Page 49

Chapter forty-nine

Simon

Simon’s hands were shaking now in the aftermath. He forced them into fists. Focus. The bakery was so quiet compared to the threat and action before.

If he were human, he would have said his shaking was from the adrenaline wearing off, but as he didn’t possess that chemical reaction, he rationalized his shaking as the shock of taking life. That was still not easy, even for an android. With hands clenched at his side, he walked past the bodies in the front room, focused on the small windows ahead. We need to get out. I can process what happened myself later.

Taking care of Nora took priority. His tongue felt thick in his mouth as he calculated how much blood she lost. And then compared that amount to the pools on the bakery floor. Simon shook his head. Focus. Need more data .

He utilized his connection, updating the androids on his actions after entering the bakery and the fight that ensued. On the other end the androids listened in.

“Tilly?” he asked over the connection. There was a small opening in the blinds that he looked through, assessing the situation. He scanned up and down the street. Mostly deserted . A few people were outside, farther down. He saw glances toward the bakery too often to be coincidence.

“Tilly is fine and waiting,” came Stella’s reply.

Simon looked up at the sky outside. It was still just midday. “Okay. I’m going to bring Nora out now. Her leg is damaged.” He tracked the people’s movements down the street. “I might need a cover here. A distraction. I don’t know who is watching or when the man who ran off will return.”

Stella answered, “We can arrange something .”

He peered through the blinds again. “Nora’s hover is right there to the side. If we can get into it and out of the area then everything should be fine.”

“They’re gonna know and come. Probably just getting ready now,” Anna said, glumly, coming up beside him. Blood was in her light brown hair that curled around her face.

Simon focused on her. “Yes, there’s people on the street.”

Anna kept her eyes away from where the bodies were. In a shaky voice she tapped on the window. “Paul’s buddies were all shop owners here, the ones that aren’t . . . still in here . . . will see us come on out and know something went wrong. Gang members too.”

“One of the men left too, once he saw it was not going well for Paul here. I’m sure he will be back. With reinforcements.” Simon tilted his head as he noted Anna’s position, standing just a few paces from where her husband lay. “Anna . . .”

But Anna shook her pale face. “No, I don’t want to talk about it now. Later.” Her voice broke. “Let’s just focus on getting away.”

“Okay.” He frowned at the blinds that shook where Anna held them in her grip. “Are there any other exits?”

With a shaking hand, she pointed behind her without looking. “Yeah. The service entrance. Maybe that’s best to go out of. On the side.”

“Alright. I'll get Nora up to move.”

He walked back to where Nora sat, her body curled on itself. A part of him broke seeing there, curled over in pain.

Nora's eyes were glazed. “Can we get out?”

“We will, yes.” Simon touched her shoulder as he walked next to her to look out these windows. The hover is right outside. Through the service entrance was the same way Tilly went out back to the playground.

Anna, who had followed him into the bakery area, gestured behind her with her hands. “I just need to unlock that gate. Can do that now or . . .”

He looked through the side window again. “That’s a good idea. We’ll load there and then leave fast. I’d set a fire, but I think that would draw more attention.”

Nora tried to move but then stopped to grip her leg. “A fire is too much. You’d have everyone hunting us if you make anything that big.”

Anna’s voice was quiet next to him. “They’re going to hunt us anyways. Others knew what Paul was up to.”

The bandage was holding on Nora's leg. Simon checked the blood flow again. He spoke briskly. “It doesn’t matter. We were planning on leaving this town anyways.” Now we just need to do it faster.

Stella chimed in just to Simon over the connection, “No need for any fire. Load up, and leave the distraction to us.”

Relief flooded him. He looked over to Anna. “Get the keys to the side gate; a distraction is already planned.”

Nora struggled to sit more upright. “Huh?”

Simon pointed through the window. “The drones are going to assist.”

Anna turned, her face ashen. She looked between Simon and Nora. “The drones?”

Around Nora's leg, Simon added a loose layer of cloth. “Yes.”

“Alright . . . right. I’ll get the keys.” She left and Simon heard her opening a lock a second later.

He asked over the connection, “The distraction?”

In response, Stella projected an image of the drone positioning itself in the middle of the street, down from the bakeshop. The drone then began to sound an alarm, flashing and spinning in an abnormal pattern. It flew up and down the street, screeching the whole way.

