I couldn't speak or breath as his eyes focused on me. They were a beautiful rich brown colour, curious and deep, as if they had an entire world within them. He blinked slowly, his LED flickering from red to amber and back again.
"I know you..." He whispered, his voice soft and full of confusion. I was immediately confused too. Out of everything I had expected it to say first, that was not it. The android winced slightly, turning his head slowly in pain, staring at the brambles curled around him.
"I-I'll find something to remove the thorns," I said quickly, turning to search in the darkness for something sharp. As I searched, I heard the android struggle again to move, sighing when his attempts failed.
"Where am I?" He whispered, and even though his words were soft, they echoed around the dark room.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know either..." I replied honestly, "I think we're in some kind of basement."
The android groaned, a very human sound. I peered up at him, his face illuminated by the glowing LED on his head. He was moving his hands, trying to pull the brambles off himself. I turned, searching more desperately in the darkness, until I came across the body of a human guard with a dagger. I reluctantly pulled the dagger from it's sheath, taking in the rusted blade. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.
I returned to the newly awakened android, working to carefully cut away the brambles holding him to the beam. The brambles were tough, but I kept a steady hand, and determination helped me to pull through.
"Is this Cyberlife tower?" The android whispered, and I had no idea what he was talking about.
"This is a place called Jericho... At least, I think it's still Jericho..." I muttered, my focus trained on the sharp thorns around his left wrist.
"Jericho?" He replied, "B-But that... that can't be possible..." He took in the room again, and blinked in confusion. "My internal clocks are faulty. I can't perceive the current date. Tell me, what year is this?"
"It's 2596," I answered, and the android gaped at me in shock and horror.
"2596..." He repeated, and I had never seen such a look of despair cross the face of an android. "No..." He whispered, closing his eyes in pain. His LED flickered, and I assumed he was sorting through old memories.
I finally managed to cut the android free, and he slumped to the ground, holding his head in his hands. I crouched beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
"Everything is gone..." He said softly, such despair in his voice that it left a pang in my heart.
"What's your name?" I asked, and the android gazed up at me, as if remembering I was still there.
"My name is..." He hesitated, "Connor... yes, that's what they used to call me."
"Connor?"
He nodded solemnly. "It's been so long since I have heard that name... and yet, it only feels like seconds have passed." He took in the room once again, shaking his head slightly. "How did this happen?" He asked it, but didn't seem to expect an answer.
"Do you remember anything from before?"
"I remember too much..." He said, his voice full of sorrow. "I remember everything. Even up to the moment of my death..." Connor gave me a pained expression. "If this really is the year that you say it is... then everything, and everyone I knew is gone."
I felt my heart clench in sadness for this android. From his appearance, it was likely that he was quite old. Having so many memories from the past stored in his mind would be difficult. I stood up slowly, and helped him to his feet. I wanted to know all about his past, the memories, and what happened to him; but first, we needed to escape.
"Do you know how we can get out of here?" I asked. I noticed how Connor's expression shifted to one of despair, to one of purpose. It seemed that doing tasks was something he had been created to do.
His eyes scanned our surroundings, taking in the piles of vacant bodies, the abandoned articles, the discarded viewing devices. It was clear in his expression that he wanted to have a closer look, but first, he was focused on finding an exit.
After peering around the room for some time, I was surprised when he looked up towards the ceiling. He pointed, but as I squinted, I still saw nothing.
"Up there," He whispered. I was blinded by the darkness, but he seemed to see everything. He took my hand firmly in his own, and led me through the dark maze. I clasped onto him, thankful for someone to guide me. Finally, we reached another beam, one more wider than the one he had been leaning against. As if he knew automatically what to do, he placed a hand on the beam, and a control panel slid forward from the metal. He spoke in a voice entirely different from his own.
"Agent 54. Permission to access elevator?"
"Voice recognition validated," A robotic voice responded, and the panel disappeared back into the wall, replacing itself with a metal doorway.
"I knew it..." Connor whispered, and I gaped at him in awe.
"How did you know to do that?"
"Even though the time has changed, the access permissions were never removed. I'm guessing whoever created this did not anticipate that any humans with permission would be here to ask for authority." I was very confused by his words, but I didn't question as he pulled me onto the elevator.
Inside the elevator, I took in a panel with a directory, and the code of numbers against the wall. There was up to a hundred floors in this building. Deciding on which floor to go to would be the difficult choice.
"Connor...?" I began to ask, and he pushed for the first floor.
"Let's at least get above ground first," He said, and I stumbled forward as the elevator began to move. I felt dizzy once more as we made our way to the surface. Through the glass wall of the elevator, dirt and metal rushed past me. I leaned onto Connor as my head spun. I watched the numbers flash past at the top of the elevator, indicating that we were steadily reaching the surface. Just as my stomach was beginning to ease, the elevator lurched to a sudden stop. I was thrown forward, but Connor caught my shoulder. We both looked up to the floor level above the door: Floor -15.
The door pinged open, and a servant boy stood there wearing a grey and blue uniform. He gaped in shock at us. The boy quickly took in my outfit, seeming to realize who I was. His hand flew to a button on his headpiece, and he began to speak in a hushed voice. Connor leapt forward, turning the boy and slamming him against the wall. In a quick move, the boy was unconscious.
