Page 74 of Dustwalker

He was a bot. What could he know about tending to the dead? What could it have mattered to him? But he’d done so anyway, had given his time and effort, because he knew Lara cared deeply for Tabitha.

Flattening her hand on his chest, she marveled at his warmth and solidness, at the feel of his skin beneath her palm. It was different than human skin, but she found unexpected solace in that.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“For what?”

Lara jumped, yanking her hand back. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Ronin opened his eyes and lifted his head, brow creasing. “I’ve been awake for one hundred and eighty-five years.”

“So…you weren’t sleeping just now?”

“Bot’s don’t sleep, Lara. We go into low power mode when necessary to conserve energy, but usually optics and audio still function inthat state, albeit at a lower quality. There’s…” He dropped his head, pupils dilating. “There’s on or off. Nothing in between for us.”

“Oh. Is that…is that what you were doing? The low power thing?”

“No.”

“You just laid here with me all night?”

“Yes.”

Lara stared at him. He’d told her that he went into the Dust seeking his purpose, because otherwise he would stare at the walls until he shut himself off. That would’ve left him no different than the furniture in an abandoned house, sitting forgotten in the dark, collecting dust and slowly breaking down as the building crumbled around him. How could lying with her all night be any more exciting than watching paint peel off a wall?

“Why?” she asked incredulously.

“Because I enjoy being near you. Enjoy holding you, hearing your slow breaths, and feeling the rhythm of your heart. Every other night I can remember, I’ve spent alone.”

Heat blossomed on her cheeks and spread down to her neck and chest. She looked away, knowing he’d fixed his penetrating gaze on her. He’d lain with her all night. Awake. A few weeks ago, she would’ve found that strange and unsettling. Now, it was comforting, especially after the hell of being alone in this house for two days.

Every sound had made her skin crawl and added to the ball of dread in her gut. What little sleep she’d managed had been fitful. Though she wanted to deny it, she felt safe when Ronin was around, and knowing that he’d been with her all night long…

Nervously, Lara tucked hair a lock of hair behind her ear. “I was thanking you for what you did for Tabitha. I know I didn’t say it last night, so I wanted you to know it means a lot to me.”

“Never buried anyone before,” he said after a long pause. “It seemed…right. The bot will remain for centuries, perhaps longer, but your sister…she’ll become part of something larger.”

“You get it.” She looked back at him, smiled softly, sadly, and shook her head. “I don’t think any of the others do. Don’t think they can.”

Ronin sat up, making the bed groan beneath him, and turned his body to face her. The green of his eyes was darker in the diffused light. “I understand that organics break down over time and are reclaimed by the earth. I understand that all of this is important to you. And…I think I am beginning to understand why.”

Lara’s gaze dropped, roaming over his bare torso. She again noticed the discolored patches of skin. “What are those?”

He looked down. The differences in shades were subtle, but she could make it out even in this dim lighting.

“The closest I can get to scars,” he replied.

She reached forward and touched one of the spots. Her fingers glided over his skin, feeling no difference between the mismatched portions.

“Been through a lot of places,” he said. “Not all of them have the means to reskin synths. Some of those that do don’t have the resources to match coloring. I don’t notice it much anymore. It’ll all be replaced again, eventually.”

“Are they all from bullets?” Lara touched the skin on his abdomen, where there had once been holes.

It was likely her imagination, but it felt like his skin warmed with the contact.

“Bullets, knives, metal rods, rocks. This one”—he placed his hand over hers, guiding it to the spot where a human’s heart was located—”was from a steel beam in a dust storm. It penetrated two millimeters to the left of my power cell.”

“And you survived all of that.” She was awed, even as her chest ached at the damage he’d suffered, at the pain he must’ve endured.