Code Andromeda

Help Me

Sarah opened her eyes, and the image she was greeted with was Leigh's face, staring directly at her. Sarah looked back and smiled.

"You just reminded me of something." Leigh stated.

"What's that?"

"The song Sarah Smiles." Sarah did not know this song, however, she smiled at the thought of a song including her name, especially in the title. Leigh started to sing ("Sarah smiles" ) which made Sarah ("like Sarah" ) place her hand over her mouth ("doesn't care" ) to stop from laughing. Leigh continued, smiling herself.

"Stop it!" Sarah was seriously giggling now, feeling strangely surreal and giddy. "Ow!" Her neck hurt where her programming chip was. Her hands shot up to it, grasping it. A similar thing had happened the day before, however it had not hurt this much. She felt like a knife had been plunged into her neck. 

"Shit! Are you alright?" Leigh stopped singing and sat straight up. She reached her hands out to grab Sarah's and move them. The chip was black, but appeared to be glitching slightly. Leigh saw how the veins in Sarah's neck looked as if they were going to burst. That was the moment she knew: this is not fake, this has to be a real person.

Sarah was on the brink of tears as the pain in her neck kept getting worse. Her whole body felt as though it was pulsating. But this can't happen, I'm not real. Unfortunately, she had not figured it out just yet. 

All Sarah wanted was to rip this fucking chip out of her neck, but she couldn't, it was a part of her. Leigh was trying her hardest to help, to no avail. Sarah's hands were free again and they gripped onto her neck. Oddly, the pain stopped, for no apparent reason. Sarah ran to the bathroom and checked her neck in the mirror. Around the chip, the skin was all sorts of colours, purple, blue, green, and the veins carried these colours a couple of inches away in each direction. Sarah made an audible gasp, followed by a slight whimper as she ran her fingertips across her injury. "Shit," She stumbled out of the bathroom, "Why?"

"Why in-fucking-deed." Leigh spat in the direction of the TV.

"Why does this happen? Every time I...feel...something like joy, or laughter, or..." She trailed off. The feeling she wanted to describe was something incomprehensible, to her at least. She did not know the word for it. It was something she had felt the day before, when looking at Leigh. 

                                                                                                 ***

"Android!" The snap of his fingers. "Fetch me a glass of Moët & Chandon, now!" The android walked over to the kitchen and followed THE MAN's orders, after all, he was its creator. It brought the glass over to THE MAN, who signalled to put it on the table. It complied because, if it didn't, THE MAN would punish her. It did not know in what way, it was already being punished enough. THE MAN often beat it or hurled other abuse at it. What could possibly be punishment more than this? It would often think. How could he hurt me any more than what he does every single day?

THE MAN brought the glass of champagne to his lips and sipped it. "What the fuck is this?" He spat it out onto the floor. THE MAN stood up and walked, slowly, towards his slave, putting his hand around her neck. She could feel a lump in the middle, his scar from when he was bitten by a dog. THE MAN then lifted her off the ground and slapped her across the cheek, hard. "Next time, you'll get me exactly what I fucking asked for." THE MAN hissed in her ear.

He held her so tight that she couldn't breathe. Her hands groped at her neck as she tried to pry THE MAN's fingers away. He then let go and she dropped down, crumpling on the floor, her hands rubbing her neck. She held back tears as she fought to breathe properly again.

                                                                                              ***

"Sarah! Sarah!" Leigh shouted and shook Sarah's shoulders. She snapped out of her daze and started to fall. Leigh caught her and walked her over to the couch, one arm around her shoulder, setting her down carefully. "Are you alright? What was that about?"

"I'm fine, I'm not really sure. It was so...realistic. It felt like I was really there." Sarah looked off to the side as she said this, remembering what she saw. And heard. And felt.

"Okay, you're gonna have to tell me what the fuck you saw or whatever because right now, I'm fucking clueless." Leigh's expression was that of worry as she still had her arm around Sarah.

Quickly, Sarah explained the scenario that she had just witnessed, everything flashing before her eyes again. She could see it again, hear it again, feel it again. Whatever had happened to her, she was sure, was some form of memory, or flashback.

"What did he look like? The man that abused you." Leigh asked, quietly, fearing somewhat that someone was listening in.

"I don't remember many specific things about his looks, except his eyes. They were brown, but the left one, his left, had a tinge of green in it, but, it's nothing special." Sarah looked down, disappointed at herself. She heard a rustle next to her and felt some weight lift off the couch. Assuming Leigh had gone to the kitchen, or the bedroom or somewhere, Sarah closed her eyes and bit her lip, forcing herself not to cry. Suddenly, she felt a slender finger on her chin, lifting it up. Leigh was in front of her. Sarah couldn't help but let a tear out.

"Hey, you don't need to cry. It's over now. Nothing bad will happen to you, okay? I'll make sure of that. No harm will come to you when you're with me, alright? You're safe." Leigh wiped the tear away with her right thumb, that hand cupped around Sarah's cheek. They locked eyes for a few seconds. Sarah brought her hand up to Leigh's shoulder and let it rest there. What felt like an eternity passed. The two leaned in towards each other, their eyes closing. Their lips hovered inches apart for a few seconds and Sarah snaked her arm shyly around Leigh's body, her heart racing at a hundred miles an hour in her chest. Leigh's other hand rested on Sarah's waist. They started to close the gap between them, slowly. Almost painfully slowly. Leigh's lips parted slightly, closing in on Sarah's, who had never done this before. She had no idea what to do, other than to let instinct take over. She had completely forgotten that she was not real. The couple's faces were just a centimetre apart when a knock on the door made them both jump.