Wires

On The Run

Jackson smiled as I shoved him away. "eat your food!" I giggled. And, for a moment, I wasn't worried about Jeff Cowry or Nathan Burns. I was here. For now. I felt myself embraced from behind. Jackson kissed the back of my neck and I giggled. "Down boy, down!" I teased. He pulled away. 

"Fine." He pouted.

 "Oh I'm sowy, did I hurt you fewings?" I asked in a baby voice. Jackson rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah." He embraced me once more. "You better make it up to me." He teased.

"Really tough guy? Last time I think you pulled something." I smacked his arm lightly. 

"Whatever." And he kissed me again.

~~~~

There was pounding on the door. It was late. I looked up. "Jackson. Door." I wasn't allowed to go to the door because it could be anyone.

 "Fine." He groaned and stood up from the bed and walked out of the room, pulling a shirt on that he grabbed off the floor. I sighed. "Hey. What's the big idea man? It's three a.m." I heard Jackson complain. 

"Jackson Grey, we have a search warrant for your house. It is believed that you are keeping top secret government technology here." Oh no. I had to go! But Jackson. No. It was all for nothing of they got to me. 

"Of course. Come in." He was being loud. He was warning me. I sighed and lifted the window open. Goodbye Jackson. I slipped out the window, closing it behind me, and took off into the night. 

~~~~

I wandered the streets aimlessly. Jackson. I had known him for such a short period of time but, I felt like I knew him. Like I had known him for a long time. Years. My entire life even. Everything about him was familiar. Had Sarah known him perhaps? Maybe. It didn't matter anyway. I walked along. I found a 20 dollar bill laying on the sidewalk. Bus. I could get out of here, go far away. Not have to put Jackson in danger. Yes. That would do. That would do.

~~~~

I was headed three towns over, the only one on the bus. "You know, I don't often see your kind on this bus." My kind? What did he know?! I took a sharp breath but remained quiet. "Most like you are more scared, running from their parents, their husbands, the law, you? Now, you're different. You're nervous but in a different way. Like you're protecting someone." Ah! What the hell?!

"Protecting? I'm just going to see my family." I choked out. It sounded so fake. I knew it did. I glance out the window at the darkness. The sun would rise soon. It was 5 am now. The sun rose later now, about 7 am. Winter was in full swing. 

"Don't lie to me girl.  I see hundreds of people on this bus every single day. People running from things, running to things, protecting people, hurting people . I know what I see."  I gulped. Not good. Not good. I shook my head and opened my mouth to object. "What's your name?" He interrupted. I wanted to say Hope but, that was reserved for Jackson. The name I had given myself because he gave me freedom. It was special. So, so special. 

"Sarah. My name is Sarah." I lied. Agh! How did my voice crack?! It was freaking programmed!! 

"OK, if you don't want to to tell me you don't have to. But, Sarah is not your name. I can tell." Ugh! Ugh ugh ugh!!! Why?!?! Why didn't he just shut up?! "My dear, I'm not going to hurt you. You can tell me." I saw his eyes in the mirror above his seat. Something in those eyes....they made me want to trust him. Maybe. Was this human instinct? I wouldn't have known. 

"Hope. My name, I mean." The bus driver smiled. 

"Hope. Ironic name for someone like you. Running from life. Lost and alone. Hope." His smile softened. "But, in the darkest corners, light can shine through."  The bus stopped. "Here you are." I stood and walked to the front. "Here." Then he held out his hand. My money. "You need it." I hesitated but took it. Then stepped down the steps and turned back to look at him.

"Thank you sir." I nodded. He smiled.

"No problem. We'll meet in the future, trust me." He winked but before I could respond the door had closed. And he had taken off.

~~~~

I walked through the snow. It was cold, my sensors told me that. I wasn't affected by it but it wasn't good for my wiring. I walked down an alleyway. I heard the song of laughter. I glanced down to see a bunch of homeless, huddled around a barrel, laughing and singing. One of them saw me and waved. 

"Come join in! We don't bite...hard." There was an explosion of laughter. I walked over. "Honey, you must be freezing! Come sit by the fire!" A man with kind eyes gestured me closer. "Jake! You have an extra coat don't you?! This girl is freezing!" The man guided me to sit next to the fire. 

"Yeah!" The man called Jake came forward and handed me a coat. I accepted and placed it around my shoulders. There were maybe ten people clustered here. 

"What's your name honey?" The first man asked. I hesitated only a second.

"Sarah. Yours?" I asked. I hoped they couldn't tell I was lying. 

"I'm Martin, you met Jake. This is Martha, Sadie, Eric, Sam, Max, Lindsey, Grover, and Davin." He went around the circle, gesturing to each person in turn. They smiled gently.

So, I spent the night listening to stories and talking. I didn't laugh like the others, human humor was somewhat new to me. But they were kind. The fire was dwindling and the sun was rising. We sat there for a few hours then parted. It was nice, interacting with humans. They were curious creatures. The desire to help one another, but at the same time, the need to hurt each other. It was unusual to me, a robot who was new to humans and their laws and principles. I tried not to look into Sarah's memories too far. I didn't want to invade her like that. She was dead but she was still a person. I realized something. I had all her memories. Not just the bit from before. No, everything. I hadn't looked. I didn't now. How much had Nathan loved her? 

~~~~

I could bring only unhappiness, misfortune. Nathan, I had been unable to give him his love back. His precious Sarah. Jackson, I had dragged him into my mess and he didn't deserve it. Then there was me, trapped, forced to experience human emotions and feelings I was never meant to. Yes, I was trapped, lost, alone. So, so alone. 

I couldn't hurt anyone else. I couldn't let myself get close to people. Jeff, wherever he was, would find them. I hoped he was paralyzed. I remembered the crunch of his bones breaking. The feeling of exhilaration. The man who wanted to control me. Violence is an unusual thing, a bad thing. But, I felt in control of my life. In that split second, I had risen to control. I wasn't being told what to do. I was the deciding force, making my own decisions. I looked at my hands. I craved that control. It scared me. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE-

Hey guys. I'm sorry I took a while to update, I was busy all July. I've also been writing a new story so look out for that. It's called 'Life Sucks' thanks to the three people who actually read my writing, I greatly appreciate it. Stay awesome 

~Melanie