Well, since he was already there. . .
He walked up to the warehouse and opened the door. The room felt more alive now. Not in the sense that there were souls present, but in the way items showcased life. A hairbrush was on the bedside, slightly askew, and the pillows formed familiarshapes. Things that made a place a home, even when nothing living was currently present.
But there was someone here.
Anna was sleeping, rolled over with her back toward him, hair spilled on the pillow. The light was on the table, turned high.
Atlas stilled, watching Anna sleep for a moment, matching his simulated breath to hers. If this was a part of the old loving movies this would be where the music picked up. When a single violin played a gentle tune. Walking farther in, he turned the light down low so it resembled more of a nightlight than a torch.She’s fine.I’ll go charge in the barn.
But a very large part of him wanted to sit outside Anna’s new home until dawn.
Chapter thirty-three
Anna
It was a new day when Anna woke up. The morning light had come in through the window, illuminating all the boxes on the far wall.
And Tilly was in her room. On her bed. In her face. “Anna! You’re awake!”
“Woah, Tilly.” She rubbed her eyes. “You’re right there, aren’t you? How did you sleep?”
“Great! I slept in the hay!” Tilly bounced on the bed. “There are other androids here. Mama sent me to wake you up.”
Immediately Anna sprang up, her body sore and aching. She fumbled for the shoes at her bedside. “Other androids?”
Tilly scrambled off the bed. “Uh huh. Atlas and other ones. They brought a trailer with more things. And a lot of Zeros.”
Anna fell back, head resting again on the pillow. “They seem friendly?”
“Yeah. A lot of them were from the ship we were on. They even brought the red juice I liked.”
“Okay. Let me get up.” She looked around. “Tell Nora I’ll be right there?”
“Sure.” Tilly bounded back out the door.
Anna sat up and reached for the small bag of crackers Atlas had brought, shoving a few in her mouth. The nausea was not as bad this morning, probably because she only ate the bland ration bars all day yesterday. She tilted her head to listen to the birds outside. Birds never sang like that back on Earth. A few birds did live, but not enough to make actual melodies that sounded like they surrounded her.
She pulled herself up to peek outside the window at the pasture. No one was in sight. She let herself drop back down onto the bed. The androids must all be by the barn. She should have expected more would come today.
Sleeping in yesterday’s clothes did her appearance no favors. Luckily, Atlas had brought some additional clothing, if not pajamas for last night. She straightened herself out as best she could, raking her hand through her dirty hair. That was Another thing she was going to have to figure out here. How to wash herself and her clothing without any bathroom.
The thought made her smile.The thing is though, I get to figure it out.She’d wash with a hose and a bucket if she had to.
Her fingers hovered over the patch on her neck as she started to pull her hair in a ponytail. Then paused.No. Nevermind. I’ll leave it down.So far, the chip had been on her overnight and this morning, but she hadn’t noticed any difference except when she rubbed on it. When she did that, it almost buzzed, and sent a tingle down to her feet.
She hurried outside. To the left, near the barn, stood Zero. Quite a few Zeros was right, actually.But none of the androids were Stella. And more importantly, none appeared angry.
Most of the androids were Zero’s brothers, all slicked back hair and angular bodies in matching mesh shirts. There were a fewthat Anna recognized from the ship. The android with a dark complexion that always tried her cookies was there, Fifteen, as was another long and lanky android with copper skin, Thirteen, who had thanked Tilly solemnly for every drawing she made.
And Atlas was right in front, standing with his back toward her and the warehouse. He gestured with his arm toward the pasture as Simon stood at his side with Nora and Tilly.
All eyes turned toward her as she waddled up. “Hi everyone.”
“Good morning.” Zero said, a boyish smile on his face. “I can’t say I ever thought these buildings could be used this way, but we’ve gone over the floor plans all night and I can see how it will work.”
“Oh? You’re going to help?”
“Of course!” Zero grinned.
