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Why had I been trapped in the dark? And why were Dax and I so far apart when being with him was the only thing I had ever wanted?
Chapter Thirty-Seven
*Theo*
Guilt filled my smallframe. I had been mean to Dax’s female. I had told her I didn’t want to be her friend. Now she refused to wake up.
And my best friend no longer smiled.
I missed Dax’s smile.
I slipped into the lab quietly, hoping it would be empty except for Dax and his female. I told my mom and dad I was going to spend the night with Iris and Dash. I also told them I didn’t need them to walk me to their quarters. I was a Military Model. I didn’t need protection. That and they couldn’t find out where I really intended to go.
They told me Dax needed space. He needed to be with his female so he could find a way to fix her. But what if he needed some help? Dax was the smartest cyborg I knew, but everyone needs help sometimes. I also had to tell Poe I didn’t mean what I said. I wanted to be her friend. I wanted her wake up and make Dax smile again.
My eyes darted around the lab and I found Dax’s female lying on an exam table, her body still. Memories of my dad frame’s the same way filled my processors, and I shook my head trying to clear them away. My dad is okay. Dax fixed him. Dax could fix his female, too, my circuits knew it. All he needed was some help.
My visual systems didn’t detect Dax in the area, but I could hear him moving around one of the rooms in the back of the lab. I halted my footsteps, hesitating. Should I go find Dax first? Tell him why I had come? But if I disturbed him and he was close to finding a way to fix his female I would feel bad that I had interrupted him.
My gaze went to his female. Maybe I should start with her first. With cautious footsteps, I crept towards the exam table and looked down at her. Poe appeared to be sleeping, her face relaxed, her eyes shut tight. I peeked at the rest of her and saw what the other cyborgs had been whispering about in the common room. I don’t know why they whispered. It was silly. I would hear them either way and I made sure to always listen. The grown-ups liked to keep things from me sometimes. My processors thought the action was illogical. I was a cyborg like them. What happened in the cyborg rebellion affected not only them, but me as well. I deserved to know.
What they hadn’t wanted me to know had been that the female’s frame had started to grow weak. If she didn’t wake soon, they were afraid her body would give out. Humans were complicated. They required a lot of care. I know because I take care of my mom. Dad helps, but he still messes up a lot.
I leaned down and found her ear. “Can you hear me, pretty human? I know your name is Poe but pretty human sounds better. Always start with compliments, that is what my mom says,” I whispered quietly. Then I remembered she might not recognize my voice. “Oh, in case you aren’t sure who this is, it’s Theo. I came to check on you. Mom and dad told me to stay away, but I knew I had to see you.”
I reached for her hand and grasped it. I didn’t squeeze, I knew how fragile humans were, but I wanted to her to know I was here. Humans seemed to respond well to touch. My mom was always holding my dad’s hand, and her best friend Iris went around huggingeveryone. She had even huggedAcer.Iris must have a few circuits missing in her processors. I have never attempted to hug Acer and I launch myself at cyborgs forfun.I love hugs from other cyborgs, but Acer is off limits. Except for kicking. I may have kicked him a time or two. Maybe one day I’ll attempt to hug him. He’s gotten a bit better since the processor wipe.
I focused my circuits back on Dax’s female, wanting to make amends. “The thing I wanted to say is that I’m sorry for hurting your feelings and tell you that I do want to be your friend. You make Dax happy. I would be a bad best friend if I didn’t want him to be happy. But he’s not happy anymore.” My shoulders slumped as I stared at her pretty face. She hadn’t moved an inch. Her eyelids hadn’t even fluttered. I would keep trying. “Do you know why Dax isn’t happy anymore, pretty human? Because you aren’t awake. He misses you. He misses you the way my mom did when she thought my dad wouldn’t wake up, too. So ,you need to wake up and come back so that he smiles again, okay?”
“Oh, Theo.” A quiet voice interrupted, and my mouth snapped closed, my conversation with Poe ending.
I dropped Poe’s hand and found Dax staring at me. His bright green color seemed duller, his lab coat dirty, his face full of nothing but sadness. Dax had lost more than his smile. I suddenly didn’t know how to help my friend, how to bring him back fromthis.
Not knowing what to do I did what I did best. I flung myself at him, tossing my arms around his waist, hugging his frame tight. “I’m sorry! I do want to be her friend! I do!” I said into his shirt, not caring that it was dirty and rather smelly. I tipped my head up to look at him. “Don’t give up Dax! You can do this.” I declared.
He shook his head sadly. “I am not sure I can this time, Mr. Theo. And if Poe goes, I fear I will have no choice but to follow. I know you don’t want to hear this, but it is the truth and I will never lie to you, Theo.” Fluid gathered in his eyes.
Dax was talking about going offline-permanently. I shook my head, clutching him tighter.
He stared down at me, love and friendship reflecting in his emerald gaze. “Youare the bravest and strongest cyborg I have ever known. If I go, know thatyouwill be okay. It will hurt to say goodbye, but I’ll always be with you in here,” he tapped my chest, the spot directly over my heart, “and,” he tapped my forehead, “in here.”
No matter what, he would always remain in my heart and in my processors. I hated the fact that he was right. Forgetting Dax would be like forgetting my own name. He had been my first friend. The first cyborg who had made me feel safe and like I belonged.
I didn’t want to say goodbye. “You know you are my best friend,” I confessed into his shirt.
