When they left, the ship seemed big and empty. Adam disappeared off to play with the android head and John to play with the ship. They called it working, but to me it looked like playing.
I didn’t have anything I needed to do, except hope the bunker would really have some supplies. We had enough for a few weeks, but our original plan of stopping at a station was no longer valid.
In my mind, the bunker wasn't all that far away from the science lab and we would get there quickly.
That only showed how little I knew about navigation and star charts: we traveled for days. It was nice and peaceful, but with both men so busy I got bored. If they hadn’t seemed so honestly content I would have thought they stayed busy so they wouldn’t have to decide who would spend time with me.
I found my all too handsome husband in the workshop, examining the head. He flashed a smile and pointed to an area in his brother’s brain.
“The memory circuits are here and his personality might be intact, but a lot of microelectronics are missing. Looks like someone tore his innards out in a fit of rage.”
I grimaced. “It was close to the bedroom. Maybe he was trying to protect Cheryl and Eve ripped him to pieces.”
Poor guy. I couldn’t help wondering what Adam’s brother had been like.
Adam put the head to the side. “I have been replacing the parts I brought from the bunker, but I don't have everything he needs. I’m hoping the rest will be there. Maybe we’ll be able to talk to him.”
“You want to keep working on him, don’t you?”
He smiled and shrugged, but his eyes betrayed him. The answer was definitely, “Yes.”
I kissed him and went to look for John. Maybe I could lure him into a game of chess or something.
Chapter Twenty-Four
John’s ship was large and I assumed we wouldn’t be able to land just like that, but leaving it alone in orbit for an extended period of time seemed dangerous. I didn’t get around to asking about it until we dropped out of hyperspace.
John flashed a smile. “Don’t worry, Hon. I have a plan for that.”
During our earlier stay I hadn’t even noticed the planet had a moon, but I got to see it up close now. John flew low over the surface and I thought he was going to crash into a mountain, but he pulled us up and sniffed the edge.
I held the armrests so hard my knuckles whitened. This was not a proper way to fly a gigantic spaceship.
Adam said, “It’s still there.”
“Good.”
What was still there?
I didn’t want them to have to explain everything to me, but I perked my ears and eyes. On the second pass, Adam keyed a code and the side of the mountain opened up. The inside lit up and John flew through the large entryway.
We were in a huge docking bay. Not as large as the ones on the Bell, but more than big enough.
How much money had John and Cheryl spent on building all this stuff?
John powered the ship down. Seeing the consoles dark gave me a strange feeling. We weren’t leaving her forever, maybe not even for the day, but the darkness gave a sense of finality.
Adam said, “Don’t bring a lot of stuff. I’d rather go back up here and get things if we decide to stay.”
“She’ll be alright here, right?”
He smiled and his warm gaze encouraged me. “The ship will be fine. She has deserved a rest, don’t you think?”
I still glanced back when we left in the shuttle, pretending I wasn’t looking. Adam transmitted the code to close the large bay door, and it was soon impossible to see anything but the rugged surface of a barren moon.
*****
Last time we went to the bunker, John and Adam put the shuttle down in the woods and we walked the rest of the way. This time we went into a large bay just as hidden as the one on the moon. It was vast enough to hold several shuttles, but so empty it echoed.
John muttered, “I can't believe I’m back here. Again.”
I made myself as small as I could, trying to shrink into the background while staying close to both Adam and John at the same time. The place might become less intimidating with time as I got used to it, but I doubted it.
Getting rid of Cheryl’s body would help. She must have decomposed at least a little more by now.
Gross.
I expected to enter the bunker at another place than last time since we came from another direction, but the long corridor from the bay took us to the same elevator and entryway.
I also expected weapons to blaze away at us, monsters to attack, and the floor to open under my feet, but nothing happened.
Adam said, “Should we split up?” He looked at me and added, “You’ll probably find the lower levels spooky. I can check them, there’s no need for you to go down there until you’re ready.”
So sweet to think of me. “I think this level is creepy.”
“I will bury mother and take care of it.”
John shook his head. “We should stay together.”
Adam looked at me and lifted an eyebrow.
This couldn’t be easy for either of them, but both still watched out for me.
I wanted to go back home to the ship, but that would probably also be spooky without them, so I straightened my back. “What John said. We’ll deal with everything together.”
Both nodded and it was a matter of seconds before they were preoccupied with something by the door. I swallowed hard and approached the bedroom. I was the only one not emotionally attached to Cheryl and I should be able to handle this at least as well as they did.
If I had any backbone I should be able to do this for them.
At first, I didn’t think pressing my hand against the console by door would do anything, but the metal barrier slid to the side. The computer must have decided I was worthy to view the horrors on the other side.
The room looked just like last time we visited, but less creepy without the head in the jar.
“Guys.”
I heard them discuss something irrelevant about a holographic shield for the entrance.
