The Turing Test - [Open Novella Contest 2019 Shortlist]

9. Until Death

"Darwin."

Sven inclines his head, the shadows accentuating his angled jawline. He regards me with careful stolidity, his eyes flickering as he takes one slow step forward. Then he points outside, his demeanor changing faster than the waterline before a tsunami, so that I can't tell if his next words are a continuation, or a completely separate thought.

"That's what we swore, right?" He brings his hands out to his sides in a question. A smile graces his face. "Until death?"

I narrow my eyes, settling into a half-crouch. Death. For some reason, I can't comprehend that word. It exists for other people; I understand what it means, for them. I've seen it. But in all the possible outcomes I've anticipated for myself, it never makes an appearance.

"You lied." My voice comes out gravelly, deeper than I expect.

"Well." Sven looks at the ground. "It was my death, after all, that would have done the parting. That's a lot of pressure. But...." He returns his gaze to me, smile still in place. Despite the tension between us, there's something genuine behind it. "I missed you. I'm glad you came. Although"—he nods toward the outside again, indicating the bodies below—"you don't need grand gestures to win me over."

A pulse of fuzzy adrenaline makes me lightheaded, a flicker of red overlaying my vision for half a second. I lurch forward, but Sven holds out his hand, palm up. It meets my face, cupping perfectly against my jaw, and I stop. He traces the line of my cheekbone with his thumb, and the pounding inside of me ceases, just for a moment. The pads of his fingers tap a gentle, comforting pattern on the back of my neck.

"You were almost perfect," he murmurs, and I can't unlock my eyes from his because I see all of my memories, every last one, in their pale blue.

Then he closes them, and his shoulders sink as he sighs, and suddenly I feel electricity between us. Not the electricity we used to have—the passionate, desperate kind—but a literal spark, a sizzle burning from his fingertips to my skin. His image stutters, like a TV losing reception—bars of color jerking in opposite directions, pulling his body into grotesque shapes. I hit the ground, my limbs rigid and unmoving. My jaw is clenched shut by some force outside of my control. All I can do is blink up at him as he leans over me, his eyes slowly hardening into something less than human.

"Almost doesn't count."

*    *    *

"Ronnie. Ronnie, wake up!"

I lurch upright in bed, knocking foreheads with Sven, who is leaning down on me, shaking me by the shoulders. He yelps, clutching his temple, and I scramble under the sheets, getting my legs tangled in them as I try to escape. It only sends my heart pounding harder in my ears. I flail, coming dangerously close to kicking Sven in the gut.

He throws his hands up. "Ronnie, it's me! It's okay, it's me!"

Yes. It's him. His robotic facade still hangs over me as I lay paralyzed on that polished wooden floor.

"It was just a nightmare. You're fine."

A nightmare.... I pause in my attempt to break away from the covers, finally letting my surroundings sink in.

I'm in bed. I'm safe. And I'm the robotic one, I realize as the events of earlier this morning flood my brain. Sven, brought to his knees because he thought he was weak for needing a little love. Him slipping the ring back on my fingers, rising to his feet, kissing me. The way I'd glanced out the window, noting how clear our reflections were against the darkness outside, and decided that we had time before we had to be at work. The way I'd pushed him toward the bedroom.