Simon saw through Stella's projection people taking notice, until no one was standing by the bakery any longer. The drone was joined by another that hovered low above the street, flying in the opposite direction. Fog poured from overhead, covering the entire area.

His processors relaxed, seeing what the drones were doing. That will be more than enough. Simon reached for Nora and hiked her gently in his arms. “Here we go.” He tilted her head into his shirt. “Keep your eyes closed. You don’t need to see the other room.”

“Okay.” Nora covered her eyes with her hand for good measure as they walked through the main room to meet with Anna waiting by the service entrance.

Alarms were sounding down the street. Simon didn’t bother to look for who was watching, and moved on Stella’s word when she said clearly to him, “Go now.”

They walked together to the hover, Anna unlocking the gate on the way. Simon spoke low as he put Nora on the bench seat in the back before climbing in himself. “Okay, Nora. We will go fast.”

Nora didn’t respond. A thin sheen of sweat was on her face. She curled up in the backseat clutching her leg, next to the single scooter still back there.

Anna climbed in as well, sitting on Simon’s usual bucket seat. A blank expression on her features. She said softly next to him, “Think that distraction will be enough?”

The fog was so thick that the entire area was obscured. Even with his vision enhanced it was difficult to see far. “Yes. More than enough.”

Their hover drove back around to the front of the store and then away, moving slowly in the fog. “We’ll be long gone by the time any hunt for us is underway. Then we can try another town, somewhere else.”

Simon glanced back at Nora, at her hand gripping the side of the hover. She was bent over with her leg held tight to her chest with her other hand. The road twisted ahead as he turned back, jaw tight. She’s in such pain. He never wanted to come back to this town again. “The plans to move are just going to have to be sped up.”

Anna didn't answer, just churned her hands in her lap.

The town’s buildings whipped by as he opened the throttle, leaving the area. Nora groaned in the backseat from the sudden acceleration and Anna braced herself on the overturned container next to him, much like he always did next to Nora. He winced at hearing Nora’s anguish, but didn’t stop, wanting to put as much distance between them and the bakeshop while the fog still obscured everything.

Now, outside the merchant district, nothing seemed out of place, and he slowed down. A few passersby looked at him askance as they drove, his shirt having obvious bullet holes, but there were no signs of alarm on the street now that they were out of the bakery’s vicinity. Gunshots must be too frequent here for others to pay much notice. Or people just don’t want to get involved.

“Keep your eyes on Nora?” he said to Anna, his own gaze fixed on the road ahead.

Anna twisted around to do just that as Simon opened the throttle as far as he dared, trying to get through the town and into the outskirts without looking like they were rushing too much.

The drone came back and hovered ahead when they were halfway out. Stella’s voice sounded smug over the connection, “You were not followed. But a group is starting to approach the bakery now. It is good you left fast.”

Anna whispered. “What do they want? Why did they help?”

His head tilted. “I'll explain later.”

Nora gasped from the backseat. “They're okay, Anna.”

At Nora’s voice, Simon had to resist the internal pressure he felt to go faster. Instead he kept to the same measured pace, all the way out of town.

At the edge of the city, Simon hit the gas a bit and followed the drone, even though he knew the way himself, to the same rock outcropping he had Tilly hide behind only a short while ago. The desert wind whipped here, further stirred up by the hover’s sudden acceleration.

He pulled the hover up behind the rock, watching the dirt swirl around. The relief he felt seeing Tilly safe and whole made his hands shake. There she is.

“Mama!” The little girl let out a big smile at him and then Nora in the backseat. Tilly rushed to the hover’s side the moment Simon cut the engine.

“Oh, Tilly,” Nora said, as she held out a blood-tinged hand.

“Mama, Mama, Mama!” Without waiting for the hover to fully stop Tilly climbed in over the rusted edge and onto Nora.

Simon did a double take then at Nora in alarm. Here in the bright desert afternoon sun, Nora was incredibly pale, with sweat running down her face. So pale . His sensory cortex tensed.

Tilly smashed into Nora on the bench, pointing with her small hand. “Mama! Your leg. Owww!”

Nora ran her fingers down Tilly’s hair. The blood on her hands was now dried. “Yeah. Big ow. Kind of like how your foot was back when you broke it. But it will be okay.”

Simon moved from the front seat and intervened, repositioning Nora, who winced and pulled Tilly back so she sat next to, rather than on top of, Nora on the side where her leg was not injured. “Gently, Tilly. Sit next to her. Here.”

