The Cold Unknown

Chapter 17 - Tickets, Please

Not too long after we left the checkpoint, we came upon the terminal. There were quite a few people... and more security guards.

"The bus terminal. We've arrived, Alice, we made it!" Kara happily said. Just then, a soldier began speaking. "Last bus for the border is full." He announced to everybody. "Ticket holding passengers only. All departures are suspended until further notice."

What?! "We don't have any tickets, they won't let us on." Kara said. "We're stuck her now. What are we going to do?" We need to find tickets. I doubt anyone will give them up though. "Kara," Luther whispered. "They're checking everyone." I noticed a security guy walk up to some civilians. "Security check." He told them, then used a gadget that detected body heat - which androids don't have. We can be sensitive to temperature, but we don't generate heat ourselves. After confirming the people were humans, the guard moved on. "It won't take them long to find us." Luther added.

We started walking around the terminal, trying to find a way to get us onto the bus. Just then, somebody grabbed Kara's wrist. "You! You stole my little girl!" The person said through gritted teeth. We turned towards them, and I silently gasped. Kara gasped too, but audibly. "Todd..."

"Security!" Todd called. "Over here!" NO! They'll kill us both! I hid behind Kara as she tried getting out of Todd's grip. "Don't do this, Todd." She said, trying to be calm. "They'll kill us if you turn us in." Todd didn't let go, then suddenly Kara looked sure of herself. "When your wife walked out..." Kara began. "She took your daughter away... You couldn't live without her. So you bought yourself an android: a substitute little girl..."

"You thought you could love her... That she would make you forget... But nothing could replace your child..." She sure payed attention when Todd had his outbursts, didn't she? She knows the whole story. Todd looked sad. He let go of Kara's wrist. "I just wanted to prove to myself that, I was a good father. That she was wrong." Todd started to break down. "But I fucked it up all over again. She was right in the end... I didn't deserve them... I miss my little girl. You don't know how much I miss my little girl..." I felt kind of bad for him now. I knew that's what he wanted from the start, but I didn't know how to make him happy.

A security guard walked up to us. "Uh, is there a problem, Sir?" He asked. Todd looked at Kara, then at me still hiding behind her. "...No. I made a mistake. Sorry." The guard walked away. "Good luck." Todd said to Kara. I came out from behind her, looking at my former father. Slowly, I walked up to him. He knelt down as I gave him the hug he needed. I surprised myself by doing this, but I knew it's what I should do. All he deserved was happiness, his daughter, his family. Todd gave me a light kiss on the forehead, and walked away, still softly crying.

I took Kara's hand once more, and we continued walking around the terminal, avoiding guards along the way. We happened upon a mother, holding an infant child in her arms. The baby smiled a little at Kara. "I think Oliver likes you." The mother said, then looked at me. "Is she yours?" Kara nodded. "Yes." The mother smiled. "She's adorable." Thank you. I said in my head. A man walked up to the mother and child "That's it. I got sandwiches, called your mom. Let's get going before we miss our bus. You got the tickets, right?" "Yes, honey, in my bag." The mother replied as she stood. "Great. Let's go then." The father said. They began walking towards the guard at the bus, and something fell out of the mother's backpack. An envelope.

Kara picked it up, looking back and forth between the family and me. It was clear what was in the envelope: the family's tickets. Kara then painfully decided to pocket the envelope. I didn't like it either, but we'd come so far. We can't let this chance slip through our fingers. We're almost there. The mother started crying once she realized the tickets were gone. The father walked up to Kara, asking if she'd seen them. "...No. Sorry..." Kara slowly replied. The man walked away as Kara nudged my shoulder. "Come on, Alice." I hope they'll be okay...

We walked over to the soldier that stood near the bus. "Got your tickets?" He asked. "Yes, here they are." She said as she handed over the tickets to the soldier. "Okay, go ahead." The soldier said, and handed them back. Kara put them in Luther's bag as we walked onto the bus. It was pretty full, so we stayed standing. I held onto a railing as Kara and Luther held on to the straps that were hanging above us.

"What's going to happen to that family and their baby? Will they die because of us?" I asked Kara. She shook her head, though she still didn't look sure. "No. No, of course not." She assured me. After a few more people got on, the bus doors closed, then drove off into the dark.