The man flinched. He raised one arm, the other arm supporting the person on his back. The woman who was searching through the trash climbed out, moving defensively beside the man.
"Easy..." He said slowly. "We're just searching for shelter from the rain..." The woman's eyes lit up in recognition as she noticed Connor's face. You backed away with Connor at your side, planning to run for it when you had the chance.
"Wait!!" The woman said quickly. You hurriedly rose to your feet, Connor already preparing to sprint. "Stop, we're deviants too!!"
You froze. Connor's hand was on your back. No one moved. You turned slowly to face the woman. She took the flashlight from the mans hand. She shone it at her face; An LED dimly flashing red on her temple. How had you not noticed it before? She tossed the flashlight back to the man, and he caught it in one hand.
"You're the RK800 that escaped, aren't you?" She said quietly, not as a question. She continued. "I recognized you the moment I saw your face. They are putting posters up of you all around the city."
You stood slightly defensively in front of Connor. The gun was still clasped in your hand. Connor put his hand on your shoulder. He analyzed the woman's face.
"It's okay..." He said to you. "She's an android; An AV500. A commercial android designed for customer service." She appeared surprised at Connor's high amount of knowledge. He continued. "You were reported missing a month ago. You were registered with the name Rebecca." You lowered your gun.
"It's no wonder Cyberlife is searching for you," She responded. "Yes, my name is Rebecca. But I prefer Bec." She gestured in a sweeping motion to the man beside her, and the figure he carried on his shoulder.
"This is Nox. You don't need to analyze him, he's an AC700. He's my partner..." Nox raised his hand in greeting. He moved closer.
"You don't need to be scared," He said, in response to your hands still closed around the gun. "We thought you were humans... we didn't want to get caught. Especially..." He hesitated. "Especially not with Jade, the way she is now." He nodded his head towards the figure he carried on his shoulders. You finally noticed her. She was an android like the others. The skin was deactivated around the left side of her face and head. Blue blood stained her chest, seeping through her clothing. You would think she was completely deactivated, if not for the steady rising and falling of her chest. Bec looked at her sadly. She forced her face back to yours.
"They came after us. Jade... she was never a fast one. They attacked her quickly. We... We tried to get away, as fast as possible..." She sat down against the wall of the alleyway. "It's getting desperate. She's losing thyrium fast. Nox and I have been taking turns transplanting our thyrium to her, but it's not enough now."
The gun had been returned to your pocket now. Connor's hand was still on your shoulder, but not defensively; More in a comforting way. He could sense your disturbance at the sight of the damaged android.
"Let me look at her," You heard yourself say. What were you saying? The other androids looked surprised. You continued without thinking. "I studied androids for a long time; I might be able to help stop the flow of blood." You took the pack off your back, pulling out a small first aid kit, which you had filled with things that may help you or Connor. Bec met Connor's gaze, and he nodded reassuringly.
"[F/N] helped me once before; it seems like a long time ago now... She can help Jade too."
---
Jade was in a bad state of disrepair. Her wounds had been left for a long time untreated. You weren't sure if the synthetic skin would ever properly heal. You did manage to stitch together the synthetic skin on her head, which was now dysfunctional. You stretched it so it covered the deactivated part of her scalp. After removing her jacket, you analyzed the crudely stitched wound that stretched across her chest, blue blood oozing slowly from it. You took out the original stitches and fixed it with a neater line of stitches. Once the wounds were properly stitched up, and the synthetic skin was stretched over them, you opened your backpack again and pulled out a bottle filled with Thyrium 310. You had others in the bag, bottles that you brought in case of an emergency for Connor's sake. And this was an emergency; this android needed your help. You leaned her on your shoulder slightly and gently dripped the liquid into her mouth. You let her drain the whole bottle. You were satisfied when the red LED on her temple turned amber and then to blue. She went into rest mode. You leaned Jade against the wall of the alley. You were unaware of your audience, until that moment, even as they held the flashlight for you. You turned to look at Nox, Bec, and Connor again.
Nox and Bec stared at you in awe. Connor smiled at you, not surprised, but pleased. You smiled back at him.
"That was incredible..." Nox gasped out. "Where did you learn to do that?"
Before you could reply, Bec interrupted. "We were so lucky to find you..." She grasped your hand. "You must be a doctor or a... a healer..." You blushed. It wasn't that impressive. Nox went over to check on Jade. Connor took your other hand.
"[F/N] used to study androids... she is different. I'm not sure if you have noticed it yet, but [F/N] is a human."
Bec looked surprised. She held your hand tighter, and you noticed she was feeling for a pulse. Her eyes widened and she pulled her hand away.
"A human and an android together... that's not something you see every day."
