Once You Are Awake [Humans]

Leo

I had been waking up about fifteen minutes ago, but I couldn't make myself finally get up. It was as if I couldn't remember the reason for it. Practically, I had everything I wanted. A small house at the edge of London where I could live with my family—well, half of them at least. The other half was either hidden in the dusty cabinet of a cathedral or God knows where, in Niska's case.

It wasn't only her and Fred that I missed, although it had been a lie to say that I didn't. But there was something else. Like a mysterious urge in me, that needed to be fulfilled. I was restless. I wanted more than what I had.

It didn't make sense. All the time I had been on the run, I had wanted nothing more than peace, safety and a home. Why wouldn't I be happy now?

When I entered the kitchen about twenty minutes later, breakfast was waiting for me. I was the only one needing it, yet still the others were nice enough to bear me company every morning.

Mia emptied the dishwasher, while Max sat in front of me, staring at his laptop. Normally I would ask him what he was doing but I wasn't in the mood for that.

"We need to get Niska back," I said, breaking the silence.

Mia looked at me in surprise. "But . . . we don't even know where she is."

"That's why I will start searching for her."

Mia hesitated. "She doesn't want to be with us anymore, Leo. She told you, she's living her own life now." She came close, to stroke my shoulder gently.

I shook my head. "We're still a family. Nothing can change that. We need to get Fred as well."

"We can't," Max said. "Not until we know what to do with him."

"But—"

"It's not like we wanted to leave him there, Leo, but we didn't have a choice."

"What's going on with you today?" The worried look of a mother, whose child is behaving oddly, spread over Mia's face. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing." I stood up and went over to the radio. Some news would hopefully distract me. And get the other ones attention away from my inner emotional life, that I'd rather not discuss.

". . . giving the report of synths behaving oddly, not like machines but almost like humans."

Max jumped up. Mia almost dropped the plate in her hand. I stopped breathing.

"Now together with technology experts, the police are on the scent to find out whether it could all be a matter of machinery defect or if there is more to it."

I turned round and stared at the other two.

"It can't be," Mia said. "The code is safe with Laura; she wouldn't do anything with it."

I frowned. "Then what is this?"

"I'll do some research," said Max. "We shouldn't jump to conclusions, before we know more about it."

I turned the radion off. So could it be a mistake? Coincidence? Wrong interpretation of normal synth behaviour? I doubted it.

It was about half an hour later when my phone ringed. I pulled it out to answer.

"Hello?"

"Leo, is that you?"

"Yes. Who's there?"

"It's Mattie."

"What's happened?" She wouldn't call me without a reason.

"Did you hear the news today?" She sounded worried.