Tilly burrowed into Nora’s side anyways and Nora put her arm back around her. A huff left Simon, “Easy, Tilly.”

Nora let out a grateful smile at him as she patted Tilly’s small back. “I’m so glad we’re all okay.”

“Yes, Nora.” Simon gave a shaky grin back. Then his eyes dipped down to her leg, and his relief was again short-lived. Fear surged again. That wound needs to be closed. He looked over at Anna, who was staring blankly ahead. “Anna?”

Anna looked up, her eyes red-rimmed and deadened. She cleared her throat. “Yeah?”

“Do you think you are able to bring the small hover back? You know how to drive it?” Simon winced asking, seeing her lost expression as she focused on the little hover next to them. Anna is still functioning, but this has been . . . awful for her as well. He reached out to touch her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Without answering, she climbed out of the hover. Her face was pale as she got into the smaller vehicle. “Let’s just go. Need to get away.”

Simon looked away from her determined eyes toward home. “Hold on, Nora.”

Nora sat in the back of the hover on the bench seat next to Tilly. She said softly, clutching Tilly to herself, “I feel so dizzy.”

Alarm flared through his sensory cortex as he saw her close her eyes. “Nora. Stay awake.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Nora. Don’t sleep, okay?”

“Why not? We’re okay now.” Her voice was slurred.

“Dammit, Nora. You lost a lot of blood.”

Her eyes closed again and Simon pushed the throttle harder.

***

Simon sat next to Nora in bed, hovering over her, a bottle of antiseptic in his hand. The act of pouring it on her wound was what must have made her wake back up, wincing with its administration.

“I’m sorry,” Simon murmured. He stroked down her face. Glad she can wake up though. That’s a good sign. That she could still react and wake up filled him with relief. There were no other signs she had gone into shock either now that he had properly tied her leg to stem the blood loss. But her skin is still so cold and clammy. He drew the blanket up further over her torso.

A grimace crossed her face. “Ow.”

“I know it hurts, Nora. I know. I need to clean the wound though. It’s . . .” Simon watched her eyes struggle to stay open, her hand reaching for him instead of her leg. Pain streaked across her face.

He took his hands and cupped her chin. “I’ll be quick.”

Nora touched his arm, groggily. “Simon?”

“Yes.” He reached around her so she could more easily sit upright.

Nora’s eyes watered as she struggled to keep them open. “Simon . . . I’m . . .”

Simon gently moved her leg to the side before moving close to hold her. The pillows around the bed got pushed around until she sat up. He patted her cheek. “Can you drink something? It will help with some of the pain.”

“Yeah.”

There was some pain medication in the house, labeled precisely just like the ration bars were. He brought the pills on the nightstand close, putting them in Nora’s mouth and then holding the cup to her chin as she drank. His eyes stayed trained on her wound as he held her. “Good. That will help. Rest now. It’s all okay. Rest, Nora. Don’t fight to stay awake. It’s easier if you sleep through this.”

Her voice was slurred. “Thank you for coming for me.”

“Always.” The softness of her body filled his arms. “Always.” He tightened his arms around her. “Sleep now.”

The irony of what he was saying hit him full force as he stroked her hair. Sleep. Nora turned him off to pretty much do the same thing, to fix him. The comparison was not lost on him. I’m asking her to be unconscious, just like she did to me. Going to sleep. Turning me off.

He frowned, the thought clarifying his understanding as he saw Nora struggling to stay awake. It is a normal thing to want. To not want someone you care for to be in pain or broken. She did not turn me off because I was a machine. It was an act of . . . love.

He watched her slip in and out of consciousness, his realization weighing on him heavily. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand sooner, Nora. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you in the first place. I love you.” He leaned forward, and his voice hitched as he touched his forehead to hers. “I love you.”

Nora reached out and tapped his hand groggily. “Love you too.”

Time seemed to freeze for a moment. Simon processors skipped, his breath catching to hear those words said back so casually. His body heated in a way he didn’t think possible, similar to how she always reacted to him.

He moved forward and kissed her, before remembering himself and pulling back with a soft smile. “I need to stitch your leg, okay? Try to rest. Let the medicine work. It will be easier.”

“Mmhm.” Nora rolled in his arms and settled at his tone. The medicine he gave her with the drink, found amongst the bottles that Nora had hoarded from the drop, took effect, and she dozed off.

Even though she could no longer hear him, he spoke just the same. “I’ll stitch your leg now.”