The generator failed that night. The hum that usually filled the room with static warmth had gone silent. Now, the air felt like ice — sharp and thin, seeping into 404’s bones.
He curled tighter beneath the thin blanket on the cot, shivering. His breath fogged. Fingers numb. Jaw clenched.
He didn’t call out.
But 09 came anyway.
The door slid open with a soft hiss.
404 didn’t sit up — he just looked, weakly, as 09 stepped in. He wasn’t in uniform this time. No rifle. Just a fitted black thermal shirt and quiet eyes that scanned the room and immediately took in the situation.
He crossed the room quickly.
“You should’ve knocked,” 09 muttered.
404 tried to answer but his lips were blue.
09 didn’t hesitate.
He stripped off his gloves, pulled an emergency thermal blanket from the supply shelf, and — after a moment’s pause — crouched beside the cot.
Then he did something unexpected.
He climbed in.
Carefully. Awkwardly. Fully clothed. But closer than he’d ever been.
404 froze.
Their bodies weren’t touching. But they were close. Close enough that every shift in breath felt like it might shatter something.
“I’m just keeping you warm,” 09 said flatly.
404 nodded, throat tight. “I know.”
But he didn’t know how to stop feeling it.
09's warmth radiated like a secret the room wasn't supposed to have. His presence filled the silence, wrapped around 404 in a way the blanket never could.
They didn’t talk.
They didn’t move.
But something happened in the stillness — something neither of them had a word for.
Not yet.
404 closed his eyes, just for a moment.
And 09 didn’t leave.
YOU ARE READING
INPUT REJECTED
Science FictionHe woke up in a scrap chamber - no name, no memories, no identity. Just a flickering message on his wrist: "INPUT REJECTED." In the cybernetic city of SYNAXIS, where every soul is scanned, sorted, and assigned a function by the all-seeing AI ARG0, h...
