Terra Firma

Curiousity

    She'd never known that a dog so small could make so much noise.

    "Callate, Lucky," Luna whispered in a shaking voice, pulling the little dog close to her chest. Lucky's incessant barking quieted to little growls that bubbled up her throat and escaped her lips.

    Heavy footsteps thundered down from the roof of the bunker. Someone had found her hideout — and Luna had a sinking feeling she knew who it would be.

    The lights of her buggy would have been plenty easy to follow.

    She cursed as the footsteps came to a stop just above her head. Looking around her messy room, she tried to find something she could use to protect herself. Aha! Peeking out from under a stack of books on her desk was a long blade that she had found on a scavenging trip a few years ago. Thankfully, she'd never had to use it.

    Well, until now.

    She squeezed her fingers tighter around the soft woven grip of the blade. It was heavy in her hand, like the old fishing weights her father used to have kicking around in the garage. Luna held a finger up to her lips as Lucky bounced at her side, hoping the dog would stay quiet long enough for Luna to trick whoever was on the roof.

    She toed over to her bedside, dropping to her knees as silently as she could. Moving aside a pile of folded pants, she reached blindly until she found the little brass handle of the trapdoor.

    Here goes nothing.

    Luna slipped into the tunnel, the last thing she saw was Lucky crouched on the floor beside her bed. The little dog's big brown eyes were wide, almost like she was accusing Luna for leaving her alone again, and her scruffy mop of a tail was tucked tightly between her legs.

    Luna pulled the trapdoor shut, plunging into the darkness of the tunnel. She felt along the walls with her free hand, trying to get her wrist used to moving the heavy blade around. She could already feel her muscles getting sore from its weight.

    In a few more footsteps she was at the end of the tunnel. Her fingers scrabbled at the roof until they caught on a latch. She pushed it up and slid it to the side, holding the blade out in front of her as a star sprinkled indigo sea spread out across the heavens. Nobody was waiting for her.

    Luna pushed herself slowly out of the tunnel, her eyes long used to the darkness of night. It was quiet, and the fresh wind made gooseflesh on the exposed skin of her arms. Blinking, she crept back towards her bunker, hidden by a small outcropping of tall, prickly brambles.

    He was there. Standing on top of the bunker and looking every bit as creepy as he had in London. The droid tipped his head up, like a hound who had just caught the scent of a fox, and slowly swivelled until he was staring directly at the bush she crouched behind.

    Luna swore. Why did this droid keep following her? She had already told it that she couldn't help. Biting her lip, she remembered the blueness of his blood and the broken circuits. Maybe he was just as alone out here as she was.

    The droid pressed a hand to his ear, then held something out towards her. There was no doubt that he knew exactly where she was hidden.

    Luna pushed her way past the bush and into the open.

    "I already told you, droid. I can't help you. You need to leave — it's not safe." Luna stopped herself before she said 'for me,' but she didn't really know why. Was she feeling sorry for this thing? Why did she care about hurting its feelings?

    The droid tipped its head again, then threw the thing it was holding at her feet. Luna's old sock landed in a heap of dust, stained a dark, crusted blue. Droid blood.

    Luna gulped. "I can't..."

    The droid moved like he was going to jump from the roof of the bunker. Luna tore the blade up in front of her, gritting her teeth at her muscle's protest. He never made the jump; Luna realised that he was trying to jump — he was falling. She dropped the blade without thinking, crossing the space between them in moments.

    The droid lay in a mess on the ground, his head tipped towards her and blue eyes half closed. It made Luna's stomach heave to see the thin strip of iris between the two walls of his strange eyelids. He really needed help.

    "But, I don't know how to help you," she whispered, dropping to her knees and staring at him. The open circuit behind his ear was even worse now, and his clothes were soaked with blue blood. Did droids bleed out? Luna had no idea.

    His eyes slid shut, and she had no other option. She ran to the front door of her bunker, slamming in the code to unlock it and nearly tripping on Lucky as she came barrelling out.

    "Lucky! Get back inside!" Luna was worried that the droid would do something to Lucky, too, but when she turned around to catch the little dog she saw that Lucky was laying beside him. Her ears were pasted against her head and she made a low whimpering sound.

    "Why aren't you freaked out, girl?" Luna was puzzled. Lucky had to be able to tell that this was a robot, and the stench of blood was enough to bother Luna — she couldn't imagine how bad it would be for the dog. Lucky just crawled forward until she was pressed against his side, and began to lick one of the bullet holes on his chest.

    "Lucky, get away from him!" Luna rushed over, trying to pull Lucky away from the droid. For some reason, the dog was worried about him, and at least for curiosities sake, Luna would have to take him in — but only for the night. She would send him on his way at morning's first light.

    "You owe me one," she grumbled to Lucky, bending to grasp the droid under his shoulders. He was a lot heavier than she expected. His head rested on her shoulder as she half-carried, half-dragged him back into her bunker.

    What was she thinking? Bringing a droid into her only safe place. Being alone for so long must be turning her brain to mush — she knew it was only a matter of time before she went crazy. This was just the beginning.

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A/N
Hey, so what do you think? Did Luna do the right thing? What would you do? Trust the droid? Fix him? Use him for parts?... let us know?? We love all your thoughts:)
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