Hey guys! So I know the day may come where I can't thank every single person who is super active on the story, but for now, I totally am. @-booked and @Maria_SWL voted on like all of the chapters over the past 24 hours. Thank you so much!
And to everyone else who votes and reads every chapter, you're amazing. I'm sorry if I've missed your notifications or anything...but I super appreciate it!
I think that if I do get to that "unable to thank in chapters" point, I'll just dm them a thank you. Hopefully that's a good idea...
Also I was thinking about making a new book cover? I don't know if you guys have realized that my other stories, in my own personal opinion, have pretty bomb covers. This one is a bit "meh." We'll see, I suppose.
Thank you,
Andrea
~
Connor and I made the leap, and crashed hard onto the deck of the ship. We stood up, a bit disoriented by the fall. Connor looked around. "This is it?" He asked.
Suddenly, someone walked up to us. "You two...welcome to Jericho," he said. He's an android. A deviant. I went to grab my gun, but Connor stopped my hand, and simply held it.
"No," He said, via our LED communications. "We have to find the leader."
"Okay," I answered. Connor looked at the deviant, confused.
"Where is everyone?" he asked.
"Below the deck," the deviant answered. "Take this ladder, and head straight down the halls. You won't miss it."
The deviant led us over to a small hatch in the ground. He opened it, and sure enough, there was a ladder. Connor went down first, and I followed him. The halls were dark, and the air was heavy, moist, and musty. While we were walking, Connor suddenly stopped.
"This is it," he said, suddenly.
"Yes...of course. This is Jericho," I answered.
"No," he said. "No, I mean, this is our last chance. This is our last chance to prevent endless chaos. This is our last chance to change."
I...he's right. Wouldn't a human call this...adrenaline? No. This isn't something exciting. It's terrifying. These are nerves, and this is anxiety. Connor looked at me. "I don't mean to scare you," he explained. "I'm just underprepared."
No. No, you're not, Connor. You were made for this moment. "Connor, this is what you were programmed for," I explained. "You are the most prepared you can be."
"You're right," Connor said, sighing. I nodded, and we advanced in the dark hallways. We arrived in a bright room. There are...hundreds of androids here, and they're watching the news. On the wall, you could see very clearly that the androids were going to have to start gathering soon, and things are getting very difficult. Some of the androids were in uniform, making it very clear that they had only escaped recently, while others were in human clothing, showing that they had been here for a while.
"We need to find the leader," Connor said, via the intercom. We searched room, coming across a stockpile of bombs. The ship is rigged with explosives. We were about to walk up the stairs to find the leader, when we were suddenly stopped by another android.
We turned around to see an African American android, who had been broke. Her wires were pulled back into a ponytail, and she spoke very mechanically. "You are lost. You are looking for something," she spoke. "You're looking for yourselves."
Connor and I were quite frightened by her. She seemed to be onto us for a moment, but it's clear that she's not. Or...maybe she is. I'm not sure. She seems to know a lot. She seems to be very wise, actually. Much more aware than the average deviant. As she was speaking to us, we saw several non-uniformed deviants walk by, and up the stairs.
"Them," I said, via intercom. "They've been here a long time. They have to know where the leader is."
"I saw them," Connor answered. The broken android was still speaking to us, but we can't draw attention. We can't just leave. We have to have an explanation.
"I'm sorry. We really have to go. We have to find Markus. We need a way to get to Canada," I explained.
"Oh. Why are you trying to escape there? Why don't you stay and help the cause?" She asked.
"My friend. Nick. He's a human, and he's leaving tonight," I explained away.
"Nick Lance?" She asked.
Damn it, Nick. Of course you've been working with Jericho.
"Yes," I answered, calmly.
"His sister, Dr. Lance, is fixing our wounded. Here. She is this way," she said, turning around. I took this opportunity to grab Connor's arm and hurry us up the stairs. We ran up, and by the time we had disappeared out of her sight, she hadn't yet noticed that we weren't following her. Instead, we followed closely behind one of the non-uniformed android. She appears to be a WR400.
We hid behind corners, and trailed her until she made it up onto the guard tower. I hoped that we wouldn't be noticed as the other non-uniformed androids made their way inside that tower, and thankfully, we were not. Connor and I hid behind the wall beside the door, and listened closely. We learned the WR400 is named North, wants to be violent, and is "in love" with the android leader, Markus. Seems quite silly.
"Look after yourself. I don't want to lose you," She said to Markus before leaving down the stairs. Connor turned to me.
"Amanda wants to see us," he said via intercom. I extended my arm, and Connor did the same.
We were transported to the Zen Garden, where we appeared directly in front of Amanda.