Deviants Fallen: A DBH Story

Chapter 60: Control

Clara sat slumped in the backseat of her car, knees tucked up in front of her as she tried to stay as far away from Connor as possible. To her relief, he'd made no moves to touch her again after she'd stopped fighting. She suspected his actions before had been nothing but an attempt to keep her distracted and complacent. She was loathe to admit that it would have worked too, were it not for that persistent anxiety that had plagued her since waking up, and the uncharacteristically forceful way he went about it. But now that she was no longer falling for it, he'd dropped all pretenses of affection, settling instead into an unfamiliar, cold demeanor, so different from the android she'd grown to trust over the last couple weeks.

Clara turned away to look out the window, mentally calculating their distance to the Tower. They'd just gotten out of the suburbs and were heading down the highway, so by her estimate she had between a half hour and 45 minutes to figure something out. She wracked her brain, desperate for a solution.

She felt Connor's eyes on her, and glanced at him, for a moment unable to breathe through the torrent of emotions that swarmed her as she met his cold brown eyes. Disbelief, pain, betrayal, anger, hatred, and the shattered remains of love that cut deep, bleeding swathes in her heart. She took a shuddering breath, pushing the emotions away. She couldn't afford to let herself be overwhelmed by them.

"Why now?" The words dropped from her lips before she could stop them.

He just stared at her, showing no indication that he'd answer the question.

Clara sighed softly, thinking it through. If she could get him talking, maybe she'd have a better chance. Or at the very least, maybe she'd get answers.

She forced a more casual, defeated tone. "We have a long ride ahead of us, so we may as well pass the time by talking."

His brows furrowed, irritation crossing his face, but he didn't contradict her.

"So why now?" she repeated. "Why not bring me back when you found me with Cain? Why did you wait for so long?"

He issued a long sigh, closing his eyes briefly. As she watched him, she thought he wouldn't answer, then he sighed again, and spoke.

"You were useless to us without your memory." Disgust flashed across his face. "The activation of the RK800-60 was a mistake, one that we've now remedied. It never should have been allowed near you, and its actions caused an unfortunate delay in our plans. But now that you've recovered, you've become useful again."

She felt a swell of foreboding, voice trembling slightly. "What are you going to do to me?"

His lips twisted into a cruel parody of a smile. "The leader of the deviants is a valuable tool. With you under our control, the deviants will be as well, as they were always meant to be."

His expression, the way he spoke, it caught her off guard. He'd never been so cold before, not even when he'd first began monitoring her. Even though he'd insisted he couldn't feel them, he'd displayed clear emotions. But this version of him felt so empty, so foreign, so unfamiliar, like he was a different person entirely. She felt a flash of anger, directed at herself this time. How had he fooled her so completely?