Raised In a Mansion

Chapter 4

I couldn't fall asleep that night. I had too much to think about to shut down correctly. Was it really worth it to stay here when we were treated so terribly? The excuse that this place's work environment was a bit better than others seemed like it no longer sufficed as a reason to stay. But Uzi wouldn't tell me the whole plan, or essentially anything about it at all. I wondered if she didn't trust me enough, or if she was trying to keep me safe. Maybe it was a little bit of both.

Even if I did go, I assumed the humans wouldn't take kindly to rogue drones. What was the point of freedom, if you could call it that, if you had to live your life in hiding? Unless there was already a resistance I didn't know about, I doubted we'd ever be safe.

I continued to go back and forth with myself until I came down to my final answer. No, I wouldn't leave, because I had friends here, which was more than I'd ever had anywhere else. I couldn't just leave Tessa and V. I had to stay strong, and endure the long hours of work, and Mr. and Mrs. Elliot.

But how long would I last, knowing I could've left?

~~~

When I woke up, N was already gone, as well as all the day shift drones. I felt a strange rush of giddiness at finally having a chance of escape. I ran through the plan numerous times in my head while washing dishes.

First, I would cause a scene, and show the other drones that we had a chance at freedom. I'd let them have free reign against the Elliots, then

I'd slip away. If they had fences, I'd find some way through or over them. If they had guards, I'd improvise somehow.

It seemed incredibly easy now, and for once I had complete confidence. I decided that I'd make the scene at somewhere around seven p.m, so that I had the cover of the night. That meant I'd be in the ballroom where the Elliot's degraded our self esteem daily. Everything was falling into place perfectly.

~~~

Everything seemed out of place knowing Uzi was going to be gone soon, in danger with practically every step she took away from the mansion. There was something about her that made her stand out amongst all others. Maybe it was her bold personality. Or maybe the fact that she was brave enough to attempt escape.

But I couldn't shake the feeling that she wouldn't make it. I started questioning whether or not I should try and stop her, for her own good. But I instantly pushed the thought away, knowing I could never take away someone's chance out of this kind of life. I sighed, frustrated with my suddenly pessimistic thought process.

I checked the clock on the kitchen wall, my restlessness taking over. It was five till seven p.m. I prayed Uzi hadn't left yet as I started scanning the rooms for her.

~~~

I grinned at the obviously fake grandfather clock that read 7 p.m, ignoring the looks I got. The stage was set, and I had a full audience. My nerves were ecstatic, but I didn't allow myself to think twice.

I jumped up onto one of the numerous tables, steadying myself as it wobbled, in danger of tipping over. I was now semi-level with Mrs. Elliot, who was quite literally fretting over something on her phone. I got some wild stares from a few of the drones, but otherwise they pretty much ignored me. When Mrs. Elliot however, caught sight of me, her face turned tomato red and I could tell she was thinking of a nasty insult.

"What in the-" I cut her off before she could say any more. "Fellow drones!" I bellowed, my voice not quite carrying as much as I hoped it would. Mrs. Elliot looked as if I'd just cursed her whole family line.