[EDITING] wanderlust | detroit: become human

seventeen - soul

i lowered my eyes, looking at connor's chest. gasping, i wiped the blood from his shirt, "co... connor, yo... y... you're bleeding." i gasped.

connor gave a shake of his head, "it's nothing." he pulled me closer, "here comes markus." his chin rested on my head while he watched markus dive into the water, following behind was the explosion of jericho. when i winced away out of both fear and safety, connor's arms squeezed me, showing that he was right there to protect me. pulling markus up and out of the water, we quickly hurried away.

connor's hand was on my wrist, carefully leading me behind him.

i liked this. connor keeping me close by holding my wrist. it's nice to know that he doesn't wanna lose me.

connor and i, along with some of the survivors from jericho, sat on a old, worn away church pew, wondering if this is where we're going to reside for the time being.

connor sat beside me, occasionally looking over at me with a twinkle in his eye. everything must've changed since he became deviant. i pulled my legs to my chest, resting my chin on it. connor pulled me in by the shoulder, "are you cold, ajax?"

"no. i... i... i'm just confused." i looked to him, "con... c... connor, what about hank? what about sumo? do you think he... he... he's worried?"

"i'm sure he knows we're safe." connor kissed my temple, "we should patch up that wound." he motioned to my leg. "here," he ripped off a piece of fabric from his shirt. "i'm going to apply pressure, okay?"

i nodded. as he pressed his hand down onto the wound, i winced my teeth, trying not to let out a yelp in pain. connor easily tied the fabric onto my leg tightly, so no more blood leaves my system, "th... th... thank you, co... co... connor."

he gave a nod, sitting beside me again. gripping my hand, he gave a squeeze. i rested my head on his shoulder, letting a sigh escape past my lips. he must be worried a little too. what was markus exactly gonna do to us? we are with the police. maybe he would exile us, if he's being dramatic.

as markus approached us, i lifted my head off connor's shoulder and looked at markus, carefully. in fear of being refused, i didn't get my hopes up very much.

"it's my fault." connor started, "the humans managed to locate jericho... i was stupid... i should've guessed they were using me." connor shook his head, letting out a deep sigh. i looked at him, sadness filling my eyes. i didn't know he felt like that. he must've been thinking about my safety that i never listened to his concerns. uncrossing his arms, connor approached markus, "i'm sorry, markus... i can understand if you decide not to trust me..."

markus looked between the two of us, "you're one of us, now. your place is with your people."

my heart beat in my throat. this is all i wanted, to be accepted, by people who understood.

"there are thousands of androids at the cyberlife assembly plant. if we could wake them up, they might join us and shift the balance of power..."

markus furrowed his brows, "you wanna infiltrate the cyberlife tower? connor, that's suicide..."

"they trust me... they'll let me in. if anyone has a chance of infiltrating cyberlife, it's me."

"if you go there, they will kill you." markus argued.

looking to connor, i paused, "co... con... connor, you sh... shouldn't..."

connor darted his eyes to me, "trust me, ajax. please."

i hesitated. i wasn't going to lose him now, and i didn't plan on it. but, i had to trust him. that was our thing. putting immense amounts of trust into actions, "i trust you, connor." i stated simply.

"there's a high probability... but statistically speaking, there's always a chance for unlikely events to take place..." connor grabbed my hand, pulling me close.

markus rested a hand on both of our shoulders, giving a nod, "both of you, be careful..."

"y... ye... yes, sir." i smiled. i was in jericho. i was in the android group that demanded equality. turning to connor, i grabbed his face, and kissed his lips. pulling away almost immediately, my pride was at an all time high.

connor was stunned from the kiss i had given him. he obviously didn't think i was one to make a move, "ajax, you..."

"ye... yes! i did." i laughed, hugging him tightly, "co... c... connor, w... w... we're in jericho."

connor gave a chuckle, "that means we're outlaws."

"outlaw... outl... outlaws or no... not, we... w... we're figh... fighting for our equality."

connor wrapped his arms around me, giving me a tight hug in response to mine. it felt... nice to have connor reciprocate the affection i gave him. it felt like i was complete.

markus approached the floor, clearing his throat, "humans have decided to exterminate us... our people are packed in camps right now, being destroyed... time has come to make a choice. one that very well may determine the future of our people." he stood there, watching over the heads, "i know... i know you're all angry. and i know you wanna fight back... but i assure you, violence is not the answer here. we are gonna tell them peacefully that we want justice. if there's any humanity in them, they will listen. and if not, others will take our place and continue this fight. are you ready to follow me?" markus asked.

the crowd cheered, telling him that we were ready for anything. some even praised his name.

the broadcasting went up on the wall. president warren stood in front of a press conference, speaking softly over their heads, "at six am this morning, a national curfew was declared. civilian movement will be strictly controlled, the right to assembly is suspended, all electronic communications are restricted, and i have granted enhanced powers to our security agencies. in addition to these measures, all androids must be handed over to the authorities immediately. temporary camps are being set up in all our major cities to contain and destroy them. i am now asking all civilians to co-operate with the authorities and rest assured that everything in our power is being done to guarantee the security of our nation." as she paused, hands were raised, and she answered the questions calmly.

narrowing my eyes, i watched, paranoia filled. they are really killing off these androids, who haven't done anything against them.

markus turned his head to me, "ajax," he nodded to me, "how long have you been deviant?"

"n... n... not.. not too lo... l... long. few m... m... mo... mont... months." i blinked, "i... i... i ki... killed my ab... ab... abusive ow... o... owner."

markus raised an eyebrow, "i'm guessing that explains your sensitivity." he faced the screen again, "you have a good soul. one that is kind, and caring." markus started, "i can tell. don't let anyone take that away from you." and he walked off without another word.

i stood there, frozen in astonishment and shock. did... did the deviant leader... just compliment me? me?