sentient // phan

http//: 23

"I have to go. I have to go to Dan." I said, gazing out the window. Martyn shook his head.

"You can't leave. You'll get electrocuted." I creased my eyebrows, looking around desperately. "Phil, stop, it's no use." I pushed past the Lesters, looking for something I could use to cover myself. Blanket? Jacket? Maybe I could just run.

"Phil?" Mrs. Lester said from behind me in the hall. I turned to her. She clutched a bright yellow rain slicker in her trembling hands, and she held it out to me. I matched her grin, accepting the coat.

"I also have boots." She mumbled. My earpiece buzzed in my pocket, and I retrieved it quickly, smiling at the name flashing on the display.

"Dan?" I asked, hooking the device around my lobe. I was greeted with heavy breathing, and a slight whimper. "Dan?" I asked again, worried this time, the coat dropping from my hand.

"Phil, Phil, I need you to come home." Dan said quickly. I clutched my ear.

"What's going on?"

"I just need you." He whimpered again.

I gauged his emotions.

Fear. Overwhelming fear and distress and anguish. Something was very, very wrong. "Dan, are you okay?" I whispered.

I tried to patch the hologram through, but Dan cancelled it. I tried one more time but he refused again.

"Philly, just come home." There was a shuffle on the other end of the line, and another voice spoke. A really familiar one.

"And mind you don't get wet." Chris whispered. Dan began to shout something but the line went dead. I dialed again but it went straight to messages.

I hugged Mrs. Lester tightly.

"Thank you so much." I said, quickly shrugging the coat on. I yanked on the boots she handed me in the living room as well, and then pull on my hood, zipped up the coat, and turned to my new family with a grin.

"I'm going to come back, if that's okay." I said, tucking my hands into my pockets, making sure my sleeves covered my whole arms. "But right now I have to be somewhere else." Everyone began to hug me, the mood in the room happy despite the sinister air surrounding my departure.

"Come back soon!"

"We'll miss you."

"We love you, Phil!"

I grinned around at them, but then my face dropped as I turned to the door. I had to go. It was now or never. All I had to do was get out of the Lower Level and make it to a dry place so I could wait for a cab. I'd take it to the apartment and make sure Dan was okay.

Then I'd tell him I love him no matter what.

I yanked the door open and left before I could stop myself, huddling against the rain. I felt the drops pounding against my back but so far I was dry. I ran as quickly as I could, my earpiece dialing Dan's number over and over again but only going straight to voicemail. I left one every single time then called again.

"Dan! Are you okay?" "What's Chris doing there?" "Are you hurt?" "Please call me back."

I ran faster, water dripping from my hood dangerously close to my nose.

I dove under a tarp as the rain started to come down harder, huddling in the dry corner. I wasn't going to make it. I pressed my face against my knees and tried to calm myself down.

I found myself thinking back on the mere hours I had spent with the Lesters. They thought I was their son. I wished I was. But my personality was invented in a lab and my body was built in a factory, there's no way I could be one of them. It must have just been the world's greatest coincidence.

But that didn't explain why I felt so at home there. Or why everything from the posters on the wall to their last name sounded familiar, or how I seemed to have integrated so easily, as if I had known these people my whole life.

I closed my eyes tightly and tried to control the fear. Something was wrong.

I checked up on Dan, expecting to see the same amount of fear and worry and remorse, but found nothing at all.

I felt as though time stop suddenly. The raindrops froze in the air, the wind held its breath, and nothing mattered except the empty bars before my eyes.

What does that mean? What on earth could have happened to make all of his bars empty? Even when he was sleeping there was some sort of emotion, exhaustion or contentedness or even fear during his frequent nightmares. It's never been empty in the three months I had known him. There was only one explanation I could possibly think of. And it made my chest hurt.

I finally got my brain down to normal speed and looked up. The rain seemed to have slowed slightly, so I stood. I shut my eyes softly, focusing on Dan, trying to feel if he was even still alive. I kept his emotions on as I ran quickly under another awning. I could see the arch that read "Lower Level" backward. I could do it. I could make it. Just a kilometre away and a taxi could come and pick me up, I could go home, and find Dan, alive and well, just needing my help making a cup of tea or unable to reach something on a top shelf, and Chris would be there, I don't know, taking the new Personality Chip back and apologising for the mistake.

Dan would run into my arms, and I'd kiss him like I've wanted to, even if when he turned off my last fifth I didn't want to anymore.

I sprinted as quickly as I could, my legs working overtime.

Then I stopped. I felt electricity rippling through my body, and then I flew backward, the error message flashing over my eyes again. I couldn't move, nothing was working, I couldn't even check up on Dan. All I could do was stare at the sky as more and more water came down on me, every single one of my nerve endings short circuiting and I had no power to stop it. I was ruined. I would never move again. I would never see Dan again. I was going to die here.

A face appeared in my line of vision, but, due to the flashing error display, I couldn't tell who it was for a few seconds.

But then Chris spoke.

"I thought you could disobey orders." He chuckled. I just looked at him, unable to move. "But apparently not. Or maybe," he leaned really close to me to whisper in my ear, "you wanted to come home." I blinked frantically. Help me. Take me home.

But he just laughed. "You got balls, Phil. You really do. I really thought you wouldn't come out here." He took both of my hands and began painstakingly dragging me along the soaking pavement road, scraping away my shirt and ripping into my skin. I couldn't do anything. My life was in his hands.

And he didn't seem like he wanted to help me.