“Guys!” This time they couldn’t miss the brewing panic in my voice.
“What is it, Hon?”
“The body. It’s gone.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Adam stood next to me with his back against the wall, staring down the corridor with a watchful frown. John searched the bedroom and returned, shaking his head. “No traces of anything.”
No explanation I came up with made sense. The headless corpse had not risen and walked away by itself.
“Could someone else be living here?”
I didn’t think so, the place looked and felt as deserted as last time we visited, but I had to ask.
If someone lived in the bunker they would have gotten rid of the body a long time ago. It was still the only explanation I could come up with.
“Not likely.” John probably reached the same conclusions I did.
Adam said, “I’m guessing someone else returned here after we left, found her, and buried her.”
I wanted ask who, but it was a dumb question.
He knew what I was going to say even though I didn’t open my mouth. “I’ve been away for a long time. There’s no telling how many androids Cheryl and Eve built.”
“Maybe we should leave?”
“And go where? We can stay on the ship, but we should at least try to locate some supplies.” John sounded weary.
Adam gave his head a slight shake. “No. You two will go back to the shuttle and stay there while I search this place. When I’m sure it’s empty we will disable all old entry codes and enable security protocols, so it remains empty.”
I didn’t like the idea of separating and his choice of words about when the place was empty unnerved me, but he had made up his mind. Debating wouldn’t get me anywhere but carried to the shuttle.
If there were intruders or other androids around, he would be better at handling it than we. If we weren’t there we couldn’t become host
ages like I had the first time we encountered Eve.
“Alright. Be careful, son.” John handed me one of his guns. “Keep your eyes open.”
I still didn’t want to leave Adam, but he winked at me and nodded towards the door and John started walking, so I followed.
The way back to the shuttle seemed shorter than going the other way, probably because I was happier going to it than away from it. I still imagined all sorts of noises behind us and monsters sneaking up on us, and on my own I would have panicked.
John rumbled, “I said to keep your eyes open. That doesn’t mean there’s anything to see.”
“I know. It’s just so damned…”
“Creepy. I know.”
He stopped walking, so I stopped too. I was still looking for enemies and completely unprepared when he slammed his free arm around my waist and hugged me.
“Alex, trust me.”
*****
I stayed close to John even in the shuttle.
“Is this a good plan? Living here, I mean?”
“It’s better than anything else I can think of. This place is creepy like hell right now, but it might not be that bad when it’s cleaned up, and it’s safer than being out there.”
He brushed a lock of hair away from my face in a gesture eerily alike Adam. “If we can’t stand it, we can always live on the ship. It’s well hidden in the hangar.”
I forced myself to return his smile. They were both doing all this for me, to keep me safe, even if they wouldn’t admit it. On their own, neither of them would choose to hunker down to ride out the storm.
It probably took less than half an hour before Adam called us, but it felt like an eternity. In my mind, he died many gruesome deaths.
“I’m on the first sublevel, section 3B. I haven’t been to the lower levels, but I think it’s safe to come down here.”
“What did you find?”
“You’ll see.”
John shrugged. “I guess we’re going back.”
The corridor seemed shorter each time I went through it. Probably because it was more familiar.
Adam met us outside the door and spoke in a quiet voice.
“Put the guns away, you’ll scare him.”
“Scare who?”
He ignored John’s question and turned to me. “I think you should come with me first.” Glancing over at John, he added, “Would you mind keeping watch for a minute? Just in case?”
John shrugged.
Adam kept a hand on my shoulder and led me through the door. I had no idea of what to expect and my heart raced, but his presence kept me steady.
“He’s over here.”
“Who is?”
He squeezed my shoulder and we stepped around a shelf.
Someone sat on the floor. I could only see a dark silhouette at first, someone with their knees pulled up and their hands resting on the knees. As my eyes got used to the dusk I saw eyes peeking out at us over the makeshift shield of his own arms.
Adam stopped several steps away.
“This is Eli. Eli, I would like you to meet my wife, Alexandra. She’s human, and she’s very nice. She will not hurt you.”
I said, “Hi Eli, I’m very happy to meet you.”
The man’s face was identical to the head we had in the ship, so he was probably an android. A terrified android; he looked like he wanted to press himself into the wall to get away from us.
Adam said, still in the quiet and gentle voice, “If I understand this right, Eve told him to stay here the first time she came to look for me. This was just before she, well, before Cheryl died. He obeyed until he heard people upstairs, last time we were here, and when no one came for him, he finally went up to look. He found our mother, buried her, and went back down here to wait.”
“So, he has been down here forever.” Eve’s first visit to our ship was in the distant past for me. Partly because so much happened since, but also because it was a long time ago.
Years.
“That’s one of your old heads, son.” John’s voice made me jump. I hadn’t heard him enter behind us.
“How do you know?”
