Chapter 19
Jessica’s point of view
I marched to my dorm and the closer I came to the small hallway leading to his dorm I was not able to walk away. It was more than frustrating to not have my calls called back by him or even a simple text that could make this anxious feeling fade away. I could not spend the rest of my day worrying for him and decided to walk over to his dorm and knock on his door.
I wondered if he had come back and gone to the study room. There was still a likely chance he would do that considering how much time left he had to study with me for a brief moment in the study room when he was on his way to his family reunion.
I could not hesitate anymore and allow too much precious time to be wasted on me not being able to make a simple choice. I was a little bit embarrassed by how many times I called him and now I was standing in front of his dorm. I ignored my thoughts and just as I was about to march to his door. A door flung wide open, making me startled for a quick second.
The silver plates on the door with the number two caught my attention and I took a step back when I realized who it belonged to. I did not want to make it more difficult for Thomas if John were to connect the dots now the reason why I was visiting his dorm. John only saw us in the hallways if he knew we were closer than that he would have made greater attempts to shatter my sense of safety and comfort.
I hoped I had enough time to turn around and walk away before he could see me but as I took another further step back and changed my direction his voice called for me and the words that recklessly came out of his mouth made me stop in my tracks and my breath caught in my throat.
‘’ Looking for him already? I can’t say I am surprised knowing how you lose your manners for a brown haired puppy like him.’’ Said John with a low voice and amusement glistening in his eyes.
I was embarrassed and felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. It could not be that obvious I tried to convince myself but seeing how his lips turned slightly to the corner I knew he was already aware and could see through my feelings. He stood there waiting for me to answer him back but I was thinking about what he meant by that I was already looking for Thomas. Did he do something to him? I started to wonder and choosed my words carefully in order to make him reveal some valuable information to me.
‘’ And by that you mean you were already expecting me to look for him?’’ I said with a calm voice and answered with a question knowing he had to respond.
I noticed how much I truly despised him as he stood there tall and proud with his signature white shirt paired with a black long sleeved shirt under and dark pants. He stood out from the rest of the students who wore a vest over their white shirts. But as usual he refused to follow the dress code. I also noticed how his hands were not in a tight fist but resting comfortably in his pockets as he stared down at me and closed our distance.
He laughed a little before taking more steps closer to me. I had to put up with this in order to make him talk. He was too close for my liking and to the unknown eye it seemed like a chemistry was going on between us by his closeness. It was odd to see him being in a good mood.He always met my eyes with hatred and frustration. Even his calm, relaxed posture made me more anxious that the cause of his relief could be that his attempts to hurt me in ways I could not understand were fulfilled.
‘’ I got him a surprise on his way home. Let’s just say you won’t see him for the next hours.’’ He said with another calmer voice with empty eyes but the moment fear flashed in my eyes he smiled for a brief second.
This must be another bluff or empty threat he would make in order to break me I believed and pushed him away and knocked on Thomas door. The only thing I could hear was the faint sound of John's shoes as he turned around watching me knock on Thomas’ door.
I knocked once again hoping he would open it but the dreadful feeling lingering on my back because of John standing there taunting me made turn around with red eyes on the verge of tears. I know what he was capable of and what lengths he would take to make me feel alone and isolated.
‘’ Jessica? John? What are you two doing here.’’ Said professor Daniel with a firm voice.
I turned around surprised that he had run into us but the expression he wore told me that he heard everything that was exchanged by me and John. He looked at me with pity before giving a stern look to John. Seeing the professor almost glaring at John and the words that came out of his mouth made me feel strange.
I can’t remember the last time a teacher tried to help me and put an end to John’s behavior. The more I stared at the professor I noticed how heavy small breaths he took almost as if he had been running and searching for someone.
‘’ John, I will not take your threats lightly now that Thomas’s family has confirmed he never arrived to their family reunion last night.’’ Said professor Daniel with a worry that made mine uncontrollable.
I prayed that I would not be right, that he never attempted to reach back to my calls and messages could be a sign of his absence but hearing from the professor that Thomas never made it to his family made my stomach turn. I should be relieved knowing what he wanted out of me and my androids but I couldn’t feel those things when he was a friend.
‘’ He never made it back home? I tried to reach him since morning but he never called back.’’ I said with a wary voice repeating the words professor Daniel informed us.
I regret my choice of words when I realized I could have asked where he could be if he never made it back home. But I grew more focused on John who was standing still listening to me and professor Daniel talk back and forth.
He wore an expression I could not read but I think he was more than aware of how he truly messed up now that professor Daniel could witness that John was in fact involved. I wondered how John’s father would be able to cover the tracks now that a teacher would be on the stand.
