Cynophobia

☠₂₂☠

When I woke up, I didn't know what time it was. Everything was black. I was curled up against something warm. It didn't feel furry so I presumed it was Cairo. I shifted a little, his arm was draped on my shoulder. I could hear his heartbeat. I had to keep reminding myself that it was Cairo and not Vincent.

I could feel Cairo stir. He pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. The sudden flash hurt my eyes and I ducked. "What time is it?" I asked drowsily.

"It's seven," he replied. His arm was still around me. "Better than sleeping in Vincent's room?" he asked jokingly.

"Shadup," I grumbled punching him in the shoulder. "I didn't have a choice."

It was weird talking to him like this. When it was just us, he seemed more like a friend than a leader. Like when were were talking on the beach or investigating the stream.

Loki's eyes flashed on and glowed yellow. "Good morning," he said stretching. I heard some metallic clicks as he flexed his pivots. "Cynthia you were muttering in your sleep the entire night."

"About what?" I asked.

"You kept talking about rags, did you have a dream about doing chores?" Cairo asked.

I stiffened. I must have had another dream about my old toy Rags, but didn't remember it. "Something like that," I lied.

"We should set out, they might try to blow the rocks with explosives," Loki warned. "Those boulders are big, but they won't last forever."

I packed up my blanket and pulled out my flashlight. "Have you been able to contact your mate?" I asked.

"I was able to rewire a radio so my signal went further. Slate should be meeting us at the entrance to the mine," he replied happily. "What I wouldn't do to get a glimpse of her right now. Even better would be seeing Zeta again."

"Are all of your mates rebels?" I asked.

Loki thought for a moment. "My Cutter Dakota usually follows orders, but she listens to Zeta over Alpha."

"As long as Slate agrees to help us, we are clear," Cairo said.

"Loki, I was thinking. Alpha said that 'they wanted to see me'. Would 'they' be the creator? I was thinking that I could find Alpha and follow him," I suggested.

He stopped dead in his tracks and whipped around. "No good will come out of following Alpha. Trusting Alpha is like trusting a hungry lion not to eat you."

"Is there any way we can find the creator? Can we reroute your signals back to the source?" I asked.

"The clever thing about the creator is that none of our signals go back to him unless he sends one to us. He only sends them to Alpha in the first place," Loki sighed.

Cairo flashed his light around the cave as we walked. "Could we hack into Alpha's brain and trace the creator?"

"To do that we would need a tetrawer cable. The only place we would find them is the lab. And the only beings who know where it is located are the creator, The Ancient, and Alpha," he explained.

"Someone must have seen The Ancient, would they be any help?" I asked.

Loki scanned the cave for any signs of movement. "Someone might have seen him. But we don't know what he looks like. Some say he is all metal frame with no fur. Others say he is fully computer with zero instinctuality. But it is still a safer bet then trying to find Alpha."