Even without seeing him, I could tell he smiled when he said, “I built it. Later, Adam got this one, and Cheryl eventually gave him the new face.”
He had clearly understated his involvement in android construction.
Like to tinker. Sure you do.
I had to ask, “Why did you keep giving Adam new heads?”
John watched Eli. “Because he was so timid. I worried for him.”
Clearly a valid concern. Look what happened to this poor guy. What nurturing could he have received from Eve?
My heart ached for him. The shivering man on the floor could have been Adam.
John touched my shoulder. “I’ll go check the rest of this floor. See if you can get him upstairs.”
“We shouldn’t split up.”
John smiled. “I love that you worry about me, but I’ll be careful.”
Adam brushed his hand over my shoulder. “I figured you’d be good at talking to him.”
I had to have some skill, and I knew it wasn’t along the lines of piloting or math. Could my superpower be calming frightened androids? I should at least give it a try. I knew about being afraid, and he was used to women.
Deep breath, calm demeanor.
“So, you’re Adam’s brother. That means I’m your sister.” Kind of.
The man on the floor shook his head. “I have a sister. You’re not her.”
“I’ve met her. You can have more than one.”
“She said she’d come back for me. Do you think she’ll come back?”
Adam killed her, and Debana and I melted the only remains in boiling acid.
Probably shouldn’t tell him that.
“Would it be okay if I sat down with you?”
His eyes were still wary, but he no longer looked like he wanted to sink into the wall.
Adam nodded and stepped to the side, close enough to interfere if needed, but far enough away to give Eli some space. His new brother didn’t look or act homicidal, but better safe than sorry. For all I knew he could be the one who killed Cheryl. It didn’t seem likely, but it was possible.
“Can I sit here?”
He finally met my eyes and nodded, so I sat down on the floor, giving him ample space.
“You’ve been alone for a long time. I understand that you’re apprehensive. I would be too.”
Eli didn’t answer, but he watched me. What could I possibly talk about that would be of interest to him?
“Your brother, Adam, is really good at math and science. Do you like that too?”
“I’m an android.” It was a statement of a fact.
“So, you’re good at it. That doesn’t mean you have to like it.”
His eyes darted between me and Adam. “I like colors, like your hair. One time mother showed images of art. I liked art.”
“I like art too. Did you have a favorite?”
He nodded.
“Would you tell me about it?”
“It was blue. Water. And a white sail.”
“That sounds really nice. My home planet had big oceans. They’re lovely, and so blue.”
Adam crouched next to me. “Eli, would you come upstairs with us?”
“Do I have to?”
I smiled, doing my best to look friendly. “No, but I would like you to. Maybe we can go to the kitchen and chat. This floor is kind of hard, I’d like a chair better.”
Eli got to his feet with the same grace Adam displayed and held out a hand to me, offering to pull me up.
Accepting his hand was a risk, he could easily crush me, but he had decided to trust us and we should trust him back. I reached out and he held my fingers gently, even more carefully than Adam would.
“Your skin is so soft.”
Adam rose too. “Look at it.”
Eli stared at my hand and wouldn’t take his eyes off it. “I can see the renewal of her cells
.”
“Touch her hair.”
Eli ran a strand of my hair between his fingers and I recognized the look on his face; I had seen it on Adam’s many times.
Great. Now there were two of them obsessing over my cells.
Suddenly, I really wanted to talk to John, just because he was human. I kept it down while we returned to the corridor, but once back in the brightly lit hallway, the words left my lips of their own accord. “I need to talk to your father.”
Adam turned to Eli. “That’s John.”
Eli said, “He looks like you, but he drinks. Mother said so.”
Adam ignored the comment. “I don’t think you should go search for him alone.”
“We could go with her.”
I didn’t want to wander around on my own and Eli’s suggestion had merits, but it defeated the idea of fewer androids and more humans.
Maybe we should just go upstairs. I could live with them staring a little longer.
An unnerving little voice in my mind claimed I should go look for John anyway.
“Eli, is anyone else down here?”
“No. Just me.”
“So your father is safe down here?”
He shook his head, which helped Adam snap out of whatever world androids seek out when watching people’s cells. He returned to his usual sharp self.
“Why not?”
“The AI.” Eli whispered the words and looked petrified again. My imagination painted out a large machine used by Eve to scare her poor brother into submission and obedience.
I squeezed Eli’s fingers to encourage him. “Your mother was very angry with your father.”
He nodded. “She programmed the computer to watch for him, and to punish him if he ever came down here again.”
Adam sighed. “I’ll go get him. Eli, please follow Alex upstairs and wait for me there.”
“I can do that.” My new friend looked relieved to have an easy task. Adam’s gaze sought mine, as if to ascertain I’d be alright. I nodded and he jogged into the complex.
Moments earlier I’d been concerned about Eli hurting me. Now the tall android represented company and safety, even though he seemed more afraid than I was.
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