She shifted her weight so she barely brushed against him. “This is better than the feed you showed me on the ship.”
At Atlas’s side, his hand clenched. That feeling plucked at him as he saw her settle at the window. He swallowed.She hugged me. Should I hug her back?His hand twitched at his side.Not the right time.
Instead, he rested his hand on her shoulders and squeezed once, then turned back to the boxes. “I’ll help move these and explain to the others with Simon.”
Chapter twenty-seven
Anna
Anna ate a ration bar hungrily. She was so busy that she forgot to eat, and the nausea was returning to remind her. She sat on the boxes and kicked one foot up on a container and left the other splayed out to the side like a limp noodle. Inside the warehouse she was alone for a minute, sweating from the heat of the day. The door was propped open, letting cool air in, fanning across her dirt-streaked face.
She let out a long exhale.Damn, what a long day.But she was more relieved than tired. The sweat made her shirt stick to her. She pulled her hand through her hair. Hopefully Simon was right about the running water. She was gross.
Atlas stepped back inside. “Anna?”
“Yeah, just sitting.”
He held up the lanterns in his hands. “Good, keep sitting. I brought some lights.”
“Oh. Thank you!”
Night was fast approaching, and a single solar lantern was already on the boxes in front of her. Atlas put down the ones he held, powering another on as he rearranged them.
“What did the rest of the androids say?” Anna leaned forward. “Can we stay here?”
It was still light outside, barely past dusk, but the inside was even brighter now with the additional lights. Atlas turned the lantern up even higher, illuminating the heavy look on his face. “They are . . . confused.”
“Confused?” Her heart fell. “So they’re not okay with all this?”
“Enough are. We are more inflexible than you, and it’s just a big change for us.”
Anna gripped the ration bar so tight it began to crumble. “Oh, but . . .”
“I’m going to the facility to fetch supplies for tonight.” He patted her hand. “Please sit in the meantime. You are still pregnant.”
“So I can stay here tonight?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Would you even return if I asked?”
She fixed her gaze on the window. “Not willingly.” A shiver went through her. “I am not strong enough to resist, but I absolutely wouldn’t be happy.”
Atlas slowly shook his head. “Don’t sell yourself short, Anna.” He walked to the door. “Wait here. I’ll be back.”
Anna swallowed.Don’t sell myself short?That hit a spot, deep inside. An ache. What did that even mean? She shoved her feet on the floor to follow. “Wait, it’s hot in here; I’m going to walk outside.”
Atlas paused outside the threshold. “Nighttime is cooler, but I’ll bring an AC unit as well.”
The hover stood right outside, blue and purple where it reflected the sun. The chrome-plated side was identical to theones they had back on Earth, only this hover was in pristine condition, not salvaged and rusted.
For some reason, seeing the hover made her hesitate. They hadn't had nature like the cow and meadows at home to compare to. But that hover . . .She fidgeted, staring at her reflection in the chrome. Nora had almost this exact model.She could almost imagine the scrap metal lining the back seat, the upholstery ripped out.This really, reallywasnothing like Earth.Comparisons like the hover between Earth and Mars were secondary to the real issue, though. Anna was lost. She didn’t have a full framework for how anything worked here in her new home.
Atlas grabbed her arm and gently tugged her.
“What?” She looked up at him.
“Another complication.” His expression hardened as he pointed in the distance.
Two hovers filled with androids approached. The engines were so silent that she noticed the dust that they kicked up before she heard them.
