"But even logic isn't dependable. It's all impulsive. Can't you see?"

*

"Call for backup!"

The moment the androids were just feet away from the officers in the street, they broke out into a run. I couldn't see them but heard them, felt them. Their metal meeting asphalt sent vibrations up the street and through the alley, sending painful surges up into my skin. I hissed into Mary's shoulder and held her tight.

And she held me back. "It's okay," she whispered, almost in tears. "If we stay here, they won't see us."

Guns fired again. Screams echoed in the air. The officers shouted at each other as cars started their engines. But the sounds of breaking glass and failed sirens came right after.

They were losing.

"We can't stay here." I trembled, feeling the warmth of my fluids sliding down my chest. The heat of the bullet damaged my skin. My nano-bots couldn't react and heal.

This... this is a human death, isn't it? Bleeding out. Fading away.

"We have no choice." I felt Mary turn her head towards the street. Her whimpers hit my ear. Each time a gun fired, a body slammed, she tensed. Her heart beat like mad, I could hear it. "If we move, they'll find us."

I slammed my head back against the brick behind me and stared up at the sky. The clouds spread over the sun, hiding us in late afternoon shadows. I heard thunder rumble in the air. Even nature knew of the troubles we were in.

"But Wendy." I lifted my hand to cup the back of her head to keep her close. "If I don't leave here... Wendy will..."

I wasn't sure what would happen to Wendy. I couldn't think of it, either. The androids—or Rogues, as the cops called them—had ulterior motives, far from the limits programmed within our cores. Why else would they attack? Kill? Androids would never do that, broken or not.

But Mary had said it, right?

These droids weren't broken.

What were they, then?

"Javi." The side exit to the grocery store clicked, unlocked, and Mary's fingers gripped my sweater so tight, the material rubbed against my wound. I shifted back, hissing in discomfort, but kept her close. Both of us looked at the door as it pressed against the brick wall, opening wide.

Moving slowly up the wall, I kept her close to me, eyes on the door. My computers tried to scan the store, but without much power, I was practically useless. Each attempt to pull up a command came with a subtle, yet dangerous reminder.

Battery low. Twenty-nine percent.

"We have to run," I whispered into her curls, glancing back at the violence that filled the streets. "I just can't analyze which way to go."

"There's no way to go." Mary's voice was as quiet as mine. She moved her head to look up at me. "We're stuck."

Stuck was a good word. Because I'd rather have been stuck, then dead. But death at this point was inevitable.

Right?

A single, white gym shoe stepped out from the door and paused as if waiting. Watching. I watched it, too, hoping my sensors would kick in. I only needed one to tell me who, or what, it was.

But the shoe was followed by a leg, with dark jeans that blurred with static as I looked at it. Half of a body came next, then a hand, and a face. When the person turned to look at us, I sighed with relief. It wasn't a droid or a cop, but Will, my old friend.

He didn't smile when we locked eyes, but he motioned us to go near him. And inside. He did this all without words.

"Javi, I—" Mary tried to protest, but the second she opened her mouth, I grabbed her hand and made her follow me. Inside was safe. Something told me to trust Will. It was either trust him or stay out in the street like sitting ducks. I couldn't afford to be the droids, or the cops, next kill.

Looking at Will, I nodded, silently agreeing to follow him. When he moved aside, we slid through the side door and into the cool air of the store's back freezer. It took him just seconds to close the door and block us from the screams outside. Just seconds to put us in the cold darkness.

Mary's body pressed against mine as the lights went off. Feet moved around us as they came back, flickering. When the room became bright again, I glanced at the back ends of store coolers, lined with racks of frozen foods. And Will, because he stood in front of me, worry etched on every part of his young face.

Lifting just one hand, he pointed at the door behind us and whispered, "The fuck is going on, man?"

I didn't have answers for Will. Or anyone. And that was out of my norm. I, Javier, the perfect droid, could answer any question before a heart could even beat. But as we stood in the freezer, trembling from the cold, I had nothing to say.

My computers were at their lowest setting.

"Charging required. Searching for compatible bases."

"Come here." Ignoring Will's question, Mary turned me towards her and checked my shoulder. My sweater, once grey, was now deep blue. And soaked through. Her fingers gently prodded my skin, and I closed my eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked me.

"No," I hissed, looking over at Will. He crossed his arms in the cold. Or with irritation. I couldn't tell.