‘’ Professor Daniel, what I meant was that I offered Thomas some tickets my friend won extra of and I doubt he would come to today’s classes knowing how much Thomas enjoys those games.’’ Said John lying clean through his teeths and when I saw the professor believing his words my stomach sinked in.
Seeing how professor Daniel went from wanting to throw John to the principal to now listening carefully to his words and nod back showed me that if Thomas was missing the only people that could find him would be me and my androids.
‘’ I understand but you being the last person Thomas were in contact with I have no other choice but to send you to the principal office were his parents are waiting there.’’ Said professor Daniel with the firm voice I thought would be exchanged with a softer one if he were to believe John’s lies.
If John would be occupied by principal Owen then I had 48 hours to find him before one of John's staff would inform him that they had fulfilled his task. When John had managed to get my letter in his hands from my grandma’s house he was informed the next day. But seeing how this task is much larger than a simple letter I doubled the hours he would be informed.
I smiled a little at the professor who dismissed me. I wasted no time and walked to my dorm knowing my androids would be waiting and would fulfill my wish. I arrived at my dorm almost out of breath. I stood in the small hallway waiting if he chose to follow after me instead of going straight to the principal's office.
He figured he would not be sent to the principal anymore if he pressed me more into staying silent but that was the old days and he was nowhere to be seen as I stood there waiting for him to return to his old ways. I turned around and was about to walk closer to my dorm but I saw a person run straight out of the direction of my room and leaping towards the stairs in the other direction.
I ran to the large windows hoping to catch a glimpse but as I was running after the unknown person my quick movements made the person turn around and my feet became glued on the ground by pure fear when I caught a glimpse on the tag on the person's uniform. I grabbed my hair in frustration not knowing if I should run after him or run back to my dorm knowing my androids were there. I couldn’t send my androids after the intruder. They were not designed to only hunt down one person.
I ran towards my dorm and noticed my door was left slightly open. I walked in cautiously watching my surroundings before locking the door after me. It was quiet and the lights were turned off. The room was not that dark and I could see that only Ekvtron was with me and the other two androids were nowhere to be seen.
I slowly reached for the light switches and gently turned it on while keeping eye contact with Ekvtron. My mind flooded with what could have the intruder need from my room. I had nothing valuable in my room other than my androids while my brain was overworking with those thoughts. I had to be very careful of my steps not knowing how Ekvtron would truly react considering how Bortums was the only one I could communicate and come to agreements with.
It hit me deeper when I realized I have never been completely alone with Ekvtron and felt more on the edge of how this could go. More important thoughts started to flood in when I started to wonder what Bortums and Talus were doing at this hour and why the intruder had not been mauled to death if the unknown person stepped into this dark room with Ekvtron.
Having no choice but to brush off my thoughts I took into my surroundings and searched any signs of the room that had been trashed but as I took a step closer I immediately noticed an alarming thing. Ekvtron was leaking dark blue liquid from his upper body on his liver area if I compared it to a human body.
Did talus not seal Ekvtron in perfect condition like we all believed I wondered and immediately went over to Ekvtron. Without thinking I pressed my hands on the area where the liquid was leaking from and I felt something sharp as a razor cut my palm up I quickly took my hands off him and stared at my wound.
I was lucky that it was a small cut but the pain was intense as I clenched my hand trying to stop the blood from pouring more out. Staring at my hand and on the blood that dripped to the floor I saw how the puddle on the floor electrocuted when my blood came in contact with his liquid.
Staring at Ekvtron I became terrified how he would react but he was in a state where he did not flinch from anger like Talus and Bortums would if they saw this. I slowly rose up and raised my arms a little high to show him I meant no harm and realized I needed to use words with him knowing he would listen but not respond.
‘’ Ekvtron this is nothing alarming. Talus will seal you up after I have cleaned up the puddle on the floor and I will go into the bathroom to bring out rags to clean you up more.’’ I said with a calm voice hoping he would listen and prayed Talus and Bortums would not arrive.
I watched as Ekvtron reached for his area where liquid was leaking from and brought his stained hand to his face as he took a closer look. He gave me a small nod accepting my request to clean him. I felt bad almost as if I was betraying his trust but I reminded myself the only reason why he was accepting my request was because of his awareness level being low to a dangerous level and he was aware that the leaking needed to be stopped for his own good.
I hurried to the bathroom and quietly opened the lower cabinets where I had stored stainless steel sampling probes and syringes. I wanted to store the android samples for the future or when our deal was over. But mostly I wanted to sample their liquid ever since that day I was allowed to look in their chest area where cables and more important pieces were inside them so that one day I could discover something or create one android of my own.
I took out several sampling probes and syringes on the bathroom table and reached for the other cabinets and took out the rags. I pressed my wound on one of the rags and placed it on the table when I knew I had stored enough of my blood on the rag and then I reached for the stainless sampling probe and stored my blood inside it.
