Deviants Fallen: A DBH Story

Chapter 51: That Hollow Ache

Connor reached for Clara, watching her eyes slip shut as she passed out. He felt a sharp stab of panic, afraid for the worst. But as he drew close, he analyzed her, relieved to see her heart still beat. He pushed Cain's body off of her, pulling her close as he checked her vitals. Aside from an elevation in her heartrate, which was steadily declining, she appeared to be fine. Just unconscious.

"Let her go, Connor." Richard's voice rang out, cold and clear.

Connor turned to the other android and found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Don't make me shoot you too."

Connor thought he detected a slight waver in Richard's voice, and for a moment, his LED flashed red.

"Please." Connor's own voice was hushed and pleading. "Just let us go."

An pained expression flickered across Richard's face, LED again flashing a bright crimson. "You know I can't do that."

Connor glanced down at Clara, working desperately to find a way out of this. He looked around, catching sight of Cain's gun. He could go for it, but Richard would shoot him as soon as he moved. And he had no other weapon, no other way to fight him off. Connor closed his eyes for a moment, working through countless preconstructions, determined to find a way out, but each one left him dead. He couldn't win this by fighting.

He opened his eyes, looking up at Richard as a heavy, aching despair set in. "Please," he said again.

"My mission stipulates that I bring Dr. Hayes back to the Tower at all costs." A sad look crossed his face. "I need to take her in. But you're not part of my mission, Connor. Go and leave her behind. I won't pursue you."

Connor looked down at the woman in his arms. As he did, he knew he couldn't do it. He couldn't leave her again. He wouldn't. He shook his head, turning his eyes back to Richard. "I can't do that."

Richard's brows furrowed as he processed the answer, LED bleeding red. "Then come back to the Tower with me. We can talk to the technicians. They'll fix you, then things will go back to how they should be."

Connor felt a swell of pity toward the android, listening to the answer. "They'd never take me back, not after everything." He chuckled sadly. "And even if they were willing to overlook everything, I wouldn't want them to. I don't want to go back to how I was. There's nothing to fix, Richard. I'm not broken; I'm just...changed."

Richard's face twisted in disbelief. "You can't mean that. This isn't you speaking, Connor. It's just the errors in your programming."

For a moment, Connor saw his old self in Richard. As he looked at the other android, he saw reflected back at him that same dogged loyalty to the mission, at the expense of all else. He saw his insistence that the emotions, the patterns of deviants weren't real. And he saw that Richard was in denial of his own emotions, the very same way Connor had been until Clara. But, these very traits gave Connor hope that maybe Richard could change too, and he hoped one day Richard would find someone to give him that chance, just as Connor had.