Life as an object

Chapter four

A few hours later Allie the android and Kate arrived at ruins where they decided to rest until the next day will start. "Kate, you told me that you will tell me what your story is about. I think now is the perfect moment for that." Said the Android while she looked into the distance. Kate shook herself:" I don't think that my story is interesting enough to be told. I had a terrible fight with my parents, I ran away and now I'm here in the middle of the desert. That's now five years ago. That is my story." She turned around to see Kate's face, she looked away but Allie could recognize a tear rolling down her cheek. "You're lying! You can tell me the truth; I couldn't tell it to anyone anyway because I only know you and only trust you!" "I can't!" answered Kate sternly, stood up and sat down in the sand a few meters away from Allie with her back to her. The android just shook her head and looked to the stars which slowly arrived at the sky. After some time she saw that Kate was leaning against a wall and closed her eyes. When a light wind came up Allie got up and walked a few steps through the sand. Suddenly an image appeared right in front of her, a kind of hologram. The android could see Winston right in front of her and heard him say penetrating words to her: "Believe me, I will find you! My technology makes it possible for me. Even if you managed to escape at our last meeting, you won't make it on your own. You will still serve my purpose, see you next time!" Then he disappeared. Frightened she retreated and went back to Kate, who was still sleeping and sat down next to her in the sand.

As the moon set and the first sunlight appeared Allie woke Kate up: "We have to go! Winston found us; he talked to me as a hologram. I think he has figured out how to determine our coordinates and is already hot on our trail. Come on, hurry up!" Kate stood up and followed Allie who was running into the desert. After a few meters she stopped and called: "Wait! He will find us no matter how long we run. We need to destroy your transmitter." The android turned around and waited to see what Kate is up to. The young woman came close, took off Allie's wig and opened an inconspicuous flap at the back of the android's head. Allie could hear a soft, annoyed moaning from Kate and then a noise that sounded like a cable had snapped. Then it turned black before her eyes and she sank to the floor. When Allie opened her eyes again, she saw Kate triumphantly dangling a small piece from her hand and smiling at her: "Got it. Hopefully this was the only tracking device." Then they began again to walk through the desert.

After a long period of silence Allie raised the word: "Kate? We still have a long journey ahead of us; don't you think it would be better if I knew something about you too? How did you know how to remove my tracking device? How did you know where to look when you saved me? Why do I get the feeling you know a lot more than you're telling me? Talk to me, please!" Kate took a deep breath: "Allie, the thing is that...Look here! We're here. She raised her hand and pointed to some houses that appeared in the distance and ran off, the android following her. Allie reluctantly accepted Kate's manner and ignored her questions for a moment as her companion led her through narrow streets of a village they were about to reach until they stopped at an old rundown cottage. Kate pulled her arm through a hole in the wall of the house, which was just big enough to crawl through. No sooner had Allie blinked, she was already standing in an abandoned living room, completely dusted and equipped with destroyed furniture lying around. A shiver ran down her back and she looked at Kate suspiciously: "Do you want to stay here for a while?" "We have to sleep somewhere, at least I do. This house seems to have been abandoned for a long time, surely no one comes in. We're safe here for one night." Said she certainly, giving the android a slightly safer feeling. Together they slowly stepped out of the living room into a hallway, which also didn't look very inviting and finally came to a staircase. They climbed up step by step, when suddenly one collapsed under the weight of Kate. Allie was able to grab her just in the last moment and pull her back up again so that nobody was seriously hurt. At the top, Kate steered unerringly to a door and entered a bedroom with a double bed. A bit surprised that she probably knew her way around here, Allie followed her and sat down on one side of the bed, but immediately a booming voice would be heard: "Hey! Um...I mean could I get on that side? I sleep better by the window." Frightened by the reaction of her accomplice, the Android stood up and let her have the side: "No problem, I'm solar powered anyway. So Allie sat there, waited until Kate was asleep and then looked around the room. She crept into the hallway and peeped through the other doors until she suddenly became aware of something. Slowly she walked towards the room which caused her a sensation and entered. She was quite am amazed at what she saw. On the wall hung falling posters, probably of famous singers or actors, and on the floor were lots of books and clothes. Like everywhere else in the house, everything was covered with a thick layer of dust, but something was different, Allie knew that immediately. She carefully examined the room, finding here and there some things that suggested she was in a teenager's room. Slowly she opened a drawer of the small cupboard next to the bed and was amazed; it was full of old photos. Carefully she took a stack in her hand and leafed through the pictures. In one of them there was a man and a woman, probably a married couple, in another one she saw a group of friends at an event, nothing special, but in the last picture she saw startled and let out a slight scream. Holding her breath, she listened to see if Kate had heard her and woke up, but it remained silent. Allie looked closer at the photo and could recognize Kate with a young man and a slightly older woman, the three looked very happy, the android could not explain who these two other people were. Allie decided to keep the photo for now, but not to speak to Kate. She quietly crept back into the room where Kate was still sleeping.