Washed Away

Photography

They weren't lying when they said it'd take a while for you to heal. You'd been in bed for three days so far, needing help getting up to do anything. It was rather embarrassing, Quick Man visited you the most, and sometimes Bubble Man. It seemed Quick had ditched his armor in an effort to make you feel more comfortable around him as he took care of you. That made you feel kind of nice, that he was going out of his way to help you and make you comfortable.

But today, you had a stranger visitor. Wily sat in a chair next to your bed, came in hand. His permanent scowl still sat there, as he looked on at you. You finally had been able to pull yourself into a seating position.

"I'm sorry you were hurt. I'll have to do some editing to Snake Mans decision making. And his attitude." Wily seemed to get angry thinking about it. He was much more docile this time around. Your first encounter with him had left you wondering if he was going to spare your life, but this time he was apologizing.

"How are you feeling?" Wily asked. "Are you getting better?"

"I'm getting better. It's easier to get up now." You blinked a few times, a little thrown off by Wily's concern for you.

A long pause. Neither of you seemed to have much to say. It was awkward as hell. He twiddled his thumbs, could he really feel guilty for all of this? He seemed like the kind of person to always assume he was in the right. It was Wily's way or the highway. You were starting to get nervous, half wracking your brain for a conversation starter and half praying Quick Man came in to check on you.

"What was your life like back home?" Wily asked.

This too, confused you. You weren't sure why he wouldn't let you leave this place, but you didn't think he'd care about your home life.

"I was going to college, getting my basics. Next semester I was gonna start photography classes. I want to be a photographer, I have scrapbooks full of pictures I've taken."

Wily seemed genuinely interested. "What kinds of photos do you take?"

You couldn't help but smile. Anytime you talked about your passion, a smile always came to your face. "I like taking pictures of water mainly. I had my camera on that boat with us, but I had it stored away in one of the compartments. I didn't really use it. I guess it's broken now.. but I had lots of pictures of water. I went around to all the lakes and ponds and rivers I could, and snapped tons of photos. I also had tons of flowers!"

Wily seemed amused at your excitement. "Did you ever take pictures of animals?"

You nodded. "I had a lot of pictures of snakes, since a lot of them tend to hang around water during the summer. I think after recent events, I'll keep away from snakes." You laughed a bit, but you were just joking. Trying to keep the mood light.

You had done an awful job, however. He had taken you too seriously, and his scowl grew worse.

"I already apologized for Snake Man's actions. I don't know what you want from me."

"It-it was just a joke." You were rather frightened by his sudden change in mood.

And once he heard that, he too laughed. A little crazily, at that. But you could tell it was a genuine laugh.

"Oh, okay. My bad." Another pause.

"Did you have many friends?" He asked.

"Not too many, I had a few close ones." You admitted. "I guess I prefer to observe rather than get involved in things. I guess that has something to do with me being a photographer."

He changed the subject almost instantly.

"How do you feel about robots?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think robots deserve the rights people do? Do you think they are lesser than us? Equal? Better?" He had gotten serious, his beady eyes staring into yours as if searching for a glimpse of your soul. It made you shudder.

"I-I don't know. I don't come from a place with many robots. I.. aren't they meant to be servants?" You were getting a little afraid, so you continued talking in an effort to appease him. "I mean, your robots seem like they're just other people. I c-consider then equal."

At first when you had mentioned servants, you could see his fists clench and his face get angrier. But he seemed to soften up when you said his robots were similar to people.

"It seems you and I are of the same mind." Wily shakily got to his feet. "I like that."

You weren't sure what to say. You just stayed silent as the old man left the room. Once the door closed, you took a deep breath.

Boy were you glad that was over.