One of Us is Hiding Something | The Full Stories

NIGHT 2

HK1 takes a deep breath, clutching their rezet as they swallow the knot in their throat, eyes searching for roaming androids. They don't seem to be very active tonight; HK1 can't see anyone.

They knock on the door, hoping this approach will be a lot easier than breaking in.

The door swings open.

The target tilts her head as she wipes the makeup from her face.

"Is everything okay?"

HK1 shrugs gently, a knot in their stomach. "Can I come in real quick?"

The target hesitates but nods. "Sure, yeah, come in."

HK1 strides in, holding the rezet out of sight.

"What do you think about what happened today?" HK1 asks, feeling sick.

"It's insane," the target says as she throws the cloth she'd been cleaning her face with away, pulling her dark hair into a bun, the red ends wrapping tightly around the black roots. "I don't understand why all this is happening. Androids aren't even safe from what's happening."

HK1 swallows hard just as the target turns to a mirror on her vanity to wipe whatever makeup remains.

"You... You are an android, aren't you?"

The target turns and smiles over her shoulder like she's done a million times.

"Of course."

HK1 nods and walks forward as the target turns back to the mirror.

"If I wasn't, I'd be dead by now, right? Even with that rebellion."

"I'm sorry," HK1 says. The target furrows her brow.

In mid-turn HK1 presses the rezet against the target's temple and squeezes the trigger.

The body falls to the ground.

GoldenSunryse is dead.

An innocent human.

What HK1 should be fighting for.

They fall to their knees, overwhelmed as they drop the rezet to the floor, silencing their sobs. This is the second time they've killed a human. Blood...

Blood has stained their hands and they will never be washed clean.

+ + +

"You wait out here," RK1 says to RK2. They'd decided to choose one together. The sun is setting and their target should be headed back from wherever she was during the day. RK1 sneaks in and hides in the closet behind a pile of clothing in the corner, staying as still as a robot can. RK2 crouches in a tree, watching the entrance and windows carefully.

While standing in the closet, RK1 notices a notch in the wall. Curiosity pushes them forward and they find themselves smiling as they pull the notch.

A doorway opens to reveal something that looks like an elevator shaft, a silent one like the ones in the tall buildings in in the city.

"So you are one of them."

RK1 hears the jingling of keys and they shut the doorway carefully, returning to their spot as the victim comes into their house. Silently, they wait and wait for what seems like hours.

And then the victim begins muttering to themselves.

"If that isn't who it is... and if they're an android..."

RK1 bangs their fist against the closet door, the girl across the room shouting. After a moment, she comes rushing over to the closet and swings it open, her eyes landing on RK1, confused at first, then unamused.