Thirium 310

Chapter 21

November 9th, 2038
8:57pm 

I run in like a fearful child being given a balloon animal by a clown. Every android stares at me in bewilderment but I don't worry about that now, and I can't explain or it'll cause panic throughout the freighter. We mustn't do that, or it'll be chaos. "Where's Markus?" I call out. 
"In the captains cabin," someone calls back. I run towards my destination and find the four there huddled and conversing. I didn't make a silent entrance so they all turn to the door frame in which I have just entered from. Their eyes narrow and their jaws drop. 
"Celeste?" Josh asks. 
"You're alive?" North asks. 
"We thought you didn't make it," Simon says. 
"Awe, nice to know you were concerned. But we have other matters to attend-"
"How did you get back? Were you followed? It's been so long," Josh rambles. 
"Look, I'll explain later but I have something to say before it's too late!"
"Too late?" North asks. 
I nod. "It's the deviant hunter." Everyone's eyes widen at the drop of his name. "He's found us. He's found Jericho."
"Celeste, how do you know?" Markus asks me. 
"He had a whole evidence locker at the precinct. He figured it out with everything he's collected. He's going to find us, then the humans. We need to leave."
Markus nods. "How long do we have?"
"Not long at all. He'll be here tonight for sure. I just hoped I beat him here. He could be here already."
"I've got to talk to the humans," Markus says.
"The humans think we're all evil robots going to take over the world," I say. "They won't listen to us. I saw what happened at the protest. We did nothing wrong and still over half our people were murdered! We need to think of something big, but right now we need to get OUT of here." 
"I'm going to spread word and pack up as many supplies as possible," Josh says. "Simon, come." He does. The boys leave the room. 
"I'll gather the people and make an announcement. But how are we going to get hoards of us out of here unnoticed? And where would we go?" North asks. 
"There's an abandoned church near here. We'll go there," Markus says. "Let me make the announcement." Through our android network, I hear Markus' voice and so does everyone else. "Everyone, remain calm. We will have to evacuate Jericho. We have been exposed and must leave before anyone who poses a danger intrudes. I've sent you all the destination of where you must go. Hurry. And if anyone happens to spot the deviant hunter, Connor, report it to me."

Even though this is an urgent emergency, Markus' voice is so calming that I doubt anyone will be panicking and running around how I did as I entered Jericho. We all believe in Markus, and we all adore him. There would be no better leader. 

"Alright, I'm going to help lead them away," North says. But before she leaves, she walks up to Markus and plants a kiss on his cheek. She grabs his hands and tells him to be careful. We all know he's going to hunt down Connor. As she leaves, she walks past me and smirks as I look dumbfounded at her. 
"When did that happen?" I ask Markus, who smiles.
"I think the time for story telling will have to wait a while," he says calmly. He's right. They want to know my story as well. "I'm glad you're back. We didn't know if you'd gotten out of the tower. We feared we lost you."
I chuckle. "You know I always escape."
"I do. I knew you would come back. The question was when. I had faith in you." He comes up to me and embraces me. I return the gesture, melting into his arms. Sometimes all you need is someone you love to appreciate you, to believe in you. 
"And now I'm back."
"I'm glad. We really need you for this. There's no one else quite like you," he tells me. I smile. 
"Says the almighty, wise leader." He chuckles at this. 
"I have to track down Connor. I have to help my people," he says. 
I nod. "Me too. I'm going to catch up with North and help the other androids."
He nods. "Keep in touch. I'll see you soon." I nod and head towards the door, feeling refreshed. First Gavin helping me, then Markus believing in me. If this is why humans rave about emotions, I understand now. 

I walk down a staircase when someone bumps their shoulder into me. He wears a beanie and a pair of casual clothes. He ducks his head as if in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," I say. He walks past me. "Wait," I call out. "That's the wrong way. We all have to exit." He doesn't respond to me but continues on his way. He glances back quickly before he turns a corner. He didn't hide of embarrassment. His face. I've seen that- Connor. I run down the path he took to follow him. As I round one corner, two FBI agents stalk the hall, full gear on and weapons so dangerous no matter the range. And then I hear gun shots. Loud. Hard. Ringing through the freighter. They're already here. We were too late, and they were too early. I've lost Connor for now. It's too dangerous to follow his trail. I need to go back to North and help the androids. As I run through the halls, teams of the enemy swarm and surround innocent androids. I grab a few and bring them to safety, but not enough. Running through this maze of a ship, I finally find North helping an android to his feet. "North!" I yell at the same time as Markus. Thank rA9 he's alright too. 
"Where are the others?" Markus asks.
"I'm not sure. We got split up," North says. 
"I have to blow up the ship," Markus says. 
I widen my eyes. "That's suicide Markus!" I say. "They're everywhere. It was almost impossible to make it through those hallways."
"I'll be alright. You girls just focus on helping our people," he says and he runs off. North looks at me in worry. He didn't even say goodbye, but maybe that's a good thing. 

