Keep Running

Chapter 9 - Eric

It's been twelve hours. Apparently this thing never gets tired. Of course, it talked its way out of its cuffs. And into a better jacket, a black jean one over a green t-shirt. I have no idea why I let it change clothes. Oh yes. It literally never stops talking about absolutely whatever goes through its head. Or if it does stop talking, it's singing a song I can now no longer enjoy.
Right now, we are going up and down escalators at the mall, while Dano eats an avocado, raw, one of the most disgusting sensual disgusting things I've ever seen in my life. For someone that is afraid of heights, he's insisted on going up and down the escalators a ridiculous number of times. Eighteen to be exact. While he's singing 'we didn't start the fire'. On the plus side, he's only punched two people, so there's that to be thankful for. He's kicked five. I took the cuffs off after the fifth because him jumping and kicking people in the face was drawing more attention to us. Why did he do this? I don't really know, other than that he didn't like their heads. Not a good reason if you ask me. He didn't.
"And—nope. They're getting divorced----oh dude in the red tie? Screwing his sister in law and---little boy over there---he likes killing frogs----that lady just peed in the broom closet? Why ? Oh she couldn't find the bathroom---it's cool she has a condition---those guys are literally scouting out their route for Friday apparently they think they're going to get a TV for like $10 bucks---"
"You---really don't have to narrate this," I sigh, as we stand on the escalator and holiday shoppers push past us.
"You being annoyed with my narration---is better than you being annoyed with me in general and I have to eat, I'm sorry, I'm hungry---oh my god that guy is thinks they have green tea ice cream in here if so I seriously need it—"
"No, you don't, look---it's the middle of the night. It's late we need to call it a day. I took us to a motel and you didn't like it for no good reason---"
"Um, 'not gay enough' is a great reason not to like somewhere."
"It's really not. It's late. I'm tired, you might be tired---please can we just go?" I hate crowded place and I hate malls.
"I have to find him," Dano says, seriously, before tossing the avocado skin the trash and getting on the escalator again, oh my god. In his file it said he hated heights. It said that in the context of explaining that it would be beneficial information when trying to catch him. That way if he got away you could chase him on top of something high and tase him. But he likes these escalators and they're high.
"It's not pathological, it's stress induced," he says.
"What?" I say. I'm still not used to him responding to my thoughts.
"The fear of heights. 29 dangled me off the edge of a roof once, held me over it until people came. I thought he was going to let go. He didn't, but---that's why I'm afraid. I wasn't before," he says, not looking at me as he examines his fingers for avocado.
"Why are you so intent on staying up all night to find him, then?" I sigh, tiredly.
"Because he's my father," he says, stubbornly, "Yes---yes he is okay? He's the only thing I have. And he's lost and he's going to shut down and die somewhere. So I am going to find him."
"We will, but you need to rest too. You don't need to be out like this either you need to rest to---do your thing," I sigh, "We're not finding him."
He looks down and doesn't say anything.
"He's probably either hiding in the woods, or got picked up by a motorist it's not---we're not accomplishing anything here," I sigh.
Dano doesn't answer, still looking at his hands and ostensibly pouting, as we reach the top of the escalator. I've been on escalators so long I'm motion sick.
As Dano steps off he looks like he was prepared to get back on the next one, but instead walks directly into a woman. It takes me half a minute to recognize Mel.
"Hey you," he says, enveloping her in a hug and snuggling his face into her hair.
"Are you being nice to Eric?" she asks, hugging him back.
"You're----you're really not supposed to be around each other," I sigh.
"I'm not on duty, therefore I can go to whatever I mall I like, also why aren't you answering your phone?" Mel asks, still cuddling into Dano's arms with no intention of leaving them to make me feel better.
"He took it three hours ago," I say, tiredly.
"That's mean, give him back his things," Mel says, searching in Dano's coat for the duty phone to hand back to me.
"I needed music; my iPod ran out of battery," Dano says, innocently.
"Don't take his things," she says, brushing his hair out of his face, "You okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine---you didn't have to come all this way out here. Of course I don't know anything," Dano sighs.
"What? Fill me in," I say, tiredly.
"Last night I argued with 29---but it didn't have anything to do with him going," Dano says, "If it did I'd have told you---well, even if it is why he left it doesn't tell us where he went."
"What did you argue with the robot about?" it only makes sense after meeting him that he could make an actual machine annoyed with him.
"He caught me kissing Mel's cheek he was warning me off that's all," Dano says, dismissively, "He never trusts me. I get annoyed with him for it. That's it----yes Eric, he has good REASON not to trust me, but that doesn't make it less annoying, hush."
"You haven't found anything?" Mel asks, an arm around him. Like she's just happy to be near him. And he her. So at peace with holding one another, naturally like her body was made to fit against his. It makes me more lonely to look at them.
"No. No one's seen or heard anything." Dano says, hanging his head a little.
"So. Go get some rest at a hotel or whatever like I'm sure Eric has been suggesting—,"
"He has," I sigh.
"And start again in the morning," Mel says, "He's not here—he's not in this area or you'd have found something by now."
"Yeah---will you stay?" Dano asks, hopefully.
"No, she won't she's not even supposed to be near you," I sputter.
"No, I left Grace with Maeve I've got to get back," she says, squeezing him one more time, "Get some sleep all right?"
"Okay. You're right. Call in the morning yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you so much for driving three hours to tell him to go to bed."
"Don't forget getting you your phone back," Mel says, handing me a charging brick out of her backpack, "This will make your life easier."
"I appreciate you," I say, taking it and giving it to Dano. She hands me another one.
"Keep them charged. He needs the music to block out the thoughts sometimes," she advises, "Also, don't try to get him to eat anything that he refuses. It won't work and it's a waste of energy. You already found out he's more manageable with the cuffs off."
"Yes, we haven't randomly kicked or punched anyone in several hours," I say, dryly.
Imitating I'm going to assume people whose thoughts he was subject to, "I'm going to tell my wife she looks fat in that shirt and make her feel rotten all day; I'm going to hit that kid once we get back to the car—"
"We know," Mel covering his mouth because he was going to go on, "It's understandably upsetting and we understand and respect your desire to punch people who think jerk thoughts."
"One guy had a puppy tied up in his basement," the moment his mouth is uncovered.
"Oh my god, did you hit him?"
"Kicked him, broke his jaw, Eric dragged me away before police came."
"That's---allowed if Eric says you can. Run it by him first," Mel says, sliding her hands into the pockets of his jeans.
"You're only saying that because he'll say no," Dano says, suspiciously, bumping his nose against hers.
"Yeah, well, sometimes the answer is no. Go on, get some rest," she says, "I'll call you in the morning, all right?"
"Okay," he says, hugging her one more time, "Yes, we'll stop touching each other it's really fine, Eric."
"It's not okay, come on, let's go find a motel," I say, taking his arm because he wasn't going to walk away from her voluntarily.
"I still think we should keep looking," Dano mutters.
"We need to rest. I'm sure he's fine." He's a robot, how not fine can be?  Whoever decided to let the telepath bond to the murder Roomba needs their head examined. His only friend is a machine and we lost it.
"He feels things," Dano retorts.
"Then maybe he just needs some quiet and he'll be looking for us in the morning too," I say.
"If he's still mad at me he's avoiding us," he says.
"I'm sure he's not still mad at you."