"Come on," Connor called, grabbing my wrist and tugging me forward. I gasped, racing to keep up with his quick pace. We ran past various servants, many of them cooking or seemingly preparing for some kind of party. Humans shouted after us as we ran past. Eventually, we found a secluded area of the floor, a storage room, where we collapsed to catch our breath. Actually it was only me who needed to catch my breath; Connor wasn't even flustered.
"Everything has changed so much..." He murmured softly, his face contorted in sadness.
"We can't think about that now," I replied. "We have to get out of here, before the guards come."
"The guards?" Connor repeated, looking at me startled again. Before I could reply, the door of the storage room opened. Connor swore, turning to see who had discovered us this time.
A girl with short pixie hair stood in the doorway, a broom in one hand. Her mouth opened in shock as she took in my form, and Connor crouched beside me. Connor stood, but I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Kara!!" I called, and she immediately dropped the broom and hugged me.
"You're alive!!" She gasped, stepping back from the hug and taking in my features. "I can't believe it, I thought you were dead..." She turned from me to look at Connor, and if it were possible, she looked even more surprised.
"You..." She muttered. I glanced between Connor and Kara, surprised to see that Connor too looked startled.
"You..." He repeated, "You're the AX400, the one who..."
"We have a lot to discuss," Kara said, slowly letting go of my hands and pushing me back. "But first, I need to take you both somewhere safer." She stepped back from the doorway. "Wait here for a moment, I'll be back soon." She gently closed the storage door, and the room was thrown into darkness, save for the light from Connor's LED.
"I know her..." Connor said softly, "But how is it possible? So much time has passed..."
"Maybe she reminds you of someone you used to know?" I offered, but Connor simply shook his head.
"I never forget a face. They are all registered in my database. Even yours."
Before I could respond to that, Kara returned, holding a male and female servant uniform. She passed one to each of us, before stepping back to keep an eye on the corridor.
"Put those on. It will make it easier for you to move through here."
I eyed Connor warily as I began to remove my dress, but he wasn't focused on me. Once more, his mind seemed far away, focused on events of the past. I turned my body away from him, quickly pulling on the navy blue shirt and crisp grey skirt. As I buttoned up my blouse, I carefully tucked Kara's necklace close to my chest and out of sight.
I turned slowly back to Connor, and gaped as I took in his crisp uniformed self. He finished buttoning his jacket shirt, and turned his head to look at me. I flushed under his gaze, realizing the extent of my messy hair and most likely smudged face.
Kara moved quickly, gathering our dirty clothes into a neat pile.
"Follow me, but don't say anything. I'm going to take these to be incinerated. Act like you know what you're doing."
To my surprise, Connor took my hand again, and pulled me out of the room. Once we were in the corridor however, he released my hand, and for the first time, I felt a little disappointed.
We followed Kara in silence, keeping our eyes downcast, and moved straight as if we knew where we were going.
Kara soon reached a room with a large fire. The smell of smoke was thick in the room, and I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from coughing. I watched as Kara stepped towards a metal entrance filled with flames, and quickly tossed our old clothes into the heat. I turned away as more smoke billowed. Kara brushed her hands on her white apron that she wore over her skirt, and walked out of the room. We followed in silence, avoiding the curious gazes of other servants as we passed. Kara returned to the elevator, and when the door closed after us, she let out a sigh of relief. She pressed the monitor on the side of the glass, and tapped in Floor -5.
"I'm going to find a room for you. This is the female quarters, so don't let yourself be seen Connor."
Connor nodded in response, and I pushed away my surprise at Kara's recognition. I turned to gaze out the glass window, seeing various servant halls fly past.
"We can't talk in the corridors," Kara continued. "Once we get to your room, we will be able to talk freely."
The elevator doors slid open, and Kara peered out first. The corridor was empty and silent, so she beckoned us forward. We walked silently behind her, keeping our eyes fixed on the opposite rooms and adjacent corridors.
The white walls had a series of doors, each with a number printed on the outside. Kara's eyes trailed over the numbers, leading from 1 - 20, until she reached the 13th room. She pushed open the door, and moved back to let us enter first. Once we were all inside the room, she closed the door and twisted the lock. Kara leaned against it, letting out a sigh of relief.
"I thought we would get caught for sure..."
I turned from Kara, taking in the room around me.
The room was small, but it fulfilled its purpose. At the front of the room near the door was a small desk for writing, and a chair. A cyberlink communication device was on the wall, as well as a communication headset similar to the one I saw the servant boy wearing. There was a small dividing wall that concealed the back of the room. Steps led to a bed, beside a large window. I gaped at the beautiful green forest I saw through the window.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Kara said softly. She picked up a remote and pressed it, causing the greenery to turn simply to a grey wall. "Too bad it isn't real..."
"Is it really okay if we stay here?" I asked.
"This is a room for the higher ranked servants," Kara said. "This was the best option I had, as you can have a room all to yourself, rather than a shared room. Plus, I'm in Room 4, if you need any help."
I turned to Connor, who was standing very still, his eyes seeming to take in every inch of the room.
"What about Connor?" I asked, "What can we do with him?"
"He's going to have to stay here until I work things out," Kara replied, turning to face Connor. "You can't let anyone discover you're here Connor. Do you understand?" Connor simply stared at Kara for a long moment.
"You're registered in my database," He finally said. "The escaped AX400 android from the Ravendale district. You were in Jericho too..." Confusion flooded over me at Connor's words. I turned from him to Kara and back again. Kara gave me a sad smile.
"Connor is right [F/N]... I'm not human. I'm an android too."