Automaton Girl

Part 2 - Chapter 8 - Wound

That night I couldn't sleep.

Perhaps it was the unfamiliarity of the unit I was sleeping in, or the fact that I could hear just about any time someone was walking beside any side of my wall --- which was quite constant --- but it was a sleepless night. I couldn't stop thinking about whether this place was going to become a home, or a prison.

I watched the clock turn from 5:59 to 6:00. Exactly on the dot at 6, my room eluminated, the slick white walls and floor made of glass stinging my eyes. It forced me awake. The intercom clicked on, and a voice spoke through it.

Good morning, it spoke. It was an automated voice, but sounded normal. Just oddly monotone --- much like CR 0.

We will begin work hours in exactly fifteen minutes. Please take preparatory measures; all doors in the unit that are locked overnight will unlock, and the day will begin. And the intercom turned off, and I was left in silence.

This place seemed more like a place you go when you don't know what to do anymore. I never really grasped the concept of what this building was for, yet. I assumed CIA, but it seemed more like an experimental research facility. Whichever seemed more preferable, I'm not sure.

The doors unlocked a few minutes after I took a shower --- the water turned on automatically and would not shut off no matter how much I tried, and it seemed like such a waste of water --- and promptly got dressed. I walked out, rubbing my glasses on my shirt to take off any smudges, and decided to find CR 0. I wondered if she was okay.

It only took a few moments. It seemed she was doing the same.

"Darren," she said in an excited tone. 

I smiled. "CR 0, I ---"

I was interrupted by the door next to me sliding open, and January appeared.

"Good morning. We have quite the agenda for you." She's speaking directly to CR 0, but then she turns to me. "And you, too, since you've been dragged along."

"Hm? CR 0 and I?"

She nods. But then, she raises an eyebrow. "CR 0? That's what you call it?"

"Her," I corrected. Something irked in me when she referred to CR 0 as it.

"You refer the robot by her, but don't even bother to give her a name."

I suppose it was ironic. "It seems."

January pursed her lips. Despite her cynical attitude, she possessed a classic beautifulness to her. Her hair had been longer before, but it seems she was wearing extensions then, but her hair color was never fake --- unlike her identity was to me for quite a while. It was a rich, soft-looking red, like the color of a citrus orange dipped in a golden honey. Her skin was white and clear like a pearl. And her eyes --- a glimmering emerald green, such as a mint leaf. I wondered why she was doing this job, of all the things she probably could've done instead.

"Her hair reminds me of lavender lilies . . . I think the name Lily suites her, don't you?" January asked. We were like parents naming their daughter.

I glanced over at CR 0, who looked at me without cause. It was like she was looking into me, peeking into my soul to see every secret that creeps inside me. Partially, she startles me whenever she does that, which is quite often.

"Well, I guess I agree."

January perked up. "Great. Well, let's go." She pointed to the direction toward CR --- or I guess, now Lily --- and strunting that way. I followed, and thus Lily did as well.

We stopped after a few turns in front of one door that differed from the others --- it had a passcode on it, that required a punch-in. January punched in a few numbers, click, it slid open.