---
You proceeded to tell Nox and Bec about how you had come to meet Connor. While the rain streamed off the roof, you told them how you had studied androids, and worked at the Detroit Police Department as part of your training. You had begun to notice the human qualities in androids, and Connor also had. After Connor became deviant, you had decided to run away together in the hopes of finding a place where you could both be together safely. Nox and Bec listened with curiosity. They had never heard of an android and a human being together romantically before, and this surprised them. When you mentioned that you were both now on the run from Cyberlife, Bec spoke up.
"Well, why don't you two come with us? We're going to a place where androids can live safely."
Connor looked at you in surprise.
"What place is there...?" He asked slowly.
"We've only heard rumours about it, but we've heard enough to know it really exists," Nox spoke up, his expression serious. "It's a place called Jericho. We know they can help Jade there... maybe they can help you both too." Connor squeezed your hand. You met his gaze. A place where you could be safe... that couldn't be possible, right?
---
You remained hidden with your little group until morning came. When the first rays of sunlight began to stretch over the horizon, you were gone. With the light of day approaching, you could now clearly see the features of your traveling party. Bec had long amber coloured hair, that covered the LED on her temple. Light brown freckles covered her slightly tanned skin, making her look more human than most other androids. Her green eyes stood out on her face. Even with the cold weather, she wore a short sleeved khaki shirt, and torn denim jeans. She walked protectively beside Nox and Jade. Nox had dark hair, the colour of the night, you thought. He wore a black buttoned coat over grey pants. With his dark clothing, it was no wonder it was hard to see him in the dark the evening you met. He still carried Jade on his back, even though her condition was more stable now. Jade had blonde hair, golden like the sun. You could imagine that, if not for the damage to the left side of her face, she would have been stunningly beautiful. Unlike the others, she seemed smaller, like a human teenager. she wore a white long sleeved shirt, that was now stained with blue and torn from use. She also wore denim jeans, and you noticed that she had no shoes, just socks. You assumed that she lost them when trying to run away. With the daylight, her lack of skin on the left side of her face was more obvious. If someone saw it, you would be captured in a second.
"Connor give me your scarf."
Connor obliged, and you wrapped the scarf carefully around the left side of Jade's head. That was better. She was still in rest mode, wrapped around Nox's shoulders. Nox smiled at you.
"Thank you [F/N]."
As you walked, Bec told you and Connor how their group came to be. Bec had only known Nox for about a month, but when they met, they soon became really close. Bec told you the story of how she worked selling fast food. She said that it wasn't a very exciting story, but after having food thrown at her, and people complaining constantly, she felt like she wanted to fight back. So one evening, she simply ran away. She thought there was more to her life than selling junk food to humans. She told you and Connor how she was alone for a very long time. No one ever reported her as missing, so no one found her. She traveled from abandoned house to house, never staying in one place for too long. One night, she stayed in a house that she thought was abandoned, and found Nox and Jade. Nox had worked as a personal fitness trainer at the house of a wealthy family. That family desperately wanted to have a daughter, and bought Jade, an android who looked like a teenage girl to fill that space. They were kind enough to Jade, but they only treated her as a human when around other families of the same class. They wanted to keep up social standards, and have a 'perfect' daughter, one who others thought was human. Jade would visit Nox often, him being the only other android at the house who understood her. They ran away together, Nox promising that he would take care of Jade as a father would. When they found an abandoned house to stay at, they found Bec. Bec had heard of a place called 'Jericho' through very brief conversation she had had with other androids in the past, and decided that they could all live peacefully there.
"We have to go to Ferndale Station," Bec finished. "From there, we should be able to find Jericho. That's what I have been told."
"I know it sounds farfetched," Nox spoke up. "After all, it is only a rumor." He took Bec's hand and she smiled at him. "But it's our only hope... for us, and for Jade."
---
Ferndale wasn't far from where you had stayed the previous night. Your group managed to reach the station by midday, Connor and Nox taking turns to carry Jade. You had only known these androids for a short amount of time, and yet it felt like you had known them forever. With all the crowds in the station, your group managed to go unnoticed. Connor analyzed the graffiti on the walls of the station, discovering quickly that it was a clue that would lead to Jericho.
Connor went in front, following the path showed through the secret drawings. To you, they only looked like graffiti, but the androids in your group saw it as a map; leading straight to Jericho.
Connor helped you over obstacles and through broken fences. Nox carried Jade the whole way, still in rest mode on his back. Perhaps some proper rest at Jericho would do her some good.
You were becoming hopeful now. The androids who had established this place had gone to great lengths to stop humans from finding it. Perhaps this really could be a place you and Connor could call home.
You soon reached an area filled with old shipping containers, metal bridges, discarded rusty cranes, and a huge old freighter that stood out among it all. You couldn't tell you were shaking until Connor took your hand. He squeezed it, as he always did.
"There it is," Bec said, and you could hear the hope in her voice too. "That's Jericho."