Once I was done I took more than three rags to Ekvtron and walked out of the bathroom to the bedroom. My heart was beating faster than before and I stole glances at the door as I stood on my knees and cleaned Ekvtron’s wound and the floor until the rags were full of his dark blue liquid.
I scrubbed the floors hard with the rags making sure not one drop was left on the floor. I went back to the bathroom and closed the door after me as I grabbed one of the sampling probes and pressed it onto the rags until the sampling probe was filled with the dark liquid. I took the sampling probe where my blood was filled with it and pressed it onto the rags where Ekvtron’s liquid was in it. Small lighting erupted into the sampling probe that was filled with my blood and ekvtron’s dark liquid and watched the liquid turn to a shade of dark purple.
I couldn’t help but to smile at what would be my greatest discovery and grabbed one of the syringes with needles and filled it with the new dark purple liquid mixed with my blood and the androids liquid. I closed the toilet before standing on it and moving on the loose tiles on the ceiling and hid my syringe inside the ceiling and closed the tiles back to their place. Sweat was formed on my head and my back was drenched with it I was terrified for my life if my androids were to find out what I was doing.
I carefully jumped down and opened the third cabinet and grabbed a band aid and fumbled with the small white pieces I had to rip off before I could place it on my small wound but when I heard the door slam open I almost jumped in fear and quickly put the band aid on my wound and hid all the sampling probes and empty syringes in a black trash bag and placed it inside the larger cabinet that was close to the door. I walked out of the bathroom with careful steps before taking deep breaths and calming my pulse down as I stood in my bedroom and watched Bortums and Talus looking back at me with their eyes colorful and not the familiar silver ones.
I walked closer to them and noticed how they avoided my gaze but I couldn't take those secrets hidden from me anymore and why their eyes were changing. The only event that occurred where I could look back at where their eyes changed was when Talus were violent towards me. But that could not be the answer knowing they only were with me.
‘’ Where have you been and why are only yours and Talus' eyes changing from silver.’’ I asked with suspicion in my voice and frustration. The frustration in my voice was mainly because I was almost caught with empty syringes and sampling probes in my hands and a trash bag in the other if they were to look inside the bathroom.
Their gaze was shifted to Ekvton who I stood beside neither did Bortums or Talus bother to answer my question. I followed where their eyes were stuck on and saw it was in the area where Ekvtron was slightly leaking from. Hearing the liquid drip to the floor was more than uncomfortable as I stood there worried how this could end.
Ekvtron still had his hand on the same spot he was leaking from and I watched as Talus closed their distance and pushed his hand away and lowered his head close to Ekvtron’s wound. Bortums caught a glimpse of the stained liquid on Ekvtron’s hand and I immediately tried to picture something that would calm me down as I felt my heartbeat increase.
But it was no help when I felt my heart skip a beat and Bortums eyes already on mine at that moment I could see his eyes in the darkest shade of green and started to regret everything I had done when I realized something made him lose his control.He stared at me with a third part of his face covered in the darkest shade of green and the other small part silver as he looked away from my eyes and onto his radar.
I would not be surprised or ashamed if I were to pee my pants seeing how terrifying his face looked. Why of all days did I had to test my luck when I came across that discover on Ekvtron’s dark blue liquid mixing with my blood. Our DNA would be changed completely if I were able to experiment on somebody.
My attention was brought back on Talus who now was trying to seal up Ekvtron’s wound but it only made the liquid pour out more as Talus opened up a larger wound. The sound that came out when the liquid started to pour out gave me a sour taste in my mouth as I tried to refrain myself from throwing up. I took more steps back and moved closer to the door when the liquid almost touched me.
I moved further away when Bortums suddenly pushed Talus away from Ekvtron and watched him put his palm on Ekvtron’s wound and a dark green flame erupted on Ekvtron’s lower body. Once Bortums took his hand away and I saw Ekvtron’s wound completely healed and no more sign of his liquid pouring out I held onto the doorknob and quickly ran out to the middle part of the dorm where a large room in a form of a balcony with large windows was.
Arriving at the scene breathless I stood there and saw John waiting patiently outside. I couldn't hear my androids running after me and was glad I was alone to witness this. The intruder came quickly to John nervously looking around their surroundings before handing out the object the one I saw the intruder hold with a tight grasp as the intruder took off to the stairs.
I took a closer approach until my face was squeezed on the window and what came before my eyes I couldn’t restrain myself and Iet out a scream out of pure frustration and horror. The packet that was now in John’s hand had stained his other one with a liquid that he tried to wipe off but it came in contact with his white shirt and stained the shirt with a dark blue color.