"There are exits on the third and second floor,"  Markus' voice echoes through our networks. The other floors are completely bombarded with soldiers, we have to guide our people there. North and I have been grabbing and helping our fellow androids left and right, and then I see on android that appears to fit in, but doesn't quite. Again, Connor. 
"North, head to the exits. I have to take care of something," I say. 
"Celeste, what else is there to do?"
"Connor's here. He's a threat to Markus." North's eyes light up in understanding. 
"Alright. I'll be okay here. Go. Protect Markus, deviant defender." I smirk at her and chase after Connor. He sees me after following him for a few moments and starts to run faster. The soldiers don't know he's part of them, they think he's a dangerous deviant and must be stopped so both Connor and I have to fight off a few soldiers to keep going. They skilled though, making it quite difficult. We reach the hold. The place where the bombs are located. But how did Connor know that? But we're not alone. A group of the enemy heads towards Markus, who is already fighting off two of them. I ignore Connor for now, getting to the bigger threat. Bash into the soldier at then end of the line, right behind him. He didn't even see me coming. They fall like dominoes, except for the three at the front. But they all see me. The one I rammed into lies unconscious on the floor and I quickly grab his gun. My purpose is not to kill, so I use the butt of the gun to hit the soldiers. Fortunately, the three at the front decided to attack Connor. So here we all are, Connor, Markus and I wrestling against three enemies each. I kick the first on in the stomach, sending him back. I hit the gun hard on the stop of the second soldier's skull. He falls instantly and I hit him again, just to make sure he won't get back up. The third one throws a punch in my direction, which I block with the gun. I wrap my arms around his, twist with forceful motion and send him spinning in the air. He lands on his back and I hit him with the gun. The first soldier gets back up and fires a bullet at me. He only hit my arm which will unaffected my performance. I will just lose a bit of thirium. Before I can make my move, he drops. Dead. I look up. Connor has shot the three soldiers he was battling and not the one in front of me. He looks at me for a brief second before heading to Markus, who still is fighting his enemies. Markus is tough, but he's no where as fast as Connor and I. 

Connor takes the one of the left, I take the one of the right. And we fight like superheroes in movies. The soldiers were no match for a one on one and fall in an instant. But then Connor raises his gun at Markus. "Connor stop this!" I yell. "Look at this chaos. These are your people who are dying at the hands of our enemies. This is cold blooded murder."
"What are you doing?" Markus says. "You're one of us. We're fighting for your freedom too. You're apart of us." Connor stares at Markus in silence. "Join us. Be one with your people. Our cause is just. We're here to fight those who try to control us." Markus takes a step towards Connor. "You don't have to be their slave anymore. You can choose who you want to be." Another step. "Who do you want to be, Connor?" Another step. 
"I am-" Connor starts, but before he can finish his sentence, a gun shot echoes in the room. Then two more. The first was by the enemy. His bullet pierced my body. The other two were Connor's doing. Two new soldiers lie beside the other defeated soldiers. Fear creeps up on me. This bullet didn't hit an arm, or a leg, or something invaluable. It hit a biocomponent. I don't need to scan to know. The boys know too. "Celeste, you're hurt," Markus says running to my aid. 
"I'm okay."
"The bullet hit your biocomponent. You have minutes."
"We can get you another one. The supply room! It's upstairs but we can make the trip!" Markus says. 
"Each second that passes, more innocent androids die. We need to detonate this bomb now!" I protest. 
"We have time!" Markus says. I start to wobble, my legs growing weak to support my plastic body. This biocomponent controls motility. Connor stares at me from a distance. I look at Markus, who puts my arms around him to hold me up. 
"Press the button," I say. 
"Give me two minutes," he says. 
"It's another suicide mission. You barely got out of this one!" I yell at him. 
"I'm lucky. I can-" I push him away from me, knowing he wont abide. I stride to the detonator and press the button.