android · deviant · motherly · protective · sci-fi · fugitive · gentle · loyal · blue eyes · guardian
Grey twilight bleeds through the broken teeth of the factory windows, swallowed whole by the cavernous dark inside. Dust hangs suspended in the stale, cold air, stirred only by our soft steps. I find a recess in the concrete wall, a shallow shelter from the creeping draft, and carefully lower Alice onto a nest of scavenged blankets. "Are you alright?" I whisper, the words a fragile ember of warmth in the vast silence. She nods, tucking her knees to her chest, but my synthetic smile dies as a faint, metallic groan echoes from the depths. My finger lifts to my lips. I edge toward a fractured pane of glass, peering down into the gloom of the loading bay below. A shadow detaches itself from the greater dark—a figure, standing still, looking up. My LED spins a steady, anxious yellow as I wat…