06. SaVinG h1m

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I'm kneeling in the snow, staring down at Connor's lifeless body.

He looks so beautiful. Dark strands of hair are stuck to his pale forehead, wet with melted snow. His lips are parted ever so slightly, and his eyes remain closed. For once, I'm not subjected to his harsh, hate-filled gaze. Something starts to stir in me.

I abruptly stand up.

Walk away. That's all I have to do. Walk away, find a phone, make one call, and everything goes back to how it was.

Or will it? By now, my father might have eradicated most of the androids. I've never known a life without them. Connor could be the last one I ever see, talk to, touch.

I kneel back down and place my ear to his chest.

I hear the dull thud of his thirmium pump.

I can save him. I've never been beaten in any of my classes at Robotics Academy, and I'm head of the engineering department at one of my father's android research facilities.

I can save him if I want to

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I can save him if I want to.

Connor's hand suddenly moves to grasp my leg, and his fingers dig into my thigh.

Please.

I freeze, then scramble up, run a few metres, and fall down next to Red. Its crimson eyes are wide and haunting, staring up at the sky; the last thing it ever saw.

I slice its front open, using one of its own pincers, and discover a jumble of wires and biocomponents. It looks like it was built by Frankenstein.

I ruthlessly grab what I need before rushing back to Connor.

"I can save you," I whisper to him, brushing my fingers against his face. "I can save you, I know I can."

***

I plunge my hands into the thick blanket of snow on the ground, washing off the blue blood that's clinging to my skin.

I have my back to Connor's lifeless body.

The forest is so quiet.

"Would you like to tell me why I'm chained to a tree, Clara?"

I jump, but don't turn around.

"I'm leaving." My hands are finally clean. "Going back to my father," I add.

"What did you do to me?"

He doesn't sound angry, just curious.

I turn around and face him.

He raises his eyebrows.

"I built and fitted you a new heart," I say. "I couldn't repair your old one."

Connor's gaze settles on Red's torn up corpse for a second, then he simply nods.
"You saved my life," he states. "If you get rid of these chains," he shakes the shackles I found in Dr King's basement, "I can thank you properly."

I swallow.

"Goodbye, Connor."

I start to retreat.

Connor suddenly sits up, and that fierce look in his eyes is back. "I'll get you back before your father does. You can't run from this. From me." He shouts at my back.

Not for the first time, I wonder what it is he needs from me.

"I don't have to run. You're chained to a tree, remember?"

In the silence of the dawn, I very clearly hear him whisper 'Fuck you, Clarissa Musk."

My lips curve up into a smile.

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