The Cold Unknown

Chapter 11 - The Carousel

We had taken a self-driving car that was in Zlatko's garage. Me, being exhausted, I fell asleep during the drive. I woke up to see Kara and Luther getting out of the car - which had pulled over to the side of the barren, snow covered road.

"Stay inside, Alice." Kara told me, so I did. Through the windshield, I saw the front hood of the car smoking, and Luther opened it. They talked for a little bit, and then I saw Kara wander off. She came back and pointed in a direction, saying something to Luther. He saw what she was pointing at, and nodded. 

Kara opened the car door, and helped me out. We walked through the falling snow over to the other side of the road. There stood an amusement park - 'Pirate's Cove' - the sign said. We walked into the run-down park - It looked old. The buildings were boarded up, and some of them were breaking. Me and Luther walked on one side, while Kara investigated the other.

"We have to find shelter!" She called loudly to be heard over the snow and distance. "We have to get out of the cold!" "Looks like it's been abandoned for a while!" Luther called back. Kara stopped, looking around. "Find anything?" Luther asked. "No, no place we could spend the night." Kara replied. Luther shook his head at the ground. "This place is falling apart. It's gonna be hard to find shelter."

Just then, Kara pointed behind us as she walked over. Luther and I turned, and behind us was a relatively stable tavern. It didn't look too worn down. We went to the front door, and Luther tried the knob, but the door was frozen shut. "I'll handle this." He said. We stood back as he thew himself against the door a couple times. The third time, it finally opened, creaking from a long time of non-use. "There we go." Luther said. We all walked in, Luther shutting the door behind us.

"I don't think we'll find anything better. Let's settle in." Kara told us. Luther grabbed some logs that were by a wall. "I'll get a fire going." He put the wood in a fireplace, then grabbed a match from his bag that he'd brought, and started the fire. I immediately went over by it. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kara looking in Luther's bag. She turned to me. "There are some cookies left. Would you like some?" I didn't meet her gaze. "No, I'm not hungry." So, she still thinks I'm human, huh? Luther went and sat by a window, and Kara was looking for something to make a bed for me. I looked around, and my eyes landed on a poster of a happy family. I walked over to look at it closer, wishing my life was like that. With a Mother I knew, and a Father that cared.

"Alice?" Kara questioned. She walked over to me, and followed my gaze up to the poster. "Do you think we'll be like them someday?" I asked her. She continued to look at the picture. "I don't know how to be like them, Alice. I've never been part of a family. But, maybe we can be our own family... Be happy in our own way." She said.

I hugged her. "As long as we're together, that's all that matters." I said. Kara smiled down at me. "Come on, let's get you to bed." She told me. We walked back over near the fireplace, and Kara helped tuck me into the little bed she had made on the floor. She then kissed my forehead. "Sleep tight, Alice. Sweet dreams..." She started to stand, but I wanted to ask her something.

"Can you tell me a story, Kara?" She knelt back down and smiled. "I have 9,000 children's stories in memory. I should have one for you." Whoa, deja vu. But, that's not what I want exactly. I want her to make up one by herself, not tell me one she already knows. "This is a story, about a unicorn that-" She started. "No, not a story like that. Make one up for me." I told her.

Kara thought about it. She started over. "This is a story... about a little girl, who was tired of being afraid. She lived alone in a big, old house... She dreamed of being like all the other little girls but, she was different, and that made her sad. Then, she met a robot, who was programmed to obey orders, but felt for once that she should disobey. So they decided to run away together - To find a place where they could be safe. They encountered great dangers along the way but, they wanted so badly to be free, that they overcame ALL of them. Along the way, they met... another robot, who left his master to become their guardian."

She seemed like she'd finished. "How does the story end?" I asked. "I don't know. All stories have morals, when we reach the end of ours, we'll know what it really meant." She told me, then leaned in. "Now time to sleep. We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow." She whispered.

Kara stood as I looked over at Luther. "Are you going to come say goodnight, Luther?" He smiled. "Yes... Yes, of course." He walked over and gave me a hug. "Goodnight, Alice. Sleep tight." Kara and Luther went to sit on the window bench as I tried to rest. The peace didn't last long though.

A couple minuted later, a loud knock came from the door. Then a couple more knocks. A window broke. Someone was trying to get in! I sat up, scared. "Kara!" I cried. More windows broke, and the door swung open. Kara grabbed me and hid me behind her as Luther grabbed a gun from his bag.

I peeked out from behind Kara, to see what looked like a group of six or seven identical androids, all with ginger hair, the same face, and they were all frozen from the winter cold. They all wore uniforms. I wondered if they used to work at this place.

Kara continued to push back, but the androids had stopped moving now that they were inside. "Who are you? What do you want? Leave us alone!" Kara said to them. The android at the front of the group spoke. "Don't be afraid. We don't want to hurt you. We're just like you... Our name is Jerry. We were working here before the park closed." Knew it... "We didn't mean to frighten you. Sometimes humans come to hurt us, so we wanted to see who was there... What are you doing here?" He asked.

Kara seemed calmer now. "We were looking for shelter for the night. We'll be gone tomorrow."

The Jerry at the front saw me peeking from behind Kara. "A little girl? We haven't seen one in a long time. Children used to love to come and see us!.. She looks sad." "The last few days have been difficult." Kara told them. The Jerry's seemed to all get an idea at the same time. "We have something to show her, something fun! She'll love it! Does she want to see?" The front one said.

"Oh, I don't think she's in the mood." Kara told them Something fun? I need that right now. Of course I'm in the mood. "She should follow us then." The front Jerry said. Kara looked at me. "Alice, I don't know if it's a good idea-" But I was already out from behind her, and practically bouncing to the door. "Come on, Kara!" I beckoned. 

I followed the Jerry's outside, Kara and Luther behind me. They led us to a few rides, and the carousel caught my attention. Kara must've seen me staring at it, because she went and reactivated it. The lights on it came to life. It was so pretty. The Jerry turned to Kara. "The little one can climb onboard." He then turned to the open air. "The Carousel is about to begin!" Kara helped me onto a Seahorse, and strapped me in. Another Jerry started up the ride.

Wow. I thought as the world began to spin. The lights encircled me, like millions of dancing fireflies as I spun around, and around. I smiled at this new experience. Todd would never do anything like this with me. This is amazing! I assume my smile was as wide as can be. I glimpsed a few Jerry's hopping in excitement at my own joy. Kara and Luther also smiled as we had this quiet, happy moment together. 

I think I've found where I belong. And I think... I think I've just found my family.