CODES

F I V E

The rest of the day was an argument from all corners. Xerses spent hours fighting with Erica on her decision. She argued she'd made the right choice; it was right for our entire plan.

I found myself avoiding the woman I loved for the most of my afternoon, and when I came across Clara again, I felt... betrayed, in a way.

Clara fought for what was right. Always had. Others were put before her. She valued the lives of everyone within the world—whether real or synthetic. If it hadn't been for her, none of us would have come into existence. Hell, we would've all be deleted and destroyed, and that probably would've been best for the Province as a whole.

But she found a way to bring us back into the world, and the nation had no choice but to fulfill the promise made to us.

Just... we all knew it had to be done correctly. And to have Clara just rush through it all, push buttons without a care in the world... it was so unlike her. It hurt.

"We've got over a hundred Codes to re-screen and place within a week." Xerses stood in the center of his living room, papers in hand. We stayed as long as we were allowed within Provincial Hall, but after hours of fighting and no progress, we had to move the discussion elsewhere. Being that Xerses and Erica lived together, and had the space, their home was the next best place.

He just wouldn't sit down. He paced. And talked. "All of them malfunctioning on different levels. Clara, you're their specialist, have you drawn up their plans yet?"

Clara sat beside me. Her hands were pushed into the sleeves of her cardigan, hiding almost all but her fingers, which occasionally flicked with fear, nervousness, and regret. She look at me, smile at me, but right then, I couldn't... do the same. When Xerses addressed her, it was the same. She glanced at me for reassurance and I gave her none.

"I wanted to draw up plans today," she said quietly. "That's why I met you both at the office. I wanted you guys to see what was happening and maybe help... me?"

"Help you?" Xerses pressed the papers he held against his face. "Babygirl, this is your job, you trained for this. I shouldn't have to—"

"Hold on, hold on." Erica stood from her single chair. She'd been silent the while listening to Xerses rant on and on about the poor decision they'd made. In the beginning, she tried to remind him who she was to the team and what she'd done in the past during the horrors we Codes inflicted on society, but he wouldn't listen.

However, as she stood in front of him, the look in her dark eyes said you will listen to me. "You can't just blame her for all of this."

"I didn't say I blamed her," Xerses huffed.

"Oh?" Erica placed her hands on her hips. Her long, black curls bounced as she turned her head one way, then the other. "You just spent the past hour telling her she can't do her job. Do I need to remind you who was there with you when you were some evil...ugh." Her hands moved around her in frustration. "Clara made sure to listen to you when you weren't yourself. She's the best person fit to care for the Codes created in this city. Fuck, she lives with one! Hands-on experience."

I laughed, but not because it was funny.

I hate being reminded I wasn't just... a person.

Clara reached out to grab my hand, and for the first time all day, I let her. Our fingers linked together in need.

"I mean..." Erica was good at reading a room. It was one of the things I liked about her. She was impulsive, sure, but she knew when to back down and breathe. Xerses didn't have that. And Clara had too much of it. But Erica... just enough. Even if she did help agree to make the worst decision in a while.