H.A.I.U.

~6~

I made it to school safely. Lunch I spent alone. I went back to class. Learned stuff I already knew. I would be walking home today, so maybe I'll be far behind the girl and her bot.

As I walked along the street--or really limped--I felt at peace. Birds were chirping, all was fine. I relaxed. I guess I really did miss them.

I kept walking, a sudden bounce in my step. I made it all the way home, no disruptions.

But then I heard it.

Crying. The pitiful crying of a cat.

My cat.

I quickly rushed into my backyard and saw them holding my cat by his tail over a flame from the security bot's hand. "Oh, Monica, just in time. Wanna play with us?" the girl asked.

"Put him down." I said, my voice cracking. My cat yowled again, and my heart felt heavy. Like more of my dust was blowing away.

"Why? I think he's getting cold with this weather. I wanted to heat him up a little bit." she said, lowering him into the flame.

"No! Put him down, please. You can do anything you want, just not to him." I said, and immediately regretted it. Her head perked up. "Oh, really?" she purred. She dropped Dipstick, and he went scrambling away. I tried to back up, but the twins were behind me. "Big mistake." they whispered in unison.

"Security bot, you know that new weapons system you have? Use it on her, as a test to see if it works."

The bot's face turned red, and a gun appeared from its side. "Don't waste too much ammo, so just shoot the heart or something. Nothing some hospital time won't fix." she said, and my stomach did a flipity-twisty thing with my heart. Let's call it the tango.

The bot raised the gun to me, but suddenly someone was in front of me.

"Risa, what are you doing?" the figure asked, their voice deep with anguish.

"You--you--you should be dead."

"I'm not. What are you doing?" they asked again firmly. The twins gripped my forearms, and my vision danced with black dots. Let's call that one the foxtrot.

"Look, Kathi told me to do this when she left. I'd do anything for her. Besides, she wouldn't want harm on someone without a reason." the girl, Risa, snapped.

Kathi?

I was trembling now, my heart fluttering.

"Well, you have to stop."

"No! This girl did something really bad if Kathi wanted her to commit suicide. It's hard to anger Kathi. I bet Monica here probably killed Kathi's dad or something. Stole a precious family heirloom and sold it for five bucks."

"Just...stop hurting her."

"Why? Why are you even protecting her?"

"I have my reasons."

The hand on my arm tightened. I was breathing heavily now, my heart a thunder.  

"I'm not going to stop--what are you doing?!" Risa shrieked as Haiu turned his floating arm into the gun I had last night. He shot the security bot, and it fell to the ground steaming.

By then, I was limp, fainting.

When I awoke, I was in my room. A dream? But then I smelt burnt hair, and I turned my head to see a cowering, slightly-burnt Dipstick. I picked him up and wrapped myself around him. "At least you're okay." I whispered into the empty silence.

"Hey, bathroom!" I called across the house. "Yes?"

"Play How The Mighty Fall by Fallout Boy, volume on full!"

"Why?"

"You know I hate silence! Are you having a glitch, forgetting everything?"

"Nope! Not at all...uh, Mono."

I pet Dipstick, and then decided that I should definitely poop. I went to the bathroom, and jumped when it asked, "So, do you know why that girl was doing that to you?"

"Again, no. Why are you so curious?"

"To...um, fix it. I'm supposed to fix things, right?"

"You aren't sentiment, so why do you sound it?" I snapped. I was getting very confused. And worried. Did they somehow make all current robots sentimental?

"Um. Google. I googled how to react to things, so I can make your...time spent more...like a human contact."

"What is with all those hesitations."

"Word issues. So, I heard something about a girl named Kathi?"

"Something about her? You know she's my ex. Dumped me the day we moved, called me trash, and said she lied to me about ever liking me. She just pitied me or something. That's why I don't trust anyone anymore, because Kathi was the nicest person on Earth. Everyone said so. And when they said that they were doing this to me every day because of her, that just...I can't. I just can't."

"Can't what?"

"You sure are the curious bean. I can't take it anymore. I don't even know why I wake up in the mornings anymore."

"You should keep waking up."

"Why?"

"Your pa."

"He doesn't even know me anymore, and you know it. He thinks I'm this popular girl in school. In fact, he thinks Kathi and I are still a thing."

"So, you're lesbian?"

"How much did you erase? I'm just bi, stupid robot."

"You should make that a T-shirt. 'You're a stupid robot.'"

I actually laughed. I stopped myself, and wiped so I could wash my hands and leave. But I had to test one thing.

"Bathroom, what's my mom's name?"

"Uh. It's...I erased it?"

I punched the mirror. "Who the heck are you, and why are you in my bathroom?" I shouted.

"I'm the bathroom!"

"No, you aren't! Tell me who you are and where you are so I can gut you to pieces for invasion of privacy!"

"Jeez, chill your tits I meant no harm--"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN, YOU MUTHER TRUCKING STALKER!!!"

"Okay. Well, I'm just your friendly neighborhood cyborg that's hiding in your garage because my dad would kill me if he found me."

I dashed out of the bathroom and threw the garage door open. It was a small garage, almost empty. Except there was now a computer in here with a familiar cyborg on it, and a headset. He looked up and waved.

I dashed into the kitchen, grabbed all the cutlery, and dashed back to the garage. "I said get out of my house!" I shouted, and threw a knife at him. His eyes went wide, and he scrambled out of the way. After  ran out of knives, I threw the thing that held them. It hit him square in the forehead, and he crumpled to the floor.

Huh. I guess he did have an organic brain.