Dreaming in Static

Chapter 7

Polaris

As Ali disappeared once again into the teleport, Polaris tilted her head at Andromeda. "How do you have his number?" she asked, and Andromeda smiled.

"I have my sources," was her only response.

Polaris decided to look around the apartment as Andromeda directed Siri to lock down the entrances to the dwelling. Polaris stepped out of the cluttered bedroom and into the much cleaner living room, awash in bright light coming from outside. She ventured toward the window, which took up the entire wall, to look outdoors. A dark sheet of metal descended from the rooftops, obscuring her view of the other bubble-enclosed residences floating outside.

Polaris really had no idea what Ali was planning on, but truth be told, she didn't hold out much hope for the future. She'd probably be terminated just like the rest of her kind, and maybe Andromeda would get away, what with her stunning intelligence, but Polaris didn't stand a chance. She was just glad for the companionship. And she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Ali

Finding the device he was looking for took almost no effort. It was laying on his desk, with the rest of his gadgets and papers all pushed to one side, adding to the already uncontrollable mess that dominated his workspace.

No, the hard part was the fact that apparently the kid Polaris had knocked out, Chad, had already gone and blabbed to management. Reviewing the footage had taken perhaps a minute. And now they were after the two runaway androids taking refuge in Ali's apartment.

He'd sprinted up to his lab, his hoodie covering his hair, and collected what he needed as fast as he could. The machine resembled handcuffs, made for two people, with one handcuff for each person. Ali could easily hide it in the pocket of his sweatshirt, but the trouble was that everyone on campus was looking for him, and he was crouching in the bathroom feeling terrified. He'd managed to slip in through one of the cameras' blind spots, but Ali couldn't stay here long; they'd find him eventually.

"Okay, okay," he whispered to himself, wringing his hair in his hands. "You can do this." Ali took a deep breath, pushed the machine deeper into his pocket, and cautiously pushed open the restroom door.

A buzz in his pocket startled him, and he gently closed the door again to check his iGlass. It was a text.

Unknown User: this is andromeda, we're ready

Ali swallowed and tapped back a reply.

You: i need help, send polaris. still on the second floor.

Unknown User: she's coming

He slipped the phone back into his pocket before another buzz made him furrow his brows in annoyance, before he saw who it was, sending the message he had dreaded.

Remember our mission.

Ali's vision went blurry; he stepped back from the door, leaning against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut against the glaring white of his surroundings, which had suddenly become so bright it was suffocating. He could feel his hands shaking, and he pressed them against his face, his breathing so shallow it was practically nonexistent--he bit his lip with such force that droplets of blood oozed out, and the pain made him cry out with what little breath he had to spare.

"Ali?" a voice called out, jolting him from his daze. "It's Polaris..."

He sucked in one last breath, trying to calm his frantic, beating heart, and called out: "In here!" Ali wiped away the tears he didn't know were staining his cheeks and regained his composure.

A small hand pushed open the door to the restroom, and Ali forced a smile as Polaris peeked in at him, in one of his oversized hoodies, which successfully hid all of her distinctive hair. "Hey," she whispered, sliding inside to stand next to him. He could tell by her concerned expression that she noticed his watery, red eyes, but she tactfully ignored it. "So...how can I help?"

"Right," Ali sighed. "I've gotta get downstairs to the teleport, but there are people looking for me, and--"

The door slammed open, and a guard dashed inside, raising his lasergun at the two of them--"Put your hands up!"

Ali meekly began to raise his hands, but Polaris snarled and brought her fists forward as if she were hitting a volleyball, catching the guard by his chin and snapping his head backwards. He stumbled back into the sink, clutching his bruising neck with one hand and pushing the trigger of the lasergun with the other. It scorched the floor at the base of Ali's feet, and he screamed and pressed against the wall, trembling.

Polaris grabbed ahold of the guard's arm with the lasergun and wrenched it out of his grasp, which Ali imagined was fairly easy for her, considering that she quite literally had muscles of steel. "Come on," she grunted, hooking her arm around Ali's neck in a chokehold and pressing the gun to his temple. 

He knew she was acting, but he couldn't help but start hyperventilating, shuffling his feet along in an effort to keep up with her as she sprinted down the hall, towards the stairs, yelling at everyone who attempted to apprehend her, and squeezing the trigger ever-so-slightly; Ali could hear it moving, so close to his ears, so close to his lifeline.

"Don't hurt him! Drop the gun!" came orders from another gun-wielding guard as Polaris dashed down the stairs, and Ali wanted to call out to tell Polaris to obey him, but she simply released a war cry and launched towards him, her fist colliding with his head--he went down in a heap, and Ali squeezed his eyes shut.

But Polaris's grip on him was loosening, and her breath was hitching, and Ali could smell singed wires, and he knew something was wrong. He glanced down the hall at the portal, just a few meters away, and broke free of Polaris's grasp. Ali held Polaris's hand and ran to the end of the hall with her, reaching the teleport and punching in the passcode as fast as he could.

"Ali! What are you doing!" came a voice behind him, but he ignored it and pulled Polaris onto the portal with him, holding her injured body in his arms as they were enveloped by the glow again. 

***

[A/N] Thank you all for reading! I'll try to update more often now, especially since the story's actually going somewhere. Vote, comment, and follow, as always!