"I need to close this." Mary pressed her hand over my shoulder and glanced at Will. "Are there kits back here?"

"Droid kits? Does it look like there are? It's a fuckin' freezer." Will's brows shot up high as he huffed out cold air.

"Why are you in a freezer?" Mary stepped between us. Her tone alone sliced through the mists that came down from the ceiling vents. I reached out my hand to pull her back with me.

"Dude, is she mental?" Will cupped his hands together and blew into them. "The store droid-assistants went bonkers before shutting off completely. Then, the news happened. Lisa left because of her kids, but I couldn't leave the store without an employee. So, I stayed. I just..."

His eyes trailed over the both of us before he glanced behind him, at the shelves and cooler doors. Outside the frosted glass, I could see the empty store. The hanging LED's that normally displayed sale items were changed, broadcasting news from various stations. Each reporter had a similar report.

"Androids have attacked a local library, taking young students hostage."

"Streets are filled with the aftermath of a droid war. Robots fighting robots. What's the cause?"

Will looked back at me and his brows pulled together in thought. "I was watching the security cameras for, you know, droids. Then I saw you guys in the alley." He nodded at both of us. "If I hadn't recognized you, man, I probably would've left you for the bots."

"Bot bait. Got it." Mary turned back toward me. Her hand touched my shoulder again, applying pressure to slow the ooze. "If I don't close this up, you'll shut down."

"I've shut down already," I said, looking at her hand. With a sigh, I touched her fingers before looking at Will again. "Thank you for pulling us in, but I need to go."

"No, you can't. Not like this." Mary wiped the irritation off her face and gave Will a pleading look. "Please, if your store has droid kits, I need one. His frame is damaged, and he's bleeding out. If I don't fix him, he'll die."

Die. Not again. I can't...

Will didn't hesitate. He reacted.

Turning on the ball of his feet, he moved passed the shelves towards the freezer's double doors. One push with his hands filled the room with warm air, and I followed it to get out of the cold. Mary was on his heels as he led us through the aisles filled with food.

I couldn't be as close. Each step we took was hard, heavy. When my foot moved forward, I seemed to sink. The floor, like quicksand, almost swallowed me whole.

My legs started to buckle.

"Please." Mary didn't know Will's name, but once I was feet behind them, she turned and grabbed me. She held me up. One of her hands cupped my chin as she searched my eyes. "You're working on two sensors, aren't you?"

I wasn't sure. My system stopped classifying errors.

Mary looked back at Will again. "Get the kits and bring them here. I don't think he'll make it."

Will's hands went up into his hair and he tugged. Panic slid over his face. I watched his eyes nervously glance out at the front of the store, where the windows caught the perfect view from where he stood. He took three steps back, looked back at Mary, and nodded. "Good idea," he said, dropping his hands at his side. "Keep him here. I'll be right back."

Mary helped me sit on the floor, back pressed against the shelves to keep me steady. With one hand, she tugged my shirt over my head, and with the other, she cupped my neck. Her warm fingers played with the tips of my hair. "It's going to be okay," she said, moving her fingertips over to my Bionics brand.

"Is it?" I looked up at her. Her digital silhouette faded. For once I was able to see her in normal light; no data, no words. Just her and the way the light bled in through her curls. It brought back memories from different years, different days. They blended together and moved with her, blurring my reality with what was my past. "I haven't done my job. I haven't... I can't call my dad. I can't get Wendy. I... I failed, Mar."

"Stop it." Her fingers pressed down against my mark three times. The vision went out in my left eye. I saw a black background rimmed with blue lines. White letters slid down over the emptiness, like a rebooting computer screen. "You didn't fail. This isn't your job. You're not a regular bot, Javi, and don't forget that. You're reacting as a human should."

Human...

When I turned my head, I heard my inner frame move. A strange whirring sound of wires tugging at steel. I felt robotic, not human. And that's why the cops outside were so keen on shooting me without hesitation.

Sensors non-functional. Calibrating core reactors.

"We're going to find Wendy and your dad. I just need to fix you first."

The letters disappeared. The black turned white. And I took in a deep breath as every nerve in my body went off like the fourth of July.

Battery shutting down.

Mary's mouth opened, but I couldn't hear what she said. She was screaming, that was for sure. And she waved at Will to hurry, to bring the kits. But I couldn't see him when he returned. Vision went out in both of my eyes.

I was left with silence and darkness, like a peaceful night. One I remembered and could never forget.