this could house fifteen or twenty people, at least. Why would anyone, especially a bot, ever need so much space to themselves?

She turned left, opened the door at the end of the hall, and felt around on the wall until she clicked on the light. This was another large room. A huge bed stood against the far wall, draped in a thick blue blanket, with decorative wooden panels at its head and foot. The thing was large enough for three adults to sleep in comfortably.

She walked to it and ran her hand over the blanket, marveling at the soft fabric. When she leaned down, the bed sank in slightly, yielding to her weight. It was about as different from her hard pallet as she could’ve imagined.

Another piece of furniture stood near the door. As tall as her chest, it was crafted of dark wood and held five wide drawers. She opened them one at a time, finding them all empty.

Her curiosity brought her to the swaths of cloth hanging on the wall beside the bed. There was a window behind them, blocked by flimsy white plastic strips. Lara bent the strips down to look through the glass, catching a glimpse of the trees and field across the street.

She set her bag atop the drawer case. Apart from the discomfort caused by her wet clothing, there was another pressing need she’d neglected.

“Should be able to get more clothes for you to put in there,” Ronin said.

Lara started, looking at the doorway to find him filling it with his tall, broad frame.

How long had he been standing there watching her?

“In…here?” Lara slid open the top drawer and peered inside.

“That’s what it’s for. It’s called a dresser.”

“Never seen anything as nice as this.” Every drawer had little metal handles to help open them, with the upper drawers having two. “What else is supposed to go in it?”

“Just clothes, usually.”

“Who has that many clothes?” Most of the clothing she owned was on her now, and it wouldn’t fill half of one drawer. She could think of a thousand other things to store in here.

“You can put whatever you want in it. Give me a moment, and I’ll find you something dry to wear.” Ronin turned to leave.

She hurried toward him. “Wait!”

He stopped and looked at her.

“I need to go,” Lara said.

His eyebrows lowered and his jaw tightened. “We have an agreement.”

“No. Wait, I mean, yeah, I know. But, I need togo.” She dropped her gaze to the floor, cheeks heating as she shifted her weight on her feet. If she had to explain human bodily functions to a damned bot she’d lose it.